News from Hindu Press International
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Posted on 2013/10/15 15:36:04 ( 240 reads )
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DHAKA, BANGLADESH, October 14, 2013 (Dhaka Tribune): The five-day-long
Hindu festival of Durga Puja will come to an end today through the
celebration of Vijaya Dashami, in which the main ritual is the immersion of
Durga statues in rivers. Devotees will bring out Vijaya Dashami processions
carrying statues of the deity Durga and her children Lakshmi, Saraswati,
Kartik and Ganesha, and carry them to the riverbanks in the evening.
In the capital city processions will be brought out from the Dhakeshwari
Temple and end at Waisghat in old town after parading through different
city streets. Thousands of men, women and children are likely to join the
traditional immersion rally.
Meanwhile, across the country on Sunday thousands gathered at the different
puja mandaps to celebrate the Mahanabami puja. At puja mandaps Nabami Bhog
comprising food and fruits were offered to Devi Durga and later were
distributed among the devotees.
In the city prominent puja mandaps like Dhakeshwari Temple, Jagannath Hall
of Dhaka University, Ramna Kali Mandir, Siddheswari Kali Mandir, and in the
temples of Tanti Bazar, Shankhari Bazar and Bangla Bazar were crowded with
devotees from walks of life.
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Posted on 2013/10/15 15:35:57 ( 344 reads )
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KARACHI, PAKISTAN, October 13, 2014 (Business Standard): Hindus in Pakistan
celebrated the community-based Durga Puja festival in one of the country's
oldest temples here. The 150-year-old Swami Narayan Mandir is located in
the violence-prone old quarter of Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city.
"The Durga Puja was completed on Saturday after being held for nine
days and is a big occasion for the Hindus in Pakistan," Ramesh Kumar
of the Pakistan Hindu Council said. Kumar said Sanskrit shlokas written in
Urdu script were chanted since the Hindus in Pakistan are not proficient in
Sanskrit or Hindi and the new generation Hindus were more proficient in
Urdu language which is why the Gita had also been written in the Nastaleeq
script.
Kumar pointed out that majority of the Hindu community had little
opportunities to learn the Sanskrit or Hindu language in Pakistan. He said
that efforts are now on to compile a comprehensive database on the Hindu
community in Pakistan since there are around seven million of them in the
country mostly in Karachi and Sindh province.
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Posted on 2013/10/15 15:35:51 ( 208 reads )
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Life is meant for God-realization. If you die without attaining
God-realization, your life is in vain. Even having one hundred gurus will
not help, unless the disciple has a great desire for liberation and tries
to get rid of all that stands in the way.
-- Swami Chidananda (1916-2008), President of Divine Life Society
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Posted on 2013/10/13 17:40:08 ( 331 reads )
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BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, October 13, 2013 (Times of India): Organizers clearing
debris from broken puja pandals, government officials clearing roads of
snapped branches of trees and people queuing up before water tankers summed
up the scene at Bhubaneswar and Cuttack a day after severe cyclone Phailin
made landfall near Gopalpur.
Puja pandals (temporary road-side temples set up for a festival) of
Rasulgarh, Saheednagar, Baramunda and Nayapalli, among others, were blown
away in the strong winds of Saturday night while thousands of trees were
uprooted. Several electric poles fell down while hundreds of slums were
washed away. A newly constructed road along Daya West Canal breached at
Jharpada locality of the state capital forcing suspension of traffic on the
road.
Revenue and disaster management minister Surya Narayan Patro said all major
roads across the state will be cleared by the evening. "National
Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and ODRAF forces are on the job. Road
network would be restored by the evening," he said.
Though weather continued to remain windy amid intermittent rain hundreds of
people ventured out of their homes to pay obeisance at the fallen puja
pandals on the occasion of Nabami puja. "The Goddess saved us from the
worse. I feared I may not get a glimpse of the Goddess," said Nirupama
Panda, a housewife visiting the Saheednagar mandap.
Several localities in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack faced water scarcity due to
power cuts. Tankers were deployed by the government. "There is not a
drop of water at home to drink," said Tilotama Nayak, a woman waiting
for tanker water at GGP Canal Road in Bhubaneswar.
Slum dwellers who were shifted to schools and kalyan mandaps on Saturday
started coming back to their houses. Business and commercial establishments
and fuel filling stations largely remained closed.
Power distributor CESU (Central Electricity Supply Utility) said power will
be partially restored in the city by Sunday evening and almost completely
by Monday. "We have restored power to the state secretariat, Railways,
Telecommunication Bhawan. Power will be restored to certain residential
localities such as Saheednagar, Satyanagar and Bhimatangi area by the
evening. Power was also restored in some localities of Cuttack," CESU
chief operating officer Sudarsana Nayak said.
Soaked in sorrow, puja organizers in the two cities have decided to either
scale down or cancel the immersion ceremony. "We will not take out
giant processions in wake of the cyclone. We will simply dip the murthis in
river without any fan fare. The festive spirit was already lost," said
Pabitra Behera, president of Nayapalli puja committee in Bhubaneswar.
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Posted on 2013/10/13 17:40:01 ( 241 reads )
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MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA, October 13, 2013 (BBC): Some 91 pilgrims, mostly
women and children, have been killed in a stampede at a Hindu festival in
central India, local officials have said. Many were crushed after panic
broke out on a bridge near the Ratangarh temple in Madhya Pradesh state.
Others died when they jumped from the bridge. Officials said the stampede
may have been sparked by a rumor that the bridge was about to collapse.
Hundreds of thousands had gathered near the town of Datia for the festival.
Local devotee Atul Chaudhary, who survived the crush, told BBC Hindi there
had been a couple of thousand people on the bridge. He heard screams, and
people began rushing to get off the bridge. "Several people could be
seen flattened to the ground in the midst of the melee," he said.
"Some of the youngsters panicked and jumped into the swollen river. "I
and my friends were close to the exit point and along with several others
ran for safety. Scores of others were not so lucky."
The narrow bridge is about 500m long and had only recently been rebuilt
following another stampede in 2007. Deputy Police Inspector DK Arya said
the death toll has risen to 91 and 10 others were in a critical condition.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed his condolences, saying: "On
this day of festivities, our hearts and prayers are with the victims and
their families." Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Narottam Mishra said a
judicial inquiry had been launched.
"Information from locals suggests that rumors of the bridge giving way
could have led to the stampede," he said. Other reports suggested that
police sparked panic by using batons to control the crowd. Officials said
the dead included at least 42 women and 30 children. Emergency crews and
specialist divers have been scouring the river for bodies but paused the
search at nightfall on Sunday.
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Posted on 2013/10/13 17:39:54 ( 279 reads )
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Do you realize now the sacred significance and the supreme importance of
the guru's role in the evolution of man? It was not without reason that the
India of the past carefully tended and kept alive the lamp of guru-tattva.
