News from Hindu Press International
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Posted on 2011/10/1 16:49:03 ( 1337
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(RNS)
USA, September 28, 2011 (Religion News Services): Entrepreneurs are
significantly more likely to pray several times a day or to meditate than
most Americans, according to the Baylor Religion Survey, released September
20.
Sociologist Kevin Dougherty, co-author of the survey, noted the survey can't
answer whether prayerful, peaceful folks are more likely to take a business
risk, or whether start-up stress is the driving factor. The study found 34
percent of entrepreneurs pray, compared with 27 percent of non-entrepreneurs;
and 32 percent of entrepreneurs meditate, vs. 22 percent of
non-entrepreneurs.
Eight forms of meditation--including Christian, Jewish and Buddhist
variations--were listed on the survey.
Psychologist Kenneth Pargament, a scholar in residence at the Institute for
Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, explained,
"Entrepreneurs have a strong sense they can take matters into their own
hands. But they also face risk, unpredictability and uncertainty. Prayer and
meditation can be important resources for people who are trying to achieve a
lot and yet still face the reality that there is only so much they can control."
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Posted on 2011/10/1 16:48:57 ( 1623
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MUMBAI, INDIA, September 22, 2011 (DNA): Tired of the increasing use of
swear words by youngsters, students of third year bachelors of mass media
(TYBMM) from RD National College, Bandra have started a campaign called 'No
Abusive Language,' aiming to convince other students that swearing is not
cool anymore.
They are trying hard to encourage students to stop using abusive language
even in jest or as a joke. If you feel the urge to swear, they advise
substituting another word or phrase such as "basket of flowers",
"freak" or "fish." [A HPI staff member noted that
catchy words with plosive consonants, such as "Rutabaga!" and
"Bumblebees!", can be satisfying substitutes.]
Everly Gladros, a student involved in the campaign, noted that we use
abusive language without thinking twice--when we are angry, sad, irritated
or upset, or even just for fun. Even mainstream movies have characters
using bad words, making them seem still more acceptable. "We want to
break the myth that abusing is cool and makes one popular."
The students have put up posters promoting their campaign on gutters,
garbage bins, and other "dirty" places. "We want to tell
people that swear words are dirty and they belong in the gutter. We have
created garbage bins where students can throw in dirty words," said
Nupur Maheshwari, another participant.
The students have created a Facebook page, a viral video and other online
activities to spread the word. They are also talking about this issue with
the people in their neighborhood.
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Posted on 2011/10/1 16:48:51 ( 1256
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WISE RIVER, MONTANA, USA, October 1, 2011 (The NY Times): Across millions
of acres, the pines of the northern and central Rockies are dying, just one
among many types of forests that are showing signs of distress these days.
From the mountainous Southwest deep into Texas, wildfires raced across
parched landscapes this summer, burning millions more acres. In Colorado,
at least 15 percent of that state's spectacular aspen forests have gone
into decline because of a lack of water.
Scientists have figured out -- with the precise numbers deduced only
recently -- that the world's forests have been absorbing more than a
quarter of the carbon dioxide that people are putting into the air by
burning fossil fuels and other activities. It is an amount so large that
trees are effectively absorbing the emissions from all the world's cars and
trucks.
If forests were to die on a sufficient scale, they would not only stop
absorbing carbon dioxide, they might also start to burn up or decay at such
a rate that they would spew huge amounts of the gas back into the air -- as
is already happening in some regions. That, in turn, could speed the
warming of the planet, unlocking yet more carbon stored in once-cold places
like the Arctic.
Scientists are not sure how likely this feedback loop is, and they are not
eager to find out the hard way.
"It would be a very different world than the world we're in,"
said Christopher B. Field, an ecologist at the Carnegie Institution for
Science.
Forest devastation extends worldwide. The great euphorbia trees of southern
Africa are succumbing to heat and water stress. So are the Atlas cedars of
northern Algeria. Fires fed by hot, dry weather are killing enormous
stretches of Siberian forest. Eucalyptus trees are succumbing on a large
scale to a heat blast in Australia, and the Amazon recently suffered two
"once a century" droughts just five years apart, killing many
large trees.
"The amount of area burning now in Siberia is just startling --
individual years with 30 million acres burned," Dr. Swetnam said,
describing an area the size of Pennsylvania.
Insects empowered by the new normal in climate are part of the issue. Pine
beetles are a natural part of the life cycle in Western forests, but the
most recent outbreak, under way for more than a decade in some areas, is by
far the most extensive ever recorded. As the climate has warmed, various
beetle species have marauded across the landscape, from Arizona to Alaska.
The situation is worst in British Columbia, which has lost millions of
trees across an area the size of Wisconsin.Scientists say winter
temperatures used to fall to 40 degrees below zero in the mountains every
few years, killing off many beetles. "It just doesn't happen
anymore," said a leading climate scientist from the University of
Montana, Steven W. Running, who was surveying the scene with Dr. Six one
recent day.
The oceans are taking up about a quarter of the carbon emissions arising
from human activities. That is causing the sea to become more acidic and is
expected to damage marine life over the long run, perhaps catastrophically.
Trees are taking up a similar amount of carbon, but whether this will
continue is much less certain, as the recent forest damage illustrates.
