Hindu Vedic Philosophy (News from Hindu Press International)

Posted on 2010/7/13 7:00:01 ( 394 reads )

Godly Fashion for Indian Youth

He who has millions in money but no character will soon turn his cash into trash.
His Divine Holiness, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, spiritual head of Bochasanwasi Shree Akshar Puroshottam Swaminarayan Sanstha

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Posted on 2010/7/12 7:05:01 ( 478 reads )

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 13, 2010: Nestled between the wedding sari boutiques and hipster jean shops, there's a store in the city's most popular shopping mall that's playing with the Gods. The fashion, art and design store has cool pillows depicting a Sri Saraswati, the Hindu Goddess of knowledge, music and the creative arts. She's lounging on her pink lotus while swans float nearby and smaller versions of her likeness play the flute, drums and sitar.

There are retro journals, too, each featuring a particular God or Goddess and a cheeky back story about the deity's personality and dramas. "Ganesha is a foodie, and is crazy about ladoos [Indian sweets]," one says of the elephant-headed Hindu God.

Not all that long ago, that kind of informality about Hinduism's Deities might have caused riots in the streets. Krishna on a mouse pad? Hanuman on a drink coaster? Unimaginable a few years back. But today they are just a (mostly) accepted sign of how young, urban Indians are changing the way they view themselves and their society. Market experts say it's also a sign of how India, an increasingly affluent and globalized society, is able to see itself through the eyes of the rest of the world.

"Young India is imagining what it can be. And it sees an abundance of inspiration in our culture, our religion, our streets," said Hemant Dongre. "The economy is opening up. This has inspired a whole generation of young Indians to be creative, break mental barriers and have fun with ideas and commerce," he said.

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Virtual Tour Of Dream Destinations In Tamil Nadu

Posted on 2010/7/12 7:04:01 ( 353 reads )

Source: www.thehindu.com

CHENNAI, INDIA, June 28, 2010: Vacationers from across the globe can now explore and visit several tourist spots and UNESCO monuments in Tamil Nadu through a virtual tour. Initiated by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) recently, a click on the mouse gets one all tourist spots live on screen.

"The aim of launching a virtual tour is an attempt to enable not only the local people, but also those abroad have a real kind of experience about various tourist spots of Tamil Nadu", TTDC IT in-charge Justin Jose said. Those who have not visited Thanjavur to see the famous Brahadeeswarar temple could pay a virtual visit to the site, enabling them see it in all its glory, including all the beautiful sculptures, said Jose.

These tours can be viewed on the website www.tamilnadutourism.org

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Virtual Tour Of Dream Destinations In Tamil Nadu

Posted on 2010/7/12 7:04:01 ( 989 reads )

Source: www.thehindu.com

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India's Bureaucracy Among the World's Most Stifling

Posted on 2010/7/12 7:03:01 ( 465 reads )

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 3, 2010: Civil servants complain of political interference, and a new report has confirmed what many Indians have long suspected - their country's bureaucratic system is one of the most stifling in the world. The Hong Kong based group, Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, surveyed more than 1,300 business executives in 12 Asian countries. The poll suggested India had the worst levels of excessive red tape. Yet this seems not to have impeded performance - it has just released another set of strong growth figures. But for many foreign companies that success is despite rather than because of the system they face, the report says. There has so far been no response to the report from the civil service. The report ranks bureaucracies across Asia on a scale from one to 10, with 10 being the worst possible score. India scored 9.41.

There is a strong link, the report says, between bureaucracy and corruption - and a widely held belief that bureaucrats are selfish and highly insensitive to the needs of the people they are supposed to help. The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy report poses an interesting question: just how much better could India be doing if it were able to reduce bureaucracy?

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New Efforts To Recover Indian Objects From British Museums

Posted on 2010/7/12 7:02:01 ( 368 reads )

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UNITED KINGDOM, June 1, 2010: The head of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the state body in charge of India's heritage assets, told The Independent that the list of his country's treasures held abroad was "too long to handle" and there was a need for a "diplomatic and legal campaign" for their restitution from institutions including the British Museum, the Royal Collection and the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Gautam Sengupta, the director-general of the ASI, said that after decades of unsuccessful unilateral lobbying, India was looking to join a campaign with the support of Unesco, the United Nations body set up to preserve global heritage, alongside other countries with longstanding complaints about the foreign ownership of their artistic riches, including Egypt and Greece. While underlining the need to be "realistic" about the chances of large numbers of items being returned, Mr Gautam said a list of "unique items" that should be returned to their home countries was being drawn up by each of the participating countries.

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Religious Education Inadequate In One In Five UK Schools

Posted on 2010/7/12 7:01:01 ( 354 reads )

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

UNITED KINGDOM, June 5, 2010: Religious education is "inadequate" in one in five secondary schools in England, according to watchdog Ofsted. Its study suggested many teachers were unsure of what they were trying to achieve in the subject. The report, Transforming Religious Education, found the quality of religious education had declined since 2007.

Inspectors, who visited 183 primary and secondary schools in 70 areas, also criticized schools for not providing enough training in religious education.

Ofsted chief inspector Christine Gilbert said: "This report highlights two things - first the need for better support and training for teachers and, secondly, the need for a reconsideration of the local arrangements for the oversight of Religious Education, so schools can have a clear framework to use which helps them secure better student achievement in the subject."

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Posted on 2010/7/12 7:00:01 ( 413 reads )

Lord Hanuman Increasingly Known for Granting His Devotee's Visa Wishes

It is far easier to conquer others than to conquer oneself, because the former can be attained by recourse to outside means, while the latter can be achieved only with one's own mind.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

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Posted on 2010/7/11 7:04:01 ( 669 reads )

Kashmir Roots Tug Hindus Home

NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 13, 2010: Lord Hanuman seems to have a new lot of devotees nowadays, some hopeful Indians with wanderlust. And, if these new devotees are to be believed, Hanuman, who helped Lord Ram rescue his wife from Ravan, is helping them acquire timely visas.

The phenomen began in Delhi, but is spreading to other Hanuman temples. In the narrow lanes of Neb Sarai, the God resides especially to aid the visa applicants, or so the devotees believe. Supposedly modelled on the 400-year-old "Visa Hanuman" temple in Ahmedabad (the temple is old but the nickname is new), the Chamatakarik Shree Hanuman Ji Ka Mandir in Neb Sarai was established seven months ago. The temple gets hordes of people coming every day for their visa difficulties.

Rekha Jain, an astrologer who runs her consultation at the temple, said: "Hanumanji helps everyone in need. Here, we just tell people to pray to him and ask them to chant a specific mantra. That is all. If going abroad in their destiny they will definitely go. It is all about believing in God." The entire thing is done free of cost, she said. But the visa tag has its disadvantages. "People think it is us who help getting visa which is not true. It is just a temple where they can pray and ask for God's help," Jain said.

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Posted on 2010/7/11 7:03:01 ( 383 reads )

Source: www.nytimes.com

SRINAGAR, KASHMIR, June 5, 2010: The ceremony is simple and common. A Hindu priest lights a fire, places some herbs, clarified butter and other offerings atop it and through its peculiar alchemy the smoke purifies everything it touches. But nothing about this Maha Yaghya ritual performed in the once-abandoned Vichar Nag shrine here on a recent Saturday night was simple. Most peculiar was the ceremony's location, astride one of the world's most fractious religious fault lines, between two nuclear-armed neighbors who have fought three wars, two of them over the land on which the shrine sits.

Twenty years ago, nearly 400,000 Hindus fled the Kashmir Valley, fearful of a separatist insurgency by the area's Muslim majority. Now they are trickling back, a sign to many here that the Kashmir Valley, after years of violence and turmoil, is settling in to an uneasy but hopeful peace. More than a dozen shrines have reopened in recent years, said Sanjay Tickoo, a Kashmiri Pandit who never left the valley and is now trying to entice those who left to return. Both sides have taken steps toward a peaceful coexistence.

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Love Conquers All (Except Religious Differences?)

Posted on 2010/7/11 7:02:01 ( 402 reads )

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

UNITED STATES, June 6, 2010: In some ways, more interfaith marriage is good for civic life. Such unions bring extended families from diverse backgrounds into close contact. There is nothing like marriage between different groups to make society more integrated and more tolerant. As recent research by Harvard Professor Robert Putnam has shown, the more Americans get to know people of other faiths, the more they seem to like those people.

