Daily Inspiration

www.hinduismtoday Austerity is the powerful bath of fire and bright rays of showering light that washes the soul clean of the dross of its many past lives, and of the current life, which have held it in the bondage of ignorance, misgiving, unforgivingness and the self-perpetuating ignorance of the truths of the Sanatana Dharma. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of…

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Yoga Helps Survivors of Disasters

www.reuters.com CHENNAI, INDIA, February 8, 2008: A 1-week yoga program reduced stress and anxiety among survivors of the tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean islands of Andaman and Nicobar in December 2004, researchers from India report. Dr. Shirley Telles and her team from the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation in Bengaluru conducted a stress management program for the survivors a…

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Bhutas, Nature Spirits, Honored in Kannada Festival

mangalorean.com MANGALORE, KARNATAKA, INDIA, February 8, 2008: Every February the night turns into a wonderland of folk rituals in Dakshina Kannada. Individuals, families, communities and societies get together to worship the Bhutas, nature spirits, with music, narratives, dances, trances and oracles, miraculous healings and interactions with the subtle worlds. This year’s festival was no different. The Bhutas are spirits which…

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US State Department Decision Approves Hindu Temple Artisans for Religious Worker Visa

www.hinduismtoday.com CHENNAI, INDIA, February 8, 2008: Hinduism Today’s managing editor, Sannyasin Arumugaswami, reports learning from the head of the nonimmigrant visa section of the US Consulate in Chennai that the State Department in Washington, DC, has issued an “advisory opinion” approving the granting of the religious worker visa to Hindu temple artisans, sthapati and silpis. This much welcomed decision overturns…

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Hindus Protest At 10 Downing Street on Behalf of Malaysians

www.ibnlive.com LONDON, UK, February 3, 2008: Hindus in Britain are throwing their weight behind Tamils in Malaysia. They want Prime Minister Gordon Brown to intervene and are demanding a fair trial for detained Hindu activists in Malaysia. A group of more than 100 Hindus demonstrated at 10 Downing Street urging the British Government to intervene. They want Prime Minister Gordon…

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Supreme Court Will Not Intervene on Lord Ayyappa Temple, Corrects Reader

www.nytimes.com KAUAI, HAWAII, USA, February 9, 2008: A reader points out with reference to yesterday’s HPI news summary, “Court Asks Lord Ayyappa Temple To Open Doors for Women,” that the information implied in the original article (Yahoo! News) is misleading. As reported here, “The [Kerala] government made its stand clear in an affidavit it filed before the Supreme Court” but…

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“Hinduism Facing Challenge of Conversion,” Says Swami

www.newindpress.com PATHANAMTHITTA, INDIA, February 5, 2008: Head of US-based Kauai Aadheenam, which follows the Nandinatha tradition, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylan Swamigal has said that Hinduism is facing the challenge of unethical conversion by other faiths. Delivering a discourse after inaugurating the Vidhyadhiraja Cultural Centre at the 96th Ayroor-Cherukolppuzha Hindumatha Parishad at Ayroor-Cherukolppuzha on Monday as reported here, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylan Swamigal…

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Court Asks Lord Ayyappa Temple To Open Doors for Women

in.news.yahoo.com THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, February 7, 2008: Kerala’s government has sought the Supreme Court’s permission to allow all women to enter the Sabarimala temple, in places where they are not usually allowed. The temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa and located in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district, bars entry of women between the ages 10 and 50 — those in menstruating age — following…

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