It is therefore not without reason that India, year after year, age after
age, commemorates anew this ancient concept of the guru, adores it and pays
homage to it again and again, and thereby reaffirms its belief and
allegiance to it. For the true Indian knows that the guru is the only
guarantee for the individual to transcend the bondage of sorrow and death,
and experience the Consciousness of the Reality.
-- Swami Sivananda (1887-1963), founder of Divine Life Society,
Rishikesh
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Posted on 2013/10/10 18:46:51 ( 433 reads )
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JOHANNESBURG, October 8,2013 (Times of India): South Africans are
increasingly embracing Indian culture, opening up historical venues to
Hindus to celebrate religious events. "The way in which other
communities have embraced Hindu cultural activities is a direct result of
the Rainbow Nation ideal of former President Nelson Mandela," said the
Chairman of the Gauteng chapter of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha,
Sinthal Ramiah.
"We find that even the few whites who sometimes resist temples or
mosques being built in their areas in their areas become friendlier when
they learn what the Indian cultures are about," Ramiah added. The
Sanathan Shakti Society, a recently-formed Hindu organisation, hosted
first-ever Navratri Yatra in country's Gauteng province.
The Tshwane Chariot Festival 2013 saw a procession from Church Square to
the Union Buildings, both historic sites in the capital of Pretoria. Both
Church Square and the Unions Buildings were forbidden to people who were
not white in the apartheid era.The same lawns on which free vegetarian food
was being enjoyed by hundreds used to be splattered with signs warning that
non-whites and dogs were not allowed on them.
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Posted on 2013/10/10 18:46:44 ( 539 reads )
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INDONESIA, October 9, 2013 (India TV News): Indonesia is the world's most
populous Muslim country with the ethnic group Javanese in majority. The
group of islands has been a trade hub and the local rulers have traded with
China and India since the 7th century. Local rulers gradually absorbed
Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The influence of Hindu and Buddhist
tradition and culture is visible in their art forms. The Ramayana Ballet is
the most famous performance in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta.
It's a graceful and fluid spectacle that juxtaposes the grandeur of the
large open air stage with the focused detail of the ballet choreography.
The whole performance, with as backdrop, the 9th century Prambanan temple,
feels exotic and, at the same time intimate. The costumes, the expressions,
and the songs draw you in. One is transported back to a time of demons,
heroic animals and epic royal quests. It's a mythical world illustrated
through dance and music that is the setting for a love story centuries old.
The tale is an old Indian epic which has become popular in Indonesia and is
the same portrayed in the Ramayana performance at Bali's Uluwatu. Photos
have trouble capturing the movements and animate beauty of the show but
hopefully this collection (link below) gives you a sense of how it feels to
be in the theatre with the hundreds of other spectators.
http://www.timetravelturtle.com/2013/ ...
let-yogyakarta-indonesia/
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Posted on 2013/10/10 18:46:38 ( 318 reads )
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O Mother! Let all my speech be your prayer; let all my crafts and
technology be your worship and be the mystic gestures of my hand, adorning
you. May all my movements become your devotional circumambulations. May
everything I eat or drink be oblations to you. Let my lying down in rest
and sleep be prostrations to you. Mother! Whatever I do, may all that
become a sacramental service and worship for you.
-- Adi Sankaracharya's 'Hymn to the Divine Mother'
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Posted on 2013/10/9 16:50:46 ( 630 reads )
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK, October 9, 2013 (A Journey Through NYC Religions):
Anantanand Rambachan is professor of religion at St. Olaf College,
Minnesota. This article is taken from his keynote address to the Hindu
Caribbean Conference of America in New York on October 6, 2012.
The abolition of the slave trade created a labor shortage that threatened
the survival of the Caribbean plantation economy, particularly in the
larger European colonies like Trinidad and Guyana. Africans were not
willing to subject themselves voluntarily to the oppressive conditions of
life on the plantations, and experiments with workers from Madeira and
China were unsuccessful. India proved to be the most reliable source of
willing laborers with the required skills. It provided a steady stream of
immigrants from 1838, the year the first group of 396 Indians arrived in
Guyana, until 1917 when indentured Indian immigration was finally
abolished. By that time, 238,909 Indians had migrated to Guyana and 143,939
to Trinidad. Most of them came from districts in the North Indian states of
Bihar and the United Province. Seventy-one percent of those who made the
arduous journey around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Atlantic chose
to make their homes in the Caribbean. Their choice is the reason for our
presence in New York City today.
Along with their physical skills and knowledge of sugar cultivation, Hindu
immigrants introduced to the Caribbean the essential elements of one of the
world's most ancient, culturally rich and philosophically sophisticated
cultures. The insights and achievements of India found expression in the
songs, dances, myths, stories and religious texts transported in the
memories and meager belongings of the immigrants. Immigrants to the
Caribbean, and specifically immigrants to Guyana, were the first to sow in
the soil of the western world the seeds of Hindu consciousness and way of
life that had evolved in Asia. Fifty-five years before Swami Vivekananda
spoke at the Parliament of World Religions in 1893 in Chicago, Hinduism was
being practiced in the Caribbean.
This remarkable story of the survival of the Hindu tradition remains to be
narrated properly. It is the story of religious survival in the midst of
abject poverty and no official support for their religious and cultural
wellbeing. The broader community viewed them with suspicious and
schizophrenic eyes. While they were required for their physical skills on
the sugar plantations, their beliefs, ceremonies of worship, life-cycle
rituals and sacred narratives were denounced as superstitious and
unenlightened. The reasons for the perception and treatment of Hindu
religion and culture as inferior and backward are many. The principal
reason will be found in the fact that the dominant values of the Caribbean
were those of Western Christian Europe. Those who judged Hinduism by these
values proclaimed it to be different and inferior.
In the mid-1960's Hindus from the Caribbean, embarked on another
significant historical journey. Driven by political fears and economic
uncertainties Hindus, especially from Guyana, migrated in significant
numbers to North America. It is story of migration with empty pockets, long
years of separation from family, relentless efforts to gain an education
and untold hours of hard work. These Hindus from the Caribbean are among
the first to construct places of Hindu worship and to establish the
tradition on the soil of the United States and Canada.
Much more of the lengthy and informative address is available at 'source'
above.
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Posted on 2013/10/9 16:50:32 ( 454 reads )
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Do you realize now the sacred significance and the supreme importance of
the guru's role in the evolution of man? It was not without reason that the
India of the past carefully tended and kept alive the lamp of guru-tattva.
It is therefore not without reason that India, year after year, age after
age, commemorates anew this ancient concept of the guru, adores it and pays
homage to it again and again, and thereby reaffirms its belief and
allegiance to it. For the true Indian knows that the guru is the only
guarantee for the individual to transcend the bondage of sorrow and death,
and experience the Consciousness of the Reality.