But the effects on the marriages themselves can be tragic -- it is an open secret among academics that tsk-tsking grandmothers may be right. According to calculations based on the American Religious Identification Survey of 2001, people who had been in mixed-religion marriages were three times more likely to be divorced or separated than those who were in same-religion marriages.

When Joseph Reyes and Rebecca Shapiro got married in 2004 they had a Jewish wedding ceremony. He was Catholic but converted to Judaism after they married, and they agreed to raise any children in the Jewish faith. However, after their daughter Ela was born, Reyes began to worry about the fact that she had not been baptized. "If, God forbid, something happened to her, she wouldn't be in heaven," he told me. Today, two years after the Illinois couple's bitter divorce battle began the fight over Ela's religious upbringing involves criminal charges.

The Reyes-Shapiro divorce is about as ugly as the end of a marriage can get. But the fight over Ela's religion illustrates the particular hardships and poor track record of interfaith marriages: They fail at higher rates than same-faith marriages. But couples don't want to hear that, and no one really wants to tell them.

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Civil Rights Groups Criticize U.S. Supreme Court Decision

Posted on 2010/7/11 7:01:01 ( 416 reads )

Source: Religion News Service

UNITED STATES, July 10, 2010: The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court prohibiting "material support" for accused terrorist groups continues to reverberate. The law prohibits providing cash and weapons to terrorist groups, but also training in how to hold elections and peacefully resolve conflict.

Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, argued the law violated the First Amendment right of free speech. "The maze of government laws has created a lot of fear and confusion that puts a chill on Muslim giving," said Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, a civil rights group. "For Muslim Americans, the problematic piece is that it affirms the idea that the donor's intent -- promoting a peaceful cause or giving money for humanitarian purposes -- is irrelevant."

Critics say the law, which exempts medicine and religious materials, is vague and has implications for Muslim charities and individual Muslim donors who want to fulfill their religious duty to aid the poor.

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Posted on 2010/7/11 7:00:01 ( 444 reads )

Indian Cultural Center in Utah Reaches Out with Information

God is subtle.
Albert Einstein

Posted on 2010/7/18 7:01:01 ( 386 reads )

Source: www.sltrib.com

SALT LAKE, U.S., MAY 5, 2010: For anyone who has ever been curious about the culture and customs of India, here's a chance for a hands-on activity called "Paint and Learn About India" that's also a fundraiser for the soon-to-be completed India Cultural Center next to the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple.

Participants will hear about Indian weddings, festivals, languages, food, music and transportation. The program will give people a better understanding of what life is like in India, said Resham Shah, a center volunteer.

There are about 5,000 Indian families along the Wasatch Front, said Utah businessman Dinesh Patel, who has been at the forefront of fundraising for the center.

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Posted on 2010/7/18 7:00:01 ( 409 reads )

One Bride for Two Brothers, A Fading Custom in Himalayan India

A man asked Mata Amritanandamayi Ma when he would achieve liberation. Amma described two kinds of buses: The express bus, which goes straight to the final destination, and the local bus that stops often. She said that since the man was not on the express bus, it was hard to say when he would reach the destination.

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Posted on 2010/7/15 21:18:26 ( 1308 reads )

Source: www.nytimes.com

MALANG, INDIA, July 16, 2010: In the remote villages of this Himalayan valley, polyandry, the practice of multiple men marrying one wife, was for centuries a practical solution to a set of geographic, economic and meteorological problems.

But in a single generation it has all but vanished. That is a remarkably swift change for the Himalayan communities.

Malang sits in the Lahaul Valley, one of India's most remote and isolated corners. For six months heavy snow cuts off the single mountain road that connects the region to the rest of the country. In summer, its steep mountainsides shimmer with wildflowers, and glacial rivers irrigate small valley farm fields and orchards, which yield generous crops of peas, potatoes, apples and plums.

Sukh Dayal Bhagsen, 60, is from the neighboring village of Tholang. As a young man he joined his elder brother's marriage to a woman named Prem Dasi. It was never discussed, but always assumed, that he would do this when he reached marriageable age, he said.

"If you marry a different woman, then there are more chances of family disputes," Mr. Bhagsen said. "Family property is divided, and problems arise." Three brothers married Ms. Dasi, who bore five children.

The logistics of sharing one wife among several men are daunting. All the children, regardless of who their biological father is, call the eldest brother pitaji, or father, while the younger brothers are all called chacha, or uncle.

"Each child knows who his father is, but you call your eldest uncle father," said Neelchand Bhagsen, Sukh Dayal Bhagsen's 40-year-old son. The wife decides the delicate question of who is the father of a child, and her word in this matter is law. "A mother knows," Ms. Devi said, unwilling to discuss the sensitive particularities of this knowledge further.

The practice also acted as a form of birth control. Five brothers with a wife each could easily produce dozens of children. But polyandrous families seldom had more than six or seven children.

Although the society of the Lahaul Valley is patrilineal, the practice of polyandry gave women considerable sway over many matters. "The wife's voice is the dominant voice in the household," Neelchand Bhagsen said. When his mother demanded a new house for the growing brood in 1979, there was no question that it would be built. "Whatever my mother said was the final word," he said.

No one, it seems, mourns polyandry's passing. "That system had utility for a time," Mr. Bhagsen said. "But in the present context it has outlived its usefulness. The world has changed."

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One Bride for Two Brothers, A Fading Custom in Himalayan India

Posted on 2010/7/15 7:03:01 ( 349 reads )

Source: www.nytimes.com

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One Bride for Two Brothers, A Fading Custom in Himalayan India

Posted on 2010/7/15 7:03:01 ( 1086 reads )

Source: www.nytimes.com

MALANG, INDIA, July 16, 2010: In the remote villages of this Himalayan valley, polyandry, the practice of multiple men marrying one wife, was for centuries a practical solution to a set of geographic, economic and meteorological problems.

Polyandry has been practiced here for centuries, but in a single generation it has all but vanished. That is a remarkably swift change for the Himalayan communities.

Malang sits in the Lahaul Valley, one of India's most remote and isolated corners. For six months heavy snow cuts off the single mountain road that connects the region to the rest of the country. In summer, its steep mountainsides shimmer with wildflowers, and glacial rivers irrigate small valley farm fields and orchards, which yield generous crops of peas, potatoes, apples and plums.

Sukh Dayal Bhagsen, 60, is from the neighboring village of Tholang. As a young man he joined his elder brother's marriage to a woman named Prem Dasi. It was never discussed, but always assumed, that he would do this when he reached marriageable age, he said.

"If you marry a different woman, then there are more chances of family disputes," Mr. Bhagsen said. "Family property is divided, and problems arise." Three brothers married Ms. Dasi, who bore five children.

The logistics of sharing one wife among several men are daunting. All the children, regardless of who their biological father is, call the eldest brother pitaji, or father, while the younger brothers are all called chacha, or uncle.

"Each child knows who his father is, but you call your eldest uncle father," said Neelchand Bhagsen, Sukh Dayal Bhagsen's 40-year-old son. The wife decides the delicate question of who is the father of a child, and her word in this matter is law. "A mother knows," Ms. Devi said, unwilling to discuss the sensitive particularities of this knowledge further.

The practice also acted as a form of birth control. Five brothers with a wife each could easily produce dozens of children. But polyandrous families seldom had more than six or seven children.

Although the society of the Lahaul Valley is patrilineal, the practice of polyandry gave women considerable sway over many matters. "The wife's voice is the dominant voice in the household," Neelchand Bhagsen said. When his mother demanded a new house for the growing brood in 1979, there was no question that it would be built. "Whatever my mother said was the final word," he said.

No one, it seems, mourns polyandry's passing. "That system had utility for a time," Mr. Bhagsen said. "But in the present context it has outlived its usefulness. The world has changed."

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Temporary Immigration Cap In The U.K.

Posted on 2010/7/15 7:02:01 ( 380 reads )

Source: www.thehindu.com

INDIA, July 2010: In a surprise move, the government has decided to impose a temporary nine-month cap from July 1 on immigration from non-European Union countries pending a review of its election pledge to introduce a fixed annual limit from next April. During this period only 24,000 non-EU skilled workers who qualify under the existing points-based system would be allowed.

