News from Hindu Press International
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Posted on 2011/4/27 19:10:00 ( 1714
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If our country is to produce robust, intellectual, and long-lived children
who believe in God, we must, in my humble opinion, learn ways to control
our sense organs.
Sri K. -- Pattabhi Jois, from his book Yoga Mala
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Posted on 2011/4/27 19:10:00 ( 2082
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INDIA, April 2011: Teenagers who spend hours plugged into their MP3 players
are at greater risk of depression than their friends who prefer reading,
new research by a team of American scientists suggests. Adolescents who
excessively listen to music are over eight times likelier to suffer major
depressive disorders than those who hardly listen to music, according to
the research published in the journal Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent
Medicine. The research was conducted by scientists from the University of
Pittsburgh, the University of North Carolina and the University of
California, Berkeley.
The scientists observed 106 adolescents including 46 diagnosed with major
depressive disorders, for a period of two months. Those who were exposed to
the most music were 8.3 times more likely to be depressed compared to those
who listened to music the least, the study found. In contrast, the
researchers found, voracious readers were one-tenth as likely to be
depressed as those who hardly read books.
"At this point, it is not clear whether depressed people begin to
listen to more music to escape, or whether listening to large amounts of
music can lead to depression, or both. Either way, these findings may help
clinicians and parents recognize links between media and depression,"
Dr. Brian Primack, lead author of the study said. The findings were
conducted only among American adolescents. Like in the US, several studies
in major Indian cities have also shown a declining preference among youth
for reading.
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Posted on 2011/4/26 19:23:12 ( 2434
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[HPI note: Although Sai Baba was born to Hindu parents, raised in a Hindu
community, took a Hindu name, wore the saffron-colored vestments of a Hindu
sannyasin, will be honored by Hindu funeral rites; though he quoted from
Hindu scriptures and directed an overwhelmingly Hindu following to sing
traditional Hindu devotional songs, even so, he did not profess to be a
Hindu. Still, in the minds of countless westerners, his was the image
conjured when someone spoke of Hinduism and his passing is relevant to the
Hindu community.]
UK, April 25, 2011 (The Telegraph): Sathya Sai Baba, who died yesterday,
probably aged 84, was India's most famous, and most controversial holy man.
To his followers, Sai Baba was a living God; he would frequently liken
himself to such figures as Christ, Krishna, and the Buddha, claiming that
he was the avatar of the age.
Sai Baba's reputation was founded largely on claims of his miraculous
powers. It was later tarnished by accusations of quackery and even
pedophilia, though he was never convicted.
He is thought to have been born, as Sathya Narayana Raju, on November 23
1926, into a poor farming family in the village of Puttaparthi, in the arid
state of Andhra Pradesh.
According to legend, as a child he would avoid places where animals were
slaughtered and bring beggars home to be fed. At the age of 14, after
apparently being bitten by a scorpion, he began to display signs of
delirium and hallucinations. Convinced that he was possessed, his parents
summonsed a local exorcist who shaved the boy's head, scored four X's into
his scalp, and poured the juice of garlic and lime into the wounds. Shortly
afterwards, he declared himself to be a reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba,
one of southern India's most revered saints, who died in 1918. Challenged
to prove his claim, he is said to have thrown some jasmine flowers on the
floor; in falling the flowers arranged themselves to spell out the name
"Sai Baba" in Telugu.
From humble beginnings, his following grew until by the end of the 20th
century it was estimated to number more than three million people around
the world. This made him a powerful and influential figure in Indian social
and political life; he numbered many high-ranking politicians and public
figures.
Sai Baba established an extensive network of schools and colleges
throughout India, helping millions of people. The humanitarian projects
under his name, with which he was only marginally involved, became a force
paralel to the government in parts of India. The organization is estimated
to have assets around US$ 8 billion, and could fall into a succession war.
Sathya Sai Baba was certainly wrong about one thing having, in 1963, announced
that he would live until 2020. It remains to be seen whether another
prediction is closer to the mark - that in 2028 his "third
incarnation", Prema Sai, will be born in the village of Gunaparthy in
Karnataka state. "With his [Prema Sai's] efforts, love, goodwill,
brotherhood and peace will abound throughout the world," Sai Baba
declared. "He will receive universal recognition from mankind."
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Posted on 2011/4/26 19:23:11 ( 2307
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PUTTAPARTHI, INDIA, April 26, 2011 (Times of India): An ocean of humanity
with streams of devotees flowed from all directions on Tuesday, as hectic
preparations were on for the mahasamadhi of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Number 9 was Sathya Sai Baba's favorite and lucky number. When the clock
strikes 9 in the morning, the final rituals will start and conclude by
10.30am. He will be buried in the organization's Sai Kulwant Hall, where
Baba sat, delivered discourses and blessed people. He expressed that would
be his wish.
Only key family members and Sai Central Trust members would take part in
the last rites. The construction of a memorial and fixing of a golden
statue of Baba is planned to begin in a few days time.
Eighteen priests led by Kandukoori Kondavadhani from Rajahmundry in Andhra
Pradesh will perform the process in Aagama Shastra (vedic mantras while
performing the service), while chanting Vedas. Priests from Kashi, nine
peethas across the country, will also take part in the ritual. R J Ratnakar,
Baba's nephew and trustee of Sri Sathya Sai Baba Central Trust, is likely
to perform the last rites.
"He was a Siddha Purusha, Godman. We are fortunate enough to
participate in the rituals of Baba's merging with the universe," said
Emala Purushottama Avadhani, one of the priests participating in the
Wednesday's ritual.
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Posted on 2011/4/26 19:23:10 ( 1924
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Religion News Service
WASHINGTON, U.S., April 2011 (Religion News Service): A New York minister
will soon fill the Obama administration's long-vacant position to oversee
international religious freedom after the Senate voted to confirm the Rev.
Suzan Johnson Cook for the post. Thursday's (April 14) voice vote positions
Cook to become the first female and the first African-American in the post.
"I am ... persuaded in my mind, heart, and soul that religious freedom
is the birthright of all people everywhere; a foundation of civil society,
a key to international security, and it must always be a pillar of U.S.
foreign policy," she said in a statement.
During hearings, Cook cited her travels and interfaith work on five
continents and her experience as a New York police chaplain as
qualifications for the ambassadorial post.
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Posted on 2011/4/26 19:23:09 ( 1575
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According to karma yoga, the action one has done cannot be destroyed until
it has borne its fruit; no power in nature can stop it from yielding its
results. If I do an evil action, I must suffer for it; there is no power in
this universe to stop it or stay it. Similarly, if I do a good action,
there is no power in the universe that can stop its bearing good results.
The cause must have its effect; nothing can prevent or restrain this.
-- Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
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Posted on 2011/5/6 20:24:26 ( 1661
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This was in the late 70s, I was eating when I suddenly felt that the meat
tasted dead, like ashes in my mouth. It was nothing spiritual, it was just
that my body told me. I realized then I wanted fresh life taste in my food,
and with meat, we do not even know how long it has been dead.
-- Rue McClahan on how she became a strict vegetarian
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Posted on 2011/5/5 17:36:18 ( 2337
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NEW DELHI, INDIA April 18, 2011 (Telegraph India): Mariners from India's
east coast exploited monsoon winds to sail to southeast Asia more than
2,000 years ago, an archaeologist has proposed, challenging a long-standing
view that a Greek navigator had discovered monsoon winds.
Sila Tripati at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, has
combined archaeological, meteorological, and literary data to suggest that
Indian mariners were sailing to southeast Asia riding monsoon winds as far
back as the 2nd century BC.
A 1st century AD Greek text, 'Periplus of the Erythreaean Sea', and a
contemporary Roman geographer named Pliny have claimed that the Greek
navigator, Hippalus, discovered the monsoon winds and the route across the
Arabian Sea to India around 45 AD.
