SourceKALAVA, INDIA, January 31, 2005: Discounting Tamil Nadu government’s stand that the Sankara mutt premises at Kancheepuram was not a place of worship, the mutt on Sunday night asserted that it housed several icons, including that of the second Shankaracharya Sureshwara acharya, and pujas were being performed. Describing the government’s latest stand taken in the Madras high court as “contradictory”…
SourceDEKALB, ILLINOIS, February 3, 2005: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University, in cooperation with the International Ramayana Institute of North America (IRINA), is organizing a second conference on Ramayana from June 4-5, 2005 at the Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. This conference will include presentations on various themes and Ramayana-based workshops. The overall theme for the…
SourceGUADELOUPE, FRANCE, January 23, 2005: Guadeloupe in the French West Indies brought a whole 2004 year of commemoration to the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Indian indentured workers in 1854 to a close by inaugurating a First Day monument in the business capital, Pointe-a-Pitre, near the spot where the first Indians arrived between 1854 and 1889. The…
SourceDUBAI, January 30, 2008: As an ad executive from India, Ajay Goppinath was all set to earn some international experience with a stint in the Middle East, finally settling on an agency in Saudi Arabia. Upon his arrival in Jeddah airport, however, he confronted an altogether unfamiliar side of business travel. “I was carrying a picture and a small Ganesha…
SourceORLANDO, FLORIDA, January 29, 2005: For addressing the needs for Hindu priests for the global community beyond India, the Hindu University has immediate plans for offering Master’s degree and diploma courses in Paurohtiya, and for certification for priests who are previously trained elsewhere. The curriculum of the Paurohtiya program is being implemented to train the priest to be effective as…
SourceLONDON, UK, January 30, 2005: Britain’s one-million strong Hindu community, some of whose leaders feel it is being ignored because of all the attention being devoted to the country’s 1.5 million Muslims, received some attention today. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, visited the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, north-west London, where he met representatives of the Hindu community…
HPIKAUAI, HAWAII, January 31, 2005: Hinduism Today is planning at story on the famous Tirupati Temple in South India. We’d appreciate help from someone who can put us in contact with the temple authorities and arrange the visit of our correspondent and photographer for the coverage. If you can help, kindly e-mail ar@hindu.org.
SourceJAFFNA, SRI LANKA, January 28, 2005: While the world’s heart and money go out to tsunami victims who lost their homes, another group of refugees looks on in despair. Muthuthampy Joganathan has been in temporary shelters for 15 years since he was evicted by the Sri Lankan army from his house near Sri Lanka’s northern coast, an area then engulfed…
SourceBHOPAL, INDIA, January 28, 2005: A number of steps have been taken in Madhya Pradesh toward the goal of promoting the the Sanskrit Language. As part of these efforts, scholarships are being provided to over 44,000 Sanskrit students in the state. Assistance is also being provided for modernization of traditional Sanskrit Pathshalas (training schools). In order to improve the condition…
SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, January 29, 2005: (HPI note: It was reported the police entered the mutt with their shoes on, and made the arrest during worship.) This is how the State Government described the Kanchi Sankara Mutt while challenging a notice issued by the National Human Rights Commission over the alleged violation of the sanctity of the Mutt during the arrest…