The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2
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Vishva Hindu Parishad<br />
ascetics. (<strong>The</strong> Rudra Sampraday is one<br />
<strong>of</strong> the four branches, “sampraday,” <strong>of</strong><br />
the Bairagi Naga ascetics, who are devotees<br />
(bhakta) <strong>of</strong> the god Vishnu; vaishnava<br />
refers to devotees <strong>of</strong> Vishnu.)<br />
Vishnuswami was an ascetic, whom<br />
some sources name as the guru <strong>of</strong> both<br />
Jnaneshvar and Namdev. As his name<br />
clearly shows, Vishnuswami was a<br />
Vaishnava, although other than this little<br />
is known about him. His ascetic line<br />
and its position as one <strong>of</strong> the four<br />
Vaishnava ascetic sampradays have<br />
been appropriated by the followers <strong>of</strong><br />
Vallabhacharya, whose Shuddadvaita,<br />
or “Pure Monism,” stresses the worship<br />
<strong>of</strong> Krishna, with Radha as his consort.<br />
Vishuddha Chakra<br />
In many schools <strong>of</strong> yoga, and in the<br />
secret, ritually based religious practice<br />
known as tantra, the vishuddha chakra<br />
is one <strong>of</strong> the six psychic centers<br />
(chakras) believed to exist in the subtle<br />
body. <strong>The</strong> subtle body is an alternate<br />
physiological system, believed to<br />
exist on a different plane than gross<br />
matter, but with certain correspondences<br />
to the material body. It is visualized<br />
as a set <strong>of</strong> six psychic centers,<br />
which are visualized as multipetaled<br />
lotus flowers running roughly along<br />
the course <strong>of</strong> the spine, connected by<br />
three vertical channels. Each <strong>of</strong> these<br />
chakras has important symbolic associations—with<br />
differing human capacities,<br />
with different subtle elements<br />
(tanmatras), and with different seed<br />
syllables (bijaksharas) formed from<br />
the letters <strong>of</strong> the Sanskrit alphabet,<br />
thus encompassing all sacred sound.<br />
Above and below these centers are the<br />
bodily abodes <strong>of</strong> Shiva (awareness)<br />
and Shakti (power), the two divine<br />
principles through which the entire<br />
universe has come into being. <strong>The</strong><br />
underlying assumption behind this<br />
concept <strong>of</strong> the subtle body is thus the<br />
homology <strong>of</strong> macrocosm and microcosm,<br />
an essential Hindu idea since<br />
the time <strong>of</strong> the mystical texts known as<br />
the Upanishads.<br />
<strong>The</strong> six chakras are traditionally enumerated<br />
from the bottom up, and the<br />
vishuddha chakra is the fifth. It is visualized<br />
as a sixteen-petaled lotus, located<br />
in the region <strong>of</strong> the throat. <strong>The</strong> petals<br />
each contain a seed syllable formed<br />
from a letter <strong>of</strong> the Sanskrit alphabet, in<br />
this case all sixteen <strong>of</strong> the Sanskrit vowels,<br />
the essential connecting elements<br />
for any meaningful speech. On a symbolic<br />
level, the vishuddha chakra is associated<br />
with the human capacity for<br />
speech and respiration. It is also identified<br />
as the bodily seat for the subtle element<br />
<strong>of</strong> space (akasha), through which<br />
hearing is believed to take place. For further<br />
information see Arthur Avalon (Sir<br />
John Woodr<strong>of</strong>fe), Shakti and Shakta,<br />
1978; and Philip S. Rawson, <strong>The</strong> Art <strong>of</strong><br />
Tantra, 1973.<br />
Vishva Hindu Parishad<br />
(“World Hindu Organization,” hereafter<br />
VHP) Modern Hindu religious organization<br />
affiliated with the Rashtriya<br />
Svayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a conservative<br />
Hindu organization whose express<br />
purpose is to provide the leadership<br />
cadre for a revitalized Hindu India. <strong>The</strong><br />
VHP was formed in 1964, when RSS leader<br />
Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar met in<br />
Bombay with a group <strong>of</strong> Hindu religious<br />
leaders. <strong>The</strong>ir immediate concern was<br />
the upcoming visit <strong>of</strong> Pope Paul VI to<br />
India, which they interpreted as a concealed<br />
attempt to convert Hindus to<br />
Christianity, and resolved to oppose by<br />
forming an organization dedicated to<br />
the propagation <strong>of</strong> Hinduism. For the<br />
next fifteen years, the VHP focused its<br />
attention on countering Christian missionary<br />
efforts in northeastern India,<br />
with little fanfare and little impact on<br />
the public consciousness.<br />
A watershed in the VHP’s public image<br />
came in 1982, following the conversion<br />
<strong>of</strong> some untouchables to Islam in the<br />
Tamil Nadu village <strong>of</strong> Minakshipuram.<br />
<strong>The</strong> VHP used this much-publicized<br />
event as evidence that Hindu identity<br />
was endangered and countered it by<br />
launching a series <strong>of</strong> innovative public<br />
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