Source BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, September 23, 2016 (Morning News USA): What would a school do when one of its students misbehaves? Detention is one common action. But Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in Baltimore is doing something unique — meditation. Detention is a common disciplinary action among schools to address students’ misbehaviors. It involves a trip to the guidance counselor for…
Source MONTREAL, CANADA, September 16, 2016 (Anglican Journal, by Harvey Shepherd): An international, interfaith group of religious scholars has released a document they hope will begin a new chapter in global discussion of human rights. On September 15, a group of scholars from several countries, led by Professor Arvind Sharma, professor of comparative religion at the School of Religious Studies…
Source There are three kinds of devotees. The inferior devotee says, “God is out there” and thinks God is different from His creation. The mediocre devotee says, “God is antaryami, the inner guide who dwells in everyone’s heart;” thus the mediocre devotee sees God within. But the superior devotee sees that God alone is everything, for He has become the…
Source SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, July 2016, (CDE press release): The California Department of Education and State Board of Education (SBE) are seeking reviewers to participate in the 2017 History-Social Science Instructional Materials Adoption for grades kindergarten to 8. Reviewers will evaluate the instructional materials for alignment to the California history-social science standards and the newly revised history-social science curriculum framework, utilizing…
Source PAKISTAN, September 27, 2016 (News 18): Six decades after it came into existence, Pakistan gave nod to a Hindu Marriage Bill that seeks to set up a legal framework for marriage and divorce [previous non-existent for Hindus] besides addressing issues including forced conversions. The Hindu Marriage Bill 2016 was tabled before the Pakistan National Assembly by Human Rights Minister…
Source The sages, being filled with universal love for all beings, did not want to keep their enlightenment to themselves. They declared to all: “O mortals, striving and struggling upon this Earth plane, weeping, wailing, buffeted by the vicissitudes of life: we have come upon a great discovery. There is something beyond these appearances, these vanishing names and forms that…
Source INDIA, May 2016 (You Tube): This video will show the entire history of India from 29th century BCE to 2016 in the form of an ever-changing map indicating the location of the cultures and empires that existed over the centuries. Indus Valley and Vedic periods are shown as they changed decade by decade, after 413 bce, the maps change…
Source INDIA, September 26, 2016 (by Amrita Verma, The Asian Age): Hindu priests in Allahabad and Varanasi demanded a ban on performing the pind daan, a post-death ritual believed to ensure salvation for departed souls, over the Internet. The pind daan is performed mainly during the Pitra Paksh, a 16-day lunar period during which Hindus pay ritual homage to their…
Source To define God is grinding what is already ground; for He is the only being we know.— Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), founder of the Ramakrishna Mission
Source CHENNAI, INDIA, September 25, 2016 (Swadeshi Indology): The first Swadeshi Indology Conference was held in Chennai on July 6-7, 2016. A welcome address was given by Prof. K.S. Kannah and the keynote address by the organizer, Rajiv Malhotra. A few themes of the conference: Is Sanskrit dead or alive? Critique of Sheldon Pollock’s views on Shastras Ramayama as a…