-- Swami Sivananda (1887-1963), founder of Divine Life Society,
Rishikesh
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Posted on 2013/10/8 18:52:10 ( 513 reads )
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KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, October 7, 2013 (PRWEB): The sixth Asian Vegetarian
Congress which opened here today was told that the global population has
the power to help reduce global warming by turning towards a vegetarian
diet that would help make a difference to the planet.
In his keynote address, prominent Asian Entrepreneur, Dato Sri Vijay
Eswaran, said limiting or abstaining from meat consumption would consume
less of our limited resources on Earth. He pointed out that the livestock
sector has emerged as a very significant contributor to environmental
problems at every scale from local to global, including land degradation,
climate change and air pollution, water shortage and loss of biodiversity.
Hence, he urged the Congress to send out a strong message to stop all
killings and to create better public awareness of the importance of
consuming more plant-based food. Having been instilled with a deep
abhorrence towards violence when he was young, he stressed: "Let's not
have any more pain in the world. There's enough pain already,"
referring to the slaughter of millions of animals annually around the
world.
Vijay, who is Executive Chairman of the QI Group, said vegetarianism is
more than just a personal belief. It is part of the corporate philosophy of
the company he founded with his partner, also a vegetarian. "The
15-year-old QI Group that employs more than 1,000 people in nearly 30 different
countries is a fully vegetarian company. The primary consideration here for
us is the four main pillars of vegetarianism, namely environment health,
biological and ethical.
Appearing as the first keynote speaker at the congress attended by about a
thousand local and foreign delegates, Vijay said the encouraging resurgence
of vegetarianism, especially in Asian countries, is attributed to reasons
such as religion, concern for health, the environment and the compassion
for animals.
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Posted on 2013/10/8 18:52:02 ( 530 reads )
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK, October 5, 2013 (by Prof. Gregory Berns for the New
York Times): For the past two years, my colleagues and I have been training
dogs to go in an M.R.I. scanner -- completely awake and unrestrained. Our
goal has been to determine how dogs' brains work and, even more important,
what they think of us humans. Now, after training and scanning a dozen
dogs, my one inescapable conclusion is this: dogs are people, too.
Because dogs can't speak, scientists have relied on behavioral observations
to infer what dogs are thinking It has been easy to sidestep the difficult
questions about animal sentience and emotions because they have been
unanswerable. Until now.
By looking directly at their brains and bypassing the constraints of
behaviorism, M.R.I.'s can tell us about dogs' internal states. My dog
Callie was the first. With the help of my friend Mark Spivak, a dog
trainer, we started teaching Callie to go into an M.R.I. simulator Soon,
the local dog community learned of our quest to determine what dogs are
thinking. Within a year, we had assembled a team of a dozen dogs who were
all "M.R.I.-certified."
Although we are just beginning to answer basic questions about the canine
brain, we cannot ignore the striking similarity between dogs and humans in
both the structure and function of a key brain region: the caudate nucleus.
Rich in dopamine receptors, the caudate sits between the brainstem and the
cortex. In humans, the caudate plays a key role in the anticipation of
things we enjoy, like food, love and money.
In dogs, we found that activity in the caudate increased in response to
hand signals indicating food. The caudate also activated to the smells of
familiar humans. And in preliminary tests, it activated to the return of an
owner who had momentarily stepped out of view. Do these findings prove that
dogs love us? Not quite. But many of the same things that activate the
human caudate, which are associated with positive emotions, also activate
the dog caudate. Neuroscientists call this a functional homology, and it
may be an indication of canine emotions. The ability to experience positive
emotions, like love and attachment, would mean that dogs have a level of
sentience comparable to that of a human child. And this ability suggests a
rethinking of how we treat dogs. Perhaps someday we may see a case arguing
for a dog's rights based on brain-imaging findings.
Gregory Berns is a professor of neuroeconomics at Emory University and the
author of "How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog
Decode the Canine Brain."
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Posted on 2013/10/8 18:51:56 ( 407 reads )
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Just as a big banyan tree sprouts from a tiny seed, so the wide universe
with names and forms sprouts forth from the heart.
-- Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950), South Indian mystic
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Posted on 2013/10/7 18:36:56 ( 472 reads )
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PUURS, BELGIUM, October 3, 2013 (Wall Street Journal): HPI Note: From what
we see of these events on YouTube (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JlZx2oFFlU),
they are a mix of rave and Holi traditions and have little to nothing to do
with religion. Holi fell in March in 2013.
Teens and 20-somethings congregated in this Belgian hamlet on Aug. 31 to
celebrate Holi, the Hindu holiday that welcomes spring--just as autumn
approached Europe. They came to celebrate the victory of good over evil and
douse each other with iridescent powders, just like in India. Organizers
claim the rainbow hues erase social, religious and racial differences.
Holi--the Hindu festival that celebrates the arrival of spring--has spread
from India to Europe, where the religious holiday has taken an even more
colorful turn. Holi parties are springing up from England to South Africa,
luring big-hearted partygoers. Touting an intoxicating blend of Woodstock
and Bollywood, the gatherings can draw more than 10,000 people.
But all that amity and togetherness has sparked a fight between the leading
commercial Holi festival organizers. While revelers cavort in colorful joy,
their hosts are dickering over profits, festival names and even the
ingredients of the powders they sell.
"It's a sort of Holi war," says Michael Hasemann, an event
manager in Luebeck, Germany, who helps local organizers stage Holi
festivals. "Everybody is trying to shaft everybody else to become the
king of Holi."
Just last year it was a happy Holi commune. At the time, five Berlin men staged
the first commercial Holi festivals in Germany, inspired by images of the
Indian original and annual celebrations of a Krishna temple in Spanish
Fork, Utah. But a dispute over the business turned the Holi lovefest into a
slugfest, and one of the men, Stephan Dau, teamed up with his brother to
set up Holi One. Others, led by Mr. Derenko, established themselves as Holi
Festival of Colours.
The festivals' popularity has drawn in other professional event managers,
such as Mr. Hasemann, who hold separate events, and entrepreneurs. Marcel
Bodewig, for example, who usually sells support systems for call centers,
realized there was a business opportunity in selling Holi powder, known as
gulal.
Commercial Holi festivals, such as this one in the Belgian town of Puurs on
Aug. 31, have swept Europe this summer, sparking fierce competition among
festival organizers and complaints from the Hindu community. "They
drink, they party, they do whatever," Radj Bhondoe, chairman of the
Hindu Council of the Netherlands, says of the attendants at a recent Holi
in Amsterdam.
Mr. Bhondoe says he doesn't buy the organizers' claim that their events
promote the spirit of unity that is central to the traditional holiday.
"I'm afraid that's not the real model of their business. Their
business is business. It's making money," he says. As for holding Holi
in summer or fall: "You're not going to celebrate Christmas in July.
It's absurd."
