Source UNITED STATES, January 9, 2015 (New York Times by Mandy Catron): HPI Note: We were struck by how this research relates to the process of arranged marriages. More than 20 years ago, the psychologist Arthur Aron succeeded in making two strangers fall in love in his laboratory. Last summer, I applied his technique in my own life, which is…
Source PUDUCHERRY, INDIA, January 7, 2015 (The Hindu): More than 120 years after Swami Vivekananda crossed the Atlantic and introduced yoga to the Western world, the discipline is a thriving industry in that part of the world with different variations taking shape every other day. 2014 proved a significant year for yoga in India, with the United Nations declaring June…
Source UNITED STATES, January 4, 2015 (Ancient Origins): The Smithsonian Institution has released more than 44,000 images of precious artworks and artifacts from two of their museums of Asian art, many of which have never been shown publicly before. The galleries are the first Smithsonian museums and first Asian art museums to digitize and share their collections on the internet.…
Source SOUTH AFRICA, December 14, 2014 (Times Live by S. Makhanya): Rarely do we in South Africa have a year in which someone does not touch someone else on their religion, race, culture or ethnic heritage. We have reported on recurring disputes such as the spat over fireworks during Diwali every year. In 2002, Hindu vets Vis Pillay, Ramona Rambally,…
Source KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, January 14, 2015 ( Rawa News): Rawail Singh, a leader of Kabul’s Sikh community, is a big supporter of recently sworn-in President Ashraf Ghani. But despite Mr. Ghani’s pledge to make Afghanistan more inclusive, Mr. Singh says he worries that his tiny religious minority could disappear as more Sikhs and Hindus leave their homeland because of persistent…
Source According as one acts, so does he become. One becomes virtuous by virtuous action, bad by bad action.— Yajur Veda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5
Source SWITZERLAND, September 22, 2012 (Swiss Haywards): The traditional Alpabfahrt festival in Schupfheim, Switzerland celebrates bringing the cows down from the high alps to their wintering grounds. The festival occurs all across Switzerland this time of year. The farmers and rural community are very proud of this tradition. They are also very proud of their cows. The most productive cows…
Source PUNE, INDIA, January 13, 2015 (Sadhu Vaswani Mission): On her first visit to India, Tulsi Gabbard met Rev. Dada J.P. Vaswani on Christmas Day, December 25, 2014. This was her first-time visit to India, upon the invitation of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. She made a halt in Pune. During this time, she attended a session at…
Source Remember, your own soul knows the reasons why you were born in this life. It knows what you need to accomplish in this birth. As a soul, you know what obstacles and challenges you need to face and overcome to grow stronger and conquer past karmic patterns through fulfilling your chosen dharma.— Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism…
Source UNITED KINGDOM, January 10, 2015 (YouTube): When teaching principles of spirituality the challenge is how to avoid the subject seeming abstract and divorced from the peoples own life experience. Beth Stockly, an religious education consultant for Brent, has devised a new scheme of work which aims to make the teaching of religion more relevant to peoples lives. She has…