PARIS, FRANCE, July 25, 2024 (Le Matin, Google translated from French): At the northern end of the Olympic Village, a unique center has been created. The multi-faith center houses five prayer rooms: Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu. In the latter, Lipee Patel, Vaibhavi Kishorkumar Parekh and Pavitra Patel have taken time off from their jobs or studies in the…
PARIS, FRANCE, June 10, 2024 (Religion News): As athletes rev up their training and organizers finalize everything from ceremonies to podiums before the Paris Olympics, more than 120 faith leaders are preparing for a different challenge — spiritually supporting some 10,000 Olympic athletes from around the world, especially those whose medal dreams will inevitably get crushed. “We’ll need to bring…
PARIS, FRANCE, July 29, 2024 (Religion News Service): For the more than 11,040 athletes from more than 200 countries in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics, the games are not just one of the most physically intense moments of their lives, but psychologically intense as well, as years of training and hoping may be realized or lost in mere moments.…
INDIA, July 28, 2024 (BBC): In the eastern foothills of India’s Himalayas, livestock farmer Yang Ering Moyong slips on a baggy shirt and trousers and heads out in the early morning. As she stomps through the dense shrubbery in the hills surrounding the village of Mirem, she lets out a high-pitched call summoning her mithuns, a semi-wild and endangered cattle…
NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 27, 2024 (NDTV): Wearing colorful T-shirts with images of Hindu Gods on them, a large number of Kanwariyas were seen carrying holy water from the Ganges in Haridwar to different parts of the country. The Kanwar Yatra, which usually begins on the first day of the Hindu month of Saawan, sees the participation of a large…
CARIBBEAN, July 24, 2024 (Religion News Service): A standard feature in any biography of Kamala Harris is the fact her parents — one a Hindu from India, the other a Baptist from Jamaica — met at the University of California, Berkeley, where they were both students in the 1960s. For many who claim Indo-Caribbean heritage, Vice President Kamala Harris’ spotlight…
INDIA, July 20, 2024 (Astroyogi): The Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage primarily undertaken by devotees of Lord Shiva, also known as the “Kavarias” or “Kanwariyas.” This Yatra is believed to symbolize the unbreakable bond between Lord Shiva and His devotees, so it is often seen as an act of faith and devotion. This pilgrimage witnesses devotees undertaking an arduous…
NEPAL, July 20, 2024 (Ask Me About Nepal): The annual festival of Gahana Khojne Jatra following the tradition of Goddess Tundal Devi and Her lost jewels kicks off with a grand procession of devotees carrying temple-like khat, a palanquin, with Tundal Devi’s statue in it. Through Handigaun’s winding streets, they weave their way, making stops at marked spots where town…
INDIA, January 31, 2024 (Hindustan Times): The Madras high court on Tuesday directed the Tamil Nadu government and the state Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR&CE) department to not allow non-Hindus inside the Palani temple and its sub-temples in the state, saying that they are “not a picnic or tourist spot.” A bench led by Justice S. Srimathy asked the…
NEPAL , July 21, 2024 (Ask Me About Nepal): The members of the Barahi community come together to build gigantic wheels of Rato Macchendranath chariot from scratch every 12 years. The Barahis are a community of Newar carpenters, as a part of their tradition and responsibilities search for, scour, carve, and assemble the wooden elements/parts of the Rato Macchendranath chariot.…
