SourceBIKANER, INDIA, July 29, 2004: Drought is now a reality for the people of Rajasthan with rain estimated to be 60 percent less than normal. And people are now using all kinds of traditional prayers to try and appease the rain gods. In a unique effort, Muslim Goojars of Bikaner district donated 40,000 litres of milk free to feed the…
SourceMADISON, WISCONSIN, USA, November 13, 2003: (HPT note: This is an old article which just came to our addition.) Are mindful police officers, in the Buddhist practice sense, better officers? With the help of famed Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, Madison, Wisconsin police Captain Cheri Maples attempted to answer that question by organizing a nonsectarian retreat to introduce her unit…
SourceKERALA, INDIA, July 28, 2004: Mata Amritanadamayi Devi, popularly known as Amma, is all set to start her own television channel. The channel, to be called Amrita, is likely to be commissioned on September 27 this year on the occasion of Amma’s 51st birthday. A company — Amrita Enterprises Pvt Ltd — has been floated to run the channel. It…
SourceLEICESTER, UNITED KINGDOM, July 05, 2004: Two separate organizers hoped that their club nights in Leicester would attract Indian youth in droves. Instead, they attracted insults, threats and abuse. Trying to be creative, each organiser had named the club-night, Jagraan — which is also the name of a religious fast observed for Goddess Durga. They had not reckoned with the…
Houston ChronicleHOUSTON, TEXAS, July 30, 2004: Rahul Patel knows how to speak like a lawyer: He can make all the logical arguments. But this Georgetown Law School graduate did not rely just on reason when he decided to turn down a $125,000-a-year job offer from a New York City law firm to follow a spiritual path of poverty, chastity and…
SourceTIRUNELVELI, INDIA, July 25, 2004: Temples often have columns portraying dancers or musicians, but rarely do the pillars themselves make music. In the Nellaiyappar temple, gentle taps on the cluster of columns carved out of a single piece of rock can produce the keynotes of Indian classical music. “You can hear the saptha swarangal (the seven basic notes) come like…
SourceNASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, July 21, 2004: Three swamis, all visiting from India, were blessing the homes of Hindu residents in Nashua when the minivan they were traveling in collided with another car. “We thought there was a trauma,” said Kim Leets, nurse and clinical director of oncology services at the hospital, who helped organize the emergency room care for the…
SourceWASHINGTON, USA, July 23, 2004: A model of the Golden Temple of Amritsar graces the entrance to the new exhibit “Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab,” in the Smithsonian Institution. Overhead, the faces of nine Gurus introduce visitors to the world of the Sikh people, where Sikh artwork, arms, clothing, coins, musical instruments and other artefacts are displayed. Paul Taylor, director…
SourceSARASOTA, FLORIDA, July 29, 2004: The U.S. Department of Justice has warned Sarasota County officials that they may have acted unfairly against a Muslim group by limiting the height of their proposed mosque. The County Commission ruled in February that the mosque could be no taller than 40 feet — a restriction not placed on 14 other houses of worship…