SourceCAMBODIA, January 25, 2004: An unprecedented effort to reclaim the ancient temples from the Cambodian jungle is racing against a tourist onslaught. There is nothing quite like Angkor in northwest Cambodia. Within the 155-square-mile Angkor district is Angkor Wat, the most awe inspiring and best known of the 44 temples built between the 9th and 14th centuries. The temples are…
Sify NewsMANOHARPUR, INDIA, January 22, 2004: Surrounded by dense forests and ramshackle hovels, Manoharpur looks like any other remote tribal village, says this article by Bibhuti Mishra. However, it came into the limelight five years ago when Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two minor sons were killed in front of the village church there. The murder brought the…
SourceLONGDENVILLE, TRINIDAD, January 22, 2004: Trinidad Hindus are launching the 14th annual Kendra Phagwa Festival this Sunday. This launching specifically takes place on the first day of spring, Vasant Panchami, and the birthdate of Goddess Saraswati. Preparation will be marked by the planting of a castor oil tree, community dancing and the symbolic chulha boiling of the first abeer. Abeer…
SourcePONDICHERRY, INDIA, January 22, 2003: Mata Amrithanandamayi has said the present trend of mixing religion and politics was not right. Speaking at a reception organized in Pondicherry on Wednesday, she expressed concern over growing violence and terrorism in the country. “All religions should coexist and work towards the development of the society and country. We should remember that human beings…
SourceDURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, January 21, 2004: A Hindu temple in Illovo, south of Durban, was vandalised on Monday night with thugs stealing the statues of eight deities and ripping up carpets on the floor of the temple, police reported on Wednesday. The statues, which are made of copper, have a high spiritual and financial value and were stolen from the…
SourceHOUSTON, USA, January 22, 2004: HPI presents this summary as an example of the unusual places one finds yoga in American life: First there was house arrest. Now there’s yoga. A judge ordered a man convicted of slapping his wife to take a yoga class as part of his one-year probation. “It’s part of anger management,” County Criminal Court at…
Press ReleaseNEW YORK, NEW YORK, January 21, 2004: HPI found this announcement interesting in that it brings to light the atheistic nature of Buddhism, which is usually not clear to non-Buddhists. The announcement, from a law firm for the Buddhists, reads in part, “As you may know, the United States Supreme Court is considering the issue whether the words ‘under…
SourceNADI, FIJI, January 19, 2004: An early morning break-in at the famous Nadi temple shocked many worshippers. The biggest and most expensively built temple, the Shri Shiva Subrahmanya Swami temple at the end of Nadi Town, was broken into at 12:30am yesterday morning. Temple manager Lachman Naidu said the duty watchman had gone to have a drink of water when…
SourceJERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, USA, January 18, 2004: Navya Shastra, a US-based global Hindu organization of scholars, activists, priests and laypeople, has criticized the Dalit representatives and organizers of the World Social Forum for highlighting the Hindu dimensions of discrimination against the Dalit community while refusing to work with the Hindu leadership to bring about religious reforms, according to this…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, January 18, 2004: Expressing concern over its officers (both men and women) and jawans wearing “tilaks, vibhuti, birthstone rings and bracelets,” on January 8, the Indian Army Headquarters sent a circular to all its formations detailing strict instructions on the “use of religious symbols” while in uniform. These instructions, issued by Adjutant General A. Natarajan with the…