But Tripati has now used multiple lines of evidence -- from inscriptions on
ancient Indian coins to bronze pottery from an archaeological site in
western Thailand -- to question that claim and argue that mariners of
India's east coast knew about the monsoon winds perhaps about 200 years
before Hippalus. Tripati's research is published in the journal Current
Science from the Indian Academy of Sciences.
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Posted on 2011/5/5 17:36:18 ( 2443
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ABBOTSFORD, BC, CANADA, May 3, 2011 (The Times of Canada) :An Abbotsford
Hindu temple suffered an estimated $250,000 in damages after a fire on
Wednesday morning. Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service was called out to the
Fraser Valley Hindu Society Temple at around 10:45 a.m.
Fire crews arrived to find smoke and fire coming from the rear of the
one-storey structure. Staff at the adjacent Lafarge Canada concrete plant
reported the fire. Firefighters controlled the blaze and prevented it from
spreading to the rest of the temple and nearby buildings.
The temple will not be in use until restoration is complete or a new temple
has been constructed. The cause of the fire is suspected to be a result of
unattended fire lamp left near combustibles in the temple.
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Posted on 2011/5/5 17:36:17 ( 2305
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Press
Release
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, May 2011: In continuation of a 14 year tradition, this
year the ICCT Memphis temple is performing Ashtottara Satakundatmaka Sri
Rama Raksha Ashtakshari Maha Yagnam from May 25th to May 29th. The Yagnam
is being performed with 108 Homakunds and 108 priests coming from various
parts of the world and is under the blessings and guidance of Karunamayi
Bhagavathi Sri Sri Sri Vijayeswari Devi. Devotees will also be given an
opportunity to participate.
The Yagnam is being preformed to promote universal peace and prosperity,
restore balance in nature, promote tolerance, respect among various faiths,
abolish terrorism and to resurrect, protect and preserve Sanathana Dharma.
More details are available at the temple website here.
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Posted on 2011/5/5 17:36:17 ( 3498
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SOUTH AFRICA, April 23, 2011 (The Times Live): Thousands of Hindu devotees
will visit temples this weekend in accordance with a practice started by
indentured Indian sugar-cane labourers about 100 years ago. The Isipingo
Mariamman Temple and the Shri Mariammen Temple in Mount Edgecombe will be
bustling as devotees from across the country pay homage during the Easter
week to the goddess Mariamman.
The Mariamman Temple in Isipingo Rail was said to have been built in about
1860, over the home of a sacred cobra. Deities represented include
Mariamman, Ganesha, Kali and Krishna.
The 121-year-old Shri Mariammen Temple in Mount Edgecombe was built by
sugar-cane workers. Temple chairman Seelan Achary said the annual gathering
had religious and historical significance. He said the sugar-cane workers
toiled from dawn till dusk seven days a week in the mills and cane fields.
After protesting they were given Sunday off.
"During the Christian holidays of Good Friday and Easter Monday, the
white sugar barons took the weekend off and, accordingly, offered the same
to their workers. As this was the only time off they got, they used the
opportunity to pay homage to Mother Mariamman, and so the practice and
custom of praying to Mother Mariamman continued from one generation to the
other," he said.
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Posted on 2011/5/5 17:36:16 ( 1612
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The learned have prescribed penance for the murderer of a pious man, a
drunkard, a thief or for one who has violated a solemn vow. But there is no
pardon for the ungrateful.
-- The Panchatantra
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Posted on 2011/5/4 17:30:15 ( 2076
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DHAKA, BANGLADESH, April 18, 2011 (The Deccan Herald): Leading spiritual
personality and principal of Ramkrishna Mission movement in Bangladesh, Swami
Aksharananda, died here today after prolonged illness at the age of 82.
"Principal of Dhaka Ramkrishna Math (monastery) and Ramkrishna Mission
breathed his last today at (Dhaka's) Apollo Hospital," the Mission
said in an announcement.
Born at Khurda village of southwestern Satkhira in 1929, Aksharananda
joined Ramkrishna Mission in Narendrapur of Kolkata in 1950 and
subsequently turned to asceticism in 1959. He returned to Bangladesh in
1972 to join a succor campaign in the war-ravaged Bangladesh to rehabilitate
the distressed people and subsequently became the Principal of Dhaka
Ramkrishna Mission, serving in this position for 37 years.
Hundreds of his admirers and followers thronged the mission to pay their
last respects to him.
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Posted on 2011/5/4 17:30:14 ( 2095
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PANJAL, KERALA, April 9, 2011 (Daily India): Michio Yano, a professor of
Sanskrit and Indian cultural history at Japan's Kyoto Sangyo University,
attended Athirathram being held in Panjal village in Kerala. He attended
the 3000-year old vedic ritual to collect input for his new book in
Japanese titled 'Inspiration of Indian Mathematics'.
"There will be a chapter on most ancient mathematics and that started
at Athirathram, with the Shianachitthi. I have read a great deal about it,
but wanted to visit Athirathram to see it with my own eyes. Everything I
have read, I have seen here, and I am happy," said Professor Yano.
Professor Yano is fascinated with 'Surbasutra' which involves using ropes
for measurement and construction of sacrificial altars. He referred to a
chapter from the book where he explains how the shianachitthi, the
bird-shaped main altar for Athirathram is very algorithmic in nature. From
the basic square shape emerges many patterns and shapes such as triangles,
parallelograms and hexagons, he explains. He also observed the measurement
of chitthi is done with extreme mathematic accuracy.
Professor Yano said: "What matters is that despite all the outward
changes brought about by technology and modern life that one may see, the
core of the ritual remains the same in Panjal Athirathram."
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Posted on 2011/5/4 17:30:14 ( 2133
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KARNATAKA, INDIA, April 2011 (The Hindu): As many as 1,600 organic farmers
from Karnataka will now get to visit Cuba to learn about that country's
achievements in organic farming. The Karnataka State Organic Farming
Mission, which is organizing the trip, has chosen four organic farmers from
each taluk for the trip. The mission had prescribed various guidelines to
ensure that only small and marginal farmers were selected for the Cuba
trip.
The mission was already in touch with the Cuban Ambassador and authorities
there are of the view that December to June is the ideal season for
visiting Cuba to study organic farming. The mission had particularly chosen
Cuba for the trip as organic farming was being practiced on nearly 60 per
cent of that country's agricultural land. Organic farming was not just
confined to villages in Cuba as a large number of urban dwellers in that
country too were growing organic vegetables through terrace gardening.
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Posted on 2011/5/4 17:30:13 ( 1787
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When culture is flooding out of the temple, our actions are productive and
our minds are creative, our speech is pure, our hearts rejoice and we
become good citizens. Religion makes us good citizens, because we are
peaceful inside and want peace in our land. Peace comes first from the
individual. It is unrealistic to expect peace from our neighbors unless we
are peaceful first, unless we make ourselves peaceful through right living,
right worship and right religious culture in the home.
-- Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism Today
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Posted on 2011/5/4 17:30:13 ( 2204
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HPI
KAUAI, HI, May 4, 2011: Most of our readers know how dynamic the Hindu
world is. HPI reflects this, and our summaries cover a wide variety of news
and subjects. Only one feature of HPI is constant: the Daily Inspiration
quote.
HPI has just added over 1,800 quotes to our database, all of them vetted by
our editors when previously published in Hinduism Today magazine. These
quote the words that the greatest minds said about the greatest religion in
the world, Hinduism, plus many more interesting things.
To celebrate, today we bring you extra Daily Inspirations quotes. Enjoy.
