Source: India Tribune BANGALORE, INDIA, May 26, 2001: A 40-foot long green granite block weighing 100 tons destined for carving into a statue of Lord Hanuman fell off its 96-wheel trailer onto the roadside while negotiating a turn near Bangalore. Upon learning the huge stone’s sacred destiny, the local villagers immediately began worshipping it. The popularity of the stone is…
GO TO SOURCE CALCUTTA, INDIA, June 9, 2001: While we in India battle each other on the streets on whether Sanskrit should be revived in the school curricula or not, top notch Western universities have been busy churning our one esoteric dissertation after another on Panini’s Ashtadhyay and comparing Bhartihari’s and Patanjali’s grammatical logic. The irony has been in place…
Source: The Hindustan Times NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 29, 2001: The subcommittee set up in 1997 to prepare a status report on the condition of cremation grounds in New Delhi and to formulate a policy for their improvement is yet to finalize its report. Lack of interest on the part of members and health officials is cited. The committee was…
Source: Religion News Service VENTURA. CALIFORNIA, June 7, 2001: Tithing, the ancient practice of contributing one-tenth of your income to the religion of your choice, is on the decline in America. According to the Barna Research Group who conducted a telephone poll on 1,005 adults, 17% claimed to tithe but in actuality only 6% donated one-tenth of their income to…
GO TO SOURCE KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, June 8, 2001: Malaysian police said yesterday a Muslim militant group which has been behind a trail of bomb blasts, armed robberies and attempted murders was planning to wage a “holy war” to turn Malaysia into a “purist” Islamic state. Nine members of the group, all Malaysians who were arrested recently, had fought with…
Source: United News of India NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 21, 2001: Once wealthy merchant families numbering around 50,000 who lived an honorable life contributing to their society for thousands of years, the plight of Hindus has been reduced to a slum-like existence in Afghanistan. After the Taliban hard-liner regime took over power in the country, they imposed a fundamentalist approach…
GO TO SOURCE SINGAPORE, June 7, 2001: The Economic Development Board (EDB) has joined forces with an Indian multimedia company to make an animated film about Buddha. The US$5.5 million production entitled “Buddha,” due to be finished next year, will be the first full-length animated film to be co-produced here. The 90-minute story about Prince Siddharta’s journey towards enlightenment will…
GO TO SOURCE CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, June 9, 2001: The Australian Social Trends 2001, compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, shows that the Asian-born proportion of the population is the most rapidly growing. The Australian-born caucasian is being replaced by predominantly Asian immigrants and their offspring. Based on last year’s figures compiled by the annual study, 4.5 million people or…
Source: The Hindu HYDERABAD, JUNE 6. The Laxmi Narasimha Temple at Yadagirigutta was burgled and one of its watchmen, Ram Bahadur, was stabbed to death. Bahadur would remain inside the temple after the main doors were locked every evening at 10 p.m. The victim’s body was found in a pool of blood by priests arriving at 4 a.m. for the…
GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, NEW YORK, June 9, 2001 : Swami Tejomayananda, chairman, Chinmaya Mission, worldwide will hold discourses in Hindi on Srimad Bhagavatam at the Raritan Center from July 8-14 as a part of Chinmaya Mission Golden Jubilee celebrations in New Jersey. The Chinmaya Mission tristate center has planned concerts by Indian maestros Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Vilayat Khan…