Source WASHINGTON, D.C., December 24, 2020 (Religion News Service): Among the hodgepodge of legislative loose ends that made their way into the $900 billion spending bill passed by Congress on Monday night (Dec. 21) was a significant update to the 18-year-old Tibetan Policy Act, strengthening U.S. support for Tibetan autonomy and religious freedom for followers of Tibetan Buddhism around the…
Source Whenever I have read any part of the Vedas, I have felt that some unearthly and unknown light illuminated me. In the great teaching of the Vedas, there is no touch of sectarianism. It is of all ages, climes and nationalities and is the royal road for the attainment of the Great Knowledge. When I am at it, I…
Source KOLKATA, INDIA, December 26, 2020 (Hindustan Times): The West Bengal government is gearing up to receive millions of pilgrims in mid-January for the Ganga Sagar Mela, the second largest congregation of pilgrims in India after the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. It has also made arrangements for live streaming of the holy dip during the mela in view of the…
Source “Just as a man will use a staff to climb a mountain, so should virtue be used in life.”— Yogaswami of Jaffna (1872-1964)
Source BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, December 22, 2020 (Star Advertiser): A Hindu activist is calling on luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton to pull a yoga mat made partly from cowhide leather, calling it “hugely insensitive.” Rajan Zed said in a statement today that the mat is “highly inappropriate” to practicing Hindus, who regard cows as sacred symbols of life. “The scenario of…
Source INDIA, December 19, 2020 (YouTube by Karolina Goswami): Karolina Goswami is a Polish citizen who is married to an Indian national–Anurag Goswani. In this YouTube video she examines if religious conversion is the perfect solution for those who face discrimination in the Western nations and casteism in India. What she discovered is that the rigid social hierarchy that encourages…
Source BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, December 22, 2020 (Hindustan Times): Nearly 22 antique statues, some of them made of Ashtadhatu alloy (“of eight metals”), have allegedly been stolen from a 13th century Shiva temple in Khurda district late on Monday night. According to the police, some unidentified miscreants barged into the sanctum sanctorum of the 800-year-old Daksha Prajapati temple in Banpur town…
Source Wealth and happiness are not related to each other as cause and effect. An attempt to secure happiness by securing wealth is as futile as it is absurd. — Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal(1912-1954), 34th pontiff of the Sarada Peetham
Source FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, December 22, 2020 (India West): Over two dozen families, individuals and foundations have come together to create a joint Endowed Chair in Jain and Hindu studies at California State University, Fresno. The partnership between the Jain and Hindu communities and the university underscores a “mutual commitment to educating current and future generations of students about the principles…
Source KATHMANDU, NEPAL, December 12, 2020 (Online Khabar): Pashupatinath temple is thronged by people all-year-round. Among the many occasions that attract devotees and sightseers from everywhere to the temple, Bala Chaturdashi has its own charm and religious importance in people’s hearts. It is one of the many unique festivals that are only observed in Nepal. When the ritual was first…