News

shnpillai@yahoo.com MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, May 13, 2007: The first Hindu temple built in Melbourne, Australia, will celebrate its second Punarutharana Maha Kumbhabhishekam, Sunday, June 17, between 7:00 a.m. and 9:05 a.m. The Sri Vakrathudaya Vinayagar Temple is Melbourne’s only Ganesha temple and the first temple in Australia to have a granite Rajagopuram (literally translated as the entrance deserving of royalty.) Visited…

www.insidebayarea.com NEW YORK, NEW YORK, May 8, 2007: Peter J. Gomes has been at Harvard University for 37 years, and says he remembers when religious people on campus felt under siege. To be seen as religious often meant being dismissed as not very bright, he said. No longer. At Harvard these days, said Gomes, the university preacher, “There is probably…

timesofindia.indiatimes.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 6, 2007: The Supreme Court has ruled that the government has the power to ban or forfeit any publication that endangers public order even if it means restricting the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution. “It is true that forfeiture of a newspaper or book or a document is a serious encroachment on the…

www.iskcon.com USA, May 13, 2007: (HPI note: Readers interested in the “Hinduness” of the ISKCON organization will find this extensive internal 1998 report useful. See also Hinduism Today’s article published the same year, “Can it be, the Hare Krishnas are not Hindus?” at here) The introduction to this paper by Jon Brzezinski which appeared in the 1998 ISKCON Communications Journal…

HPI LONDON, ENGLAND, May 12, 2007: HPI has received two press releases today concerning the handling of the government order to slaughter a bull owned by the Skanda Vale Temple in Wales that has tested positive for bovine tuberculosis. Some Hindus have advocated protecting the bull from the order. Following are two opinion pieces on the issue: From Jay Lakhani…

www.religionwatch.com USA, May 9, 2007: (HPI note: The following article appeared in the May edition of Religion Watch.) While there have been efforts to encourage dialogues and cooperation between Hindu and Neopagan groups and leaders as common “indigenous” religions, the project has not had much success (with Hindu critics charging that the two religions have as many differences as similarities;…

news.bbc.co.uk BOUGAINVILLE, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, May 8, 2007: People on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea have found their own solution to high energy prices – the humble coconut. They are developing mini-refineries that produce a coconut oil that can replace diesel. From police officers to priests, the locals are powering up their vehicles and generators with coco-fuel.…

www.hinducounciluk.org LONDON, ENGLAND, April 11, 2007: Jay Lakhani, Director, Hindu Council UK, published his remarks from his debate with Sam Paul of the All-India Christian Council on the issue of caste and conversion aired on Premier Christian Radio. Some excerpts: “I had to pass some very sharp comments on the evangelizing lobby of Christianity. I said, ‘Why don’t they go…

www.hinduvoice.co.uk RISHIKESH, INDIA, May 7, 2007: The Hindu Voice, UK, recently interviewed Pujya Swami Chidananda Saraswati. What follows is an excerpt. To read the complete interview, go to source. Some excerpts follow: What led you towards becoming a Swami? “It was God’s plan. I was too young to have made any sort of a rational decision. I was touched by…

mihir.meghani@hinduamericanfoundation.org UNITED STATES, May 8, 2007: If you are an expert on environmental/climate change and can speak to the Hindu point of view on climate change for a panel discussion, please contact Dr. Mihir Meghani at e-mail above. Other members of the panel will represent the other major religions.