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Posted on 2011/5/4 17:30:12 ( 1430
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Life should be dynamic, full of movement, flowing endlessly like the mighty
Ganges. Life's movement should be channelled in the right direction. Life
becomes a burden for many people because it has lost its dynamism. For them
life is not like a flowing river. It is a static, turbid puddle.Understand
that action gives movement to life, knowledge gives it direction and
devotion bestows the inspiration to life's journey.
-- Rameshbhai Oza, inspired performer of Vaishnava kathas
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Posted on 2011/5/4 17:30:12 ( 1596
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When we engage every moment without the cares and fears of the beyond, we
are able to harness the spirit of sadhana, and every moment is filled with
Divinity.
Swamini Mayatitananda Saraswati, spiritual head of Wise Earth Monastery and
Mother Om Mission, Candler, North Carolina
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Posted on 2011/5/4 17:30:12 ( 1764
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Knowing others is wisdom; knowing the Self is enlightenment. Mastering
others requires force; mastering the Self needs strength.
-- Lao-Tsu (ca 600 bce), Chinese philosopher who inspired Taoism
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Posted on 2011/5/4 17:30:11 ( 1631
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A wicked person, though powerless himself, instigates others to injure
people. A piece of stone, itself incapable of cutting, whets the edge of a
sword.
-- Subhasita Ratnabhandagaram
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Posted on 2011/5/12 20:31:13 ( 2277
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NEW ZEALAND, April 27, 2011: During the Second Wellington Region Hindu
Conference, local Hindus decided to create a group to represent and explain
Hinduism to the media. The Hindu Media Forum was formally launched at the
"Arohanui ki te Tangata" (Goodwill to all men) event.
The Hindu Media Forum aims at fostering inter-ethnic harmony by promoting
balanced analysis and coverage of the Hindu community's events and
developments. One of its key roles is to help engage thes New Zealand media
with the Hindu community to curb stereotyping and eliminate factual errors.
"There is an urgent need for factual dissemination of information
about the Hindu community, especially in New Zealand which has been rather
lazy in its understanding of Indian communities. India in general and
Hindus in particular remain largely in New Zealanders' blind spot,"
Simha says.
[HPI note: Hinduism Today has created 14 special pages for the media
explaining Hindu festivals. They are available for publishing free of
cahrge. See www.hinduismtoday.com/festivals/ ]
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Posted on 2011/5/12 20:31:07 ( 1978
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NEW DELHI, INDIA, April 29, 2011: India today offers better economic
opportunities than the U.S., say seven out of 10 U.S.-returned Indian
entrepreneurs, suggesting a dramatic generational shift with consequences
for both countries.
In a study by three top American universities, 72% of Indians who have
returned from the U.S. to set up companies at home in recent years said the
"opportunities to start their own businesses were better or much
better" here.
Faster professional growth (54%), a better quality of life (56%) and the
same or better professional recognition (64%) are the other key draws.
"What was once a 'brain drain' that worked for the U.S. economy is now
reversed, to the long-term benefit of India and China," says the study
by researchers at the University of California Berkeley, Harvard and Duke
universities. The study evaluated responses of 153 Indian entrepreneurs who
had founded their companies in India, managed them for at least a year and
spent at least one year in the U.S. as a student or worker.
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Posted on 2011/5/12 20:30:59 ( 2443
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UNITED KINGDOM, March 25, 2011: For over 20 years, Hindus in East
Yorkshire, North and North-East Lincolnshire had to gather at church halls
and community centres for religious ceremonies but now a dedicated building
in the city is home to the region's first temple.
The Hindu Temple and Cultural Centre on Hull's Park Street was formerly the
Central Masonic Hall. In February 2010, the Hull and East Riding Hindu
Cultural Association bought the grand looking building with voluntary
donations from members and transformed it into a temple, with the original
facade and many of its features still intact.
"Our temple is the only one east of Leeds, before this our members
used to go to Bradford or Birmingham to attend functions," explained
Dr. Tapan Mahapatra, chairman of Hull and East Riding Hindu Cultural
Association. "I've noticed that within the last year we now have a
community feeling and a family feeling. There is now a focal point where we
all meet on a regular basis whether it's a religious activity or for a
social event," added Dr Mahapatra.
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Posted on 2011/5/12 20:30:52 ( 1598
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There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. We
seek problems because we need their gifts.
-- Richard Bach, American author, in Illusions
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Posted on 2011/5/9 16:40:45 ( 2157
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INDIA, May 9, 2011 (North India Times): The Supreme Court on Monday ordered
status quo on the disputed site of the Ramjanambhoomi/Babri Masjid in
Ayodhya and stayed the judgment of the Allahabad High Court. This interim
order will enable the devotees to continue worship at the makeshift temple
built near the spot where the mosque stood till December 1992.
But the bench, consisting of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice R M Lodha
described part of the September 2010 judgment of the high court "strange",
especially the division of the site into three parts. During the half-hour
hearing in a crowded courtroom, the judges remarked that "a new
dimension was given by the high court as the decree of partition was not
sought by the parties. It was not prayed by anyone. It is a strange
order," the Bench said.
"It is a difficult situation, the position is that it (the high court
judgment) has created litany of litigation," the Bench observed.
The Wakf Board and Jamait Ulama-I-Hind want the whole high court judgment
to be set aside.
The Ayodhya issue had raised communal passions for more than a decade and
led to large-scale riots in several parts of the country, claiming hundreds
of lives.
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Posted on 2011/5/9 16:40:38 ( 2309
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NEW YORK, 23 April 2011 (BBC News): In a laboratory tucked away off a noisy
New York City street, a soft-spoken neuroscientist has been placing Tibetan
Buddhist monks into a car-sized brain scanner to better understand the
ancient practice of meditation. But could this unusual research not only
unravel the secrets of leading a harmonious life but also shed light on
some of the world's more mysterious diseases? Zoran Josipovic, a research
scientist and adjunct professor at New York University, says he has been
peering into the brains of monks while they meditate in an attempt to
understand how their brains reorganise themselves during meditation.
"Meditation research, particularly in the last 10 years or so, has
shown to be very promising because it points to an ability of the brain to
change and optimise in a way we didn't know previously was possible."
When one relaxes into a state of oneness, the neural networks in experienced
practitioners change as they lower the psychological wall between
themselves and their environments, Dr Josipovic says. And this
reorganization in the brain may lead to what some meditators claim to be a
deep harmony between themselves and their surroundings.
Shifting attention Dr Josipovic's research is part of a larger effort
better to understand what scientists have dubbed the default network in the
brain. He says the brain appears to be organized into two networks: the
extrinsic network and the intrinsic, or default, network. The extrinsic
portion of the brain becomes active when individuals are focused on
external tasks, like playing sports or pouring a cup of coffee. The default
network churns when people reflect on matters that involve themselves and their
emotions. But the networks are rarely fully active at the same time. And
like a seesaw, when one rises, the other one dips down. This neural set-up
allows individuals to concentrate more easily on one task at any given
time, without being consumed by distractions like daydreaming
Dr Josipovic has found that some monks and other experienced meditators
have the ability to keep both neural networks active at the same time
during meditation - that is to say, they have found a way to lift both
sides of the seesaw simultaneously.
Scientists previously believed the self-reflective, default network in the
brain was simply one that was active when a person had no task on which to
focus their attention. But researchers have found in the past decade that
this section of the brain swells with activity when the subject thinks
about the self. Dr Raichle says the default network is important for more
than just thinking about what one had for dinner last night.
"Researchers have wrestled with this idea of how we know we are who we
are. The default mode network says something about how that might have come
to be," he says. It's about self-reflection while interacting with the
world.
