News

SourceNEW YORK, NEW YORK, August 10, 2004: Gita Day is being celebrated in NY on August 14 with a day-long program sponsored by The Gita Foundation & Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. For more information, click “source” above.

Agence Press FranceSRINIGAR, INDIA, August 6, 2004: The annual trek in Kashmir to one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines has seen a record 217,000 pilgrims despite violence elsewhere in the disputed Muslim-majority territory, official figures showed Friday. Officials are expecting 300,000 pilgrims to make the arduous journey to the Amarnath cave shrine by the ritual’s close in late August. The trek…

SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, August 9, 2004: As many Ramayanas, so many Ramlilas (theatrical presentations of the story of Lord Rama) goes the saying. Recognizing the uniqueness of this theatrical event in which the community negotiates with the most popular religious lore, the government of India is pitching for the inclusion of Ramlila under Unesco’s program of preservation and promotion of…

Rajiv MalikDELHI, INDIA, August 10, 2004: We incorrectly stated in yesterday’s report, “India’s Supreme Court Considers Petition Challenging Huge Delhi Temple Project” that notice had been served to the Swaminarayan organization. In fact, notices were served by the court only to the concerned government departments and not to the organization building the temple, which is not part of the proceedings.

SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, August 10, 2004: The Swaminarayan sect’s colossal Akshardham temple, coming up on 58 acres of the Yamuna’s bed, could run aground, says this rather hostile article in The Times of India. The article goes on: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department, original custodian of the river bed, and Delhi Development Authority…

South China Morning PostBATU CAVES, MALAYSIA, August 8, 2004: Clad in a figure-hugging yellow sari, Tamil Malar, 17, gasped for breath under the blistering noon sun outside the Batu Caves, Malaysia’s holiest Hindu shrine. The temple is perched on a hill outside Kuala Lumpur and Malar had climbed 272 steps to reach the cave complex. As she climbed the winding…

SourceWASHINGTON, U.S.A., August 3, 2004: Home schooling is on the rise since 1999. In fact this article by education writer Ben Feller says that students taught at home now number 1.1 million in the U.S. Parents have the following reasons for choosing home schooling, “31 percent cited concerns about the environment of regular schools, 30 percent wanted the flexibility to…

SourceTORONTO, CANADA, August 3, 2004: When the late Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau declared that his dream for Canada would be a nation where citizens from different cultural backgrounds could live in harmony, he probably did not envision that the secular laws of Canada and the religious laws of a particular culture would differ so vastly. The article explains, “A…

HPIKAUAI, HAWAII, July 31, 2004: The following short talk was given by Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami during the opening ceremonies for the new BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Houston, Texas in July. “Our namaskars to Pramukh Swami Maharajji, his senior sadhus who are present here today and to the other religious leaders and dignitaries at today’s event. We are very pleased to…

SourceDELHI, INDIA, August 5, 2004: Swiss watch major Bovet is now in India. The premium watch company will launch a 39 mm watch with a hand-painted blue and rust Ganesha image on a white dial. The US$47,000 watch is Bovet’s tribute to India. “We will introduce the watch in Maharashtra during the Ganesha festival next month,” said Ajay Malhotra of…