SourceUSA, June 5, 2005: From Hindu temples in Juneau, Alaska, to Tallahassee, Florida, and to Kauai, Hawaii, there is an ongoing process of Hinduizing the American sacred space. Hindu Americans have begun to cultivate the strains within their own religious tradition that foster a sense of the sacred earth through myth, ritual, ceremonies, and spirit power that more or less…
SourceSRINIGAR, INDIA, June 7, 2005: The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has agreed to begin the two-month long Amarnath pilgrimage from June 21, setting aside the controversy over its duration, the state’s Governor, Lt. General (retired) S.K. Sinha said on Tuesday. “The pilgrimage from Baltal route would begin from June 21, and it would be for 60 days or two…
SourceHARIDWAR, INDIA, June 6, 2005: Thousands of devotees from all over the country thronged the banks of the Ganges river in Uttaranchal to worship at the Hindu shrines amidst the chanting of hymns and a flamboyant cultural revelry. Dawn at Haridwar saw hordes of pilgrims as well as tourists swarming the banks of the holy river to take part in…
SourceFLORIDA, USA, June 7, 2005: Florida International University announces an on-line Sanskrit program consisting of two full years of college-level Sanskrit instruction. The four courses each carry 3 semester hours of credit through FIU and are transferable anywhere. Students anywhere in the world are most welcome to take the courses. The courses, offered in conjunction with Hindu University of America,…
SourceLONDON, UK, June 2, 2005: Plans to create one of the UK’s first voluntary aided Hindu schools in London have been approved by Harrow Council. The I-Foundation, a non-profit making organization made up of Hindu community leaders, successfully bid to set up the primary school in north London. The council claims 20% of its residents are Hindu, the highest percentage…
The Times of IndiaHYDERABAD, INDIA, June 3, 2005: The temple lands scam which rocked the endowments department this week runs much deeper than seems on the surface, says this Times of India article. Everything with regard to the sale of land belonging to the Seetharama Chandra Swamy temple at Devarayamjal in Shaikpet mandal happened with the full knowledge and approval…
SourceDES MOINES, IOWA, USA, June 3, 2005: Iowa State’s first Hindu temple, nestled at a bend in the Des Moines River near Madrid, will be consecrated in a five-day ceremony beginning Saturday. The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Iowa is the realization of a four-decades-old dream of about 1,000 Indian families who have settled here, according to Sri Krishna…
SourceKLANG, MALAYSIA, June 3, 2005: Hindu devotees going on pilgrimage to the Tirupathi Venkateshwara temple in India no longer need to wait for hours to fulfil their vows, Malaysia Nanban reports. For a start the Sunraraj Perumal temple in Klang is offering to register the names and particulars of prospective pilgrims to make advance bookings for them. An official from…
SourceBHUTAN, May 30, 2005: On a six-day visit to Bhutan, the leader of a Hindu-Buddhist joint delegation from India, Venerable Bhadant Gnana Jagat Thero, who is the president of World Buddhist Cultural Foundation, said that the intention of the mission was to bring the people of the ancient cultures of the East together and closer to each other. “The ancient…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, May 30, 2005: The portrayal of Hindus, and Hindu women in particular, in the British and Western media recently offended thousands of adherents of the religion, a rights group claimed today. Hindu Human Rights claimed that it has been flooded with verbal, written and electronic complaints regarding the matter. “While complaints are quite common, what makes the current…