SourceMIDDLETOWN, CONNETICUT, September 27, 2004: Instruments, laptops and music textbooks were blessed on Sunday at the Saraswati Puja Ceremony in the World Music Hall of Wesleyan University. The Hindu ceremony was held as part of the Navaratri Festival, which was held at the campus from Sept. 22 through Sept. 26. The festival is a Hindu festival that honors the goddess…
SourceCALCUTTA, INDIA, September 24, 2004: (HPI note: This is a second report on the dropping of visa requirements for Indians traveling to Mauritius.) Indian Tourism and leisure minister Anil Kumarsingh Gayan announced in an extended goodwill gesture that Indian travelers need only return ticket, to spend their vacations or visit for many other good reasons the Island. This will increase…
SourceANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA, September 30, 2004: Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi will present a 11.5-kg gold crown to the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara on Thursday. The Sankaracharya and his junior acharya, Vijendra Saraswathi, will hand over the crown, worth about US$340,000, to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in the temple. Temple sources said the Deity would…
SourceHYDERABAD, INDIA, September 27, 2004: Police here Monday heaved a sigh of relief as the Ganesh procession passed off peacefully amid tight security and rare scenes of communal harmony. City police chief R.P. Singh told a news conference that no untoward incident was reported. As the procession started late, icons were being carried to Hussain Sagar lake in the heart…
SourceDURBAN, INDIA, September 28, 2004: The immersion ceremony of a Ganesha icon, taking place for the first time here, went high-tech with a helicopter airlifting it over the Indian Ocean. A professional diver clutched the icon while hundreds of devotees and others watched the ceremony that marks the culmination of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Rough seas made it difficult for…
Agence France PresseTRIVANDERUM, KERALA, September 26, 2004: Three nuns belonging to Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, were attacked by a group of Hindu activists in south Indian state of Kerala, an eyewitness and police said Sunday. According to the eyewitness, a group of 30-35 people surrounded the vehicles in which the sisters and a brother arrived Saturday in a low…
SourceWAGAH, INDIA, September 26, 2004: After more than 1,500 miles, Ludkan Baba, the Hindu ascetic who is rolling across India for peace, was rebuffed at the Pakistani border and suspended his quest. The holy roller decided on Friday to return to his hometown of Ratlam with his 11-member hymn-singing entourage to wait for India’s government to issue passports. Indian border…
SourceESPANOLA, NEW MEXICO, September 28, 2004: The Sikh Dharma community, founded in the early 1970’s provides a place where admirers of Yogi Bhajan, a Sikh spiritual leader and yoga master, can live in harmony and follow their beliefs in vegetarianism, meditation and community service. Except for Yogi Bhajan, who was born in India and came to the United States in…
HPIKAUAI, HAWAII, September 30, 2004: In a search for a good rendition of the story of the blind men and the elephant, we came across this poem by American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) based on the famous Hindu parable. The poem provides a metaphorical explanation as to how the descriptions in the world’s religions of the one Supreme Being…
SourceTRINIDAD, September 25, 2004: A monument of Mahant Ramdass was unveiled at the El Dorado Shiv Mandir last Sunday. The late Mahant, fondly called “Kutia Baba” by villagers, came to Trinidad from India as an indentured immigrant in 1889. During his lifetime, he was “guru” and godfather to many, rendering social and religious service to his community and people around…