SourceHOLLAND, February 25, 2005: Hans Meijer, president of Ned.Opl.Hindoe Geestelijke (Dutch Hindu Cleric Academy) writes, “Herewith we want to inform you about the present situation of the foundation of the World Hindu Minister Academy (WHMA). In reaction to our article(s) in HPI we received five requests for establishing a local academy (3 from India, 1 from Malaysia and 1 from…
SourceWASHINGTON, D.C., February 25, 2005: On March 2, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments regarding two cases that address the issue of whether displays of the Ten Commandments on government property are an unconstitutional endorsement of a particular religion. Suhag Shukla, Esq., Legal Counsel of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), will be present at the…
SourceRAJKOT, INDIA, February 23, 2005: In the wake of a scandal, trustees of the Radharaman Swaminarayan temple in Junagadh (Vadtal sect) now want to keep the sadhus on the straight and narrow. The new code of conduct announced on Monday bars contact and conversation with women, ownership of private property and all luxury items, including a television. At a meeting…
SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, February 24, 2005: The Myanmar government has offered to help the people of a village in Tamil Nadu build a temple to a Deity that came floating on the tsunami waves on December 26. The icon was found on a floating raft in Meyyurkuppam village on the Kalpakkam coast, 80 km from here. Many coastal villages in the…
SourcePORAYAR, TAMIL NADU, INDIA, February 21, 2005: In a show of communal amity, six Hindu fishermen couple, whose marriages got postponed due to the December 26 tsunami, have entered into wedlock in the nearby Muslim pilgrim town of Nagore, in Nagapattinam district, with a Christian service organization bearing the expenses. The six couples, natives of Nagore, were among those engaged…
SourceGADAIPUR, INDIA, February 19, 2005: Thousands of devotees are flocking to the northern Indian farmlands of Gadaipur on the outskirts of New Delhi for spiritual fulfillment at the feet of a rustic Punjabi-speaking Indian saint. Baba Virsa Singh, 70, known to his followers as Maharaj (king) or Babaji, is hosting a conference on “The Spiritual Approach to Peace and Resolving…
Press Trust of IndiaNEW DELHI, INDIA, February 20, 2005: Taking serious note of a bank’s lack of respect to Sanskrit language, Delhi state consumer forum has ordered a compensation of around US$ 275 to a man whose checks were not honored as he had filled them up in the revered ancient language, says this article on a 1991 case which…
SourceGEORGIA, USA, February 20, 2005: An important breakthrough in educating the Columbus community about the culture of India took place when a three-month-long festival opened on February 5, 2005, at the Columbus Museum, one of the largest museums in the Southeast. The Indo-US Cultural Association joined with the Columbus Museum in an unprecedented partnership to host a series of events…
SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, February 22, 2005: The Tamil Nadu police have filed another case against the senior pontiff Jayendra Saraswati. The allegation this time is that, through his lawyers, he has tried to threaten approver Ravi Subramaniam. (An “approver” is a person charged in a case who pleads guilty and offers to testify against the other persons charged in exchange for…
SourceNEPAL, February 20, 2005: Nepal’s vivid cultures are an invaluable resource, one which Nepalese are striving to preserve. Among many festivals Shree Swasthani Vrata Katha is one of them. The solemn worshipping of Goddess Shree Swasthani (the Hindu deity known for miraculously granting wishes made in a solemn state by pure souls) in every Hindu household begins on the third…