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Posted on 2011/10/1 16:48:45 ( 1206
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Truth is a snare: you cannot have it without being caught. You cannot have
truth in such a way that you catch it, but only in such a way that it
catches you.
-- Soren Kierkegaard, (1813 -1855), Danish philosopher and
theologian
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Posted on 2011/9/30 17:37:22 ( 1245
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ALLAHABAD, INDIA, September 22, 2011 (TNN): With Durga Puja/Navaratri round
the corner, artists are giving final touches to the murtis of Goddess Durga
which will soon be installed in Durga Puja pandals.
Huge murtis of Goddess Durga, ranging from six to ten feet tall, are being
completed near the Bhardwaj Ashram park in the city. Artists have been
specially called from West Bengal for preparing the grand statues.
Tapas Pal, an artist from Bengal, explained that they have been working on
these Deities for the past five months, creating them from special clay
soil collected from the banks of river Ganga and decorating them with
chemicals and colors brought from Kolkata.
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Posted on 2011/9/30 17:37:16 ( 1251
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HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, September 19, 2011 (thespec.com): The arson that
destroyed the Hindu Samaj Temple on September 15 ten years ago has changed
the social fabric of Hamilton for the better, civic and religious leaders
say. After the fire, cultural communities across the city started speaking
up and making themselves heard.
More than 200 temple members, friends and representatives from a wide range
of faith groups gathered Sunday at the Twenty Road place of worship for a
Healing Day program and dinner, wrapping up a series of commemorative
events. Sunday's program featured the Jewish Chai Choir of Hamilton,
traditional Indian dances performed by students from the temple, a sitar
recital and scriptural readings from a range of religious texts.
Temple member Indu Singh, who organized the celebration of the temple's
recovery, said, "When this thing happened, it was not just an attack
on Hinduism; it was an attack on all religions." The fire appeared to
have been set by a confused drunk who believed Hindus had been involved in
the 9/11 terrorism.
Rabbi Jordan Cohen of Temple Anshe Sholom in Hamilton agreed, saying the
fact that the attack showed the ignorance faith groups have to fight
against. "We're all neighbors sharing the same community, so to join together
for this kind of a celebration, when we have to deal so often with so many
turbulent and divisive issues, it really was important for us ... to be
here today," Cohen said.
Ojibwa-Cree Elder Walter Cooke said the First Nations people prayed for the
Hindu population in Hamilton when the arson occurred. At Sunday's program,
Cooke spoke of the traditional smudging ceremony, which acknowledges the
four sacred elements and is representative of the four nations (one from
each direction) of the world coming together.
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Posted on 2011/9/30 17:37:10 ( 1307
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SEOUL and TAIPEI, August 20, 2011 (The Economist): Asian women, like those
in the West, are marrying much later these days--some not at all. In
combination with the selective abortion of female fetuses, this trend is
producing a bride shortage that will destroy Asia's tradition of universal
marriage and place great strains on society.
Only 30 years ago, just 2% of women in most Asian countries were single.
But in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, the average woman now remains
single until age 29 or 30. In Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan,
15-20% of women aged 35-39 have never married. Those who delay until their
40s will almost certainly never marry or have children. They have not,
however, followed the West into increased cohabitation or single-parent
families. East Asian women (on average) are now bearing fewer than 1.6
children during their lifetime, down precipitously from 5.3 in the late
1960s.
Women's education is a big factor in these changing patterns. In Asia,
rates of non-marriage rise at every stage of education. A 2003 Beijing
study found half of women whose income indicated university education were
unmarried. Half of these said they did not need to marry because they were
financially independent. Also, many men shy away from a woman whose
education exceeds their own. This concentrates the inability to find a
spouse in two groups: men with no education and women with a lot.
Clearly, the idea of marriage holds few attractions for a well-educated
Asian woman. The housework, child care and aged parents are regarded as her
responsibility, even though her outside job--which she is loathe to
abandon--may be as demanding as that of her husband. In Japan, wives with
full-time jobs work another 30 hours per week at home, compared to the
three hours or so that their husbands help out. (In America and Europe,
this disparity is less extreme.)
Even in China and India, the mean age of marriage is rising--as is the
divorce rate, especially among the young. And the selective abortion of
female fetuses means that by 2030, some 660 million Chinese and Indian men
aged 20-50 will be unmarried simply because their brides were never born.
Already brides are being imported into some areas; 44% of farmers in South
Jeolia province who married in 2009 took a foreign bride.
The full article, at source, is long but well worth reading.
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Posted on 2011/9/30 17:37:04 ( 1516
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UNITED STATES, June 25, 2011: A new book, "Unnatural Selection,"
by Science writer Mara Hvistendahl looked at the tremendous shortage of
women, particularly in Asia, due to sex selection. Hvistendahl focused on
the West's role in exacerbating the disparity by exporting abortion
technologies, and in response, many took her to task for not placing the
blame on the foreign cultures themselves for valuing daughters less than
sons. For example, Richard Dawkins at BoingBoing wrote that the female
shortage may better "be blamed on the cultural and religious practices
that despise and discriminate against women in the first place."
In light of that recent debate, a new Gallup study that almost twice as
many Americans would prefer to have a son rather than a daughter is
particularly unexpected, suggesting that American cultural values may be
less than ideal themselves. In this new survey, out of over one thousand
people interviewed, 48 percent of respondents admitted they wanted a son
more than they wanted a daughter. Just 28 percent said they would rather
have a daughter, and 26 percent said they would be content with either sex.
