Source: mangalorean.com

UDUPI, INDIA, May 26, 2009: A very rare Brahma temple dating back to nearly hundred years was renovated and consecrated with the Brahma Kalasha. The temple is located atop the Kumblegudde or Kallechi Mountain which is in the centre of Palli nearer to Udupi district.

Brahma is rarely worshipped by Hindus. India today has very few temples dedicated to Lord Brahma alone and this temple at Palli may be the only known Brahma temple in the region.

There are a few significant aspects relating to the place and temple. One was that in the Kallechi Moutain there is a huge tunnel passing below the temple, right down to the ground level of the mountain, in which tigers are said to often come and take refuge. Nearer to the ground level on the mountain there is a well filled with pure water which is utilized by the devotees. Another significant aspect is that the entire temple is built from granite stone, gold, silver and copper.

The puja was conducted by the head priest of the family Shreesha Tantri. Nearly one thousand devotees and family members attended. [See good photos of the event at the source, above.]

Source: www.buddhachannel.tv

[HPI note: This proposed anti-conversion bill in Sri Lanka is likely to affect Hindus, considering that relief work and proselytizing are often tied together.]

SRI LANKA, April 26, 2009: Christian organizations in Sri Lanka have been almost unanimously critical of a proposed Anti-Conversion Bill. Twenty-four prominent Christians recently joined in signing a letter sent to all Parliamentarians.

In response to that letter, the Joint Committee of Buddhist Organizations stated that although they welcome the desire of Christian churches for an integrated Sri Lankan nation, they consider some of the Christian activities to be highly questionable.

Iinter-religious tensions and suspicions have been on the increase. Bishop Malcolm Ranjith, Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, wrote, “The good relations that exist between the Buddhists and Christian Churches could easily be disturbed because of the unethical manner in which nontraditional Evangelical churches go about their conversions. They have their own ways of reaching out to non Christians to win them over — ways that have been resented by the Buddhist clergy.”

Source: www.nepalnews.com

[HPI note: The Lhotshampas, who are mostly Hindus and once represented one sixth of Bhutan's population, were forced into exile during the 1990s. It is estimated that 145,000 of them live in exile today, according to www.bhutaneserefugees.com  You can read the story of 60,000 Bhutanese refugees in the US, one of the world's largest resettlement efforts, here]

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA, May 13, 2009: About 300 Bhutanese Hindu refugees gathered on this date to mark the first anniversary of their arrival in Australia and to showcase their food, culture, dance and singing. Inaugurating the event, Premier Mike Rann said the was impressed by the remarkable quality and commitment shown by Bhutanese refugees. “The story of Australia is the story of migrant. I am myself a migrant,” he said.

Some 700 Bhutanese refugees have settled in Australia and formed a Bhutanese Australian Association. Australia has committed to resettling an additional 5,000 over the next five years.

Source: www.hindustantimes.com

OMKARESHWAR, INDIA, May 2, 2009: Like the Ganga, the Narmada River has thousands of devotees. Many are from far-off lands, including the “gora babas,” white sadhus. Most of these came for other reasons and stayed to lead the ascetic life after meeting their guru, leaving all behind. Omkarpuri Baba, 52, who came from France 22 years ago, says of his guru, “He gave me as much love as he would give to his own child,” he says. He swept and cooked for his guru until his death. “And prayer; that’s all,” he adds.

Narmada Shankar, 44, is originally from Austria. Clad in ochre, his has his chelas (disciples) assist him in many ways, just as he assisted his guru, Brahmachari Raghunathji Maharaj, some 20 years ago. He was once a young man training to be a Catholic priest in Austria. Setting out to find an answer to the eternal mystery, death, he ended up in Omkareshwa and met his guru. Initially dismayed, his parents visited and found him giving first aid to poor villagers at the ashram; they now regard him as a hero.

Pujari Ram Das, 53, was born in Italy. In 1975, as part of a team researching India’s holy men, he found his guru, Raghuvir Dasji, on the banks of the Narmada. He stayed with him for 20 years, until he passed away. Then “I roamed the country till I reached Janki ghat in Varanasi and learnt the puja rituals from priest Ram Palak Das. I served as the pujari in a temple in Ayodhya before the trustees of the Hanuman temple asked me to come to Indore.” He arises at 3:30 a.m. and meditates for an hour before cleaning the temple, bathing and dressing the deity, and preparing the prasad for the gods. Does he occasionally offer a prasad of pasta? The lines around his eyes deepen as he laughs, “No, only Indian fare.”

Source: www.hinduismtoday.com

John F. Kennedy loved a little proverb he thought was Irish, but actually came from the Indian epic Ramayana: There are three things which are real–God, human folly and laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension, so we must do what we can with the third.