Religion News ServiceNEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, March 3, 2005: A school exam’s attempt to replace the dating system term B.C. (“Before Christ”) with B.C.E. (“Before Common Era”) has created a stir among government officials in the Australian state of New South Wales. “This is political correctness gone mad,” said Jillian Skinner, shadow education minister in the New South Wales parliament,…
SourceMALAYSIA, March 5, 2005: THE Negri Sembilan Hindu Temple Council has urged the state to discuss with it first before demolishing Hindu temples that were built without approval, Tamil Nesan reported. The report said the council had submitted a memorandum on the issue during a meeting between council president A. Krishnan and Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan. The report…
SourceJOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, March 3, 2005: A dance drama on the elephant-headed Hindu God Ganesha featured for the first time at the prestigious Johannesburg Civic Theatre, with the hope that the production would open the doors for more Indian theatre. “Ganesha – The Greatest Story Ever Told” is the first production ever to feature Hindu mythology and religion at the…
SourceBALI, INDONESIA, March 2, 2005: Police on the Indonesian resort island of Bali are hard-pressed to explain the sudden proliferation of white markings at hundreds of temples across the Hindu island. Local residents view the signs as a divine warning. The white chalk marks –crosses, dashes or two parallel diagonal bars — began to appear simultaneously on several temples starting…
SourceKAUAI, HAWAII, March 2, 2005: Hinduism Today has received the following lengthy list of questions from a magazine doing an article advising non-Hindus on what to do when participating in Hindu event. If you would like to help, kindly send your advice for anyone, any set (such as the one on marriages) or all of the questions. This should result…
SourceU.S.A., February 20, 2005: No need to starve yourself or eat dinner from the hotel vending machine when traveling. Frequent vegetarian travelers offer some of their tips to keep you sated on the road: When making your plane reservation, order a vegetarian meal. Options include lacto-vegetarian, vegan and Asian vegetarian (however, due to budgetary cuts, many airlines have phased out…
SourceCOLOMBUS, OHIO, March 1, 2005: Rinzai Zen Buddhist Priest, Kobutsu Malone, writes very candidly in this article about punishment in any form, corporal or psychological. Reverend Malone says, “The deliberate infliction of pain on an individual in response to an action after it has occurred can in no way change the effect of the original action nor can it serve…
SourceCOLOMBO, SRI LANKA, February 28, 2005: Britain’s Prince Charles arrived in Colombo on Monday morning on a six-hour brief visit. Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, Power and Energy Minister Susil Premajayanth and Deputy Foreign Minister Prof. Viswa Warnapala received the Prince at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) amidst tight security. From the international airport, Charles flew to the Eastern Batticaloa district…
SourceMADRAS, INDIA, February 9, 2005: A good birth in a female body is rarer than it should be in the Salem District of Tamil Nadu. A mixture of attitudes and social customs has made it very difficult for families to raise a female child. Some are either aborted before birth or poisoned soon after birth. The article explains, “A daughter…
SourceINDIA, February 27, 205: Indian divers have found more evidence of an ancient port city, apparently revealed by December’s tsunami. Stone structures that are “clearly man-made” were seen on the seabed off the south coast, archaeologists say. They could be part of the ancient city of Mahabalipuram, about which legend says a flood engulfed six of its seven temples. Other…