CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, February 13, 2001: If it tickles your funny bone then
chances are it will reduce the stress in your life and leave your immune
system to do its part. This premise has been supported by both the field of
psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences. A recent publication with research
data appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Skin welt
sizes were compared in patients suffering from severe allergies after one
group watched a video featuring Charlie Chaplin and the other group
listened to a documentary on weather. Needless to say, the Japanese study
confirmed a reduction in skin welt size in the group watching the famed
comedian.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, February 20, 2001: This article which appeared in
today's New York Times may bring a protest response from Hindus. The
article is on the proposal by President Bush to channel money through
faith-based organizations for social service work. The article points out
that this has already been going on for years and cites one example.
"For almost 20 years, Hare Krishna devotees in Philadelphia have
received millions of dollars in government contracts to run a network of
services, including a shelter for homeless veterans, transitional homes for
recovering addicts and this halfway house for parolees. The unusual
collaboration between government agencies and a religious group that
depicts God as a baby-faced boy with blue skin offers a glimpse of the
challenges ahead for President Bush's initiative to expand government
support for social service programs run by religious organizations."
The disrespectful phrase "depicts God as a baby-faced boy with blue
skin offers a glimpse of the challenges..." is likely to be found
objectionable by many Hindu who venerate this form of Lord Krishna.
INDIA, February 19, 2001: Every six hours somewhere in India a young
married women is burnt alive, beaten to death, or driven to commit suicide.
Lawyer and social activist, Indira Jaisingh, who heads the Women's Legal
Aid Center in Delhi, has been campaigning for a new law to deal with
violence in the home. At least 20 percent of married women between the ages
of 15 and 49 experience domestic violence, many of them on a continual
basis. Activists say a major source of concern in India is that society has
failed to bring about strong social sanctions against violent men. A recent
survey by the International Institute for Population Studies, showed that
56 percent of Indian women believed wife beating to be justified in certain
circumstances. Currently, there is no law in India dealing specifically
with domestic violence.
TRIVANDRUM, INDIA, February 20, 2001: Museum police held a three-member
gang specializing in smuggling out rare idols to foreign countries. Top
sources said that the gang comprising Syed, 50, a fake homeopathic doctor,
Mohanan, 43, and Mohanachandran, 35, had smuggled out ten idols so far.
They were caught while negotiating an audacious deal to smuggle out the
panchaloha idol of Navneetakrishnan near the Hanuman temple here. Two
Cochin-based agents of the gang were being traced, police said.
MONTGOMERYVILLE, PHILADELPHIA, February 18, 2001: As America has become a
more multicultural nation, the youth today are free to express their
religious and cultural roots without the fear of being misunderstood or
ridiculed. So expounds the author of this essay while recalling the most
auspicious festival of her religion, Maha Sivaratri. As a teen she
expresses her fascination with the night dedicated to Lord Siva and the intensity
of the celebrations that left a deep impression on her youthful mind. The
bathing of the Siva Lingam, the chanting of Sri Rudram by the priests and
the fasting proceeding the annual event filled and thrilled the young
Hindu. These traditions have been passed on to her own daughter who openly
brings a friend along to the temple to partake in the celebration.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, February 19, 2001: The California Association of
Ayurvedic Medicine will host its Inaugural Conference for Ayurvedic
Practitioners, Educators and Students at U.C. Berkeley in Northern
California on April 20, 21 and 22, 2001. We expect nationwide attendance.
We would like to know if you would join us in supporting this great
profession by letting your community know about our event on your website
and placing some flyers and brochures about the conference on your
premises. Sponsorship privileges, booth spaces and advertisement spaces are
available. California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine, P.O.Box 744
Sacramento, California 95812, Ph. 800.292.4882.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, February 19, 2001: Mark Pinsky, religion writer for the
Sentinel newspaper here is publishing a book, "The Gospel According to
The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of America's Most Animated Family."
His thesis is that despite its reputation (and beneath the jokes and
sarcasm), "The Simpsons" television show treats God, faith and
spirituality in a supportive, favorable fashion. He's included a chapter on
the treatment of Hinduism, through the recurring character Apu. Informed
that some Hindus have taken strong exception to the program, he is
soliciting the opinion of Hindus on "The Simpsons" and the
treatment of Hinduism, specifically if we feel the show treats Hinduism in
a "supportive, favorable fashion," as he contends it does for
Christianity. Write to him at "Source" above.
February 15, 2001: The research team at the Department of Psychology at the
Catholic University of America is interested in examining the ways in which
people turn to religion in times of stress. They are looking for response
from a wide variety of religious denominations, as well as people who are
not currently affiliated with a religious denomination. Participation is
voluntary and all responses are strictly anonymous. The website, which
contains a series of questions, is located at http://research.cua.edu/psy.
KUMBHNAGAR, ALLAHABAD, February 25, 2001: Some of the pilgrims who attended
the recently concluded Maha Kumbh Mela would soon receive compensation for
injuries sustained during the 42-day-long religious extravaganza, due to
the automatic insurance coverage given to every pilgrim. The compensation
ranges from US$2,173 to be paid to the relatives of the family who died in
an accident in the fair area and amounts ranging from $108 to $65 each for
91 pilgrims who sustained varying degrees of injuries during the event.
"This was the first time that pilgrims (at the Kumbh) had been
provided an insurance cover," said fair administrator Jeevesh Nandan.
"The fair administration had paid the National Insurance Company a flat
premium of $39,130 towards this scheme, that was undertaken by the company
as a special case," Nandan added. Obviously, with a premium like that
to cover 70 million people, the company did not expect American-style
litigation over injuries.
