Really Interesting Eagle Court

[Bob White]

We had an iteresting Eagle Court of Honor this afternoon for a fine young man in my son's troop. His family is from India and the invocation and benediction were done by a Hindu religious leader (sorry, I don't remember the correct term).

 

He chanted blessings from sanscript. It was very intersesting and quite beautiful. I spoke with him afterwards and he was fascinated by the comparisons between the Scout Oath and Law and the Hindu religion.

He spoke quite eloquently of the similarities in his address to the court. This is not a religion which we are often exposed to. I am contunially amazed at how much we are all alike and how small we learn our differences can be once we learn to listen to each other.

 

I am gathering information for him on the Hindu/Scouting religious recognitions.

 

A terrific young man as well. He has my son and several others re-invigorated about their work toward Eagle.

 

Just thought I'd share.

 

Bob White(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[Fat Old Guy]

With few exceptions, the major religions all preach "be nice and kind and good things will come to you." It is when the leaders start spinning things that things go awry.

 

Christ said, "be nice" so we had the Crusades and the Inquistion. Did you know that the Koran says to be nice to Christians and Jews? Sometimes you have to wonder if religious leaders have read their own books.

[acco40]

That's Sanskrit (not sanscript). A Hindu religious leader is sometimes referred to as a sadhu and more commonly as swami.

 

Can members of all castes become Eagle or just Brahmins?

[Bob White]

Thanks acco40, this is new territory for me. The family has been in this country for three generations so I do not know if they consider themselves part of a caste system any longer.

 

Dad spoke during the court about the dedication of the scout leaders and the character growth he watch in his son that he attributes to the scouting movement. A typical son, he started his speech off by saying "thanks mom". It was a very touching court really.

 

Bob White(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[NJCubScouter]

Acco, I have seen references to Hindu clerics as "priests." Or is that just an English-ism? (As is the word Hindu and its variants, I believe. I read somewhere that that word is not an English translation of what they call themselves, it is just what we call them.)

[acco40]

Believe me, I am not expert at all on Hinduism or Indian culture. My caste system comment was an attempt (albeit bad attempt) at humor.

 

It seems in all cultures, "thanking mom" is the number one priority!

 

The universal appeal of the Scouting "movement" is the universal acceptance of the Scout Oath and Law in its many (international) variations. It is a great program.

 

On that line, did anyone watch the Simpsons last night? Don't know if it was a repeat or not but it had many tongue in cheek references to scouting and other similar programs. One of the favorite gifts that I received from the youth was a "Scoutmaster Ned" action figure (Ned Flanders in a Scoutmaster Uniform). The youth and I shared a love of Scouting (and the Simpsons).

[wffarrell]

I love Houston. No, I haven't been out in the sun without my hat again. It's true. Houston is a great place to live because of its multicultural society. Our troop is very diverse representing at least 10 nationalities if not more. As SM I should know this stuff; if only I had another hour a week.

 

Our campout cooking themes have been a lot of fun. We've had Curry Weekend, Vegetarian Weekend, and, my personal favorite, Iron Chef where I pick the theme ingredient. At our Luau campout I chose pineapple. Several patrols brought fresh pineapple. I demonstrated several dishes including an invention: pineapple-jalapeno salsa that was a real hit. Or was it real hot? One or the other.

 

We've connected with a couple of troops in England through the Scout Net so we are sort of "twinned". We are hoping to establish links with troops in other countries, too.

 

And regarding what "caste" can make Eagle, well this is the USA and we don't recognize a caste system. The trail to Eagle is open to all those who can make the climb.