SourceJOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, March 2004: South African Indians are taking a renewed interest in Holi celebrations after the tradition had almost died out in recent years. Many Gujarati Hindu organizations held small Holi festivals across the country, with the largest get-together at the residence of the Indian consul-general in Johannesburg where more than 200 guests turned the sprawling garden of…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, March 8, 2004: Communal clashes and accidents marred Holi celebrations across the country, leaving nearly 10 persons dead and at least 210 injured. Curfew was imposed in Darvha town of Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district as members of two communities pelted stones at each other after some people accidentally splashed color on a mosque. Sixteen people were wounded in…
SourceSELANGOR, MALAYSIA, March 9, 2004: The Selangor government has allocated US$82,000 in grants to 35 Hindu temples in the state, Tamil Nesan reported state executive councillor Datuk S. Sivalingam as saying. He said temple committees which had applied for the grants would receive them through their state assemblymen. Sivalingam said following a request to Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Khir…
SourceAUSTIN, TEXAS, March 9, 2004: The Vedic Foundation is offering seminars and study groups based on “The True History and the Religion of India,” a concise encyclopedia of authentic Hinduism by H.D. Swami Prakashanand Saraswati. The educational programs will be conducted in New York and New Jersey from March until May, 2004. Creation of the universe, origin and Divinity of…
SourceBALI, INDONESIA, March 2, 2004: Balinese New Year will commence this year on March 18 with an early morning purification ceremony performed by all the temples in Bali. Temple murthis (icons) are paraded in grand style by devotees to a nearby beach where the temple priests then perform a traditional puja to invoke the blessings of God Varuna. On March…
SourceKUMBAKONAM, INDIA, March 6, 2004: More than 500,000 people took a holy bath at the Mahamaham tank in Kumbakonam after Vedic pandits recited hymns praying for prosperity and peace to mark the auspicious Mahamaham day today. The Kanchi seers, Jayendra Saraswathi and Vijayendra Saraswathi, as well as the Madurai Adheenam, were among those who took bath, along with the pandits…
Radio FijiSUVA, FIJI, March 7, 2004: The Brahmin Sabha of Fiji has lodged an official complaint with the Immigration Department on foreign palm readers in the country. Sabha President Vivekanand Sharma says, they suspect the palm readers are deliberately defrauding the public by playing on their insecurities. The organization says some palm readers have reportedly charging their clients hundreds of…
SourceWASHINGTON, D.C., February 29, 2004: This article in the Washington Post by Jana Long reads: “I had practiced yoga for more than 10 years before getting serious. What changed? For the first time, I had a black teacher who blended African music, mantra and meditation into the practice. The classes named ancient Egypt as the place where yoga originated and…
SourceLONDON, UNITED KINGDON, March 1, 2004: Leaders of the Hindu community in Britain are accusing the BBC of biased coverage of allegations made by Awaaz, a group of Muslim and Leftist organizations, that a Hindu charity had collected funds for the Gujarat earthquake and diverted them to extremist organizations. “Although Awaaz has not provided a single figure or fact, the…
SourceNOIDA, INDIA, March 3, 2004: Hundreds of students at a premier school in Noida on Wednesday took part in a special prayer ceremony to seek divine blessing ahead of their career-determining high school examinations, considered to be most crucial. Organized by a school in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, the ritual was performed with full Hindu rites, as…