KAUAI, HAWAII, May 4, 2024 (Hinduism Today, by Sudarshan Ramabadran): Each Indian state, city, district, town and village has its unique stories and cultures to share with the people of the world. These stories never become obsolete, because they help in creating common ground, driving social change, illustrating complex concepts, providing inspiration and sometimes even leading to the way to…
HINGLAJ, PAKISTAN, April 29, 2024 (News18): The ascent of steep mud volcanoes marks the start of Hindu pilgrims’ religious rituals in southwestern Pakistan. They climb hundreds of stairs or clamber over rocks to reach the summit, tossing coconuts and rose petals into the shallow crater while seeking divine permission to visit Hinglaj Mata, an ancient cave temple that is the…
YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA, April 26, 2024 (VOI): The ogoh-ogoh oarade is one of the processions on Nyepi Day in Bali. Hindus on the Island of the Gods will hold a vandalization or procession of ogoh-ogoh one day before Nyepi. After being brought around the village, this ogoh-ogoh statue was then burned. This year’s Nyepi Day falls on Monday 11 March 2024.…
PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD, May 2, 2024 (by Paras Ramoutar for HPI): The chanting of the Lord Hanuman Chalisa fosters a sense of community and belonging, according to Indian High Commissioner, Dr. Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit. He addressed 15,000 devotees at the Epic Hanuman Chalisa Chanting on April 27, 2024, at Divali Nagar, Chaguanas, Central Trinidad. “As we come together in prayer and…
KAUAI, HAWAII, April 29, 2024 (Hinduism Today, by Nimmi Raghunathan): It was 1965 when Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda made his first visit to the US—to the San Francisco of social commotion of experimentation, peace, and New Age ideas. His first three-day lecture series stateside was impactful enough for him to come back every year after that. This guru was different.…
THAILAND/CAMBODIA, April 24, 2024 (Swadharma): For over a century, Cambodia and Thailand have been engaged in a contentious battle over the ownership of the ancient Hindu Preah Vihear Temple. Following Cambodia’s independence in 1954, Thailand took control of the temple, leading to ongoing conflicts between the two nations. The dispute between Cambodia and Thailand regarding the land near the temple…
LOS ANGELES, April 23, 2024 (India West, by Preity Upala): One of the most pertinent issues of our time is equality, specifically, gender parity and women’s rights. Despite enjoying more freedom and rights than ever before in the history of human existence, women today are struggling to fully embody and express their true feminine nature. Suffice it to say, feminism…
HYDERABAD, INDIA, April 22, 2024 (India West): (IANS) The Vedda, an indigenous group of Sri Lanka, has a close genetic affinity with the Indian population, revealed a landmark study by 10 researchers from five institutions. The significant findings of the study, which involved a comprehensive analysis of high-resolution autosomal and mitochondrial genomes and shed new light on the initial peopling…
LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA, April 15, 2024 (SFGATE, by Shoba Narayan): It is Saturday morning at the famed Shiva-Vishnu Temple in Livermore. Thousands of devotees arriving in Teslas and Range Rovers throng the shrines dedicated to Shiva, Ganesh and other Hindu Gods and Goddesses. I, on the other hand, can only think about the free food. The first time I came to…
UNITED STATES, April 19, 2024 (NBC News): Bees play by rolling wooden balls — apparently for fun. The cleaner wrasse fish appears to recognize its own visage in an underwater mirror. Octopuses seem to react to anesthetic drugs and will avoid settings where they likely experienced past pain. All three of these discoveries came in the last five years —…
