www.nj.com

READINGTON, NJ, USA, April 17, 2008: Readington officials will not vote on a controversial plan to build a 30,000-square-foot Hindu temple on Coddington Road until June.

The proposed CharDham Hindu Temple has been before the local board of adjustment for a conditional-use variance for more than two years. At a meeting tonight, the board closed the public comment period but carried the hearing to May, when the temple’s attorney, Lloyd Tubman, is scheduled to give her summation.

The temple has faced stiff resistance from nearby residents, who fear an increase in traffic and unmonitored growth of temple membership will dramatically impact the neighborhood’s rural character. Temple officials have said the temple will limit its attendance to 150 devotees, but neighbors argue such a limit is ill-conceived and impossible to enforce.

www.hinduonnet.com

KARACHI, PAKISTAN, APril 17, 2008: One of Pakistan’s most revered Hindu shrines, a centuries-old Hanuman temple in this southern port city, is set to be renovated thanks to the efforts of the community. The aesthetically designed Shri Panch Mukhi Hanuman temple is a heritage landmark of Karachi with to its unique five-headed statue of Lord Hanuman, an ancient murti.

The government has not extended help for the renovation, and representatives of the temple’s management said the work will be done with contributions made by the Hindu community. “Over the past few years, the number of devotees has increased and so we need to expand the temple. Moreover, the structure of the temple is becoming weaker” said Pawan Kumar Perchani, the advisor to the priest.

According to Hindu belief, Lord Hanuman evolved a form with five heads and ten arms to combat powerful evil forces and rescue Lord Ram and Lord Laxman from the clutches of demons during the Ramayana war.

deshika.wordpress.com

ENGLAND, April 17, 2008: HPI note: We received the following searing criticism by Kripamoya Das of the “Story of India” by Michael Wood now being shown on the Discovery Channel in India. The entire text is available at the URL above.

I watched a television documentary on the ancient history of India today. Presented by Michael Wood and made for British and American audiences, it was entitled “Beginnings” and is the first of a six-part series, itself part of a season celebrating the 60th anniversary of India’s independence. Although the presenter was quite congenial and effusive in his praise of India’s traditions, and rightly gave recognition to her people’s antiquity, the actual conclusion of his presentation was an unwitting slap in the face for every one of India’s 800 million Hindus. Some of my congregation members watched it and were troubled by it. They asked me what my own views on the show were. See URL above for the rest of Kripamoya’s comments.

www.hinduismtoday.com

You are a being that has unlimited power within.
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001)