Malaysia Hindu Police Gather for a Day of Prayer

GO TO SOURCE KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, April 1, 2002: About 400 Hindu policemen and their families offered prayers at the Arulmigu Sri Ramalingam Eswarar Temple in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar on March 30. The gathering was organized by police personnel in the Klang Valley and was meant to bless them and their families in conjunction with the recent 195th Police Day…

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Pluralism Project Offers Research Grants

GO TO SOURCE CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, March 31, 2002: The Pluralism Project, a long-term study by Harvard University, is offering small grants for religion departments, college students, and high school teachers to extend their research on America’s new religious landscape. The small grants for high school teachers encourages engagement with the religious communities of their own region as an integral part…

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Mata Amritanandamayi Devi Tour Updates

GO TO SOURCE KERALA, INDIA, April 1, 2002: Mata Amritanandamayi Devi will be conducting her North Kerala tour from 25 April up to 4 May. There will be two Brahmasthanam Festivals during the tour, one in Palakkad and one in Talssery. The other places she will visit are Vadakara, Kannur and Kanhangad. Amma is now on her trip to Singapore…

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Malaysia Government to Allow Development of Old Temple

GO TO SOURCE KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, March 29, 2002: The government has agreed to allow the development proposed by the management of the century-old Marathandavar Temple in Maran, said Malaysia Indian Congress president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. He said there should be no worries as the temple on a 3.6ha site had been gazetted as a heritage site by…

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Do the Goddesses Wear the Sacred Thread?

GO TO SOURCE KAUAI, HAWAII, March 31, 2002: Hinduism Today is researching an article on the sacred thread ceremony being performed for girls. In the course of the research, we have found paintings and sculptures of Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga and other Goddesses both with and without the sacred thread. If someone is familiar with this aspect of Goddess iconography, kindly…

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Spanish Priest Jams Cell Phones at Mass

GO TO SOURCE MORAIRA, SPAIN, March 26, 2002: A priest fed up with mobile phones ringing during Mass has installed an electronic jammer to keep his flock in tune with God. Perhaps Hindu temples will need such a device in the future. Reverend Francisco Llopis, pastor of the Church of the Defenseless, said the beeps, tunes and other digital noise…

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Sadhu Vaswani Mission Celebrates Dada Vaswani’s 84th Birthday

GO TO SOURCE PUNE, INDIA, March 24, 2002: After an interval of two years during which extensive renovation work was carried out on the Sadhu Vaswani Mission premises, the new extended Satsang Hall is nearing completion. The consecration of the Hall will coincide with Reverend Dada J.P. Vaswani’s 84th Birthday Celebrations in August. A ten-day long program, which will include…

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Living Together Replacing Marriage in Europe

Source: New York Times NORWAY, March 24, 2002: Couples in Europe have adopted a non-marriage trend and as a result more and more European children are born out of wedlock. The article states the following statistics, “In Norway, 49% of all births in 1999 were to unwed parents. In Ireland, the figure was 62%. In Britain, it was 38% and…

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Nine Killed in Fresh Violence in Gujarat

GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD/VADODARA, INDIA, March 31, 2002: Hours after chief minister Narendra Modi claimed in Mumbai on Saturday that Gujarat was returning to normal, violence broke out in many parts of the state late in the night claiming at least nine lives. The incidents come four days prior to Prime Minister Vajpayee’s scheduled visit to the state amid frantic…

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