The decision would affect mostly immigrants from India and other South Asian countries who form the bulk of the non-EU intake. It is a controversial departure from the existing regime that puts no restrictions on the number of skilled workers coming into Britain provided they meet the stringent criteria relating to skills, qualifications and earnings.

Leading British businesses are opposed to an artificial limit arguing that it would make it difficult for them to recruit the necessary skilled staff and damage the economy. Universities, who depend on fee-paying foreign students as the main source of their income, are also strongly opposed to such rigid restrictions.

Home Secretary Theresa May will launch a wide-ranging consultation with business groups and universities on plans for a permanent cap.

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The Powerful, the Vulnerable, and the Gulf Oil Spill

Posted on 2010/7/15 7:01:01 ( 414 reads )

Source: newsweek.washingtonpost.com

INDIA, June 16, 2010 (By Aseem Shukla): "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." (Mahatma Gandhi)

For panentheistic Hindus, who with many Dharma faiths and Pagan traditions worship Earth as a manifestation of the Mother Goddess, divinity is found within every part of nature just as it transcends an earthly realm. The suffering animals endure in our blind pursuit of black gold to support a craven addiction will bear the brunt of the consequences of karma.

It is empirical that every action has an equal and opposite reaction; while today the shrimpers and oyster harvesters are enduring for our collective sins, we must know that all of us will be affected as the dominoes of suffering fall. Hindu iconography is replete with representations of animals and even trees and plants as infused with the divine (Lord Ganesha, famously endowed with an elephant head) or Godly vehicles--Lord Vishnu's serpent, Ganesha's mouse or Shiva's bull. Hindu seers describe how the souls of seemingly insensate animals are very much on their own path to liberation.

The difference between the Dharma traditions view of animals and the Abrahamic perspective that man has dominion over animals and the earth is stark indeed. It is a logical consequence, then, that over 400 million of mostly Hindu India's billion declare themselves vegetarian according to a recent poll, and make up more vegetarians than the rest of the world combined.

Amongst Dharma traditions, many Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs join Jains, whose unequivocal insistence on ahimsa, or non-violence, is absolute and doctrinally fundamental. Violence against animals is tantamount to harming one's self.

My own dog's eyes showed sad confusion recently when she lacerated her coat on a tree branch in our backyard, and I felt certain that I saw the same innocent perplexity in the face of the oil-coated pelican flashed across the news wires last week. To a Hindu, eating meat causes one to ingest and absorb the slaughtered creature's pain, suffering and terror before its death. Stop the cycle of accumulating negative karma, our scriptures tell us, and work we must to ameliorate not only the suffering of animals caused by the oil spill in the Gulf, but also species endangered by human assaults on habitats elsewhere.

(To read the complete essay, go to source above.)

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Posted on 2010/7/15 7:00:01 ( 366 reads )

More than 82,000 Pilgrims In Amarnath So Far

Life is a boomerang. It brings you back what you send out. It is a child, not an old person, who makes progress in life. If you really want to become a child, then you have to feel that there is always something to learn and that God is there to teach you.
Sri Chinmoy, renowned spiritual leader, author, poet, artist, musician and athlete

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Hinduism Flourishes in Ghana

Posted on 2010/7/14 7:04:01 ( 575 reads )

Source: www.news.bbc.co.uk

GHANA, July 2, 2010: The air is filled with the sweet smell of incense burning in a corner of the huge hall. Wrapped in shiny bright clothes, statues of Hindu Gods and Goddesses smile benevolently from the elevated platform. Sitting on the white marble floor a group of more than 50 men, women and children sing devotional Hindu songs. Nothing extraordinary about this scene,except that the temple is in Ghana and the devotees are all indigenous Africans.

The tall cone-shaped temple emerges out of the crowded neighborhood of Orkordi on the outskirts of the capital Accra. It can be easily identified-the holy Sanskrit "OM" shines on its top. Swami Ghanananda Sarawati established the temple in 1975.

The devotees here have no links with India and have never visited the country. Still they strictly follow religious rules and observe rituals in traditional Hindu way. They say they have all converted to Hinduism.

Today there are more than 2,000 indigenous African Hindus in Ghana. The total number of Hindus, including those from India, is much larger. Hindu religion was first introduced to Ghana by Sindhi settlers who migrated to Africa after India was divided in 1947.

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Posted on 2010/7/14 7:03:01 ( 373 reads )

Source: www.ddinews.gov.in

KASHMIR, INDIA, July 7, 2010: Over 82,000 pilgrims have paid obeisance at the Amarnath shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, while an eighth batch of 2,820 people left Jammu on Wednesday for the 3,888 metre high Lord Shiva cave shrine.

"The yatra is going on smoothly. Over 82,000 pilgrims have had darshan of the Ice Ligum of Lord Shiva at 3,888 metre high Amarnath cave shrine till today," Shri Amarnath Shrine Board officials said.

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Right-to-Know Law Gives India's Poor a Lever

Posted on 2010/7/14 7:02:01 ( 433 reads )

Source: www.nytimes.com

BANTA, INDIA, June 28, 2010: India may be the world's largest democracy, but a vast and powerful bureaucracy governs. It is an imperial edifice built on feudal foundations, and for much of independent India's history the bureaucracy has been largely unaccountable. Citizens had few means to demand to know what their government was doing for them. But it has now become clear that India's 1.2 billion citizens have been newly empowered by the far-reaching law granting them the right to demand almost any information from the government.

Chanchala Devi always wanted a house. Not a mud-and-stick hut, like her current home in this desolate village in the mineral-rich, corruption-corroded state of Jharkhand, but a proper brick-and-mortar house. When she heard that a government program for the poor would give her about $700 to build that house, she applied immediately. She waited four years, watching as wealthier neighbors got grants and built sturdy houses, while she and her three children slept beneath a leaky roof of tree branches and crumbling clay tiles. Two months ago she took advantage of India's powerful and wildly popular Right to Information law.

With help from a local activist, she filed a request at a local government office to find out who had gotten the grants while she waited, and why. Within days a local bureaucrat had good news: Her grant had been approved, and she would soon get her check. Ms. Devi's good fortune is part of an information revolution sweeping India.

The law is backed by stiff fines for bureaucrats who withhold information, a penalty that appears to be ensuring speedy compliance. The law has not, as some activists hoped, had a major effect on corruption. Often, as in Ms. Devi's case, the bureaucracy solves the problem for the complaining individual, but seldom undertakes a broader inquiry.

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Global Migration: A World Ever More on the Move

Posted on 2010/7/14 7:01:01 ( 420 reads )

Source: www.nytimes.com

UNITED STATES, June 25, 2010: Gordon Brown's rant about a "bigoted" voter sped his exit from the British prime minister's post. What punctured his cool? Her complaint about immigrants. When an earthquake shattered Haiti, Dominicans sent soldiers and Americans sent ships -- to discourage potential immigrants. The congressman who shouted "You lie!" at President Obama was upset about immigrants. "Birthers" think Mr. Obama is an immigrant. There was also the Hamas rocket that landed in Israel this spring, killing a farm worker. Not so unusual, except that the worker was Thai.

Perhaps no force in modern life is as omnipresent yet overlooked as global migration, that vehicle of creative destruction that is reordering ever more of the world. At least five differences set this age apart and amplify migration's effects.

First is migration's global reach. The movements of the 19th century were mostly trans-Atlantic. Now, Nepalis staff Korean factories and Mongolians do scut work in Prague. Persian Gulf economies would collapse without armies of guest workers. Even within the United States, immigrants are spread across dozens of "new gateways" unaccustomed to them, from Orlando to Salt Lake City. A second distinguishing trait is the money involved, which not only sustains the families left behind but props up national economies. Migrants sent home $317 billion last year -- three times the world's total foreign aid. In at least seven countries, remittances account for more than a quarter of the gross domestic product. A third factor that increases migration's impact is its feminization: Nearly half of the world's migrants are now women, and many have left children behind. Their emergence as breadwinners is altering family dynamics across the developing world. Migration empowers some, but imperils others, with sex trafficking now a global concern. Technology introduces a fourth break from the past: The huddled masses reached Ellis Island without cell phones or Webcams. Now a nanny in Manhattan can talk to her child in Zacatecas, vote in Mexican elections and watch Mexican television shows. "Transnationalism" is a comfort but also a concern for those who think it impedes integration.