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Posted on 2013/10/7 18:36:49 ( 554 reads )
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BANGALORE, INDIA, October 7, 2013 (BBC): Two widows have been ordained as
priests in a centuries-old Hindu temple in the southern Indian city of
Mangalore in Karnataka state. Lakshmi and Indira formally began performing
rituals at the Kudroli Shree Gokarnanatheshwara Temple on Sunday. Hundreds
watched the ceremony and musicians played as the widows entered the temple
in a grand procession. The move is considered revolutionary in a society
where widows are seen as inauspicious and normally shunned. "It is a
historic moment. We will get more widows to become priests," said
Janardhana Poojary, former federal minister and the man behind the reform.
Mr, Poojary said he would talk to the state authorities to appoint more
widows in government-aided temples across Karnataka. "There should not
be any constraints on widows from offering prayers. No widow should be
discriminated against because of her marital status," he told
reporters after Sunday's ceremony.
The widows, who have been trained in scriptures for four months, will be
paid a monthly salary and will be looked after by the temple management.
Kudroli temple authorities say they appointed Lakshmi and Indira in order
to change the mindsets and most people in the state have welcomed the move.
"It gives me joy to see them being greeted by devotees," said
Anil, a student who felt social transformation was necessary to make the
country modern. The temple was set up by a revered Hindu seer Narayan Guru,
a 19th Century social reformer from the neighboring state of Kerala.
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Posted on 2013/10/7 18:36:34 ( 403 reads )
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Go beyond science, into the region of metaphysics. Real religion is beyond
argument. It can only be lived, both inwardly and outwardly.
-- Swami Sivananda (1887-1963), founder of Divine Life Society
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Posted on 2013/10/6 15:42:18 ( 504 reads )
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KOLKATA, INDIA, October 6, 2013 (Times Of India): Two years ago, Goddess
Durga got a major makeover at two puja pandals (temporary temples, some
very large, set up street-side during festivals) in Kolkata: darker skin,
softer features and, somehow, a more Indian look. Behind this makeover was
filmmaker Goutam Ghose, who wanted Durga to look like she did before the
British set foot on the sub-continent. Since then, many statues have even
begun sporting Dravidian features.
Even outside Kolkata, community pujas are roping in arts and film
personalities, as well as architects, interior decorators and even movie
set designers. Their task is to suggest, and sometimes design, themes for
the pandals and looks for the statues. Hence, a mind-boggling array of
themes -- from Rajasthan forts and an Orissa fishing village to Harry
Potter's magical world and the exploitation of tribals -- find creative and
colorful display at community Durga pujas.
Organizers want to not only give their pandals and statues a distinct look,
but also win competitions instituted by various corporate and other
entities. With the entry of such professionals, Durga pujas, previously the
domain of "artisans" --statue-makers, pandal-builders and
decorators -- have become a public art event, says Tapati Guha-Thakurta,
professor of history, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences. Social
scientist Suman Bag points out that with theme-based pujas gaining
popularity, the festival has become more universal.
Take the example of the work being done by artist Sanatan Dinda. With his
24-member team, Dinda turned the puja pandal of a west Kolkata club into a
massive piece of installation art. The theme is conservation. Artist
Bhabotosh Sutar has carved the statue out of a 16-ton sandstone block
transported from Jodhpur for a west Kolkata puja. The theme music for this
puja, scored by Ustad Rashid Khan, is based on Rajasthani folk tunes.
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Posted on 2013/10/6 15:42:11 ( 449 reads )
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ARA, JHARKHAND, INDIA, October 1, 2013 (New York Times): Jharkhand has been
the center of a religious tug-of-war since the 18th century, when a
predominantly tribal state saw a flurry of Christian missionaries set up
base there. The first Christian missionaries to arrive in the Chotanagpur
plateau, which is most of Jharkhand today, were not the Catholics but
German Protestants who traveled through Chakradharpur and Khunti to Ranchi.
The Anglicans and the Catholics followed.
In the late 19th century, Christian missionaries converted a large number
of people, especially tribals. Despite several years of close coexistence,
the tribals had maintained their identity separate from the Hindus. The
tribals were mostly hunter-gatherers, worshipped their ancestors and
nature, ate simple food and celebrated festivals of their own.
When conversions happen, entire villages convert. If only one family dares
to convert to another religion, they are outcast by the rest of the
families. Therefore, in Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, villagers
convert by the hundreds.
"We used to have a unique identity," said Dilip Oraon, a tribal
whose family refused to be converted to Christianity or endorse Hinduism.
"Today, we are forced to choose between Christianity or Hinduism. We
are Sarnas - those with a distinctive identity, independent of both."
As per the 2001 census, the latest available, 68.5 percent people of
Jharkhand's 32.96 million people follow Hinduism. Islam is followed by 13.8
percent and there are 13 percent animistic Sarnas. 4.1 percent of the
population is said to follow Christianity.
Much more at 'source.'
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Posted on 2013/10/6 15:42:05 ( 367 reads )
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Find the One everywhere and in everything and there will be an end to all
pain and suffering.
-- Sri Anandamayi Ma (1896-1982), Bengali mystic and saint
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Posted on 2013/10/3 16:08:38 ( 558 reads )
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, October 2, 2013 (Press Release): Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHPA) Chicago chapter organized the "World Without Borders"
program on Sept 27-28, 2013 to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of
Swami Vivekananda. It was a two-day event with over 2000 people
participating. The event was cosponsored by more than 35 local
organizations. It was the mammoth effort of 50 plus volunteers that made
this event a milestone for Hindu community. T
The two day long program started on the 27th with lamp lighting by invited
dharma gurus and dignitaries. The president of VHPA Shri Jyotish Parekh
welcomed the more than 500 delegates who attended the banquet. Speakers
delivered their messages highlighting the glories of Sanatan Dharma and
Hindu Sanskriti while remembering Swami Vivekananda. Stephen Knapp
(Srinandan das) of ISKCON, Detroit said, "I am proud to be a Hindu and
a follower of Sanatan dharma"
On Saturday Sept. 28th World Without Borders delegates gathered near
Wisconsin avenue and walked to the Art Institute of Chicago where Swami
Vivekananda delivered his historic message 120 years ago. Swami Ramdev
garlanded the statue of Swami Vivekanand outside the Art Institute. The
procession was led by Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, Swami Chidananda, Swami
Varadanand of Vedanta society, Swami Sharadanand of Chinmaya Mission,
Lokesh Muni of Jain Center, Pundits of Gayatri Parivar, Subramanian Swami
and many others dignitaries. All gathered in the hall where Swami
Vivekananda spoke. After lamp lighting, a representative of Governor's
Office read a message from Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, proclaiming
September 28th, 2013, as Swami Vivekananda Day.
The morning session in Museum of art concluded with a message by Baba
Ramdev who said, "We bow to the efforts of America, but at the same
time we bow to the ancient culture of India. We need to live the message of
Swami Vivekananda who said that God does not live in places of worship but
He lives in humans -- we should have darshan of Brahman (God) in the entire
Brahmand (universe)."