PAKISTAN, February 27, 2001: Afghanistan is rebuffing international demands
to rescind a government order to destroy all Buddhist statues in the
country. Some governments pointed out the statues had not been destroyed
under the past 1,200 years of Islamic rule in the region. The Taliban's
ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, said on Tuesday, "We don't
care why the statues weren't destroyed in the past, but we have a government
now in Afghanistan that is religious, and we want to stop all things that
are against Islam.'' As well as the two giant Buddhas, Afghanistan's
national museum -- which has been damaged by rockets -- has hundreds of
small statues of Buddha. They would also be destroyed under the order,
Zaeef said. However, he said officials would not enter the temples of
minority religions, including Hindus or Sikhs, to carry out the order.
"We respect Hindus and Sikhs, and they will not be stopped from
performing their rituals,'' Zaeef said.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, February 26, 2001: Indian workers at a Hindu temple in
Helensburgh, south of Sydney, have been taken away from the site, where it
is alleged they are being paid $45 (US$23.60) a month for their labor. The
men are stone masons from the Indian province of Tamil Nadu, working in
Australia on temporary visas, who are building pagodas at Helensburgh's Sri
Venkateshwara Temple. Unions say Australians doing the same work could
expect to be paid $500 to $1,000 (US$262.00 to US$524.00) a week. State
Secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, Andrew
Ferguson, says the conditions on the site are the worst he has seen. The
Indian workers have now left the site and will be accommodated in
Wollongong overnight. Temple management is refusing to comment on the
matter subject to legal advice.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, Feb 25, 2001: Former South African President
Nelson Mandela has condemned "arrogant" members of the country's
African majority who have suggested that minority groups have no role to
play in South Africa. The interview with the Johannesburg-based Sunday
Times, came in response to a report in the same paper last week about a
prominent lawyer who had made a racist swipe at an Indian South African
theatre boss. Mr. Mandela said he was concerned about increasing racial polarization,
in particular a "widening of the gap" between Africans and
Indians. "Some Africans ...... now throw their weight about as a
majority. There are some Africans who inspire fear in the minorities
because of the way they behave," he said. At a board meeting of
Durban's Playhouse Company in November, a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Arts
and Culture Council, lawyer Edmund Radebe chairing the meeting said:
"I don't think education and development -- I am not being a racist,
please -- can be run by an Indian." After the discussion was made
public, the theatre's former acting deputy director, Gitanjali Pather quit.
Mr. Mandela in outrage at the comment, called on the ANC, the ruling party
which he previously led, to do more to bridge the gaps between race groups.
BIRMINGHAM, U.K., February 22, 2001: Coming from a culture where the
marrying of first cousins is acceptable, the practice is prevalent among
the Pakistani Muslim community. The only reason these marriages are being
questioned by Birmingham health authorities is because of the high
mortality rate of children born from these unions. In a community where 80
percent marry close relatives, genetic disorders that cause mental
retardation or blood disorders are also evident. Defective genes that run
in the same family have a greater risk of manifesting genetically when
close relatives marry. Community health prevention trainer Karamjeet
Ballagan who initiated the awareness campaign said, "What the
community told us is they want the health authority to provide some sort of
genetic test for people getting engaged to find out if their genes are
affected." A number of Hindu communities also practice "cross-cousin"
marriage, which is considered in Western countries too close for genetic
diversity.
NEW DELHI, INDIA, February 2, 2001: The release of Francois Gautier's book
has been postponed till March 14 or 16 march. Contact "source"
email for a final date.
SUVA, FIJI, February, 25, 2001: An uproar in Fiji's Hindu community in the
capital over another family being stopped from scattering the cremated remains
of a family member along a shoreline, has police saying that they prevented
the customary ritual in the interest of the public as the venue is a
popular picnic spot. The family of deposed parliamentarian Raghu Nand were
advised to seek permission from the Marine Department before carrying on
with the last rites, who in turn imposed restrictions on such activities. A
marine department official said anything that is not classed as a pollutant
or dangerous substance could be released in the sea. A frustrated Nand said
they were given the run-around by authorities that did not seem to know
what they were doing."It is part of our religious right and freedom
and I believe that we should not have been stopped," he said. The
president of the Sanatan Dharam Sabha of Fiji Lautoka branch, Swami
Maharaj, said "We have a right to religious freedom and freedom of
expression. The commissioner of police should tell us if it is legal for
Hindus to be stopped from performing their last funeral rites."
NEW DELHI, INDIA, February 22, 2001: If you live on less than ten dollars
U.S. per month, a pre-determined arbitrary national cut-off figure, then in
India you would be one among 260 million people. However, according to
Abusaleh Sharif, chief economist for the National Council for Applied
Economic Research, "This is a national cut-off, and this figure is
unrealistic." Even though this recent determination statistically
indicates that only 25% of the population now lives below the poverty line
compared to 36% in 1993-94, the number of malnourished people in India is
well over 60%. Poverty is more rampant in rural India and the northern
states fare better than the eastern states. In the capital city alone 1.15
million people are struggling to survive.
NEW DELHI, INDIA, February 24, 2001: A separate electoral system introduced
in 1985, where non-Muslims can only vote for candidates belonging to their
own communities, is being boycotted by Hindus and Christians in Pakistan.
Hundreds of electoral seats were left unoccupied during a similar December
election boycott.
WASHINGTON D.C., February 23, 2001: When marriages break-up the individuals
involved and the community at large pays the price. Emotionally and
intellectually, children from broken homes suffer and comprise a large
percentage of school dropouts, drug abusers, teenage pregnancies and
depression victims. Hoping to intervene before the "I do" and
marriage vows, states across the U.S. are providing incentives to couples
to take premarital counseling. With a reduction in marriage license costs
being minimal, the couples taking the courses feel the real benefit is in
discovering their compatibility. More than 40% of American marriages end in
divorce. On that note Wisconsin House Speaker Scott Jensen writes,
"State and Federal government spend an extraordinary amount of
resources on the fallout of broken marriages. We have an interest in having
strong families and strong marriages."
