Source LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, April 3, 2017 (LA Times): Varun Soni straightened his shoulders and grasped the podium, his dark suit flanked by the stately white robes of priests and ministers. A beloved professor had been stabbed to death. As USC’s head chaplain, it fell to Soni to help the hundreds gathered outside that day to process their loss. And…
Source Only two kinds of people can attain self-knowledge: those who are not encumbered at all with learning, that is to say, whose minds are not over-crowded with thoughts borrowed from others; and those who, after studying all the scriptures and sciences, have come to realize that they know nothing. — Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886), famed guru of Swami Vivekananda
Source BRAZIL, March 17, 2017 (Globo.com): An ordinance of the Ministry of Health, published on Tuesday (March 28) in the Official Gazette of the Union, has included 14 new alternative therapies in the National Policy of Integrative and Complementary Practices (PNPIC). In January, the ministry had announced that these procedures would soon be offered by the Unified Health System (SUS).…
Source HARIDWAR, INDIA, March 30, 2017 (Hindustan Times): The Uttarakhand high court on Thursday told the state pollution control board to seal hotels, ashrams and industrial units in Haridwar for polluting the Ganga by discharging untreated waste into the river. The order, which came two days after a mining ban in the hill state, would hit 700 of the 1,400…
Source God Siva’s all-knowingness is always inside of us. We don’t have to do anything for it to be there; that’s the important thing. We just have to look in the right place at the right time. — Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, publisher of Hinduism Today
Source UNITED KINGDOM, March 30, 2017 (The Telegraph): The Bank of England has backed the use of palm oil in its new #20 note following a backlash from vegans and religious groups over the use of animal fat in the plastic #5 note. The Bank said the world’s most commonly used vegetable oil was the “only practical alternative” to tallow,…
Source Just as the rays of light share and diffuse the radiance of the sun, so you too share and reflect the golden glories of Indra, the cosmic soul. Let us meditate on the divine presence and for our share, enjoy the ecstasy of bliss vibrating in the world of past and future creations, by virtue of Indra’s omnipresent majesty.…
Source INDIA, March 29, 2017 (New Indian Express): Gudi Padwa is a springtime festival that marks the new year for Marati Hindus. It is celebrated in and near Maharashtra on the first day of the Chaitra month to mark the beginning of the New Year according to the lunar/solar Hindu calendar. The festival is observed with colorful floor decorations called…
Source KENDRAPARA,INDIA, March 29, 2017 (Odisha TV): In what has exposed the gaping holes in the temple security system, unidentified burglars broke open the sanctum sanctorum of 300-year-old temple in Pattamundai police station jurisdiction and decamped with antique statues and valuables worth over US$154,000. The stolen articles include a 88 lb. Astadhatu statue of Lord Krishna besides the brass statues…
Source Common men talk bagfuls of religion but do not practice even a grain of it. The wise man speaks a little, even though his whole life is religion expressed in action. — Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886),