The remainder had no opinion. In fact, Gallup noted that Americans'
preference for a male child is even stronger today than it was in 1941,
when just 38 percent preferred a son, with 24 percent preferring a
daughter.
Gallup noted that age, sex, and education levels all were significant
factors regarding the responses. American men, rather than women, drive the
preference for male children. Gallup concludes that "the real-world
implications of gender-preference attitudes in some countries around the
world are profound." For Americans, the effect remains to be seen.
"The degree to which Americans deliberately attempt to select the
gender of their children is unclear."
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Posted on 2011/9/30 17:36:57 ( 1283
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Wealth's Goddess dwells in the hospitable home of those who host guests
with a smiling face.
-- Tirukkural
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Posted on 2011/10/7 17:04:46 ( 1690
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TORONTO, CANADA, September 19, 2001 (The Beacon Herald): A demonstration
outside Toronto's public-school board headquarters turned into an ugly,
bitter confrontation over the Toronto District School Board's controversial
policy to allow prayer in the city's publicly funded, secular school
system.
"We are here because religion has no place in our schools," said
Ron Banerjee, of Canadian Hindu Advocacy. Allowing "fundamentalist
teachings" in school "effectively amounts to oppressing the
children, brainwashing of the children," he asserts.
About three metres away, on the other side of the police line, supporters
of the policy, many of them young students, tried to shout down prayer
opponents.
"I am here to support the board for letting us pray in school,"
said Aayman Karin, 13, one of about 100 Muslim students who pray on certain
Fridays in the cafeteria of Valley Park Middle School, on Overlea Blvd.
"Everyone has the right to practice their religion," Karin said,
adding students feel more comfortable praying in school with their
classmates.
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Posted on 2011/10/7 17:04:40 ( 1456
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RNS
WASHINGTON, DC, USA, October 4, 2011 (RNS): On Wednesday, October 5, the
Supreme Court heard one of most important religion cases in decades,
centered on the degree to which religious institutions should be exempt
from anti-discrimination laws.
The case started at a Lutheran elementary school in Michigan where a
teacher claimed she was fired in violation of the Americans With
Disabilities Act. A 40-year-old legal doctrine called the "ministerial
exception" protects churches and other religious institutions from
government interference in their employment decisions. Few would advocate
government involvement in the hiring and firing of clergy. There is less
agreement about other church employees.
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Posted on 2011/10/7 17:04:34 ( 1701
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HPI
KAUAI, USA, October 7, 2011 (HPI): Hinduism Today will review 20 top Hindu
blogs. Please send us the URL (web addresses) for your favorite ones, blogs
that where Hindus can find high-minded resources on our religion. Email katir@hindu.org
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Posted on 2011/10/7 17:04:29 ( 1398
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If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible
warning.
-- Anonymous
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Posted on 2011/10/6 21:20:33 ( 2155
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CHENNAI, INDIA, September 25, 2011 (Bernama): The world-famous Tirumala
Tirupati Venkateswara Temple in south India has auctioned human hair
donated by devotees for a whopping US$ 22.2 million.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the temple's custodian, sold 466
tons of hair in its maiden e-auction last Thursday, where 49 bidders,
including foreign buyers, joined in the bid, reported the Hindu newspaper.
The temple draws tens of millions of devotees and tourists annually.
Thousands of devotees tonsure their head as penance to Lord Venkateswara --
the presiding Deity in the ancient temple. According to local media, about
500 barbers deftly worked round-the-clock to tonsure devotees who travel to
the hills on holy pilgrimage.
The flowing long, black and strong Indian hair is in great demand in the
global fashion industry, in the production of wigs and artificial
eyelashes. India supplies nearly 30 per cent of world's human hair demand.
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Posted on 2011/10/6 21:20:27 ( 1470
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RNS
USA, October 3, 2011 (Religion News Service): Attendance in American
churches has dropped in the last decade and their membership has aged,
despite an increase in minority congregations, according to a new Hartford
Seminary study covering thousands of Christian, Jewish and Muslim
congregations in 2000 and again in 2010.T
he median worship attendance at a typical congregation decreased from 130
to 108. Only 51 percent had average weekend worship attendance over 100,
compared with 58 percent in 2000; over 25 percent had 50 or fewer people
attending in 2010. This decreased attendance is seen across the
board--among white evangelical, white mainline and racial/ethnic
congregations. The number of megachurches almost doubled over the decade,
but congregations with 2,000 or more weekly attendees make up just 0.5
percent of all congregations.
Their growth is not enough to offset the general downward trend. Many
congregations are aging. In most mainline Protestant congregations, at
least one-third of members are 65 or older.
Non-Christian and evangelical Protestant congregations tend to have younger
members. Political involvement rose from 20 percent to 26 percent in
evangelical Protestant churches, especially the larger ones: in non-black,
evangelical Protestant congregations with more than 450 weekly attendees,
50 percent are involved in election-related programs. Black congregations'
involvement in voter registration and education programs remained high, at
55 percent. On the other hand, mainline Protestant congregations' political
involvement dropped from 16 percent to 12 percent.
