Hinduism Today KAUAI, HAWAII, July 27, 2007: The following festival calendar is for nine major festivals. The nine are Mahasivaratri, Holi, Ram Navami, Guru Purnima, Raksha Bandan, Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesha Chaturthi, Navaratri and Deepavali. These dates below are calculated for Washington DC. Festival dates may differ for other areas of the world. The descriptions below may be freely used with…
The World Wide Web CYBERSPACE, July 28, 2007: Three blind elephants were discussing what humans look like. One said, “Let’s touch one and find out.” So the first elephant went over and touched the human. Then the second and third touched him. The first elephant said, “Humans are flat.” The second and third elephants said, “We agree.” In unscientific testing,…
www.govtrack.us WASHINGTON, D.C., July 27, 2007: The United States House of Representatives passed a resolution on Untouchability in India. A resolution is a statement of the House which is agreed to by a voice vote of those present. It is not a law, and carries no legal implications. Resolutions can, however, influence government policy. The full text follows: House Concurrent…
navyashastra@shastras.org TROY, MICHIGAN, July 27, 2007: Navya Shastra, the international Hindu reform organization, whose goal is to raise awareness of and eradicate caste-inspired discrimination in Hindu society, acknowledges the good intentions behind Concurrent Resolution 139, passed in the House of Representatives on July 26, but once again questions whether the resolution will have the desired effect. The United States and…
in.news.yahoo.com GURUVAYUR, KERALA, July 27, 2007: Kerala’s famed Guruvayur temple declared a change in the dress code – now women can enter the shrine wearing the churidar instead of the traditional sari. In Kerala, churidar is a synonym for salwar-kameez, and in the past women were allowed to go inside the Sri Krishna Temple here only in saris. But Vijayan…
www.earthtimes.org LALNPUMSAINT, WALES, July 26, 2007: Police in Britain Thursday removed a bullock for slaughter from a Hindu community center after an emotional day of vigorous, but peaceful, protest by monks, pilgrims and nuns. After a tense stand-off of many hours, veterinary officials, supported by up to 25 police officers, loaded the diseased bull, called Shambo, on to a trailer…
vivekananda@btinternet.com LONDON, ENGLAND, July 26, 2007: Jay Lakhani, head of the Vivekananda Centre UK, writes: “Shambo the bull will be led away for slaughter later on today. I was interviewed by BBC Radio Wales and BBC Asianet for my opinion on the issue. The rhetoric from the Hindu leadership that “Life is sacred hence it is sacrilegious to take the…
www.nytimes.com ANNANDALE, VIRGINIA, July 23, 2007: The first hour at the Chinmaya Mission day camp unfolds as at any other camp. Children shriek through tag, while a few others play Uno. But by 9 a.m., the grammar-school-age campers are sitting down, their attention focused on a long-haired Indian man in the front of the room, Swami Dheerananda, the mission’s Hindu…
www.deccanherald.com BANGALORE, INDIA, July 26, 2007: Sri Sri Shivapuri Mahaswamiji of Omkar Ashram of Omkar Hill suffered a heart attack around 8.20 pm and was immediately rushed to Manipal Hospital in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, where he was declared dead. He was 69. The body will be kept in the ashram on Thursday morning for public to pay homage. Later, the mortal…
News Report NEW JERSEY, USA, July 23, 2007: The Edison School District in New Jersey has received a federal grant of nearly US$200,000 to introduce Hindi as a foreign language in its schools. Edison has the highest concentration of Indians in the United States. This happened on the eve of the three-day Eighth World Hindi Conference in New York which…