News from Hindu Press International
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Posted on 2014/1/14 17:56:50 ( 411 reads )
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PALERMO, SICILY, January 13, 2014 (The Moderator, translated from Spanish):
The city administration is making available its public spaces for important
events organized by various religious communities in Palermo announced the
mayor, Leoluca Orlando, and the commissioner for Participation, Giusto
Catania, as a way to make the city more welcoming and intercultural.
This type of activity is part of the initiatives of intercultural dialogue
between citizens of Palermo says Adham Darawsha, president of the council
of Culture, and this will help to make a more welcoming and stimulating
life of the city.
At Palazzo Cefala preparations are underway for the celebration of the
Hindu religious Celebration of Thai Pusam which will continue until January
19. The highlight of the event will be on January 17, 2014, on the occasion
of Thai Pusam Kavadi, the festivity of the Tamil community in honor of
Murugan, the youngest son of Shiva. During the Kavadi the faithful carry a
big wooden bow in which are hung two pots for milk
Along the way, music accompanies them on a path of purification that brings
them closer to Murugan. Arriving at the temple, devotees deliver their milk
to the priest who will pour it on the statues of the deities. The ritual
ends with a delicious vegetarian meal. In Palermo, the procession will
begin on January 17 at Via Cala at 10:30. It will continue one block along
the sea and then down Corso Vittorio Emanuele to the Cefala Palace .
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Posted on 2014/1/14 17:56:44 ( 584 reads )
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BANGALORE, INDIA, January 13, 2014 (Times Of India): French author and
journalist Francois Gautier feels traditional Indian knowledge is at risk.
At a lecture here on Saturday, Gautier said, "Education in India is in
a tragic state. Parents produce children in order to export them. India is
being Westernized. People here want to be more Westernized than the
Westerners themselves. They know IT, Math and Shakespeare but don't know
their own history and culture. Not many understand the value of
knowledge."
Gautier, 54, feels Hinduism is not a religion but a knowledge stream.
"Though I am a Frenchman, I feel I am a Hindu. Being a Hindu entails
believing that God has many manifestations. I have lived in India for 44
years. I experienced the presence of Bharat Mata while working in Kashmir and
now (I am experiencing it) in Pune," he pointed out.
Referring to the Aryan invasion theory, he said: "It (the invasion) is
the foundation of all historical information on India. But the invasion
never happened." According to him, many bitter truths about India's
history -- such as genocide of Hindus by invaders -- were swept under the
carpet. He believes there are many cliches about India abroad.
"Poverty and snake-charmers are part of them," he added.
Stressing the importance of truth in history, however bitter it is, he
said: "Unless people face their history, they can't move
forward."
Gautier has set up a museum on Indian history - Shivaji Maharaj Museum of
History - in Pune with the Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism (FACT).
"If I write an article, it lasts a day. A book could last a few years.
But a museum lasts for centuries. It's important to rewrite Indian history
on stone. I found it important to narrate history as it happened, and not
as it was written. Hence, the museum," he explained. The museum
exhibits artefacts on India's traditional knowledge and accurate history.
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Posted on 2014/1/14 17:56:37 ( 495 reads )
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WASHINGTON, D.C., January 8, 2014 (HAF): Leaders at the Hindu American
Foundation (HAF) expressed deep concern today over recent election related
violence in Bangladesh that left more than 22 dead and hundreds injured
across the country. Supporters of the right-wing Bangladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP), which boycotted the elections, and their allies from
Jamaat-e-Islaami (JeI) and Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) carried out attacks
on more than 400 polling stations, targeting ordinary voters in an attempt
to disrupt national elections held this past Sunday.
Members of the Hindu minority, in particular, were subjected to widespread
attacks and threats by heavily armed mobs of BNP, JeI, and ICS members in
both pre and post-election violence. According to media reports, at least
350 Hindu homes and 50 shops were damaged, vandalized, or set on fire in
Dinajpur district, while more than 100 Hindu owned homes were attacked in
Jessore district. The violence reportedly led thousands of Hindus to flee
their homes for safety, including 1,200 Hindus from Gopalpur village who
sought refuge in a nearby temple following the elections.
"We congratulate the Bangladeshi people for voting in the face of
rampant voter intimidation, threats, and violence by activists from the BNP
and Jamaat-e-Islami," said Jay Kansara, the HAF's Associate Director
for Government Relations. "It is incumbent upon the government and law
enforcement to provide security and protection to Bangladeshis exercising
their democratic rights, especially the Hindu community, which has been
repeatedly targeted by BNP and Jamaat activists in a systematic campaign."
"While peaceful dissent and opposition is an integral part of any
democracy, the use of violence by the BNP and its radical Islamist allies
to disrupt the elections and attack minorities has caused chaos across this
fragile country," said Samir Kalra, Esq., HAF's Director and Senior
Human Rights Fellow. "The response from the U.S. thus far has been
disappointing, and we urge the State Department to take a stronger stand
against the actions of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. This includes preemptively
banning leaders of these organizations from entering the U.S. who have
engaged in 'particularly severe violations of religious freedom' as defined
by the International Religious Freedom Act."
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Posted on 2014/1/14 17:56:31 ( 441 reads )
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One must be patient like the Earth. What iniquities are being perpetuated
on her! Yet she quietly endures them all.
-- Mother Sarada Devi (1853-1920)
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Posted on 2014/1/12 17:10:02 ( 685 reads )
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ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN, January 7, 2014 (The Hindu): The head of the Pakistan
Hindu Council, Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, Member National Assembly has
condemned the rise in kidnapping of Hindu girls, forced conversion and
marriage. Talking to the media outside Parliament House on Tuesday he
referred to the recent kidnapping of a Hindu woman, Lucky Bhel from Sindh,
who was reportedly forced to marry a follower of a local religious leader.