Dr Raichle adds that those studying the default network may also help in
uncovering the secrets surrounding some psychological disorders, like
depression, autism and even Alzheimer's disease. "If you look at
Alzheimer's Disease, and you look at whether it attacks a particular part
of the brain, what's amazing is that it actually attacks only the default
mode network," says Dr Raichle, adding that intrinsic network
research, like Dr Josipovic's, could assist in explaining why that is.
Cindy Lustig, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the
University of Michigan, agrees. "It is sort of the other piece of the
puzzle that's been ignored for too long."
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Posted on 2011/5/9 16:40:32 ( 2012
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NEW YORK, April 26, 2011 (by Mark Bittman for the New York Times): Kirt
Espenson, who owns the E6 Cattle Company in western Texas, had his
employees caught in the act, secretly videotaped performing acts of
unspeakably sickening cruelty to cows. The video sparked a discussion that
went two ways: one one hand, Esperson apologized and terminated the
contract with those employees; but the other side was that people have
mobilized to prevent this (the video, not the cruelty) to ever happen
again. If some state legislators have their way, horrific but valuable
videos like that one will never be made.
The problem is the system that enables cruelty and a lack not just of law
enforcement but actual laws. Because the only federal laws governing animal
cruelty apply to slaughterhouses, where animals may spend only minutes
before being dispatched. None apply to farms, where animals are protected
only by state laws.
And these may be moving in the wrong direction. In their infinite wisdom
the legislatures of Iowa, Minnesota, Florida and others are considering
measures that would punish heroic videographers like the one who spent two
weeks as an E6 employee, who was clearly traumatized by the experience.
The biggest problem of all is that we've created a system in which standard
factory-farming practices are inhumane, and the kinds of abuses documented
at E6 are really just reminders of that. If you're raising and killing 10
billion animals every year, some abuse is pretty much guaranteed.
There is, of course, the argument that domesticating animals in order to
kill them is essentially immoral; those of us who eat meat choose not to
believe this. But in "Bengal Tiger," a Broadway play set at
Baghdad Zoo, the tiger -- played by Robin Williams -- wonders: "What
if my every meal has been an act of cruelty?" The way most animals are
handled in the United States right now has to have all of us omnivores
wondering the same thing.
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Posted on 2011/5/9 16:40:27 ( 1674
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We are writing to you today because we are extremely concerned after
hearing news reports which indicate that the Taliban leadership in
Afghanistan plans to force Afghan Hindus to wear labels on their clothing
to differentiate them from Muslims. We urge you to immediately take steps
that will convince the Taliban to withdraw this proposal. History has shown
over and over that segregation of this kind can lead to genocide. This
action alone is enough to raise that specter.
-- From a letter written by more than 100 US lawmakers to President George
W. Bush urging him to intervene against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban in
2000, before 9/11
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Posted on 2011/5/8 16:35:27 ( 1836
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VRINDAVAN, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA, May 6, 2011 (Daily India): Hundreds of
devotees thronged the Banke Bihari Mandir in Uttar Pradesh's Vrindavan town
on Friday to mark the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. Akshaya Tritiya, known
as Akshaya Teej in Uttar Pradesh, is the third day of the lunar fortnight
of Vaishakh, which is considered one of the most sacred days of the year.
The day is marked with great festivities and people come to Vrindavan from
all parts of the nation to have a peek of Hindu God Krishna's feet, which
is allowed only on this day in the year.
Gopi Goswamy, a priest, said that the wishes of devotees who worship lord
Krishna today are fulfilled. "Today is the special occasion of worshipping
lord Krishna. One, who performs it, is always rich. All the wishes come
true and get prosperity. All the good work done today in the name of
devotion will not go in vain and one will definitely achieve
something," he said.
[from Wikipedia's article on Akshaya Tritya: Starting a new activity or
buying valuables on this day is considered to bring luck and success. Many
buy new gold jewelry on this day. Most jewelry stores offer new items for
this occasion with "Lakshmi-inscribed" gold coins, diamond jewelry
and golden dollars with the pictures of many Gods and Goddesses. There are
vigorous campaigns conducted by banks, jewelry shops and financial
institutions, giving Akshaya Tritiya prominence.
Akshaya Tritiiya is believed to be the day when Ganesha, the
elephant-headed God of wisdom and obstacle removal, started writing the
epic Mahabharata to Ved Vyas's dictation. It is also traditionally observed
as the birthday of Parashurama, the sixth incarnation of god Vishnu.]
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Posted on 2011/5/8 16:35:21 ( 1635
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INDIA, March, 28, 2011 (The Times of India): Dipti S. Tripathi is the
director of the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM), an organisation
working for the conservation and preservation of Indian manuscripts. Their
latest project - building a database of digitized manuscripts - has taken
off with the successful digitization of over 9.3 million folios. Tripathi
spoke about the ongoing work of the NMM and the challenges it faces.
"No nation can prosper on borrowed money, technology, intellect and
language. If India has to prosper, we will have to look for solutions to
its problems within rather than without," he said. "Our ancient
manuscripts have dealt with problems related to ecological issues, problems
facing society, the education system - you name it"says Tripathi on
the relevance of manuscripts today. He concludes, "We have to give
young people the opportunity to learn what is theirs, what is already time
tested , proven to be efficacious and something which is as scientific as
any other science."
One of the mandated areas of the NMM's functioning is the purchase of
manuscripts. Some scholars or holders might want to sell manuscripts in
their possession. "We haven't entered that area to date but have
proposed in our annual action plan that it be included. Manuscripts need to
be saved from landing up in unscrupulous, uninformed hands. They also need
to be protected from being sold abroad, says Tripathi.
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Posted on 2011/5/8 16:35:15 ( 2130
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UNITED STATES, April 2011 (by Roy Ritchie for Car and Driver): Getting to
drive a Cadillac CTS-V wagon for 40,000 miles is a blessing in itself, but
with 556 horsepower on tap, we figured it couldn't hurt to have our newest
long-termer blessed by a Hindu priest. So we took it in for a pooja, which
is a Hindu ceremony. Poojas are often performed on everyday machines,
tools, or objects. The ritual may seem odd to some Westerners, but the
Hindu faith says that everything is connected to God, even material goods
such as cars. Hindus bless a vehicle to ask deities to purify and safeguard
the machine, to express appreciation, and to request that the car operate
in a fruitful manner. Here's how it was done:
After praying and making an offering of uncooked rice inside the temple,
head priest Shiv Kumar Bhat walks out to the car and chants ancient Vedic
mantras in Sanskrit while sprinkling holy water over the hood and
windshield. This is to purify the car. While chanting more Vedic mantras,
the priest draws a six-pointed star on the hood using turmeric powder. The
star symbolizes protection from evil and obstacles.
Next, Bhat dabs sandalwood paste and turmeric powder around the grille to
mark the occasion and to decorate the car. After opening the driver's door,
the priest chants and sanctifies the interior by marking the steering wheel
with a dot of the sandalwood paste. Often a coconut is broken as an
offering. The ceremony ends with the priest igniting camphor and praying.
The whole affair takes just five minutes and a suggested contribution of
$25 to the temple. Definitely worth it.
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Posted on 2011/5/8 16:35:09 ( 1860
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"I went to the root of things, and found nothing but Him alone."
-- Mira Bai (1500-1550), princess of Rajasthan, Northwest India, a saint
celebrated for her lyrical poetry dedicated to Krishna
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Posted on 2011/5/6 20:24:28 ( 2981
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HPI
KAUAI, HI, US, May 6, 2011 (HPI): Bangalore's famed Sri Kailash Ashrama has
released the first English translation of a key section, the Mahatmya
Khandam, of the famed Tripurarahasyam. Literally, the title means
"Secret of the Three Worlds," but here it is in the sense of
secrets of the Divine Mother who presides over the physical and spiritual
universes. In the forward, Jagadguru Acharya Mahamandaleshwara Sri
Jayendrapuri Mahaswamiji, present head of Kailash Ashrama, calls the text
"an exhaustive and highly analytical treatise on the glory of the
Divine Mother and Her unity with the "Self" of all."
