50,000 Visit Amarnath Cave Shrine

sify.com JAMMU, INDIA, July 3, 2005: Despite inclement weather, over 50,000 pilgrims have paid obeisance at the Amarnath cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas so far, officials said on Sunday. “As many as 50,327 pilgrims have had darshan of the ice Lingam of Lord Siva at Amarnath cave shrine via Baltal route till today,” Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB)…

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Burma Surveys Hindu Population

www.burmaissues.org RANGOON, BURMA (MYANMAR), June 16, 2005: Burmese authorities recently surveyed the population of Hindu people in Arakan state, but other communities were excluded from the survey, reported a Hindu community leader from Akyab. The district administrators from four districts of Arakan state conducted the survey during the past few weeks as per the Rangoon authority’s instructions. But there is…

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Victoria State’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act Causes Controversy

www.crosswalk.com VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, June 23, 2005: Ever since the state of Victoria in Australia passed the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act in early 2002, the outcome has become controversial, according to this report from Crosswalk.com, a Christian news agency. Premier Bob Carr of New South Wales, a neighboring state, says, “Religious vilification laws are difficult because determining what is or…

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McDonald’s Supersizes Hindu Endowment: $10 Million Settlement-Includes $255,000 for Hinduism Today International Magazine

Hindu Press International KAUAI, HAWAII, July 4, 2005: They deceived the public about beef flavorings in their “vegetarian fries.” They got caught. They were sued. They settled in court. This week the food giant McDonald’s mailed a check for US$254,773.19 to Hinduism Today magazine’s endowment fund (Hindu Heritage Endowment), one of a handful of elite vegetarian-friendly institutions in America chosen…

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On Girnar Mountain, A Hindu-Jain Controversy Is Brewing

cities.expressindia.com RAJKOT, INDIA, July 2, 2005: For more than four months, pilgrims have had to pass a police security check before climbing to the highest peak of Mount Girnar, where a pair of footprints is worshipped as that of Lord Dattatreya by Hindus and Lord Neminath by Jains. Now policemen have also been deployed at another peak, atop which another…

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3,000 Hindus Attend Prayer Ceremony in South Africa

news.webindia123.com PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, July 1, 2005: An annual prayer ceremony to invoke the blessings of a South Indian deity, Shri Ayyenaar Swami Thiruvizha, held in an Indian township in South Africa, attracted more than 3,000 people this year. “Lord Ayyenaar is the God who protects and brings righteousness and justice into the lives of devotees,” said Thayalin Pillay, public…

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Swami Pragyanand Tours USA and Europe

Press Release DELHI, INDIA, June 29, 2005: His Holiness, Swami Pragyanandji Maharaj, who just returned for pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, will be touring from July 7 to August 28. He itinerary takes him through California, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Illinois, Colorado, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He will proceed on August 18 to Europe, to the UK, Holland, Sweden, Germany,…

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Doctor Advocates a Vegan Diet and Ethical Issues in Medical Research

www.satyamag.com WASHINGTON, D.C., April, 2005: For the past twenty years, Dr. Neal Barnard has been passionately pursuing his work as founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). The news release explains, “The PCRM has successfully waged and won campaigns to eliminate the use of live animal labs in the majority of the nation’s medical schools, challenged federal dietary…

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Sri Lanka Tamils Appeal to UNESCO to Safeguard Tamil Heritage

www.sibernews.com PARIS, FRANCE, July 2, 2005: Expatriate Tamil activists in France held an awareness vigil in front of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters in Place de Fontenoy, Paris, at 10 AM Friday urging UNESCO to safeguard the cultural heritage of Tamils in their homeland against unlawful and politically motivated erection of Buddha statues in Hindu temple…

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Fiji Temple Starts Renovation Work

nknaidu@connect.com.fj NADI, FIJI, July 1, 2005: The Sri Siva Subramanya Swamy Temple here begins preparations for its 12th year Maha Kumbabhishekam scheduled for July, 2006, with the Balasthapana Puja. “Balasthapana Puja” is for taking the shakti (spiritual power) from “sthoopi” i.e. the upper most part of the gopuram (temple tower) and from all the respective Deities for bringing that shakti…

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