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Posted on 2011/10/6 21:20:21 ( 1530
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NEW YORK, NY, USA, September 24, 2011 (nytimes.com): The American obesity
epidemic is often "explained" by saying that junk food is cheaper
than a healthy, home-cooked meal. But despite extensive government
subsidies, hyperprocessed food remains more expensive than food cooked at
home. Moreover, it's unnecessarily high in calories, and most people in
this country--especially the poor--already consume too many calories.
Even meat eaters can feed a family of four to six for about $14 with a
roasted chicken, vegetables, a simple salad and milk. Just try feeding that
family at McDonalds, or any other restaurant, for that price! Vegetarian
meals, of course, can cost much less.
Unfortunately, cooking is defined as work; fast food is both a pleasure and
a crutch. The ubiquity, convenience and habit-forming appeal of
hyperprocessed foods have largely drowned out the alternatives. There are
five fast-food restaurants for every supermarket in the United States, and
fast-food companies spent an incredible $4.2 billion on marketing in 2009.
Furthermore, the engineering behind hyperprocessed food makes it virtually
addictive.
For decades, the fast-food industry has been placing their products on
every street corner, making it socially acceptable to eat anywhere and
anytime, and training us to self-stimulation every 15 minutes. Real
cultural changes are needed to turn this around. Somehow we must get people
to see cooking as part of a normal life, ideally as a joy rather than a
burden.
The full article at source includes suggestions for political action and
provides links to further details.
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Posted on 2011/10/6 21:20:15 ( 1545
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There is not a fellow under the sun who is my disciple. On the contrary, I
am everybody's disciple. All are the children of God. All are His servants.
As for me, I consider myself as a speck of the dust of the devotee's feet.
-- Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886)
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Posted on 2011/10/5 17:21:35 ( 2104
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HPI
INDIA, October 4, 2011 (HPI): Tavathiru Nachiappa Gnanadesika Swami of
Koviloor Aadheenam, the math's 12th matadhipathi, left his body at age 70.
A brilliant man with an expertise in photography and printing technology,
Swami took sannyas later in life. He was part of the Kalakshetra
established by Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundable for nearly six decades. After
renouncing the world and taking charge of the aadheenam, his dedication to
Hinduism was relentless. He spent the wealth he had earned earlier to foster
religious projects.
On the same day when he was enthroned as the Peetadhipati (i.e., Head of
the Koviloor Aadheenam), a nursery school was started by him. Gradually
many schools have been started at various places in Tamilnadu. He sponsored
as many as 15 Veda-Agama schools and Nadaswaram Schools. In the year 1995,
he established the Indian Institute of Indology and later worked on the
establishment of the World University of Traditional Science, Technology
and Culture of India.
He was not cremated, but buried in the garden area where his predecessors
were buried.
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Posted on 2011/10/5 17:21:29 ( 1677
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KAPAA, HI, USA. October 5, 2011: Wikipedia, ever a work in progress, has
established itself as the world's most important repository of information,
the first place to go to learn about almost anything.
Curated by dedicated contributors, behind the scenes Wikipedia works to
assess the quality of information presented and fill in the gaps. One of
the methods is to create "projects," assessing the status of
pages related to a specific and important topic.
Here you can look at Wikipedia: Project Hinduism.
Pages are listed by popularity, so at first you might be surprised: what is
George Harrison doing near the top of the list? That is because his
biography is a popular page, but it is listed as a "Low
Importance" entry as far as Hinduism goes -- see the rightmost column.
Articles are also rated by quality. "Om," for example, is a
"Top Importance" entry with more than 77 thousand views a month,
but it is listed as a C-quality article, ready for some knowledgeable
Hindus to jump in and contribute.
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Posted on 2011/10/5 17:21:24 ( 2051
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PUNE, INDIA, September 22, 2011 (Times of India): Under the National
Manuscripts Mission, a collection of around 40,000 manuscripts in Sanskrit
are being digitized at the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal. A team began
work over a month ago. The work includes digitizing manuscripts from
private sources in the city as well.
The process of digitization began at early August, and 550 manuscripts on
Ayurveda were the first of the lot to be scanned and uploaded. "The
40,000 manuscripts run into several thousand pages, the digitization of
which is to be completed within the next two years. So far, we have
digitized 2,000 manuscripts," said historian Mandar Lawate, who is
coordinating this project with the NMM.
Dating back 600 years, the Sanskrit manuscripts pertain to various topics
on Ayurveda, Puranas, Vedas, philosophy and art. For instance,
'Shivlilamrut,' 'Pandav Pratap' and 'Hari Vijay' authored by poet Shridhar,
Eknathi Bhagwat, Sant Tukaram's 'gathas' and 'Dnyaneshwari,' are some of
the manuscripts which would be digitized soon.
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Posted on 2011/10/5 17:21:18 ( 1449
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK, September 27, 2011 (WNYC): It's a big season for Indian
art at New York City museums. As the Brooklyn Museum wraps up its
"Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior" exhibit this weekend,
the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens its own major show of art from the
subcontinent on Wednesday.
The show, called "Wonder of the Age: Master Painters of India,
1100-1900," features 200 works by over 40 classical Indian artists.
It's the largest exhibition of South Asian art to be shown at the Met since
1985.
Most of the 200 paintings in the "Wonder of the Age" exhibit are
small works that would have been included in religious manuscripts or
picture albums documenting the royal courts. The works are organized into
sections by the artist who painted them, and include biographical
information on each artist.
