GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 2, 2002: President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on Wednesday led a grateful nation in paying homage to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, on the occasion of his 133rd birth anniversary at his samadhi (place where his ashes are enshrined) in Rajghat here. Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhwat, Prime Minister Atal Bihari…
GO TO SOURCE VADODARA, INDIA, September 30, 2002: Though there are apprehensions about terrorist attacks after the recent violence in the state, most citizens of Vadodara plan to enjoy Navaratri (“Nine Nights,” festival to the Goddess) with the same vigor as ever. They also feel that limiting the festivity to 10 pm, as per a Supreme Court judgement, is not…
GO TO SOURCE GANDHINAGAR, INDIA, September 29, 2002: Joining in a special prayer gathering with Pramukh Swami Shastrinarayan Swarupdas, 20,000 devotees assembled inside the Swaminarayan Temple for the first time since the terrorist attack. Thousands stood outside and watched the program live on closed-circuit TVs and queues extended half-a-kilometer from the temple as visitors kept pouring in. Gun-toting security personnel…
GO TO SOURCE UNITED KINGDOM, September 26, 2002: The United Kingdom has agreed to upgrade ayurveda from single drugs category three to one, thus accepting its scientific base. The UK government has also set up a Herbal Medicines Regulatory Working Group to consider the possibility of suggesting enhancement of law to regulate drugs and practice in herbal medicines, including ayurveda,…
GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, September 28, 2002: In the days of yore in the country, kings adopted the custom of ‘Swayamvaram’ to allow their daughters choose their life partner. TamilMatrimony.com, an online matrimonial service, brought back the tradition of Swayamvaram to Chennai on Friday. It brought together parents of over 2,000 prospective brides from different castes within the Tamil…
GO TO SOURCE PUERTO RICO, October 1, 2002: Swami Sahananda and Swami Atmarupananda from Ramakrishna order are visiting the island. Swami Swahananda will give the lecture titled “The Guru and the Initiation” on October 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the conference hall on the third floor of the condominio El Centro11, #500 Ave. Munoz Rivera Hato Rey. Swami Sahananda served…
Source: Edmonton Journal EDMONTON, ALBERTA, August 17, 2002: A group of thirteen young men ranging in age from twelve to twenty-four were honored with a special samskara or rite of passage — bestowal of the sacred thread — at the North Indian Temple in Alberta, Canada. Entering the temple on the north side, the participants, bare-footed and in yellow robes,…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 29, 2002: Beating up children has traditionally been seen as a parental right in India. Even today, dad beats up mom, mom beats up child and child beats up the teddy bear. But experts say it is NOT OK to beat up children. Why do parents use physical means and why is it…
Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur HAMBURG, GERMANY, September 19, 2002: Adolf Hitler was fascinated with Buddhism and Hinduism, and many of his henchmen viewed him as a Krishna-like divine warrior who would cleanse the Earth of “vermin” in a baptism of fire, according to a headline-making new book. The book “Hitler-Buddha-Krishna” is by a controversial Austrian husband-and-wife team of authors who have…
Source: The Hindustan Times MUMBAI, INDIA, September 19, 2002: In tradition-bound India, says this article, if someone claims to be able to levitate or pull a gold chain out of thin air, it does not take long for him to become known as a “Godman.” There are numerous so-called “Miracle Babas” who are just out to get rich by duping…