The original Sanskrit has been translated by Sri T.B. Kakshman Rao, and
edited and reviewed by E.K. Das and D.N. Anand. Tirupurarahasyam is a text
of the Sakta tradition originally told to Lord Vishnu by Lord Siva and
thence passed on through the Gods and sages until written down by Sage
Sumedha.
Tirupurarahasyam was composed in three sections: the Mahatmya Khandam, of
this translation; the Jnanakhandam; previously published by Ramana Ashrama
(and others); and the Charyakhandam, which is lost. The entire text, the
translator explains in the introduction to our text, "brings home
through anecdotes and allusions the uniqueness of the transcendental Cosmic
Consciousness which is not different from the consciousness of the
individual being."
The 750 page book by Kailash Ashrama is comprised of 80 chapters, most of
them recounting traditional stories about Devi, such as the marriage of
Siva and Parvati, the killing of various demons by the Goddess, and the
churning of the ocean. Of particular importance, according to Sri Jayendra
Puri, are chapters 55 to 58 and 79 and 80. The first set describe the
mystical origins of the Sri Chakra yantra and how the various powers of the
Goddess came to reside in each part of the complex diagram. Chapters 79 and
80 describe the importance of proper initiation from the guru in Sri Vidya,
the system of personal worship of the Goddess in which the Sri Chakra in
its three dimensional form as Meru Chakra is central. It is an essential
text for devotees of the Goddess in general and followers of the Sri Vidya
system in particular.
Tripurarahasyam, Mahatmyakhandam, Sanskrit text with English translations,
750 pages, is published by Sri Kailasamanidweepa Trust, Sri Kailash Ashrama
Mahasamsthana, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Bengalura 560 098, India.
E-mail: srikailashmanidweepa@gmail.com
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Posted on 2011/5/6 20:24:28 ( 2890 reads
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US, May 1, 2011 (by David Briggs at the Huffington Post): In the 1960s and
1970s, Hinduism seemed on the path to spectacular growth in the United
States as immigration laws eased and some Indian spiritual leaders were
embraced by the counterculture of the 1960s.
The forecasts were half right. But the road traveled toward Hinduism in
America was not that of the counterculture movement. What is propelling it
into a role as one of the nation's largest minority religions is a steady
stream of Indian immigrants who have built hundreds of temples across the
nation, according to a new study.
In what it calls the first effort to conduct a Hindu census in the United
States, the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Institute of American Religion
discovered some 1,600 temples and centers with an estimated 600,000
practicing Hindus. That number could easily be higher. [Hinduism Today
magazine estimates over 2 million Hindus in the US, see the reasons behind
this number here ]. For better and worse, however, the
latest incarnation of Hinduism in the United States has gone largely
unnoticed by most Americans.
Hinduism was introduced to the United States through the 19th century
translation of texts such as the Bhagavad Gita. The first Indian teacher to
visit the U.S., P.C. Mozoomdar, spoke in 1830 at the home of Ralph Waldo
Emerson. Other gurus followed, but the growth of the Hindu community was
cut short by the Asian Exclusion Act in 1924. The comeback began in 1965
with the new immigration law opening the U.S. to Indian immigrants, who
brought with them prominent spiritual leaders.
Many Americans welcomed the gurus, but interest among non-Indians faded in
the 1970s. At the same time, a growing Indian immigrant community began
building temples and centers to meet its spiritual needs. In its census,
the Institute of American Religion found 258 traditional Hindu temples with
an estimated 268,000 adherents. The study estimated there are also 400
temples and centers from Hindu sub-traditions that have an estimated
282,000 participants and some 940 centers with an estimated 55,000 members
associated with smaller movements across the country.
Yet much of this growth has occurred "almost invisibly" on the
edge of the larger American religious community. Hinduism does not enter
the consciousness of most Americans in their daily lives. A 2001 Research
Opinion Corp. survey found 95 percent of Americans have little or no
knowledge of Hindu beliefs and practices.
But that is about to change, scholars and observers say.
The encouraging news for Hindus is they have avoided much of the hostility
that has challenged other large groups of religious immigrants to America,
including Catholics, Jews and, more recently, Muslims. Hindus have been
largely left alone to meet the internal needs of finding and maintaining
spiritual homes for a growing membership. Yet as it grows, Hinduism is not
expected to remain under the radar too much longer. Hindus are gaining
political sophistication through groups such as the Hindu American
Foundation, and their geographical concentration holds the potential for
building influential voting blocs in some regions.
Hindu leaders in the U.S. also realize there is a much greater need for
outreach in a country where Hinduism is not ingrained in the culture, said
Anant Rambachan, chair of the Religion Department at St. Olaf College in
Northfield, Minn.
The days of the Beatles and pop stars like Donovan making highly publicized
trips to India to study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi are over. But it turns
out Hinduism never needed the buzz to succeed here. A much more substantial
movement, made of highly committed people, has created a more permanent
religious community that has taken its place as a primary American minority
religious tradition.
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Posted on 2011/5/6 20:24:27 ( 3087
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INDIA, May 2, 2011 (BBC): The ancient art of Madhubani painting is widely
practiced in the Mithila region of the northern Indian state of Bihar. The
art originated from Madhubani town and, traditionally, the artists were all
women. Originally, pictures were painted on the mud walls of village huts.
But now artists paint on paper, cloth and canvas too. The art is generally
passed on from parents to children, and remains a family affair: in a
cramped courtyard, often a dozen women are hunched over drawings,
paintbrush in hand, adding bright colors to drawings. See a beautiful
slideshow at source, above.
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Posted on 2011/5/20 16:30:08 ( 2342
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CHENNAI, INDIA, May 9, 2011: Keeping alive the legacy of Swami
Chinmayananda's service to mankind, the Chinmaya Mission of Chennai has
established an informative archive comprising an audio-visual exhibit and a
rare collection of images on the life and works of Swami Chinmayananda.
The project, "Call of the Rishi," is an initiative by his
devotees to express their gratitude towards their guru. It was inaugurated
by Padma Shri awardee and city-based architect CN Raghavendran on Sunday.
The project traces the journey of the master from his childhood to his
transformation as a world renowned spiritual leader, with special emphasis
on his interaction with Chennai.
Swami Chinmayananda is one of 20th century's well-known and revered
proponents of Vedanta. Besides creating an organisation committed to
Vedanta, he also built many educational institutions. He has delivered
about 15,000 discourses on Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita.
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Posted on 2011/5/20 16:30:01 ( 1769
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NEW YORK, May 3, 2011: The population of the world, long expected to
stabilize just above 9 billion in the middle of the century, will instead
keep growing and may hit 10.1 billion by the year 2100, the United Nations
projected in a report released Tuesday.
Growth in Africa remains so high that the population there could more than
triple in this century, rising from today's one billion to 3.6 billion, the
report said -- a sobering forecast for a continent already struggling to
provide food and water for its people.
The new report comes just ahead of a demographic milestone, with the world
population expected to pass 7 billion in late October, only a dozen years
after it surpassed 6 billion. Demographers called the new projections a
reminder that a problem that helped define global politics in the 20th
century, the population explosion, is far from solved in the 21st.
The United States is growing faster than many rich countries, largely
because of high immigration and higher fertility among Hispanic immigrants.
The new report projects that the United States population will rise from
today's 311 million to 478 million by 2100.
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Posted on 2011/5/20 16:29:55 ( 2181
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MIDDLETOWN, MD, USA, May 20, 2011: Thousands of people around the country
have spent the last few days taking to the streets and saying final goodbyes
before Saturday, Judgment Day, when they expect to be absorbed into heaven
in a process known as The Rapture. Nonbelievers, they hold, will be left
behind to perish along with the world over the next five months.
