Tamils All Over India Prepare to Celebrate Pongal

www.dnaindia.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 13, 2008: New Delhi’s community of seven hundred thousand Tamils are gearing up to celebrate the harvest festival of Pongal with literary programs, mass prayers and music concerts. The week-long celebrations will also include preparing ethnic delicacies and drawing the “kolam” in the house. “Thai Pongal”, as it is popularly called in Tamil Nadu, is…

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Yoga to Be Part of Official School Education in Madhya Pradesh

www.centralchronicle.com BHOPAL, INDIA, January 12, 2008: Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that Yoga will be part of school education from next academic year. He was speaking at the state level “Surya Namaksar” event organised by the School Education Department at the TT Nagar stadium today. The Chief Minister joined the students in performing Suryanamaskar and…

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Indian Culture and Language to Be Studied in China

www.hinduamericanfoundation.org BEIJING, CHINA, January 13, 2008: Impressed by the enthusiasm shown by Chinese youngsters to learn Hindi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday announced a grant of 7.5 millions to the Institute of Indian Studies at the prestigious Peking University. The Institute of Indian Studies of Beijing has been active for a long time in promoting Indian culture and languages…

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President of the Malaysia Hindu Sangam Optimistic About the Future

www.hindusangam.org.my KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, January 12, 2008: (HPI note: this is the summary of an interview given by Malaysia Hindu Sangam’s President, Datuk A. Vaithilingam.) “Practicing Hinduism, or any other faith for that matter, is no problem in Malaysia. I don’t see it being a problem now and also in the future. Despite the differences in our belief system, Malaysians…

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Makaravilakku Festival Begins at Sabarimala

www.hinduonnet.com SABARIMALA, INDIA, USA, January 13, 2008: Security has been stepped up at Sabarimala two days ahead of the Makaravilakku, marking the finale of the pilgrimage season as devotees in thousands kept thronging the hill-shrine of Lord Ayyappa. About 3000 police personnel have been deployed around the temple complex with high-tech equipment to keep a close watch on the uninterrupted…

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Hindu American Foudation Seeks Information on Hinduism Courses

www.hinduamericanfoundation.org KENSINGTON, MARYLAND, USA, January 12, 2008: The Hindu American Foundation is seeking information about online and correspondence courses on Hinduism from accredited institutions. This will be used in evaluating potential educational curriculum for upcoming projects from the foundation. Please e-mail the course name and curriculum as well as contact information to HAF Working Group member Arvind Chandrakantan, chandrakantan@gmail.com.

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Swami Lakshamananda Is Interviewed About Recent Religious Clashes in Orissa

indiamediabias@gmail.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 10, 2008: Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, Hindu leader of Orissa, was attacked in his car on December 24th by a group of locals who allegedly were religious extremists. Lakshmananda has been leading an anti-conversion movement in the area and several clashes followed his hospitalization. What follows is an interview where Swami explains his view of the…

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International Symposium on Tamil As A Classical Language

www.hinduonnet.com CHENNAI, INDIA, January 11, 2008: A four-day international symposium on “Tamil as a Classical Language” will be held in Chennai from January 17, which will deliberate on topics like translation of Tamil classics into Dravidian, Asian and European languages. Jointly organized by the Mysore-based Center for Excellence of Classical Tamil (CECT) and the Institute of Asian Studies (IAS), the…

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Malaysia Hindu Sangam Appeals on Temple Worker Visas

www.hindusangam.org.my KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, January 9, 2008: The President of Malaysia Hindu Sangam, Datuk A. Vaithilingam, met senior officials of the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs to discuss the work permits of Hindu temple workers, because their visas are being renewed to a shorter period than the normal schedule. A senior official of the Ministry En. Mat Sor Udin, Senior…

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World Congress on Psychology and Spirituality Concludes

www.hinduismtoday.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 5, 2008: The four and last day of the World Congress no Psycology and Spirituality ended with a speech celebrating the connection between the human psyche and yoga. Yogacharya Shri B.K.S. Iyengar called yoga “a guiding pole star in enlightening the future generations” The conference was organized by Shruti Foundation, Infinity Foundation and The Association…

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