GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, February 14, 2003: Shaida.com has taken their site from cyberspace to a brick and mortar location by holding a swayamvara in the cities of Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. A swayamvara is a Hindu custom in which a girl chooses her own husband from an assembled group of prospects, though in this case the…
GO TO SOURCE CAMBRIDGE, CANADA, February 26, 2003: The Radha Krishan Temple of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, is seeking a full-time Hindu priest. The prospective priest must have a good knowledge of Hindi and English. Additionally, it is preferred they have elementary knowledge of Christianity and Islam so they can converse well with Christian Clergymen and Islamic Mullas in the Cambridge…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, February 26, 2003: The Vivekananda Center London in yesterday’s HPI was incorrectly named. Instead of the Vedanta Center London, they are correctly known as the Vivekananda Center London, which is a different organization from London’s Ramakrishna Vedanta Center.
GO TO SOURCE KATGARH, INDIA, February 15, 2003: Dozens of archeologists have fanned out across the northern Indian state of Haryana in the last seven months to look for traces of the Saraswati River. A group of geologists and glaciologists, armed with satellite imagery maps and remote sensing data, are studying rocks, glaciers and sediments in the Himalayas, seeking any…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, February 24, 2003: London’s Vedanta Center is heavily involved in providing input for a series of television shows and public talks around London. A series of four TV programs with ITV have already been recorded and edited and are ready to be aired later this year. Future programs under discussion are a series on science…
GO TO SOURCE UNITED STATES, February 5, 2003: In a recent article on Sulekha, Sankrant Sanu examined Microsoft Encarta’s treatment of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. He concluded that Encarta’s portrayal of Hinduism was biased and negative in comparison to the more evenhanded and sophisticated treatments granted Islam and Christianity. Sanu’s article prompted a closer at a world religions textbook, Mary…
GO TO SOURCE CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., February 25, 2003: Letters of support are needed for a vegetarian school lunch bill recently introduced in California. Assemblyman Joe Nation of Marin County, California, has introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 16 calling for schools to offer a daily plant-based vegetarian option on the daily lunch menu. If you represent a recognized institution, religious community, or…
GO TO SOURCE SUVA, FIJI, February 24, 2003: The e-mail contact for Mr. N. K. Naidu in Fiji was incorrect in HPI’s recent summary regarding the Sangam Convention in Fiji. For correct e-mail see “source” above.
GO TO SOURCE BETHESDA, U.S.A., February 22, 2003: The Executive and Religious Committees of the Murugan Temple here are seeking input for rewriting their employment agreement for priests. Their goal is to have a contract that is positive for their priests, fairly ensuring their rights and responsibilities and protection for the temple. If any temple committees have contracts they are…
GO TO SOURCE CHANDIGARH, INDIA, February 15, 2003: Men working for the Haryana government might soon be required to give a written declaration following their marriage stating they have not taken a dowry. In an attempt to stop this practice, Haryana is planning to appoint a chief dowry prohibition officer whose job will be to collect these declarations and lists…