LONDON, ENGLAND, February 20, 2001: Attempting to expand their customer
base, top class Indian restaurants in London are trying new methods to
entice the populace into their establishments. Educating the British public
about the Science of Ayurveda, where spices not only add flavor but are
also used for medicinal purposes, the Mela restaurant in Covent Garden has
hired a chef experienced in the Ayurvedic food tradition. For the month of
February during the food festival at Mela, British lovers of curries will
be intrigued by the benefits of garlic, cinnamon and cardamon and the
importance of meal balancing. Elsewhere in London, another Indian
restaurant is introducing wine to its beverage list and has hired a wine
expert to offer suggestions for wine and meal complements.
ZIMBABWE, AFRICA, February, 24, 2001: Whites were not the only race coming
under attack in the racially-motivated parliamentary election campaign
currently ravaging Zimbabwe. Asians, in particular, are being targeted,
most notably through a hate-filled document sent to prominent businessmen
in the community and believed to have originated from the offices of black
economic empowerment organization, the Affirmative Action Group (AAG). The
document, "Indigenization versus Indians" comes as a rude shock
to many Asians who as second or third generation Zimbabweans considered
themselves "indigenous." The contents of the document state that
this is not how the propagators of affirmative action in Zimbabwe view
them. "Black people did not die for this country so that Indians could
go on oppressing them," states the document. The situation is the same
as in many other countries where the Indian communities have lived, even
for generations, but failed to establish good relationships with other
communities. Indians came to be regarded, with some justification, as only
looking out for themselves.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, February 23, 2001: Human Rights Watch has criticized
the Indian Government for discouraging debate over caste-based
discrimination. The New York-based rights groups says Delhi is trying to
avoid discussion of the issue at a major United Nations conference on
racism in South Africa in August. Smita Narula, spokeswoman for the group,
says Indian officials argued against including the topic of caste at a
meeting on the conference agenda in Tehran earlier this week. The
lower-caste Dalit community and a number of other South Asian groups are
lobbying for the caste system to be discussed at the South African meeting.
They argue that more international attention is needed on what amounts to
hidden apartheid. Human Rights Watch says the caste system inflicts great
social harm.
NEW DELHI, INDIA, February 20, 2001: A large number of food items passed
off as vegetarian actually contain some non-vegetarian ingredients. Some
manufacturers add crushed deer antlers to chyawanprash, an ayurvedic
medicine. Animal-based enzymes are used for baking biscuits and some beer
and whisky makers also use animal-derivatives to "ripen" their
products. The vitamin A and D normally added to vegetable oil is often of
animal origin. Even items like soaps, shampoos and toothpaste may contain
ingredients that are of animal origin. Until a few months ago, India's
Union health ministry seemed concerned that consumers had the right to know
if a product is of non-animal origin. Now it is being accused of
"withdrawing notification of Law under pressure of vested commercial
interests." The accusation comes from VOICE (Voluntary Organization in
Interest of Consumer Education), in the wake of the ministry's decision to
withdraw a notification which would have made it mandatory for
manufacturers to indicate, through a stipulated symbol and color code, the
fact that the product has non-vegetarian substances.
AUSTIN, TEXAS, February 23, 2001: Vegetarians have always been faced with
the challenge of finding cheese made without rennet. Derived from the
stomach of young calves, the enzyme rennet was at one time the only
coagulant that would produce cheddar or hard cheeses. Since 1989 a
bio-engineered rennet called microbial chymosin was approved by the FDA and
has been used by cheese-producing companies. To animal rights activists and
vegetarians this alternative is more acceptable than killing calves for
rennet. Estimating that at least 70% of domestic cheese is made from
bio-engineered chymosin, labeling is so poor that the consumer is left unaware
of the enzyme used to produce the cheese. Companies can simply use the word
"enzymes" without detailing whether the source is animal, plant,
or microbial.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN,March 2, 2001: The Taliban's destruction of statues has
evoked a strong response in India, with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)
threatening suitable "reaction" in communally sensitive Ajmer
town of Rajasthan if they do not stop "insulting" Rajput warrior
Prithviraj Chauhan's memorial in Ghazni. "The destruction of Bamiyan
statues is an insult to Buddhism," VHP senior vice-president Acharya
Giriraj Kishore added. Asked what was meant by "reaction,"
Bajrang Dal leader Surendra Jain said, "you never know how people
react."
NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 2, 2001: In a unanimous resolution adopted by both
Houses of Parliament, India condemned "in the strongest possible
terms'' the Taliban's decision to destroy the two 2,000- year-old Buddha
statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. The Parliament also offered to bring these
monuments to India at its own cost. The Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya
Sabha, Dr. Najma Heptulla, termed it the "blackest day in history''
and said the act was being perpetuated by "so-called protectors of
Islam.''
NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 5, 2001: The tradition of "but shikani" (idol
or statue-breaking) practiced by Arab marauders in their quest to rule the
Indian subcontinent, was done on the plea that idol or religious object
worshipping was un-Islamic. One thousand years later, this intolerance has
resurfaced, justifying the destruction of all statues of the Buddha in
Afghanistan. Historian and expert on the Islamic period Satish Chandra,
says under Islamic law, "old or dead monuments were not to be
destroyed.'' An embarrassed Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the highest
platform of the Muslim world, urged the Taliban on Saturday to abandon its
decision to destroy the country's pre-Islamic statues.
WASHINGTON, February 26, 2001: A controversial finding that a meteorite
from Mars might contain evidence of life has been given added credence by
the discovery of a magnetic crystal that researchers say could have been
made only by a microbe. Scientists at the Johnson Space Center in Houston
say that a crystallized magnetic mineral, called magnetite, found in a
Martian meteorite is similar to crystals formed on Earth by bacteria. The
new study supports the original claim and may even suggest that there is
still microscopic life on Mars.
March 4, 2001: The Tirumantiram scripture is not yet available at http://www.angelfire.com/art/
thirumanthirarsearch. However, the English text can be found at the above
site, along with several other ancient Tamil scriptures.
