News from Hindu Press International
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Posted on
2012/5/26 16:14:48 ( 1197 reads )
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INDIA, May 2012 (educationworldonline): A silent revolution is transforming
the contours, especially the cultural context of Indian education,
investing it with the rich and hitherto largely ignored spiritual wisdom
and values of ancient India. Across the country education institutions
promoted by charitable trusts headed by Hindu seers and saints are
mushrooming, drawing students from all sections of society.
Most Hindu religious trusts dispensing education have been doing so for
several decades. But hitherto they tended to focus their attention upon the
needs of rural children who, neglected by the government school system
notorious for absentee teachers and crumbling infrastructure, were content
to receive less-than-wholly contemporary education with high spiritual
content. However what's new in recent times is that pontiffs of religious
maths have come out of their rural strongholds to offer their brand of education
"an attractive combination of the traditional wisdom and culture of
the East with state-of-the-art technology-driven pedagogies of the
West" to urban elites. And according to all indicators Indian-style
new age schools such as Chinmayananda International Residential School,
Coimbatore; Jain International and BGS International, Bangalore and similar
institutions are attracting increasing numbers of students from India's
newly emergent middle class and the Indian diaspora.
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Posted on
2012/5/26 16:14:42 ( 950 reads )
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UNITED KINGDOM, May 17, 2012 (BBC): Bristol's Hindu community may be able
to scatter the ashes of loved ones in the River Avon in future rather than
travelling to India's River Ganges. The city's new Lord Mayor Peter Main
said providing a consecrated site was one of his first priorities. The
Environment Agency and Bristol City council are trying to identify a site.
Mr Main said: "It's their tradition to scatter ashes on water and
quite often now they're flown back to India to do that. "They're
Bristolian, most are born and bred in Bristol, why shouldn't they have
somewhere in Bristol to scatter their ashes?"
Parag Bhatt, from Bristol Hindu Temple, said it was difficult for a big
family or elderly relatives to travel to India. Mr. Bhatt said there were
currently about 10,000 Hindus in Bristol and the surrounding area. But he
added: "It's not just the Bristol Hindu community that's going to
benefit, it will be other communities like the Sikh and Buddhist as well.
Scattering ashes in British rivers is not new. The River Soar in
Leicestershire and the River Thames in London are already used.
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Posted on
2012/5/26 16:14:36 ( 953 reads )
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MADURAI, INDIA, May 13, 2012 (The Hindu): There is nothing wrong in
treating musicians who had completed a certificate or degree course in a
Government Music College on a par with those who had received informal
training from ace performers when it comes to appointment in Temples
managed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, the
Madras High Court Bench here has said.
Allowing two writ appeals filed by a female Nagaswaram player as well as
the Administrative Officer of the Kallazhagar Temple at Alagarkovil near
here, a Division Bench of Justices R. Banumathi and B. Rajendran said that
the performance of an informal student trained under a Vidhwan would be
more vibrant than a person who had passed out of a college without
sufficient training from a leading musician.
The Division Bench set aside an order passed by a single judge on November
13, 2008 cancelling the appointment of R. Chandrakala as the official
Nagaswaram player of the temple and held that the other contestant for the
post, M. Sankaranarayanan, who had originally filed the writ petition
before the single judge, could approach the HR and CE department if he was
still aggrieved.
The judges pointed out that the temple had issued a recruitment
notification in a newspaper on October 4, 2007 calling for applications
from candidates possessing a certificate issued by a Government Music
College in playing Nagaswaram. Then, only four candidates including the
writ petitioner applied and none of them produced the original certificates
during the interview. Hence, the temple abandoned the selection process and
issued a fresh notification on December 7, 2007. This time, it did not
insist on a certificate from a government college.
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Posted on
2012/5/26 16:14:31 ( 781 reads )
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ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN, May 20, 2012 (Hindustan Times): Unidentified men on
Sunday vandalized a historic Hindu temple in Peshawar city of northwest
Pakistan that was reopened on the orders of a court last year, police
officials and local residents said. The attackers burnt pictures and
damaged a Shivling inside Gorakhnath Temple and took away statues from the
shrine located within an archaeological complex in Gor Gathri area, leaders
of the Hindu community said.
The temple's custodian told police that he had seen a group of eight men
inside the temple when he arrived there at 6.30 pm. The men started burning
pictures and holy books before fleeing with some statues, he said. He told
the media that this was the third attack on the temple in the past two
months.
Hindu leaders urged police to put in place better security measures to
prevent such incidents.
The 160-year-old temple was reopened for Hindus last year on the orders of
the Peshawar High Court. It has been closed since Partition.
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Posted on
2012/5/26 16:14:24 ( 629 reads )
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Hinduism is the only ancient religious tradition on the Earth which talks
about the right time-scale. In the West, people have the sense that what is
natural is for the universe to be a few thousand years old, and that
billions are numbers no one can understand. The Hindu concept is very
clear. Here is a great world culture which has always talked about billions
of years.
-- Carl Sagan (1934-1996), American astrophysicist
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Posted on
2012/5/25 21:22:23 ( 828 reads )
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MUMBAI, INDIA, May 10, 2012 (ndtv.com): Maharashtra Home Minister R.R.
Patil has said the state government would provide temple trusts license for
possessing weapons. This announcement comes in the wake of theft of a Deity
from Dive Agar.
"Government provides security to some important temples. Some of these
are under threat from terrorists and dacoits," Patil said on Thursday.
"If temple trusts demand for providing them with license for
possessing weapons, then the government will allow them for it," he
added.
The move by the state government comes after a gang of robbers attacked two
watchmen at Ganesh temple at Dive Agar, in Raigad district, and fled with
an ancient 3.3 lb. gold statue, estimated to be worth US$92,000. One of the
watchman died in the attack.
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Posted on
2012/5/25 21:22:17 ( 829 reads )
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CHENNAI, INDIA, May 9, 2012 (Hindu Businessline): To check encroachment the
Tamil Nadu government today said it will create a database of 478,000 acres
of temple land coming under its control.
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister, Mr. M.S.M. Anandan
informed the state assembly that software detailing movable and immovable
property belonging to temples, mutts and trusts under the Ministry had been
created for the purpose.
A database will be created for the benefit of officials to find details of
land at one touch and thereby prevent encroachment of temple lands and
ensure their retrieval, besides collecting lease amounts on time from
persons who had leased the land, he said.
[HPI note: It is good to remember that at least one case has surfaced of
the government using temple resources and facilities for secular,
administrative purposes. There has not been any indication yet that the
database of temple lands will be created with a similar intent in mind.]
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Posted on
2012/5/25 21:22:12 ( 919 reads )
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KERALA, INDIA, May 2012 (The Hindu): Sidelining of the sublime concept and
rich values of family life by the young generation and creation of a
self-centered world, coupled with the Western influence on native culture,
have left the institution of family somewhat in a disarray, T.K.
Rameshkumar, District Family Court Judge, has said.
Mr. Rameshkumar was inaugurating a seminar on the 'Growing divorce cases in
the State,' organized by the Vigil India Movement's State committee and the
Legal Services Committee at Thiruvalla on Sunday. He said that there had
been a manifold increase in the number of divorce petitions reaching the
family courts in the State.
Presiding over the inaugural session, Prasad Thomas Kodiyattu, Principal of
St. Mary's Women's College, Thiruvalla, said mental stress, alcoholism,
extra-marital affairs, domestic violence, emotional incompatibility,
adjustment problems, religious differences, and so on were found to have
been the factors leading to divorce in many cases.
A total of 44,236 divorce petitions reached various courts during
2011-2012.
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Posted on
2012/5/25 21:22:06 ( 781 reads )
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God Siva is Immanent Love and Transcendent Reality.
-- Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism
Today
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Posted on
2012/5/24 17:27:48 ( 1217 reads )
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DHAKA, BANGLADESH, May 21, 2012 (Deccan Herald): The Bangladesh cabinet
today approved the draft of a law suggesting introduction of registration
for Hindu marriages aimed at protecting the rights of followers of the
faith and particularly that of women.
"The law will be called Hindu Marriage Registration Act, 2012 allowing
following of Hindu faith to get their marriage registered," cabinet
secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters after the cabinet
meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He said the registration of Hindu marriages would, however, be optional,
"not mandatory" as there is no law in the country to register the
marriages of Hindus. In the absence of marriage registration, Hindu women
are devoid of the rights to prove the marriage or divorce the husband.
Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said that despite the principled government
decision for enacting immediately the Hindu registration law following
Indian example, the follow up legislations for marriage separation and
hereditary laws could take a longer period.
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Posted on
2012/5/24 17:27:42 ( 816 reads )
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INDIA, May 20, 2012 (The Hindu): From being dumped and dubbed disreputable
Vilasini Natyam was given a new life by Swapnasundari. The dancer has the
commendable distinction of reviving the relegated temple and court dances
of Andhra Pradesh, performed by the 'kalavathus' (those who excel in fine
arts). Her work in restoring Vilasini Natyam has placed in perspective the
role of the dancing community that once enjoyed the favor of the ruling
class before being marginalized and tagged as disreputable.