What makes "Wonder of the Age" unique is the concept behind the
exhibit: the show focuses on the painters themselves, drawing attention to
individual talents who helped shape the course of Indian art history.
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Posted on 2011/10/5 17:21:13 ( 1507
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August 24, 2011 (Salon.com, by David Sirota): Food has become a political
issue in America, and some carnivores have become increasingly aggressive
toward anyone or any fact that suggests they reconsider their culinary
habit. Some will even aggressively challenge a person who quietly declines
to eat meat.
The author, raised in a meat-eating family but vegetarian for over a
decade, offers pointers for both vegetarians and those who are considering
vegetarianism--a brief primer on what kind of responses you may face when
you are forced to publicly explain your personal dietary decision, and what
succinct, fact-based responses are most appropriate.
Many carnivores believe their diet is a personal choice, not anyone else's
business. But when human diet threatens our collective air, water and ecosystem,
as meat eating disproportionately does, it becomes everyone's business.
(Great responses. Click on Source.)
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Posted on 2011/10/5 17:21:07 ( 1560
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HPI
KAPAA, HI, USA. October 5, 2011 (HPI): The monks of Kauai Aadheenam, from
where Hinduism Today and HPI are published, have been using Macintoshes
since their release more than twenty years ago. It is with these remarkable
tools that we make our voice heard loud and clear across continents,
lauding Hinduism and protecting dharma from what is otherwise a tiny island
on Earth's most remote archipelago.
We have been fortunate to have machines built by people who share our
passion for excellence, thanks to Apple and, mostly, to Steve Jobs. We
express our gratitude, and wish this visionary a great time in the inner
worlds and a beautiful next life.
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Posted on 2011/10/5 17:21:01 ( 1181
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Life is a pilgrimage. The wise man does not rest by the roadside inns. He
marches direct to the illimitable domain of eternal bliss, his ultimate
destination.
-- Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh (1887-1963), founder of Divine Life
Society
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Posted on 2011/10/13 17:17:52 (
1449 reads )
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KOLKATA, INDIA, October 1, 2011 (Hindustan Times): For the first time in 35
years, West Bengal's ministers have openly joined in organizing Durga Puja
celebrations, unlike the previous leftist government whose members included
avowed atheists. Though some fear this might lead to a misuse of the pujas
or weaken secularism, the leaders say their involvement spreads a message
of religious harmony.
Sports Minister Madan Mitra, who organizes the Agradut and Uday Sangha Puja
at Bhowanipore, said the festival was more of a social and cultural event
than a religious one.
Public health engineering minister Subrata Mukherjee, the guiding force of
South Kolkata's Ekdalia Evergreen Puja, said, "I have been attached
with this puja since my childhood and being a minister does not make any
difference. When it comes to the committee I am just an ordinary
member."
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Posted on 2011/10/13 17:17:46 (
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October 7, 2011 (by Jason Overdorf): India and China have more investor
families than individual European countries, according to market research
firm TNS. According to the firm's 'Global Affluent Investor' study, India,
China and Brazil have overtaken many European countries in this measure of
consumer wealth. Each of these countries has more than three million affluent
households with over $100,000 of investiment money.
"India and China have already surpassed major European markets like
Germany and France. It's interesting to see that the entrepreneurial spirit
of people in these markets is already paying off in terms of personal
wealth," the Economic Times quoted TNS Director Business and Finance
Reg van Steen as saying.
While the US is ranked as the world's most prosperous country, with 31
million affluent households, UAE and India appear in the top five countries
where the affluent have more than USD 1 million investable assets on
average, alongside Singapore and Hong Kong, the paper said.
However, in small, wealthy countries, the rich make up a much greater
percentage of the population: 29 percent for Luxembourg and 20 percent for
Singapore, compared to around 1 percent in India and China.
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Posted on 2011/10/13 17:17:40 (
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TUMBANG SAAN, INDONESIA, September 25, 2011: In a village near the heart of
Borneo's great, dissolving rainforest, Udatn is regarded as a man of deep
spiritual knowledge. Of all the people in this tiny settlement, he speaks
better than any other the esoteric language of the Sangiyang, the spirits
and ancestors of the upper world, known simply as "Above." His is
a key role in the rituals of Kaharingan, one of a number of names for the
ancestor-worshipping religion of Borneo's indigenous forest people, the
Dayak.
The world's most populous Muslim-majority country is no Islamic state, but
it is a religious one. According to the Indonesian government every citizen
must subscribe to one of six official creeds: Islam, Roman Catholicism,
Protestantism, Buddhism, Confucianism or Hinduism. Kaharingan, like dozens
of other native faiths, does not officially exist.
"When I was in school I was a Catholic," said Mr. Udatn.
"For us, if someone wanted to keep going to school then they had to
convert to another religion." Now, however, things are changing, and
the missionaries are being held at bay. That is because villagers have
seized on a strategy being used by many Dayak: They are re-branding. On
paper at least, most of the people of Tumbang Saan are now followers of
Hinduism, the dominant religion on the distant island of Bali.
Few here could name a Hindu God or even recognize concepts, like karma. But
that is not the point. In a corner of the world once famed for headhunters
and impenetrable remoteness, a new religion is being developed to face up
to an encroaching modern world and an intrusive Indonesian state. The
point, in short, is cultural survival.
