Source SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, November 10, 2017: After more than a decade of constructive civic engagement with the California Department of Education, the Hindu American community won a significant victory yesterday in its quest for an accurate, equitable, and culturally competent portrayal of Hinduism and India in California textbooks. In its final public hearing, the Department’s State Board of Education (SBE)…
Source BANGLADESH, November 11, 2017 (Outlook India): A mob of protesters has set on fire to at least 30 houses of Hindus in Bangladesh following rumors that a youth from the minority community published an offensive Facebook status, media reports said today. One person was killed when police opened fire to disperse the crowd that launched the arson attack on…
Source Attach yourself to Him who is free from all attachments. Bind yourself to that bond so all other bonds may be broken.— Tirukkural 350
Source INDIA, November 6, 2017 (Swarajyamag by Swami Venkataraman): In April 2016, a more than 1,000-year-old temple, built by Rajendra Chola-I in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, was pulled down by the state government in the name of renovation. The government said the temple was only dismantled and would be put together again. In May 2010, the temple tower of…
Source JAKARTA, INDONESIA, November 7, 2017 (Reuters): Indonesia’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday affirmed the rights of devotees of faiths outside the country’s officially recognized religions, in a move activists welcomed as a “new chapter for religious freedom”. Against a backdrop of rising intolerance toward minorities in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, the court said Indonesians would not be required to…
Source Arise, awake! Stop not till the goal is reached.— Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), disciple of Sri Ramakrisha
Source UNITED KINGDOM, November 6, 2017 (BBC by Christian Blauvelt): The comedian Hari Kondabolu is trying to wake up TV viewers to how generally accepted the questionable portrayal of the Simpsons’ character, Apu, has been. “After a while, you’d watch The Simpsons on a Sunday and you’d get a sense of how you’d be made fun of at school on…
Source THRISSUR, INDIA, November 7, 2017 (Kaumudi Global): The Malabar Devaswom Board [see definition below] has taken over the Parthasarathy temple in Guruvayoor despite oppositions from various Hindu organizations. Though the board had come to take over the temple earlier, they had to return following strong oppositions. Malabar Devaswom Board officials arrived Tuesday morning. A team of police also arrived…
Source UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA, October 28, 2017 (Indian Express): The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday issued an order notifying Vrindavan and Barsana towns in Mathura district as “pavitra teerth sthals” (sacred pilgrimage sites). No meat and liquor shops will be allowed in these towns anymore. Principal Secretary (Religious Affairs) Avinish Kumar Awasthi said: “… from now, meat and liquor shops…
Source We want to claim that which we already are. You are already the Self. You are just not aware of it. Do not put it off based upon some concept that we are not ready, we are not worthy, we need more of this or that. None of those principles apply when it comes to Self-realization.— Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami,…