Source: The Hindu PATHANAMTHITTA, INDIA, November 15, 2001: The sanctum sanctorum of the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple has been opened for the two-month-long annual Mandalam-Makaravilaku pilgrim season. The holy hillock witnessed a heavy rush today when the temple was opened for the pilgrim season. The Tantri (head priest), Mr. Kantaru Mohanaru, said that the Neyyabhishekam ritual would begin tomorrow morning, the…
Source: Hinduism Today Correspondent Kalyani Giri HOUSTON, TEXAS, November 18, 2001: Prominent Hindu leaders from Houston’s many organizations and members of the local community gathered on November 18, at Keshav Smruti to celebrate the life of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, affectionately known as Gurudeva. The charismatic Hindu religious leader passed away on November 12 after a short battle with cancer at…
Source: Hinduism Today Correspondent Paras Ramoutar TRINIDAD, November 19, 2001: The 15th Annual Divali Nagar ended with an inspirational observation by the President of Trinidad and Tobago, His Excellency President A.N.R. Robinson. He was among a host of dignitaries who included Prime Minister Basdeo Panday and Mrs. Oma Panday. Prime Minister Panday who visited the Nagar on Saturday night November…
GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, NEW YORK, November 18, 2001: Today’s issue of the New York Times contains a lengthy story on the passing of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami at “source.” It recounts how “the native Californian who sought spiritual meaning in India as a young man and became the spiritual leader of Sri Lankan Hindus, died on Tuesday at his…
GO TO SOURCE DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, November 18, 2001: Percussion maestro and South Africa’s doyen of Carnatic music Gopalan Govender passed away here on November 17. He was 77 years of age. During the 1900s in the apartheid years, he started a renaissance among generations of indentured laborers, instilling in them a sense of pride in their rich cultural heritage…
Source: Hinduistan Times NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 15, 2001: The highly publicized campaign to limit firecrackers proved unsuccessful in Delhi this year with Divali being more polluted and noisy than in the recent past. The Delhi government put the blame on an atmospheric condition called inversion. This condition sets in due to low night temperatures with little wind movement. It…
Source: Rediff on the Net DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, November 15, 2001: The desecration of statues of Hindu deities at one of South Africa’s oldest temples on the eve of Divali has shocked devotees here. “The century old statues, originally imported from India, have always stood in shrines outside the Narainsamy Temple,” said a spokesman for the temple, Tiny Moodley. This…
GO TO SOURCE PORTLAND, OREGON, USA, November 16, 2001: Many members of Oregon’s Indian community of doctors, business owners, high-tech employees and blue collar workers come together this week to mark Divali, the Festival of Lights celebrated by Hindus. As Indians gather in lantern-decorated temples and homes all over Oregon to pray, share meals and enjoy fireworks, the increasing number…
GO TO SOURCE KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, November 14, 2001: The Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, has urged Malaysians to sustain efforts to consolidate the prevailing racial tolerance and help the nation preserve the prosperity it has been blessed with. He said it was the stability and harmony arising from the spirit of coexistence of all its citizens that steered Malaysia…
Source: Hinduism Today OXFORD, ENGLAND, November 17, 2001: “In my opinion,” writes A. Khaitan of Oxford University, “The ‘Theft of Sita’ play is nothing more than an attempt to disparage what the Hindu epic, Ramayana, is about. I saw the play tonight (in Oxford) and was utterly disgusted. Far from sticking to the true Ramayana, the play made references to…