In the afternoon, the more than 2,000 delegates reassembled in Jain Center
for the concluding session. Children from local Bal Vihars enthused the
audience by singing and dancing on patriotic songs. Jain Muni Lokesh sang a
few lines praising the bravery of Swami Vivekananda and congratulated VHPA
for bringing all dharmacharya and organization on one platform. Dr. Beena
of Brahma Kumaris institute talked about her research on the teachings of
Swami ji. In the concluding remarks Baba Ramdev talked about reestablishing
the glories of Hindu traditions through reforms. He appreciated VHPA's
united effort of celebrating Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary.
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Posted on 2013/10/21 18:15:36 ( 134 reads )
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WASHINGTON D.C., October 19, 2013 (Huffington Post): The "Yoga: The
Art of Transformation" exhibition at the Smithsonian Sackler Gallery
in Washington D.C. will run from October 19th to January 26th. Its opening
was delayed due to the government shutdown, but now things are back on
track at the Freer and Sackler Galleries.
"This exhibition looks at yoga's ancient roots, and how people have
been trying to master body and spirit for millennia," said Julian
Raby, The Dame Jillian Sackler Director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
and Freer Gallery of Art in the press release. "By applying new
scholarship to both rarely seen artworks and recognized masterpieces, we're
able to shed light on practices that evolved over time--from yoga's ancient
origins to its more modern emergence in India, which set the stage for
today's global phenomenon."
The exhibition will feature over 130 objects from 25 museums and private
collections in India, Europe, and the U.S.
Curator Deb Diamond said, "We're excited about "Yoga: The Art of
Transformation" because it brings together amazing works (created over
some two millennium) and new scholarship. Yoga is a household word the
world over, but scholars have not holistically explored its visual culture
before; visual culture provides new insights so we think exhibition will
delight and inform broad audiences."
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Posted on 2013/10/21 18:15:30 ( 125 reads )
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LAGOS, NIGERIA, October 19, 2013 (The Guardian): Indians hwew recently
celebrated the Silver Jubilee of Ganesh Chaturthi, a popular Hindu festival
in Lagos. The 10-day celebration was organised by Maharashtra Mandal, Lagos
and Hindu Mandir Foundation.
Ganesha's birthday marks the beginning of 10 days of festivities and
devotion for the annual Ganesh Chaturthi festival. As one of the most
celebrated Hindu festivals observed throughout India, as well as by
devotees in all parts of the world, the Ganesh festival holds a special
place in the hearts of Indian expatriates and devotees in Lagos.
The first day of the celebrations at the Geeta Mandir, Palm Grove, Ilupeju,
Lagos, saw hundreds of Indian in a procession of Lord Ganesh amidst much
fanfare, melodious chanting thereby adding color and festivity to the
auspicious occasion. In the evening of the same day also, devotees gathered
for the aartis (prayers) and attended this splendid festival in large
numbers.
Also, the Lagos Maharashtra Mandal brought in cultural artistes from Mumbai
who performed at the occasion besides other religious programmes.
Ganesh festival engendered family reunion among friends. Throughout the
festival days, there were hordes of devotees from different religions other
than Hindus, to worship and pay obeisance to the "most loved God of
Wisdom."
He is worshipped first in prayers and his names are repeated first before
any auspicious work begins. Lord Ganesh is also known as the "Remover
of Obstacles" and deserves the initial place of honor at almost every
festive occasion, be it a wedding, to start a business or a housewarming
ceremony.
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Posted on 2013/10/21 18:15:23 ( 110 reads )
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It is very important to give light and love to everyone, because everyone
needs affection. Let light, love and peace live today and always in our
hearts. Let these words not just be words pouring out of our lips. Let
light invade your whole being so that everyone may be able to love.
-- Mataji Indra Devi
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Posted on 2013/10/20 18:01:10 ( 227 reads )
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INDIA, October 18, 2013 (domain-b.com): India and Hungary have entered into
a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote and develop traditional
systems of medicine, especially the Indian system of Ayurveda. India has
already signed such agreements with Malaysia and Trinidad and Tobago and is
in the process of signing agreements with Russia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Serbia
and Mexico in the near future.
Union minister of state for health and family welfare Santosh Chowdhary and
Hungary's minister of national resources Zolton Banog signed the agreement
towards this in New Delhi on Thursday. The main objective of this MoU is to
strengthen, promote and develop cooperation in the field of traditional
systems of medicine between the two countries on the basis of equality and
mutual benefits, an official release said.
Under the MoU, both countries will encourage and promote cooperation to
enhance the use of traditional systems of medicine, exchange of regulatory
information on operational licensing to practice traditional medicine and
on marketing authorization of medicines in both countries, promote the
exchange of experts for training of practitioners, para-medics, scientists,
teaching professionals and students in traditional systems of medicine.
The signing of such bilateral agreements will enable India to gain global
recognition for traditional systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, Unani,
Yoga and Naturopathy, Siddha, Homeopathy and Sowa-Rigpa (Namchi).
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Posted on 2013/10/20 18:01:03 ( 210 reads )
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LOMA LINDA, CALIFORNIA, October 4, 2013 (Digital Journal): Despite similar
caloric intake, vegetarians tend to have lower Body Mass Index (BMI) than
non-vegetarians, with vegans being the most slender of all, suggests new
research on more than 70,000 Seventh-day Adventists by researchers from
Loma Linda University Health to be published in the December edition of the
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
In strict vegetarians, low dietary intakes of vitamin B-12 and D, calcium,
and n-3 fatty acids, in addition to iron and zinc, have often been of
concern. However, in the present study, mean intakes of these nutrients
were above minimum requirements in strict vegetarians.
A cross-sectional study of the subjects from the Adventist Health Study 2,
possibly the largest study involving vegetarians, compared the subjects'
five dietary patterns: non-vegetarians (meat eaters), semi-vegetarians
(occasional meat eaters), pesco-vegetarians (people who consume fish),
lacto-ovo vegetarians (people who consume dairy products and eggs), and
vegans (strict vegetarians).
The results show the average BMI was highest in non-vegetarians and lowest
in strict vegetarians, with higher BMI levels for those who consume more
animal-derived foods. Non-vegetarians had the most number of people who are
classified as obese, with 33.3 percent having BMIs of over 30;
semi-vegetarians, 24.2 percent; pesco-vegetarians, 17.9 percent; lacto-ovo
vegetarians, 16.7 percent; and strict vegetarians, 9.4 percent.
"There was a clear association between higher proportions of obesity,
higher BMI averages, and dietary patterns characterized by progressively
higher intakes of meat and dairy products," said the study's first
author, Nico Rizzo, Med. Dr., Ph.D., assistant professor at the Department
of Nutrition at Loma Linda University School of Public Health.
