Source SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, June 23, 2016 (The Independent): For 75 years the Santa Barbara Museum of Art has pursued a mission that includes collecting, displaying, and educating the public about the arts of Asia. Puja and Piety: Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Art from the Indian Subcontinent demonstrates the impact that an innovative curatorial concept can have on the educational…
Source O Mother! Let all my speech be your prayer; let all my crafts and technology be your worship and be the mystic gestures of my hand, adorning you. May all my movements become your devotional circumambulations. May everything I eat or drink be oblations to you. Let my lying down in rest and sleep be prostrations to you. Mother!…
Source UNITED STATES, June 21, 2016 (Christian Science Monitor): On Dec. 11, 2014 a wildly popular resolution was introduced to the United Nations General Assembly. A record number of countries – 177 – were willing to co-sponsor, making it so popular, it was adopted without a vote. But the resolution was not so much a political posture, as a physical…
Source INDIA, June 23, 2016 (The Diplomat): On June 21, 2016, the world welcomed the second celebration of the International Day of Yoga – constituted last year by the United Nations through a resolution that won the support of 177 member states. In his message on Yoga Day, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declared the importance of promoting…
Source Whatever defect I have in my sight, in my heart or mind, may God amend! May he, the Protector of the world, bless us!— Yajur Veda 36.2
Source GREAT BRITAIN, May 27, 2016 (The Guardian, editorial): Is the end of western Christianity in sight? The most recent British Social Attitudes data shows that “No religion” is now by far the largest single identification in England and Wales. It is very nearly half the adult population, and more that twice the proportion who self-identify as Anglican; it is…
Source KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, June 24, 2016 (by Hamid Shallizi, Reuters): On a bright day in downtown Kabul, Jagtar Singh Laghmani was in his traditional herb shop when a man turned up, drew a knife and told him to convert to Islam or he would cut his throat. Only bystanders and other shopkeepers saved his life. The incident earlier this month…
Source CHENNAI, INDIA, June 21, 2016 (Hue Wire): The Tamil Nadu Police have seized around 500 stolen antique statues of Hindu deities from an alleged smuggler masquerading as an art collector. Many of the statues are over a thousand years old. The statues recovered include 254 ancient stone statues, 54 panchaloha statues, 28 wooden artefacts and 151 antique art works…
Source Correcting oneself is correcting the whole world. The sun is simply bright. It does not correct anyone. Because it shines, the whole world is full of light. Transforming yourself is a means of giving light to the whole world.— Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)
Source INDIA, June 16, 2016 (The Hindu by Suganthy Krishnamachari): My curiosity is aroused when I hear that a student of Western philosophy from Denmark, is doing his Ph.D in Saiva Siddhanta in the Sanskrit Department, University of Madras. I meet Mikael Stamm one afternoon, and he explains why he was disenchanted with Western philosophy. “I didn’t like its rejection…