Dr. Ramesh Kumar said that the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad
Ali Jinnah had promised minorities their rights and the Constitution of
Pakistan also guaranteed their protection. He pledged support for the
victims' families and said he would raise the issue on every available
forum including Parliament and take up the grievances of the Hindu
community.
Earlier this year, the Sindh Government had set up a three member committee
to examine a law to stop forced marriages of Hindu girls. Activists in
Karachi have said there are 20 such cases every month.
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Posted on 2014/1/12 17:09:56 ( 402 reads )
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WEST TEXAS, U.S., January 9, 2014 (Midland Reporter Telegram): Priesthood
is a family tradition for Vignesh Mahadevarahalli, the priest at the Hindu
Association of West Texas. His father, grandfather and ancestors were all
priests, passing on the customs and traditions from generation to
generation. Mahadevarahalli has been priest of the Hindu temple in Midland
since early 2008.
Growing up in a small village in Karnataka, India called Mahadevarahalli,
he learned basic priestly traditions from his father. At age 12, he left
home and moved nearly 200 miles away to begin his formal priest education
at Maha Vidyalaya, a school in nearby Mysore, India. The course took 13
years to complete. He spent five of those years learning Agama, the
practical methods of priesthood, and seven years at a temple in Bangalore.
He landed in Flint, Mich., where he worked at a Hindu temple for four and a
half years. Through a relative of a devotee in Michigan, Mahadevarahalli
learned about a new temple being built in Texas that needed a priest. He
arrived in Midland in April 2008 to become priest at the Hindu Association
of West Texas, which recently celebrated its temple's sixth anniversary.
About 400 Hindu families live in the Midland/Odessa area, which keeps
Mahadevarahalli, the only Hindu priest in the Permian Basin, quite busy.
Along with his everyday temple duties, he travels as far as San Angelo,
Lubbock and Big Spring to conduct pujas at families' homes. He performs
pujas for housewarmings, new cars, weddings, newborn babies, naming
ceremonies, after-death rituals and many more. It's a culmination of all
the knowledge he learned during his years of schooling in India.
More at 'source'.
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Posted on 2014/1/12 17:09:49 ( 455 reads )
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Free will is not free--it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect--but
there is something behind the will which is free.
-- Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
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Posted on 2014/1/26 17:12:35 ( 194 reads )
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BANGLADESH, January 22, 2014 (The Daily Star): Hindu temples and houses
came under attack in at least five districts across the country on Monday.
Unidentified criminals attacked a temple and vandalized four statues in a
temple in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj as they were allegedly barred from
taking part in a dancing program on Monday night.
Witnesses said, a few youths went to the temple during Kali Puja function
at Manipara at around 9:30pm and tried to take part in a ritual dance. As
the temple committee members did not allow them, the criminals beat up the
devotees and vandalized the furniture of the temple.
Our Lalmonirhat correspondent reports: A Hindu house was attacked by a gang
allegedly over a land dispute at Northbengal in the district town on Monday
night. And in Patuakhali, three people were injured as a gang attacked a
wedding function of a Hindu family at Mithagonj village in Kalapara upazila.
In Madaripur, a gang of criminals vandalized a temple and several statues
in it, following a dispute over a piece of land at Kawkuri village under
Sadar upazila on Monday night. In Bagerhat district, an unidentified gang
tried to set fire to a family temple in Kachua upazila of the district on
Monday night, reports our local correspondent.
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Posted on 2014/1/26 17:12:29 ( 220 reads )
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January 22, 2014 (Huffington Post): Elaborately decorated Hindu temples sing
praise to the glory of God with their breathtaking architecture. Hinduism
is called the world's oldest religion and many of these structures are full
of history.
Slideshow at source--click the second photo to launch the slideshow.
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Posted on 2014/1/26 17:12:22 ( 172 reads )
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UNITED KINGDOM, January 20, 2014 (BBC): Once veganism was widely associated
with animal rights activists, the health conscious and the religious. But
now more and more people are dabbling with a vegan diet, albeit
temporarily. A growing trend for giving up all animal products doesn't
involve going vegan forever. Nor does it even require being morally opposed
to eating meat.
More people are pledging to go vegan for seven or 30 days, according to the
Vegan Society. There were 40% more people signing up to this temporary menu
in the first two months of 2013 compared with the same period in 2012, it
says. And this year a new campaign - Veganuary - has already seen 3,200
people commit to go vegan for the first month of 2014, organizers say.
There are also 150,000 full-time vegans in the UK - so about 1 in 400 -
according to the British Vegan Society. The ratio goes up to roughly one in
150 in the US, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group, which puts the
total figure at two million. Like vegetarians, they don't eat meat,
poultry, fish or by-products of slaughter -- vegans don't eat eggs and
dairy products either.
More at source.
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Posted on 2014/1/26 17:12:15 ( 149 reads )
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Only the guru is father, mother and brother. He is also friend, well-wisher
and the only wealth. Thus everything should be surrendered to him. The
disciple, fully surrendered to the guru, sees him as God, and then becomes
God himself.
-- Chandra Jnana Agama, 2.68
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Posted on 2014/1/22 12:58:41 ( 335 reads )
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INDIA, January 14, 2014 (NY Daily News): Makar Sankranti is a major Hindu
harvest festival celebrated in almost all parts of India. It marks the transition
of the Sun into the zodiac sign of Makara rashi (Capricorn) on its
celestial path. The day is also believed to mark the arrival of spring in
India. Makar Sankranti is a solar event making one of the few Indian
festivals which fall on the same date in the Gregorian calendar every year:
January 14th.
