Tuesday, September 24, 2013

News from Hindu Press International-10



















News from Hindu Press International 





Posted on 2010/5/7 7:03:01 ( 551 reads )
INDIA, April 22, 2010: The 7-ft murti of Lord Anjaneya (a name of Hanuman) at the famous Anjaneyar Ashram in Salem now has a golden vimana. The first of its kind for the God, the Swarna Vimana was consecrated recently. The beautiful ashram also has sannidhis for Sri Rama, Sakkarathazhwar, the 13 Azhwars, and Sri Ramanuja and Desikan.

The ashram was established in 1976 in Vijayaraghavan Nagar in Jagir Ammapalayam village by S. Vijayaraghavan and Vanavaasi Srinivasan along with devotees. The area which once wore a deserted look, was transformed into an idyllic setting thanks to the efforts of R. Nagarajan, a social worker and spiritual speaker.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/7 7:02:01 ( 324 reads )
SAN FRANCISCO, May 8, 2010: (by Vamsee Juluri) I wonder if the followers of any other faith in America have to live with the absurdity of hearing constantly that their religion does not exist. Add to that an irony: you see images from the religion that supposedly does not exist showing up everywhere, as ornaments, as New Age paraphernalia, and, insultingly, even on toilet seats. Worse, there's an exception to the general denial of your religion: when it does get talked about, it is only to get blamed as the sole cause of every evil in the land of your birth.

That is how it feels as a Hindu in America today, and that is the right context to see the debate between Dr. Aseem Shukla and Dr. Deepak Chopra.

The issue is not whether Hindus "own" Yoga as much as the growing denial of Hinduism in American media and intellectual culture. This denial exists in many forms; in bookstores, where we find shelves for Islam and Christianity but not for Hinduism, in academic writing, where the word Hindu is quote-marked into high degrees of concerned irony to imply that it is nothing more than a fabrication of fascist fundamentalists, and of course, in the booming new age culture of America where "Namastes" are heard but never the word "Hindu."

Like many Hindus, I believe in the plurality of Hinduism and its basic belief that all faiths lead to God. But as an academic who studies the causes and consequences of media misrepresentation, I feel that there is a growing culture of Hindu denial. Curiously, this culture has found its sustenance from opposite ends of the American political-intellectual spectrum. Religious conservatives condemn Hinduism as paganism, much as the first colonizers did when they set forth to save us. But what is new is that enlightened New Age liberals, American and South Asian, shun its mention as if every person who identifies as Hindu is a fundamentalist.

The reasons for this response lie partly in recent Indian politics. But what these debates often forget is the American context. America sees the world sharply in terms of religious identity (unlike in India where other identities also matter). It saw more Hinduness in Indian immigrants than even we ever did, and not always kindly.

Many great Hindu spiritual leaders have, in the best spirit of their faith, rarely enjoined the use of the term "Hindu." However, we must also not unwittingly de-Hinduize them. It has become fashionable to "borrow" from one of Hinduism's many traditions and then disavow it altogether, as if Hinduism only refers to the residue of undesirable stuff that got added onto some pristine preexisting spiritual condition like the practice of Yoga.

It is neither accurate nor ethical to speak of Hinduism as a reality only when criticizing it while denying its existence altogether when enjoying or exploiting, as the case may be, its gifts of wisdom to the world.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/7 7:01:01 ( 376 reads )
Source: HPI
KAPAA, HI, May 8, 2010: A writer, photographer and mother of three in Mauritius is inspired to bring some of the great modern stories about Hinduism into the pages of Hinduism Today magazine. Kavita Mardeemootoo is inviting all HPI readers (and their families and friends) to send her your testimonies and tales. She will do all the editing and preparations for the editors in Hawaii. All you have to do is share. Here is Kavita's invitation in her own words:

"We all need a little help as we stumble through life's experiences. We can help each other find strength through sharing stories that have secured our own faith. Maybe there is a reasoning to your thoughts that help you take on each challenge. Why do you believe what you believe? What is your daily mantra or yoga practice? How has dharma guided you through difficult times? By sharing your favorite ideas, beliefs and stories you are helping others to become stronger, to understand better and to dance easier to the drums of Siva's cosmic dance."

Please send your testimonies to Kavita at
hinduexperience@yahoo.com (text and photos are welcome).
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/7 7:00:01 ( 439 reads )
In the whole world there is no study so beneficial and so elevating as that of the Upanishads. It has been the solace of my life--it will be the solace of my death.
   Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), German philosopher and writer.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/6 7:03:01 ( 437 reads )
NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 1, 2010: With an aim to ensure that ayurveda is accessible to the rural community, especially women, efforts are being made to make the discipline a part of primary health centres and create awareness about it.

A new program has been created to clear myths and generate suggestions for policy formulations for incorporating ayurveda in National Rural Healthcare systems for women.

"We propose to understand the science and logic behind traditional lifestyles and know the different options available for affordable and alternative means of good health for our rural populace," an NGO participating in a seminar on ayurveda in New Delhi said.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/6 7:02:01 ( 424 reads )
UNITED KINGDOM, May 3, 2010: A taste of India came to south Essex when more than 1,500 worshippers came to a Hindu festival. The miserable weather failed to dampen the spirits of the festival-goers who flocked to East Beach in Shoebury.

They braved the wind and rain for the Purshottum Maas festival, where they enjoyed folk dancing, traditional music and Indian food. It is the first time the festival, which takes place every three years, has been held in the U.K. on such a big scale.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/6 7:01:01 ( 400 reads )
HARIDWAR, INDIA, April 19, 2010: [HPI note: This is an article in two parts.]

The advertisement, in Sanskrit, was small, tossed to the extreme right of the newspaper page: "Sanskrit-dwitiyarajbhashayuktam deshashya prathamrajyam Uttarakhandam" (Uttarakhand is India's first state to have Sanskrit as its second official language).

The language of ancient Indian religious texts and epics is being revived and popularized, thanks to bipartisan efforts in Uttarakhand. Some schools and universities are taking Sanskrit beyond purely scriptural relevance to address a variety of modern subjects.

In January, the Uttarakhand government adopted Sanskrit as the second official language--Hindi remains the first--after the state legislature cast a unanimous vote. Mahavir Agrawal, vice-chairman of the Uttaranchal Sanskrit Academy (USA), leans forward in his chair to enunciate, first, the visual difference on the newspaper page. On the left page are news reports, all in English, interspersed with advertisements in the same language. On the right, the Sanskrit ad. "How often do you see an advertisement in Sanskrit in the 'English-and-Hindi' media? I have taught for decades in the language, but haven't seen anything like this." he says.

The Uttaranchal Sanskrit Academy also helps set up Sanskrit libraries, collection centres for manuscripts, and edits and publishes rare manuscripts and books in the language in collaboration with the National Mission for Manuscripts, a central body under the ministry of tourism and culture in New Delhi for creating a national database of manuscripts.

The Indian Constitution lists Sanskrit as an official language under its eighth schedule, along with 22 other languages, including Maithili, Tamil, Oriya and Punjabi, though most states use Hindi, English, Urdu or the respective regional languages as their first or second official languages.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/6 7:00:01 ( 435 reads )
In the garden of the soul, plant the seed of the Word (Lord's Name). Water the soil with love and humility and reap the fruits of Divinity.
   Guru Granth Sahib
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/3 7:04:01 ( 440 reads )
NEPAL, April 28, 2010: In Nepal, as law makers approach the May 28 deadline for completing a draft of a new constitution, tensions increase over whether the country will remain a secular state. In 2006, Parliament passed a resolution providing that the country would no longer formally be known as a Hindu nation.

Last week, Christians rallied in Kathmandu demanding that the new constitution ensure their rights by keeping Nepal as a secular state. Cath News India reports that Christians are pressing for provisions in the constitution that protect their right to form Christian NGOs and church trusts easily. However yesterday's London Guardian reports that there are increasing pressures, fueled by Hindu nationalists in India, to once again declare Nepal a Hindu state.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/3 7:03:01 ( 404 reads )
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, April 28, 2010: The first ever Hinduism Summit (Hindu Dharmasabha) in Australia, will be held on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Trutiya, 5112 ( May 16, 2010) at the Shirdi Sai Baba Temple, Camberwell, Melbourne. The Hinduism Summit will be held by the Forum for Hindu Awakening (FHA) and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), with support from noteworthy Hindu and spiritual organizations and leaders from Australia. This Summit welcomes anyone and everyone interested in understanding, living and preserving Hinduism.

