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Source KAUAI, HAWAII, August 28, 2015 (HPI): The Hinduism Today app, rolled out August 12 for the iPhone, is now available for all Android smart phones. You can get it on Google Play: Click here and install! Apple iOS users: go here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hinduism-today/id1023295974?mt=8Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.HinduismToday.android For many months now the monks have been working among themselves and with experts to…

Source WASHINGTON D.C., August 24, 2015 (Hindu American Foundation): Teachers from around the Washington, DC region took part in the three-day Teach India! teacher training workshop organized by the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), California State University-Long Beach, and the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple (SSVT), the first ever program featuring a partnership of this kind. The workshop was held from Aug.…

Source UNITED STATES, August 26, 2015 (Vedanet by Vamadeva Shastri): Western academia has had an almost uncritical control of Hindu studies, unlike that of any other religion. There are few practicing Hindus in academic positions in the West, and those that exist rarely challenge the dominant discourse openly in front of their peers. Indians seem to be encouraged if they…

Source JAIPUR, INDIA, August 25, 2015 (Nation): Thousands of members of the austere Jain religion protested across India on Monday for the legal right to take part in an ancient ritual of starving themselves to death. Dressed in traditional white kurtas and trousers and holding banners that read “Suicide is crime, Santhara is religion”, they marched silently through the city…

Source HYDERABAD, INDIA, august 22, 2015 (The Hindu): Environmental concerns is an issue that crops up each year in the runup to Vinayak Chaturthi in the city. And like in previous years, immersion of statues in Hussainsagar Lake scheduled in the last week of September grabbed the spotlight this time too. Built in 1562, the lake dividing the twin cities…

Source INDIA, August 21, 2015 (Storypick): People consider India to be incompetent when it comes to organising things, but this news might change that perspective to some extent. A book produced by scholars and students of Harvard University along with architects and town planners of international repute, declared that Maha Kumbh 2013 at Prayag to be better organized than FIFA…

Source HYDERABAD, INDIA, August 19, 2015 (Deccan Chronicle): The AP endowments department on Tuesday said that Hindu temples and their properties are not government assets. Revenue department principal secretary J.S.V. Prasad said temples were never constructed by the government with taxpayers’ money. They were built by Hindu philanthropists, mutts, peetams and zamindars since ancient times. “The government is only acting…

Source MUMBAI, INDIA, August 12, 2015 (Radio and Music): Big FM (that’s a privately-owned radio station in India which covers 45 cities, fyi) welcomes the largest Indian festival of the year with a Big twist of green, the Big Green Ganesha. The campaign was laid down in 2008 with the vision for a better eco-friendly future and has received tremendous…

Source KOZHIKODE, INDIA, August 15, 2015 (Deccan Chronicle): The state government’s lethargy in sanctioning funds for the temples has left many employees in a deep crisis. Several employees like those of Karikkad temple in Manjeri have not received salaries for the last four years. The Devaswom Board had refused to give funds citing that the temple had a revenue of…

Source ABU DHABI, August 16, 2015 (Times of India): On the occasion of PM Narendra Modi’s visit, a long wait for the Indian community in UAE ended as the government there announced its decision to allot land for building a temple in Abu Dhabi. PM Modi thanked the UAE leadership for this landmark decision. “A long wait for the Indian…