A Chinese Goddess Gains Following in Delhi

[ito]

I often stumble upon new stories when I am wandering on the roads in search of information. So there I was asking people for directions to Ghaziabad's women's police station when I drove past a poster on an electricity pole that caught my eye. It announced a festival to honour the goddess Quan Yin.

I had never heard of this goddess; my car had travelled much ahead, but I kept thinking about the poster and eventually drove back to the electricity pole. I took a picture of the poster and posted it on Facebook. There were many responses, some even gave me the Wikipedia link, but I wasn't satisfied. So I enlarged the photo and saw there were some phone numbers on it. I dialed a number and found myself speaking to someone who introduced himself as Dr Ashok Vasudev. This is what he told me - Goddess Quan Yin (deity of energy) is like our Goddess Katyayani. Many people in China believe that she balances the chakras. We have seven basic chakras in our body and it is believed that it is because of Goddess Quan Yin that people in China don't fall ill very often.

Intensely curious, I kept asking Dr Ashok many questions and he answered them all. He said there are few doctor's clinics in China.

"Since when have you prayed to Goddess Quan Yin?" I asked

"I have been praying since 2008 and I have been observing her birthday in India for the past two years," Dr Ashok said, adding, "Since here we do not celebrate the birthday of Gods and Goddesses, we call it the "prakat divas" or the day she 'appeared'. It is on March 19. Why don't you come too? There will be a lot of important people from across the city, including the Mayor. He is from the BJP.

He claimed, "I have invited MP Gen VK Singh, but since he is a minister, he may cancel at the last minute. Though if nothing is happening, there is 90 per cent chance he'll come."

He also said, "BSP legislators Prashant Choudhary and Hemlata Choudhary also use our healing services. So they will be there too. We have a bhandara since the food they serve in China will not work here."

I was amused at the thought that the food from China won't work here, but a Chinese Goddess might.

I asked Dr Ashok Vasudev, "So you are a healer?"

"Yes, I practice many kinds of healing. Business healing, corporate healing, relationship healing, area healing and political healing," he said.

I asked what area healing was. Dr Vasudev explained, "See, the National Capital Region or NCR is an area. I do area healing for the NCR so that there is no terror attack here and people can live in peace and prosper."

And political healing? "So if you are fighting an election, I can tell you sitting here in which area there are more negatives for you and I can heal that."

I wanted to laugh out loud, but did not as I wanted to know more. I thought, for instance, that if such healing worked, then the Prime Minister should have been told about Dr Vasudev by the Ghaziabad Mayor. Perhaps the doctor could've ensured that the Aam Aadmi Party was restricted to three seats in Delhi... and the BJP could have won 67 instead.

Dr Ashok Vasudev claimed that two AAP candidates did contact him for area healing and political healing. He also claimed that BSP and BJP leaders are constantly in touch with him.

He told me he visits China four times a year. There, he goes to the main temple of Goddess Quan Yin. People who seek her blessing from the main shrine give Dr Ashok their requests and he puts them at the temple.

"Going to China must be expensive?" I asked. "Oh, yes it is. That is why I charge one lakh rupees for each request. Most requests are political or related to business. Putting their requests at the deity's main shrine helps people get faster results."

"We also treat via prayer on phone. You have to visit the clinic once and then your healing continues on the phone. It is a 10-minute call, for which you have to pay Rs. 150. Depending on the ailment, treatments can last between 10 days to four months." Dr Ashok told me he had done a course in such healing from China and he runs a course here in India. The fee for a beginners' course is Rs. 11,000, for the intermediate level it is Rs. 51,000 and for the highest level, he charges Rs. 1,11,000. "I have clients and students the world over," Dr Ashok said.

"So, why it is this expensive?" I ask. " It isn't easy to decide how much energy to transmit to a patient... it has to be optimal so that the patient heals."

If after reading this you thing that I'm using Goddess Quan Yin as an excuse to promote Dr Vasudev, you would be mistaken. In this Delhi that we inhabit, I have seen the cult of Shanidev become popular and have documented this. I have studied how the popularity of Sai Bhajanshas transformed the nature of Bhagwati Jagarans.

Jagarans have become Mata ki Chowki and people are turning to Sai and Shani perhaps because their temples are less crowded. The result, Sai temples and Shani temples are now among the most crowded.

When the economies of many older temples in Delhi started getting affected, they made space in their compounds for Shanidev. Who knows - maybe Goddess Quan Yin might also find some space one day. Dr Vasudev does have plans of building a Quan Yin temple.

