HPI KAUAI, HAWAII, February 14, 2007: Reader Shashikant Ambegaokar of California pointed out a major error in our report on a Ganesha cartoon. Mumbai, obviously, is in Maharastra and not Gujarat! The festival is celebrated in grand Maharashtrian style, especially in Mumbai and Pune. The cartoonist is also a Maharashtrian. Our apologies to all Maharashtrians…
ignca.nic.in INDIA, February 13, 2007: Dr. Advaitavadini Kaul has published a useful article on the celebration of Mahasivaratri in Kashmir. Mahasivaratri, one of the major Hindu festivals, occurs on February 15 this year. Kaul’s article is available at the URL above. An excerpt: “Mahasivaratri is one of the most important festivals associated with Siva worship. In different parts of the…
foodnews.org UNITED STATES, February 12, 2007: There is a growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people, especially during vulnerable periods of fetal development and childhood when exposures can have long lasting effects. Because the toxic effects of pesticides are worrisome, not well understood, or in some cases completely unstudied,…
www.virtueonline.org LONDON, ENGLAND, February 11, 2007: There are more than 47,000 churches in Britain today, and 42 million people. More than 70 per cent of the population consider themselves to be Christian. It sounds a lot, but behind the figures lies a story of decline in the country’s established religion. According to experts, thousands of churches face closure, demolition or…
video.google.com KAUAI, HAWAII, February 13, 2007: A cute and entertaining cartoon video on Lord Ganesha is available at the URL above. It appears by Prashant Kadkol, and is really quite well done. One does, however, need to understand the context of the Ganesha Chaturti festival, Gujurat style, to get what is going on. It helps to read carefully all the…
News Reports MAURITIUS, February 11, 2007: Some 400,000 pilgrims (out of a total island population of 1.2 million–a third of the country!) are expected to turn up at Grand Bassin this year for Maha Sivaratri which is to be celebrated on February 16. Volunteers are pulling together to set up facilities to welcome pilgrims in different parts of the island.…
www.washingtonpost.com ANGKOR, CAMBODIA, February 6, 2007: Built by a mighty 9th-century Khmer king, the soaring temple of Phnom Bakheng stands atop the highest peak of ancient Angkor. With a sweeping view that takes in Angkor Wat–the world’s largest religious structure-the monks stationed here were probably among the first to glimpse the approaching Siamese troops that snuffed out this city’s centuries-long…
www.mysticindia.com NEW YORK, NEW YORK, February 9, 2007: The magnificent documentary film “Mystic India” produced in the large-screen Imax format is now showing at the Imax Theatre at Palisades Center in New York from January through March. The trailer is available at URL above. Mystic India is the story of Neelkanth, founder of the Swaminarayan movement within Hinduism. HPI has…
www.himalayanacademy.com KAUAI, HAWAII, February 12, 2007: Hinduism Today’s popular “Ten Questions About Hinduism… and Ten Terrific Answers” has been translated into Telugu, with Marathi in process. A PDF file of the pamphlet can be downloaded at the URL above. We looking for volunteers to translate this very useful pamphlet from the original English into other languages, Indian and non-Indian. If…
timesofindia.indiatimes.com VARANASI, INDIA, February 11, 2007: Governor T.V. Rajeswari, addressing a graduation convocation of students at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, suggested that Sanskrit learning would lead the students back to the age of bullock carts. “Sanskrit is no longer the language of God,” he said, adding that the knowledge of English and science was essential in today’s world. He went on…