Very nice slideshow at source.
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Posted on 2014/1/22 12:58:36 ( 429 reads )
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KOCHI, INDIA, December 22, 2014 (The Hindu Business Line): Vaidyaratnam has
set up a museum on ayurveda to enlighten the public on its rich heritage
and evolution. Set up with an investment close to US$809,000 at
Thaikkattussery near Thrissur, the museum, the first of its kind, will be
inaugurated by former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on December 27.
Astavaidyan E.T. Narayanan Mooss, who supervised the setting up of museum,
said the idea is to link the ancient tradition of ayurveda with its
promising future as a safe medicinal system. The past and contemporary
treatment, medicine preparation and impart of education are shown at a 3D
gallery.
The exhibits in the museum include authoritative texts, description of
various ancient practices of black magic, study of Vedas, Yaagas and
Yajnas, Gurukula system, Rasasalas or pharmacies of ancient times etc.
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Posted on 2014/1/22 12:58:30 ( 430 reads )
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UNITED KINGDOM, January 8, 2014 (Daily Mali): "Sugar is the new
tobacco,"said Simon Capewell, professor of clinical epidemiology at
the University of Liverpool. Professor Capewell is part of a new US-UK
campaign group -- Action on Sugar -- that says asking firms to make
voluntary changes has failed.
The typical Briton consumes 12 teaspoons of sugar a day and some adults
consume as many as 46. The maximum intake recommended by the World Health
Organisation is ten, although this guideline is likely to be halved.
The UN agency says there is overwhelming evidence coming out about
sugar-sweetened beverages and other sugar consumption being linked to
obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
A study by Action on Sugar found surprisingly high levels of sugar in many
foods, including savory products and healthy options. A Mars bar has eight
teaspoons of sugar, a can of Heinz tomato soup has four teaspoons of sugar,
even Glaceau Vitamin Water, which is owned by Coca-Cola, has the equivalent
of four teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
Action of Sugar said food firms should be able to reduce the amount of
sugar they add to products by 20 to 30 percent within three to five years,
taking 100 calories a day out of the typical diet. This would be enough to
halt or even reverse rising levels of obesity and associated ill-health, it
claimed.
Graham MacGregor, a professor at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive
Medicine in London and chairman of Action on Sugar, said: "We must now
tackle the obesity epidemic both in the UK and worldwide. We must start a
coherent and structured plan to slowly reduce the amount of calories people
consume by slowly taking out added sugar from foods and soft drinks."
Dr Aseem, the group's science director, said: "Added sugar has no
nutritional value whatsoever, and causes no feeling of satiety."
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Posted on 2014/1/22 12:58:23 ( 305 reads )
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Only the guru is father, mother and brother. He is also friend, well-wisher
and the only wealth. Thus everything should be surrendered to him. The
disciple, fully surrendered to the guru, sees him as God, and then becomes
God himself.
-- Chandra Jnana Agama, 2.68
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Posted on 2014/1/21 17:39:29 ( 401 reads )
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DEHRADUN, INDIA, January 21, 2014 (Times Of India): Only a few months are
left for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra to begin. But Kumaon Mandal Vikas
Nigam (KMVN), the nodal agency for the ministry of external
affairs-organized yatra, is still undecided about the route that the yatris
will take through Uttarakhand this year. [HPI note: this is for pilgrims
going into Tibet from India, a different route than those going there via
Nepal.] The main route of the pilgrimage -- which is scheduled to begin
from June 8 this year -- was badly affected during the flash floods last
year leading to the yatra being called off. Repair work in this area is
progressing at a slow pace and it is unclear whether the route would be
ready before the yatra commences.
Shirish Kumar, general manager, KMVN, told TOI that they were hopeful that
the main route will open before the yatra begins but added they were also
exploring the possibility of using two alternative routes as a backup plan
this year. However, sources add that the alternative routes being
considered could be "risky and unsafe for pilgrims."
The yatra passes through Almora, Dania, Pithoragarh, Dharchula, Tawaghat
and Narayan Ashram on a motorable road. The stretch between Dharchula and
Narayan Ashram is presently being repaired. A 60-meter-long road bridge at
Kanchyoti village between Dharchula and Narayan Ashram and large portions
of road in the nearby Tawaghat area were washed away in the flash-floods
last year. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and PWD are handling the
repair and construction work in the area along with the Indo-Tibetan Border
Police.
The recent announcement of the yatra dates by the ministry of external affairs,
though, has put the state government under pressure to expedite the ongoing
repair work. "We have now taken up construction of Kanchyoti road
bridge and damaged roads near Tawaghat as a "special case." With
the help of BRO and PWD, we hope to clear the entire route by March end or
April this year," says Neeraj Khairwal, DM, Pithoragarh.
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Posted on 2014/1/21 17:39:24 ( 302 reads )
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KERALA, INDIA, January 12, 2014 (New India Express): It is the beginning of
the year and Namboothiri families in Kerala are getting ready to conduct
Vettakkoru Makan Pattu (the song to worship Lord Vettakkoru Makan) or
pantheerayiram. It is a popular but challenging ritual in which the chief
priest has to break 12,000 coconuts continuously in one sitting.
Manoj Kumar Kandamangalam is one of the few priests in the state who excels
in conducting pantheerayiram. Coming from a noted priest family in north
Kerala, Manoj has conducted this ritual at various temples and households
since 1996 and is probably the fastest at it. He holds the Limca Book
record of breaking 12,000 coconuts in 2 hours and 13 minutes.