What exists in Tumbang Saan is a strange compromise, born of the Indonesian
religious system, where government functionaries play a key role in allocating
funding and guiding religious doctrine. Called Hindu Kaharingan, it is a
religion for the Dayak of Central Kalimantan. It exists in no other
province. Some see it as a fake faith, invented for appearances; others
hail it as a rediscovery of long-lost beliefs. But in both government
offices and remote villages, Hindu Kaharingan leads a precarious existence.
More at source.
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Posted on 2011/10/13 17:17:33 (
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Jewish homes have a mezuzah, a small scroll with scripture attached to the
doorway for blessings. Some Christians in New York have been doing it, too.
Asked why he did it, one responded, "Well, it's good karma."
-- Brian Hallas, Brooklyn resident
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Posted on 2011/10/9 17:30:16 ( 1562
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HYDERABAD, INDIA, September 26, 2011 (thehindu.com): The Andhra Pradesh
Pollution Control Board has initiated a year-long effort to promote
eco-friendly Ganesha murtis for next year's festivities, thus protecting
water bodies from the immersion of murtis made from harmful substances.
A strategy session met Saturday to chalk out out the modalities. Seeking to
build a cascading effect, the idea is to check the raw material that goes
into murti making and be able to replace the possibly hazardous ones with
alternatives.
For the last few years, the effort has been on replacing the small Plaster
of Paris murtis with clay ones for residential usage. Now the concept is to
introduce clay murtis in large numbers at the community level. This entails
training the artisans in the use of clay and providing the raw material and
locations for preparing and marketing the murtis.
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Posted on 2011/10/9 17:30:10 ( 1585
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INDIA, SEPTEMBER 23, 2011 (indianwine.com): In India, wine was
traditionally used to bring back health. Ayurvedic wines used as medicine
is documented in the ancient Indian healing system of Ayurveda.
Draksharishtha, the oldest Indian wine, is made of grape juice and herbs,
but minus the micro-filtration process that modern wineries use, and minus
the stringent temperature monitoring in its making and storage. Even now
Draksharishtha is prescribed by Ayurvedic physicians as medicine, 6 spoons
of Draksharishtha mixed in equal amount of water, with meals.
Several other Arishthas and Asavas in Ayurveda too use fermented juices and
herbs, and they all have a specific purpose - to heal the body of specific
ailments.
Ayurveda, the oldest, documented system of medicine does not recommend wine
for everyone. Wine is a potent healer for specific health conditions, on
the other hand drinking wine without getting a pulse diagnosis done by an
Ayurvedic doctor, may work the other way around. For instance, wine is recommended
in specified quantity for Kapha body types, as wine has the fire and air
element which eases the Kapha imbalance. The same wine is capable of
creating havoc in the body of a Pitta or Vata body type person. The Pitta
body type, identifiable with a fiery temper, high rate of metabolism, and
sharp intelligence is not going to do well with a liberal glass of wine.
In the cool climates, such as in Europe and North America, the Kapha
element is predominant. In the tropical countries, it is Pitta that is easy
to find. If a Frenchman in France has wine with his meals, it would fire
his digestion and work in his favor, whereas an Indian in Rajasthan would
be ruining his digestion and consequently his body if he drinks the same
quantity as the Frenchman.
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Posted on 2011/10/9 17:30:02 ( 1294
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There was once a wise man who lived simply. His spartan food habits
reflected this. He had a friend who, being a sycophant of the king, lived
in great luxury. One day this friend called on the wiseman while he was
eating. Looking at the food, the friend said, "My friend, if you can
please the king like me, you will be free from this wretched food."
The wise man smiled and replied, "My friend, if you can be pleased
with this simple food, you can be free from the wretched job of pleasing
the king."
-- Anonymous
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Posted on 2011/10/8 16:47:47 ( 1237
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, October 6, 2010 (expressbuzz): In a ceremony
called "Vidyarambham", thousands of tiny tots in Kerala were
Thursday initiated into the world of learning - originally a Hindu practice
that has now become popular even among the state's Christians.
Children thronged temples, churches, clubs and other places. The ceremony
saw academics, litterateurs, teachers and even politicians hold the hands
of the young ones to help them write Malayalam letters on a plate of rice
or on sand, asking Goddess Sarasvati for blessings.
Hindus write "Hari Sree Ganapathaye Namaha" in praise of Lord
Ganesha, Lord of Beginnings. Then, using a gold ring, a Malayalam word is
written on the child's tongue by those who helped the child write.
Among the shrines which see big crowds is the Saraswathy temple, situated
at Panachikkadu in Kottayam district. This temple is also known as the
'Dakshina' Mookambika Temple and every year the numbers have been going up.
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Posted on 2011/10/8 16:47:42 ( 1517
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KOLKATA, INDIA, October 7, 2011 (dna india): Goddess Durga was accorded a
Chinese farewell today, as the community came forward to present their
traditional lion dance to mark the return of the Goddess to her heavenly
abode.
Dressed in colorful traditional lion costumes, a 20-member team of the
city's vibrant Chinese community performed the dance during the Goddess'
immersion procession by the Singhi Park Durgotsav Committee here this
evening.