March 4, 2001: According to information available at the above web site,
the petition on the treatment of women in Afghanistan, while largely
factual, is useless. The site says, "The problem with this petition is
that the person who started the petition was not prepared for the
consequences. A few weeks after the petition was started, her e-mail
account was flooded with hundreds of thousands of messages. Because of
this, her account was closed and all messages were discarded." So the
petition continues to travel through the Internet, but to no purpose. This
is, the site explains, always the case with any form of chain letter.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, March 1, 2001: Despite international outrage, Taliban
troops are destroying all statues including two 5th-century statues of
Buddha carved into a mountainside in Bamiyan, which they say are contrary
to Islam, in the capital of Kabul as well as in other cities, said
Qadradullah Jamal, Taliban's information minister. "All the statues
all over the country will be destroyed,'' he said. Taliban's supreme
leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, said the tenets of Islam forbids images, such
as paintings and pictures. There are an estimated 6,000 pieces of Buddhist
art in the Kabul Museum. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan pled for the
preservation of the art in "the spirit of tolerance enjoined upon by
Islam as well as respect for international sentiment in this regard."
The Russian and German governments joined in the criticism but Taliban
Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil said the Islamic militia was
unmoved by international concern. The Afghan leaders are now saying they
are destroying the statues in response to the 1994 destruction of Babri
Masjid by Hindus in India. However, this explanation appears to be an
afterthought.
KERALA, INDIA, February 25, 2001: Setting aside a 300-acre setting with
natural flora and fauna in northern Kerala, the Kerala State Industrial
Development has collaborated with Mata Amrithanandamayi to build a holistic
health village on the land. Amma's devotees from all over the world, many
of them medical specialists, already spend annual retreats in Kerala. The
centre would use their talents to provide quality treatment, research,
education and training in alternative medical systems such as ayurveda,
homeopathy, naturopathy, aromatherapy and more. After the initial
investment the village is expected to generate its own revenues to keep it
operational.
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 25, 2001: From suburban recreation rooms to the
halls of justice, people in the Washington area are experiencing the
benefits of a full-body workout with yoga while calming their minds. Even
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, according to this report, asked
that yoga be taught at the court. Kamakshi Hart, founder of the Dancing
Heart Center for Yoga and the Art of Living on Capitol Hill, got a call
from Justice O'Connor last year. Ms. Hart started last March to teach one
class a week for the justice and 15 others at the court.Yoga Journal Editor
in Chief Kathryn Arnold says 27 types of yoga are being taught in the
United States. "What's interesting, as it becomes more popular, we are
adapting it to Western sensibilities and Western lifestyle," she says.
NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 1, 2001: Dr. Karan Singh, Ms. Eva T. Dafarances,
wife of Greece Ambassador and other leading scholars presented an evening
on Kashmir mysticism February 11 at the India International Centre, New
Delhi, reports Virendra Qazi. The highlight of the evening was the life and
times of 14th century mystic poetess of Kashmir, Laleshwari. In the
beginning great tributes were paid to late Swami Lakshmanju, the great
authority on Kashmir Saivism, who combined profound knowledge with profound
experience. Dr. Karan Singh gave an moving recital of a famous poem by Sri
Aurobindo.
March 1, 2001: The ancient Tamil scripture, Tirumantiram, is now available
in Tamil and English translation at "source" above. It has been
posted by Sathiyavel Murugan, a devotee of Thiruperumthiru Somasundara
Paramachariya Swamigal, the late pontiff of Madurai Aadheenam, India.
NEW DELHI, INDIA, February 25, 2001: Male pressure groups, unhappy with the
"expansive" definition of domestic violence including a clause on
mental torture in the proposed bill, the Indian government is planning to
bring about, are lobbying against it. But women's and lawyers'
organizations have dug in their heels and are seeking to put an end to both
physical and mental aggression against women. It is believed that the Atal
Bihari Vajpayee government, too, initially found the definition a bit
far-reaching, but the National Commission for Women and the Lawyers'
Collective, are insisting on expanding the scope of the Domestic Violence
Bill. "The main question is what affects the mental peace of
women?" asked Sonjoy Ghosh of the Lawyers' Collective. Men, uneasy
with the "liberal" definition of violence are raising questions
about the wisdom of reining in their "freedom of expression." The
draft bill drawn up by the Lawyers' Collective states: "Verbal and
mental abuse includes insults, ridicule, humiliation, name-calling,
especially with regard to women who do not have a child or particularly a
male child." "The Domestic Violence Bill will be a civil and not
a criminal law and the difference will be significant," added Ghosh.
The new bill will order physical protection of the woman, give her the
right of residence and ensure financial compensation.
LONDON, ENGLAND, February 28, 2001: A total of 21 international
organizations, recommended for proscription under the new Terrorism Act
2000, are listed in a draft Order laid before Parliament today by the Home
Secretary Jack Straw. The draft Order will be subject to debates in and
approval by both Houses of Parliament. Once approved, it will automatically
go into effect. Straw said, "Proscription is an important power in the
new Act - the UK has no intention of becoming a base for terrorists and
their supporters, nor to see it flourish abroad, and we will take every
legal action at our disposal to prevent this." Included in the list
are 14 Muslim organizations, three of them active in Kashmir including
Harakat Mujahideen, Jaish e Mohammed, and Lashkar e Tayyaba. There are two
Sikh organizations, also active in India, Babbar Khalsa and International
Sikh Youth Federation. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is
listed, and its listing is so far attracting the most attention in the UK
press. The law gives police powers to seize assets and arrest those who use
violence or the threat of it "for the purpose of advancing a
political, religious or ideological cause." Even fund-raising or
openly supporting a banned organization could lead to arrest.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, February 27, 2001: Further information is published in
this article about the temple masons, or silpis, working at the Sri
Venkateswara Temple in Helensburgh, south of Sydney. According to the men,
they have been paid $45 a month in cash for a seven-day week. Another $100
a week is sent home to their families. The men have been living on the
temple site in extremely cramped and rudimentary conditions, with five beds
in one shed and three in another, some for three years. Their plight came
to public attention yesterday when the state leader of the Construction
Forestry Mining and Energy Union, Mr Andrew Ferguson, visited the
Helensburgh temple site to speak to the workers. Mr Ferguson said he told
the workers they were being underpaid and should strike until further
notice. He then persuaded them to leave with him to travel to Wollongong
for lunch, which is understood to have caused some commotion at the temple
among priests. The men were later returned to the temple in the afternoon
but left again with Mr Ferguson after overnight accommodation was arranged
for them at the Novotel Hotel in Wollongong. Wollongong City Council
yesterday ruled that the workers' accommodation should be moved because of
"unhealthy conditions." Mr Ferguson said the workers' pay
amounted to 15 per cent of their entitlements under the stonemasons' award
and he would seek guarantees on back pay and that the workers would be paid
legal rates in future.
DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, February 24, 2001: In this Detroit suburb where some
grade schools are more than 90 percent Muslim, Dearborn schools do not
serve food that meets Muslim dietary rules. This policy has prompted
thousands of parents to demand cafeteria food that is "halal," or
permitted under Islamic rules. Halal laws are similar to kosher laws. Like
kosher Jews, Muslims do not eat pork. Dearborn Public Schools is accepting
proposals from halal food distributors to provide food at several of its 28
public schools. The district currently provides meatless lunches for
Catholics on Fridays during Lent and eight years ago, they banned pork from
lunches so Muslim children would not eat it by mistake. Many of the
students eat breakfast and lunch at school.
LONDON, U.K, March 8, 2001: William Dowsing arrived in Cambridge in
December, 1643, filled with Puritan zeal, determined to smash the lingering
reminders of the old Roman Catholic faith. A similar determination inspired
the Taleban in Afghanistan to destroy ancient images of the Buddha,
horrifying the world. "Images, symbols, whether religious or not,
always attract violence when there is conflict because religious symbols
are more densely packed with meaning,'' said Carlos Eire, professor of
religious studies at Yale University. Iconoclasm marked the Protestant
Reformation in Europe. In the eighth century, there was conflict in the
Eastern Church over the use of icons. Christian iconoclasts have drawn
inspiration from parts of the Bible which condemn idols and images. Dowsing
had the authority of the British Parliament which had enacted an ordinance
"for demolishing ...monuments of superstition and idolatry''
regardless of value of art or history.
AYODHYA, INDIA, March 6, 2001: In the northern Indian city of Ayodhya, a
visiting Korean delegation has inaugurated a memorial to their royal
ancestor, Queen Huh. More than a hundred historians and government representatives,
including the North Korean ambassador to India, unveiled the memorial on
the west bank of the River Saryu. Korean historians believe that Queen Huh
was a princess of an ancient kingdom in Ayodhya. She went to Korea some two
thousand years ago and started the Karak dynasty by marrying a local king,
Suro. Today, the historians say, Queen Huh's descendants number more than
six million, including the South Korean president, Kim Dae Jung. But a
senior official in Ayodhya told the BBC that no information was available
about Queen Huh in Indian history.
KOZHISSERI, NEW DELHI, March 04, 2001: Holi, the Indian festival of colors,
will see the use of natural colors made from the extracts of flowers and
fruit this year, to the relief of those worried about hazardous chemical
colors being smeared on them. "We can get yellow from the 'tesu'
plant, black from husk and blue from 'neel' and many more colors that are
completely natural and safe," said Vandana Shiva, a noted environmental
activist speaking at the program Abir Gulal (named after the colored powder
used on Holi), organized by Navdanya, a movement to protect biodiversity.
The natural colors will be sold in the capital's Dilli Haat fairgrounds by
Navdanya. Often industrial colors are used could cause cancer. We have
always stressed toxic-free food, and it is time for toxic-free color,"
Shiva said. Generally, people play Holi with commercial colors, with
carcinogenic properties such as aluminum bromide. "The natural colors
will save health and protect nature," said Shiva.
LONDON, ENGLAND, March 5, 2001: Foot and mouth disease that affects all
cloven hoofed animals has rampaged through the countryside of the U.K.
Determined to eradicate the virus, government officials have slaughtered an
estimated 46,000 animals to date, many thousands of which are cows.
Protesting the killing, Hindus in Britain, have spoken out about the way
animals are treated in the U.K and blamed the epidemic on poor animal care.
ALLAHABAD, INDIA, March 2, 2001: The grand Maha Kumbh Mela which started
January 9th and ended February 21st on Maha Sivaratri nourished over 100
million pilgrims at the "Sangam." Hindu pilgrims travelled long
distances and suffered hardship to participate in the event. Certain
auspicious days during the 42-day festival attracted millions of fervent
devotees. Having left Allahabad on February 8th to participate in the
festivities in Benares, most Holy Men had moved on by February 21st. Those
seeking peace, after the crowds left, stayed for the last sacred bath.
NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 5, 2001: Spearheading the celebrations in the
capital, nearly 5,000 poor women will join the Delhi Council for Women
(DCW). Plans including forming a human chain and pledging to make Delhi a
safer city for women on the millennium's first international Women's Day,
Thursday. According to DCW chairperson Anjali Rai, women from various
resettlement colonies and slum clusters will interact with representatives
from 89 NGOs. According to Ms. Rai, the DCW for the past few months has
been promoting the concept of Mahila Panchayats, a sort of women's court,
across the city to keep a vigil on acts of domestic violence in
resettlement colonies providing para-legal aid to the victims. See also the
article on these Mahila Panchayats at http://www.timesofindia.com/
190101/19mdel15.htm. The DCW run helpline has alone recorded 2,630 cases of
harassment and violence against women in the past one year.
MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA, March 5, 2001: It is interesting to Hinduism Press
International to observe the stark difference in reporting of the on-going
Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and the recently concluded Hindu Kumbha
Mela. In the Hajj report, of which "source" above is but one
example, there is not a hint of the sarcasm, ridicule and demeaning
portrayals that permeated nearly every report on the Kumbha Mela. The
single most notable point is that the Western Press makes nothing of this:
"Once they complete the stoning ritual, pilgrims shave or cut their
hair and then slaughter more than a half-million camels, cows and sheep
near this tent city that only comes to life during the Hajj. For pilgrims
in Saudi Arabia this year, most of the animals will be sacrificed at a
large slaughterhouse in Mecca that was built at a cost of about US$125
million. Pilgrims can go to slaughterhouses to buy and slaughter animals
themselves or they can pay a bank or company to do it on their behalf. Meat
is sent to the needy in 27 countries." All this is presented without
comment of any sort. Imagine what would have happened if a slaughter house
of this immense proportions were set up at the Kumbha Mela and one-half
million animals offered to the Deities? At least, there would have been
photos of it on the wire services, but a search of the major wire services
-- AP, Reuters, AFP, UPI and 31 others -- revealed not a single photo or
even mention in a caption of the ritual slaughter at Mecca. Nor have we
seen any comment in any article on the practice.
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, March 6, 2001: The Centre for Buddhism International
(CBI) in Kandy, the central province hill town where the Temple of the
Buddha's Tooth is the focal point, has accused Christian missionaries of
invading rural villages and tea and rubber plantations, using
"unethical, coercive and sometimes barbaric methods" to
proselytize their faith. The organization said in a statement that at least
73 foreign and local evangelical groups, with names like Campus Crusade for
Christ and Christian Literary Crusade, had been studied by the Regional
Centre for Strategic Studies. CBI asked the government to act according to
the country's constitution and protect the Buddhist faith, charging that
other Christian organizations tried to justify the work of the evangelists
and decry opposition from Buddhists as "the work of extremists."
The evangelists are from among newly sprung up groups with foreign links
who blend religion with relief work, doling out jobs and material aid to
converts, said the CBI.
NEW DELHI, INDIA, March, 2001: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will not
celebrate Holi, the festival of colors, as a mark of respect for the
victims of the devastating quake that hit Gujarat in January, official
sources said. Spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office on Sunday said
there would be no celebrations on Holi, which falls on March 10 this year,
at 7 Race Course Road, Vajpayee's official residence, as he wanted to
express solidarity with the people of Gujarat. About 25,000 people were
killed and thousands rendered homeless by the quake that rocked the western
state on January 26.
RAJASTHAN, INDIA, March 5, 2001: In a path-breaking initiative, Rajasthan
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has ordered a change in the service rules so
that action can be taken against male employees of the government who beat
and harass their wives. Similarly, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.
Chandrababu Naidu has also ordered an assessment of the extent of sexual
harassment in the state secretariat, following media reports of atrocities
against women in the secretariat.
JAMMU, INDIA, March 5, 2001: A record number of 432,000 pilgrims have
visited the holy cave shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji since January 1,
2001. During the same time last year, 361,000 pilgrims had Darshan of the
holy cave shrine. Of the 174,000 devotees who visited the shrine last
month, over 136,000 were from outside the State. About 10,000 pilgrims a
day reach Katra, the base camp of pilgrimage. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi
Shrine Board has made elaborate arrangements for the comfortable stay of
pilgrims.
BOMBAY, INDIA, March 1, 2001: Parsis, descendants of the ancient Persians
and followers of the prophet Zoroaster, have an ancient way of disposing of
their dead in the city of Bombay. On Malabar Hill and the tranquil park at
Doongerwadi, Parsi followers bring their dead to be devoured by vultures.
Bodies that have been exposed to the sun and eaten by scavengers ensures
that no pollution takes place and that all are equal in death. However this
traditional way of disposing of their dead is being threatened. In 1988,
350 pairs of vultures nested in the park. Due to an infectious disease
which has reduced the population of vultures to a mere dozen, the situation
has escalated to a crisis. The Bombay Parsi council has collaborated with
scientists to build an aviary so that vultures can be bred in captivity.
The project will take at least four years to get off the ground. In the
meantime, the Parsis are left wondering how to dispose of their dead. Many
bodies are left to decompose in the tropical sun. At least 1,000 bodies are
placed annually in the Tower of Silence and there are simply not enough
vultures to uphold the tradition. They are considering switching to
cremation.
KERALA, INDIA, February 21, 2001: Sparing the rod and spoiling the child, a
medieval concept that chipped away at a child's self esteem, has virtually
been abandoned in most nations around the world. In 1989 the United Nations
General Assembly adopted a move in favor of the "Rights of the
Child" and the convention promoted that, "State parties shall
take all appropriate measures to ensure that school discipline is administered
in a manner consistent with the child's human dignity." However, India
has only paid lip service to the U.N. directive. Allowing corporal
punishment in certain circumstances, none of which have been defined, has
literally given frustrated low paid teachers the license to abuse the
children under their care. Several instances have been reported such as a
teenager needing surgery because his ears were boxed by a principal, a
5-year-old requiring psychiatric care after physical torture by a teacher,
and a 13-year-old was stripped naked and paraded at a New Delhi school.
Results of such discipline has been proven completely contrary to the
intended result of society and condemned by psychologists and social
scientists. Children exposed to such punishment develop warped
personalities with inclinations of defiance, hostility, and rebelliousness.