Pantheerayiram is carried out as an offering to Lord Vettakkoru Makan and
Lord Ayyappan. "In Kerala it is conducted for Lord Vettakkoru Makan
while in other south Indian states, the ritual is conducted for Lord
Ayyappan," says Manoj. Vettakkoru Makan is regarded as the son of Lord
Siva. He was born to Siva and Parvathi while they were wandering through a
forest in guise of tribal warriors. Soon after his birth, the infant was
left in the forest and raised and trained in war strategies by tribal
leaders.
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Posted on 2014/1/21 17:39:18 ( 421 reads )
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PENANG, MALAYSIA, January 6, 2014 (Penang Channel): This is a short video
of the annual Thai Pusam festival in Penang where devotees smash thousands
of coconuts in honor of Lord Murugan. Note the large number of Chinese
people taking part in the Hindu festival. It doesn't equal the feat
described above, but is more of a community affair.
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Posted on 2014/1/21 17:39:12 ( 269 reads )
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The more we are conscious of God's presence in daily life, the more intense
is the fullness of the joy we experience. God means infinitely more to our
existence than the light of the sun means to the plants and trees.
-- Swami Omkarananda, (1930-2000), founder of Omkarananda Ashram
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Posted on 2014/1/20 18:30:25 ( 318 reads )
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MADURAI, INDIA, January 6, 2014 (The Hindu): One look at the sprawling
Mariamman Teppakulam, and it is the buzz of humanity inside the tank (a
line wate reservoir) that first catches your attention -- boys playing
cricket, people walking across the tank to go to the other side and few
wheeling bicycles through patches of the dry brown and grassy green tank
bed.
Many temple tanks in the city which were once brimming with water and where
beautiful float festivals were held are bone dry now. The tanks found
either inside or outside the temple premises are replete with rich history
and fine architecture.
A source of water is something of great importance to a temple. "For
most sprawling temples which bears the brunt of a hot sun, a tank ensures
that some parts of the temple are always kept cool," points out
Sridhar Bhattar from the Narasingam Perumal Temple. The presence of a
temple tank also results in groundwater table getting charged, says A.
Gurunathan, Head, Vayalagam Movement of the Dhan Foundation. It has
published a book on four prominent temple tanks in Madurai.
"Owing to scarce rainfall and channels that supplied water from a main
source going defunct, either a concrete floor or tiles are laid on the tank
bed to retain at least the little water that the tank manages to get since
it cannot support percolation and groundwater recharge," he explains.
While the channels need attention, sustained maintenance of the tank is
needed, say experts. Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department
officials say Mariamman Teppakulam is to be renovated at a cost of Rs. 40
lakh. It will ensure that the cracked walls are repaired. "People must
be aware of the history of old tanks so that they will understand the
importance of conserving them. A systematic approach in upkeep of these
ancient temple tanks will make a world of difference," says official.
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Posted on 2014/1/20 18:30:20 ( 334 reads )
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GEORGE TOWN, MALAYSIA, January 17, 2014 (The Malay Mail): Malaysian Hindu
devotee Karthi Gan grimaces while tapping his feet to the beat of ritual
drums as two men plunge dozens of sharp hooks into his chest and back. The
painful ritual is Karthi's way of giving thanks to the Hindu Deity Muruga
as part of the country's colorful annual Thaipusam festival, one of the
world's most extreme displays of religious devotion.
Celebrated also in India and other areas with significant Tamil
communities, the three-day festival that kicked off yesterday is marked
with particular zest among Malaysian Indians. Hordes of Hindus flock to
temples across the country with offerings, many showing their fervor via
extensive piercing or by bearing the elaborately decorated burdens called
kavadi that are carried to religious sites.
"I got what I asked from Lord Muruga," said Karthi, a 31-year-old
engineer, who prayed during last year's festival for "a good
life". "I got a new-born baby. I got a new home," he said
late Thursday night, when he and thousands of others began the slow and
painful process of affixing their kavadi in the northern state of Penang.
In Penang, devotees then paraded barefoot for hours Friday through the
streets of the state capital Georgetown, carrying kavadi that can weigh as
much as 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds). Participants swayed trance-like to
drumbeats that had throbbed since Thursday.
View lots of colorful pictures in the 'In The Gallery" section at
source above.
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Posted on 2014/1/20 18:30:14 ( 387 reads )
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CHENNAI, INDIA, January 16, 2014 (New Indian Express): Taiwan scholar and
poet Dr. Yu Hsi (Hung Ching Yu), who has translated Tirukkural and the
poems of Subramaniya Bharathi and poet Bharathidasan in Mandarin, was
conferred with the Thiruvalluvar Award instituted by the Tamil Nadu
government on Wednesday. The founder president of the Tamil Sangam of
Taiwan, Dr. Yu Hsi is the first foreign scholar to receive this award. At a
public function held here, Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam presented the
award to the scholar. The award carries a gold medal, a check for US$1,625
and a citation.
Dr. Yu Hsi was born in Taiwan on March 16, 1951 and is a Doctor of Letters.
He has authored more than 60 books. The scholar was awarded $8,775 by the
State for translating Tirukkural. However, he had donated the amount to
Tamil University for setting up of an endowment to propagate Tirukkural.
In his acceptance speech, the scholar said after learning Tirukkural, he
found that the teachings of Saint Tiruvallur and Chinese philosopher
Confucius were similar with regard to ethics, statecraft, etc.
