Hindustan TimesHYDERABAD, INDIA, April 9, 2004: Some people believe a pilgrimage is successful only if a person undergoes hardships during the journey. That is why many a Hindu pilgrims walk or pant all the way to reach hilltop shrines such as Vaishnodevi or Tirupati Balaji. A 58-year-old temple official at Tirupati has created what is considered a world record of…
SourceAHMEDABAD, INDIA, April 11, 2004: This report appeared in the Newindpress.com and is attributed to Indo-Asian News Service. They are well versed in Hindu rituals and are proud followers of the religion. But some young non-resident Gujaratis (NRGs) are not willing to say the same for India. “I perform puja (prayer) every morning, and I know the Gayatri Mantra by…
SourceUSA, April 13, 2004: Jean-Francoise Mayer reports in the current issue of Religion Watch that 27.3 percent of undergraduate departments of religion in American Universities have classes in Hinduism and other religions of India. The study by Hans J. Hillerbrand revealed that there are 1,131 departments of religion, religious studies or theology in American universities, with 308 offering classes in…
SourceFINLAND, April 9, 2004: In Finland children do not start school until they are 7, spending is $5,000 a year per student, there are no gifted programs and class sizes often approach 30. Finland topped a respected international survey last year, coming in first in literacy and placing in the top five in math and science. The question on people’s…
SourceMADISON, WISCONSIN, April 10, 2004: Dr. Frank Morales sends the following announcement: “The long-standing influence of Indian culture and Hindu spiritual thought on modern Western civilization has been both myriad and of great significance. Beginning as early as Emerson’s open acknowledgment of the Bhagavad Gita’s deep influence on his thought in the Nineteenth Century, and continuing to the current keen…
SourceINDIA, March 27, 2004: Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) filed an police report against the Aiyappan Temple in Jalahalli and the two mahouts attached to the temple for “animal abuse.” According to Suparna Ganguly, vice-president, CUPA, the temple’s male elephant has been subjected to immense cruelty. There are three temple elephants in the city, all in similar condition. The one…
SourceWASHINGTON, D.C., April 10, 2004: The Washington Post, one of America’s leading newspaper, published this informative article on several disputes in the academic arena regarding the study of Hinduism. There is a growing movement in the US for Hindus to gain control of the academic treatment of Hinduism at the university level, just as women, Jews and African Americans have…
SourceUJJAIN, INDIA, April 7, 2004: A fire broke out today in one of the ashrams set up for the ongoing Simhastha Kumbh, but no loss of life was reported, senior officials told PTI. The blaze began in the Goredau Ashram set up by Mahant Avadhbihari Das in the Ankpaat area off Mangalnath road here at around 10 am, City Commissioner…
SourceLUCKNOW, INDIA, APRIL 2, 2004: Eighteen sadhus and priests have been brutally murdered in and around Jaunpur district in Northern India in the last twelve months, triggering panic among the priests inhabiting the 300-odd temples in the region. While the body count continues to rise, the police remain clueless when the first priest was killed over a year ago. No…
SourceAMRITSAR INDIA, April 3, 2004: About 150 birs (books) of Sri Guru Granth Sahib were airlifted from Amritsar to Canada on a chartered plane. Jaswinder Singh Advocate of Akal Purakh Ki Fauj said that birs would be received by Prime Minister of Canada and would be placed at a Gurdwara before being transported to other Gurdwaras across North America. He…