Mimicking a lion's movements, the lion dance is a symbol of the good
chasing away the evil to bring back peace and prosperity. Hundreds of
people took part in the ritual and bade farewell to the lion-seated Durga
by taking part in the colorful lion dance. In Hindu tradition the lion was
given to Durga by Lord Himalaya while according to a Chinese mythological
story, the lion descended from heaven to protect the people and fight evil
forces. "The primary reason is to show our solidarity with the people
of Bengal, a state we have made our home. It is an India-China venture to
show respect to the divine goddess who rides a lion," said James Leao,
leader of the lion dance group.
Abhijit Majumdar, secretary of the Singhi Park Durgostav committee, said,
"We have been living together for years now and it shows the right
spirit that we are true neighbors who take part in each other's festivals
and help each other in their needs." This is perhaps the first time in
West Bengal that the Chinese community has directly participated in any
Indian festival, he added.
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Posted on 2011/10/8 16:47:36 ( 1353
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AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA, October 3, 2011 (dailytexanonline.com): This Sunday was
the 142nd anniversary of Gandhi's birth. His challenge, "Be the change
you wish to see in the world," sparked the "Be the Change"
National Day of Service held this Saturday, and Austin participated in a
big way with 1,000 volunteers. (The country's total turnout last year was
3,000.)
Keynote speaker Vinay Bhagat said the National Day of Service is a good way
to kick-start community members into becoming involved in helping others.
"We have to view ourselves as a conduit for other people's giving and
other people's want to help."
Bhagat described three volunteers who were inspired by passion. "All
three of these people I just spoke of are change agents. They have mastered
Mahatma Gandhi's 'be the change you wish to see' philosophy."
Bhagat has founded a social venture software company, Convio, to help
nonprofits be more efficient and reach more people.
Following Bhagat's speech, volunteers got to work on 20 different service
projects around Austin. "I love being here as a community on this day
to start this great work," said Harish Kotecha, volunteer and founder
of Hindu Charities for America. "Our purpose is to give back to the
local communities where Hindus live."
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Posted on 2011/10/8 16:47:30 ( 1524
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LONDON, ENGLAND, 2011 (RNS): Thirty
leading scientists have added their signatures to a petition to ban the
teaching of creationism as scientific theory in the nation's publicly
funded schools.
The petition urges that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution be taught in
all schools at both the primary and secondary levels. The government has
issued official guidelines against teaching creationism in school curricula
but has not legally barred it from state-funded institutions. "We need
to stop calling evolution a theory," said professor Richard Dawkins,
an atheist. "In the ordinary language sense of the word, it is a fact
... as solidly demonstrated as any fact in science."
Among the groups supporting the petition is the British Humanist Association.
BHA chief executive Andrew Copson stressed, "It has never been more
urgent for concrete steps to be taken to ensure that all state schools
teach evolutionism, and not creationism, and we urge the government to
implement [these] simple and sensible measures."
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Posted on 2011/10/8 16:47:25 ( 1948
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http://www.jb.com.br/programa/noticia
... 07/a-india-para-criancas/">Source
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, October 7, 2011 (JB): "Maha Yatra,"
"India Jaya Jaya," "Krishna's Jewels." There is no
shortage of events and plays celebrating Indian art, culture and religion
in Rio de Janeiro this month of October.
The Banco do Brasil Cultural Center has prepared an Indian-themed week
called "India!", featuring storytelling, drama and music from
India interpreted by local artists, who worked hard to be faithful to the
originals. A mix of Indian inspiration and Brazilian joy, the events are a
must-see if you live in Rio, and even more so if you have young kids.
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Posted on 2011/10/8 16:47:19 ( 1070
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What is the secret of the true life? To remain still in the midst of
activity and to be vibrantly awake while in meditation.
-- Dada Sadhu Vaswani
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Posted on 2011/10/7 17:04:58 ( 1481
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WASHINGTON, D.C., USA, September 24, 2011 (Press Release via
southasiamail): Nearly fifty leaders and major supporters of the Hindu
American Foundation (HAF) met with many key congressional offices the last
week of September, focused on the human rights of the 400,000 Hindu
Pandits, the original inhabitants of the Kashmir Valley, who were forced
from their ancestral homes in 1989. The meetings culminated with a Capitol
Hill reception where two Hindu American soldiers and five congressmen were
honored with HAF's service awards.
The HAF's eighth annual Washington, D.C. Advocacy Days commenced on
September 19 with a two-hour congressional briefing by HAF, attended by
delegates and a large number of congressional staffers and human rights
organizations. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), chairwoman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, assisted in hosting the briefing. She commended
HAF for pointing out that the Kashmiri Pandits have been victims of one of
the most successful, though little-known, campaigns of ethnic cleansing in
the world. "The Hindu American Foundation is a valuable resource for
Congress as well as powerful voice for freedom, mutual understanding and
tolerance."
The next day, filled with intensive meetings throughout the House and
Senate urging support of House Resolution 387 and discussing the human
rights of the Hindu, Christian and Buddhist minorities in Malaysia,
culminated with a Capitol Hill reception honoring Captain Rajiv Srinivasan,
a West Point Military Academy graduate who returned to the U.S. this year
after several active combat missions in Afghanistan as a platoon leader,
and Lieutenant Colonel Ravi Chaudhary, an Air Force Academy trained fighter
pilot now serving as a squadron commander, who helped to establish the
first Hindu chaplaincy in the Armed Forces. The reception, glittering with
military brass, began with a Hindu invocation offered by Captain Pratima
Dharm, the first Hindu chaplain.