"Yes, in that context I am a cultural activist," says the 50-plus
dancer who performed the dance form in the city Saturday last. A career spanning
four decades of dance and research in the field, Swapnasundari has
published two books on the subject. She talks to The Hindu MetroPlus about
the challenges she faced in reviving the temple dance and its future. Read
the full interview by clicking at "source," above.
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Posted on
2012/5/24 17:27:36 ( 823 reads )
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TRICHY, INDIA, May 10, 2012 (India Times): The body of Lakhsmana Narayana
seer of Srirangam Balahari Purushothama Ramanuja mutt, who passed away in
Kolkata on May 6, created a flutter in Srirangam on Wednesday over a
dispute whether the mortal remains could be buried inside the mutt. The
body of the seer was brought from Kolkata to Chennai on Tuesday night, and
taken to Amma Mandapam in an ambulance.
The disciples of the deceased insisted that the body be buried inside the
mutt, but the authorities of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments
department objected, saying the mutt housed the Perumal temple. Srirangam
tahsildar Rengarajan said it was either a Christian or Muslim tradition to
keep a body inside a place of worship for rituals, and was not acceptable
in the Hindu dharma. Three seers of the mutt are buried on the banks of the
Kollidam, and to deviate from such a practice would set a bad precedent,
the tahsildar said.
The 90-year-old seer was conducting the religious affairs of the
150-year-old Balahari Purushothama Ramanuja Mutt until January 30, 2009,
when he vanished under mysterious circumstances. The Perumal temple inside
the mutt had also been closed to devotees for the last 20 years following a
dispute. Later, the temple along with its properties that included 20 acres
were brought under the control of the HR&CE.
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Posted on
2012/5/24 17:27:31 ( 1348 reads )
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Religion News
Service
UNITED STATES, May 2012 (RNS): When the Supreme Court ruled that a
Christian student group could only be recognized at a small public law
school if it accepted non-Christians and gays as potential leaders, some
lawyers and campus advocates grew nervous.
While the 5-4 decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez was primarily
aimed at public colleges and universities, some conservatives say the
decision has upended university religious life, with both public and
private schools reconsidering nondiscrimination rules.
Now, nearly two years after the decision involving the University of
California's Hastings College of the Law, the case is causing strife across
U.S. college campuses. In one of the most visible debates, private
Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., has said some religious groups
won't be officially recognized if they require certain beliefs or do not
allow all members to compete for leadership roles. On the website about its
nondiscrimination policy, the school cited the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in
defending the constitutionality of the rules.
Lawmakers in Ohio and Arizona passed bills to ensure that public colleges
and universities didn't go down the same road as Hastings. Tennessee Gov.
Bill Haslam, a Republican, said he would veto similar legislation only
because it also included private universities that receive more than $24
million in state funds -- namely, Vanderbilt.
David French, senior counsel with the American Center for Law and Justice,
said there's been an uptick in challenges to religious campus activity
since the 2010 case, but he expects Vanderbilt to be the exception rather
than rule. He argues the so-called "all-comers policies" for
religious groups, such as Vanderbilt's, are unfair as long as sororities or
all-male glee clubs can discriminate based on gender.
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Posted on
2012/5/24 17:27:25 ( 713 reads )
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NEW ZEALAND, May 17, 2012 (Press Release): Hindu Council of New Zealand
(HCNZ) held the fourth National Hindu Conference on 12th and 13th of May,
2012, in Auckland. Hon. Judith Collins, Minister of Ethnic Affairs, and
Hon. David Shearer, Leader of Opposition in NZ Parliament, along with
Parliamentarians Kanwaljeet Bakshi, Su'a William Sio and Melissa Lee were
present at the conference. Dr. Rajen Prasad, a Parliamentarian himself, was
the Master of Ceremonies for the opening session.
A number of Hindu organisations from various parts of the North Island were
present at the conference. In addition, international presence from the
Pacific region in the form of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of Australia, and
Vishwa Hindu Parishad of Fiji, along with Ramakrishna Mission Fiji added to
the growing sense of common purpose of Hindu organisations in the region.
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Posted on 2012/5/24
17:27:19 ( 532 reads )
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In the end, the Great Mystery is known as one, as two, as neither one nor
two. Most people try to experience God through other people. Disciples see
a guru as God. Wives see their husband as God. Devotees see the Deity in
the temple as God. But all the time, behind the eyes of their seeing, is
God.
-- Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of hinduism
today
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Posted on
2012/6/1 17:30:54 ( 1538 reads )
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TIRUPATI, ANDRA PRADESH, INDAI, May 31, 2012 (Wall Street Journal): Patheti
Srinivasarao deals with 900 kilograms of human hair a day. He is in charge
of the collection, categorization and sale of hair shaved from the heads of
pilgrims at Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh. At the
start of June, Mr. Srinivasarao, who is an engineer by training, will
oversee a third e-auction of tresses. He expects it will raise millions of
rupees for the temple thanks to huge international demand for Indian hair,
which is used to make wigs and hair extensions. May and June are the
busiest time for the practice of tonsuring, in which pilgrims offer their
hair as a sacrifice to Lord Venkateswara, a form of the Hindu God Vishnu,
Mr. Srinivasarao says.
The TTD says revenue from the sale of hair generated 200 million rupees
(US$3.6 million) last financial year, up from 54 million rupees the
previous year. Mr. Srinivasarao attributes the increase to the introduction
of the e-auction, which has replaced traditional open bidding. Hair has
been sold via auctions for the last 20 years, according to Mr.
Srinivasarao. The TTD cancelled four conventional auctions in 2011 because
it suspected bidders were forming a "ring" and collaborating on
prices, meaning the reserve or upset price set by the temple was not
reached. The bids are now secret, so that those putting in tenders do not
know who else is in the running and cannot conspire to keep bids low.
"This method gets more revenue, it's more transparent, more
competitive and the ring formation is avoided," says Mr. Srinivasarao,
who has worked at the temple for 25 years.
Indian hair is in high demand for wig making and hair extensions because it
is both "thin and strong," explains Chennai-based Curlsnwaves,
one of the country's largest exporters of hair. The company also processes
hair, stripping it of color and re-dying it.
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Posted on
2012/6/1 17:30:49 ( 949 reads )
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OXON HILL, MARYLAND, May 31, 2012 (NBC): Snigdha Nandipati heard a few
words she didn't know during the National Spelling Bee, but never when she
stepped to the microphone. Calm and collected throughout, the 14-year-old
from San Diego spelled "guetapens," a French-derived word that
means ambush, snare or trap, to win the 85th Scripps National Spelling Bee
on Thursday night. She beat out eight other finalists in the
nerve-wracking, brain-busting competition. A semifinalist last year,
Nandipati became the fifth consecutive Indian-American winner and 10th in
the last 14 years, a run that began in 1999 when Nupur Lala won and was
later featured in the documentary "Spellbound."Stuti Mishra of
West Melbourne, Fla., finished second after misspelling
"schwarmerei" - which means excessive, unbridled enthusiasm.
While many spellers pretend to write words with their fingers, the
14-year-old Mishra had an unusual routine - she mimed typing them on a
keyboard. Nandipanti and Mishra frequently high-fived each other after
spelling words correctly during the marathon competition. Coming in third
for the second consecutive year was Arvind Mahankali of Bayside Hills, N.Y.
At 12, the seventh-grader was the youngest of the nine finalists. He has
one more year of eligibility remaining, and he pledged to return.
Nandipati's prize haul includes $30,000 in cash, a trophy, a $2,500 savings
bond, a $5,000 scholarship, $2,600 in reference works from the Encyclopedia
Britannica and an online language course.
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Posted on
2012/6/1 17:30:43 ( 822 reads )
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A miser, a devotee and a priest are all meeting together to discuss how
they give money to the temple. The devotee says, "I draw a line, toss
up some money in the air, and whatever lands on my side I keep, and what
lands on the other side I give to the temple." The priest says,
"I draw a circle, and whatever money lands in the circle, God gets to
keep." The miser says, "I throw all the money up in the air, and
God can keep whatever He catches."
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Posted on
2012/5/31 17:40:00 ( 1052 reads )
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DELAWARE, USA, May 28, 2012 (delawareonline.com): Thousands of devotees
attended kumbhabhishekam of the Hindu Temple of Delaware's new rajagopuram.
The event is captured on a slide show at "source" above.
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Posted on
2012/5/31 17:40:00 ( 893 reads )
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VARANASI, INDIA, May 31, 2012 (newstrackindia.com): Thousands of Hindu
devotees converged on the banks of River Ganga in Varanasi on Thursday to
celebrate the Ganga Dussehra festival which marks the day when the Goddess
Ganga descended on earth through the locks of Lord Shiva.