This Hinduism Summit follows the success of recent similar summits held in the last half of 2009 by FHA in Virginia, USA and jointly with HJS in New Jersey, USA and London, UK. The event will be webcast live on FHA and HJS websites.

Among the saints blessing the event are: Her Holiness Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma) of Ammachi, His Holiness Vaishnavacharya Goswami Shri Dwarkeshlalji Mahodaya, Pujya Guruji Shri Ashwinkumar Pathak of Jai Shree Ram Sundarkand, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Jayendra Saraswati of Kanchi Kamkoti Peeth, His Holiness Pande Maharaj of Sanatan Sanstha, and His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of The Art of Living International Center.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/3 7:02:01 ( 388 reads )
NEW DELHI, INDIA, April 25, 2010: As a first step in implementation of the amended Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 2010, the government has come up with draft rules for the proposed National Monument Authority.

The proposed body will work towards categorization and classification of monuments protected by the ASI. It would also be the ultimate authority to grant permissions related to by-laws for construction in Centrally-protected monuments.


Posted on 2010/5/14 7:01:01 ( 367 reads )
NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 3, 2010: India has said that at the Commonwealth Games mega sports meet in New Delhi in October where athletes from 71 nations are scheduled to participate, no beef will be served but instead the participants will be provided with nutritious meals and snacks.

"Commonwealth Games Federation's requirement from the organizing committee is to provide to a quality 24 hour catering service offering nutritious meals and snacks to the athletes and their team officials during Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010, taking into consideration cultural dietary requirements and the need for variety and rotation of menus," the games organizers maintained. The slaughtering of cows is banned in most Indian states.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/14 7:00:01 ( 454 reads )
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
   Mark Twain (1835-1910)
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/11 7:03:01 ( 427 reads )
LIVERMORE, CA, USA, May 11, 2010: Following a turbulent public hearing that raised questions about whether certain types of land use restrictions impede religious practices, the Livermore City Council voted 4-1 Monday to allow the Shiva-Vishnu Hindu Temple to enlarge its facilities.

The council's approval of the 31,000-square-foot assembly hall expansion and new multipurpose and administration buildings came with a long list of conditions -- including a rule barring the temple from having any amplified music, prayer or other sound outdoors.

The condition was included even after the city attorney warned it may be regarded as a hindrance to religious expression.
"It could potentially (be viewed) as discriminating" against the temple, City Attorney John Pomidor said.

More than 240 people attended the nearly five-hour meeting, forcing city officials to open a second room in the multiservice center next door to the council chamber.

On one side of the issue were neighbors who feared the project would worsen existing traffic, noise, vermin, pollution and other problems they have long claimed stem from the temple. In hundreds of letters to the city, opponents said the 27-year-old Shiva-Vishnu has had a poor track record with neighbors, often failing to respond to their concerns.

The temple, which was incorporated in the early 1980s when there were fewer houses around it, has grown from several hundred devotees to a regional destination. Its largest events can draw up to 10,000, though typically not all at once.

Originally, a 70,000-square-foot expansion was planned, but neighbors' complaints and economic factors led temple leaders to scale down the project. Shiva-Vishnu officials say more than $1 million has been spent trying to appease the city and neighbors; the temple conducted two traffic studies, agreed to relocate the kitchen, planned curbside improvements and has taken other mitigation measures.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/11 7:02:01 ( 472 reads )
MURSHIDABAD, INDIA, May 2, 2010: A dirty little secret that most Indian politicians don't discuss is the thriving cow smuggling trade from their Hindu-majority nation, home of the sacred cow, to Muslim-majority Bangladesh, where many people enjoy a good steak.

India has outlawed cattle exports, but that hasn't prevented well-organized traffickers from herding millions of the unlucky beasts each year onto trains and trucks, injecting them with drugs on arrival so they walk faster, then forcing them to ford rivers and lumber into slaughterhouses immediately across the border. Most cows pass through West Bengal state, which shares a 1,300-mile border with Bangladesh.

Estimates suggest 1.5 million cows, valued at up to $500 million, are smuggled annually, providing more than half the beef consumed in Bangladesh. The cows come from as far as Rajasthan, about 1,000 miles away. Many trade hands several times en route. The profits can be significant. A $100 medium-size cow in Jharkhand is worth nearly double that in West Bengal and about $350 in Bangladesh.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/11 7:01:01 ( 412 reads )
Source: www.ft.com
LONDON, UK, April 24, 2010: This May, a plethora of Indian designers will land in London for Indian Premier London Fashion Week, the first event of its kind, to introduce their designs to London's fashion buyers.Their timing couldn't be better, for western catwalks and red carpets are currently replete with references to India's celebrated sartorial trademark: the sari.

When Gwyneth Paltrow took to the red carpet in March for an awards ceremony, her look paid homage to the key sari motifs of asymmetry, subtle draping and intricate embroidery. Elizabeth Hurley, actress, model and wife of Indian textile heir Arun Nayar, chose to wear a sari at this year's Love Ball during London fashion week. Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai has worn her national dress not only on home territory but also at a recent appearance on the US television show Oprah.

On the spring/summer catwalk the references are equally noteworthy. Carolina Herrera, Kenzo, and Chanel couture featured vivid colors typical of Indian fabrics, as well as one-shoulder styles. Then there was Amanda Wakeley: "I was passionately inspired by traditionally dressed Indian men and women," says the British designer of her spring/summer 2010 collection. "The way the women wear their saris with such creative ease; the soft silhouette; the flowing fabric; the layering of textures and flashes of embellishment."
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/11 7:00:01 ( 415 reads )
People rarely disclose their character so clearly as when they describe someone else's.
   Anonymous
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/10 7:04:01 ( 450 reads )
KANSAS CITY, U.S., May 7, 2010: The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Kansas City is holding a special spiritual ceremony, "World Peace Maha Yagna," through May 16 at the temple. An elaborate fire pit has been created, and each day during the ceremony, priests make offerings of grain, fruit and other items to the fire God while chanting mantras from the Vedas.

Maha Yagna is performed on a grand scale, where the whole community takes part in seeking peace and harmony for the common good of humanity, said Debabrata Bhaduri, a member of the temple board.

"Yagna is a Sanskrit word derived from the root 'yaj,' which has a three-fold meaning: worship, unity and charity," said Arvind Khetia, a member of the Hindu community. "As the Yagna begins, fire is ignited, and the mantra is chanted, 'Into you I place fire that consumes the oblation that will be offered, so that everywhere all who are sustained by food are nourished and live in happiness' " he explains.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/10 7:03:01 ( 385 reads )
USA, May 8, 2010: Patheos.com, a website created to foster global dialogue about religion and spirituality and to explore and experience the world's beliefs, has now a Hindu Portal. You can visit it above and read about your faith and participate in many ways.

Patheos is calling for Hindu bloggers who can write articulate and well-informed posts about Hinduism. The website has a group blog for each tradition and is looking for contributors to the Hindu portal. Those interested can e-mail the editor at
HinduPortal@Patheos.com
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/10 7:02:01 ( 374 reads )
INDIA, May 8, 2010: The national Indian government is pondering if it will include caste in the national census after a gap of 79 years, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised a decision soon. "I am aware of the views of the Members of Parliament belonging to all sections. I assure you that the cabinet will take a decision shortly," Singh said in a brief statement in the house on Friday.

The latest move concludes a serious onslaught by backward leaders, who brought Parliament to a halt over the last few days to demand that the census include caste as a criterion in the survey. The demand picked momentum through the week, with an across-the-board consensus in its favor and the mood reflected in the union cabinet on Wednesday, when a large section of ministers reportedly argued in favor of such a headcount.

Inclusion of caste in the census would mark a watershed in independent India, where a conscious decision was taken not to enumerate castes except scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/10 7:01:01 ( 401 reads )
DYERSBURG, TN, USA, May 3, 2010: For 15 years, Eddie Anderson, a farmer, has been a strict adherent of no-till agriculture, an environmentally friendly technique that all but eliminates plowing to curb erosion and the harmful runoff of fertilizers and pesticides. But not this year. On a recent afternoon here, Mr. Anderson watched as tractors crisscrossed a rolling field -- plowing and mixing herbicides into the soil to kill weeds where soybeans will soon be planted.

