1. Vadtal Swaminarayan Sect Monks Sentenced to Death
Source

VADODARA, INDIA, June 11, 2004: Four sadhus (monks) and a disciple of the Vadtal Swaminarayan sect were sentenced to death by a Nadiad sessions court on Friday. The five were convicted for murdering Swami Gadadharanand, who was chairman of the Vadtal temple committee, and burning off his body to destroy the evidence a little over six years ago. Judge Sitaben Dave, while delivering the death sentence, observed that the accused deserved the severest of punishment for the heinous crime, as being men of religion, a superior conduct was expected of them. "Common men can be expected to have satanic tendencies, but when men of religion indulge in such acts they need to be given the severest punishment," the judgement observed. She observed that once in saffron robes, the sants were supposed to spend lives in the service of God, but these men had indulged in the gruesome killing of a fellow sant for personal gains and shook the faith of hundreds of thousands of devotees of the sect.

The court also sentenced the accused to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under section 201 of the IPC and life term under section 364 of the IPC. According to case details, the accused -- Narayan swami, Shreejisharan swami, Ghanshyam swami, Madhavprasad swami and Vijaybhagat swami -- kidnapped Swami Gadadharanand from Navli Gurukul in Anand on May 3, 1998. They mixed sedatives in his soft drink and strangulated him after he fell unconscious. They then took the body to Dungarpur village in Rajasthan where it was burnt to destroy evidence. The local police, after giving newspaper notices, had disposed of the mortal remains. They retained two gold teeth and belongings that were intact. After the police and the local Crime Branch failed to trace the missing sant, the investigation was handed over to the CBI by Gujarat High Court following a writ petition by Gadadharanand's disciple Jatinbhagat swami. The agency chargesheeted the five accused. It also carried out DNA tests of Gadadharanand's teeth and hair. Once his identity was confirmed, the CBI recovered his mortal remains 10 months after the crime.

The gruesome act shook the foundations of the 126-year-old sect and shocked thousands of devotees throughout the country and abroad. Gadadharanand's murder was seen as part of the power struggle between the Acharyas (descendants of the sect founder) and Devs (sadhus) to gain control over the temple's massive funds and abundant wealth that pour in in the form of donations and offerings. Chairman of the temple funds committee, Gadadharanand was a powerful swami holding sway over the postings of smaller sants to various temples across the State. According to sources in the sect, huge money was involved in the transfer of kotharis (administrators) to different temples, and Gadadharanand had got embroiled in these struggles, angering a particular group.

A fortnight before he was murdered, Swami Gadadharanand had switched loyalties from the Acharyas to the Dev faction. By pulling in Gadadharanand, the Dev group had been trying to overthrow the Acharyas and gain majority in the trust. The temple trust controls 36 temples across the country. Its accumulated earnings is over US$3 million. This is besides the lavish gifts and thousands of dollars that each sadhu at Vadtal gets. The swamis remain split in two major factions. The Acharya group, representing the descendants of Lord Swaminarayan (an avtaar of Lord Krishna) and their disciples. The other is the Dev group comprising sadhus and their followers. The Acharya group believes since the "blood of the Lord" runs in their veins, they should control the temple trust while the Dev group argues the temple is nobody's ancestral property, it belongs to the devotees and the sadhus.

HPI adds: The BAPS organization of Sri Pramukh Swami Maharaj is a reform group of Lord Swaminarayan's followers and is not associated with either of these factions.

2. Tirupati Temple's Eight Tons of Gold Ornaments
Source

TIRUPATI, INDIA, June 15, 2004: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), the second richest religious body in the world after the Vatican, is facing a problem of plenty. As much as 8,000 kg of studded ornaments, to be precise. The Devasthanam is not authorized to dispose of gold jewelry studded with stones, presented by the devotees of Lord Venkateshwara. Not that the cash-rich Devasthanam wants to sell the jewelry for any financial need, but the sheer volume of these ornaments accumulated over a period of time, has forced it to think what to do with them. The temple trust has eight tons of these jewelry lying in its lockers. Now, if one were to calculate the value of the jewelry by treating it as only made up of gold, ignoring the value of the stones, it works out to a whopping US$100 million.