Mahant Brijmohan Das, a priest, said: "Today, is the festive occasion
of Ganga Dussehra. Today only, Mother Ganga descended from the 'jata'
(locks) of Lord Shiva to come down to earth. The Ganga flows in a
north direction in 'Kashi' (ancient name of Varanasi city). This is why, in
Kashi, this day is significant. Those devotees, who took a holy dip in
Ganga River, will get rid of all their sins."
Priests performed traditional Hindu rituals and chanted hymns on the banks
of the river. Thousands of devotees assembled from the crack of the dawn to
take a holy dip and sought the blessings of the Goddess Ganga.
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Posted on
2012/5/31 17:35:17 ( 964 reads )
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UNITED STATES, April 6, 2012 (NY Times by Shivani Vora): When I got married
almost 10 years ago, it was my parents and I who orchestrated the week-long
affair, a "medium-sized" Indian affair spread over various venues
in Manhattan and New Jersey, involving more than 450 guests from as a far
away as Hong Kong, New Delhi and Germany.
The year of tension-filled planning it took to put it together was
punctuated with heated arguments and littered with to-do lists that never
seemed to get finished. I tried reaching out to several well-known
Manhattan wedding planners located in the Upper East Side, Chelsea and the
West Village for help and quickly realized that I was better off on my own.
Luckily, Indian brides and grooms will fare much better today if they need
professional help -- in the past several years, a cottage industry of
wedding planners specializing in Indian affairs has sprung up around the
country. Some are freelance planners working out of their homes, others are
full-blown companies with multiple staff. Some are not even Indian, others,
such as the Washington D.C.-based Working Brides, plan Western and South
Asian weddings but usually have an Indian planner handling the Indian side.
The weddings of one planner, Sonal J. Shah Event Consultants, tend to be
lavish, and several run easily into the seven figures. Last year, for
instance, she planned a seven-day extravaganza in New York City that cost
more than $2 million, the wedding of two professionals, one the daughter of
a doctor. Highlights included a welcome reception at Indian-fusion
restaurant Vermilion, a mehndi (henna ceremony) and sangeet (a pre-wedding
dinner with music and dancing) at Chelsea Piers, the ceremony at Broad
Street Ballroom and the reception at Cipriani Downtown where the decor
alone was $650,000 and 30 eight-foot tall centerpieces were suspended from
the ceiling.
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Posted on
2012/5/31 17:35:00 ( 685 reads )
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LANHAM, MARYLAND, April 21, 2012 (press release, revised to include new
website address at source above): Sri Siva Vishnu Temple (SSVT) located in
Lanham, MD hosted the annual meeting of the Council of Hindu Temples of
North America (CHTNA) on Saturday April 21st 2012. The CHTNA, a registered
501(c)(3), non-profit Hindu organization, was established in 1984 and
incorporated in the State of New York in 1986. It is governed by nine
Temples as Board of Directors and has its Secretariat at the Hindu Temple
Society of North America, NY.
The CHTNA meets annually at one of the Temples in the United States. About
25 Temples participated in the meeting in April 2012. The meeting was
productive and provided a forum for exchange of ideas for the benefit of
the Temples. Professionals including attorneys specialized in religious
visas and corporate management; finance consultant specialized in
charitable remainder trust for the Temples addressed the gathering.
Two attorneys made their presentations covering the topics of legal and
management aspects related to people management, property management
including intellectual properties, the responsibilities of the temple
management, Religious Visa (R1 visa) categories, restrictions and
regulations, etc.
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Posted on
2012/5/31 17:34:54 ( 656 reads )
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Do not resist change. Accept change as one of the prerequisites in your
life to spiritual illumination. A positive mental attitude overlooks many
things that happen and sees the overall picture of what is progressing in
your life.
-- Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism
Today
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Posted on
2012/5/30 16:15:19 ( 1161 reads )
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UNITED KINGDOM, May 29, 2012 (Your Local Guardian): Bailiffs executed a
dawn raid on a Hindu temple, evicting priests and seizing its sacred
contents in a move which has outraged the Hindu community. Backed up by the
police, they moved in on the Sivayogam temple in Hebdon Road, Tooting, at 5
am last Tuesday, May 22, following a protracted legal dispute with owner
Barrowfen Properties Ltd which has plans to turn it into a Travelodge.
Eleven priests sleeping in the art deco building were evicted and the
building sealed, preventing worshippers from entering or removing 16 gold
and gem encrusted statues of Gods believed to be worth around US$156,000.
Following pressure from the Hindu community and others such as the local MP
Sadiq Khan, the High Court ruled on Monday that the temple trustees should
be allowed back into the building for one day to remove their possessions.
The court had earlier granted legal possession of the building to Barrowfen
and ordered the temple trustees to pay them US$281,500 in rent arrears
dating back to 2008. The temple trustees who have been based in the
building for 16 years continue to dispute this debt.
This morning they were at the temple accompanied by police officers and
their solicitors to collect their belongings and ensure that nothing has
been damaged.
Founder and spiritual leader of the temple Nagendram Seevaratnam, 74, said:
"I roundly condemn the sacrilegious conduct of the enforcement
officers and police in gaining forceful and blasphemous entry into the
temple." But Barrowfen said the order was enforced with sensitivity to
ensure the Deities were not touched, with the police there to make sure it was
carried out peacefully.
A spokesperson for the Hindu Council UK said: "A temple is a community
centre. Obviously demolition of it will be distressing to community life.
"The trustees should have made an application for a restraining order
and appealed the decision to the High Court. We are looking into and doing
our collective thinking on this." The temple is now in the process of
relocating to a site in Lion Road, Mitcham.
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Posted on
2012/5/30 16:15:13 ( 876 reads )
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PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, May 27, 2012 (allafrica.com): President Jacob Zuma
has praised South African Hindus for their role in the struggle to free
South Africa. "Many South Africans of Indian origin and specifically
Hindus, played a prominent part in our struggle for freedom and are still
playing a meaningful role in the social, economic and political
reconstruction of this country," Zuma said on Saturday.
Zuma, speaking in Durban at the centenary gala dinner of the Hindu cultural
organization SA Maha Sabha, said this community was an integral part of
South African society and added to the colorful rainbow nation that made us
proud South Africans.
He was impressed and inspired by the strong values which guided the
activities of the Hindu Maha Sabha, which include selfless service,
volunteerism, accountability, respect, fairness, continuous improvement and
unity.
The President also used the occasion to remind the nation of the need to
preserve cultural organisations and respective cultures. "Let us
encourage the Hindu youth for example to learn Indian languages so as to be
in touch with their culture and traditions. That will not make them less
South African. Instead, they will add to the rainbow mix and make this a
more colorful country when it comes to languages as well," said Zuma.
South Africans of Indian origin number about 1.28 million, 2.5% of the
population, according to Statistics SA and over 60% are Hindus.
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Posted on
2012/5/30 16:15:07 ( 858 reads )
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INDIA, May 16, 2012 (azcentral.com): Hindu devotees and other well-wishers
will have a rare opportunity to witness Srinivasa Kalyanam, "The
Marriage of Srinivasa," at the Sri Venkata Krishna Kshetra Temple in
Tempe. Visiting priests from the Tirupathi temple will perform the ceremony
there from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday.
The temple is one of 10 in the country to host the original, centuries-old
"uthsav murthis," portable statues of deities used in religious
ceremonies from the Tirupathi temple.
The Tempe temple was chosen from 43 Hindu temples around the country that
applied to host the venerated delegation and religious ceremony.
"The Marriage of Srinivasa" is a long story in Hindu mythology.
Lord Srinivasa (a manifestation of god Vishnu, also known as Venkateshwara,
who is devotional focus at the Tempe temple) is fulfilling a promise to
marry his consort Maha Lakshmi, in the Kali Yuga. The lord is believed to
be the savior of this yuga, the last of the four stages the world goes
through, according to Indian scriptures.
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2012/5/30 16:15:01 ( 868 reads )
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Press Release
LANHAM, MARYLAND, April 21, 2012 (press release): Sri Siva Vishnu Temple
(SSVT) located in Lanham, MD hosted the annual meeting of the Council of
Hindu Temples of North America (CHTNA) on Saturday April 21st 2012. The
CHTNA, a registered 501(c)(3), non-profit Hindu organization, was
established in 1984 and incorporated in the State of New York in 1986. It
is governed by nine Temples as Board of Directors and has its Secretariat
at the Hindu Temple Society of North America, NY.
The CHTNA meets annually at one of the Temples in the United States. About
25 Temples participated in the meeting in April 2012. The meeting was
productive and provided a forum for exchange of ideas for the benefit of
the Temples. Professionals including attorneys specialized in religious
visas and corporate management; finance consultant specialized in
charitable remainder trust for the Temples addressed the gathering.