Just as the heavy use of antibiotics contributed to the rise of drug-resistant supergerms, American farmers' near-ubiquitous use of the weedkiller Roundup has led to the rapid growth of tenacious new superweeds. To fight them, Mr. Anderson and farmers throughout the East, Midwest and South are being forced to spray fields with more toxic herbicides, pull weeds by hand and return to more labor-intensive methods like regular plowing. "We're back to where we were 20 years ago," said Mr. Anderson.

Farm experts say that such efforts could lead to higher food prices, lower crop yields, rising farm costs and more pollution of land and water. "It is the single largest threat to production agriculture that we have ever seen," said Andrew Wargo III, the president of the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts.

The superweeds could temper American agriculture's enthusiasm for some genetically modified crops. Soybeans, corn and cotton that are engineered to survive spraying with Roundup have become standard in American fields. However, if Roundup doesn't kill the weeds, farmers have little incentive to spend the extra money for the special seeds. Roundup -- originally made by Monsanto but now also sold by others under the generic name glyphosate -- has been little short of a miracle chemical for farmers. It kills a broad spectrum of weeds, is easy and safe to work with, and breaks down quickly, reducing its environmental impact.

Monsanto created its brand of Roundup Ready crops that were genetically modified to tolerate the chemical, allowing farmers to spray their fields to kill the weeds while leaving the crop unharmed. Today, Roundup Ready crops account for about 90 percent of the soybeans and 70 percent of the corn and cotton grown in the United States. If frequent plowing becomes necessary again, "that is certainly a major concern for our environment," Ken Smith, a weed scientist at the University of Arkansas, said. In addition, some critics of genetically engineered crops say that the use of extra herbicides, including some old ones that are less environmentally tolerable than Roundup, belies the claims made by the biotechnology industry that its crops would be better for the environment.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/10 7:00:01 ( 367 reads )
Whenever I have read any part of the Vedas, I have felt that some unearthly and unknown light illuminated me. In the greatest teachings of the Vedas, there is no touch of sectarianism. It is of all ages, climes and nationalities and the royal road for the attainment of the Great Knowledge.
   Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American naturalist, philosopher and writer
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/9 7:03:01 ( 372 reads )
WASHINGTON, DC, May 8, 2010: HAF is excited to launch its second annual NextGen Essay Contest, open to all writers between the ages of 17 and 27 years. The theme this year is, "How do you live your Hindu identity differently from how your parents live theirs?"

As the Foundation continues its advocacy efforts, it is also aware of the need to reach out to the future of Hindu American leadership. The annual NextGen Essay Contest aims to engage this generation by urging them to focus on their Hindu identity.

Some more information about this year's topic: The beauty of Hinduism, and a key reason for its longevity as a world religion, is its ability to embrace modernity. While the philosophy of Hinduism is ever-relevant, the manner in how it is applied to everyday life continues to change with each generation. HAF wants to know the difference between your application of Hindu philosophy to daily life and your parents' application.

Due Date: Monday, June 14, 2010 (11:59pm EST) Email address for submissions:
essay@hafsite.org

For details about the submissions, including information about the prizes, please click on the source, above. Entries will be judged on the depth of their content and the skill with which they are written.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/9 7:02:01 ( 373 reads )
Source: pib.nic.in
INDIA, May 7, 2010: The three National Academies (Sangeet Natak, Sahitya and Lalit Kala) and the Ministry of Culture are launching the National Celebrations on the 150th year of Rabindranath Tagore, with a three-day event entitled Rabindra Pranati. This will take place from 7th to 9th May 2010 in New Delhi.

Rabindranath's genius expressed itself in the entire array of the arts that are represented by the three National Academies, established by the Government in the mid-1950s. It is also appropriate that this year-long commemoration of Rabindranath Tagore commences at Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi, which itself was built on the occasion of the Tagore Centenary in 1961, to house the Academies.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/9 7:01:01 ( 364 reads )
UNITED KINGDOM, May 2010: Indian children could soon be wearing canvas shoes to school rather than the heavy leather brogues, widely viewed as relics from the British colonial era. Indian politician Maneka Gandhi is campaigning to ban the shoes as they are "unhealthy and uncomfortable" and "destroying" the feet of school-goers.

"Leather shoes are really bad for our children," news agency AFP quoted Ms. Gandhi, daughter-in-law of former Indian premier Indira Gandhi and the widow of her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi. These shoes, originally from Ireland and Scotland, were suitable for cold climates and not for the heat of India, she added.

Last year, Ms Gandhi wrote to the human resource development ministry protesting against the use of leather shoes which are mandatory for students in most schools in India. The ministry then asked school boards for their opinion. According to reports, the two main boards - Central Board of School Education (CBSE) and Indian Council for Secondary Education (ICSE) - have responded favorably to the suggestion.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/9 7:00:01 ( 413 reads )
Remember, when you find yourself arguing with a fool, he is doing the same thing.
   Anonymous



Posted on 2010/5/17 7:01:01 ( 405 reads )
Source: pib.nic.in
NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 9, 2010: The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated "The Master's Strokes: Art of Rabindranath Tagore" exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi today, honoring the 150th Birth Anniversary of one of the world's foremost cultural personalities.

Rabindranath Tagore's genius as a poet, dramatist, philosopher, educationist and composer won him universal acclaim. His genius as a painter is however less well known, perhaps because he began painting when he was well into his 60s. I am thus happy that the National Gallery of Modern Art is commencing our national celebrations by showcasing some of these precious contributions of this versatile genius to the world of Indian art," said Dr. Singh.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/17 7:00:01 ( 426 reads )
What I feel right now is just bliss. Daily life tires the soul as well as the body. This one day, this one bath, is like a new birth for my soul.
   Vivek Ananda Shastri, 28, teacher, after bathing at the January 2001 Kumbha Mela
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/16 7:04:01 ( 350 reads )
AHMEDABAD, INDIA, May 10, 2010: An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period. Prahlad Jani spent a fortnight in a hospital in the western India state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed circuit television. During the period, he neither ate nor drank and did not go to the toilet.

The long-haired and bearded yogi was sealed in a hospital in the city of Ahmedabad in a study initiated by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the state defense and military research institute. The DRDO hopes that the findings, set to be released in greater detail in several months, could help soldiers survive without food and drink, assist astronauts or even save the lives of people trapped in natural disasters.

"We still do not know how he survives," neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters after the end of the experiment. "It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is." "If Jani does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one," said Shah. "As medical practitioners we cannot shut our eyes to possibilities, to a source of energy other than calories."

Jani has since returned to his village near Ambaji in northern Gujarat where he will resume his routine of yoga and meditation. He says that he was blessed by a goddess at a young age, which gave him special powers.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/16 7:03:01 ( 426 reads )
NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 11, 2010: A 600-year-old statue of Lord Nataraja, estimated to be worth around US$1 million in the international market, was seized by the police in south district from two persons who were allegedly trying to sell it. The accused were arrested near Vikas Sadan in Kotla Mubarakpur on Sunday.

"We have seized the antique statue of Lord Nataraja and a car in which the accused were moving around, hoping to find a customer," said DCP Dhaliwal. Police said the 19-inches long murti weighs 34 lbs and is made of "ashtadhatu" (eight metals). Experts at Archaeological Survey of India have valued it at approximately US$1 million.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/16 7:02:01 ( 433 reads )
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, May 11, 2010: More than 20,000 Hindus are expected to attend the consecration ceremony of Sri Maha Mariam man Temple in Malaysia. The 105-year-old temple in Puchong, a suburb, is being reconstructed at a cost of more than US$885,000.

Temple chairman A. Sevaguru said preparations were being undertaken to ensure the temple would be ready by May 23. He said the temple's steeple was 70-foot tall and devotees could see it from within the temple through a glass ceiling. Sevaguru said there would be six prayer sessions for the devotees to place gold and silver rice in the inner sanctum and an anointment ceremony would be a rare opportunity accorded to devotees. The temple was originally set up by South Indian contract laborers brought here by the British in 1905.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/16 7:01:01 ( 358 reads )
INDIA, May 4, 2010: Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati stands on the banks of the Ganges, India's holiest river, urging his fellow Hindu priests to oppose hydropower dams the nation needs to curb blackouts and drive economic growth. "Without electricity, you can survive. One can't survive without water," Saraswati tells a gathering of holy men in the Himalayan foothills where the Kumbha Mela, a Hindu festival that draws more than 50 million devotees, is entering its final days. "You cannot shackle the Ganges and call it development."

