SourceCALCUTTA, INDIA, August 26, 2004: A priest in a dhoti greets you at the entrance of Sri Ganesh and Sri Murugan Kovil (Temple). The hospitable fragrance of camphor, coconut oil and flowers makes the visitor feel transported to a remote village in South India. The near half-million South Indians in Calcutta have enriched the country’s cultural capital and have themselves…
SourceLAHORE, PAKISTAN, September 30, 2004: Lahore’s famous Krishna Mandir is getting set for a makeover with Hindu festivals of Dussehra and Diwali around the corner. According to the Daily Times, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) of Pakistan has announced plans to spend US$21,000 on the temple’s renovation next month. Faraz Abbas, the administrator of the ETPB, was quoted as…
SourceKAMPALA, UGANDA, September 30, 2004: The leader of the BAPS denomination of the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism, His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, yesterday jetted into the country for his fifth visit, to a rapturous welcome. Shortly after his arrival, the clergyman, wearing Hindu religious garb, praised the Government, at their temple on Nakivubo Place, for allowing freedom of worship and…
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…
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…