Believers subscribe to the prophecy of Harold Camping, a civil engineer
turned self-taught biblical scholar whose doomsday scenario -- broadcast on
his Family Radio network -- predicts a May 21, 2011, Judgment Day. On that
day, arrived at through a series of Bible-based calculations that assume
the world will end exactly 7,000 years after Noah's flood, believers are to
be transported up to heaven as a worldwide earthquake strikes. Nonbelievers
will endure five months of plagues, quakes, wars, famine and general
torment before the planet's total destruction in October. In 1992 Mr.
Camping said the rapture would probably be in 1994, but he now says newer
evidence makes the prophecy for this year certain.
With their doomsday T-shirts, placards and leaflets, followers -- often
clutching Bibles -- are typically viewed as harmless proselytizers from
outside mainstream religion. But their convictions have frequently created
the most tension within their own families. Mr. Kino Douglas, 31, a
Brooklyn resident whose sister is a firm believer, said he was eagerly
awaiting for Sunday, a day he is sure will come. "I'm going to show up
at her house so we can have that conversation that's been years in
coming."
Meanwhile, atheists are mobilizing in several ways. Several parties are
scheduled for Rapture Day. According to the BBC, a non-believer from New Hampshire is
enjoying a boost in business for his company, Eternal Earth-bound Pets. He
is making contracts to pick up people's pets after the Rapture and care for
them, since he is "certain to be left behind." He has more than
250 clients who are paying up to $135 each. They will be disappointed
twice, he told the Wall Street Journal. "Once because they weren't
raptured, and again because I don't do refunds."
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Posted on 2011/5/20 16:29:48 ( 1271
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Find God.That is the only purpose in life."
-- Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886)
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Posted on 2011/5/19 16:56:19 ( 1886
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JAMMU, INDIA, May 16, 2011: Jammu got a replica of the famous Ganesh
Nandikishwar Temple, located in South Kashmir, today. "We have set up
a replica of famous grand Ganesha Temple of south Kashmir's Hanand
Chawalgan area," Secretary of the Temple Trust Professor O N Koul told
reporters here today. Amid prayers, a maha yagya and hymns, a black murti
of Lord Ganesha brought from Mahabalipuram, under the guidance of
Shankracharya of Kanchi Muth Swami Vijendra Saraswati Ji Maharaj, was
installed in presence of over 3,000 devotees.
The temple complex, which has come up in half an acre, has a sacred tree
(bran) which is said to be the first tree to grow in Jammu soil. The temple
has been opened for darshan of devotees from May 16 - the day of Ganesh
Chaturdasi.
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Posted on 2011/5/19 16:56:13 ( 2079
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LONDON, ENGLAND, May 1, 2011: In less than a decade, Ayurveda has made a
huge impact on many Londoners as more of them turn away from invasive
allopathic treatment. But a new ruling comes as a blow to both the industry
and patients, making it hard to obtain the medicines.
Director of Ayuspa Ayurvedic centre Muneet Dohil said, "We have seen
the number of practitioners double every year, we now have Ayurvedic
courses and degrees here which can train the lay person. There are probably
about 600 practitioners as well as clinics in UK. We've been going nine
years and we have 9,000 clients on our books."
The growing popularity of Ayurvedic treatments will suffer but patients
have still some way to get medicated. The EU ruling allows for sale of
stock ordered before the ban, and sellers are hoping this will last for at
least a year. Dohil further added, "Practitioners have had to place
big orders to make sure they have enough stock to last them for at least
one year until the statutory regulation."
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Posted on 2011/5/19 16:56:07 ( 2749
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NAIROBI, KENYA, March 30, 2011: The Hindu Council of Kenya officials led by
chairman Vanraj Sarvaiya said that, as a patriotic community, they would
strive to improve Kenyans' welfare.
"We are in the social arena where our activities include poverty
alleviation programs such as paying fees for deserving cases, contributing
towards famine relief, supporting charitable organisations and extending
medical facilities to those who cannot afford them," said Mr.
Sarvaiya. He added that doctors from India had been invited to provide free
treatment at medical camps in the next two weeks.
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Posted on 2011/5/19 16:56:02 ( 2205
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UNITED KINGDOM, May 4, 2011: "Love comes after the marriage,"
says Murugavel Janakiraman, the founder and chief executive of one of
India's largest matrimonial website companies, BharatMatrimony.
The entrepreneur believes it is a philosophy ingrained in Indian culture
and one of the reasons Indians place more importance on matching other
"various criteria" before tying the knot - "religion,
language... matching the community, you need to also match the
sub-community, then there's horoscope matching".
The long list of factors that need to be in alignment can seem daunting
when it comes to searching for a potential spouse. But Mr. Murugavel says
that thoroughness has made the internet increasingly popular in India as a
tool for searching for prospective partners.
Mr. Murugavel says the way people marry in India has changed significantly.
"It is not like 20 years ago where the parents chose the groom for the
girl," he says. "Today the parents know that it won't work
anymore."
Instead he believes that although getting engaged is still very much a
family affair, parents are "more comfortable nowadays" with their
children choosing their own partner "as long as they marry within the
community". To this extent, the entrepreneur regards online
matchmaking as a new way of marrying couples that accommodates both the
spouses and their families.
Mr. Murugavel says he has married more than two million people through
BharatMatrimony and spin-off sites aimed at different communities and in
different languages. He met his own wife through the service he had
created, after he responded to a profile of her posted by his future
father-in-law.
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Posted on 2011/5/19 16:55:56 ( 1670
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The food of the soul is silence. If we don't practice silence, we are
starving ourselves.
-- Dada J.P. Vaswani, spiritual head of Sadhu Vaswani mission
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Posted on 2011/5/15 17:11:51 ( 2042
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NEW DELHI, INDIA, , May 13, 2011 (DNA India): If a Muslim woman plans to
tie the knot with a Hindu man she should convert before marriage, otherwise
the alliance could be declared illegal in the eye of the Hindu Marriage
Act. This edict came from the Supreme Court on Thursday in case of an IAF
officer who had appealed for divorce from a Muslim woman who also had two
kids from her first marriage. She was a Hindu before her last marriage.
The young officer had met the woman on board aflight to Hyderabad from
Delhi. They got married at his native place in Rajasthan. But the
relationship soured and the IAF officer sought dissolution of the marriage
on the ground that his wife was a Muslim at the time of marriage.The plea
was accepted and the marriage was declared void.
The woman produced evidence in a higher court that she was a Hindu before
her first marriage and thus there was no violation of the Hindu Marriage
Act.
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Posted on 2011/5/15 17:11:45 ( 1942
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Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 28, 2011 (Press Release): The Hindu American
Foundation (HAF) strongly criticized the listing of India, the world's
largest secular democracy, with the likes of Russia, Afghanistan, and Cuba,
on a U.S. State Department advisory group's "watch list" of
violators of religious freedom. The United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) announced its censure of India for
the third consecutive year at a news conference held at the National Press
Club earlier today.
India's inclusion came despite spirited testimony by HAF in support of
India's track record on religious freedom. The USCIRF decision, however,
was not unanimous.
HAF was the only organization invited to testify by USCIRF that demanded
India's removal from the watch list, and its arguments were echoed by two
commissioners in their public dissent. Prof. Ramesh Rao, the author of
HAF's annual Hindu human rights report, and Suhag Shukla, Esq., HAF's
Managing Director and Legal Counsel, testified before the USCIRF
Commissioners in Washington, D.C. last month.