LAMPANG, THAILAND, December 16, 2000: Elephants are natural candidates for
music-making! Their hearing is much keener than their sight, and they
employ a vast range of vocalizations, many of which are heard on their
recently released debut CD, by the New York-based Mulatta Records. The CD
is a brainchild of Richard Lair, an American expatriate who has worked with
elephants for 23 years and written an encyclopedic United Nations study of
Asia's captive elephants, and David Sulzer, a neurologist who heads
Columbia University's Sulzer Laboratory and works as a composer and
producer under the name Dave Soldier. Together they organized six young
pachyderm at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center, near the town of
Lampang, where they trained the Thai Elephant Orchestra members to play
sturdier versions of traditional Thai instruments -- slit drums, a gong
hammered from a sawmill blade, a diddly-bow bass and xylophone-like renats
-- and a thundersheet and harmonicas. Sulzer said he and Lair merely showed
the elephants how to make the sounds, cued them to start and stop, and let
them play as they wished. After five practice sessions, they started
recording. Mr. Sulzer admits he was skeptical at first. "I thought we
would just train elephants to hit something, and I would tape that and have
to paste it together with other things." Instead, he recorded the
performances intact, without overdubbing. The players improvise distinct
meters and melodic lines, and vary and repeat them. The results are both
meditative and deliberate. For Lair, it's simply a matter of
interpretation, as in all art: "Just as there are a lot things they
don't understand about our music, I am sure there are things we will never
understand about theirs." The proceeds from the CD will go to a milk
bank for orphaned elephants and a school to improve mahout training. One
trainer also said, "It's at least as good as New Age Music."
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, March 3, 2001: Troops from the Taliban religious
militia, under orders from their supreme commander, Mullah Mohammed Omar,
used explosives and rockets Saturday to destroy two towering statues of
Buddha in Bamiyan. Already two-thirds of the country's statues have been
eliminated. All the rest will be reduced to rubble on Sunday and Monday,
despite worldwide pleas to save the priceless treasures. "The head and
legs of the Buddha statues were destroyed yesterday,'' said Taliban
Information Minister Quadratullah Jamal. "Our soldiers are working
hard to demolish their remaining parts." Most of the country's ancient
Buddhist relics, fragments of Afghanistan's pre-Islamic past, were
destroyed, Jamal said. It is a testament to the Taliban's arsenal that they
are able to expend a so much ammunition in the endeavor, without apparently
lessening their military capability. Several related articles follow.
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, March 7, 2001: India's Special Olympians, a team of
handicapped individuals competing in special sports, landed in Alaska
recently. Appealing to a crowd honoring a reception for the crew, a
representative for the Cultural Association of India solicited volunteers
to cook for the hungry athletes. Apparently the flight from India offered
no familiar food in the form of rice and curry for the team. Collaborating
with the Hilton hotel, the Asian community pulled together to provide the
Olympians with plenty of spicy home-cooked delicacies with lots of rice.
The Special Olympics serve to provide a sense of self-esteem to physically-
and mentally-challenged individuals.
PORT LOUIS, MAURITIUS, March 12, 2001: The independence day of Mauritius
falls on March 12, and this year the President of India is the island
nation's guest of honor for the celebration. Manon Mardemootoo reports,
"Considerable energy is now being focused by our government on making
Mauritius a 'cyber Island.' India has pledged a US$21 million line of
credit and is helping us set up our cyber cities. The excellent ties between
the two countries, the strong cultural and privileged links maintained over
the centuries, the double tax treaty, closeness, direct flights to Indian
Cities, and now to Chennai, besides the strong will of the two governments,
are all helping towards boosting the IT sector. Positioned between East
& West, our bilingual and special position among the French-speaking,
African organizations and the Commonwealth of Nations should facilitate
business through Mauritius in the IT sector."
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, March 13, 2001: Battery Dance Company will be the first
American performing arts ensemble to tour India after the tragic earthquake
of January 26th. A special send-off performance is scheduled for Sunday,
March 25th, 3:00 p.m. at City Center, Studio 4, 130 West 56th Street, New
York. The Company will give performances in Calcutta, Bangalore, Chennai,
Mumbai, New Delhi and the City of Ahmedabad, which was devastated by the
earthquake. Battery and its partner, the Indo-American Arts Council, will
meet with members of the arts communities in each city in a series of town
meetings to discuss the strengthening of artistic collaboration and
exchange between India and the U.S. The Indo-American Arts will also
deliver over US$100,000 in relief funds collected at an art auction
fundraiser in New York to help build new homes for the people of Gujarat.
NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 8, 2001: Today the Rajya Sabha introduced
legislation to ban smoking in public places. The bill, introduced by Health
and Family Welfare Minister C.P. Thakur, seeks to put a total ban on
advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products and to prohibit
sponsorship of sports and cultural events by the manufacturers, as well as
sale of tobacco products to minors. It also proposes to regulate the
contents and language of specified warnings and require nicotine and tar
contents to be displayed. It is estimated that the treatment of tobacco
related diseases and the resulting loss of productivity cost the country
US$2.9 billion annually, far surpassing any benefits accrued from revenue
and employment generated by the tobacco industry.
LUCKNOW, INDIA, March 7, 2001: UP chief minister Rajnath Singh announced
that the historic Allahabad city would be renamed "Tirth Raj
Prayag." Prayag is the ancient name of the city. The announcement was
made at a function attended by sadhus and sants to congratulate the chief
minister for the success of the recent Kumbh Mela there. The name change
follows "Bombay" returning to "Mumbai,"
"Madras" to "Chennai" and "Calcutta" to
"Kolkota."