Two attorneys made their presentations covering the topics of legal and
management aspects related to people management, property management
including intellectual properties, the responsibilities of the temple
management, Religious Visa (R1 visa) categories, restrictions and
regulations, etc.
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2012/5/30 16:14:55 ( 804 reads )
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Wanting to reform the world without discovering one's true self is like
trying to cover the world with wool to avoid the pain of walking on stones
and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes.
-- Sri Ramana Maharishi (1879-1950), South Indian mystic
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Posted on
2012/5/26 16:15:03 ( 971 reads )
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SRINAGAR, INDIA, May 15, 2012 (ibnlive.in): Nearly 140,000 pilgrims have
registered for this year's Amarnath yatra to the holy cave shrine in south
Kashmir Himalayas. "Till yesterday, 137,096 pilgrims had registered
themselves for this year's Yatra. Over 70,000 have preferred the
traditional Pahalgam route while 66,911 have opted for the shorter Baltal
route," Chief Executive Officer Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Navin K.
Choudhary said here today.
He said 100 post offices across the country began registering the pilgrims
from today. The post offices will be registering the pilgrims in addition
to internet based on-line facility. The Board has been able to
substantially expand the registration facility to a number of hitherto
uncovered cities and towns, Choudhary said.
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2012/5/26 16:14:57 ( 985 reads )
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NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 14, 2012 (ndtv.com): This year pilgrims undertaking
the annual yatra to Amarnath shrine can procure a short-term "yatra
card," a pre-paid SIM which will have a validity of seven days after
being issued and there will be no provision of recharge after that.
The Union Home Ministry has given in-principle approval for having such a
facility, the first time since mobile operations started in the country, in
view of problems faced by pilgrims who do not have mobile connectivity,
official sources said.
At a recent meeting, it was reasoned out that many people undertaking the
pilgrimage possessed pre-paid mobile connection, which according to the
security regulations enforced in Jammu and Kashmir will not work in the
state.
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2012/6/9 17:30:41 ( 961 reads )
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Every step I take in light is mine forever.
-- Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), modern Hindu renaissance master
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2012/6/8 17:38:02 ( 1165 reads )
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SOUTH AFRICA, June 8, 2012 (The Times): KwaZulu-Natal police are awaiting
feedback from the national office whether religious wristbands will be
allowed in their dress code. This follows complaints from 24 police
officers who were told by Pinetown station commander Brigadier Owen Zama to
remove red strings, a Hindu symbol of protection usually given at Raksha
Bandhan festival by female relatives, from their wrists. Zama told Hindu
officers last month that the strings were in violation of the police dress
code. One officer complained to the provincial commissioner, followed by
another 23 who lodged complaints with cluster commander James Sayer this
week.
"This office's concerns regarding the wearing of red strings and skins
[worn by Zulu officers] by members of the SA Police Service has been
forwarded to the national office for consideration in terms of amending the
dress orders," said provincial police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker.
"We're a national department and therefore only the national office
can amend the dress orders. We are currently awaiting feedback from legal
services."
KwaZulu-Natal transport, community safety and liaison spokesman Kwanele
Ncalane said officers were well aware of the strict code of conduct,
therefore it was "interesting to see them challenge it". A police
officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was surprised only
Pinetown officers were asked to remove the red strings but officers at other
stations were still allowed to wear them. "We have been wearing these
strings for years. Why were we only told to remove them now?"
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Posted on
2012/6/8 17:37:56 ( 893 reads )
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AMRITSAR, JUNE 5, 2012 (India Times): The Pakistan government was only keen
on developing a cluster of Katasraj temples situated in Chakwal district of
Pakistan as a heritage site and not as a prominent Hindu religious site, said
researcher and historian Surinder Kochhar while talking to TOI on Tuesday.
He said though the Pakistan government had undertaken restoration work of
the main Katasraj temple, Luxmi Narayan temple, Hanuman Garhi, Sita Garhi,
Ram Mandir, Shiv Mandir and haveli of Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa, it had
denied the installation of Deity statues in the temples.
"Pakistan has been trying to nominate Kastsraj Temples as a World
Heritage Site so it may not want to promote it as a Hidhu religious
site" he observed. Earlier in 2005, the BJP leader L.K. Advani had
inaugurated the renovation work of the Katasraj temples but the work was
stalled due to financial constraints.
President of All India Hindu Shiv Sena, Surinder Kumar Billa, who had led
Hindu jatha's to Pakistan said "The temples are in dilapidated
condition and the Pakistan government, under a planned conspiracy, want to
eradicate the signs of Hindu religion at Katasraj by promoting it as a
heritage site".
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Posted on
2012/6/8 17:37:50 ( 1125 reads )
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BALI, INDONESIA, June 2, 2012 (Jakarta Post): Since early Friday morning,
many farmers at Jatiluwih village, Tabanan, about 12.5 miles from Denpasar,
began marching to their rice fields bringing offerings, as part of the
pre-harvest thanksgiving ceremony, locally known as Mesaba.
The main rituals are held in the afternoon at the subak temple in Bedugul.
All of the subak members flocked to the temple and performed the rituals
led by three pemangku (priests), who prayed and sanctified
all the offerings.
"We believe that if we continue to perform the ceremony, it will
improve our next harvests," said head of Subak Gunung Sari, Nyoman
Susila, citing that Balinese farmers had always performed the ceremony for
hundreds of years.
In the rituals, the farmers cut some of their rice paddy to cook tipat
(boiled rice wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch). The tipat are then used
for the rituals on the day of harvesting. Guru Dolog, a prominent figure in
the village, said that the ceremony was only one part of many other rituals
that had to be done by the subak farmers. "There are many others
rituals in order to give thanks for all God's blessings."
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Posted on
2012/6/8 17:37:44 ( 832 reads )
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The sages, being filled with universal love for all beings, did not want to
keep their enlightenment to themselves. They declared to all: "O
mortals, striving and struggling upon this Earth plane, weeping, wailing,
buffeted by the vicissitudes of life: we have come upon a great discovery.
There is something beyond these appearances, these vanishing names and
forms that go to make up this universe. There is something beyond, which is
the very source and support of all these objects of the phenomenal world.
Why do you search in vain for happiness outside? Come, come, happiness
resides within."
-- Swami Chidananda (1916-2008), president of Divine Life Society
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Posted on
2012/6/7 16:17:53 ( 1118 reads )
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JAMMU, INDIA, June 2012 (ibnlive.in): A large number of Amarnath pilgrims
who assembled in Jammu on Sunday to leave for the cave shrine in Kashmir
courted arrest after the state administration did not allow them to start the
pilgrimage before the scheduled date. Around 600 yatris from across the
country assembled at Parade area early morning to leave for the cave shrine
but they were stopped by police from commencing the journey. After
protesting for two hours, the pilgrims courted arrested and were taken to
Yatra Nivas in Bhagwati Nagar, officials said.
The devotees demanded that the government extend the duration of the yatra
to two months starting from Jayeshth Purnima on Monday. They accused the
government and the Board of deliberately trying to curtail the period of
the pilgrimage at the "behest of separatist forces". Shri
Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has fixed June 25 the date to commence the
religious journey and it will conclude on August 2. SASB had cited bad
roads and inclement weather as the reasons behind the decision to curtail
the yatra duration.
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Posted on
2012/6/7 16:17:47 ( 1162 reads )
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REUNION, FRANCE, May 22, 2012 (clicanoo.re): In the courtyard of the Maha
Kali Temple on Marechal Leclerc Street, workers from Reunion and India are
busy. Everything must be ready for tomorrow, the day given for the kickoff
of Kumbhabhishekam ceremonies which will run until 1 June, the great day of
consecration.
Work started in August 2010 to restore the religious building whose
paintings had faded over the years. Indian architect Selvanathan Sthapati
drew the plans. Seven workers from the subcontinent have worked under his
direction, reinforced by a local team.
And the result is a most beautiful effect. Construction of a rajagopram
structure for the entrance of the main temple, a homam (fire sacrifice
place), a dome of gold for the shrine of Shiva, installation of natural
stone from Rajasthan: "The space is become more functional, "
explains temple president Narassinguin Luders Camalon. But this renovation
is a must, inscribed in the sacred texts. It must happen on average, every
twelve years. The Kumbhabishekam also aims to "recharge the atmosphere
of divine energy of the temple."
During the festival's ten days, the ceremonies will be held under the
authority of Dr. S.K. Shivashri Pitchai Gurukal (one of Sivacharyars
recognized by the Government of Tamil Nadu) and his priests from South
India.
The festival will be marked by four events: the purification of the
premises, the fire sacrifice ceremony, installation of deities and the
great dedication on June 1. The last day, the holy water will be poured on
the temple.
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Posted on
2012/6/7 16:17:41 ( 1045 reads )
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KAPAA, HAWAII, June 9, 2012 (Hinduism Today): The July/August/September
2012 edition of our flagship magazine is available in print, on-line and in
downloadable PDF format. This issue travels the worlds: the outside and
inside worlds, that is.