Opposition from Hindu groups helped halt two dams on tributaries of the Ganges in March and the government this month is set to decide whether to complete a barrage that's part of a plan to add 15,600 megawatts of hydropower by 2012. The energy shortfall forces manufacturers including Tata Motors Ltd. and Bajaj Auto Ltd., Nissan Motor Co.'s Indian partner, to rely on back-up generators to build cars and bikes. "The power situation in India is a disaster," said Pradeep Shrivastava, president of engineering at Pune-based Bajaj, which operates a motorbike factory in northern Uttarakhand state where the Ganges flows onto the Indian plains. "We are dependent on our internal generation."

The river also helps irrigate India's largest wheat and second-biggest sugar producing state, Uttar Pradesh, while West Bengal, the last province before the Ganges flows into its delta in Bangladesh, is the nation's No. 1 rice grower. The World Bank forecasts that demand for water in India will exceed available sources by 2050.

The two dams in Uttarakhand, 125 miles from New Delhi, were scrapped on March 25 out of what Jairam Ramesh, the environment minister, said was "respect for sentiments of faith and culture" and possible ecological damage as the river level falls. There's a new sensitivity in government to dams' "environmental impact, and displacement and rehabilitation of people," said Ashok Jaitly, director of the water resources division at New Delhi-based The Energy Resources Institute, which researches issues of sustainable development.

"If you want to have a manufacturing base you need surplus power," said V. Balakrishnan, chief financial officer of Infosys Technologies Ltd., India's second-largest software exporter.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/16 7:00:01 ( 441 reads )
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
   Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
No comment


Posted on 2010/5/15 7:04:01 ( 0 reads )
Source:
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/15 7:03:01 ( 384 reads )
UNITED STATES, May 5, 2010: Last year, the Hindu American Foundation called the Yoga Journal magazine to question why it rarely writes the term "Hinduism" when describing the Bhagavad Gita or the Vedas. "Honestly, Hinduism just has too much baggage," said the receptionist who answered the phone, confirming our suspicion: Yoga Journal was intentionally avoiding mention of "Hinduism" or "Hindu" in its publications.

Yoga Journal is not alone. More often than not, many Western yoga practitioners are aghast at the very suggestion that the cherished "spiritual practice" of yoga is firmly grounded in Hindu philosophy. Despite asanas named after Hindu Gods or the shared goal of moksha , yoga and Hinduism are consistently and systematically being delinked.

HAF is proud to launch our Take Back Yoga campaign - our effort to "Bring to light Yoga's Hindu root -- a relinking, so to speak. Visit the link above (at source) and click on the "Take Back Yoga" button on HAF's homepage, and you'll find HAF's official statement letters. You will also find what the Washington Post called The Great Yoga Debate, an exchange about Dr. Aseem Shukla and Deepak Chopra that was also the theme for an opinion piece in a recent issue of Newsweek.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/15 7:02:01 ( 409 reads )
VIETNAM, May 11, 2010: No one knows exactly when the Indian Goddess temple called Mariamman Temple was built in Ho Chi Minh City, but people there say it was first erected in the late 19th century by traders from Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India. The main Goddess of this temple is Mariamman, the main South Indian mother Goddess who is predominant in most rural areas of Tamil Nadu and other southern states of this country.

The Hindu Temple serves Indian families who live in the city, but most of the devotees worshiping Her are actually Saigonese non-Hindus who believe in the power of Mariamman. The temple is regarded as a holy site and attracts thousands of people every week.

Surrounding the outer walls of the temple are about twenty statues of Gods such as Mahavishinu, Kaliyamman, Birman and Paramasivam. Also in District 1, there are two other Hindu Temples, Sri Thendayutthapani Temple and Sunbramaniar Temple. These endow the city with Indian features and enrich the spiritual life of Saigonese.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/15 7:01:01 ( 383 reads )
INDIA, May 4, 2010: Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati stands on the banks of the Ganges, India's holiest river, urging his fellow Hindu priests to oppose hydropower dams the nation needs to curb blackouts and drive economic growth. "Without electricity, you can survive. One can't survive without water," Saraswati tells a gathering of holy men in the Himalayan foothills where the Kumbha Mela, a Hindu festival that draws more than 50 million devotees, is entering its final days. "You cannot shackle the Ganges and call it development."

Opposition from Hindu groups helped halt two dams on tributaries of the Ganges in March and the government this month is set to decide whether to complete a barrage that's part of a plan to add 15,600 megawatts of hydropower by 2012. The energy shortfall forces manufacturers including Tata Motors Ltd. and Bajaj Auto Ltd., Nissan Motor Co.'s Indian partner, to rely on back-up generators to build cars and bikes. "The power situation in India is a disaster," said Pradeep Shrivastava, president of engineering at Pune-based Bajaj, which operates a motorbike factory in northern Uttarakhand state where the Ganges flows onto the Indian plains. "We are dependent on our internal generation."

The river also helps irrigate India's largest wheat and second-biggest sugar producing state, Uttar Pradesh, while West Bengal, the last province before the Ganges flows into its delta in Bangladesh, is the nation's No. 1 rice grower. The World Bank forecasts that demand for water in India will exceed available sources by 2050.

The two dams in Uttarakhand, 125 miles from New Delhi, were scrapped on March 25 out of what Jairam Ramesh, the environment minister, said was "respect for sentiments of faith and culture" and possible ecological damage as the river level falls. There's a new sensitivity in government to dams' "environmental impact, and displacement and rehabilitation of people," said Ashok Jaitly, director of the water resources division at New Delhi-based The Energy Resources Institute, which researches issues of sustainable development.

"If you want to have a manufacturing base you need surplus power," said V. Balakrishnan, chief financial officer of Infosys Technologies Ltd., India's second-largest software exporter.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/15 7:00:01 ( 397 reads )
If our senses conveyed the whole truth to us, we would see the Earth as rivers and glaciers of electrons, each speck of dust as a rolling mass of light.
   Paramahansa Yogananda
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/14 7:04:01 ( 352 reads )
TIRUPATI, INDIA, May 17, 2010: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) board, headed by D.K. Audikesavulu Naidu, wanted to gold-plate the walls of the sanctum sanctorum, measuring 10,000 square feet, but the issue went to the courts amid controversy.

Estimated to cost US$22 million and requiring over 440 lbs. of gold, the project was formally launched in 2008 by then chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. It was first debated in 2005 by the TTD, with Audikesavulu saying the gold cover would enhance the 'glory' of the temple and put it on par with the Golden Temple, Amritsar.

For devotees who donated two pounds of gold or above, incentives like concessions in darshan and other special benefits were offered. Despite several objections from archaeologists and heritage conservationists, the TTD chairman stayed firm. Donations for the gold-plating project began pouring in. About 175 lbs of gold and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been collected so far.

Last April 14 retired bureaucrats (who had served stints at the temple) wrote to CM K. Rosaiah and the governor to ask the TTD not to pursue the project. The primary worry here is that the gold-plating would obscure invaluable heritage in terms of the wall inscriptions, dating from the 10th to the 18th century. These are mostly in Tamil, apart from Telugu and Devanagari. "They contain epigraphs which throw light on social aspects, the rural economy, the traditions of the Cholas, Pallavas, Yadavas and the Vijayanagara kings, mainly Krishnadevaraya," says Prof Kirankanth Chowdary of the department of ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology, SV University, Tirupati. The TTD plan was to build copper frameworks a few inches from the wall on which sheets would be attached. "The sheets will prevent light and air from falling on the granite walls, spurring a chemical reaction which will damage the walls," says Chowdary.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/14 7:03:01 ( 438 reads )
TRINIDAD/TOBAGO, April 28, 2010: The Hindu Monkey God, Lord Hanuman, is considered the chief servant of mankind, according to Pundit Ramesh Tiwari. At the annual Lord Hanuman Jayanti gathering at the Edinburgh Hindu Temple, Hindus begged Him to end the long draught that has ailed this small nation.

