UNITED STATES, September 24, 2021 (RNS): When Vineet Chander accepted his job as the Hindu chaplain at Princeton University in 2008, his Hindu community was baffled by his profession. Their puzzlement was understandable: Chander, a former prosecutor, was not just the only full-time Hindu chaplain at any place of higher learning at the time; he was the first Hindu in…
UNITED KINGDOM, September 28, 2021 (Daily News Catch): In a first from the British Royal Mint ingots, a range of bars featuring Goddess Lakshmi to celebrate Diwali went on sale Tuesday. The “Lakshmi” bar, a 20 gram gold bar with the Hindu Goddess of Wealth intricately etched into the precious metal, was designed by Royal Mint designer Emma Noble and…
NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 26, 2021 (Indian Express): As many as 157 artifacts and antiquities were handed over by the United States during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country. The list has a diverse set of items — a 4.9 foot bas-relief panel of Revanta in sandstone made in the 10th century, a 3.4 inch tall bronze Nataraj…
TIRUVANNAMALAI, INDIA, September 26, 2021 (The Hindu): The Tiruvannamalai district administration has extended the strict lockdown in force in the temple town till October 3. Parks, swimming pools and dams in Tiruvannamalai and neighboring Kattam Poondi in the district will be closed during this period, District Collector B. Murugesh said on Saturday. Hotels, bakeries and tea shops can function between…
It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance. Epictetus (55-135 ce), Stoic philosopher
ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA, September 24, 2021 (Hindustan Times): The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which is in charge of managing the Lord Venkateshwara temple at Tirumala in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, has made Covid-19 vaccination certificates or negative RT-PCR test results mandatory for all pilgrims, TTD chairperson Y. V. Subba Reddy has said in a statement. The vaccination certificates will…
Since you alone are responsible for your thoughts, only you can change them. Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952)
INDIA, September 21, 2021 (Pew Forum): India’s fertility rate has been declining rapidly in recent decades. Today, the average Indian woman is expected to have 2.2 children in her lifetime, a fertility rate that is higher than rates in many economically advanced countries like the United States (1.6) but much lower than India in 1992 (3.4) or 1950 (5.9). Every…
God respects me when I work, but God loves me when I sing. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
HYDERABAD, INDIA September 20, 2021 (Deccan Chronicle): Devotees poured out into the streets on Sunday to join a joyous, raucous processions to immerse thousands of statues of the elephant-headed Deity at designated water bodies in the twin cities. The spotlight, as ever, was on the 40-feet Khairatabad Ganesha statue and the one from Balapur. The energy pent up over the…