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Posted on 2014/1/20 18:30:00 ( 322 reads )
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True gurus are available in every religion. They may not be in the ordinary
world of strife, for such a world does not want them, nor have they any use
for it. Go, therefore, in search of a true master. He is ever available and
is only waiting for a symptom of real earnestness in you. If you have true
humility and earnestness to see God, he will solve all your doubts and show
you God in no time at all.
-- Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati (1912-1954), 34th pontiff of the
Sringeri Sharada Peetham
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Posted on 2014/1/19 17:38:39 ( 491 reads )
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NORWAY, Janukary 17, 2014 (Aftenposten--translated from Norwegian): Happy
news from the Tamil diaspora community. It appears that the future is
bright for the Norwegian Tamils.
This long article quotes a government study of how immigrant kids
(elementary and middle school age) in Norway are doing. Pupils born in
Norway with parents from Iran, Poland, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka,
China and India do better in school than students with Norwegian parents.
Other immigrant groups do worse. The reporters headed out to the Tamil
Resource and Guidance Center Sunday tuition school to find out what was the
secret of the kids' success.
"Parental encouragement," said the kids. And the fact that,
besides Tamil language, their tuition (tutoring) school on Sundays teaches
subjects such as algebra before it is taught in their public school.
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Posted on 2014/1/19 17:38:33 ( 497 reads )
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BANGALORE, INDIA, January 5, 2014 (New Indian Express): Erosion in people's
beliefs in nature worship, religion and social values are posing a threat
to the sacred forests (Devara Kadu), that are conserved patches of forests
that lay undisturbed, according to experts.
"Religion played a very important role in traditional and informal
conservation. An elephant symbolises Ganesha while some types of trees are
considered sacred. Fear of Gods and social taboos prevented people from
harvesting resources from these sacred forests though there are no physical
borders. Change in social and religious values are now posing a danger to
these sacred forests," says Prof. C.G. Kushalappa of the College of
Forestry in Ponnampet, Kodagu district.
There are 1,214 sacred groves covering 2,550 hectares in Kodagu alone.
"People were afraid to go in, harvest resources, cut trees or live in
sacred forests because of their fear of forest deities and beliefs in
nature worship. This protected the plants, trees, small animals and
therefore, led to conservation of the ecosystem. Currently, due to
pressures on land and decrease in religious values, these forests are being
encroached or taken over. People in Kodagu are fighting to protect the
groves," Kushalappa adds.
India has the highest concentration of sacred forests in the world.
Estimates suggest that there might be between 100,000 to 150,000 sacred
forests around the country.
Ecologist Smitha Krishnan, who has worked on sacred groves in Kodagu, and
is with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich, Switzerland,
says, "Sacred groves that are relatively undisturbed are a haven for
bees. In addition to the wild rock bees, we also find feral colonies of
honey bees (Apis cerana indica) and have recorded more than 70 species of
solitary bees. Sacred forests are also home to a wide diversity of trees,
some of which are endangered and endemic. Although sacred forests are often
very small fragments of forests, they play an important role in conserving
biodiversity."
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Posted on 2014/1/29 12:16:04 ( 309 reads )
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VELLORE, INDIA, January 23, 2014 (The Hindu): Residents of Ayyanur, about
three miles west of Ambur, thought of a novel but hi-tech idea of retaining
a small 300-year-old Amman temple when the National Highways Authority of
India (NHAI) decided to demolish it to facilitate the widening of the
four-lane Chennai-Bangalore National Highway into a six-lane highway.
R. Moorthy, president of the renovation committee of the temple said that
he got the idea of relocating the temple by seeing such structural
relocations of buildings done in the U.S. on National Geographic channel.
They hired a Haryana-based company which was professionally undertaking
structural relocations. They fixed a steel framework under the temple and
with the use of jacks, moved it at the rate of 8 feet a day to its new
location. As part of the process, they also rotated it to face east.
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Posted on 2014/1/29 12:15:58 ( 302 reads )
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TAMIL, NADU, INDIA, January 20, 2014 (The Hindu, by Dr. Subramanian Swamy,
is a former Union Minister and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party): The
Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment on January 6, 2013, allowing my
Special Leave Petition that sought the quashing of the Tamil Nadu
Government's G.O. of 2006 which had mandated the government takeover of the
hallowed Sri Sabhanayagar Temple (popularly known as the Nataraja temple).
The Madras High Court Single Judge and Division Bench had in 2009 upheld
the constitutionality of the G.O. by a tortuous and convoluted logic that
new laws can overturn past court judgments that had attained finality
earlier. In 2014, in my SLP, the Supreme Court Bench of Justices B.S.
Chauhan and S.A. Bobde termed this re-opening of the matter as
"judicial indiscipline" and set aside the 2009 Madras High Court
judgment as null and void on the principle of Res Judicata.
In their lengthy judgment, the Bench has clearly set the constitutional
parameters on the scope of governmental intervention in the management of
religious institutions. In particular, the Court has opined that any G.O.
that legally mandates a takeover of a temple must be for a fixed limited
period, which I had suggested as three years.
The Supreme Court, in the 2014 Chidambaram case has held that the
government cannot arbitrarily take over temples, which is what has been
happening in Tamil Nadu under the Dravidian movement's influence.
In the case of Trusts and Societies, takeover of temples can happen, the
Supreme Court held, only on establishing a clear case of mal-administration
and that too the takeover can be for a limited period, and the management
of the temple will have to be handed back immediately after the 'evil has
been remedied'.
Much more at 'source'.
