SourceITHACA, NEW YORK, March 14, 2005: The sound of beating of dandiyas, and lively folk music resonated under a canopy of vibrant colors Friday evening in the Straight Memorial Room, where the Cornell Raas Team held its annual celebration of Spring Navratri. The evening began with an Indian prayer ceremony or puja, led by the Hindu Student Council, continued with…
SourceTEXAS, USA, February 25, 2005: When 81-year-old atheist philosopher Anthony Flew announced to the world that he was no longer an atheist and considered his previous theories to be flawed, the world started taking notice. After teaching atheism at prestigious universities such as Oxford, Aberdeen, Keele and Reading and lecturing at many American and Canadian universities, the final turning point…
SourceKALAVAI, INDIA, March 18, 2005: Thousands of devotees come to meet Jayendrar [Swamigal], who is in Kalavai, seeking His blessings. More than 50 fishermen of Devanampatti, Cuddalore came to Kalavai yesterday morning, met Sri Jayendra Saraswati [Swamigal] in Kalavai and got his blessings. Afterwards, they said to journalists: “We have been very badly affected by the tsunami. We have lost…
SourceRAJASTHAN, INDIA, March 18, 2005: (HPI note: The following is from a Christian website.) The Northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan wants to adopt an anti-conversion law over the objections of the local Christian community, Asian news agencies reported Wednesday. On March 24, the state legislature is scheduled to vote on the bill. Tabled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)–the Hindu…
SourceFAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, March 17, 2005: Several social studies textbooks up for adoption by the Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) are being criticized by the Indian community because of the way the books portray the Hindu religion and Indian culture as a whole. The school board is set to adopt the eight textbooks at their March 31 meeting. School officials…
SourceMarch 1, 2005: With the decline of atheism as evidenced when British philosopher Anthony Flew turned his back on his previous belief structure, new spirituality with new and ancient roots is replacing the former movement. Flew calls his new-found belief ’embracing the intelligent design’ and he said, “It is, for example, impossible for evolution to account for the fact than…
SourceIOWA, USA, March 6, 2005: In this news release V.V. Ganeshanathan, a freelance journalist and graduate student at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, shares her religious experiences growing up in the Sri Lankan Hindu community in Bethesda, Maryland. V.V. Ganeshanathan recalls, “We sang traditional thevaram, prayers in Tamil and Sanskrit, and listened to legends of the gods recounted in English. For…
SourceSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, March 14, 2005: This news release features an interview with former U.S. Air Force Colonel Kirby Knox, a devotee of Ammachi, the Hindu holy woman revered as the ‘Hugging Saint’. Mr. Knox was raised in a strict Methodist family and his father was also in the Air Force. He became interested in Eastern spirituality when he was…
SourceSOUTH AFRICA, March 17, 2005: Members of the Hindu community are in a uproar after viewing Ford’s latest television advert, which they say is disrespectful and misrepresents their religion. The advertisement, which has been screened on television recently, features a man who appears to be a guru with Lord Siva in the background and makes reference to karma. Brindaveni Naidoo,…
SourceNEW YORK, USA, March 16, 2005: Despite 15-year-old Amandeep Singh’s exemplary academic and disciplinary records, he was suspended from his New York state Greenburgh Central School last month when the kirpan he has been wearing to school for 7 years was deemed to be an offensive weapon by his school authorities. The school principal determined at an initial hearing that…