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Posted on 2011/10/7 17:04:52 ( 1462
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HELSINKI, FINLAND, September 26, 2011(zeenews.india.com): With over 30
South Asian restaurants, the aroma of curries and tandoori fare has become
commonplace in this Finnish capital, with eateries like Gandhi, Namaskaar
and Samrat tickling the taste buds of locals and visitors alike to this
land of the midnight sun.
"Indian food is very popular here; people like the rich taste of our
cuisines, spices, curries, naans, dal," said Sukhvinder Singh who
claims to have started the first Indian restaurant in Finland, named
Namaskaar, 23 years ago.
According to him, the popularity of Indian food has led to a boom in the
industry with Helsinki alone - which celebrates its 200 years as Finnish
capital next year - accounting for 30 Indian restaurants alone serving its
one million residents. "We also serve a wide variety of South Asian
delicacies from Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh," Singh told reporters.
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Posted on 2011/10/17 16:52:47 (
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UNITED STATES, October 3, 2011 (by Sona Gajiwala): It's rare that you feel
good about paying a wedding vendor. There are, however, a few vendors to
whom I feel OK paying a premium, for they have identified specific needs
for a demanding demographic, and have stepped outside their comfort zones
and crossed cultural lines to fulfill them.
My favorite example: Billy, from Maharaja Farm, a stable in the suburbs of
Chicago. Billy is an average, midwestern dude who recognizes the importance
of the baraat for an Indian wedding. The baraat is the groom's procession
at an Indian wedding. In India, the groom often arrives at the wedding
venue on a horse (or an elephant) accompanied by a small Indian marching
band, with his friends and family dancing alongside him.
Billy, after having been asked to loan out his horse for some of these
events, discovered a need for his horse that fell way outside that of
mainstream America -- a profitable need that wasn't being met by anyone
else. He rebranded himself as Maharaja Farm, and now offers full-service
baraat coordination that can't be found anywhere else in Chicago. He outfits
his horse and his handler in traditional Indian attire, and offers his
customers the option to upgrade to a package with a red carpet lined with
display fireworks.
Another component of an Indian wedding where I discovered this brand of
entrepreneurship is with American decor companies and their creation of
mandaps (Hindu wedding canopies). I've looked through these companies'
sample books at photos of stunning, traditional Indian wedding canopies --
accompanied by price tags upwards of $40,000.
As an Indian-American, you're often saturated with information about
Indian-owned businesses that were created to satisfy the masses, but you
rarely hear about non-Indian run businesses that solely exist to satisfy
our small (but growing!) population. This is the kind of innovation you
like to see in a tough economic climate. Even if you don't understand their
culture yet, try to figure out what people want and give it to them.
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Posted on 2011/10/17 16:52:41 (
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NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 12, 2011 (Reuters Blogs): It's festival season in
India, with the celebrations providing a perfect opportunity for family
outings, late-night parties and customary feasting on sweets. But health
experts warn that the festivities, coupled with genetic predisposition and
lifestyle changes brought about by the increasing prosperity of the middle
class, is contributing to the country being called the world's
"diabetes capital," with the highest number of diabetics in any
nation.
The string of festivals, starting with Durga Puja and Dussehra and ending
with Diwali, take place in accordance with the Hindu calendar and the dates
change every year. "For the next one month or so, it is all either
festivals or outings," says Anoop Misra, chairman at New Delhi's
Fortis-C-DOC, Center of Excellence for Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases and
Endocrinology. "During this time, the rate of obesity goes up, sugar
control of established diabetics goes down and those who are predisposed to
develop diabetes also show diabetes."
Experts warn the festival fun -- and, not least, the culture of
sweet-eating that peaks then -- can help trigger long-term health problems,
with diabetes only the start. The disease is characterized by high levels
of sugar in the blood and can lead to more serious complications such as
heart disease and stroke, damage to the kidneys or nerves, and blindness.
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Posted on 2011/10/17 16:52:35 ( 2504
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[HPI editorial note: The Hindus of Bhutan suffered cruel and widespread
persecution under the King's still-living father. Exiled, they lived in
sub-human conditions for decades, surviving in refugee camps until the USA,
Australia and Europe welcomed them as expatriates. Their only crime was to be
Hindus. Until the Bhutanese government makes amends, gestures such as the one
reported in this article represent not friendship, but hypocrisy. See the
story of Bhutanese Hindu's plight here
]
BHUTAN, October 7, 2011 (Kuensel Online): His Majesty the King attended the
Dasumi tikka ceremony at the Sivalaya Mandir yesterday, where a Hindu pundit
offered a tikka. Celebrating for the first time the Dashain festival with the
Hindu community in the southern district of Samtse, His Majesty exchanged
tikka with members of Sivalaya committee.
The King said it was an auspicious occasion to offer prayers to overcome
obstacles and misfortune, and bring peace and prosperity in the country. His
Majesty also hosted a tokha for the people, who came in the thousands to
celebrate Dashain with His Majesty.
The ceremony started on the first day of the new moon (September 28) and
concluded on the 9th day, also known as Navami, which symbolises the end of
war against evils. On Dasumi or the 10th day, Tikka is offered as victory of
good over evil, Sivalaya committee's member secretary, PB Pradhan, explained.
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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)
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