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Posted on 2010/7/14 7:00:01 ( 377 reads )

Trees Planted to Honor the Birth of a Daughter Changes Lives

The leaders of three religions A, B and C decided to convene a meeting to bring about peace. God was so pleased with their efforts that He sent an angel to them during the meeting. The angel asked the leaders what they wished. The leader of religion A said, Religion B is responsible for all the problems. So please wipe them off the face of the Earth! The leader of religion B said, Religion A is the cause of all our troubles. You have to reduce them to ashes! By now the angel was disappointed. The angel turned expectantly to the leader of religion C. With an expression of grave humility, C's leader said, I wish nothing for myself. It will be enough if you merely grant the prayers of my two colleagues! Children, we must first plant the seeds of love, peace and patience within ourselves. The key to world peace is within every individual residing on this planet. Peace is not just the absence of war and conflict; it goes well beyond that. Simply transferring the world's nuclear weapons to a museum will not in itself bring about world peace. The nuclear weapons of the mind must first be eliminated.
Mata Amritanandamayi Ma, India's Kerala-based hugging saint

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Posted on 2010/7/13 7:04:01 ( 381 reads )

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

BIHAR, INDIA, June 15, 2010: In India, where traditionally boys have been preferred over girls, a village in Bihar state has been setting an example by planting trees to celebrate the birth of a girl child. In Dharhara village, Bhagalpur district, families plant a minimum of 10 trees whenever a girl child is born. And this practice is paying off, financing the dowry and lessening the worries families have when trying to marry a daugther.

Nikah Kumari, 19, is all set to get married in early June. The would-be groom is a state school teacher chosen by her father, Subhas Singh. Mr Singh is a small-scale farmer with a meager income, but he is not worried about the high expenses needed for the marriage ceremony. For, in keeping with the village tradition, he had planted 10 mango trees the day Nikah was born. The girl and the trees were nurtured over the years and today both are grown up. "Today that day has come for which we had planted the trees. We've sold off the fruits of the trees for three years in advance and got the money to pay for my daughter's wedding," Mr. Singh told the BBC. "The trees are our fixed deposits," he said.

The villagers have been planting trees for generations. Mr. Singh paid for the weddings of his three daughters after selling fruits of trees he had planted at the time of their birth. "One medium-size mango orchard yealds around US$ 4,245 every season. These trees have great commercial value and they are a big support for us at the time of our daughter's marriage," he says. The villagers say they save a part of the money earned through the sale of fruits every year in a bank account opened in their daughter's name.

"This is our way of meeting the challenges of dowry, global warming and female feticides. There has not been a single incident yet of female feticide or dowry death in our village," Subhendu Kumar Singh says.

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Belief in a Caring God Improves Response to Medical Treatment for Depression

Posted on 2010/7/13 7:03:01 ( 410 reads )

Source: www.sciencedaily.com

UNITED SATES, July 13, 2010: A total of 136 adults diagnosed with major depression or bipolar depression at inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care facilities in Chicago participated in the study. In patients diagnosed with clinical depression, belief in a concerned God can improve response to medical treatment, according to a paper in the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Response to medication, defined as a 50-percent reduction in symptoms, can vary in psychiatric patients. Some may not respond at all. But the study found that those with strong beliefs in a personal and concerned God were more likely to experience an improvement. Specifically, participants who scored in the top third of the Religious Well-Being Scale were 75-percent more likely to get better with medical treatment for clinical depression.

A Video Summary of Hinduism Today's July/August/September 2010 Issue

Posted on 2010/7/20 7:06:01 ( 410 reads )

Source: www.youtube.com

KAPAA, KAUAI, HI, USA, July 21, 2010: This is the video that so many readers of Hinduism Today look forward to. Our Editor-in-Chief presents the summary of this issue's features.

This issue travels the globe from India to Australia, from Nepal to Mauritius and beyond. It also introduces an amazing man we have named the 2010 Hindu of the Year, Sri P. Parameswaran.

Our feature article takes us into the hills of Nepal, as we follow the rites of passage, the samskaras, practiced there, in a unique and colorful way. Ace photographer Thomas Kelly brings the rituals and celebrations to life with his astounding camera work.

Our 16-page center section is a tour-de-force of some of the most exotic of Hinduism's practices, called "Healing, Sacred Vows and Trance Possession." Stephen P. Huyler is our guide into a seldom-documented world that may well teach you again of the power of faith.

In this issue's Publisher's Desk, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami urges readers to work hard at living in the eternal now, showing us how it is done.

Swami and swaminis give the Hindu view on the global financial crisis, gay marriage, yoga's relationship to Hinduism and the challenges Hindus face in the future. Vel Mahalingum tells the story of how the Hindus of Mauritius started studying their faith, and today this nation's majority Hindu community is perhaps the best model of how to face the 21st century and keep your religion in the bargain.

There's lots more, of course. It's all there in the current issue of Hinduism Today, where you go to stay in touch with Sanatana Dharma -- click here to see this exciting video.

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Lakshmi Narayan Temple to be Constructed in Freeport

Posted on 2010/7/20 7:05:01 ( 578 reads )

Source: Paras Ramoutar, HPI Correspondent

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, July 21, 2010: Indian-born, seer, Jyoti Shacharya Sri Sri Gajendra Kumar has announced that construction work on a $14 million Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Trinidad will commence on Divali, November 5.

"When completed, the Mandir will become a place of peace, solace, tranquility and deep spirituality where devotes could come and meditate, pray, offer obeisance to Hindu Gods and Goddesses," says Jyoti Sri Sri Kumar.

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Hinduism Summit in California - August 28, 2010

Posted on 2010/7/20 7:04:01 ( 392 reads )

Source: www.prurgent.com

UNITED STATES, July 21, 2010: Based on the positive results of six Hinduism Summits held by the Forum Hindu Awakening (FHA) over the past year, FHA along with the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple is sponsoring a Hinduism Summit.

The Hindu Dharma Sabha welcomes anyone interested in understanding and living Hinduism. The Hindu Dharma Sabha will include presentations by Hindu and spiritual leaders, demonstrative videos and a posters' display to create awareness about the spiritual reasoning underlying Hinduism practices. Please contact the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple for details here.

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UK Daycare Investigated After Vegetarian Hindu Was Served Fish

Posted on 2010/7/20 7:03:01 ( 366 reads )

Source: www.harrowtimes.co.uk

KENTON, U.K., June 30, 2010: Education watchdog, Ofsted, issued a "Notice to Improve" to Kenton Day Nursery after a vegetarian Hindu mother discovered her son had been served fish for lunch. She complained to Ofsted in March and the watchdog published its findings in April.

A summary of its conclusions states: "We carried out an announced visit to the premises and found the provider had not taken the necessary steps to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in relation to children's special dietary requirements, preferences or food allergies they may have.

Richard Money, Asquith's sales and operations director, said: "Our number one priority is always the safety and well-being of every child at our nursery and we take the allegation, and the subsequent Ofsted findings, extremely seriously.

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Malaysian Woman Starts Global Trust To Preserve Tamil Heritage

Posted on 2010/7/20 7:02:01 ( 342 reads )

Source: thestar.com.my

COIMBATORE, INDIA, June 27, 2010: A globe-trotting Malaysian-born Information Technology (IT) consultant has embarked on an ambitious initiative to preserve ancient Tamil heritage in digital format. Subhashini Tremmel, currently residing in Germany, is sourcing these archaic priceless materials which are sprinkled across the globe.

"I want to preserve Tamil heritage in a digital manner. Many ancient Tamil texts are in the form of inscriptions (murals, wall writings in temple pillars or even caves), on copper plates, palm leaves and papers. Our Tamil Heritage Foundation is trying to preserve these materials in digital form for the future," she said at the World Classical Tamil Conference, held in the southern city of Coimbatore.

The trust, a self-funding organization with members spanning, largely from the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland, India and Sri Lanka, contribute to develop the web-based network, which also aims to create awareness of Tamil history among the globally-spread Tamil community.

