www.nytimes.com OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, June 12, 2007: With the sound of their new school bell, the fifth graders at Piedmont Avenue Elementary School here closed their eyes and focused on their breathing, as they tried to imagine “loving kindness” on the playground. “I was losing at baseball. I was about to throw a bat,” Alex Menton, 11, reported to his classmates…
timesofindia.indiatimes.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 18, 2007: S. P. Gupta, former director of Allahabad Museum and current chairman of Indian Archaeological Society, is credited with excavating several Indus Valley sites. He spoke to Rohit Viswanath on recent developments in marine archaeology. What are the latest advancements in marine archaeology? “We do not use the term marine archaeology anymore. It is…
www.regulations.gov KAUAI, HAWAII, June 19, 2007: This is additional information our article on the R-1 “religious worker” visa, here. The changes to the R-1 may substantially impact Hindu temples in America. To find the R-1 visa proposed rule, and to submit comments, do the following: Click on the URL above. Then toward the bottom of the form, optional step 4,…
epaper.timesofindia.com MUMBAI, INDIA, June 15, 2007: As dusk falls on the corridors of one of the oldest temples in Matunga, chief priest M. V. Ganesh Shastry gently chides a youth squatting near him, “You haven’t got the intonation right. Chant it once more.” The 63-year-old Vedic practitioner warns the student that the holy chant becomes gibberish if an aksharam or…
www.washingtonpost.com MUMBAI, June 18, 2007: One of India’s most famous Hindu temples barred worshippers Monday from giving traditional offerings of coconuts to Lord Ganesha out of fears that bombs could be hidden inside. “As of today we have asked people not to bring in coconuts,” said Subash Mayekar, a trustee at central Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple. He said worshippers are also…
Religion News Service WASHINGTON, June 15, 2007: A young goddess lives between the ragged, regal peaks of the Himalayas. Her name is Sanjani-Shakya, and Hindus of Nepal–from peasants to kings–worship her, prostrating themselves as they bring offerings and touching their foreheads to her tiny feet. They believe that the powerful Hindu Goddess Taleju possesses the girl; to do anything but…
www.bbc.co.uk UNITED KINGDOM, June 11, 2007: An online Hindu magazine says the debate about whether a bull tested positive for TB Bovine should be slaughtered has prompted a divided response from the community. When their most recent newsletter featured the story of a temple bull that was up for slaughter, the magazine received a curious response. A response, the editor…
www.telegraphnepal.com NEPAL, June 8, 2007: In a historically and religiously rich territory spanning a portion of northeast India and southern Nepal, a requisite household ritual has won some women world renown. The region is commonly known as Mithila, and the rite of repute, painting, is performed by virtually all women of the area. With a karmic nudge, and through the…
www.rediff.com ORISSA, INDIA, June 13, 2007: Inspired by the success of a tiny village in Orissa becoming a full-fledged model arts village, the Ministry of Tourism has selected five villages for reviving the gurukula tradition for teaching of arts. What started as promotion of pattachitra (painting on palm leaf) in Raghurajpur village in Puri district as part of rural tourism…
www.wnd.com NORTHFIELD, MINNESOTA, June 9, 2007: (HPI note: This report appeared in a conservative Christian publication.) St. Olaf’s College, affiliated with a Christian church denomination, has appointed to head its religion department a practicing Hindu who believes that some forms of Christian ministry produce violence. Anantanand Rambachan, who has taught religion and philosophy at St. Olaf College’s Religion Department since…