News

Source VANCOUVER, CANADA, July 10, 2018 (Press Release): The 17th World Sanskrit Conference, the premier international forum for Sanskrit scholars, recognized Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s Akshar-Purushottam Darshan as the first new independent school of Vedanta since the 16th century. The recently authored ground-breaking Sanskrit works on the Akshar-Purushottam Darshan, the Swaminarayan Bhashyam and the Swaminarayan Siddhanta-Sudha by Sadhu Bhadreshdas of the BAPS…

Source Sojourns in tirthas, which are meritorious and which constitute one of the high mysteries of the rishis, are even superior to sacrifices.— Mahabharata

Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 9, 2018 (Lanka Web): Religious tourism can be a boon not only for the tourism industry but for other industries associated with it too. Keeping this in mind, the Indian Railways has decided to launch a train service that will cover all locations that are linked to the famous Hindu epic Ramayana – a journey…

Source BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, July 8, 2018 (India TV News): Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati and Gajapati King Dibyasingha Dev, who is considered the first servitor of Lord Jagannath, have expressed opposition to allowing entry of non-Hindus into the Puri temple. Presently only Hindus are allowed to enter the 12th-century shrine and the issue relating to allowing entry of non-Hindus is being debated…

Source LONDON, U.K., July 4, 2018 (Asian Voice): The Swaminarayan School in Brent has decided to extend its notice period before it closes the doors to students, after considering the concerns of parents and students. The school sent a letter to all parents on 25 June 2018, explaining the closure is related to lack of funding, recruitment of right staff…

Source INDIA, July 4, 2018 (Economic Times): The Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir Himalayas was suspended today from both Pahalgam and Baltal routes due to landslides even as the death toll during this year’s yatra rose to 11, an official spokesperson said. He said, however, limited helicopter services functioned from both the routes. “On the 7th day of the ongoing…

Source KATHMANDU, NEPAL, July 3, 2018 (Times of India): Over 100 Indian pilgrims were evacuated from Simikot in Nepal on Tuesday as rescue work intensified to bring back safely more than 1,500 Indians who have been stranded in Nepal’s mountainous region due to heavy rain while returning from the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage in Tibet. “So far 104 pilgrims have been…

Source It is far easier to conquer others than to conquer oneself, because the former can be attained by recourse to outside means, while the latter can be achieved only with one’s own mind.— Mahatma Gandhi(1869-1948)

Source Eternal, pure, groundless, death-and-birth free, pervasive, ever immaculate, distant, near, enveloping effulgence of void, the support of all, the fullness of bliss, the consciousness-form beyond thought and speech, That which thus stood, the expanse vast that generates bliss, let us contemplate.— Tayumanavar (1706-1744), South Indian devotional poet

Source INDIA, June 30, 2018 (ED Times by Janhavi Sharma): Colonialism completely changed the world. British colonialism, more specifically, changed the face of 53 nations thereby tagging them as the Commonwealth nations. While British rule brought about untold change and modifications to India, it is hard to imagine an India without its embedded British characteristics. So what would India look…