President Bush’s Interfaith Meeting Replaces Visit to Akshardham Delhi Temple

www.indianexpress.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 1, 2006: US President George W. Bush will hold a meeting with nine prominent persons representing five religions tomorrow including a Shia leader from Lucknow, a Tibetan monk and a Dalit scholar. Bush will meet these religious leaders on Thursday afternoon following the lunch hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This list includes Mohammed Ammar…

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London Hindus Advocate Better Presentation of Hinduism

vivekananda@btinternet.com LONDON, ENGLAND, March 6, 2006: Jay Lakhani of Vivekananda Centre reports: “This afternoon the Department of Education and Skills in London held a conference on Hinduism and Religious Education. The conference was well attended by Hindu bodies and teachers. The suggestions made by myself and Hindu Council UK were well received. Compared to the severe struggle faced by Hindus…

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California Textbook Corrections Result of Broad-Based Coalition of Hindus

www.hindueducation.org SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, March 1, 2006: (HPI note: Following is a joint press release of the Hindu Education Foundation (“source”) and the Vedic Foundation following the California State Board of Education subcommittee meeting of February 27. This meeting was also covered in yesterday’s HPI, and there is some duplication of reporting.) More than a hundred Hindu parents and community leaders…

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Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami’s “Dancing With Siva” Book Now Available in Spanish Translation

www.himalayanacademy.com KAUAI, HAWAII, March 2, 2006: The Spanish translation of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami’s book, Dancing with Siva, is now available for free download at “source.” The translation is by Saraswati Kumara, a teacher at Mt. Shasta College in California. Everything of the original book has been translated, including the extensive lexicon, timeline of Hindu history, comparison of major world religions,…

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Mauritius Celebrates Mahasivaratri

www.deccanherald.com MAURITIUS, February 25, 2006: When the Siva temples in India echo with the chaste chants of “Om Namo Sivaih” and ardent devotees make a beeline at Sivalingams all over the country to offer their prayers on the occasion of Sivaratri, the beautiful island of Mauritius too resounds with the devotional notes of “Bam Bam Bhole.” Thousands of worshippers prefer…

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South African Youth Celebrate Mahasivaratri

www.newkerala.com JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, February 26, 2006: Chanting prayers, Hindu youths took part in an annual procession ahead of the Sivaratri festival in the South African Indian township of Lenasia near here. The procession drew a crowd of more than 2,500 devotees. At each of the six Hindu temples along the eight-kilometer route in Lenasia, devotees welcomed the procession with…

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Mahasivaratri in Sri Lanka

www.tamilnet.com COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, February 25, 2006; Maha Sivarathiri Day religious observance is to be held in the historic Trincomalee Koneswaram Temple, Thiruketheeswaram Temple in Mannar and Kantalai Choleeswaram (Siva) Temple, about 20 km southwest off Trincomalee town on February 26th Sunday night . Arrangements are being made by the temple societies and Hindu Affairs Department, sources said. Koneswaram, Thiruketheeswaram…

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Kumbha Mela Dates Through 2016

HPI NEW DELHI, INDIA, February 25, 2006: Pandit Ananda Shankar Vyas of Ujjain announces the following dates for the ardha (“half,” the sixth year between the main 12 year cycle) and purna (the 12th year event). He is a Vedic scholar, astrologer and priest of international repute. He was a member of the governing body of Mahakal temple in Ujjain…

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Bhutan’s National TV Dominated By Buddhism

www.asianews.it BHUTAN, February, 23, 2006: HPI Note: This report comes from a Catholic news service: Bhutanese authorities are describing the launching of nationwide satellite TV services as a landmark in the history of electronic media in the tiny Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom. Minority groups see it however as a tool to entrench Buddhist cultural hegemony over the country and keep other…

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