"We pray for rains to come and nourish Mother Earth so that our reservoirs will be filled to capacity and the drought will end, that our food crops and other agricultural production will be regenerated," the priest said. "We need water to survive. Man cannot create water. Lord Hanuman is the Wind God which brings rain for all of mankind everywhere

Hundreds of devotees from all parts of the country came and joined in devotion to Lord Hanuman. Pundit Seereeram Maharaj of the Shiva Kailash Hindu Mandir, told his audience, "The whole issue of climate control now faces all mankind and all of us, regardless of our religions, pray for our nation and the world's climate," he said.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/14 7:02:01 ( 0 reads )
INDIA, May 5, 2010: The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is coordinating the Festival of India in China as well as the Festival of India in France called Namaste France, in 2010-11. The Festival of India in China will take place from April to October, 2010, while the "Namaste France" Festival covers the period between April 2010 and - May 2011.

In the last three years, ICCR has organized various Festivals including the India-Japan Friendship Year, Festival of India in Israel, Festival of India in Syria, Days of Indian Culture in Egypt, Festival of India in The Netherlands, Festival of India in Hungary, and the Year of India in Russia.

Due to the emergence of India as a major economic and knowledge hub, interest in and curiosity about Indian Culture and civilization has been consistently increasing. Indian Festivals abroad help create awareness about India, its culture, history, architecture, ethos and evolution, leading to a substantial increase in tourism, goodwill and even commercial interaction for the country. It is ICCR's endeavor to showcase diverse forms of Indian dance, music and theatre in the course of these two major Festivals and to organize talks and seminars on Indian themes.




Posted on 2010/5/22 7:01:01 ( 914 reads )
BARI, ITALY, April 28, 2010: The coast of Torre a Mare, a few kilometers from Bari, was transformed to look like Mauritius, or maybe, with a stretch of the imagination, like India. A ceremony was done in the temple dedicated to Murugan, the Murugan Kovil of Bari Torre a Mare, by the Tamil Mauritians of Pugliese, organized by the Govinda Association.

The ritual is called Sittirai Cavadee and is dedicated to the popular God Murugan, particularly revered in the south east of India. It began at 8:00AM with a procession departing from the temple on Valle Giglioli Partigiani street. Renganadun Mootoosamy, A Hindu priest from Mauritius, came to Bari to help with the ceremonies courtesy of the Union Tamoule de Maurice and Mauritius Tamil Temple Federation. There are over one thousand Mauritians in Bari. See photos of the ceremony
here.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/22 7:00:01 ( 479 reads )
The older I get, the more Hindu I become.
   V.S. Naipaul, expatriate Trinidadian novelist, now living in UK, widely regarded in English literary circles as the best living writer in the English language.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/21 7:04:01 ( 508 reads )
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, April 18, 2010: Sewa International USA successfully conducted the First National Bhutanese Refugee Empowerment Conference in Atlanta, GA, during April 17th-18th 2010. Over sixty delegates and over one hundred attendees came from all over USA to make this pioneering conference memorable.

The delegates expressed appreciation for the efforts of the United States Government, United Nations Human Commissioner for Refugees, International Organization for Migration, and other refugee agencies in settling Bhutanese refugees in the USA and many other countries worldwide. Refugees have been facing hardships in refugee camps in Nepal for two decades. The government of the U.S. has accepted 60,000 Bhutanese refugees in a short span of four years. Since early 2008 when the first refugees started to arrive in the US, Sewa USA has been complementing the efforts of refugee agencies in providing assistance to improve the socio-economic condition of refugee families.

Sewa USA will continue to support the Bhutanese families irrespective of their religious belief, ethnicity or political affiliation. And continue to work with other like-minded organizations across the country.

For the full conference resolutions see url above. To read about the saga of the Bhutanese refugees immigrating to America, you can see the Hinduism Today article
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/ ... tion/item.php?itemid=5054
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/21 7:03:01 ( 397 reads )
Source: www.prlog.org
GRAYSLAKE, ILLINOIS, May 14, 2010 - The Chicago Hinduism Summit's success last month in bringing together over 200 individuals, leaders and organizations, to facilitate Hinduism learning has prompted spontaneous support for another Hinduism Summit in the Greater Chicago area. This Hinduism Summit (Hindu Dharma Sabha) will be held on June 5th at the Hindu Temple of Lake County.

The Hindu Dharma Sabha welcomes anyone interested in understanding, living and preserving Hinduism. It brings Hindu and spiritual leaders on one platform, to work together for the cause of Hinduism and Hindu issues. The Hindu Dharma Sabha provides a practical direction on living Hinduism and preserving it in the face of denigration and misconceptions rife about Hinduism in society and media.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/21 7:02:01 ( 407 reads )
BIJAPUR, KARNATAKA, INDIA, May 7, 2010: These days, Sanskrit is no longer a forgotten tongue in daily lufe. There is talk of establishing a Sanskrit and Vedic university in the state. But off campus, right in the city, is a trader who uses the language for his day-to-day business. 3R Garments Shop in Bijapur city is owned by Ram Singh Rajput. He has eight employees, and for the past eight years, they have been using Sanskrit as the language for his business.

Ram Singh says there is no difficulty. "After we started using Sanskrit, our customers increased. Most of the customers first want to talk and learn some Sanskrit, then they buy clothes." Singh is an active member of the Sanskrit Bharati organization. He had learnt Sanskrit at a 10-day camp, and then started using it at home. After that, he introduced it for the first time in his business. He has now done his MA in Sanskrit.

His younger brothers, Mohan and Vitthal Singh, also work in the shop. All of them speak Sanskrit fluently. According to the brothers, Sanskrit is the language of God, and learning it purifies a person's life by reducing bad habits and arrogant behavior. "We automatically become polite, and good thoughts come to our mind," they say.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/21 7:01:01 ( 389 reads )
UNITED KINGDOM, May 9, 2010: Researchers asked infants of various ages to choose between characters which they had seen behaving well or badly, and found they overwhelmingly favored the "good" characters.

The research, which is being pioneered by a team of psychologists from the Infant Cognition Centre at Yale University, Connecticut, contradicts the belief promoted by psychologists such as Sigmund Freud that babies are born "amoral animals" and acquire a sense of right and wrong through conditioning.

Paul Bloom, the professor of psychology who heads the study team, said: "A growing body of evidence ... suggests that humans do have a rudimentary moral sense from the very start of life. "We now know that in the first six months babies learn things much quicker than we thought possible. What they are born with and what they learn is difficult to divide."
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/21 7:00:01 ( 399 reads )
A day spent without a conscious attempt to clean one's heart is a day wasted. Impurity of cloth or body will lead to diseases which will last only for one lifetime. But impurity of heart will lead to diseases which will afflict the soul for several births.
   Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati, (1894-1994) Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peedam
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/18 7:03:01 ( 405 reads )
MERRILLVILLE, INDIANA, May 18, 2010: When Northwest Indiana's growing Indian population wants to worship in a proper setting, they must currently travel 40 minutes west to Lemont, Ill., site of the closest Hindu temple. That is about to change. As of June 20, the Indian American Cultural Center at 8605 Merrillville Road will house an expanded cultural center and temple where its approximately 450 families can gather for meetings and weddings, Sunday school classes and Hindu worship.

"Our community is expanding and the first generation wants to maintain their own identity," said Dr. Shailesh Bhatt, a Munster resident and member of the building committee. The center is culminating its expansion 10 years to the day since it opened its current building. The expansion brings the building from a 5,000-square-foot cultural center to an 11,300-square-foot building that includes the Bharatiya Temple of Northwest Indiana, said Dr. Panna Barai of Munster.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/18 7:02:01 ( 402 reads )
TIRUPATI, INDIA, May 16, 2010: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the custodian of the world's richest Hindu temple, has signed a pact with State Bank of India (SBI) for deposit of huge quantity of the surplus yellow metal lying in its treasury. The TTD has agreed, in the first phase, to deposit 1000 kg (2,204 lbs) of gold with SBI. The arrangement, which is expected to be a win-win situation for both the stakeholders, is also unique in the sense that a bank is coming to the doorsteps of Tirumala to receive the gold deposits and pay interest in the form of gold.

