Chaturbhuj N. Gidwani, Hindu Lay Leader, U.S. Army, Camp Foster Chapel, Okinawa, JapanJuly 22, 2004: The purpose of this article is to inform all American religious organizations that the Department of Defense Directive (DODD) Number 1304.19 of June 11, 2004 has been reissued with update policy and responsibilities and is effective immediately. This update continues the educational and ecclesiastical requirements…
HPIKAUAI, HAWAII July 22, 2004: Readers continue to send us web sites with audio chanting, bhajana and lectures. There are many chants from the Vedas and Upanishads are here. Translations of the chants are provided. Then there is a 24-hour streaming Internet bhajana only radio state here. You can listen to the talks by Viswaguru Paramhans Swami Maheswaranada, founder of…
News ReportVADODARA, INDIA, July 19, 2004: In an underwater exploration in the Gulf of Cambay, National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) scientists discovered almost 9,500-year-old bricks made of clay and straw. Archaeological experts of the MS University who, too, are involved in a part of the exploration near Surat and the coast of Gulf of Cambay, however, feel that a…
New Straits TimesKUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, July 14, 2004: Hindu temples should become centers for upliftment of the Indian community and not only places of worship, Malaysia Nanban reported yesterday. It quoted MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam as saying that they could be used for classes after school for students. The newspaper said this had been the practice in the…
Toronto SunTORONTO, CANADA, July 18, 2004: The Hindu community is celebrating the opening of the first phase of a massive temple being built in Toronto. Thousands of Indo-Canadians have been marking the week with celebrations surrounding the opening of Phase I of the Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir — a 7,989- square-metre structure called the Haveli. “It’s one of those things…
SourceHOUSTON, TEXAS, July 21, 2004: Houston’s first traditional all-stone and marble Hindu temple, the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, is being blessed and dedicated this weekend by His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The 12-day inaugural festival commenced yesterday, with the Deity installation scheduled for Sunday, July 25. For more information, click “source” above. This temple is on the same scale as the…
SourceJAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA, July 18, 2004: The special helicopter service for pilgrims to the holy shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir has been a big hit with the affluent amongst them preferring to fly to the cave instead of taking the treacherous trek. Since the official yatra began on July 15, private helicopters have been shuttling 30 to 40…
Antara Indonesian National News AgnecyDENPASAR, INDONESIA, July 15, 2004: Indonesia’s province of Bali was appointed to host the world Hindu Youth Summit to take place here from November 26 to 30, 2004. The summit which would be the first of its kind, was expected to be attended by at least 180 participants and observers from 18 countries, chairman of the…
Christian Science Monitor DELHI, INDIA, July 19, 2004: This report from the Christian Science Monitor is rather more balanced than most circulating these days about the rewrite of India’s school textbooks. We produce it in full: In the past five years, Indian schoolchildren of all faiths have learned quite a bit about the culture of the Hindu majority. With the…
SourceLUCKNOW, INDIA, July 17, 2004: In what appears to be a prelude to taking over administrative control of bigger temples, including disputed shrines of Ayodhya and Mathura, the Uttar Pradesh government plans to take appointment of priests/heads of temples in its hands and bring them under the purview of the state audit. In a government order dated June 28, 2004,…