Help Sought for Directory of Indian Spiritual Organisations Functioning Abroad

Source INDIA, September 30, 2014 (Vivekananda Kendra): The booklet titled “The Global Vision and Mission of Swami Vivekananda, and how it inspired the Indian Spiritual Thrust World-wide” (downloadable online at http://tinyurl.com/nta7ocy) highlights the need for a Directory of Indian Spiritual Organisations Functioning Abroad, and presents the details of the Project. It contains an appeal from the President of Vivekananda Kendra,…

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Narendra Modi Asks World Leaders to Adopt International Yoga Day

Source INDIA, September 27, 2014 (Indian Express): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked the world leaders to adopt an International Yoga Day, saying that by changing lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change. “Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day,” Modi said in his maiden address to the 193-member UN General Assembly…

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Durga Puja Begins Today in Bangladesh; Pandals Immediately Attacked

Source DHAKA, BANGLADESH, September 30, 2014 (The Daily Star): The five-day Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of Hindus, begins today with Mahashashthi. This year Mohanabami, alongside Bijoya Dashami, the day the Deities are immersed, will be celebrated on October 3. However, Puja organizers in Dhaka have decided to immerse the Deities on October 4. Around 28,600 altars have been…

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Daily Inspiration

Source I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and acceptance. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of…

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Indonesian Puppetry and a Festival of West Javanese Culture Come to Freer/Sackler

Source WASHINGTON D.C., September 26, 2014 (Washington Post): Epic narrative. Exquisite music. Spirited humor. And puppets. The performing-art form wayang golek has it all, says Kathy Foley, a scholar and master puppeteer who is deeply versed in this brand of theater, traditional to the Sundanese culture of West Java, Indonesia. Wayang golek could be likened to “a combination of what…

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Kullu Religious Body Decides to Continue with Animal Sacrifice Despite High Court Ban

Source INDIA, September 26, 2014 (Indian Express): Less than a month after the Himachal Pradesh High Court banned animal sacrifice at religious places during fairs and festivals, the caretakers of the Deities, at their rare congregation, decided to continue with the age-old tradition. The development has created a piquant situation for law enforcing agencies, which had earlier told the caretakers’…

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Understanding Navaratri

Source UNITED KINGDOM, September 26, 2014 (National Council of Hindu Temples UK): Hindu spiritual philosophy suggests that the Universe and everything therein that we can see and feel, is Feminine (creative and dynamic) in nature. Further we humans can “connect” with this aspect of the Universe by connecting with its highest expression i.e. Energy (called Shakti), its next largest local…

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Navratri Mandals in Mumbai Provide Wi-Fi to Feature on Social Media

Source MUMBAI, INDIA, September 26, 2014 (Hindustan Times): Every festive season, cultural events take the city by storm. Now, to ensure that the buzz and excitement spreads on social media as well, mandals across the city are providing Wi-Fi connections in their venues this year. This new trend can be attributed to the fact that young visitors to the mandals…

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Daily Inspiration

Source Hindu society has been the meeting point as well as the melting pot of as many spiritual visions as the human psyche is capable of springing up spontaneously. It has been a willing and welcoming platform for as many seers, sages, saints and mystics as have responded to the deeper stirrings in the human soul. It has been a…

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