HPIKAUAI, HAWAII, August 3, 2003: Our thanks to M P Bhattathiry (mpmahesh@asianetindia.com) for providing the following list of festivals and related resources. In this month, August 2 is Naag Panchami, 4 is Tulsidas Jayanti, 12 is Raksha Bandhan, 15 is Sri Aurobindo Jayanti, 19 is Sri Krishna Jayanti, 31 is Ganesh Chaturthi. 1.Sri Aurobindo’s words – excerpts from the book…
SourceHYDERABAD, INDIA, July 30, 2003: Hundreds of thousands of devotees took a holy dip in Godavari river at the start of the 12-day Godavari Pushkaram in Andhra Pradesh, India. The Pushkaram is revered as the “Kumbh Mela of the South,” and occurs once in 12 years. State officials said over 35 million pilgrims are expected to visit the state for…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, July 31, 2003: New Delhi: Astrologers and seismologists are meeting in New Delhi on Friday to pool their ability to foretell earthquakes quickly and accurately, according to Vijay Madan, an executive member of the Astrology Study and Research Institute. “Scientists will analyse the seismic data recorded before the Gujarat earthquake as well as during its aftermath. We…
SourceFAIZABAD, INDIA, July 31, 2003: Ramchandra Paramhans, chief of the Ramjanmabhoomi Trust and one of the main figures in the Ayodhya movement for close to eight decades, died this morning in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh. He was 90. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has condoled the death of the mahant. “The death has shocked me profoundly. His contribution towards the Ramjanmabhoomi…
SourceBHOPAL, INDIA, July 30, 2003: The Muslim community in a small town in Madhya Pradesh has set an example in communal amity by generously contributing to the renovation of a 300-year-old dilapidated temple. The temple was in urgent need of repairs and few people visited it. In fact, many in the area did not even know about its existence. “Had…
SourceSCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, USA, July 29, 2003: Several people stood Sunday morning near the Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Scottsdale holding signs directed at a Hindu celebration across the street. The Hindu Temple of Arizona was celebrating the last day of its Ratha-Yatra festival by pulling a chariot down Hayden Road when several people appeared with signs bearing messages about Jesus…
SourceUTTAR PRADESH, INDIA, July 27, 2003: If visiting the River Ganga and experiencing first-hand the spirituality of Varanasi and Allahabad has been a life-long dream, then consider this cruise. In a fully air-conditioned luxury boat, tourists and seekers will be able to set sail on a seven-day voyage between Varanasi and Allahabad with stop-overs at the ghats of Varanasi. Sponsored…
SourcePUNE, INDIA, July 26, 2003: For three generations, they have compiled and argued, agonized and transcribed — toiling in monastic tedium to turn an intricate language into six volumes, so far. They have delved into the grammatical roots of “antahpravesakama” and debated the pun hidden in “anangada.” They’ve done a brain-numbingly complete dissection of “anekakrta.” Now, 55 years after a…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, July 23, 2003: In a judgement delivered by the Supreme Court, Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice A.R. Lakshmanan struck down Section 118 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, which discriminated against Christians by putting restrictions on their right to bequeath property for religious or charitable use, declaring it unconstitutional. The court further made…