While the TTD paid in the past for charges towards transportation, insurance and melting (at the mint), the same will now be taken care of by the bank, thus saving a lot for the temple management.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/18 7:01:01 ( 344 reads )
NEW YORK, May 18, 2010: The Presidents Cancer Panel has recently joined ranks with the organic food movement and declared: chemicals threaten our bodies. The cancer panel is releasing a landmark 200-page report on Thursday, warning that our lackadaisical approach to regulation may have far-reaching consequences for our health.

This document calls on America to rethink the way we confront cancer, including much more rigorous regulation of chemicals. Traditionally, we reduce cancer risks through regular doctor visits, self-examinations and screenings such as mammograms. The Presidents Cancer Panel suggests other eye-opening steps as well, such as giving preference to organic food, checking radon levels in the home and microwaving food in glass containers rather than plastic. In particular, the report warns about exposures to chemicals during pregnancy, when risk of damage seems to be greatest. Noting that 300 contaminants have been detected in umbilical cord blood of newborn babies, the study warns that: to a disturbing extent, babies are born pre-polluted. Only a few hundred of the more than 80,000 chemicals in use in the United States have been tested for safety, the report says. It adds: Many known or suspected carcinogens are completely unregulated.

The report does not say that chemicals are evil, and in many cases the evidence against a particular substance is balanced by other studies that are exonerating. To help people manage the uncertainty prudently, the report has a section of recommendations for individuals. A few are:

  • Particularly when pregnant and when children are small, choose foods, toys and garden products with fewer endocrine disruptors or other toxins.
  • For those whose jobs may expose them to chemicals, remove shoes when entering the house and wash work clothes separately from the rest of the laundry.
  • Filter drinking water.
  • Store water in glass or stainless steel containers, or in plastics that dont contain BPA or phthalates (chemicals used to soften plastics). Microwave food in ceramic or glass containers.
  • Give preference to food grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers and growth hormones.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/18 7:00:01 ( 467 reads )
Our civilization has come under a new assault with the entire globalization of a rotten food culture. The McDonald's experience is really the experience of eating junk whilst thinking you are in heaven.
   Environmentalist Vandana Shiva criticizing fast food chains.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/17 7:05:01 ( 379 reads )
WASHINGTON D.C., May 18, 2010: Under the guidance of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (OFBNP), an inspired team with Anju Bhargava, a member of President Obama's Advisory Council, formed Hindu American Seva Charities.

The Hindu American Seva Charities recently compiled a report that details specific seva activities, interfaith collaboration and information on infrastructures and capacity building among the Hindu American community. HASC discovered there was a significant gap between the U.S. government and Hindu/Dharmic institutions, particularly in capacity building and areas of civic engagement between these institutions and organization and the various stakeholders in our country.

To download the report prepared by The Hindu American Seva Charities for President Obama click
here.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/17 7:04:01 ( 378 reads )
UNITED STATES, May 2010: Less than a fortnight ago, Harvard University announced that the Murthy family of Bangalore (Narayana Murthy is the Founder-Chairman of Infosys a global software company) had established a new publication series called the Murthy Classical Library Series (MCLI) with a generous gift of $5.2 million. It also announced that renowned scholar Sheldon Pollock, who is currently Ransford Professor of Sanskrit and Indian studies at Columbia University, had been named the general editor of the volumes.

Although there have been many such classical series published by various institutions, what sets this exercise apart is that it makes a significant departure from the Orientalist project of the last couple of centuries, by aiming to look beyond Sanskrit and religion, and dipping into India's multilingual literary heritage. In other words, the Murthy series seeks to broaden the idea of India. It promises to be pluralistic and inclusive.

This unique project will present, in English translation, canonized classical texts available for centuries in various regional tongues like Kannada, Tamil, Oriya, Telugu, Punjabi, Urdu, Persian, Gujarati, Bangla and so on, besides Sanskrit. An extraordinary feature of the project is that each volume will be presented as a bilingual edition. These 'definitive' volumes will seek to serve both the general public and academics.

Pollock explained the vision behind the project: "India possesses the longest continuous and richest multilingual literary tradition in the world. To forget this literature is not only to lose a resource for living of potentially immeasurable benefit, but to lose part of one's self. As the Bhagavad Gita says, the loss of memory entails the loss of mind."
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/17 7:03:01 ( 420 reads )
NEW YORK, May 18, 2010: Amid the sweeping vistas and grand temples of mystical India, Natalia Makarova's staging of this great Russian classic by Marius Petipa, with music by Ludwig Minkus, is a glorious epic of eternal love and revenge. La Bayadere offers tour de force performances by ABT Principal Dancers as the tale's doomed temple dancer, Nikiya, the warrior who betrays her, Solor, and her archrival, Gamzatti. The ballet also features the famed vision of the "Kingdom of the Shades," showcasing the corps de ballet in gossamer white tutus, who fill the stage in perfect unison sublime as angels arriving from heaven.

Performance dates, times and dancers can be found at the link provided.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/17 7:02:01 ( 380 reads )
Source: www.hindu.com
KOZHIKODE, INDIA, MAY 18, 2010: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, on Monday, officially announced the Kerala State Organic Farming policy aimed at making farming sustainable and ensuring toxin-free food to public within 10 years.

Speaking on the occasion at the Urban Wholesale Agricultural Market at Vengeri here, he said many districts which had already commenced organic farming had reported good results. However, this was confined to limited spaces and resources. Now, the government would implement the policy on a large scale in all districts, thus avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, Mr. Achuthanandan said.

Repeated use of pesticides resulted in pollution of water bodies and soil as well as destruction of flora and fauna. Consumption of chemically treated vegetables and food grains had even led to pesticide residual in breast milk, he said.



Posted on 2010/5/28 7:00:01 ( 389 reads )
As your mind releases its desires and cravings, it releases the hold that it has on you. You dive deeper, fearlessly into this blazing avalanche of light, losing your consciousness. And as you come back into the mind, you see the mind for what it is, and you are free. You find that you are no longer attached because you see that the binder and the bound are one. You become the path. You become the way. You are the light.
   Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001)
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/24 7:05:01 ( 373 reads )
Source: HPI
PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, May 25, 2010 (By Paras Ramoutar):
Trinidad and Tobago has elected its first female Prime Minister in the person of Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar following elections held on Monday. She is a devout Hindu, and her People's Partnership won 29 out of the 41 parliamentary seats. Persad-Bissessar is expected to swear in as Prime Minister on Tuesday evening by President George Maxwell Richards.

She will also become Chairman of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Among her academic credentials are a B.A., LLB degree in Law, Master's in Business Administration, and a Diploma in Education, all from the University of the West Indies.

She was the first woman to lead any political party in oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago. Her meteoric rise had its genesis last January 24 when he challenged her former political guru and mentor, Basdeo Panday for the leadership of the United National Congress. She won ten to one in the tally of votes.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/24 7:04:01 ( 492 reads )
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA, INDIA, May 23, 2010: Jyotsna Padmanabhan, a 12-year-old girl, is all set to script history by being the first female in Kerala to conduct a Deity installation in accordance with tantric rituals. The girl's entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the Paikunikavu Sri Krishna Temple at Kattoor near Irinjalakuda on Sunday to conduct the prathishta of Goddess Bhadrakali will mark a new chapter in the religious history of Kerala as there is no precedent of a woman, other than a spiritual leader, conducting a Deity installation.

Jyotsna, a seventh-standard student, belongs to Tharanallur Mana, one of the two Tantri families in Kerala. Born and brought up in the world of temples and poojas, she has developed a keen interest in tantric rituals and started learning under Tharanallur Padmanabhan Namboothiripad, the tantri of many renowned temples including Sree Rama Temple in Thriprayar and Koodalmanikyam temple in Irinjalakuda.

Jyotsna's father Padmanabhan Namboothiripad said the move was not meant to create any controversy, rather to say that the tantric Hinduism did not ban women from performing rites. "Tantric science says that women are ideal to perform these rites. Problem is with the ritual and practices. Rituals are bound to change in the course of time," he said. He said he was guiding his daughter in the path of truth and teaching her the best science known to him.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/24 7:03:01 ( 407 reads )
BALI, INDONESIA, May 22, 2010: Balinese Hindus will celebrate a religious day known as Kuningan on Saturday May 22, 2010. This ceremonial occasion falls exactly 10 days after the Galungan rituals and is a time to commemorate ancestral spirits as they return to heaven after dwelling on earth for an extended period.