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Posted on 2014/1/29 12:15:52 ( 554 reads )
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NETHERLANDS, October 10, 2012 (SAND): This video is a lecture by physicist
Menas Kafatos given and the 2012 Science and Nonduality Conference held in
the Netherlands. It is quite a startling comparison of discoveries and
concepts in Quantum Physics with ancient Hindu views of the universe and
consciousness. Well worth watching.
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Posted on 2014/1/29 12:15:46 ( 233 reads )
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BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, January 23, 2014 (Narthaki, by Dr. Sunil Kothari,
photos at source): The Mukteswar Dance Festival was held in Bhubaneswar in
a specially constructed open air auditorium with the backdrop of the 10th
century Odishan architectural marvel of Mukteswar Temple. With the winter
chill, the mystic ambience and surrounding small temples created a visual
treat. It was Sankaranti and a rare combination of full moon night,
Purnima. Since the presiding deity at Mukteswara is Lord Shiva, the artists
invariably commence by paying homage to Lord Nataraja. The festival
featured talented dancers, such as Aruna Mohanty, and was organized by
Odisha Tourism in association with Odisha Tourism Development Corporation
Ltd and Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi.
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Posted on 2014/1/29 12:15:39 ( 231 reads )
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I loved my motherland dearly before I went to America and England. After my
return, every particle of dust of this land seems sacred to me.
-- Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
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Posted on 2014/1/28 17:32:39 ( 528 reads )
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CHENNAI, INDIA, January 19, 2014 (The Hindu): Property worth US$4 million
in the heart of the city belonging to the Kapaleeswarar temple was
recovered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department on
Saturday.
Encroachments, including a mechanics shop, were removed from the property
on Bughs Road in R.A. Puram near Greenways Road. A compound wall is being
constructed to safeguard the retrieved piece of land. Steps are also being
initiated to remove encroachments from other parts of the 5.2 acre parcel,
the source explained.
The department has been taking steps to retrieve property belonging to the
temple. 1.5 acres of land that was used by a private school, 1 acre from
West Kesava Perumal Puram that was used as a parking lot and 1/2 acre adjacent
to that were retrieved over the past year.
Every year, the temple gets rent of around $800,000 from various properties
from 250 tenants.
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Posted on 2014/1/28 17:32:24 ( 324 reads )
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CHILE, January 17, 2014 (La Nacion): The new production that will debut on
the small screen is the story of a group of eight cows that are led by a
"cat guru" who teaches them the ancient Asian art . On Saturday,
January 18th during the "Tronia " preschool program which runs
between 8:00 and 9:00 am, the " Ooommm Mmmooo " series premieres
for the younger set (in Spanish).
It is a Chilean-Colombian 3D animated series, aimed at showing the benefits
of Yoga to children. The protagonists are eight cows of different breeds
that do different yoga positions that children can replicate at home. The
instructor of the yoga exercises is a cat guru, playful and curious,
flexible and spiritual like any good yogi. This cat instructor not only
explains how to do the different yoga positions but also their benefits for
both the body and the spirit.
The yoga poses are done in series by the animated characters and real
children on yoga mats. The animation is based on the book Ooomm-Mmmooo yoga
for children by Maria Villegas and Jennie Kent published by Villegas
Editores.
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Posted on 2014/1/28 17:32:18 ( 241 reads )
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Bliss is the dance-stage, bliss is the lyric; Bliss are the diverse
instruments, Bliss is the meaning; The supreme felicity of the universe is
bliss, For he who yearns for His dance of bliss.
-- Tirumantiram, a sacred mystical treatise by Rishi Tirumular, verse v.
2725
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Posted on 2014/1/27 18:32:53 ( 322 reads )
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, January 26, 2014 (NDTV): In a shocking revelation, as
many as 163 Indians, most of them brought to the US as teenagers from
villages in northern India to be trained into Vedic Pandits by two
institutions set up by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of transcendental meditation
fame, appear to have gone missing over the last 12 months.
Of the 1,050 young Indians brought to the Maharishi Vedic City and the
Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, 163 -- some of them
just 19 years old -- have gone missing in the last one year, HiIndia, a
Chicago-based weekly newspaper for the Indian community, reported in its
latest issue.
Even the Global Country of World Peace (GCWP), one of the many teaching
centers set up by the India-born spiritual guru, does not know about the
plight or flight of these Vedic scholars called "world peace
professionals." "They have jumped the fence for immigration
purposes or for chasing their American Dream," the newspaper quoted
the varsity bosses as saying.
According to sources in the Indian consulate in Chicago, in a situation
where an Indian passport holder is considered or presumed gone missing and
his passport is left behind, it has to be returned immediately to the
nearest Indian mission which has to also be informed about the
circumstances in which the Indian citizen went missing.
The Chicago consulate, however, says the GCWP has never returned or
deposited any passport and neither has it shared any missing person
information. According the sheriff's department and police department of
Fairfield, Iowa, no missing person report has ever been filed by the GCWP.
More at 'source.'
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Posted on 2014/1/27 18:32:47 ( 281 reads )
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UNITED STATES, January 27, 2014 (The Hindu): The Iowa-based institutions of
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi have confirmed that at least 130 Indian religious
scholars known as Vedic pandits have gone missing in recent years, after
arriving in the U.S. to pursue programs of religious learning, even as one
of the institutions' officials described some media reports alleging
ill-treatment as "replete with falsehoods" and "defamatory."
In an email to The Hindu, William Goldstein, Dean of Global Development and
General Counsel to the Maharishi University of Management, based in
Fairfield, Iowa, said the Global Country of World Peace (GCWP), the U.S.
organisation sponsoring the pandits' R-1 visas and their stay, had not
received any prior communication from the scholars before they went
"AWOL."