The project started in 2002 in England, managed to digitalize nearly 13 rare ancient Tamil books found in a British library. Subashini and her team have now amassed nearly 7,000 palm leaves over the last six years; their contents as old as 150 to 200 years have now been digitalized.

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A Documentary in a Day

Posted on 2010/7/20 7:01:01 ( 490 reads )

Source: googleblog.blogspot.com

USA, July 21, 2010: Produced and Director Ridley Scott has joined YouTube in a global experiment to create a user-generated feature film, shot in a single day, by people around the world.

On July 24, you have 24 hours to capture a snapshot of your life on camera. You can film the ordinary -- a sunrise, the commute to work, a neighborhood soccer match, or the extraordinary -- a baby's first steps, your reaction to the passing of a loved one, or even a marriage.

Kevin Macdonald, the Oscar-winning director of films such as The Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void and One Day in September, will then edit the most compelling footage into a feature documentary film, to be executive-produced by Ridley Scott, the director behind films like Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Thelma & Louise, Blade Runner and Robin Hood. LG Electronics is supporting "Life in a Day" as a key part of its long-standing "Life's Good" campaign and to support the creation of quality online content that can be shared and enjoyed by all.

For more information, click on the "source" above.

[HPI note: Our readers have a chance to include the Hindu perspective in this documentary.]

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Posted on 2010/7/20 7:00:01 ( 453 reads )

The Beggar Who Gave Alms To The Poor

Sandalwood perfumes even the axe that hurls it down! The more we rub sandalwood against a stone, the more its fragrance spreads. Burn it, and it wafts its glory through the entire neighborhood. Such is the enchanting beauty of forgiveness in life.
Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1993)

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Posted on 2010/7/19 7:04:01 ( 357 reads )

Two Indian Americans Appointed as White House Fellows

AHMEDABAD, INDIA, June 27, 2010: Khimjibhai Prajapati, 64 and a beggar in Mehsana for a decade, a few days ago donated clothes to 11 poor hearing and speech-impaired girls at the Shrimati Kesarbai Kilachand School for the Deaf, to the astonishment of the school's staff.

It was the first time ever that a beggar had walked into the school to share his savings. An unkempt Khimjibhai in tattered, unwashed clothes, limped through the school gates on crutches and placed the brand new clothes in the hands of 11 eager girls. He had used his savings of around US$65 to buy the clothes.

Khimjibhai begs outside the Simandhar Swami Jain Temple in Mehsana and outside the Hanuman Temple. "I just need two meals a day and some money to send back to my ailing wife in Rajkot. Apart from this, whatever I earn I use to buy food for poor, hungry people. Since a long time I wished to do something for girls and I am happy to donate for them," he said.

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Posted on 2010/7/19 7:03:01 ( 370 reads )

Source: www.ddinews.gov.in

WASHINGTON D.C., June 20, 2010: Two Indian-Americans, Stanford Radiologist Pat Basu and Lt Commander Sunny Ramchandani, were among 13 candidates who were selected for the prestigious White House Fellow for the year 2010-2011. "This year's White House Fellows are comprised of some of the best and brightest leaders in our country," said the First Lady Michelle Obama. "I applaud their unyielding commitment to public service and dedication to serving their community," she said.

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Let the Children Be

Posted on 2010/7/19 7:02:01 ( 405 reads )

Has The "Theft of Yoga" Helped Hinduism Flourish in America?

NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 26, 2010: (The following is an essay by Madhu Purnima Kishwar.) On the wake of tragic results caused by corporal punishment in India, we can reflect on the fact that despite their avant-garde pretensions, many of our elite English-medium schools have not outgrown the moral dictum of their Victorian founding fathers: "Spare the rod and spoil the child."

Today's notions of child upbringing among the educated middle class demand constant disciplining, constant nagging, and teaching children to behave themselves to fit into the supposedly orderly world of adults. To this is added the maddening pressure to "succeed" in a highly competitive world with tests and exams starting from nursery onwards which subject tender minds to robotic academic discipline, with every child expected to be equally good in all standard subjects taught in highly regimented school classrooms irrespective of the child's abilities, inclinations, desires or talents.

Traditional notions of bringing up children in India make far greater allowance for the unique privileges of childhood and the liberties children are entitled to. For example, in most traditional and semi-traditional families in India, expectant mothers hang a portrait of Bal Gopal right opposite their beds so that they can see baby Krishna's visage first thing in the morning as an aid to having their prayers for a Krishna-like child rewarded. To see an image of baby Krishna in each child is to recognize the divinity of every child. But was Krishna the robotic student that most mothers wish for these days?

Children don't need air-conditioned classrooms, expensive schools, toys and exotic entertainment to make them happy. They need unconditional love and a sense of security from the adults responsible for their well-being. They are as happy playing with mud or sand, chasing butterflies or simply running around, jumping up and down.

While a few lucky ones come out successful, most of our modern-day baby Krishnas just manage to get by while a large number are simply crushed under the burden of living up to the neurotic expectations of adults. Our education system is making nervous wrecks out of otherwise perfectly healthy individuals by privileging robotic learning and cut-throat competition which takes all joy out of learning and makes children slaves to the insane world we have created under the pretense of promoting excellence and rewarding merit.

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Posted on 2010/7/19 7:01:01 ( 331 reads )

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

UNITED STATES, May 27, 2010: [HPI note: This thought-provoking essay from Philip Goldberg refers to the debate between Aseem Shukla and Deepak Chopra on the Washingon Post, which you can read here .]

Aseem Shukla, in his essay, "The Theft of Yoga," lamented that the phenomenal popularity of yoga has been achieved at a cost, namely its disconnection from the tradition that gave it birth. "Yoga originated in Hinduism," he wrote, starting a debate with Deepak Chopra.

None of this is new. About 200 years ago, Ralph Waldo Emerson, America's greatest homegrown philosopher, read the first translations of Hindu texts to land in Boston Harbor. While he made explicit his debt to Vedic philosophy, he blended those ideas with other ingredients in his Transcendentalist stew, and the individual flavors are not always easy to identify. That kind of adaptation has been going on ever since. The first Indian-born guru to grace our shores was Swami Vivekananda, the star of the landmark Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893. In the face of attacks from Christian leaders, Vivekananda patiently explained and fiercely defended Hinduism. But, when he created an organization to carry on his teachings, he named it the Vedanta Society, not the Hinduism Society. It was an accurate term, since Vedanta was the component of Hinduism that he emphasized, but it was also an expedient one, since it did not carry religious baggage that might cause people to think he was out to convert them. [HPI note: To contextualize those times, it is good to point out that a religion with no goal of converting others was something unknown to Vivekananda's audience.]

A few decades later, Paramahansa Yogananda made similar choices. He named his organization the Self-Realization Fellowship, not the Hindu Fellowship. Then came the perfect storm of the Sixties, when Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (with the help of the Beatles) ushered Transcendental Meditation into the mainstream and convinced scientists to study the practice. His organization was an educational non-profit, not a religious one, and his rendering of Vedanta was called the "Science of Creative Intelligence."

Like those three seminal figures, virtually every guru and yoga master who came to the West made similar adaptations. They expounded one component of Hinduism or another, but in a universal context. They offered a spiritual science -- a science of consciousness, if you will -- and not a religion as such. Therefore, Americans used the teachings on their own terms, whether religious or secular.

From the perspective of Hindus who are proud of their great heritage, such choices are unfortunate. Advocates like Dr. Shukla are doing exactly what ought to be done to rehabilitate the image of Hinduism, and I for one hope they succeed. At the same time, we probably would not be having this conversation at all if the influential gurus had not made the choices they did. How many Americans would have taken up meditation or yoga if those practices had been offered to them as Hinduism?

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Posted on 2010/7/19 7:00:01 ( 419 reads )

WAVES 2010 Conference Announced

Anger is one letter away from danger.
Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of former US president Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Posted on 2010/7/18 7:04:01 ( 349 reads )

Source: www.umassd.edu

DARTMOUTH, MA, July 13, 2010 (Press Release): The World Association of Vedic Studies (WAVES) announced its 8th International Conference today. The WAVES conference attracts the leading academic scholars on Vedas and Hinduism, and is the largest conference of its kind in the Americas. Previously held in the US, this time it is moving to the Caribbean islands and will be held at the University of West Indies, St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad between August 4th - 7th, 2010.