Worshipers express their gratitude through prayer and offerings to the Gods for the ultimate gift of life. At Kuningan the arched bamboo poles referred to as as penjor, which are erected in front of each Balinese home compound during the religious festivities, are redecorated. White cloth is replaced with yellow cloth at the base of the penjor's temporary shrine as an indication of prosperity.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/24 7:03:01 ( 1449 reads )
BALI, INDONESIA, May 22, 2010: Balinese Hindu's will celebrate a religious day known as Kuningan on Saturday May 22, 2010. This ceremonial occasion falls exactly 10 days after the Galungan rituals and is a time to commemorate ancestral spirits as they return to heaven after dwelling on earth for an extended period.

Worshipers express their gratitude through prayer and offerings to the Gods for the ultimate gift of life. At Kuningan the arched bamboo poles referred to as as penjor, which are erected in front of each Balinese home compound during the religious festivities, are redecorated. White cloth is replaced with yellow cloth at the base of the penjor's temporary shrine as an indication of prosperity.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/24 7:02:01 ( 407 reads )
Source: Religion News Services
WASHINGTON, DC, USA: The U.S. Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of an Arizona program that provides state tax breaks for donations to private school scholarship programs. As part of the 13-year-old tax-tuition program, taxpayers receive a dollar-for-dollar reduction in state income taxes for their donations to not-for-profit school-tuition organizations. Last year, 91.5 percent of the $52 million collected in Arizona went to religious schools, according to The Arizona Republic.

Opponents, including the American Civil Liberties Union and others, argue the program violates the First Amendment, which prohibits government establishment of religion. "Arizona's convoluted scheme is a backdoor way of subsidizing religious education," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The Christian legal group Alliance Defense Fund will defend Arizona's tax-tuition program. ADF attorneys said the program "is constitutional because it involves individual, private choices and funding, not government action or money." While the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared last year that the Arizona program violated the separation of church and state, the Supreme Court has upheld cases that give parents public funding for private institutions.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/24 7:01:01 ( 412 reads )
INDIA, May 2010: Eating ginger can help ease muscle pain caused by heavy exercise, says a latest research. Ginger root has been used as a household remedy for centuries for a variety of ailments, such as cough and colds and upset stomach, but now the study has revealed that ginger is particularly good for staving off muscle pain.

Professor Patrick O'Connor, of the University of Georgia, who led the research, believes this remedy can be better than consuming painkiller drugs. The study showed daily ginger intake reduced the exercise-induced pain by 25 per cent. It is known to contain chemicals that work in a similar way to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and aspirin.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/24 7:00:01 ( 461 reads )
Dharma is the only solution for all the ills the society is facing today. H.H. Swami Jayendra Saraswati, Shankaracharya of Kanchi Peetam, calling on families-- during his 64th birthday--to adopt the morals and culture of India in daily life.
   
No comment



Posted on 2010/5/23 7:03:01 ( 381 reads )
SRINAGAR, KASHMIR, May 16, 2010: A number of Kashmir Pandits offered rituals at the historic Vicharnag temple, when it reopened after a 20 year hiatus. Located in the district's Soura city, once famous for being center of discourse and learning for Muslims and Hindus, the Vicharnag temple had closed in the 1990 when the Kashmiri Pandits migrated from the Kashmir valley following ethnic turbulence. "Every year, during the nine-day Hindu festival of Navaratri, a grand fair used to take place. Hundreds of devotees of all age groups used to converge here but the area has remained deserted for the last 22 years. Now it has been reopened and people have started coming," said Avtar Kishan Koul, a devotee.

The All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee in the state started the drive two years ago to open all Hindu temples and shrines in the Valley to restore their glory. "I feel very happy to meet the Hindus from Kashmir. They are our guests. Twenty-thirty years ago, we used to eat from the same platter, and help each other during weddings," said Abdul Samadh, a Muslim.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/23 7:02:01 ( 369 reads )
CHENNAI, INDIA, May 22, 2010: Craig Venter's laboratory cell violates the divine law of creation, says Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, who believes that creating life in a laboratory is an act of defiance against God. "Venter's work violates karma, which alone decides the nature of life for all humans and, besides, creating life in a lab could cause cultural degradation as it eliminates the need for marriage and family values," said Swami when asked about the creation of "synthetic cells" announced by Venter's laboratory in Rockville, Maryland, USA.

Scientific advancement could be used to provide vital needs, the pontiff said, welcoming the use of research to make vaccines and biofuels. "But if a man is synthetically created, his body would not be guided by past karma and he would behave just like a machine," he warned.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/23 7:01:01 ( 391 reads )
CHENNAI, INDIA, May 22, 2010: This summer, ethnic wear seems to be the flavor of the season. Cutting across departmental stores, kurtis and other apparel are flying off the shelves with customers queuing up for the latest in comfortable Indian wear even while western designer labels fret over silhouettes and sizes for the domestic buyers. Max, the value retail arm of the Landmark group, has been seeing encouraging sales in the segment. "Women's Indian wear alone accounts for around 25% of our revenues," says Vasanth Kumar, executive director of Max. "We're now planning to introduce saris in our next store in Chennai."

The biggest change comes from fusion wear. It is becoming a common sight to see women combine kurtis with jeans, clingy t-shirts with ethnic print skirts or tunics with chudidar-style leggings. Shoppers Stop has introduced a fusion wear label, Haute Curry, with musician Anoushka Shankar as its brand ambassador. "This brand is targeted at college girls and young women," says Govind Shrikhande, CEO of Shoppers Stop. "Indian wear accounts for 25% of our sales and we're positive on this category."
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/23 7:00:01 ( 463 reads )
Only one task to do here: find out who you are. How do you find out who you are? Dive into silence.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/22 7:04:01 ( 355 reads )
[HPI note: Today's edition of HPI brings two articles about the same subject: new curriculum standards approved by the Texas State Board of Education. The contrast between the first article (from a Texan newspaper) and the second one (from a UK newspaper) makes for an enlightening comparison.]

TEXAS, UNITED STATES, May 21, 2010: The Texas State Board of Education on Friday approved new curriculum standards for U.S. history and other social studies courses that reflect a more conservative tone than in the past. Split along party lines, the board voted 9-5 to adopt the new standards, which will dictate what is taught in all Texas schools and provide the basis for future textbooks and student achievement tests over the next decade. The decision affects not only Texas students, but others across the United States because Texas standards because national publishers typically tailor their materials to Texas, one of the biggest textbook purchasers in the country.

Before the final vote on the lengthy list of standards, the board's five Democrats criticized the Republican majority - primarily social conservatives - for injecting their political and religious views into the standards and giving short shrift to important minority figures in history. Board member Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond, another social conservative, opened Friday's board meeting with an invocation that referred to the U.S. and its history as a "Christian land governed by Christian principles. I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses," she said.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/22 7:03:01 ( 401 reads )
UNITED KINGDOM, May 16, 2020: Cynthia Dunbar, a conservative Texas lawyer, does not have a high regard for her local schools. She has called them unconstitutional, tyrannical and tools of perversion. Now Dunbar is on the brink of fulfilling a promise to change all that, or at least point Texas schools toward salvation. She is one of a clutch of Christian evangelists and social conservatives who have grasped control of the state's education board. This week they are expected to force through a new curriculum that is likely to shift what millions of American schoolchildren far beyond Texas learn about their history.

The board is to vote on a sweeping purge of alleged liberal bias in Texas school textbooks in favor of what Dunbar says really matters: a belief in America as a nation chosen by God as a beacon to the world, and free enterprise as the cornerstone of liberty and democracy. Those corrections have prompted a blizzard of accusations of rewriting history and indoctrinating children by promoting rightwing views on religion, economics and guns while diminishing the science of evolution, the civil rights movement and the horrors of slavery.

Several changes include sidelining Thomas Jefferson, who favored separation of church and state, while introducing a new focus on the "significant contributions" of pro-slavery Confederate leaders during the civil war. The new curriculum asserts that "the right to keep and bear arms" is an important element of a democratic society. Study of Sir Isaac Newton is dropped in favor of examining scientific advances through military technology. The education board has dropped references to the slave trade in favor of calling it the more innocuous "Atlantic triangular trade", and recasts the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as driven by Islamic fundamentalism.