It appears that though the transfer program began in 2006, the bulk of
disappearances occurred only in the last few months. Mr. Goldstein said
while they did not know for sure what they pandits were doing after their
departure from the Vedic city, but suspected that many of them were
"working simple jobs in restaurants as the ones who have returned or
the few we have information on seem to have followed that pattern."
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Posted on 2014/1/27 18:32:41 ( 316 reads )
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UNITED STATES, January 26, 2014 (youtube): This 2008 video describes Super
Brain Yoga as a simple and effective technique to energize and recharge the
brain. It is based on the principle of subtle energy and ear acupuncture.
The exercise is intended to pump up cell and neuron activity in the brain.
Alzheimer patients, seniors looking to stave off memory loss and kids in
the classroom are among those who say doing it makes them smarter.
(HPI adds: "Palikarsha," or pulling the ears while bobbing up and
down, is a traditional form of worship of Lord Ganesha as well as a common
punishment in schools for inattentive students.)
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Posted on 2014/1/27 18:32:31 ( 291 reads )
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Hinduism has made marvelous discoveries in things of religion, of the
spirit, of the soul. We have no eye for these great and fine discoveries.
We are dazzled by the material progress that Western science has made.
Ancient India has survived because Hinduism was not developed along
material but spiritual lines.
-- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
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Posted on 2014/1/26 17:12:35 ( 393 reads )
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BANGLADESH, January 22, 2014 (The Daily Star): Hindu temples and houses
came under attack in at least five districts across the country on Monday.
Unidentified criminals attacked a temple and vandalized four statues in a
temple in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj as they were allegedly barred from
taking part in a dancing program on Monday night.
Witnesses said, a few youths went to the temple during Kali Puja function
at Manipara at around 9:30pm and tried to take part in a ritual dance. As
the temple committee members did not allow them, the criminals beat up the
devotees and vandalized the furniture of the temple.
Our Lalmonirhat correspondent reports: A Hindu house was attacked by a gang
allegedly over a land dispute at Northbengal in the district town on Monday
night. And in Patuakhali, three people were injured as a gang attacked a
wedding function of a Hindu family at Mithagonj village in Kalapara
upazila.
In Madaripur, a gang of criminals vandalized a temple and several statues
in it, following a dispute over a piece of land at Kawkuri village under
Sadar upazila on Monday night. In Bagerhat district, an unidentified gang
tried to set fire to a family temple in Kachua upazila of the district on
Monday night, reports our local correspondent.
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Posted on 2014/1/26 17:12:29 ( 635 reads )
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January 22, 2014 (Huffington Post): Elaborately decorated Hindu temples
sing praise to the glory of God with their breathtaking architecture.
Hinduism is called the world's oldest religion and many of these structures
are full of history.
Slideshow at source--click the second photo to launch the slideshow.
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Posted on 2014/1/26 17:12:22 ( 330 reads )
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UNITED KINGDOM, January 20, 2014 (BBC): Once veganism was widely associated
with animal rights activists, the health conscious and the religious. But
now more and more people are dabbling with a vegan diet, albeit
temporarily. A growing trend for giving up all animal products doesn't
involve going vegan forever. Nor does it even require being morally opposed
to eating meat.
More people are pledging to go vegan for seven or 30 days, according to the
Vegan Society. There were 40% more people signing up to this temporary menu
in the first two months of 2013 compared with the same period in 2012, it
says. And this year a new campaign - Veganuary - has already seen 3,200
people commit to go vegan for the first month of 2014, organizers say.
There are also 150,000 full-time vegans in the UK - so about 1 in 400 -
according to the British Vegan Society. The ratio goes up to roughly one in
150 in the US, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group, which puts the
total figure at two million. Like vegetarians, they don't eat meat,
poultry, fish or by-products of slaughter -- vegans don't eat eggs and
dairy products either.
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Posted on 2014/1/26 17:12:15 ( 330 reads )
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Only the guru is father, mother and brother. He is also friend, well-wisher
and the only wealth. Thus everything should be surrendered to him. The
disciple, fully surrendered to the guru, sees him as God, and then becomes
God himself.
-- Chandra Jnana Agama, 2.68
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Posted on 2014/1/22 12:58:41 ( 477 reads )
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INDIA, January 14, 2014 (NY Daily News): Makar Sankranti is a major Hindu
harvest festival celebrated in almost all parts of India. It marks the
transition of the Sun into the zodiac sign of Makara rashi (Capricorn) on
its celestial path. The day is also believed to mark the arrival of spring
in India. Makar Sankranti is a solar event making one of the few Indian
festivals which fall on the same date in the Gregorian calendar every year:
January 14th.
Very nice slideshow at source.
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Posted on 2014/1/22 12:58:36 ( 571 reads )
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KOCHI, INDIA, December 22, 2014 (The Hindu Business Line): Vaidyaratnam has
set up a museum on ayurveda to enlighten the public on its rich heritage
and evolution. Set up with an investment close to US$809,000 at
Thaikkattussery near Thrissur, the museum, the first of its kind, will be
inaugurated by former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on December 27.
Astavaidyan E.T. Narayanan Mooss, who supervised the setting up of museum,
said the idea is to link the ancient tradition of ayurveda with its
promising future as a safe medicinal system. The past and contemporary
treatment, medicine preparation and impart of education are shown at a 3D
gallery.
The exhibits in the museum include authoritative texts, description of
various ancient practices of black magic, study of Vedas, Yaagas and
Yajnas, Gurukula system, Rasasalas or pharmacies of ancient times etc.
