Source UNITED STATES, January 4, 2016 ( The Hindu): Making a strong case for including classical Indian music in the school curriculum, renowned mathematician Manjul Bhargava said it “can help the country produce not just better artistes, but better scientists, judges, innovators and in general, better humans.” To drive home the point that music makes individuals highly creative, he quoted…
Source POLAND, December 28, 2015 (Hindu Students Association International): Joya Patrycja Krishnadasi may not be your typical Westerner, and maybe that is why she was attracted to Hinduism. Born into a Catholic family in Poland, she became disillusioned with her faith and began a search for spirituality. She found herself studying at the local Mosque for many years and was…
Source CANADA, December 31, 2015 (Alberni Valley News): Jan Norman recently returned from her third trip to Cuba and her second one as a yoga instructor. Last year she took a group of yoga students from Port Alberni to a retreat in the country while it was under the Communist regime. Despite the lifted embargo, she saw little change as…
Source We want to claim that which we already are. You are already the Self. You are just not aware of it. Do not put it off based upon some concept that we are not ready, we are not worthy, we need more of this or that. None of those principles apply when it comes to Self-realization.— Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami,…
Source MALAYSIA, January 4, 2016 (The Malaysian Insider): The rights of a non-Muslim mother over her children’s religion remained vulnerable and unprotected by the country’s judicial system, says MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam. He was commenting on the Court of Appeal’s decision in the case of kindergarten teacher, M. Indira Gandhi, whose three children were converted to Islam…
Source BELGIUM, January 1, 2016 (this is an academic paper by Jakob De Roover Ghent University, Belgium): Some excerpts: What we can now conclude is that the idea that there were two distinct communities or “communities of communities” in Indian society, namely Caste Hindus and Depressed Classes (or Untouchables or Scheduled Castes or Harijans or Dalits) did not correspond to…
Source December 30, 2015 (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) Plant-based diets stole the spotlight in 2015. Top advisors to the U.S. government voted for a vegan diet, a veggie burger was voted “best burger in the world,” and prominent figures from Miley Cyrus and Adele to the president of the American College of Cardiology sang the praises of plant-based diets.…
Source SHINDE, INDIA, December 21, 2015 (Today Online): When a Chinese truck company wanted to open a factory in India, its president looked at sites that had a mountain in back and a river in front — especially auspicious locations in the traditional practice of feng shui. The company, Beiqi Foton Motor, found a seemingly ideal spot, and secured 250…
Source Discipline your speech. Speak the truth at all costs. Speak little. Speak sweetly. Always utter encouraging words. Never condemn, criticize or discourage. Do not raise your voice and shout at little children or subordinates.— Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh (1887-1963)
Source Surrender can never be regarded as complete so long as the devotee wants this or that from the Lord. True surrender is the love of God for the sake of love and nothing else, not even for the sake of salvation. Love Him unconditionally.— Sri Ramana Maharishi (1879-1950), South Indian mystic