Source: www.mynews.in

WASHINGTON, D.C., USA, January 26, 2010: Joshua DuBois, executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and Special Assistant to President Barack Obama, has lauded Hindu Americans for promoting inter-faith dialogue and cooperation through service in the United States.

In an exclusive interaction with the Hindu American community, 26-year-old DuBois — a political strategist and Pentecostal minister — said his office has been tasked with some special projects by the president in his first term in office, one of which was “promoting inter-faith dialogue and cooperation both here at home and across the globe, especially cooperation through service.”

“And, on that point, we have been really honored and amazed at the great work that many Hindu Americans and broader dharmic organizations have done around service on the ‘Summer of Service’ campaign,” he said.

DuBois said, “These were just tremendous work done by over 118 sewa centers and temples and ashrams and other organizations all across the country, completing over 1,300 sewa projects, and we took note of that and want to make sure that we are working to engage your community to do that even more.”

At the outset of his welcoming remarks, he said: “The President and this administration have been very intentional and very serious about engaging the dharmic community over the course of the first year in office and we are honored to connect with the Hindu American community.”

Source: www.daijiworld.com

BANGALORE, INDIA, January 26, 2010: Eminent doctors, scientists, head of a religious math and a theatre exponent among others from Karnataka were included in the list of Padma awards announced on Monday.

Among the awardees is Balagangadharanath Swami, pontiff of Adichunchanagiri Mutt in Mandya district. The mutt has been into many social service including disseminating education to masses

The list also included: Arundhati Nag, Dr Ramana Rao, Prof. M. R. Satyanarayana Rao and Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath.

[HPI adds: The Padma awards are given for exceptional and distinguished service in any field. After approval by the Home Minister, Prime Minister and President, the awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day.]

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, January 26, 2010: In Kerala, a tourist destination marketed as God’s own country, soon one’s journey to the hereafter could begin much before one passes away. People in Palakkad, concerned about whether or not their last rites would be carried out in proper religious fashion, now have the option of making an advance booking of their cremation rituals with the Aivar Madham Trust and die in peace.

To book your cremation, come in person to pay US$86, provide the necessary documents and you’re set. The package includes an ambulance service, a mobile mortuary if needed, the service of a priest versed in rituals, and, the chief attraction, a holy and traditional cremation on the banks of the Bharathappuzha river in Palakkad district. The applicant is then given a registration card that ensures he gets the desired cremation.

Ramesh Korappath, head of the Aivar Madham Development Trust, says, “Thousands of dead people are cremated here — about 50 every day. But the facilities are totally inadequate. We also hope to improve the amenities with the income.”

Source: www.nytimes.com

NEW YORK, January, 2010: 30 people signed up for a strange new hybrid of vigorous yoga, followed by a multicourse dinner of pasta, wine and chocolate, served on the yoga room floor. This almost seamless transition was designed to allow yogis to taste, smell and digest in a heightened state of awareness.

Friday’s event at Exhale Spa was the first in a series of “Yoga for Foodies” sessions devised by yoga teacher, David Romanelli, and coming soon to restaurants in Chicago, Cleveland and Dallas. Calling his mission “Yoga for Everyman”, Romanelli says “it’s a way of getting people in the door. The world is a better place if people do yoga. If they come because chocolate or wine is involved, I’m fine with it.”

The past decade has produced thousands of new foodies and new yogis. In 2007, a combination yoga studio and fine dining restaurant, Ubuntu, opened in Napa California. Yoga retreat centers now offer gourmet cooking classes and wine tastings.

But not everyone agrees that lusty enjoyment of food and wine is compatible with yogic enlightenment. “The culture of judgement in the yoga community is rampant, and nowhere more than around food. Nowhere is it written that only vegetarians can do yoga.” said yoga teacher Sadie Nardini.

There are many ways to “do” yoga: the term embraces meditation, worship, study, action, and physical movement. Yoga has many schools, like Ashtanga, Iyengar and Tantra, but has always been broadly understood as a route to enlightenment and purification - which is where consuming bacon and wine in yoga class becomes complicated. “People are starting to push back against the traditional, serious approach,” said Romanelli.

[HPI note: Hindu tradition and ayurveda hold that tamasic foods, such as chocolate and -- much more so -- the flesh of dead animals, will keep the person away from higher states of mind, which are the goal of yoga.]

Source: www.hinduismtoday.com

Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket.
   Swami Chinmayananda