"The universal insights of the Vedas have much to guide and inform us in this challenging global climate, hence we have chosen the conference theme of: Vedic Knowledge for Civilizational Harmony. Vedic heritage is vast, diverse and complex and is reflected in the WAVES 2010 lineup of over 100 Vedic scholars, linguists, philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians who will be presenting their respective research," says Prof. Bal Ram Singh, conference chair of WAVES 2010.

Scholars participating in the conference include: Subhash Kak, David Frawley, Rama Rao Pappu, Ram Krishna Puligandla, T.S. Rukmani, Douglas Allen, Aseem Shukla, Nicholas Kazanas, S. Kalyanaraman, Subramaniam Swamy, Swami Aksharananda, Ramasubramanian, Triloki Nath Pandey, R. Ganesh, and Jeffrey Armstrong.

"This conference promises to be an historic event in cultural studies and celebration of Vedic traditions. This conference provides an excellent opportunity for the Indian community at large to understand and connect with their rich and diverse tradition of eternal values", said Sashi Kejriwal, President, WAVES.

For more information, click on the "source" above.

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The Balancing of Church and Cubicle

Posted on 2010/7/18 7:03:01 ( 455 reads )

Source: www.nytimes.com

NEW YORK, NY, July 2, 2010: [HPI note: This article answers common question about religion in relation to one's job. For the full article, click on the source above.]

Q. You want to take time off for a religious observance that does not occur on your day off or on a paid holiday. Should you tell your manager the reason, or just take it as personal time and leave it at that? A. Although some companies give employees paid personal days off -- and don't require them to divulge the reason, it's a good idea to be upfront about it, according to Mary Hladio, chief executive of Ember Carriers, an organizational development consulting firm in Cincinnati. Speak to your manager privately, letting her know that the time off is for a religious observance, so she understands why the day off is important to you, Ms. Hladio says. "Be aware how your request affects the rest of your team," she says, "and give as much advance notice as possible."

Q. Is it O.K. to put up religious symbols or sayings in your office or cubicle? A. Yes, as long as those around you aren't distracted by them or find them blatantly offensive. Especially if your work space is a cubicle, make sure that anything religious, or anything personal, for that matter, is within your private space and not on an outside wall. Keep in mind that it's a place for conducting business. "You don't want it to look like you're proselytizing, for example, by having a large crucifix on the front door," Mr. Zuckerberg says.

Q. If your employer tells you it's not acceptable to express your faith at work, whether in how you decorate your office, how you dress or what you say to others, is this religious discrimination? A. The law says you have a right to be free from discrimination based on religion, but that's generally in cases of blatant discrimination, like being fired or not hired because of your religion, Mr. Zuckerberg says. Everything else is a balancing act between the interests of the business and employees' desires to express their beliefs.

Q. You sometimes want to discuss things related to your faith, like religious teachings or an interesting sermon you've heard. Is that appropriate at work? A. People around the water cooler talk about all kinds of things, sports, dating, family, sex, births and religion, and it can all be acceptable, Mr. Hicks says. The important thing is to be sensitive to the response you receive from others. "If they act disinterested or uncomfortable, you have to stop," he says. "It's all about mutual respect."

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Foreign Tourists Flock To Tamil Nadu

Posted on 2010/7/18 7:02:01 ( 436 reads )

Security Hassles At Kashi Vishwanath Temple

NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 27, 2010: With a record 2.37 million visitors, Tamil Nadu became the number one destination state for foreign tourists in 2009, accounting for 17.3 per cent of tourists who visited the country.

Tamil Nadu also became the third state to attract maximum domestic tourists, with 115.8 million visitors (almost 17.8 per cent of domestic tourism). The lure: Mamallapuram or Mahabalipuram, a town in Kancheepuram district that was a port city for the Pallava dynasty in the seventh century, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Figures compiled by the Ministry of Tourism found Andhra Pradesh retained its slot at the top for domestic tourism, for the fourth year running, with 157.5 million Indians visiting the state. "The big draw is the Tirumala Tirupati shrine in Andhra Pradesh," a ministry official told HT.

Posted on 2010/7/26 7:02:01 ( 479 reads )

Source: in.news.yahoo.com

INDIA, July 11, 2010: Security hassles at Kashi Vishwanath Temple have cut down the influx of daily devotees at the world famous temple by nearly 50 per cent, said Acharya Dr. Harihar Kripalu Tripathi, chief of Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust. "The ever expanding security, which is inevitable owing to the sensitive nature of our complex, has reduced the influx of neyamis (daily devotees) at the temple in the last eight years since the three tier security cover has been set up," said Dr. Tripathi.

A process is now underway to issue passes to the daily devotees. "We can't do away with the security, but at least regain the neyamis by issuing passes with the cooperation of the police and administration, to ensure they not only resume their old practice of praying daily at the temple, but also have a free passage devoid of security hassles on the temple premises," he said.

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Prophecy Sows Chaos in Fiji

Posted on 2010/7/26 7:01:01 ( 385 reads )

Source: www.google.com

FIJI, June 23, 2010: [HPI note: While the editorial staff of Hinduism Today works on an article about 2012, the Mayan calendar and World-End prophecies, we noticed this piece in the news. It is remarkable how fast a rumor can spread. Fiji is an unstable nation right now, which recently went through a military coup. The prophecy, fortunately, did not materialize.]

Fiji Visitors Bureau head remains in custody and police on the islands are threatening to seize more people accused of spreading panic, amidst rumors the nation will be hit by a disaster tomorrow. The chairman of the Fiji Visitors Bureau, Bill Gavoka, was detained yesterday after he sent emails to tourist operators warning of a pending disaster.

Gavoka wrote in his email that this was not a prophecy made by cult leaders, but by a mature and balanced pastor. "The prophecy is commanding a lot of dialogue in the Christian community across the country and my background was tourism. I spent 30 years in the industry and I know that they're very vulnerable and I remember what happened in Thailand in 2004 with the Asian tsunami and I thought I would be doing my duty to alert them to this and prepare themselves for something real. According to the prophecy it will be around 2:30 in the afternoon," he said.

The rumors have spread like fire three months after a local pastor, Laione Lutumaimuri Nacevamaca, of the Kuriako's Christian Centre in Nadi, wrote a letter warning of events to come: "A devastating disaster will hit Fiji in June, 2010. Earthquakes and waves will hit the entire land from all directions. After the waves, strong winds and rain will follow. It will be chaotic, catastrophe that Fiji has never experienced before. This is the date and time. Mark to your calendar. Add it to your prayer lists. Get right with the Lord God!"

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Posted on 2010/7/26 7:00:01 ( 337 reads )

Swami Bua Maharaj Passes Away After More Than a Century of Yoga

This body is a world, a universe just like the one outside, and that is why great beings all say to look there, inside. If you look outside of yourself, you won't find anything. But what is it that has its eternal source in God? Certainly not the body. The scriptures talk of the angustha purusha (thumb-sized body) which dwells in the heart. Within it are contained all the stored desires and deeds of the individual soul.
Swami Prakashananda

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Posted on 2010/7/22 7:04:01 ( 567 reads )

Source: HPI

KAPAA, HI, USA, July 23, 2010: Sri Swami Bua Maharaj, one of the world's greatest yogis, passed away today. Robert Spalding Newcomb, a logtime student of Swami, reported that Swami was hospitalized in Bengaluru two days ago and left his body shortly after that.

Swami Bua was a legendary hatha yogi. True to his spirit of sannyas, he never disclosed his age, but his devotees and closest associates place the date of his birth on 1889 or 1890. Hindu scriptures say that 120 years is the ideal lifespan of an uncorrupted human body.

Swami was Hindu of The Year 1998 of Hinduism Today magazine (you can read the article ). The paragraphs below reproduced the article published in January, 1999:

Swami Bua won't reveal his age or anything else that is personal about himself, and there is no independent verification for his devotees' claim. But Hinduism Today founder Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami first met Swami in Paris in 1969, and Swami was at that time easily in his 70s. Then, as now, this accomplished hatha yogi was in the best of shape, able to blow a conch for several minutes without taking a breath. His intellect and sense of humor remain keen. During his long life, he has met Swami Sivananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranatha Tagore, Theosophist Annie Besant and Subramuniyaswami's guru, Siva Yogaswami of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Swami has lived alone since 1972 in a modest apartment in New York City near Central Park. The living room is his yoga classroom where small groups of students gather daily for instruction in hatha yoga and meditation. Though he lives on a mostly liquid diet of vegetable and fruit juice, Swami loves to cook.

