Daily Inspiration
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)
Encounter with the Infinite
Source UNITED STATES, January 23, 2015 (by Robert Schneider with Benjamin Phelan): Srinivasa Ramanujan was a super genius born into extreme poverty in an obscure part of southern India, who taught himself mathematics from a standard textbook, and in total isolation became a mathematician of such power that one hundred years after his death, at the age of thirty-two, the…
Sringeri Sankaracharya Anoints Successor
Source CHENNAI, INDIA, January 24, 2015 (The Hindu): Sri Vidhushekhara Bharati, earlier known as Kuppa Venkateshwara Prasada Sharma, was formally anointed as successor to Sri Bharati Tirtha, Sankaracharya of the Sringeri Math, in Sringeri on Friday. According to a release from the Math, the elaborate ceremony of Shishya Sweekara began on Thursday. The successor-designate performed several rituals, fasted all day…
Daily Inspiration
Source Mind is consciousness which has put on limitations. You are originally unlimited and perfect. Later you take on limitations and become the mind.— Ramana Maharshi, (1879-1950), South Indian mystic
Hindu Group on a Quest to End Graft in Maharashtra Temples
Source MUMBAI, INDIA, January 25, 2015 (New Indian Express): Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad (HVP), a union of Mumbai-based lawyers that works for right-wing organisations, has set quite an unusual goal for itself. It is working towards unearthing scams in several big Hindu temples in Maharashtra. So far, it has achieved some amount of success in its mission with two temples in…
Religious Leaders, Scholars Honored by 2015 Padma Awards
Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 25, 2015: (IBN Live): Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, were announced on Sunday. The awards are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and…
Daily Inspiration
Source The unloving belong only to themselves, but the loving belong to others to their very bones.— Tirukkural
Conversion to Christianity is a Low-Key affair, Reconversion to Hinduism is Shrill and Blunt
Source INDIA, January 24, 2015 (by Seema Kamdar, DNA): The brouhaha over “coming back home” sits a bit oddly with a long-accepted practice of conversion by coercion or inducements in India. While the Mughals used force to augment their religious strength, various sects of Christianity have unerringly and silently set up bases in untended territories of the country or sought…
Desi Dialogues: Memories of Kite Flying and Chikki at Makar Sankranti
Source TORONTO, CANADA, January 24, 2015 (by Rakshande Italia, Scarborough Mirror): As North America dives into a deep freeze and temperatures reach minus degrees, its heartening to note thousands of miles away in India, people are celebrating the first festival of the year. Makar Sankranti is a four-day festival dedicated at paying homage to the elements of the sun, wind…
Nine Million Take Holy Dip on Mauni Amavasya
Source ALLAHABAD, INDIA, January 20, 2015 (Times of India): “Har, Har Gange” reverberated in the air throughout the day as a large number of devotees headed towards River Ganga on Mauni Amavasya at Sangam, Jhunsi and Arail ghats. Mela officials claimed that around 9 million pilgrims and devotees had a holy dip at Sangam, Jhunsi and Arail ghats by late…