On the Outside:
Travel with us to an amazing mela just outside of Mysore, India. We did!
The Hinduism Today editor attended the five-day festival in January as a
chief guest of the Suttur Mutt and its spiritual head, Sri Shivaratri
Desikendra. For over 1,000 years this festival has been held, drawing some
400,000 pilgrims this year. The JSS Jathra, as they call it, is part
carnival, part pilgrimage, part state fair, part musical concert and part
Disneyland. Our article takes you inside the event, but more importantly
inside the institution that runs it. Suttur Mutt is among India's best-kept
secrets, a massive institution (with education, medical and agricultural
projects that are nothing short of mind-boggling) that is founded on the
Lingayat/Virasaiva tradition. Enough said.
Other major articles include the Sanskrit renaissance, the beleagured Afgan
Hindus who are fleeing to Germany, and a new US Supreme Court ruling that
will impact Hindus in important ways.
On the Inside:
We seldom get too esoteric for our readers, but we may have gone over the
edge this time. Our 16-page Insight on Sadasiva: Five Powers of Siva is a
philosophical tour de force that seeks, ambitiously, to explain the Hindu
view of cosmic evolution and, in the bargain, the essence of Divinity. Even
with the charts and graphics, this is a challenging article that will give
readers a new appreciation for the profundity (and subtle complexity) of
the Hindu view of creation. It is accompanied by the extraordinary original
artwork of Pieter Veltevrede, the amazing Amsterdam-based master who did
the faces of Siva just for this piece.
Our Publisher's Desk editorial charts new territory in the understanding of
yoga. Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami has been traveling the globe,
encountering the very different ways various traditions and schools look at
yoga. From this broad experience he crafts a piece called "Which Yoga
Should I Follow?" If you thought you had a handle on the simple
definitions of karma, bhakti, raja and jnana yoga, think again. Here is the
real story.
And there Is More:
The issue has stories on how Christians stormed the N.Y. Diwali festival, a
controversial Hindu view on gay marriage, Kabir's devotional songs
revisited, the lighter side of Sanskrit, insights on ecology and one
woman's touching tale of seeing her beloved father through his last days on
Earth.
As usual, our Global Dharma digest tells you what's happening around the
world in the Hindu family, Quotes & Quips offers a humor-rich respite
from the mean-old-world and Digital Dharma gives you the scoop on how
technology is being used to support Hinduism. With stunning photos and
in-depth articles, you don't want to miss this issue!
The latest issue of Hinduism Today for July/August/September 2012 may be
ordered online at www.minimela.com in single copies and in
multiple copies at discounted prices.
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Posted on
2012/6/7 16:17:35 ( 892 reads )
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It is Divinity that shapes, not only your ends, but also your acts, your
words and thoughts. Your duty is to treat everybody, including yourself, as
a manifestation of the Lord.
-- Swami Sivananda (1887-1963), founder of Divine Life Society,
Rishikesh
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Posted on
2012/6/2 16:03:15 ( 925 reads )
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JAMMU, INDIA, June 2, 2012 (greaterkashmir.com); The civil and police
administration is on tenterhooks following reports of thousands of Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists having reached to Jammu to start the annual
Amarnath Yatra from tomorrow in defiance of the government schedule of June
25. Sources said that the administration was having sleepless nights and
making every effort to foil the purported Yatra from Jammu before the
official date. It was learnt that the police have been keeping close watch
on the hotels and lodges, besides Inns run by various religious Trusts as
many VHP activists have reportedly reached the winter capital. Pertinently,
Vishwa Hindu Parishad is adamant on starting the Yatra from Jyesht Purnima
( June 3) and has announced that Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti
would lead a group of activists to the cave shrine on June 3.
On the other hand Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has been repeatedly
saying that the yatra cannot be started earlier as the tracks to the cave
shrine were still under snow which would impede the smooth conduct of
pilgrimage Sources said that while most of the activists are staying in
dharmashalas in and around the city, the administration has made heavy
deployment in the city to foil the attempt of VHP to move towards the Valley.
Meanwhile, VHP has alleged that the administration has snapped water and
power supply to all the places where yatris are staying and also ordered
the private transporters to cancel all booking for taking pilgrims to the
Valley. They said Regional Transport Office Jammu ordered the private
transporters to cancel all bookings and threatened to cancel their route
permits if found violating the order. It alleged that the government has
deployed police at the railway station in Lakhanpur to restrict the entry
of Amarnath Yatris, while four buses coming from Dehli and Punjab carrying
pilgrims were stopped at Lakhanpur and sent back last night.
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Posted on
2012/6/2 16:03:10 ( 965 reads )
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EUGENE, OREGON, USA, June 1, 2012 (kval.com): The sky behind University of
Oregon's Knight Library filled with bright colors as the Students of the
Indian Subcontinent hosted Holi: a Hindu Festival of Colors. "I got an
email, and they said this was happening," said Andrew Fujimato, an
Oregon student. "They said it was free, and it sounded like fun."
"Holi is the celebration of spring," said Lizzy Gillespie, the
treasurer of the Students of the Indian Subcontinent and Holi organizer.
"It was actually over a month ago in India, but it's perfect at the
end of spring term." Last year, Lizzy and the club president put Holi
on in one week. They bought flour and food dye but were unsure if anyone
would show; 400 others joined them.
This year, Lizzy specially ordered over a thousand packets of powder from
India. Club members passed out white t-shirts and powder to everyone that
wanted to participate.
"I saw the YouTube video, and I was like, 'Oh-my-gosh, I have to go to
that'," said Amber, an Oregon freshman. "I came here, and it was
the best thing I've ever had this year. It was so exciting."
"Well we wanted to throw paint at people," said another student,
Brandon Lee. "We thought that sounded fun." "It's freaking
amazing," said Jessie Decker. "This doesn't happen in
Kansas." Jessie is visiting Eugene to decide whether she wants to
transfer to Oregon. Checking out campus activities is a significant aspect
to making her decision.
Holi brought out students, adults and children. It quickly became difficult
to identify people, but the smiles beaming out from the coalition of colors
made it worth it. The event was consumed with music, laughter and playful
shouts. "I feel like it's almost an initiation into summertime,"
said Amber. "The end of the quarter, or term, is coming in here, and
there is a big party with everyone. It's almost over, summer is almost
here."
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Posted on
2012/6/2 16:03:04 ( 1480 reads )
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BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, May 27, 2012 (Times of India): If you're ever in
Buenos Aires don't forget to visit Groove, a trendy nightclub that should
pleasantly surprise any Indian. Because at Groove you won't hear salsa or
reggaton music, like you do at most such places, but instead soulful
Sanskrit melodies that rent the air. "I had the most unusual nightclub
experience last weekend while I was at Groove," says R. Viswanathan,
India's ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. "The DJ was not
playing salsa, samba or reggaton. Instead, the club was vibrating to
Sanskrit songs... 'Jai jai Radha Ramana hari Bol,' 'Jai Krishna Hare,'
'Gurudeva Guru Om,' 'Govinda Govinda' and 'Jai Shiva Shambo.' "
The club serves only vegetarian food and soft drinks. Smoking and drinking
are not allowed. The club also has a yoga guru who instructs guests on
various yoga techniques. "The instructor asked the audience to smile
and exchange greetings and the audience followed all his instructions
fervently. After a while, the music and dance resumed," said
Viswanathan. "Despite the loud music and wild dancing, both the
singers and the audience maintained a sense of reverence to the Sanskrit
mantras and to Indian gods." Asked how they attracted Argentine youth
with Sanskrit songs, lead singer Rodrigo Bustos explained: "Yoga Rave
is an alternative party. It is a new concept of fun -- free from alcohol,
smoking and drugs. The body and soul are connected by the mantras, yoga,
meditation, music and dance in an unconventional way." Bustos and bandmate
Nicolas Pucci apparently drew their inspiration from Indian spiritual guru
Sri Sri Ravishankar's Art of Living Foundation, said Viswanathan.
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Posted on
2012/6/2 16:02:58 ( 940 reads )
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For our cause I too am prepared to die, but for no cause, my friend, will I
be prepared to kill.
-- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), Indian spiritual leader
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Posted on
2012/6/1 17:31:06 ( 865 reads )
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KASHMIR, INDIA, May 29, 2012 (thehindu.com): Thousands of devotees on
Tuesday thronged the temple of Ragnya Devi, a revered Goddess of Kashmiri
Pandits, to celebrate the annual festival of Kheer Bhawani. Nestled in the
shade of mammoth Chinar trees in this village in central Kashmir's
Ganderbal district, the temple witnessed massive crowds of devotees, most
of them Kashmiri Pandits, who made the journey from across the country.