The board has approached the state government to authorize the Devasthanam to dispose of the gold jewelry studded with stones, as it has become a difficult proposition to maintain the treasure. The state government, on its part, has been examining the Devasthanam's proposal with due consideration of the "sentiment" attached to these offerings to Lord Venkateshwara. The temple trust regularly sends the gold ornaments, which are not studded with stones, to the Mumbai mint. It gets them back in the form of 22 carat coins for selling. And these coins are quite popular with Lord Venkateshwara's devotees worldwide. On average, the hundi, or the metal safe for the offerings, each week receives about 10 kg of gold ornaments from the devotees. According to the act that governs the functioning of the Devasthanam, all gold offerings can either remain as ornaments of Lord Venkateshwara, or can be melted in to coins and be sold to the devotees. As the Act does not provide for stone-studded ornaments, the state government has to take a call on the question of disposing of these stone-studded gold ornaments.

3. Local Hindu Faith Practice Grows Rapidly in Florida
Tampa Tribune

THONOTOSASSA, FLORIDA, June 10, 2004: The stretch of Fowler Avenue between Interstate 75 and U.S. 301 will one day be home to an intricate marble temple attracting thousands of Hindu worshippers every weekend. The number of practicing Hindus in the Tampa Bay area has grown rapidly over the past decade. Tampa's first Hindu temple opened on Palm Avenue in 1992. Four years later, a second congregation formed in the Carrollwood area with over 2,000 members and is now undergoing a major expansion. Indians are among the fastest-growing population in the Tampa Bay area. In Hillsborough County, the Indian population increased from 2, 316 in 1990 to 6,329 in 2000. A third congregation began meeting in the Mango Recreation Center in Seffner. The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purshottam Sanstha (BAPS) Temple of Tampa is building Hillsborough County's third temple. Construction will start this month on the $3 million education center that also will serve as a temporary temple. Long-term plans call for a $30 million campus, including a community center and a permanent marble temple modeled after some of the great temples of India, Temple President Suresh Patel said.

4. Hindu University of America to Hold First Commencement
Source

ORLANDO, FLORIDA, June 15, 2004: Professor Kuldip C. Gupta, president of the Hindu University of America, writes: "Namaste and Greetings from Hindu University of America! It is my pleasure to invite you to participate in the New Facility Dedication and the First Commencement ceremonies of Hindu University to be held on HU campus at 5:30pm on Saturday June 19, 2004. On that day, we will be awarding Master's degrees to the first two graduates of Hindu University in USA (one of them in Hinduism and the other in Vedic Astrology)." The event will begin at 5:30 pm at the University site at 113 N. Econlockhatchee Trail, Orlando. For more information, click "source" above.

5. School of Technology Thrives in Northern Sri Lanka
Source

SRI LANKA, May 23, 2004: It's a small sign that life may eventually return to normal in this war-ravaged region. When Sri Lankan born Jey Surier left Sri Lanka in 1982, before the civil war started, to attend an electrical engineering school in North Dakota, he did not know that he would not return to his country until the year 2003. Peace talks between the Tamil rebels and the Sinhalese Buddhist majority led to a cease fire in 2002. Back in the U.S., Surier wanted to help rebuild his homeland. He had the expertise to start a school of technology, he just needed funding. After raising US$125,000 from Tamil expatriates around the globe, Surier started planning the school in January 2003. In the summer of 2003, after months of planning, building, finding teachers and overcoming obstacles unique to a war-torn country, the Vanni Institute of Technology opened its doors in the capital of Kilinochchi. Students at the school studied database programming, computer technology, web development and electronics. After nine months, the first class of 60 students graduated. Surier says, "Even if there is political upheaval, the institute can carry on as long as its fuel supply for the generators holds out and can get past blockades. The country's future will depend upon its ability to endure civil war. Lots of people have gone through this several times."