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Posted on 2013/10/20 18:00:57 ( 183 reads )
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Joys and sorrows are time-born and cannot last. Therefore, do not be
perturbed by these. The greater the difficulties and obstructions, the more
intense will be your endeavor to cling to His feet and the more will your
prayer increase from within. And when the time is ripe, you will gain
mastery over this power.
-- Anandamayi Ma (1896-1982), God-intoxicated Bengali saint
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Posted on 2013/10/16 17:52:42 ( 394 reads )
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DHAKA, BANGLADESH, Octoer 15, 2013 (The Daily Star): The five-day-long
Durga Puja, the greatest of all Hindu festivals, ended yesterday with
solemn immersion of the murthis of the goddess Durga across the country.
Thousands of Hindus in the capital marched with spectacular truck
processions carrying murthis of Durga towards the Buriganga for immersion.
The young and the elderly joined hands to slowly put the murthis into the
water at the climax of the festival in the evening. Devotees thronged the
puja mandaps to celebrate Bijoya Dashami, the last day of the festival,
since the morning. Yesterday was a public holiday.
Durga puja is the worship of Shakti or divine power embodied in the goddess
Durga. It symbolises the battle between good and evil where the dark forces
eventually succumbed to the divine forces.
President Abdul Hamid hosted a reception for the Hindus at Bangabhaban
while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited some temples in the capital
yesterday. During the reception, Hamid called upon all to contribute to the
development of the country by maintaining glorious stream of communal
harmony.
This year, over 28,000 makeshift puja mandaps or marquees with flowers and
multi-coloured lights were erected across the country. The Dhakeswari
National Temple, the biggest and oldest Hindu monastery in the capital,
drew the highest number of devotees. The state-run and private television
channels and radios aired special programmes while newspapers published
special supplements on the great religious festival.
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Posted on 2013/10/16 17:52:32 ( 332 reads )
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BARISAL, BANGLADESH, October 12, 2013 (The Daily Star): The fifth annual
reception for "Pauls and Kumars" (sculptors and artisans of
statues) was held in Barisal city yesterday with a call to patronize these
traditional statue makers, mainstream them into society, and give them
professional recognition.
"Mritshilpi Sammelon O Sammanona Udjapon Parishad," an
association in Barisal promoting the hard-up, unsung artists, organized the
event at Aswini Kumar Hall, conducted by convener Sushanta Ghosh and
coordinator Bappi Majumdar.
A total of 116 statue makers, including 11 females, from three of six
districts of Barisal division-Barisal, Jhalakathi, and Pirojpur-were
presented with crests, clothes and cash. The association has been honoring
them since 2009, first of its kind in Bangladesh. Artisans from the three
districts are registered with the parishad.
The speakers and participants said that for centuries, Pauls and Kumars had
been keeping this ancestral profession alive even after living in abject
poverty and without any social status and recognition as mainstream
artists. After weeks of work ahead of Puja festivals, particularly Durga
Puja which began on Tuesday night, these artists return home with an
incidental amount of pay.
A team of five or six artisans needs 17-21 days for crafting a big statue,
while the smaller ones take them 13-17 days. To ready a protima, they
collect bamboos, hay, clay, wooden sticks, jute, and rice chaffs, among
other articles. For all this, the team is paid US$322 to US$644. The mandap
committees arrange their lodging and food.
The five-day Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of Bangladesh
Hindus, started on Thursday night at 550 Puja Mandaps of the district
including 33 in the city. The festivity will come to an end through
immersion of the statues and images of the deities in different rivers,
canals, ponds with solemnities and religious rituals and exchange of greetings
of Vijaya Dashami on Sunday.
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Posted on 2013/10/16 17:52:19 ( 319 reads )
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The whole world is your school. See that all are you. You are the
commander. You are the Commander-in-Chief! All are commanders; there is no
greater or lesser. All are God. God sees God, God talks to God.
-- Satguru Yogaswami (1872-1964), Sri Lanka's most revered
contemporary mystic
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Posted on 2013/10/15 15:36:04 ( 356 reads )
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DHAKA, BANGLADESH, October 14, 2013 (Dhaka Tribune): The five-day-long
Hindu festival of Durga Puja will come to an end today through the
celebration of Vijaya Dashami, in which the main ritual is the immersion of
Durga statues in rivers. Devotees will bring out Vijaya Dashami processions
carrying statues of the deity Durga and her children Lakshmi, Saraswati,
Kartik and Ganesha, and carry them to the riverbanks in the evening.
In the capital city processions will be brought out from the Dhakeshwari
Temple and end at Waisghat in old town after parading through different
city streets. Thousands of men, women and children are likely to join the
traditional immersion rally.
Meanwhile, across the country on Sunday thousands gathered at the different
puja mandaps to celebrate the Mahanabami puja. At puja mandaps Nabami Bhog
comprising food and fruits were offered to Devi Durga and later were
distributed among the devotees.
In the city prominent puja mandaps like Dhakeshwari Temple, Jagannath Hall
of Dhaka University, Ramna Kali Mandir, Siddheswari Kali Mandir, and in the
temples of Tanti Bazar, Shankhari Bazar and Bangla Bazar were crowded with
devotees from walks of life.
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Posted on 2013/10/15 15:35:57 ( 503 reads )
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KARACHI, PAKISTAN, October 13, 2014 (Business Standard): Hindus in Pakistan
celebrated the community-based Durga Puja festival in one of the country's
oldest temples here. The 150-year-old Swami Narayan Mandir is located in
the violence-prone old quarter of Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city.
"The Durga Puja was completed on Saturday after being held for nine
days and is a big occasion for the Hindus in Pakistan," Ramesh Kumar
of the Pakistan Hindu Council said. Kumar said Sanskrit shlokas written in
Urdu script were chanted since the Hindus in Pakistan are not proficient in
Sanskrit or Hindi and the new generation Hindus were more proficient in
Urdu language which is why the Gita had also been written in the Nastaleeq
script.
Kumar pointed out that majority of the Hindu community had little
opportunities to learn the Sanskrit or Hindu language in Pakistan. He said
that efforts are now on to compile a comprehensive database on the Hindu
community in Pakistan since there are around seven million of them in the
country mostly in Karachi and Sindh province.
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Posted on 2013/10/15 15:35:51 ( 304 reads )
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Life is meant for God-realization. If you die without attaining
God-realization, your life is in vain. Even having one hundred gurus will
not help, unless the disciple has a great desire for liberation and tries
to get rid of all that stands in the way.
-- Swami Chidananda (1916-2008), President of Divine Life Society
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Posted on 2013/10/13 17:40:08 ( 424 reads )
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BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, October 13, 2013 (Times of India): Organizers clearing
debris from broken puja pandals, government officials clearing roads of
snapped branches of trees and people queuing up before water tankers summed
up the scene at Bhubaneswar and Cuttack a day after severe cyclone Phailin
made landfall near Gopalpur.
