SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, October 28, 2003: Security has been stepped up at the Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai after warnings that it could be the next terrorist target. “The temple trust has hired a foreign security agency to guard the temple,” said Sanjay Bhagwat, chief executive officer of the Siddhivinayak Temple Trust. New safety measures in place include trained guards checking every…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 27, 2003: Many people in Delhi consult astrologers to decide the day, date and time of a surgery in the family. Paediatric cardiologist Dr. Vikas Kohli says he “gets such requests all the time.” “The parents want the surgery to be over by, say, before 9 a.m. on October 29. They had consulted an astrologer, who…
SourceGEORGETOWN, GUYANA, October 26, 2003: “Our country has prevailed, our people have prevailed,” exclaimed Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo to a mammoth crowd on Diwali. “In the true spirit of Diwali, our people have overcome their problems because Diwali is all about the triumph of good over evil. It is the triumph of the forces of light over darkness and our…
SourceBEGUSARAI, INDIA, October 27, 2003: The arrival of the wedding season means fear for parents of unmarried men in Begusarai (in Bihar state, eastern India), which is known for “forced marriages.” Pakraua Vivah (forced marriage) is an old practice in the district, but the menace has increased in recent years and spread to neighboring districts also. With dowry demands rising,…
Religion News ServiceCALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA, October 29, 2003: Bibles and any other religious texts in hospital bedside drawers may become contraband under a proposal from the Calgary Health Region (CHR), reports the Calgary Herald. If the policy is approved, the Gideons International Bible, a bedside staple in hotels, prisons and hospitals, will be removed from all hospital rooms in the…
SourceLONDON, October 26, 2003: Two young white men reportedly intruded into a Ram temple in Ealing Road, London, on Diwali and shook the statue of Ram, breaking an arm and the bow and arrow. According to reports, the men entered the Sanatam Dharam Mandir around 4 pm when a number of women had gathered for satsang (religious singing and discussion).…
SourceREUNION, FRANCE, October 27, 2003: Swami Advayananda, member of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam (“source” above), sends this brief update on Hinduism in this department of France (like a state). “We conducted a mantra diksha ceremony (initiation in a mantra) for children in Reunion to help Hindus come back fully to Hinduism. Most of them think there are no ceremonies like the…
SourceTHEKKADY, INDIA, October 29, 2003: Of all the distinctively flavored seeds, barks, roots, fruits and leaves that we call spices, pepper is the most widely used, and for centuries it was the most valuable, begins this informative (and long) New York Times article on the pepper trade which so influenced India’s history. In ancient times, the demand for pepper was…
SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, October 26, 2003: The mortal remains of social reformer and Magsaysay Award winner Pandurang Shastri Athavale were consigned to flames at Tatwajnana Vidyapeeth, Ghodbunder, in Thane district on Sunday evening. The last rites of the 84-year old spiritual leader were attended by Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and…
SourceATEHGARH SAHIB, INDIA, October 26, 2003: India’s “son complex” is visible in this prosperous market town on the rich plains of the Punjab. Girls, by the thousands, are missing. Local parents in search of a son, a prize in Indian culture, have used ultrasound machines to determine the sex of the fetus growing in the mother’s womb. If the fetus…