The festival of Goddess Quan Yin's birthday (prakat utsav) should be seen as a gimmick of packaging in the name of faith. At a time when mosques and churches are facing violent attacks, a Goddess from China seems to be welcomed in Ghaziabad. Isn't this interesting? Our politics may be fraught with double-speak but our faith remains welcoming and liberal.

We can do an online course on how to pray to Goddess Quan Yin, use that as a means to earn a livelihood, give false hope to people and maybe, who know, as many claim, liberate them from this cycle of birth and death. Maybe even get votes in elections from areas in which candidates have no hopes of winning.

That is why I showed an interest in Goddess Quan Yi's poster which may seem much more that what was warranted.

We may put our faith in any entity to fulfill our desires but at the same time, speak of destroying someone's place of worship only because adherents of that religion had once ruled over us. To those who look at that one chapter in history as our entire history, I say look at what is happening here and now. Go to Shani Mandirs and ask why they were opposed to begin with...

India may aspire to become greater than China, look at it as an enemy who is also a neighbor, or want to trump China in global trade, there is a Chinese goddess that is being welcomed in a this country with pomp. Comparing Goddess Quan Yi to Katyayani has Indianized her... Goddess Quan Yi we welcome you to this land with myriad religious diversities!

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

I was confused when I read "Quan Yin", in fact that is an old romanization.

"Guan Yin" is how it is written in Standard Chinese pinyin, and she is one of the most popular deities in China.

In fact I have a statue of her in my house. She is the bodhisattva of compassion.


----------


They even do a "Thousand hand Guan Yin dance", you can check out videos of it on YouTube.

 

[Echo_419]

I was confused when I read "Quan Yin", in fact that is an old romanization.

"Guan Yin" is how it is written in Standard Chinese pinyin, and she is one of the most popular deities in China.

In fact I have a statue of her in my house. She is the bodhisattva of compassion.


----------


They even do a "Thousand hand Guan Yin dance", you can check out videos of it on YouTube.

Religion is one thing which brings us closer

 

[ito]

Religion is one thing which brings us closer

The problem is except religion India and China has little in common. Hope Xi jinping and Modi will find some commonalty that will bring both countries closer.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Religion is one thing which brings us closer

Even when I would participate in flame wars with Indians a while back, I never ever insulted their religion.

See the above pictures and you will understand why.

 

[Ind4Ever]

I often stumble upon new stories when I am wandering on the roads in search of information. So there I was asking people for directions to Ghaziabad's women's police station when I drove past a poster on an electricity pole that caught my eye. It announced a festival to honour the goddess Quan Yin.

I had never heard of this goddess; my car had travelled much ahead, but I kept thinking about the poster and eventually drove back to the electricity pole. I took a picture of the poster and posted it on Facebook. There were many responses, some even gave me the Wikipedia link, but I wasn't satisfied. So I enlarged the photo and saw there were some phone numbers on it. I dialed a number and found myself speaking to someone who introduced himself as Dr Ashok Vasudev. This is what he told me - Goddess Quan Yin (deity of energy) is like our Goddess Katyayani. Many people in China believe that she balances the chakras. We have seven basic chakras in our body and it is believed that it is because of Goddess Quan Yin that people in China don't fall ill very often.

Intensely curious, I kept asking Dr Ashok many questions and he answered them all. He said there are few doctor's clinics in China.

"Since when have you prayed to Goddess Quan Yin?" I asked

"I have been praying since 2008 and I have been observing her birthday in India for the past two years," Dr Ashok said, adding, "Since here we do not celebrate the birthday of Gods and Goddesses, we call it the "prakat divas" or the day she 'appeared'. It is on March 19. Why don't you come too? There will be a lot of important people from across the city, including the Mayor. He is from the BJP.

He claimed, "I have invited MP Gen VK Singh, but since he is a minister, he may cancel at the last minute. Though if nothing is happening, there is 90 per cent chance he'll come."

He also said, "BSP legislators Prashant Choudhary and Hemlata Choudhary also use our healing services. So they will be there too. We have a bhandara since the food they serve in China will not work here."

I was amused at the thought that the food from China won't work here, but a Chinese Goddess might.

I asked Dr Ashok Vasudev, "So you are a healer?"

"Yes, I practice many kinds of healing. Business healing, corporate healing, relationship healing, area healing and political healing," he said.

I asked what area healing was. Dr Vasudev explained, "See, the National Capital Region or NCR is an area. I do area healing for the NCR so that there is no terror attack here and people can live in peace and prosper."

And political healing? "So if you are fighting an election, I can tell you sitting here in which area there are more negatives for you and I can heal that."

