Source INDIA, July 6, 2020 (Yahoo News): Special prayers were held Sunday at Pahalgam on the occasion of Ashad-Purnima, marking the traditional commencement of the annual Amarnath yatra in South Kashmir. Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam on Saturday said keeping in view the prevailing circumstances, the pilgrimage this year would have to be undertaken in a restricted manner. In view of…
Source Hindu Dharma was a great reconciler. It reconciled various viewpoints, various doctrines. It knew how to look at things from various angles and viewpoints. It knew no conflict between science and religion, between rationalism and spiritualism. It was so because it was not dogmatic in reason or religion.— Ram Swarup (1920-1998), distinguished spokesperson of Hindu spirituality and culture in…
Source PAKISTAN, July 3, 2020 (WION): A revealing video report by Palki Sharma of WION, an India-based TV news channel, on the recent ground-breaking for a Hindu temple in Islamabad. The video’s description states, “The construction of a Hindu Temple in Islamabad has rattled Pakistan’s extremists. From clerics to lawyers & politicians, several top leaders in Pakistan want the construction…
Source USA, July 2, 2020 (Video interview with Rajiv Malhotra): Esther Dhanraj, born into a conservative Telugu Hindu Brahmin family, converted to Christianity when she was seventeen after her parents switched to the faith. After marriage, she went to the USA and studied Christianity formally at a reputed American University. She found all that the American pastors were keeping away…
Source CAIRO, EGYPT, July 1, 2020 (My Central Oregon): Mysteries and superstitious tales surrounding an Indian-style mansion in an upscale Cairo district have finally been put to bed as the 109-year-old palace opened to visitors for the first time on Tuesday following an $11 million restoration project. Named after the millionaire Belgian industrialist who was its original owner, the neglected…
Source Everything changes, everything passes; things appearing, things disappearing. But when all is over–being and extinction both transcended–still, the basic emptiness and silence abide, and that is blissful peace.— Mystical song from a Hindu story
Source NEW YORK, NEW YORK, July 1, 2020 (NY Times): This very long article by Isabel Wilkerson is titled “America’s Enduring Caste System: Our founding ideals promise liberty and equality for all. Our reality is an enduring racial hierarchy that has persisted for centuries.” It is a stark look at the history of slavery and racism in America with comparisons…
Source KAUAI, HAWAII, July 1, 2020: Hinduism Today’s July/August/September, 2020 issue, has gone to press and is now available at “source” above. You can also download our free Hinduism Today app and get the entire magazine in a mobile-friendly format for your phone. Health is on the mind of nearly everyone these days. There is even a new greeting in…
Source INDIA, June 21, 2020 (Hindustan Times): People across the world celebrated International Yoga Day on June 21 from the confines of their homes as restrictions continue due to the coronavirus outbreak. In India, the celebrations kicked off with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation where he emphasized on the importance of yoga in our lives and urged…
Source INDIA, June 18, 2020 (The Hindu): The annual Ani Thirumanjanam car festival at Sri Sabanayagar temple, popularly known as Sri Natarajar temple, in Chidambaram scheduled on June 27 has been cancelled this year owing to COVID-19 outbreak. Official sources said that a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the District Collector V. Anbuselvan with Pothu…