Mumbai Government in a Bind Over Demolition of Shrines
SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, November 5, 2003: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is trying to control the damage done to its image after people protested BMC’s decision to demolish illegal shrines in Mumbai. The BMC has now come up with a new proposal. Mumbai BJP president Bhai Girkar met the BMC commissioner Karun Shrivastava to oppose the demolition of street shrines. “Some…
Chhath Puja: An Agrarian Prayer for Prosperity
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 31, 2003: The Chhath Puja started on October 31, 2003. It is an agrarian religious festival that migrants from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh have taken with them — some praying to the rising sun on the banks of the River Yamuna in Delhi, others decked in traditional vermillion-bordered yellow saris, conducting the puja on the…
Dikshitar Music Workshop Held in the US
SourcePENNSYLVANIA, USA, October 31, 2003: A week-long workshop on Carnatic music, with special emphasis on Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s kritis, was held in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, USA, from August 19-23, 2003, under the auspices of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. The Arsha Vidya Gurukulam was founded by Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati as an institute of Vedanta and Sanskrit. The special music camp devoted to…
Piracy Shield for Ayurveda
News ReportNEW DELHI, INDIA, November 6, 2003. A database of 36,000 traditional medicine formulations translated from ancient Ayurvedic texts has emerged as India’s tool to fight unfair international patents. The database of formulations based on medicinal plants and herbs used in India for centuries will be made available to patent authorities in the US, Europe, Japan and elsewhere. The database…
Paramhas Sri Swami Madhavananda Attains Mahasamadi
SourceRAJASTHAN, INDIA, November 5, 2003: The International Sri Deep Madhavananda Ashrams (“source”) announced today: “With deep sadness we let you know that our dear Satgurudev His Holiness Hindu Dharm Samrat Paramhans Sri Swami Madhavananda Puriji Maharaj, beloved Master of His Holiness Vishwa Guru Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwaranandaji, has entered into Mahasamadhi on Friday, Oct. 31, 2003. The Mahasamadhi ceremony has…
Motilal Banarsidas Withdraws Ganesha Book
Press ReportsDELHI, INDIA, November 5, 2003: Famed publisher Motilal Banarsidass has decided not to reprint Paul Courtwright’s controversial book on Lord Ganesha. Publisher Rajeev Jain wrote the following e-mail to Dr. Rao, who brought the book to his attention. “Firstly, I am obliged that you have gone through the book and made us aware about the extremely objectionable passages including…
London Vivekananda Center Update
SourceLONDON, U.K., October 27, 2003: The Vivekananda Center in London had a busy week according to this recently submitted report. Jay Lakhani writes, in part, “On October 22nd we were invited by Coventry University to participate at a ‘Peace and Reconciliation’ talk where we presented Hindu ideas of Religious Pluralism as the key for resolving the issue of strife in…
Yoga For Teachers Rouses Ire of Croatian Bishops
SourceZAGREB, CROATIA, November 2, 2003: Croatian elementary school teacher Marijana Ivanovic has taken up yoga to help her relax. “Yoga really helps recharge one’s batteries and eases my lower-back pain,” said Ivanovic, who has taught for more than 30 years, during the first session of a state-supported yoga program for teachers. The education ministry introduced the program this year as…