I wanted to laugh out loud, but did not as I wanted to know more. I thought, for instance, that if such healing worked, then the Prime Minister should have been told about Dr Vasudev by the Ghaziabad Mayor. Perhaps the doctor could've ensured that the Aam Aadmi Party was restricted to three seats in Delhi... and the BJP could have won 67 instead.

Dr Ashok Vasudev claimed that two AAP candidates did contact him for area healing and political healing. He also claimed that BSP and BJP leaders are constantly in touch with him.

He told me he visits China four times a year. There, he goes to the main temple of Goddess Quan Yin. People who seek her blessing from the main shrine give Dr Ashok their requests and he puts them at the temple.

"Going to China must be expensive?" I asked. "Oh, yes it is. That is why I charge one lakh rupees for each request. Most requests are political or related to business. Putting their requests at the deity's main shrine helps people get faster results."

"We also treat via prayer on phone. You have to visit the clinic once and then your healing continues on the phone. It is a 10-minute call, for which you have to pay Rs. 150. Depending on the ailment, treatments can last between 10 days to four months." Dr Ashok told me he had done a course in such healing from China and he runs a course here in India. The fee for a beginners' course is Rs. 11,000, for the intermediate level it is Rs. 51,000 and for the highest level, he charges Rs. 1,11,000. "I have clients and students the world over," Dr Ashok said.

"So, why it is this expensive?" I ask. " It isn't easy to decide how much energy to transmit to a patient... it has to be optimal so that the patient heals."

If after reading this you thing that I'm using Goddess Quan Yin as an excuse to promote Dr Vasudev, you would be mistaken. In this Delhi that we inhabit, I have seen the cult of Shanidev become popular and have documented this. I have studied how the popularity of Sai Bhajanshas transformed the nature of Bhagwati Jagarans.

Jagarans have become Mata ki Chowki and people are turning to Sai and Shani perhaps because their temples are less crowded. The result, Sai temples and Shani temples are now among the most crowded.

When the economies of many older temples in Delhi started getting affected, they made space in their compounds for Shanidev. Who knows - maybe Goddess Quan Yin might also find some space one day. Dr Vasudev does have plans of building a Quan Yin temple.

The festival of Goddess Quan Yin's birthday (prakat utsav) should be seen as a gimmick of packaging in the name of faith. At a time when mosques and churches are facing violent attacks, a Goddess from China seems to be welcomed in Ghaziabad. Isn't this interesting? Our politics may be fraught with double-speak but our faith remains welcoming and liberal.

We can do an online course on how to pray to Goddess Quan Yin, use that as a means to earn a livelihood, give false hope to people and maybe, who know, as many claim, liberate them from this cycle of birth and death. Maybe even get votes in elections from areas in which candidates have no hopes of winning.

That is why I showed an interest in Goddess Quan Yi's poster which may seem much more that what was warranted.

We may put our faith in any entity to fulfill our desires but at the same time, speak of destroying someone's place of worship only because adherents of that religion had once ruled over us. To those who look at that one chapter in history as our entire history, I say look at what is happening here and now. Go to Shani Mandirs and ask why they were opposed to begin with...

India may aspire to become greater than China, look at it as an enemy who is also a neighbor, or want to trump China in global trade, there is a Chinese goddess that is being welcomed in a this country with pomp. Comparing Goddess Quan Yi to Katyayani has Indianized her... Goddess Quan Yi we welcome you to this land with myriad religious diversities!

Another proof of Hindu CCultural links between Japan Tibet China !!!

The Goddess Tara, in the form we know Her, is first found in early Hinduism and later made the transition to Tibetan Buddhism. She is believed to be the most ancient form of Dea still worshipped today.


The Goddess Tara is by far the most popular deity in the Tibetan pantheon: so much so that some have suggested that Tibetan Buddhism should be called Taraism. She is worshipped throughout Tibet, Nepal and much of South-East Asia. She is less known in China and Japan, but in those areas the closely-related Quan Yin (Japanese Kannon) takes Her place.

I belive India - China - Japan and SCS countries should bond with our proud Ancient heritage !!! Buddhism is Indian ambassador for friendship and linking our people and civilisation !


Why India and Japan have mutual respect and lots of love between our people ....

Check this out it will blow your mind .

A few hundred Japanese, mostly middle-aged women, congregate in the courtyard of the Asakusa Shrine in central Tokyo. The five-storey pagoda is ornate and immaculate, not least because it was rebuilt in the 1970s. A bespectacled monk sits at a stall as worshippers paid a few yen to burn incense or ritually rinse hands with spring water.