"USCIRF's decision to club India in with a dozen or so of the worst
violators of religious freedom in the world, while overlooking others,
again raises questions of bias and flawed methodology there," said Rao
hours after the announcement. "The Commission's censure of India in
2011, despite that country's celebrated pluralism and absence of any
significant recent religious discord --despite provocative terror attacks--
seems based more on a disagreement over some states' efforts to monitor
coercive and forced conversions."
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Posted on 2011/5/15 17:11:39 ( 1950
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DEHRADUN, INDIA, May 8, 2011 (Indian Express): The doors of the famous
Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath on Sunday reopened for pilgrims after a gap
of six months with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
among those having early darshan of Lord Shiva.
Amid blowing of conches and chanting of vedic hymns and shlokas, the Chief
priest of Kedarnath shrine Bhimshankar Ling opened the locks of the temple
at 5:30 in the morning in the presence of senior
administrative and police officials, official sources said.
During the opening ceremony, hundreds of devotees were present outside the
sanctum sanctorum chanting "Bam Bam Bhole" braving chilly winds
blowing in the area.
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Posted on 2011/5/15 17:11:33 ( 1877
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INDIA, May 9, 2011 (Times of India): Portals of the Badrinath temple
situated in Uttarakhand's Chamoli District reopened on Monday after remaining
closed for six months. Amid a chanting of vedic hymns and shlokas, the
chief priest opened the doors of the temple early this morning.
Shankaracharya, the head priest of the temple, said: "From today, the
entry to the temple would be opened for everybody for a period of six
months. A special date for the reopening is decided upon on the occasion of
Akshay Tritya. It is a tradition, which has been maintained since many
years, and we would continue to do so."
"We have made every possible arrangement for the convenience of the
devotees on the occasion of reopening of gates of the temple Lord
Badrinath," said Anusuyya Prasad Bhatt, President, Badrinath-Kedarnath
Temple Committee.
With the opening of the portals of Badrinath, all the four shrines collectively
known as Chardham have been thrown open for pilgrims. The Chardham Yatra
comprising pilgrimage to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri
nestling in Garhwal Himalayas started with the opening of portals of both
Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines on May 6th.
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Posted on 2011/5/15 17:11:28 ( 1745
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SPAIN, May 14, 2011 (HPI): "TORERO, las tres ultimas suertes de
Antonio el Macareno," a 80-minute tragicomic play written by David
Desola and Arturo Ruiz and directed by Esteve Ferrer, is now touring Spain.
The premise is that a famous bullfighter refuses to enter the bull ring,
even though the place is packed with his fans, because he has converted to
Hinduism and has a crisis of conscience. His fiance, family and former
priest try to dissuade him with tragic results.
Spanish speakers can use www.google.es to find
current locations of the play and watch an eight minute YouTube video here.
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Posted on 2011/5/15 17:11:22 ( 1488
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Self-surrender is the supreme condition of winning the universal life. Men
will part with their wealth, their rights, and even their lives, at the
call of religion. But when you ask them to exchange their human self for
the divine self, which is exactly what all great religions want them to do,
they refuse. For the wine of mortality has a terrible fascination for most
of us--and yet by flinging myself into the blazing fire of Universal
Reality, I do not lose myself. I emerge out of the ordeal, shining and
deathless. Brothers and sisters, come, let us strive to become immortals by
losing ourselves in the Supreme Light.
-- Mahakavi Subrahmanya Bharati (1882-1921), Tamil poet and Indian pa
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Posted on 2011/5/26 20:52:20 ( 1984
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GUJARAT, INDIA, April 22, 2011: As more and more people take to alternative
medicine, ayurveda and naturopathy clinics in the state seem to be growing
rapidly. This could be gauged from the fact that such clinics and hospitals
in cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat have seen their footfalls
doubling in the last two years.
Kutch based Swas Healthcare, that runs a chain of naturopathy clinics
across the state, is planning to come up with its second hospital within
the next six months. Swas now operates a 40-bed hospital at Kharoi in
Kutch. Swas also runs two clinics at Ahmedabad, and one each at Surat and
Rajkot apart from its hospital in Kutch.
Similarly, Vadodara based Sarvodaya Parivar Mandal Trust which runs a
35-bed naturopathy hospital has seen its wait-list of patients seeking
admission more than double from a two-month period around a couple of years
ago to four to six months waiting now. The hospital is not only treating
patients with common ailments like diabetes and arthritis, but also people
with psycho-somatic problems.
Vadodara has seen a spurt in activities in the ayurveda and naturopathy
segment, with many NGOs taking up such initiatives as an add-on service
they are already providing together with wellness and rejuvenation centers
coming up in parts of north Gujarat.
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Posted on 2011/5/26 20:52:14 ( 2242
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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, May 12, 2011: Two decades ago, Indian-Americans
started changing the story of Silicon Valley's Asian community. In a
striking example of the growth and growing diversity of the Bay Area's
Asian-Americans, the spiking Indian-American population has fanned out to
affluent towns offering excellent schools, from Cupertino in the heart of
Silicon Valley to San Ramon in the East Bay.
The trend -- revealed this week in the latest snapshot from the 2010 census
-- is surfacing in tabla drumming and Sanskrit classes offered out of
living rooms, Indian markets and world-class cricket fields.
"My whole world is complete within two miles of my home," said Kinjal
Buch, 46, an Indian-born engineer who calls Cupertino home.
Among Asian groups, none grew more rapidly than Indian-Americans. Their
numbers in Santa Clara County jumped from about 67,000 to nearly 118,000 in
a mere decade. It's hard to imagine now, but there were only about 5,200
Indian-Americans in the county in 1981. In California, the number of
Indian-Americans grew by 68 percent to 528,176 over the decade, and in the
nine-county Bay Area the number grew by 53 percent to 244,493.
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Posted on 2011/5/26 20:52:08 ( 1879
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Life has been downloaded from the sound Om.
-- Maya Tiwari
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Posted on 2011/5/23 11:34:41 ( 1970
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ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA, May 10, 2011 (The Hindu): The Tirumala Tirupati
Devesthanam (TTD) on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it has shelved the
controversial decision on gold plating the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine
of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, the world's richest temple.
The decision to reconsider the move was taken in deference to the
sentiments expressed by thousands of devotees and the Andhra Pradesh High
Court's judgement quashing the earlier resolution passed by the TTD for the
gold plating exercise, the board told the apex court.
The TTD said it had no powers to carry out the exercise of drilling
thousands of holes in the inner recess adorning the deities in view of the
restrictions imposed by Section 2(a) of the Ancient Monuments and
Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
The TTD's 2008 decision to carry out gold plating of the temple's sanctum
sanctorum, was fiercely opposed by several devotees on the grounds that it
was not only against scriptural tenets but posed a grave threat to the 11th
century shrine.
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Posted on 2011/5/23 11:34:36 ( 2213
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TNN
PUNE, INDIA, May 7, 2011 (TNN): The price of betel leaves is going through
the roof. A box of 3,000 leaves, which would usually be sold for US$8.90,
is now being sold at $22.22. Besides being the most important ingredient of
the humble paan, betel leaves are an inseparable part of most Hindu rituals
and poojas.
The betel leaf still retains its loyal customers, thanks to its traditional
value, digestive properties and high calcium content. The sudden price rise
can be attributed to reduced supply from Andhra Pradesh, which is a major
supplier.
A senior official at the city-based agriculture produce market committee
said, "Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Orissa are major
producers of betel leaves. The erratic rain in December followed by cold wave
damaged the plant and affected production. Whatever could be salvaged was
transported to metros first, where sellers get higher returns. This created
a shortage is smaller cities.
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Posted on 2011/5/23 11:34:30 ( 2104
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SOUTH JORDAN, UTAH, May 6, 2011 (India West): Utah's Indian population may
be relatively small in comparison to others across the U.S., but their
combined efforts over the past decade were rewarded April 1, when Governor
Gary Herbert inaugurated the new Indian Cultural Center.
