www.HAFsite.org WASHINGTON, D.C., July 12, 2007: (HPI note: following is a press release from Ishani Chowdhury, Executive Director, Hindu American Foundation.) “The Hindu American Foundation is certainly pleased that the faith of nearly 1 billion of the world’s population, and 2 million American Hindus, has been represented today at the Senate. As a strong, vibrant and deeply faithful community, we…
www.washingtonpost.com WASHINGTON, D.C., July 12, 2007: (HPI note — We present today a series of articles on the opening of the United States Senate with a Hindu prayer by Rajan Zed of Nevada. Leaders of various religions have delivered the Senate prayer, but this was the first by a Hindu. Astoundingly, it was interrupted by shouting Christian protesters from the…
www.washingtonpost.com WASHINGTON, D.C., July 12, 2007: (HPI note: This Reuters report contains some additional information, given below in excerpts.) Capitol police said two women and one man were arrested and charged with causing a disruption in the public gallery of the Senate. The three started shouting when guest Chaplain Rajan Zed, a Hindu from Nevada, began his prayer. They shouted…
mangalorean.com KAUAL LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, July 11, 2007: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said religious authorities should give a patient hearing to those who wanted to leave Islam. His comments came days after an ethnic Indian woman accused Islamic religious police of mental torture during six-month detention for renouncing Islam in favor of Hinduism. M. Revathi, an ethnic Indian, was…
www.swaminarayan.org GUJARAT, INDIA, July 11, 2007: In the holy town of Gadhada sanctified by Bhagwan Swaminarayan, the beginning of this year’s monsoon was marked by widespread destruction wrought by a devastating flood of the holy Ghela River. The drizzling rains of the early morning hours of July 1 became a torrential downpour by 7:00 am. As the waters of Gadhada’s…
www.deccan.com THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA, INDIA, July 5, 2007: Kerala devaswom minister G. Sudhakaran said in the Assembly on Thursday that the government was planning legislation to allow all those who believe in Hindu religion to enter temples and not just those who are born in it. Replying to a submission by Congress MLA T.N. Prathapan, the CPI(M) minister said that broad-based…
www.deccan.com HYDERABAD, INDIA, July 9, 2007: To prevent the possibility of religious conversions at the village level, the endowments department has decided to revive pujas and rituals in all old temples. As a first step, the department would extend financial support to 4,000 temples out of 32,000 in the State. It will give US$24.40 for pujas and $36.58 as honorarium…
ar@hindu.org KAUAI, HAWAII, July 10, 2007: Yesterday, HPI pointed out that even after the big class action lawsuit against McDonalds in America, their French Fries continued to use beef flavoring–contrary to the assumption of most vegetarians. Now reader Suresh Venkat asks if the French Fries served by McDonalds in India are vegetarian? We found this one reference, here, stating, “The…
www.csmonitor.com CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSSETS, July 9, 2007: Deep inside the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a Wednesday evening recently, a class of about a dozen students were speaking an arcane ancient tongue. “It is time for exams, and I play every day,” says one. “Perhaps, you should study, too,” counters another at the conversation table. The others laugh. No, this isn’t…
varadananda@sbcglobal.net CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA, JULY 1, 2007: (HPI note: Swami Varadananda sent the following press release.) Over 250 people attended the consecration ceremony to celebrate the completion of Phase 1 of the Sri Ramakrishna Universal Temple on July 1. Perfect weather helped to make the event an outstanding success. Under the guidance of Chandrasekar Gurukul, a priest well-versed in Vedic…