SourceKOCHI, INDIA, September 24, 2003: Kochi is closed on Tuesday for a special election, but a visitor may easily think it is part of the celebration honoring Mata Amritanandamayi’s 50th birthday instead. Amma was named “Hindu of the Year” by Hinduism Today in 1993 and represented Hinduism at the 1993 Parliament of the World Religions in Chicago and again at…
SourceCOLOMBO, SRI LANKA, September 25, 2003: Elephant experts here have turned to Asia’s reverence of the beasts to push conservation amid calls for a cull to tackle growing wild jumbo populations in Africa. Ian Douglas-Hamilton, an authority on African elephants said religious and cultural practices in Asia shows the peaceful coexistence between people and elephants amid increasing pressure on habitats.…
SourceBALI, INDONESIA, September 12, 2003: Three world top rank tennis players took time from their busy schedules on Thursday, September 11, to visit the Taman Temple of Grand Hyatt Hotel Nusa Dua to say a prayer for world peace. Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, Elena Dementieva of Russia and Barbara Schett of Austria, are competing in a tennis tournament of Wismilak…
SourcePENANG, MALAYSIA, September 23, 2003: The Malaysia Hindu Sangam is outraged over the sale of imported statues of the Lord Ganesha which were altered and had additional accessories. The Malaysia Hindu Sangam Penang state council chairman, P. Murugiah, said statues of the Hindu Deity wearing a turban and a pair of shoes and holding a handphone were being sold in…
SourcePRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, September 23, 2003: South Indian devotional singer Veeramani Raju is performing in South Africa to help raise funds for the completion of the first Ayyappa temple in the southern hemisphere. “Although he has been here several times before, Veeramani has done concerts that had a commercial objective,” said Raj Kolapan of the Pretoria Bhajanai Mandram. “This time…
SourceEDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA, September 24, 2003: The Maha Ganapati Society of Alberta is pleased to host a discourse by Srimath Sri Viswamatha, (Mathaji Ammah), who is visiting from India, on Friday, September 26, the first day of Navaratri at the Cultural Centre of the Maha Ganapati Society of Alberta, 128 Running Creek Road, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. For more information, click…
SourceKAUAI, HAWAII, September 24, 2003: A helpful HPI reader has found the Time magazine article on meditation discussed in yesterday’s HPI at “source” above. We are directing readers there rather than faxing a copy as offered yesterday.
SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, September 19, 2003: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists stopped a Christian prayer meeting in Borivali (just north of Mumbai) yesterday morning, according to this report by Mid Day. The prayer group said they were driven out of the hall, which was then locked up. The VHP denied locking the hall, but said they had questioned the prayer group…
SourceFIJI, September 22, 2003: A group of Indian spiritual leaders is due in Fiji next month, as part of their spiritual journey in Australasian zone. The Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, Ratu Epeli Ganilau, will be the chief guest. One of the significant ceremonies at the public function on Friday will be a Kalash Ceremony. The group has…
SourceJAMMU, INDIA, September 21, 2003: The management of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has decided to open the old cave of the shrine for the devotees during the Navratra festival starting from September 26, 2003. Disclosing this to the media, the Minister of State for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Jugal Kishore Sharma, said that pilgrims who wish to visit…