Source UNITED STATES, June 6, 2015 (Washington Post): Inside the newly opened Meditation Museum in Silver Spring, exhibits refer to the pursuit of “God,” the “Supreme Soul” and often “The One.” A constant visual theme is orangeish-reddish light emanating from a vague, otherworldly source. The message is clear: Meditation is about connecting with the divine. Yet in gyms, businesses and…
Source HYDERABAD, June 9, 2015 ( Deccan Chronicle): Priests and temple staff called off their three-day-old strike after the government agreed to increase their salaries. The government will hike the grant to each temple from Rs 2,500 per month to Rs 6,000, of which Rs 4,500 would be paid to priests and Rs 1,500 to conduct basic rituals. Endowments minister…
Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 5, 2015 (Indian Express): The government appears determined to ensure that its showpiece event in New Delhi this month — to mark the inaugural International Day of Yoga — makes it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest such session at a single venue. And so, the target: apart from the 40,000…
Source INDIA, June 2, 2015 (by Anirvan Chatterjee, India currents): In January 28, 1900, Swami Vivekananda looked out at the white audience at the Universalist Church in Pasadena, California, and spoke out against anti-Black racism. “As soon as a man becomes a Mohammedan, the whole of Islam receives him as a brother with open arms, without making any distinction, which…
Source RAJKOT, INDIA, June 3, 2015 (Times of India): Now non-Hindus will have to take permission from THE office of general manager of Shree Somnath Trust before entering into Somnath Temple for darshan. It has been made mandatory to all non-Hindu pilgrims. Shree Somnath Trust, which manages the ancient Somnath temple, put up a prominent notice board at the temple…
Source HYDERABAD, INDIA, June 5, 2015 (Deccan Chronicle): Archakas and temple staff in several temples, under the banner of the Telangana State Archaka Sangam, went on an indefinite strike across the state on Thursday demanding the government treat them at par with government employees and pay salaries besides other perks. However, archakas and staff of some of the major temples…
Source Joys and sorrows are time-born and cannot last. Therefore, do not be perturbed by these. The greater the difficulties and obstructions, the more intense will be your endeavor to cling to His feet and the more will your prayer increase from within. And when the time is ripe, you will gain mastery over this power. — Anandamayi Ma (1896-1982),…
Source PORTUGAL, April 9, 2015 (Boas Noticias): The president of the Portuguese Yoga Confederation, Jorge Veiga e Castro (Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda), has just been awarded the prestigious Padma Shri prize by the Government of India, for his “exceptional contribution” to the promotion of peace and yoga in the world. This is the first time anyone from Portugal has received…
Source KATHMANDU, NEPAL, June 2, 2015 (Times of India): The UN said on Tuesday that approximately 2.8 million Nepali people affected by the April 25 earthquake and aftershocks were in need of humanitarian assistance. Of those affected, 864,000 people, who live in remote, mountainous areas, need urgent assistance, as they lost their homes and livelihoods, the UN office in Kathmandu…
Source If you long to see God, take to spiritual practices. What is the good of merely crying, “O God! O God!”?— Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886)