Source Do not be proud of wealth, people, relations and friends, or youth. All these are snatched by time in the blink of an eye. Giving up this illusory world, know and attain the Supreme.— Adi Shankara, 9th century Indian philosopher and saint
Source MOSCOW, RUSSIA, July 9, 2015 (New York Times): President Vladimir Putin avowed on Wednesday that he was ready to add yoga, the ancient discipline of mindfulness and gentle stretching, to his repertoire of strictly macho sports. “I have tried many things, but never yoga, but it cannot fail to attract,” Mr. Putin told Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India…
Source NEPAL, April 29, 2015 (sociocheck.com): The massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday, not only killed more than 5000 people but also destroyed some of the country’s most iconic landmarks and flattened many of the country’s historic structures. The massive earthquake – the worst to hit Nepal in 80 years – devastated the capital of Kathmandu. Its…
Source BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, July 10, 2015 (Niti Central): Barely a week before the Nabakalebara Rath Jatra of Lord Jagannath gets underway, Shankaracharya of Puri Swami Nischalananda Saraswati today blamed the chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration for the mismanagement in the 12th century shrine. “I hold Shree Jagannath Temple Administration’s chief administrator responsible for all the chaos in…
Source The syllable gu means shadows. The syllable ru, he who disperses them. Because of the power to disperse darkness, the guru is thus named.— Advayataraka Upanishad
Source (Eugene, Oregon. July 2015). Skipping Stones Multicultural Literary Magazine has announced the winners of 2015 Skipping Stones Book Awards in their Summer 2015 issue which may be downloaded from source above. This year, they have selected 25 multicultural and/or nature books and 5 teaching resources. Two of special interest to Hinduism Today readers are: India Unveiled: Spirit, Tradition, People…
Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 4, 2015 (Sunday Guardian): India may get its first multi-page daily newspaper in Sanskrit this Navratri. A group of enthusiastic Sanskrit lovers, who have been publishing the Sanskrit weekly Sajal Sandesh from Delhi for about the last two years, are working overtime to start the daily. “Currently, the lone Sanskrit newspaper Sudharma is published from…
Source There are two great forces in the universe, silence and speech. Silence prepares, speech creates. The strength of noise and activity is great. But infinite is the strength of stillness and silence, in which great forces prepare for action. To be capable of silence, stillness and illuminated passivity is to be fit for immortality.— Sri Aurobido (1879-1950)
Source KOLKATA, INDIA, July 4, 2015 (Times of India): Rural India has over 70,000 transgenders, with Uttar Pradesh topping the list with nearly 13,000, and West Bengal home to around 10,000, reveals the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011. The census’s gender analysis reports rural India has 74,286 transgenders. According to Ranjita Sinha, transgender activist and a member of Bengal’s…
Source INDIA, July 5, 2015 (By Mridula Chari): Travelling to the subcontinent from Africa as mercenaries, merchants and slaves, Sidis are now well assimilated. Yet they are frequent victims of discrimination. When people think of Africans in Indian history, Malik Ambar tends to be the first name to come to mind. Brought to Ahmadnagar as a warrior-slave in the 16th…