in.rediff.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 7, 2005: The sacred tears of Lord Siva that have been used to make sacred malas for japa and worn by devout Saivites for centuries are now entering the mainstream in a new way. Rudraksha beads are now being used by the fashion world to enhance outfits and to wear as jewelry. The news release…
www.hindu.com KERALA, INDIA, December 20, 2005: Up until recently, VIP’s at the Lord Ayyappan Sabarimala temple were allowed to stand in front of the sanctum sanctorum in a special queue that often blocked the vision of the devotees. An order by the Kerala High Court has directed the Executive Officer of Sabarimala to abandon the special queue. The court also…
Chaturbhuj.Gidwani@bolling.af.mil WASHINGTON, D.C., January 3, 2006: Giwani Chaturbhuj reports, “Hindu Faith communities of Bolling Air Force Base and the National Capitol Region under the auspices of Chinmaya Mission West and 11th Wing Chaplain would like to invite all those who are interested in learning more about Hindu culture, yoga and meditation, to join every Friday Service in the Main Chapel…
ChennaiOnline.com THANJAVUR, INDIA, December 31, 2005: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is to open an interpretation center at the Tanjavur Braghadeeswarar temple where life-size photographic reproductions of the 1,000-year-old Chola Period murals, drawn in the temple, will be displayed. The center will be inaugurated during the Pongal festival in January. According to ASI officials, the reproduction was a demanding…
HPI KAUAI, HAWAII, January 5, 2006: We apologize to subscribers for a glitch in our mail system — we’re calling it the Y2006 bug — which caused our mail server to stop sending out HPI as of January 1. Following are the stories from January 1 through today, January 5, as a one report sent on January 5. HPI will…
krishnakumari@vsnl.net PUNE, INDIA, January 3, 2006: Krishna Kumari reports, “After a public address in Mumbai on the December 16, several eager devotees wanted to reach out and touch Dada J. P. Vaswani’s hands and greet him, while he was still on the dais. Dada, as always, responded to their eagerness, and bent down to reach out to as many people…
daps2322@yahoo.co.in NOIDA, INDIA, January 1, 2006: R. Venkatanarayanan, Secretary, Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha sends the following information: “I would like to bring to your notice and through your columns to your readers’ notice, an ominous piece of confirmed information circulating these days in India. The Andhra Pradesh Government is reported to have decided to install a ropeway to the Tirupathi…
www.barnard.edu ELMHURST, QUEENS, NEW YORK, December 17, 2005: Puja Swami Jagdishwaranandaji of The Geeta Temple and Divya Dham, Queens, New York, has attain Maha Samadhi at age 70. The Geeta Temple has arranged a Shradhanjali for Puja Swami Jagdishwarananda ji on Friday, December 30, 10AM—1PM. The Geeta Temple Ashram in Elmhurst, Queens owes its existence to the lives touched by…
batu_caves@yahoo.com KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, December 29, 2005: The unveiling ceremony of the 140-foot-tall Murugan Statue, the world’s tallest will be held on January 29, 2006. The opening ceremony will commence at 7.30pm with stunning performance of fireworks and showering of thousands of garlands of flowers on the Sri Murugan Statue from a helicopter arranged specially for the event.
www.zwire.com TORONTO, CANADA, December 22, 2005: Infighting at a Richmond Hill Hindu temple over who has legitimate control and suspicions over shady finances have led to regular disruptions of worship, two court cases and the freezing of the temple’s bank account. Two groups in the Maha Lakshmi Mandir temple, one headed by priest and President Swasti Dubey and the other…