Puja pandals (temporary road-side temples set up for a festival) of
Rasulgarh, Saheednagar, Baramunda and Nayapalli, among others, were blown
away in the strong winds of Saturday night while thousands of trees were
uprooted. Several electric poles fell down while hundreds of slums were
washed away. A newly constructed road along Daya West Canal breached at
Jharpada locality of the state capital forcing suspension of traffic on the
road.
Revenue and disaster management minister Surya Narayan Patro said all major
roads across the state will be cleared by the evening. "National
Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and ODRAF forces are on the job. Road
network would be restored by the evening," he said.
Though weather continued to remain windy amid intermittent rain hundreds of
people ventured out of their homes to pay obeisance at the fallen puja
pandals on the occasion of Nabami puja. "The Goddess saved us from the
worse. I feared I may not get a glimpse of the Goddess," said Nirupama
Panda, a housewife visiting the Saheednagar mandap.
Several localities in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack faced water scarcity due to
power cuts. Tankers were deployed by the government. "There is not a
drop of water at home to drink," said Tilotama Nayak, a woman waiting
for tanker water at GGP Canal Road in Bhubaneswar.
Slum dwellers who were shifted to schools and kalyan mandaps on Saturday
started coming back to their houses. Business and commercial establishments
and fuel filling stations largely remained closed.
Power distributor CESU (Central Electricity Supply Utility) said power will
be partially restored in the city by Sunday evening and almost completely
by Monday. "We have restored power to the state secretariat, Railways,
Telecommunication Bhawan. Power will be restored to certain residential
localities such as Saheednagar, Satyanagar and Bhimatangi area by the
evening. Power was also restored in some localities of Cuttack," CESU
chief operating officer Sudarsana Nayak said.
Soaked in sorrow, puja organizers in the two cities have decided to either
scale down or cancel the immersion ceremony. "We will not take out
giant processions in wake of the cyclone. We will simply dip the murthis in
river without any fan fare. The festive spirit was already lost," said
Pabitra Behera, president of Nayapalli puja committee in Bhubaneswar.
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Posted on 2013/10/13 17:40:01 ( 327 reads )
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MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA, October 13, 2013 (BBC): Some 91 pilgrims, mostly
women and children, have been killed in a stampede at a Hindu festival in
central India, local officials have said. Many were crushed after panic
broke out on a bridge near the Ratangarh temple in Madhya Pradesh state.
Others died when they jumped from the bridge. Officials said the stampede
may have been sparked by a rumor that the bridge was about to collapse.
Hundreds of thousands had gathered near the town of Datia for the festival.
Local devotee Atul Chaudhary, who survived the crush, told BBC Hindi there
had been a couple of thousand people on the bridge. He heard screams, and
people began rushing to get off the bridge. "Several people could be
seen flattened to the ground in the midst of the melee," he said.
"Some of the youngsters panicked and jumped into the swollen river.
"I and my friends were close to the exit point and along with several
others ran for safety. Scores of others were not so lucky."
The narrow bridge is about 500m long and had only recently been rebuilt
following another stampede in 2007. Deputy Police Inspector DK Arya said
the death toll has risen to 91 and 10 others were in a critical condition.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed his condolences, saying: "On
this day of festivities, our hearts and prayers are with the victims and
their families." Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Narottam Mishra said a
judicial inquiry had been launched.
"Information from locals suggests that rumors of the bridge giving way
could have led to the stampede," he said. Other reports suggested that
police sparked panic by using batons to control the crowd. Officials said
the dead included at least 42 women and 30 children. Emergency crews and
specialist divers have been scouring the river for bodies but paused the
search at nightfall on Sunday.
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Posted on 2013/10/13 17:39:54 ( 347 reads )
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Do you realize now the sacred significance and the supreme importance of
the guru's role in the evolution of man? It was not without reason that the
India of the past carefully tended and kept alive the lamp of guru-tattva.
It is therefore not without reason that India, year after year, age after
age, commemorates anew this ancient concept of the guru, adores it and pays
homage to it again and again, and thereby reaffirms its belief and
allegiance to it. For the true Indian knows that the guru is the only
guarantee for the individual to transcend the bondage of sorrow and death,
and experience the Consciousness of the Reality.
-- Swami Sivananda (1887-1963), founder of Divine Life Society,
Rishikesh
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Posted on 2013/10/10 18:46:51 ( 527 reads )
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JOHANNESBURG, October 8,2013 (Times of India): South Africans are
increasingly embracing Indian culture, opening up historical venues to
Hindus to celebrate religious events. "The way in which other
communities have embraced Hindu cultural activities is a direct result of
the Rainbow Nation ideal of former President Nelson Mandela," said the
Chairman of the Gauteng chapter of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha,
Sinthal Ramiah.
"We find that even the few whites who sometimes resist temples or
mosques being built in their areas in their areas become friendlier when
they learn what the Indian cultures are about," Ramiah added. The
Sanathan Shakti Society, a recently-formed Hindu organisation, hosted
first-ever Navratri Yatra in country's Gauteng province.
The Tshwane Chariot Festival 2013 saw a procession from Church Square to
the Union Buildings, both historic sites in the capital of Pretoria. Both
Church Square and the Unions Buildings were forbidden to people who were
not white in the apartheid era.The same lawns on which free vegetarian food
was being enjoyed by hundreds used to be splattered with signs warning that
non-whites and dogs were not allowed on them.
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Posted on 2013/10/10 18:46:44 ( 685 reads )
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INDONESIA, October 9, 2013 (India TV News): Indonesia is the world's most
populous Muslim country with the ethnic group Javanese in majority. The
group of islands has been a trade hub and the local rulers have traded with
China and India since the 7th century. Local rulers gradually absorbed
Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The influence of Hindu and Buddhist
tradition and culture is visible in their art forms. The Ramayana Ballet is
the most famous performance in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta.
It's a graceful and fluid spectacle that juxtaposes the grandeur of the
large open air stage with the focused detail of the ballet choreography.
The whole performance, with as backdrop, the 9th century Prambanan temple,
feels exotic and, at the same time intimate. The costumes, the expressions,
and the songs draw you in. One is transported back to a time of demons,
heroic animals and epic royal quests. It's a mythical world illustrated
through dance and music that is the setting for a love story centuries old.
The tale is an old Indian epic which has become popular in Indonesia and is
the same portrayed in the Ramayana performance at Bali's Uluwatu. Photos
have trouble capturing the movements and animate beauty of the show but
hopefully this collection (link below) gives you a sense of how it feels to
be in the theatre with the hundreds of other spectators.
http://www.timetravelturtle.com/2013/ ...
let-yogyakarta-indonesia/
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Posted on 2013/10/10 18:46:38 ( 406 reads )
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O Mother! Let all my speech be your prayer; let all my crafts and
technology be your worship and be the mystic gestures of my hand, adorning
you. May all my movements become your devotional circumambulations. May
everything I eat or drink be oblations to you. Let my lying down in rest
and sleep be prostrations to you. Mother! Whatever I do, may all that
become a sacramental service and worship for you.