Walking barefoot, the devotees carried rose petals and offered tribute to
the goddess as men took a dip in the stream close to the shrine. "I am
so happy that I came here. I prayed for peace and harmony. I was glad to
see young boys, both Muslims and Hindus, making arrangements for the
festival of the Mata," said Santosh Kaw, a Kashmiri Pandit who is
visiting the temple after 27 years. With the improvement in the security
situation in Kashmir at the turn of this century, the confidence of the
Kashmiri Pandits saw a boost with more members of the community paying
occasional visits to the Valley. This is evident from the rising number of
Kashmiri Pandit devotees attending the Kheer Bhawani festival every year,
with more than one lakh attending the festival last year alone.
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Posted on
2012/6/1 17:31:00 ( 1307 reads )
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NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND, May 30, 2012 (BBC): Plans for a #10m development
including a Hindu temple in Northampton have been approved by borough
councillors. The site off Lings way would include sports and leisure
facilities, sheltered housing and the temple for Hindhu religious
practices. The plans were initially submitted in 2010 and met opposition
from residents over increases in traffic and parking. The Indian Hindu
Welfare Organisation (IHWO) said it would now start fundraising for the
project. Nikul Odedra, from the IHWO, said: "We've designed the
building so that it is modern and eco-friendly. "The roof space will
be made from green and organic material which will attract wildlife
habitation. We will also use solar technology to heat and energize the
building." To answer concerns about traffic and parking in the area
the IHWO said surveys had been done to check potential problems. Neelam
Aggarwal from the IHWO said: "More than 50% of the Hindu population in
Northampton live in this area so people will be able to walk to the
temple." The IHWO said building would begin in 2013 and be completed
in 2014.
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Posted on
2012/6/17 16:43:09 ( 890 reads )
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Of all blessings we know of none greater than the begetting of children
endowed with intelligence.
-- Tirukkural
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Posted on
2012/6/16 18:24:47 ( 1136 reads )
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STUTTGART, GERMANY, June 4, 2012: From the outside, the old factory
building on Bad Cannstatt's Lehmfeldstrasse is quite unimpressive. Once
inside, however, it offers a different picture: the dilapidated concrete
building holds within itself a magnificent temple. Hundreds of Tamils from
Sri Lanka in colorful clothing crowd into the room decorated with garlands
of flowers. The air is warm and filled with incense. It is very noisy. Bare
chested men in white robes beat on large drums and play oriental melodies
on long oboe-like instruments.
Some 1,000 Hindus from a radius of 62 miles have come this Sunday at the
height of the temple festival in Bad Cannstatt, and also some Germans, for
whom the spectacle is not to be missed. After the ceremony in the temple,
the men have come out carrying the statues of the Deities on their
shoulders. In Sri Lanka the procession outside the temple could take place
every day, "in Stuttgart, it is allowed only once during the ten
days," says 24-year-old Thadchajini Sothinathan.
While the convoy passes through the streets, the music continues to play.
The Hindu priests, the Brahmins, throw coconuts to the ground, so that they
burst. The hard shell represents the outer ego shell of man. When the shell
is crushed, the soft core, the good qualities are exposed.
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Posted on
2012/6/16 18:24:41 ( 924 reads )
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TROY, MICHIGAN, USA, June 16, 2012 (AP): It took seven years and $10
million to renovate and expand the Bharatiya Hindu Temple to accommodate
the growing numbers of worshippers who have arrived in the Detroit area
from India. The temple in Troy, a northern Detroit suburb, has been
enlarged from 28,000 square feet to about 70,000 square feet, The Detroit
News reported. Its prayer hall houses seven new interior temples that were
made in India from marble that was mined there. Other parts of the
building, including teak doors, were also built in India then transported
to Detroit by ship and train. Local masons spent a year assembling the
parts inside the Bharatiya Temple. At least 25,000 Hindus live in the
Detroit area and about 800 families worship at the Bharatiya Hindu Temple,
said Tom Patel, chairman of the temple's board of trustees. "More
people are joining and coming, and we needed more space to offer services,"
he said.
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Posted on
2012/6/16 18:24:35 ( 1012 reads )
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NAKIVUBO,UGANDA,June 03 (observer.ug) At Blue primary school,
Nakivubo,everything is in a state of disrepair. Jonathan Mukinusu, the
deputy head teacher here, agrees they face numerous challenges.The
Swaminarayan community (Hindus), under the leadership of its senior priest,
Swami Ghanshyamcharan, has pledged to construct two-classroom blocks worth
US $2800. Many Indians have studied there since the early 1970s and the
donation is their way of giving back to the school that modelled them.
Ghanshyamcharan also promised more assistance. Mukinusu, who was
appreciative of the Hindu aid, encouraged more donors to come forward.
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Posted on
2012/6/16 18:24:29 ( 920 reads )
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What is the instant? That is what we have to discover through a moment of
concentration. What is the moment? We all know what the past is--so many
people live in the past, over and over again, and they never catch up with
the present. Other people live in the future--but of course when they do,
they are really only living in the past, too, and they never find the
present either.
-- Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001) from "The Eternal
Now," 1961
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Posted on
2012/6/14 17:59:21 ( 1017 reads )
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LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND, June 2012 (World Radio Switzerland): The City of
Lucerne has agreed to let Hindu residents perform burial rites on one bank
of the Reuss River. An unofficial agreement had previously allowed Hindus
to spread ashes into the water but now an environmental study has confirmed
as many as 20 ceremonies can be performed a year without environmental
harm.
"This is not yet standard. This appears to be the first time an
official place has been named," said Andreas Tunger, religions
researcher at the University of Lucerne. "In other cantons there are
already cases where contact between the Hindu communities and cantonal
authorities, or local ones, have taken place, but more on an informal
basis."
Tunger said the recognition of Hindu burial rites shows the community is
accepting other cultural traditions, but is also required in the
constitution.
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Posted on
2012/6/14 17:59:16 ( 820 reads )
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CHENNAI, INDIA, June 12, 2012 (Economic Times): The Madras High Court today
suggested either scrapping issuing special passes to VVIPs and VIPs
visiting temples in Tamil Nadu or framing clear guidelines for devotees as
had been done in neighbouring states. "The Advocate General is
directed to seek instructions as to why the government should not come out
with clear guidelines as to who shall be exceptionally treated and further
as to why this pass system be not abolished as has been done in other
temples in the states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh," the court said.
A bench comprising Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam
made the observations on a PIL petition alleging indiscriminate
distribution of VIP passes during important occasions like the New Year and
Vaikunda Ekadasi at the famous Srigangam temple. Petitioner J. Prabhakaran,
an advocate, charged the state Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments
department with issuing VIP and VVIP passes during important religious
festivals, entitling the holders to enter the temple through a special entrance
and thereby impeding darshan for others.
Referring to such difficulties at Srirangam temple, the petitioner said in
order to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of devotees, visiting the
temple the year round, had darshan of the deity, VIP pass-holders could be
allotted a separate schedule for darshan as being done at Lord
Venkateshwara temple in Tirumala-Tirupati.
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Posted on
2012/6/14 17:59:10 ( 879 reads )
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JAMMU KASHMIR,SRINAGAR,INDIA Jun 13 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir government has
deployed 20 senior civil administration and police officers for the
Amarnath yatra to ensure timely and smooth conduct of the annual
pilgrimage,scheduled to begin from June 25. "As per the recommendations
of a high-level committee, set up after Governor N N Vohra's meeting with
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the state government has relieved 20
experienced civil and police officers, who have been deployed at the
various camps en route to the holy cave shrine," Shri Amarnath Shrine
Board Chief Executive Officer N K Choudhary said.
The officers will supervise all the arrangements and facilities being set
up for the pilgrims, monitor the Yatra on hour-to-hour basis and furnish
reports to the Shrine Board Control Room five times a day, at fixed hours,
Choudhary said. It is expected that track clearance and other arrangements
will be put in place well in time for the Yatra to commence from June 25,
simultaneously along both the routes, he said. To ensure this, the Board
has deployed additional manpower and ordered work to be done in double
shift to compensate for the loss of time due to the adverse weather
condition, he added.
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Posted on
2012/6/14 17:59:03 ( 907 reads )
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A wicked person, though powerless himself, instigates others to injure
people. A piece of stone, itself incapable of cutting, whets the edge of a
sword.
-- Subhasita Ratnabhandagaram
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Posted on
2012/6/12 17:41:08 ( 989 reads )
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BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, June 11, 2012 (twocircles.net): Preparations for the
annual Rath Yatra of Odisha's Jagannath temple in Puri have gained momentum
with carpenters working overtime on the three gigantic wooden chariots that
will carry deities in a ceremonial procession, marking commencement of the
nine-day festival June 21. The icons of three Hindu Deities - Jagannath,
brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra - are carried in separate splendid
chariots from the 12th century temple, about 35 miles from the state
capital, to the Gundicha temple, about 2 miles away.
A glimpse of the deities is considered auspicious and every year around a
million devotees throng the annual procession at the chariot festival. The
chariots are pulled with ropes by devotees amid chants of hymns. Nine days
later, the chariots make their return journey known as Bahuda Jatra, which
will be organized on June 29 this year.
The chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are known as Nandighosh,
Taladhwaja and Padmadhwaja respectively. Nandighosh is 45-feet high and has
16 wheels. Its roof is decorated with red and yellow fabric and a wheel is
placed on the top of it. Taladhwaja is 44-feet high and consists of 14
wheels. Its roof is decorated with red and green colors and a fruit is
placed on top of this chariot. The 43-foot Padmadhwaja has 12 wheels and
red and black colors adorn its roof. Four intricately carved wooden horses
precede each of the chariots.
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Posted on
2012/6/12 17:41:02 ( 1076 reads )
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ALLAHABAD, INDIA, June 10, 2012 (India Times): To offer adequate facilities
to hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and devotees during Mahakumbh, the
flood control unit of the irrigation department has started construction of
permanent ghats (steps) on the banks of the Ganga and the Yamuna. Officials
added that five permanent ghats -- Kila, Boat Club, Arail, Balua and Bargad
-- would be constructed ahead of Mahakumbh.
These ghats have been designed as per modern structure which will have
well-designed bathing spots for lakhs of pilgrims. Similarly, the
beautification of ghats would also be done on priority basis. "It is
expected that more than 5-6 hundred thousand pilgrims will take bath
everyday at Sangam during Mahakumbh and for that, adequate bathing space is
needed," said an official.
As per astrologers, the Kumbh Mela is held when the planet Jupiter enters
Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries. Kumbh (Kumbha means pot) Mela (fair) is
a sacred Hindu pilgrimage. The Purna Kumbh Mela will be held at Sangam from
January 27 next year. The Prayag (Allahabad) Kumbh Mela is the largest of
all Kumbh and believed to be the most auspicious. On important bathing
dates, millions of pilgrims take bath on the banks of the Sangam. The Purna
(complete) Kumbh or Maha Kumbh, the biggest and the most auspicious fair,
falls once every 12 years.
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Posted on
2012/6/12 17:40:56 ( 1059 reads )
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TAMIL NADU, INDIA, May 27, 2012 (The HIndu): A total of 14 ancient temples
-- six in Thanjavur district and nine in Tiruvarur district -- are being
renovated at an estimated cost of US$600,000. "Works are going on a
war footing and they will be completed by July. The 'kumbabishekam' will be
performed by July-end," said S. Ilango, Joint Commissioner, Hindu
Religious and Charitable Endowments, Thanjavur. Located in rural areas,
these shrines are famous, attracting devotees from far and near.
The civil work on the Rajagopuram at the 2,200 year old- temple with two
'praharas' dedicated to Sri Egowriyamman at Vallam near Thanjavur has been
completed and will be painted shortly. Work on the 'vimana' will start
soon. According to D. Govindaraj, Executive Officer, the Goddess took the
form of Egowriyamman to slay Thanjasuran who harassed saints. Sri Amman has
two faces- one in a ferocious mood to slay asuras with a 'trisool' in Her
arm and another with an all-pervading blessing to protect the devotees.
Renovation of the Rajagopuram of Vasishteswaraswamyis at Thittai is in
progress. "Plastering will be done to the walls of the temple and
tiles fitted on the roof. Paver blocks will be put up in the 'prahara' to
help devotees," Mr. Govindaraj said. A unique feature of the temple
was that water molecules fall on Sri Vasishteswaraswamy from the roof every
few seconds, believed to be the absorption effect of moisture or water by a
special type of stone, 'Chandrakantha.'
Mr. Ilango said that works had also been taken up at Sri Vilaketriyamman
Temple at Panayakottai and Sri Shankaranathaswamy temple at Shankaranathar
Kudikadu, both near Orathanadu. Works on Sri Vajragandeeswaraswamy Temple
at Veeramangudi near Papanasam and Sri Divyagnaneswaraswamy Temple at
Koviladi near Thiruvaiyaru taluk were also in progress.
In Tiruvarur, work had been taken up at Sri Thyagarajaswamy Temple; Sri
Jadayupureeswaraswamy Temple at Keluvathur; Sri Veezhinathaswamy Temple at
Thiruveezhimizhalai; Sri Kailasanathar Temple at Koilpattu;
Vanmeeganathaswamy Temple at Thiruneiper; Piplikadeeswarar Temple at
Alathur; Sri Deepanayagaswamy Temple at Deepankudi; Sri Kailasanathaswamy
Temple at Thannerkulam; and Sri Niruthipureeswarar Temple at Pulavarnatham.
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Posted on
2012/6/12 17:40:49 ( 907 reads )
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When in despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and
love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time
they seem invincible, but in the end they always fall--think of it, always.
-- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
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Posted on
2012/6/9 17:30:53 ( 1101 reads )
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EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, June 8, 2012 (scotsman.com): With just a handful of
volunteers gathered underneath Meadowbank Stadium's wet weather stand, the
setting of the first Edinburgh Mela in 1995 could hardly have been more
modest. A self-funded, grassroots event, intended to celebrate the
Capital's Asian communities, it was considered a success after attracting a
few hundred visitors. The Mela would remain a low-key affair for the next
decade, certainly compared with counterparts in the largest towns and
cities of England.
"There weren't that many traditional Asian foods - you could buy
samosas, and there were a couple of Asian sweet stalls. I'm originally from
Leicester and there they're used to big Melas, where you'd get hundreds of
stalls." Fast forward to 2012 and it's clear the Edinburgh Mela is
catching up fast. Crowds of up to 30,000 are expected to head to Leith
Links for this summer's event. The 2012 programme - launched yesterday - is
surely the most diverse in the Mela's history. Its offering ranges from
Ghanaian and Japanese drumming to pyrotechnic re-tellings of Hindu legends
and routines from champion break dancers. Those involved in the event are
quick to stress its growth shows no sign of petering out.
For new director Chris Purnell said, "The Edinburgh Mela grew out of a
much smaller event with just a few bands in Meadowbank Stadium," he
says. "Now it's regarded as one of the best melas in the UK."
While admitting the Edinburgh event is only one of a number of similar
festivals across Britain, he argues its unique qualities are apparent to
anyone who comes to the city. "It offers much more of a range of
artistic content," he says. "In London, where I was previously,
the event is huge - you can have up to 90,000 attending and there are a lot
more stages, but it's also a lot more Asian-centric. "The Edinburgh
Mela has gone from being an event which was set up by a small community in
Edinburgh - mainly to celebrate its own culture - to being a much larger
expression of the diverse cultures of the city."
Melas are traditionally community-owned events, although many gatherings
held outside of South Asia attract funding from public bodies and are seen
as having a bridge-building function. Today, the word 'mela' has a loose
definition and can refer to shows, exhibitions or fairs. A Mela can also be
based on a particular art or skill. Many melas include food stalls,
entertainment activities, shops and games. The Edinburgh Mela is one of 18
similar gatherings taking place across the UK. Other towns and cities to
hold mela festivals include Glasgow, Cardiff and Oldham.
The 2012 Edinburgh Mela runs from August 31 to September 2. Visit their
website at www.edinburgh-mela.co.uk.
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Posted on
2012/6/9 17:30:47 ( 1041 reads )
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INDIA, June 5, 2012 (The Hindu): The clunk of chisel on stone fills the
air. Instructions fly around. Priests, courtiers, masons and architects
confer. The Natya Karanas (dance movements) are being carved into the wall
of the corridor around the garbhagruha. Landmark judgements, donations and
minutiae of day-to-day administration are inscribed on the outer rock
walls. On the inside, artists capture scenes from the royal court, stories
from the Puranas, gods, goddesses and creatures great and small. There is a
tinkle of anklets, a rustle of silk, someone singing a Thevaram, someone
else tuning a musical instrument...
The Brihadeeshwara temple as it must have been a thousand years ago came
alive as 12 speakers -- a combination of scholars, researchers, writers and
die hard history enthusiasts -- spirited us away to a time of the mighty
Cholas and their marvels of engineering, the temples. The focus of the
two-day seminar organized by the Rotary Club of Metropolis was the heritage
of the Cholas. The speakers lucidly described the temple -- from its
layout, vimana, garbhagruha and gopura to its symbolism, iconography,
vaastu and its canons of architecture and rituals.
More at source.
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Posted on
2012/6/22 17:21:31 ( 764 reads )
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JAMMU, INDIA June 22, 2012 (ibnlive): Jammu: Thick snow cover at Kashmir's
Amarnath cave shrine and on the route leading to it is posing multiple
risks to pilgrims and has increased challenges before the organizers of the
annual pilgrimage, due to start here June 25.
Although the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has doubled its efforts to
clear the track for the over 350,000 registered pilgrims for the Amarnath
Yatra 2012, the inclement weather that persisted until two days ago has
made some stretches dangerous for trekking, an official said.