6. Catholics Protest Hindu Worship at Fatima Shrine in Europe
Source

FATIMA, PORTUGAL, June 15, 2004: HPI received a couple of reports regarding the visit of a group of Hindus from Lisbon to the famed Catholic shrine to Mother Mary at Fatima. The first, dated May 22, reads in part: "Last October The Portugal News reported on the Interfaith Congress held at Fatima, one of Catholicism's most sacred sites, where representatives of the world's leading religions allegedly explored the possibility of opening the shrine to a whole variety of faiths. While the newspaper received many letters and emails congratulating it for reporting on the congress, it was also criticized by some groups who claimed that Fatima would remain exclusively Catholic. Now, however, we can report that the first steps in developing Fatima as a multi-faith centre could have been taken. On May 5th, SIC and SIC Noticias carried a report on a Hindu religious service held in the Chapel of the Apparitions at the shrine. SIC's broadcast appears, to some extent, vindicate The Portugal News' October report. Sixty Hindus led by a high priest had travelled from Lisbon to pay homage to the Goddess Devi, the divinity of nature. SIC's reporter described how before leaving Lisbon the Hindus had gathered at their temple in the city to pray to and worship various statues of Hindu gods. Arriving in Fatima the pilgrims made their way to the Chapel of the Apparitions, where from the altar a Hindu priest led prayer sessions. A commentary on the service was given by the TV reporter who explained: 'This is an unprecedented unique moment in the history of the shrine. The Hindu priest, or Sha Tri [probably Shastri], prays on the altar the Shaniti Pa [probably Shanti mantra--sahanavavatu...] , the prayer for peace.' The Hindus can be seen removing their shoes before approaching the altar rail of the chapel as the priest chants prayers from the altar's sanctuary."

A report at fatima.org is subtitled, "Another interfaith outrage blessed by shrine rector." It is very strongly opposed to the Hindu visit and reads, in part, "Saint Francis Xavier said, 'All the invocations of the pagans are hateful to God because all their gods are devils.' Saint Francis Xavier wrote these words to Saint Ignatius about the pagan religion of Hinduism. Francis Xavier, writing from India at the time, merely restates the truth from the infallible Sacred Scriptures: 'The gods of the gentiles are devils.' (Psalm 95:5) Yet on May 5, 2004 -- the Feast of Pope Saint Pius V -- the Little Chapel of the Apparitions at Fatima was allowed to be used for a pagan Hindu ceremony. This Little Chapel (also called the Capelinha) is built on the site where Our Blessed Mother appeared to the 3 children of Fatima in 1917. According to the broadcast, a busload of Hindus were allowed to commandeer the sanctuary inside the Fatima Capelinha and to use the Catholic altar for their rituals. The SIC newscaster said, 'This is an unprecedented unique moment in the history of the shrine. The Hindu priest, or Sha Tri, prays on the altar the Shaniti Pa, the prayer for peace.' The outrage occurred with the blessing of Shrine Rector Msgr. Guerra. No one may use the Capelinha without Rector Guerra's permission. The Hindus wore traditional garb, a Hindu 'priest' in traditional Hindu vestments led the ceremony that consisted in the offering of flowers and food. This would seem to indicate that the Hindus performed their pagan puja, a ritual in which the offering of flowers and food is central. After the Hindu worship service at the Catholic altar, the Hindus were escorted by Fatima authorities to see a model of the huge, round-shaped modernistic shrine at Fatima now under construction, a fifty million dollar eyesore that will blot the landscape of Our Lady's apparitions. One of the Hindus is reported to have said that they go to Fatima because there are many gods, and the gods have wives and companions who will bring good luck. This is a blasphemy against the Queen of Heaven as it places Our Blessed Mother on the same level as some sort of 'wife' of a false god. Thus, the Hindus did not even come to Fatima to learn of, or take part in, Catholic prayer. Rather, they folded the holy event of Fatima into their own superstitions and pagan myths. It is reported that pilgrims who witnessed the event at Fatima were scandalized, but Shrine Rector Guerra defended the use of the Marian Shrine for pagan worship."

7. A Lonely Steer is Rescued by a Compassionate Business Owner
Source

NEW YORK, U.S.A., May 14, 2004: When a lonely steer wandered into Judy Borsellino's Triangle Towing Service establishment, his good fortune began. Having escaped from the slaughterhouse across the street, the young 8-9 month old steer found refuge at the towing service where the mechanics built him a pen and tended to his needs. Judy Borsellino calls herself a semi-vegetarian in that she does not eat beef. After paying for the steer, Judy's towing service took the young animal to a Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Executive director of the Farm Sanctuary, Lorri Bauston says, "When Liberty ( the young steer's new name) arrived, the other cows were giving him kisses and rubbing up against him." The article adds, "Lorri Bauston's nonprofit group encourages the humane treatment of farm animals. It has about 1,000 animals at its shelters in Watkins Glen and Orland, Calif., including cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, turkeys, chickens and rabbits." A few similar incidents have been reported over the last couple of years in which animals destined for slaughter have escaped and been rescued by the local community, vegetarian or not.

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