-- Adi Sankaracharya's 'Hymn to the Divine Mother'
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Posted on 2013/10/9 16:50:46 ( 753 reads )
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK, October 9, 2013 (A Journey Through NYC Religions):
Anantanand Rambachan is professor of religion at St. Olaf College,
Minnesota. This article is taken from his keynote address to the Hindu
Caribbean Conference of America in New York on October 6, 2012.
The abolition of the slave trade created a labor shortage that threatened
the survival of the Caribbean plantation economy, particularly in the
larger European colonies like Trinidad and Guyana. Africans were not
willing to subject themselves voluntarily to the oppressive conditions of
life on the plantations, and experiments with workers from Madeira and
China were unsuccessful. India proved to be the most reliable source of
willing laborers with the required skills. It provided a steady stream of
immigrants from 1838, the year the first group of 396 Indians arrived in
Guyana, until 1917 when indentured Indian immigration was finally
abolished. By that time, 238,909 Indians had migrated to Guyana and 143,939
to Trinidad. Most of them came from districts in the North Indian states of
Bihar and the United Province. Seventy-one percent of those who made the
arduous journey around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Atlantic chose
to make their homes in the Caribbean. Their choice is the reason for our
presence in New York City today.
Along with their physical skills and knowledge of sugar cultivation, Hindu
immigrants introduced to the Caribbean the essential elements of one of the
world's most ancient, culturally rich and philosophically sophisticated
cultures. The insights and achievements of India found expression in the
songs, dances, myths, stories and religious texts transported in the
memories and meager belongings of the immigrants. Immigrants to the
Caribbean, and specifically immigrants to Guyana, were the first to sow in
the soil of the western world the seeds of Hindu consciousness and way of
life that had evolved in Asia. Fifty-five years before Swami Vivekananda
spoke at the Parliament of World Religions in 1893 in Chicago, Hinduism was
being practiced in the Caribbean.
This remarkable story of the survival of the Hindu tradition remains to be
narrated properly. It is the story of religious survival in the midst of
abject poverty and no official support for their religious and cultural
wellbeing. The broader community viewed them with suspicious and
schizophrenic eyes. While they were required for their physical skills on
the sugar plantations, their beliefs, ceremonies of worship, life-cycle
rituals and sacred narratives were denounced as superstitious and
unenlightened. The reasons for the perception and treatment of Hindu
religion and culture as inferior and backward are many. The principal
reason will be found in the fact that the dominant values of the Caribbean
were those of Western Christian Europe. Those who judged Hinduism by these
values proclaimed it to be different and inferior.
In the mid-1960's Hindus from the Caribbean, embarked on another
significant historical journey. Driven by political fears and economic
uncertainties Hindus, especially from Guyana, migrated in significant
numbers to North America. It is story of migration with empty pockets, long
years of separation from family, relentless efforts to gain an education
and untold hours of hard work. These Hindus from the Caribbean are among
the first to construct places of Hindu worship and to establish the
tradition on the soil of the United States and Canada.
Much more of the lengthy and informative address is available at 'source'
above.
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Posted on 2013/10/9 16:50:32 ( 552 reads )
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Do you realize now the sacred significance and the supreme importance of
the guru's role in the evolution of man? It was not without reason that the
India of the past carefully tended and kept alive the lamp of guru-tattva.
It is therefore not without reason that India, year after year, age after
age, commemorates anew this ancient concept of the guru, adores it and pays
homage to it again and again, and thereby reaffirms its belief and
allegiance to it. For the true Indian knows that the guru is the only
guarantee for the individual to transcend the bondage of sorrow and death,
and experience the Consciousness of the Reality.
-- Swami Sivananda (1887-1963), founder of Divine Life Society,
Rishikesh
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Posted on 2013/10/24 18:39:55 ( 124 reads )
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AUSTRALIA, October 21, 2013 (SBS): Hindus around the world are celebrating
the festival of Deepavali. The holiday is one of the most important events
in Hindu and South Asian culture, and is growing in popularity in
Australia. It's a festival of lights, food and family.
Deepavali, as it is best known in South India, or Diwali in the North, is
Sanskrit for "row of lights" and marks the victory of light over
darkness. It has many different meanings, but is most commonly believed to
celebrate the return of the Hindu God, Rama after 14 years of exile, and to
honor the Hindu Goddess of Prosperity, Lakshmi. To mark the event, families
light lamps as a symbol of welcome.
Neena Sinha, who is hosting Deepavali celebrations in the suburb of
Strathfield in Sydney, says the five day-long event is usually spent with
family. "It's like Christmas, Deepavali is a festival of joy and
happiness and togetherness. And getting the family and friends together and
sharing with each other fun, laughter and sweets and food."
Neena Sinha says she has seen the popularity of Deepavali grow during her
time in Australia. "We came to Australia about 35, 36 years back. That
time there weren't many people of Indian subcontinental background. Now
there are quite a few. So as years went by we had more Indians coming and
more other Sri Lankans or Pakistanis, or Fiji people we started celebrating
Deepavali more and more. Associations formed and they started having an
annual function of Deepavali."
This year, Deepavali officially begins on November 3. However celebrations
are already underway across India and South Asian communities elsewhere in
the world.
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Posted on 2013/10/24 18:39:49 ( 139 reads )
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KARACHI, PAKISTAN, October 23, 2013 (Saharasamay): Dozens of Hindus
celebrated the Indian festival of Karwa Chauth in Pakistan's largest city
Karachi with traditional fervour and gaiety.
Hindu couples gathered at the Laxmi Narayan Mandir near the Netty Jetty
bridge yesterday night to celebrate the occasion.
On Karwa Chauth, Hindu women, especially in North India and Gujarat,
traditionally observe a day-long fast for the longevity and well-being of
their husbands. They break their fast after sighting the moon through a
sieve. The man will then offer his wife some water and something sweet to
break the fast.
Mehendi and henna are used for body arts by women during the festive
season. Rani, who broke her fast on the footsteps of the mandir which
overlooks the Netty Jetty waters said for her and many other Hindu married
women the annual festival had become very important because of its
religious significance.
"Given the sort of situation we are facing in Karachi these days
basically everyday is Karwa Chauth for us women no matter which religion
they belong too. Things are so uncertain we just keep on praying that our
husbands return home safely after work," Rani said.
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Posted on 2013/10/24 18:39:43 ( 126 reads )
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Sattvic knowledge sees the one indestructible Being in all beings, the
unity underlying the multiplicity of creation. Rajasic knowledge sees all
things and creatures as separate and distinct. Tamasic knowledge, lacking
any sense of perspective, sees one small part and mistakes it for the
whole.
-- Bhagavad Gita 18:20-22
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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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