He won't say much about his past, except to tell one story from his childhood. "I was the 16th child of my parents, having 12 brothers and 4 sisters," he said. "I was born crippled and remained so until I was ten. Then a doctor predicted I would die. I did die, or so they thought. They took me to the cremation ground and put my body on the pyre. As the flames were lit, my body began to shake. Everyone ran away. Only one sadhu named Yogeshwara stayed, and he took me off the fire, then to his ashram where he gave me Himalayan herbs and taught me yoga. By 17 I had regained my health, but my family would not take me back." Swami has lived as a strict sannyasi ever since.

"No special practice is necessary for God Realization," he told us. "I see God everywhere. If God is not there, how do so many things happen?" "My contention is that sickness is sin," Swami went on. "Don't kill other animals, don't make the belly as a burial ground. I teach hatha yoga, but I don't subscribe to the idea that hatha yoga is a physical gymnastic exercise. 'Restraint of the modifications of the mind' [according to Patanjali] is yoga. Altogether there are eight limbs. Yama, moral restraints, is a step. When are you going to perfect your yama? How many lives is it going to take? When are you going to perfect your niyama, spiritual observances? When are you going to perfect your pratyahara, drawing in the forces of the mind? It takes time." And so has Swami been direct and outspoken throughout his life, and well deserved to be named "Hindu of the Year" in 1998.

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Malayasia's Hindu - Buddhist Civilization Larger than Once Believed

Posted on 2010/7/22 7:03:01 ( 431 reads )

Source: sify.com

KULALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, July 21, 2010: A team of Malaysian archaeologists discovered ancient furnaces for iron smelting in Jiniang, Kedah, 30 km from the Bujang Valley site near Merbok, Kedah state. "This means the Bujang Valley civilization area encompassed about 1,000 sq km - three times the size of Penang island - and not 400 sq km as thought before," said Mokhtar Saidin, who led a team of researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). This was on the agenda to be discussed at a three-day international conference on "Bujang Valley and Early Civilizations" in South-East Asia which commenced on July 5.

The Bujang Valley or Lembah Bujang is a sprawling historical complex situated near Merbok, Kedah, between Gunung Jerai in the north and Muda River in the south. It is the richest archaeological area in Malaysia. The name itself is roughly translated into Dragon Valley. The area consists of ruins that may be more than 1,500 years old. More than 50 ancient tomb temples, called candi, have also been unearthed Saidin said. The team, which conducted excavations from February 2009 to May this year, found complexes such as ritual sites and industries of early civilization in Bujang Valley that was based on the iron industry. "We excavated 10 sites along Sungai Batu in Bujang Valley and found evidence that furnaces were used by the ancient civilization." From the fifth century to the 14th century, the area was a thriving Hindu civilization with Buddhist elements.

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Hindu and Sikh Groups Want Fireworks Laws Amended for Diwali

Posted on 2010/7/22 7:02:01 ( 397 reads )

Source: www.thespec.com

HAMILTON, CANADA, July 21, 2010: Hamilton's Hindu and Sikh communities are looking to change the city's fireworks bylaw to accommodate for Diwali, the "festival of lights." While thousands of Hamiltonians every year celebrate the Hindu holiday, the current bylaw restricts the use and sale of fireworks to Victoria Day, Canada Day and the two days before and after those holidays.

Local community members are looking to change what they are calling an outdated regulation. "The definition is called 'festival of lights.' Without that component of light, Diwali has no or very little meaning," said Nithy Ananth, president of the Hindu Samaj Temple of Hamilton and Region. "I think people who (have cultural celebrations) ... make the Canadian culture rich," said Budh Dhillon, who is a member of the Baba Budha Ji Gursikh Temple. "It's safe to have firecrackers on Victoria Day. It's safe to have them on Canada Day. Why can't we have them on another day?"

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Indian-Americans Do Get the Joke. But Does Time Get Hindu-Americans?

Posted on 2010/7/22 7:01:01 ( 382 reads )

Indian-Americans Do Get the Joke. But Do They Get Hindu-Americans?

NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 21, 2010: (HPI: The following essay by Anika Gupta is a response to Joel Stein's recent column in Time Magazine about Indian-Americans.)

After reading Joel Stein's column in Time magazine about Indian-Americans, many want to know why Indians can't just take a joke.

Stein's jokes about race, about religion and about food are accurate -- but that doesn't make them good. Why don't Indian-Americans laugh? We have laughed. A thousand times. Every single Indian-American kid has laughed off a joke about his religion, his color or his food. We grew up laughing. Even when we asked for better treatment, we were polite. When I was 15, I circulated an e-mail petition to my friends, respectfully asking an American company to stop making toilet seats with the faces of Hindu gods painted on them.

But by the time I saw Stein's column, I was tired of laughing. I wondered why it was okay for him to crack that same old joke about the many-armed Gods -- in 2010! Or why it was okay for Time to run an article that may as well have been called, "Indians: They're only good for funny names and ethnic buffets."

I'm an American, and I'm also of Indian origin. I worship many-armed Gods, and I eat really spicy Andhra food. But here's the thing that Joel Stein never saw -- I've fought to be accepted; I've assimilated in ways he can't see. The Indian grocery, the Hindu temple -- these are now part of the Indian-American identity.

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Posted on 2010/7/22 7:01:01 ( 1488 reads )

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Posted on 2010/7/22 7:00:01 ( 393 reads )

Mahakumbhabishekam Attracted Thousands to Upstate New York

There are more than two million Indians here in America now. And I think more than half of them are here tonight (laughter and applause). And I might say, Mr. Prime Minister, the other half are disappointed that they're not here (laughter).
President Bill Clinton at a State Dinner held at the white house in honor of India's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

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Posted on 2010/7/21 7:05:01 ( 362 reads )

Source: www.democratandchronicle.com

RUSH, NEW YORK, July 21, 2010: From July 1 - 11, devotees worshipped and chanted the sacred mantras that ceremoniously re-consecrated the Sri Rajarajeswari Peetham on its 12th anniversary. Located on East River Road in Rush, New York, the temple was initially consecrated in 1998.

Devotees come from across New England and Ontario, Canada, to worship Sri Rajarajeswari, the main deity, as well as Lord Ganesha, Lord Bhairavar and Lord Siva. Temple officials are expecting several thousand people to attend the event over the 11 days. "Most of my membership is from Canada simply because I'm originally from the little island of Sri Lanka and there are more than 250,000 Sri Lankans in Toronto," said Aiya Haran, founder of the temple.

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Ahimsa In College Laboratories

Posted on 2010/7/21 7:04:01 ( 422 reads )

Source: www.thehindu.com

NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 3, 2010: It is time now to promote ahimsa, with several universities across the country in the process of banning dissection of animals in laboratories for experiments. From this academic year (2010-11), two universities in Rajasthan -- the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur and the Ajmer-based MDS University -- will become dissection-free. They have taken initiatives to introduce 'multimedia computer-based humane alternatives' and will incorporate these in the curriculum.

Garhwal University in Uttarakhand and Bharatidasan University in Tamil Nadu too have stopped dissecting animals for zoological experiments. Replacement has been done in some universities in Gujarat and Kerala.

"Dissection of animals to teach morphology, anatomy, evolution and zoology and life sciences is no longer required. With the technological advancements, we now have pedagogical methods, including models, multimedia computer-based simulators to achieve the goal of learning in this important realm of science," says B.K. Sharma, Head of the Department of Zoology, R.L. Saharia Government PG College (Kaladera), Jaipur.

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Kapaleeswaran Temple Qualifies for ISO Certification

Posted on 2010/7/21 7:03:01 ( 449 reads )

Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims Across Rural Punjab Restore Mosques

CHENNAI, INDIA, July 21, 2010: The International Standards Organization, who defines the elements of an effective quality management system, has awarded the Kapaleeswaran Temple the ISO 9001:2008 certification. The 9001:2008 is a world class quality management system for companies/organizations that have an objective of improving their customer satisfaction.