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Posted on 2014/1/22 12:58:30 ( 573 reads )
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UNITED KINGDOM, January 8, 2014 (Daily Mali): "Sugar is the new
tobacco,"said Simon Capewell, professor of clinical epidemiology at
the University of Liverpool. Professor Capewell is part of a new US-UK
campaign group -- Action on Sugar -- that says asking firms to make
voluntary changes has failed.
The typical Briton consumes 12 teaspoons of sugar a day and some adults
consume as many as 46. The maximum intake recommended by the World Health
Organisation is ten, although this guideline is likely to be halved.
The UN agency says there is overwhelming evidence coming out about
sugar-sweetened beverages and other sugar consumption being linked to
obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
A study by Action on Sugar found surprisingly high levels of sugar in many
foods, including savory products and healthy options. A Mars bar has eight
teaspoons of sugar, a can of Heinz tomato soup has four teaspoons of sugar,
even Glaceau Vitamin Water, which is owned by Coca-Cola, has the equivalent
of four teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
Action of Sugar said food firms should be able to reduce the amount of
sugar they add to products by 20 to 30 percent within three to five years,
taking 100 calories a day out of the typical diet. This would be enough to
halt or even reverse rising levels of obesity and associated ill-health, it
claimed.
Graham MacGregor, a professor at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive
Medicine in London and chairman of Action on Sugar, said: "We must now
tackle the obesity epidemic both in the UK and worldwide. We must start a
coherent and structured plan to slowly reduce the amount of calories people
consume by slowly taking out added sugar from foods and soft drinks."
Dr Aseem, the group's science director, said: "Added sugar has no
nutritional value whatsoever, and causes no feeling of satiety."
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Posted on 2014/2/5 18:50:00 ( 186 reads )
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SANGAM, INDIA, February 4, 2014 (Times Of India): The Magh mela police, on
Monday, reviewed the security arrangements in and around the mela campus
ahead of the Basant Panchami snan scheduled on Tuesday. Around 5 million
pilgrims and devotees, especially from city areas, are expected to take
holy dip on Tuesday. The police further claimed that the majority of the
crowd of devotees who would be taking a holy dip on the auspicious day of
Basant Panchami would include Kalpwasis and devotees staying in tents as
well as seers and saints while the rest of the crowd comprises locals and
devotees from neighboring towns who have already flocked to Allahabad for
the holy dip. Astrologers say that Vasant Panchami is referred to as
Saraswati Puja/Shree Panchami, or the Basant Festival of Kites which falls
on the fifth day of Magha (in early February) month of Hindu calendar. The
festival also marks the start of spring and Holi season. On this day Hindus
worship Saraswati Devi, the Goddess of knowledge, music, art and culture.
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Posted on 2014/2/5 18:50:00 ( 174 reads )
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RAIPUR,CHATTISGARH, INDIA, Feb 2, 2014(News 24): Raipur - The wall of a
cave leading to a popular Hindu temple in central India collapsed on
Tuesday killing eight worshippers, including three young girls, police
said. State home minister Ram Sewak Pekra said the accident at Bildwar Cave
in Chhattisgarh may have been triggered by blasts in nearby coal
mines."Frequent blasts are carried out in the nearby coal mines and
that could be the reason for the cave-in. We have asked the rescue team to
do a thorough combing of the site to ensure no one else is trapped",
Pekra told AFP.
Senior police officer Manisha Thakur told AFP that eight bodies had been
recovered, three were girls aged between 10 and 13, and five
men."Three others are injured. They are in a serious condition",
said Thakur.
The temple is visited by devotees all year round. Pekra said that a
detailed investigation into the collapse would be carried out.
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Posted on 2014/2/5 18:50:00 ( 264 reads )
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SAN FRANCISCO, January 1, 2014 (Huffingtonpost): The much hyped Smithsonian
exhibit, Yoga: The Art of Transformation, is packing up to move from its
primary residence in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC to
spring at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and summer at the Cleveland
Museum of Art.
Bringing to Light Yoga's Hindu Roots (TBY) is a project the Hindu American
Foundation launched in 2010 after someone at Yoga Journal confirmed that
the editors intentionally avoided the term "Hindu" in describing
things that were, well, Hindu, because "Yah, you know, Hinduism has a
lot of baggage." The aim of the project is at getting the millions of
folks who say they "do yoga" to appreciate that 1) yoga is not
just asana; and 2) while yoga does not proselytize or require conversion to
reap its physical and psycho-spiritual benefits, it refers to spiritual
practices that are essential to the understanding and practice of Hinduism.
On the whole, we found that Yoga: The Art of Transformation aligned with
the two fold goal of the TBY.
During the small group session with a diverse set of advisors that included
yoga teachers, yoga practitioners, yoga researchers, and others, it was
indeed interesting to hear the various perspectives of what each sought
from the exhibit. Some were curious about the aesthetics and flow, others
were interested in the supplementary programming, while others wanted to
ensure that the science behind yoga was emphasized. For me, I wanted to
drive home three main points: 1) the importance of using the word
"Hindu," as opposed to favored industry codewords like "Indian,"
"Indic," "Sanskrit," or "Vedic" (none of
which are inaccurate, by the way) as a descriptor where appropriate; 2)
when it came to describing the unknown -- be it origins, dates, or sources
-- that a certain humility be present in the descriptors, ie. "Some
scholars believe..." or "The origins are unknown, but...";
and 3) where aspects of yoga's history were still contested or debated or
differed from emic Hindu perspectives, that the multiples views be honored
and given space.
If you're in the San Francisco bay area this spring or Cleveland in the
summer, it's definitely worth experiencing.
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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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