This is the Shoten-cho part of the Japanese capital, famous for its many temples and shrines. Less known is that Shoten, the Noble God, is the Hindu deity Ganapati. And there are temples to Sarasvati and Shiva to be found amid these crowded streets. In the 1830s, say scholars, over 100 Ganapati temples could be found here.

Few Japanese and fewer Indians realize most deities worshipped in Japan are of Indian origin. “A majority of Japanese gods are actually Indian gods,” was a common line of the former Japanese Ambassador to India, Yasukuni Enoki. Hindu deities were imported wholesale from the 6th century onwards. Between “These Indian deities were introduced from China into Japan as Buddhist deities with Chinese names,” writes Sengaku Mayeda of Japan’s Eastern Institute. Thanks to the centuries and translation hurdles, the names and appearances of the gods have become localized to the point of anonymity.

An example is Shichifukujin, the popular Japanese sect of the Seven Deities of Fortune. This pantheon includes Sarasvati, Shiva and Vaisravana – under their Japanese names of, respectively, Benzaiten, Daikokuten and Bishamonten. Some names are direct Japanese translations. Daikokuten means “great head god”, a direct translation of one of Shiva’s names, Mahakala.

The absorption of Indian imports was probably eased by the common animist base of indigenous Shintoism.

Temples to Brahma, Kubera and other Hindu-derived deities are scattered all over Japan. The Shibamata and Katsushika wards of Tokyo have Indra temples. Many will show these gods on either side of a Buddha image. The suffix “ten” derives from deva and was once a way to denote a god with Indian origins.

Religion is a declining force in Japan. The country is half atheist. But, said one Japanese official when I asked him, troubled economic times has made the temple popular among the young again.

I was confused when I read "Quan Yin", in fact that is an old romanization.

"Guan Yin" is how it is written in Standard Chinese pinyin, and she is one of the most popular deities in China.

In fact I have a statue of her in my house. She is the bodhisattva of compassion.


----------


They even do a "Thousand hand Guan Yin dance", you can check out videos of it on YouTube.

now you know who is your real friend

 

[Srinivas]

The soul of India and china lies in the civilization they have, family values, dharmic philosophy they follow and the traditions and culture they proudly represent. These things should be kept in tact as the two countries progress in this world of globalisation.

 

[Don Badass]

this guy sounds like a major con artist and the people he gets to pray to this goddess are sheep lol

1 lakh ruppees per request? that's around 2 thousand dollars. paying to chant healing prayers over the phone? wtf lol

Do these people not realize that this chinese goddess virtually came from india?

Avalokiteśvara - look it up on wikipedia, that is the origin of this goddess.

they pray to a buddhist deity without knowing anything about it, really, aside from what shady *** doctor tells them.

 

[Ind4Ever]

Unbelievable !!!

Saraswati/Benzaiten: Another one of the Seven Lucky Gods. Her stringed instrument has switched nationalities, from an Indian veena to a Japanese biwa. She has retained her association with waters, music, language and knowledge. The emphasis on physical beauty seems to have heightened in the Japanese version. Overall she seems to have been transmitted to Japan without much major change. She has become the bodhisattva of entertainers, similar to how musicians worship Saraswati in India.[8] Shinto worshippers have also adopted her as a kami. [9]


Painting of Saraswati by Raja Ravi Varma (1884-1906.) Image from Wikimedia Commons


Painting of Benzaiten by Haritsu Ogawa (1663-1747.) Image from the blog Samuel Snoek-Brown

Kubera/Bishamon: In Japan Kubera does double duty as another one of the Seven Lucky Gods, and also as the Heavenly King of the North.Heavenly Kings are guardians of the cardinal directions, and Kubera is the only Hindu Deva to become one, the rest being novel Buddhist creations. In stark contrast to Kubera’s relatively mild portrayal in India and other parts of the Buddhist world, Bishamon is an enforcer of justice and a god of war. His prominence in Japan far outstrips his prominence in India. Statues of him are often used as a temple guardians, and his depictions are accordingly fearsome. It almost seems like Kubera and Shiva’s Daikoku-ten form switched roles when exported to Japan. Bishamon even holds a trident, reminiscent of Shiva. [10] [11]


Kubera, 1842. Image from Wikimedia Commons


Bishamon (Tamonten), 9th century, Toji Temple (Kyoto.) Image from onmarkproductions.com

(S) Indra/ (S) Shakra / (J) Taishakuten: He not changed much from the Indian Buddhist version (which has already expunged the Hindu association with warfare.) Like Indra and Shakra, Taishakuten is the lord of storms, commands the Four Heavenly Kings, and lives atop Mt. Meru. He has even retained his elephant mount, which I imagine must have been difficult for Japanese sculptors who had never seen a photograph of an elephant. As the king of weather, he is also the commander of the Four Heavenly Kings. He also contributed to the evolution of the thunder god Raijin which will be addressed later.[12] Japanese folk tales have cited Taishakuten and his wife (Shachi) as an example of the ideal romantic couple, much like Ram and Sita are in India. [13]


Indra, made in 1820-1825 in Tiruchchirappalli (Tamil Nadu.) Image from Wikimedia Commons

 

[Echo_419]

Even when I would participate in flame wars with Indians a while back, I never ever insulted their religion.