Other temples in India are also receiving ISO certification.

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Posted on 2010/7/21 7:02:01 ( 414 reads )

Source: www.outlookindia.com

PUNJAB, INDIA, July 19, 2010: Around 200 mosques across the Punjab have been repaired, rebuilt or built from scratch with the help of Sikhs and Hindus in the last 10 years. Many destroyed during Partition riots are now being restored by village communities.

The Ghuman family of Sarwarpur, near Ludhiana, cannot understand what the fuss is about. Ever since Sajjan Singh Ghuman, an NRI Sikh living in England, rebuilt a mosque in his native village, the shrine, as well as his family back home, have attracted the curiosity of outsiders. "We never imagined we would be on a Punjabi TV channel just because my elder brother rebuilt this small mosque for the poor Muslim families of our village. For him, it was just a gesture towards restoring the collective heritage of our village," says Sajjan's brother, Joga Singh.

Much of the present effort to revive mosques is coming from a young generation. Kesar, a Jat Sikh farmer from Ratia, and Kamal, a Hindu whose family migrated from Sialkot in Pakistan, have slogged shoulder to shoulder for days to rebuild Dhuri's lone mosque. Many people from the Hindu community helped dig the foundations. Hindus and Sikhs from nearby villages, too, contributed with hefty donations.

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Gay Marriage Question Mirrors Slavery Debate

Posted on 2010/7/21 7:01:01 ( 352 reads )

Source: www.religionnews.com

USA, July 21, 2010 (Religion News Service): One group of Christians confidently proclaims that a plain reading of the Bible is a slam dunk in their favor. The other side appeals to Scripture's grand narrative toward freedom and inclusive love. The argument boils over and ripples through the wider culture. The search for middle ground proves futile. Denominations break apart. Sound familiar? It could be 2010--or the mid-19th century.

As U.S. churches and denominations slog through divisive and long-running arguments over homosexuality, many Protestant progressives have sought to claim the historical and moral high ground by aligning their cause with abolitionism.

"I think almost everybody who makes the liberal argument about homosexuality makes the connection with abolition and slavery," said the Rev. Jeffrey Krehbiel, a Washington, D.C., pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who supports gay rights. Abolitionists, he said, "were the first to make the argument that the plain reading of the text maybe isn't the most fruitful way to read the Bible."

In both eras, cultural trends forced Christians to question practices that had long been taken for granted, said Mark Noll, a professor of American religious history at the University of Notre Dame and author of "The Civil War as a Theological Crisis." Likewise, the Bible, and how to interpret it, has played a central role both then and now, Noll said.

In the 19th century, even some Northern abolitionists admitted that the Bible clearly condones slavery. Many, therefore, sought other sources of morality and methods of biblical interpretation; conservatives countered that such appeals undermine the power of the sacred text. As conflict heated up, Noll writes in his book, slavery's defenders increasingly saw "doubts about biblical defense of slavery as doubts about the authority of the Bible itself."

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Posted on 2010/7/21 7:00:01 ( 391 reads )

Millions At Puri For The Rathyatra

Listen for silence in noisy places; feel at peace in the midst of disturbance; awaken joy when there is no reason.
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001)

Posted on 2010/7/28 7:05:01 ( 362 reads )

Source: www.ddinews.gov.in

PURI, INDIA, July 18, 2010: Millions of devotees from across the country and abroad thronged this pilgrim town when Lord Jagannath set off on his annual sojourn to his aunt's house accompanied by elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra on three majestic wooden chariots.

Special rituals like Mangla arati and Mailam were held before the Deities proceeded out of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple after descending from the Ratna Sinhasana, the bejewelled throne. The three Deities were taken down the 22 steps of the temple known as 'baisi pahacha' through the Lion's gate in an elaborate royal ritual called 'Pahandi.'

Devotees poured into this seaside town since early morning to watch the ceremonial pulling of the huge chariots of the three Deities.

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Five Hundred Hindu Temples Damaged in Northern Sri Lanka

Posted on 2010/7/28 7:04:01 ( 382 reads )

Source: www.zeenews.com

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, July 21, 2010: More than 500 Hindu temples in Sri Lanka were damaged during the war.

Voicing the demand to renovate the temples, S. Yogeshwaran said in the country's Parliament that more than 500 Hindu Kovils (temples) need to be reconstructed. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Prime Minister D. M. Jayarathne said foreign aid will also be obtained to develop religious places in north and east provinces in addition to government allocations.

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Study of Indian Philosophy Flourishing in Russia

Posted on 2010/7/28 7:03:01 ( 394 reads )

Announcing American Hindu World Service

MOSCOW, RUSSIA, July 21, 2010: Indologist Viktoria Lyssenko of the Russian Academy of Sciences, recently lecturing at Kashmir University, related that Indic Studies in Russia are flourishing.

Thanks to the initiatives of Prof Marietta Stepanyants, the author of the first textbook on Eastern philosophies, and the Indian embassy in Moscow, a unique chair of Indian Philosophy named after Mahatma Gandhi has been established at the Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences. Sanskrit and courses on various branches of Indian philosophical traditions are taught. Last year, the first specialized encyclopedia of Indian philosophy, prepared by Russian Indologists, was published and the State Commission declared it the best book of the year 2009.

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Posted on 2010/7/28 7:02:01 ( 422 reads )

Source: www.ahwsngo.org

UNITED STATES, July 21, 2010: [HPI note: The following is a press release announcing the creation of a Hindu faith-based NGO by Divya Selvakumar.]

As an international development professional and nutrition specialist, I spent a couple years working in Tanzania and in India spreading the importance of nutrition awareness. During this time, I became interested in the role religion played in the implementation of nutrition programs. Upon moving to DC area a few years ago, I met representatives from and became familiar with World Vision, American Jewish World Service, and Islamic Relief. However, I could not find a non-governmental relief organization associated with Hinduism. This observation formed the idea of American Hindu World Service (AHWS), an organization focused on promoting international development and global health through Hindu faith-based perspectives. AHWS aims to promote, educate and advocate for the Hindu service aspects in international development.

Currently, AHWS is developing its agenda and is collaborating with international and domestic interfaith organizations, as well as international development professionals. The organization's agenda will focus on the six areas articulated by the Millennium Development Goals:

.nutrition and food security
.water and sanitation
.environment
.education
.women's empowerment
.microfinance

Due to our strong presence in American society, it is time that Hindus join forces with other religious communities around the globe for the purpose of spreading service, peace, and tolerance.

(To contact the American Hindu World Service, go the website at source above.)

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Featured Article: Nepal's Rites of Passage

Posted on 2010/7/28 7:01:01 ( 453 reads )

KAPAA, HI, USA, July 29, 2010: [HPI note: Over the next weeks, HPI will bring to you some highlights of the latest issue of Hinduism Today.]

The newars are the indigenous people of Nepal's Kathmandu valley. Most are Hindus. Their rites of passage are central to their strong social and religious traditions. These ceremonies express and celebrate the importance of the major landmarks of human life, including birth, first feeding and coming of age.

Writer Ellen Coon came to kathmandu as a Fulbright Scholar in 2004 to study newar ritual practice and concepts of feminine Divinity. Over the years, she has developed a rich network of newar friends and teachers who have generously explained their beliefs and way of life to her and even allowed her to share in their personal family observances.

[Excerpt:] In Kathmandu, we are reminded constantly of how religion binds us to place and to each other. Everywhere there is evidence of worship, from vermilion and rice grains sprinkled at the stone in front of the entrance to a home, to rice pudding lovingly offered into the mouth of the neighborhood Ganesha, to the unexpected procession in which a gold-swathed baby, a shaven-headed boy in a loincloth or a magnificently dressed elder in a palanquin is paraded through the neighborhood to celebrate entrance into a new stage of life.

These are some of the "ten karmas" or life-cycle rituals--samskaras in Sanskrit--practiced by the Newars. Of the ten karmas, I describe the seven most common, all of which I've seen first hand: blessing the baby, first feeding, ihi for girls, coming of age for girls and for boys, marriage and honoring one's elders. The remaining three are also for elders, but rare. (...)

You can read the article
here

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Posted on 2010/7/28 7:00:01 ( 434 reads )