Texas Hindus Open New Temple

www.courier-gazette.com PLANO, TEXAS, March 12, 2006: Just months after a prayer meeting got the ball rolling early last summer, a new Hindu temple will be established in Plano this week. The final steps in the installation of the deity will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday at the Sri Ganesha Temple at 910 W. Plano Parkway. “The discussion…

Continue reading

Maharashtra “Black Magic” Bill To Impact Religions

www.hindujagruti.org MAHARASHTRA, INDIA, March 20, 2006: The web site at “source” states: “Are you aware of the fact that Maharashtra (India) government is about to pass a bill in this summer session starting on 13-Mar-2006? The (fake) Maharashtra Eradication of Black Magic, Evil and Aghori Practices Bill, 2005 (known as Black Magic Bill) has now been submitted to the Upper…

Continue reading

Japan Becoming Less and Less Religious

www.crosswalk.com USA, March 21, 2006: HPI found this report from a Christian news service remarkable not for the increase in percent of Christians among teens in Japan, but for the abysmal low numbers of religious people at all. Just 30% of adults and 20% of teens consider themselves “religious.” The same trend is found in Europe, but to a lesser…

Continue reading

VHP Meeting Rejects Caste System

www.hindu.com ERODE, INDIA, March 20, 2006: The fifth State Hindu Resurgence Conference organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Grama Koil Poojarigal Peravai has rejected varnashrama (system of four castes) and sought an end to the practice of untouchability. Addressing the conference at the CNC College grounds on Sunday, VHP international president Ashok Singhal said untouchability had no…

Continue reading

Ancient Thailand Siva Temple To Experience Rare Alignment with Sun

www.etravelblackboard.com CHALERMPHRAKIAT DISTRICT, BURI RAM PROVINCE, THAILAND, March 20, 2006: In Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, mountains are believed to be homes to the Gods. Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung, a magnificent temple sanctuary set on the summit of Phanom Rung Hill, was built between the 10th and 13th centuries. According to the stone inscriptions in Sanskrit and Khmer found at…

Continue reading

BBC Retracts Article on Kanchi Shankaracarya

www.mumbaimirror.com LONDON, ENGLAND, March 19, 2006: The BBC has said it paid an unspecified amount to settle a case filed by devotees of Hindu pontiff Jayendra Saraswathi against erroneous remarks by a leading Indian journalist in one of its radio shows. The remarks were made by Vinod Mehta, editor of Outlook magazine, in the BBC Radio 4 program called “A…

Continue reading

1995 “Milk Miracle” Video On-Line

www.milkmiracle.com KAUAI, HAWAII, March 19, 2006: HPI note: A reader sent this link to a six-minute video of the 1995 “Milk Miracle.” The website introduction (borrowed mostly verbatim from Hinduism Today’s report at the time) reads: “Never before in history has a simultaneous miracle occurred on such a global scale. Television stations (among them CNN and BBC), radio and newspapers…

Continue reading

Seattle Celebrates Vegfest

seattlepi.nwsource.com SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, March 8, 2006: This weekend brings to Seattle the fifth Vegfest, billed as the largest vegetarian festival in the United States. Last year, more than 9,900 people attended this celebration of meat-free eating, an increase from the 2,000 who came in 2002, its first year. The festival venue at Seattle Center is doubling in size this year.…

Continue reading

Two Lawsuits Filed in California Textbook Dispute

Hinduism Today CALIFORNIA, March 18, 2006: The following two articles announce the filling of two lawsuits in the California dispute over the presentation of Hinduism in new sixth grade social studies textbooks. For the full background, see the HPI reports here and here. The first lawsuit, by the Hindu American Foundation, has been expected following the adverse action of the…

Continue reading

Hindu American Foundation Sues California State Board Of Education

www.hinduamericanfoundation.org SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, March 16, 2006: The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) filed suit against the California State Board of Education (SBE) in California Superior Court in Sacramento today. After months of repeated correspondence with the SBE and California Department of Education (CDE), HAF filed suit as the foundation contends that a fair and open process was not followed in adopting…

Continue reading