See the above pictures and you will understand why.

Flame wars are good I miss the old days when those were conducted on a daily basis

Another proof of Hindu CCultural links between Japan Tibet China !!!

The Goddess Tara, in the form we know Her, is first found in early Hinduism and later made the transition to Tibetan Buddhism. She is believed to be the most ancient form of Dea still worshipped today.


The Goddess Tara is by far the most popular deity in the Tibetan pantheon: so much so that some have suggested that Tibetan Buddhism should be called Taraism. She is worshipped throughout Tibet, Nepal and much of South-East Asia. She is less known in China and Japan, but in those areas the closely-related Quan Yin (Japanese Kannon) takes Her place.

I belive India - China - Japan and SCS countries should bond with our proud Ancient heritage !!! Buddhism is Indian ambassador for friendship and linking our people and civilisation !


Why India and Japan have mutual respect and lots of love between our people ....

Check this out it will blow your mind .

A few hundred Japanese, mostly middle-aged women, congregate in the courtyard of the Asakusa Shrine in central Tokyo. The five-storey pagoda is ornate and immaculate, not least because it was rebuilt in the 1970s. A bespectacled monk sits at a stall as worshippers paid a few yen to burn incense or ritually rinse hands with spring water.

This is the Shoten-cho part of the Japanese capital, famous for its many temples and shrines. Less known is that Shoten, the Noble God, is the Hindu deity Ganapati. And there are temples to Sarasvati and Shiva to be found amid these crowded streets. In the 1830s, say scholars, over 100 Ganapati temples could be found here.

Few Japanese and fewer Indians realize most deities worshipped in Japan are of Indian origin. “A majority of Japanese gods are actually Indian gods,” was a common line of the former Japanese Ambassador to India, Yasukuni Enoki. Hindu deities were imported wholesale from the 6th century onwards. Between “These Indian deities were introduced from China into Japan as Buddhist deities with Chinese names,” writes Sengaku Mayeda of Japan’s Eastern Institute. Thanks to the centuries and translation hurdles, the names and appearances of the gods have become localized to the point of anonymity.

An example is Shichifukujin, the popular Japanese sect of the Seven Deities of Fortune. This pantheon includes Sarasvati, Shiva and Vaisravana – under their Japanese names of, respectively, Benzaiten, Daikokuten and Bishamonten. Some names are direct Japanese translations. Daikokuten means “great head god”, a direct translation of one of Shiva’s names, Mahakala.

The absorption of Indian imports was probably eased by the common animist base of indigenous Shintoism.

Temples to Brahma, Kubera and other Hindu-derived deities are scattered all over Japan. The Shibamata and Katsushika wards of Tokyo have Indra temples. Many will show these gods on either side of a Buddha image. The suffix “ten” derives from deva and was once a way to denote a god with Indian origins.

Religion is a declining force in Japan. The country is half atheist. But, said one Japanese official when I asked him, troubled economic times has made the temple popular among the young again.



now you know who is your real friend

Don't get confused by what PDF or what Indian media says about Sino-Indian relations on ground we have very strong ties

 

[SpArK]

Enchanting.

I ve been reading a novel called secret of shambala these days and this is a coincidence.

Worth a read.

The Secret of Shambhala summary and reviews

 

[ito]

Don't get confused by what PDF or what Indian media says about Sino-Indian relations on ground we have very strong ties

I doubt it. There is no trust between India and China. But at the same time we recognize that we cannot afford enmity, hence a relation that has no strategic objective or goals

 

[scholseys]

This goddess is hotter than the Indian one with 10 hands.

 

[ito]

This goddess is hotter than the Indian one with 10 hands.

Both are same goddess...goddess of energy...they call by a different name and we call her differently

By the way goddess are revered not seen as hot or cold

 

[definitelynotIndian]

Both are same goddess...goddess of energy...they call by a different name and we call her differently

By the way goddess are revered not seen as hot or cold

that dude is a retard. Ignore him to save your brain cells lol