In hopes of unifying the Indian American community and promoting their
culture, hundreds worked to finance and construct the center. At the grand
opening, 300 people toured the new facility, which was constructed on the
grounds of the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple with generous support.
"The all-volunteer fundraising team raised over $1.8 million with
broad based support from over 120 corporations and foundations and from
individuals within the community," said Dr. Dinesh Patel, fundraising
committee chair. "We are very grateful to all the donors and
volunteers for helping us realize our dream of building this wonderful
facility."
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Posted on 2011/5/23 11:34:24 ( 1887
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STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, May 18, 2011 (National Geographic): The idea, a bold one
that excelled in publicity potential, was to put the human species on
trial, literally. Several Nobel laureates gathered to be the jury for a
trial where Earth, represented by Her counsel, decries the environmental
excesses of humans and their results.
In the opening press conference, Johan Rockstroem, Director of Stockholm
Resilience Centre at Stockholm University talked about how business as
usual will no longer suffice and common sense must prevail to carefully
manage the Earth in this new "Anthropocene" or age of man.
The Swedish Minister for the Environment, Andreas Carlgren, called attention
to our natural capital being used up as though we could rely on multiple
planets, and Harold Kroto, Nobel Laureate and chemist, took on the
practicalities of effectively presenting scientific evidence to this
effect. Indeed, the debate began on what is tractable, and knowable, and
indeed sensible, in climate change and other effects on our diverse life
systems.
The general conclusion was that humans are impacting the Earth and
profoundly. The question is how badly and what can be done about it. Mario
Molina, a Nobelist in Chemistry from the University of California, San
Diego, emphasized that the time is limited and the greatest challenges were
in accurately assessing and communicating the risks at hand.
The verdict was an unemotional conviction of humankind, but the jury's
resolution did not prescribe a punishment, and rather presented an
intelligent plan suggesting what could revert the situation. It states,
"We recommend a dual track approach:
a) emergency solutions now, that begin to stop and reverse negative
environmental trends and redress inequalities within the current inadequate
institutional framework, and
b) long term structural solutions that gradually change values,
institutions and policy frameworks. We need to support our ability to
innovate, adapt, and learn."
Read more here.
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Posted on 2011/5/23 11:34:18 ( 1818
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Like treasure hidden in the ground, like flavor in the fruit, like gold in
the rock, and oil in the seed, the Absolute is hidden in the heart.
-- Akka Mahadevi, twelfth-century Vira Saiva saint
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Posted on 2011/5/21 16:05:10 ( 2289
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JAMMU, INDIA, May 10, 2011: The air has been cleared for the annual
Amarnath "yatra" (pilgrimage) as the weather has improved in the
Kashmir Valley over the past week, enabling the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board
(SASB) to start registration of pilgrims. This year the pilgrimage will be
held between June 29 and August 13.
The annual summer pilgrimage to the 13,500-ft high Himalayan cave shrine
dedicated to Lord Shiva in south Kashmir usually faces uncertainties
because of the unpredictable weather conditions and security concerns. The
present clear weather in the valley and the mountains is seen as a positive
sign.
The registration is open online as well as across 149 branches of various
banks across the country. Last year, more than 450,000 pilgrims visited the
Amarnath shrine.
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Posted on 2011/5/21 16:05:04 ( 1636
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HYDERABAD, INDIA, May 14, 2011: The Reddy brothers, Karnataka ministers and
businessmen, on Saturday offered diamond-studded ornaments and gold-woven
clothes to the famous Srikalahasti temple in Andhra Pradesh. Their
offerings are estimated to be worth US$ 2.2 to 3.3 million.
Revenue Minister Gali Karunakara Reddy made the offerings in the presence
of the temple priests and authorities after offering prayers at the shrine
in Chittoor district. The offerings to the deity include a "vajra
kireetam" (diamond crown) and a "bangaru cheera" (golden
saree). The crown studded with about 800 diamonds was reportedly made in
South Africa. The ornaments were made of an estimated 28.6 lbs. gold.
Talking to reporters outside the temple, Karunakara Reddy said they made
the offering out of devotion.
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Posted on 2011/5/21 16:04:59 ( 1736
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TORONTO, CANADA, May 5, 2011: Canadian Premier Dalton McGuinty was among
the guests tonight when three days of celebration began to commemorate the
opening of the new Hindu Heritage Centre in Mississauga.
The centre, located at 6300 Mississauga Rd. in a 25,000-sq.-ft. complex on
2.4 acres of land, will serve a quarter of a million Hindus living in the
Greater Toronto Area. It will provide religious services, language training
in Hindi and Sanskrit, classical dance lessons and yoga, among other
things. It will also host specific programs for youth and seniors.
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Posted on 2011/5/21 16:04:53 ( 1893
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INDIA, May 5, 2011: While the United States struggles to right itself from
the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the Indian economy
steams ahead with an annual growth rate of more than 9 percent. How did
India sidestep the financial meltdown as supposedly more sophisticated
operators in the U.S. stumbled?
Indian leaders have a different business model - the India way. Indeed, the
joke in India is the economy grows while the government sleeps. Companies
there succeed despite a significant lack of public infrastructure.
The Indian economy is not driven by low-wage manufacturing operations. It
rides on the success of big corporations increasingly competing and winning
in human capital-intensive industries such as pharmaceuticals, business
services and IT, which have long been seen as the preserve of the West.
The India way takes a different approach to management and strategy.
Differences begin with leadership: Indian business leaders are deeply
involved in solving societal problems. Hindustan Unilever's Project Shakti,
for example, used the principles of microfinance to create a sales force in
some of the subcontinent's most remote regions.
Some of this doing good for society is necessary to do business in a
country with massive problems and a government that cannot solve them on
its own. Some of it comes from a long-standing tradition of corporate
philanthropic giving and Hindu principles around service.
more at source.
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Posted on 2011/5/21 16:04:47 ( 1969
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[HPI will, in rare occasions, bring you non-religious articles of interest.
This is one of them.]
UK, May 21, 2011 (BBC): The material graphene was touted as "the next
big thing" even before its pioneers were handed the Nobel Prize last
year. Many believe it could spell the end for silicon and change the future
of computers and other devices forever.
According to the Nobel prize committee, a hypothetical one-metre-square
hammock of perfect graphene could support a four-kilogram cat - the hammock
would weigh 0.77 milligrams, less than a cat's whisker, and would be
virtually invisible. "Our research establishes graphene as the
strongest material ever measured, some 200 times stronger than structural
steel," mechanical engineering professor James Hone, of Columbia
University, "It would take an elephant, balanced on a pencil, to break
through a sheet of graphene the thickness of film."
Said to be the strongest material ever measured, an improvement upon and a
replacement for silicon and the most conductive material known to man, its
properties have sent the science world - and subsequently the media - into
a spin.
But companies like IBM and Nokia have also been involved in research. IBM
has created a 150 gigahertz (Ghz) transistor - the quickest comparable
silicon device runs at about 40 Ghz. "In terms of the speed of the
transistor, we currently see no intrinsic limits into how fast it can
go," says Dr Yu-ming Lin, of IBM.
The band structure of graphite was first theorized by PR Wallace in 1947,
though for it to exist in the real world as graphene layers was thought
almost impossible, and ways to produce it were elusive for decades. Such is
the mystique of this material that, due to the timing of Dr. Wallace's
discovery, conspiracy theorists believe he was inspired by materials from
the Roswell crash site.
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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)
to the two and we have a venomous plait that is close difficult to fix. On the whole we have to venture back and take a gander at these terms in context, if just to understand them in less selective ways and welcome the consistent idea that goes through them. This is progressively significant
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