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, March 6, 2001: This recent article discusses the
attempts of the Tibetan people to preserve their culture as new immigrants
to the United States. Tibetan children enrolled in a Sunday language course
in Manhattan have never seen Tibet, nor have many of their parents, exiles
who were born and raised in refugee settlements in India or Nepal. Young
Tibetans struggle to maintain the culture of a homeland many have never
seen, while also trying to adapt to a new culture. Tibetan leaders
complicate the issue by expressing mixed feelings. Many believe the culture
will not survive if Tibetans scatter across the globe. In just a decade,
the number of Tibetan exiles in this country has increased tenfold. It is
still a small group, with the largest concentration of about 2,000 people
in New York City. The Immigration and Naturalization Service considers
Tibetans stateless, but it has opposed most asylum requests from those who
lived for most of their lives in Nepal or India. The agency's position is
that an applicant must prove that he or she suffered or fears persecution
in the country of last residence. U.S. Judges generally decide that India
and Nepal treat Tibetan exiles well, and few asylum applications have been
granted. Canada, on the other hand, grants most asylum requests from
Tibetans. Judges there feel that a Tibetan who does not have citizenship in
India or Nepal runs the risk of one day being deported to China, which now
controls Tibet. "If you have no status in a country, you don't have a
right to remain," said a Toronto lawyer. "And the Tibetans really
don't have a home."
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, March 11, 2001: The Hindu community in Australia's
premier harbor city is up in arms after the left-wing Construction Forestry
Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) stormed the Sri Venkateswara Temple here in
Helensburg, taking eight construction workers with them on the charge they
were being underpaid and exploited. The Hindu Council of Australia (fax:
011 61 2 9544 4957) will hold a protest rally on March 25 against the move.
The head of the temple management committee, Perumal Janarthan, denied the
charges and blamed the trade union of being insensitive to Hinduism. The
protesters will meet at Sydney Town Hall and march to the Parliament House.
"We have made it clear that we are not constructing a five-star hotel
but a Hindu temple and workers are not here to earn wages but to perform
their religious duties as volunteers," Janarthan told IANS. The
workers were living by the religious tenets followed by those involved in
temple construction and provided all facilities, he said. "We have
been spending about US$10,256 on each worker every year for meals, clothes,
accommodation, airfares and other expenses," he said. The workers are
believed to have been taken to Wollongong by CFMEU, who are affiliated to
the opposition Labor Party, and the action has taken on political
overtones. Australian Hindus are seeking support from Hindus in other
countries.
LONDON, ENGLAND, March 7, 2001: A plan to build 2,108 quake-proof houses in
Gujarat, proposed by the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir -- the biggest Hindu
temple outside India ---has been launched by Prince Charles, bringing
instant sponsors. Swami Atmaswarupdas, temple chief, said 6,500 volunteers
of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanatha had rushed to the aid of the quake victims
within hours of the devastating quake. Meals were provided daily for 20,000
victims, and 850,000 food packets, 1.5 million water pouches, 63,000
blankets and 169,000 articles of clothing had been distributed so far.
BODH GAYA, INDIA, March 9, 2001: Authorities in eastern India have ordered
an investigation after teen-age Tibetan leader Ugyen Thinley Dorje, the
17th Karmapa Lama, was accused of wearing his shoes when he visited the
sanctum of the Mahabodhi Temple in the state of Bihar. The Karmapa is one
of the highest-ranking monks in Tibetan Buddhism, recognized by both
Beijing and the exiled Tibetan religious leader, the Dalai Lama, and is
considered by his followers to be the reincarnation of his predecessor.
Bhadant Anand, the general-secretary of the All India Monks' Association,
demanded the Karmapa be punished for "trampling'' upon the Vajrasana,
the place where the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment.
Although there is no restriction on wearing shoes inside a temple in
Tibetan Buddhist tradition, a 1949 law that governs the Mahabodhi Temple
bans footwear inside the complex. Those defying the law may be fined $2.20,
according to the law. The Karmapa was defended by Tenzing Lama, the
monk-in-charge of the Tibetan monastery in Bodh Gaya, who said: "It is
the heart and not the shoes that is important.''
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, Sat, 23 Sep 1995 - This article in the Far Eastern
Economic Review details how the National Museum of Afghanistan was first
damaged by rocket fire in May, 1993, and then looted. The rockets caused a
fire which melted supporting beams holding up the ornate vaulted roof,
sending it crashing down on the upper galleries. The next day, Najibulla
Popol, the 37-year-old museum curator, and a few staff members salvaged
what they could to vaults in the museum's basement. Factional fighting had
been swirling around the museum since the mujahideen captured Kabul in
April 1992. In the months following the first rocket attack, mujahideen
soldiers repeatedly looted their contents guided by detailed instructions
from Afghan and Pakistani antiquities dealers. In January 1994, United
Nations agency Habitat bricked up the museum's windows and repaired the
doors, but looters broke in. Leading a party of journalists in 1995, museum
director Popol showed destruction and mayhem, stacks of empty metal trays
that had held one of the largest and oldest coin collections in the
world-some 40,000 coins-covered the floor. Less-important artifacts were
left smashed on the floor, while those too heavy to carry such as
life-sized statues of Kushan warriors from 200 BC and the largest Buddhas
were badly damaged. According to Sayed Delju Hussaini, Afghan minister of
information and culture, 90% of the museum's collection has been looted.
"It was one of the richest museums in the entire region, covering
50,000 years of history in Afghanistan and Central Asia," Hussaini
laments. The breaking of all remaining statues in this museum by the
Taleban in the last few weeks completes the museum's demise.
MANCHESTER, NH, March 7, 2001: Inventor Dean Kamen's invention, called
"IT" or "Ginger," is a two-wheeled hydrogen-powered
scooter that is emission-free. The print publication of Inside.com says,
"Ginger represents the first generation of a new mode of
transportation that will compete with and possibly replace automobiles. The
ramifications of a 'hydrogen economy' would be profound on everything from
the environment to the energy business to global politics." IT is
already generating financial support from Steve Jobs of Apple and Jeff
Bezos of Amazon.com, who reportedly have seen the machine. Kamen, a
successful inventor who has come up with innovative, stair-climbing
wheelchairs and an insulin pump, created a company called ACROS to build
"motorized, self-propelled, wheelchairs, scooters, and carts."
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Om Tat Sat (Continued...)
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Satguru Bodhianatha Velayanswami ji, Hinduism
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