Navin K. Choudhary, SASB's chief executive officer, who recently surveyed
the route, found the cave shrine and the stretch between Sheshnag and the
Mahagunus pass, which is at 14,500 feet above the sea level, still covered
with thick snow. Choudhary said he was "confident" the pilgrimage
would start as scheduled, but his optimism rested on the hope that the
tracks would be cleared before June 25.
"Weather conditions can change in a matter of minutes at such
heights," an SASB spokesperson said. Combined with unpredictable
weather and lack of oxygen at that altitude, the snow could multiply the
dangers for pilgrims proceeding on a steep and slippery track, he said.
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Posted on
2012/6/22 17:21:25 ( 1169 reads )
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www.hindutemple.nl
HOLLAND, June 2012: The Sri Varatharaja Selva Vinayagar Temple in Den
Helder, North Holland began their annual 10 days of pujas before the
chariot festival to be held on the 24th of June. The flags were hoisted to
mark the start of the festivities. Like many countries in Europe, the
Netherlands (Holland) have a community of Sri Lankans who have made it
their home since fleeing from Jaffna (northern Sri Lanka) about 25 years
ago.
When they first came over, a group of them started to work together to find
a suitable place for worship. Initially they rented a small room with the
help of the local authorities. They placed some photos of Deities and with
small icons they started to meet for prayers. It became a place to find a
little peace, as prayers and being together helped them to cope. The weekly
satsangs, singing devotional songs , observing special days kept them
focussed together as they held on to their religious beliefs and tradition
and their cuisine. For the majority of these people it was difficult, as
they were thrown into a western culture, they had to learn the Dutch
language and to re-train for new jobs. The Netherlands authorities have
been most helpful in helping them settle down in their new environment.
In the nineties they rented a larger ground floor room, and brought some
larger Deities. They commenced pujas on Fridays and observed the special
festivals. With help from Sri Lankans in England and abroad, local Sri
Lankans living in Netherlands, and the support of the local authority they
managed to purchase a plot of land and built the present Vinayagar Temple,
nine years ago. Last year they began working on the Rajagopuram, the local
contractors have completed their construction phase. Beginning of this
month fifteen silpis have come over from India to do the main creative
work.
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Posted on
2012/6/22 17:21:15 ( 811 reads )
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You attain the feeling of love and then you want to discipline yourself.
You love the discipline, because it brings more love.
-- Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism
Today
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Posted on
2012/6/21 17:12:26 ( 1939 reads )
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AUSTRALIA, June 21, 2012(abc.net.au): Australia's population has topped
21.5 million, according to the 2011 census results, although there has been
a further decline in the proportion of people holding Australian
citizenship. The initial census results give a glimpse into the changing
face of Australia, including its multicultural background. The data shows
one in four people were born overseas, and 15 per cent of the population
does not hold citizenship. Just under 70 per cent of the population was
born in Australia -- a further reduction since the previous census.
"Historically, the majority of migration has come from Europe,
however, there are increasingly more people born in Asia and other parts of
the world now calling Australia home," 2011 census executive director
Andrew Henderson said. "The leading birthplace for those who arrived
since 2006 was India (13.1 per cent), closely followed by the United
Kingdom (12.1 per cent)."
According to the census, Hinduism is the fastest growing religion, but most
people still call themselves Christian, although the figure has dropped
from 64 per cent in 2006 to 61 per cent last year. The proportion of people
who reported no religious affiliation has increased from 18.7 per cent in
the 2006 census to 22.3 per cent last year--outnumbering the Anglicans for
the first time.
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Posted on
2012/6/21 17:12:21 ( 1040 reads )
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AUSTRALIA, June 21, 2012 (smh.com): People professing to have no religion
have moved past Anglicans to become the second-largest grouping after
Catholics in the 2011 Census. Almost 4.8 million people said they had no
religion, up 29 per cent from 2006, but the number of people not answering
the question dropped by 2 per cent. This suggested that more people were
claiming a religious identity (including no religion), said Monash
University sociology professor Gary Bouma.
The total Christian population is 13.2 million, or 61 per cent, down three
percentage points. Catholics have dropped half a percentage point to 25.3
or 5.4 million, Anglicans are down 1.6 percentage points to 3.7 million,
while the Uniting Church is down to 5 per cent, or 1.1 million people.
Minority religions all showed strong growth, particularly Hindus, whose
numbers nearly doubled to 276,000, from 0.7% to 1.3%. Buddhists have risen
from 2.1 per cent to 2.5 per cent, Muslims from 1.7 per cent to 2.2 per
cent.Professor Bouma said Hindu growth was due to migration, and the recent
Muslim growth was due to continued migration from south Asia and a high
birth rate.
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Posted on
2012/6/21 17:12:15 ( 961 reads )
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BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, May 12 2012 (asiacalling.org): On May 6, Belgium hosted
the largest Balinese festival held outside of Indonesia. The Ogoh-Ogoh
festival features giant Balinese puppets and traditionally marks Nyepi, or
Balinese New Year - a day marked by silence on the island of the gods. The
event was held in Pairi Daizi Park, a former monastery turned international
cultural park.
This is the second time the Ogoh-Ogoh Festival has been held in Pairi Daiza
Park. Arif Havas Oegreseno, the Indonesian Ambassador to Belgium is the man
behind the festival. He says the event has bought new life to the park's
Agung Shanti Bhuwana Temple, which was officially opened in 2009.
"Pairi Daiza wants to liven up this place and the life of the temple
is religious ceremonies. So that's why last year I had an idea to have
religious ceremonies here," says Ambassador Arif. "So we had at
the Sarawasati ceremony and Ogoh-Ogoh festival. These events brought along
the spirit and life into this Balinese temple. So the people who come here
really feel like they are in Indonesia."
The event started with the sounding of gongs in the temple, followed by a
traditional Balinese Sarawasti Hindu ceremony. More than 400 people turned
up for the event and 350 were Balinese who traveled from all over Europe.
60 students from the Indonesian Hindu University in Denpasar who are
studying in Europe also attended the event. After the ceremony, the
students performed several dances like the traditional Balinese kecak,
which blew European tourists away.
Belgium's Agung Shanti Bhuwana Temple is the largest Hindu Balinese Temple
outside of Indonesia. It is made out of rocks from Bali's Mt. Agung that
were imported to the site in 350 containers and constructed by Balinese
builders. The Shanti Bhuwa Temple, the brainchild of Eric Domb, is iconic.
"It is a symbol of my gratitude to Indonesia. When I was 17 years old,
I made the first visit to Indonesia and fell in love," explains Eric.
"I came back thirty years later, 2006, with a project to build a real
pura -Balinese temple, with the stone from Gunung Agung, with the best
people to craft the temple".
HPI Note: You can listen to sound file at source.
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Posted on
2012/6/21 17:12:09 ( 971 reads )
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EDMONTON, CANADA, June 2012 (Edmonton Examiner): Acharya Shiv Shankar
Dwivedi, is a priest--or pandit--at the Edmonton Hindu Cultural Centre.
There is now a documentary so you can learn about this remarkable man who
leads three separate and very different lives. Panditji, as Dwivedi is
affectionately known, is a family man, a philanthropist who has brought
education to a small disadvantaged village in India, and above all a deeply
spiritual man.
The documentary, called The Three Lives of Panditji, is a first-person
account of Dwivedi's life. Panditji's mother died when he was a young boy,
so he was sent away from his home village to an ashram. There he became a
scholar of Sanskrit. After a time, Panditji's guru encouraged Panditji to
leave his life in the ashram and become a Hindu priest in Canada.
Panditji didn't want to leave his spiritual world to travel to the West and
was reluctant to do so, but he realized that the Western world was a place
where he would be able to earn enough money to fulfill his dream of
bringing free education to the children of Atsaliya in Uttar Pradesh,
India, where he grew up.
"When he arrived here [in Edmonton], he made $700 per month at his
Hindu temple," says Robert Chelmick. "He saved $650 a month for a
year and a half, went back and he and his father built a school in this
tiny village where kids didn't go to school unless they walked two miles to
school in the neighboring village." There are now 400 students in the
school attending Grades 1 to 8, and many Albertans support the school
through the Maanaw Seva Association.
The documentary is 54 minutes long. It is written, produced and directed by
Chelmick, an award-wining television and radio journalist and news anchor.
The documentary will be screened this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Royal
Alberta Museum. The DVD will also be available for purchase in both English
and Hindi at the screening or from maanawseva.com.
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Posted on
2012/6/21 17:12:03 ( 811 reads )
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Whenever you have the chance, laugh as much as you can. By this all the
rigid knots in your body will be loosened. But to laugh superficially is
not enough; your whole being must be united in laughter, both inwardly and
outwardly. Do you know how this is to be expressed? You literally shake
with merriment from head to foot; so that it is impossible to tell which
part of your body is most affected. I want you to laugh with your whole
countenance, with your whole heart and with all the breath of your life.
-- Anandamayi Ma from Anandamayi--Her Life and Wisdom by Richard Lannoy
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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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