"There is a battle for the soul of education," said Mavis Knight, a liberal member of the Texas education board. "They're trying to indoctrinate with American exceptionalism, the Christian founding of this country, the free enterprise system [known elsewhere as Capitalism]. There are strands where the free enterprise system fits appropriately but they have stretched the concept of the free enterprise system back to medieval times. The president of the Texas historical association could not find any documentation to support the stretching of the free enterprise system to ancient times but it made no difference."

The curriculum has alarmed liberals across the country in part because Texas buys millions of text books every year, giving it considerable sway over what publishers print. By some estimates, all but a handful of American states rely on text books written to meet the Texas curriculum. The California legislature is considering a bill that would bar them from being used in the state's schools. For the complete article, click on the url above.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/22 7:02:01 ( 378 reads )
INDIA, May 17, 2010: Tens of thousands of Indian couples tied the knot on Sunday May 16, one of the luckiest days in the Hindu calendar. "There are 50,000 weddings happening today" in Mumbai alone, said wedding planner Jarret D'Abreo of Marry Me. "The wedding that we are working on has been booked eight months in advance," explained Candice Pereira, the company's creative head and co-founder.

There are only a few lucky dates per year in the Hindu calendar. Sunday's was called Akshaya Tritiya. "All the stars are aligned during this day. Whatever offerings and work you do on this day will go right. It's one day of the year which will bring immense good luck," Indian astrologer R.K. Sharma said. The exact date of the festival is based on the alignment of the moon, the stars and the planets. "Whatever is celebrated during this day -- be it purchasing a car or a house or gold or even getting married -- brings good luck and that effect is multiplied. It's the most auspicious day of the year," said Sharma.

The festival is driving up sales in India's jewelry shops, one merchant said. Vummidi Bagaru Jewellers had about twice as much daily trade as usual, and could reach three times as much, partner Jiphendra Vummidi said from Chennai. People made plans in advance to make their purchases on Akshaya, he said. "They're purchases they wanted to get for a wedding or an occasion -- jewelry predominantly, but bullion coins are also being bought," he said. "It's a day when you could do anything good and it's supposed to help you do that good through the year," he said of Akshaya.



Posted on 2010/5/31 7:04:01 ( 391 reads )
Source: Press Release
SAN RAMON, CA, June 1, 2010: The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) reacted with shock at the May 26th collapse of a tower of the famous Sri Kalahasti temple near Tirupati in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The temple, a place of great historical significance, was a revered place of worship for millions of Hindus. Leaders also extended condolences to the families of the victims of the devastating collapse.

Contrary to several media reports citing King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagar empire as having built the temple, Krishnadevaraya built only the now collapsed tower in 1516 CE, bringing the temple to its current form. Evidence reveals the temple to have been constructed much earlier. Historical literary references to the temple are found in the works of Nakkeerar, a Tamil poet in 3rd Century BCE during the Tamil Sangam period, who called it the "Southern Kailash." And inscriptions in the temple, as well as the architecture, also indicate that the Chola, Pallava, Pandya and Vijayanagar dynasties had all contributed to the temple over the centuries.

"It is tragic that what would be considered a national monument in any other country was simply allowed to collapse in this manner as a result of the callous disregard of Andhra Pradesh State Government officials," said Padma Kuppa, a member of HAF's Executive Council and a native of the state of Andhra Pradesh. "That nothing was done about the cracks in the tower, which were first reported over a decade ago, at worst speaks to incompetence, and indeed corruption, of those responsible for preserving India's heritage." Most recent media reports indicate that the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, has promised to reconstruct the collapsed tower with the help of the Archeological Survey of India.
.
HAF leaders held that this latest tragedy highlighted again the unique challenges Hindus face in India as the only faith community whose places of worship are often under financial and management control by ostensibly secular state governments in India. Andhra Pradesh as well as many other state governments administer and manage most major Hindu temples in India today.

"It is ridiculous that governments, sometimes run by the Communist Party of India in states such as Kerala and West Bengal, arrogate unto themselves the right to manage temple affairs including the conduct of religious rituals," said Swaminathan Venkataraman, a member of HAF's Board of Directors. "The fact that only Hindu institutions are subject to such treatment while churches and mosques are not makes a mockery of Indian secularism."

HAF reported urgent pleas from its members over the last week calling for state governments in India to entrust Hindu temples to reputable and well-organized Hindu religious organizations, including the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha, to provide Hindus the same opportunities for autonomous management enjoyed by other faith traditions.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/31 7:03:01 ( 404 reads )
REUNION, May 20, 2010: The great consecration of the Narassingua Peroumal temple at Ravine-Blanche happened on Monday. The prayers and ceremonies to prepare for this big event had been ongoing with ten priests who have come from Southern India.

At the temple of the Ravine-Blanche, Swami S. Nagaraja Sivachariya is head of ceremonies for this great consecration. Officiating at the temple since 1991, Sivachariyar explains the importance of attending a mahakukmbhabhishekam as "equivalent to ten years of prayer in a temple."
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/31 7:02:01 ( 363 reads )
MUMBAI, INDIA, May 2010: Christian schools in the Indian city of Mumbai have opposed a proposal by civic authorities to promote Hindu culture in classrooms. They argue that plans to introduce what they call "Hindutva culture" into missionary schools is unconstitutional and unfair. A proposal to include Hindu culture in the curriculum of those schools is now being considered by the Maharashtra state government.

The body which runs the 150-odd Christian schools in Mumbai is now preparing to take legal action. Archdiocesan Board of Education (Abe) General Secretary Gregory Lobo told the BBC that his schools "promoted respect for all faiths and there is no need to focus on a particular faith."

Abe schools receive financial help from the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, which put forward the new proposal during a review of financial help given to these schools. A right-wing Hindu coalition comprising the Shiv Sena party and the Bharatiya Janata Party runs the corporation.

[HPI note: Considering the goals and methods of most missionary activities in India, the statement that "there is no need to focus on a particular faith" is blatantly misleading. Those schools focus heavily on one faith, the Christian faith of the missionaries. Introducing studies about Hindu culture would not promote Hinduism, but rather balance -- to some extent -- the continuous inculcation of Christian beliefs.]
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/31 7:01:01 ( 440 reads )
UNITED STATES, May 21, 2010: In the chemotherapy infusion room at the Staten Island University Hospital sit several cancer patients hooked up to IVs. But they aren't leafing through magazines or staring at a talk show and worrying about their health. Instead, their right legs are lifted up in the air, and they're circling their ankles clockwise while breathing deeply under the instruction of their yoga teacher.

A growing body of literature suggests that yoga can be beneficial for multiple serious and chronic health conditions. And now, new research released Thursday ahead of the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting suggests yoga has beneficial effects on sleep quality, fatigue, and overall quality of life in cancer survivors.

The new study, funded by the National Cancer Institute's Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, was carried out in nine different community sites around the country. "To my knowledge, this is the largest clinical trial using yoga intervention in cancer survivors [to date]," said lead study author Karen Mustian, an exercise psychologist and physiologist at the University of Rochester.

In the trial, 410 patients who had completed cancer therapy were split into two groups: one that participated in a four-week-long, twice-weekly yoga program, and one that did not. Compared to how they felt beforehand, the survivors who participated in the yoga program afterward reported improvements in sleep quality and fatigue. Yoga participants also used less sleep medication than they did before the program, while non-yoga participants actually increased their use of sleep medication.
No comment

Posted on 2010/5/31 7:00:01 ( 372 reads )
Many people are afraid of silence. They have to be doing something all the time. Many people also are afraid of being alone. But actually no one ever is alone. He's always with his great divine Self. Every person has a great, divine Self within him an absolutely perfect, shining, sublime being of light. The voice of this being is a loud silence. The voice of your soul is a loud silence. Many people have said that the voice of God is a deep, profound silence.
   Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism Today
No comment

 





Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued...) 

(My humble salutations to Sadguru Sri Sivaya Subramuniyaswami ji, Satguru Bodhianatha Velayanswami ji,   Hinduism Today  dot com  for the collection)


(The Blog  is reverently for all the seekers of truth, lovers of wisdom and   to share the Hindu Dharma with others on the spiritual path and also this is purely  a non-commercial blog)

No comments:

Post a Comment