News

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

www.nytimes.com NEW YORK, USA, February 8, 2008: Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these “green” fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded. The benefits of biofuels have come under increasing attack in recent months, as scientists took a closer look at…

www.nytimes.com THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS, February 5, 2008: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, died Tuesday at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, a spokesman said. He was thought to be 91 years old. “He died peacefully at about 7 p.m.,” said Bob Roth, a spokesman for the Transcendental Meditation…

us.rediff.com NEW YORK, USA, February 5, 2008: It would seem Sanskrit has become the flavor of the month in some parts of the United States. Last week, a two-day Sanskrit seminar, the first of its kind in Nevada, concluded in Reno. Earlier this month, the Gayatri Mantra from the Rig Veda, hymns from Taittiriya Upanishad and shlokas from the Bhagvad…

www.hinduonnet.com KOLKATA, INDIA, February 5, 2008: Thousands of Japanese citizens, from the age of 5 to 90 years, now regularly practice Yoga to keep their body fit and live a better life. Yoga exponent in Japan and founder/director of Ghosh Yoga Institute, Jibananda Ghosh, said besides the average Japanese, sportspersons in the land of rising sun were enamored about the…

www.ipsnews.net KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, February 4, 2008: A new political force — Hindu activism — has emerged in multi-ethnic Malaysia affecting elections this year. Across the country, Indian Tamils are mobilizing under the banner of Hinduism in a wide awakening, protesting against alleged socio-economic neglect. Much of the new ferment is visible in the hundreds of Hindu temples where working…