News

Source IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, September 9, 2014 (Dharma Civilization Foundation press release): The University of California offers a religious studies program through its School of Humanities. However, these programs currently do not offer a graduate degree in religious studies, and are confined to a Bachelor’s Degree. The University of California Irvine (UCI), has expressed a commitment to establish a graduate degree…

Source NEWINGTON, CONNECTICUT, September 11, 2014 (Courant): A town employee made an unusual discovery at Mill Pond Park Thursday morning: In the pond was an ornate figure with an elephant’s head, a man’s body and four arms. The employee fished the large, colorful statue from the water and brought it to the police department, Sgt. Christopher Perry said. Officers quickly…

Source NALGONDA, TELAGANA, INDIA, September 2, 2014 (The Hindu): Villages under the Pulichintala project have many monuments that are likely to go under water. Even with 11 tmcft (one thousand million cubic feet) storage, four of 13 villages where a majority of temples are located would submerge. Efforts for rehabilitating 6,775 displaced families from 13 villages in Nalgonda district (near…

Source The sages, being filled with universal love for all beings, did not want to keep their enlightenment to themselves. They declared to all: “O mortals, striving and struggling upon this Earth plane, weeping, wailing, buffeted by the vicissitudes of life: we have come upon a great discovery. There is something beyond these appearances, these vanishing names and forms that…

Source It is easy to tame the rogue elephant. It is easy to tie the mouth of a bear. It is easy to mount the back of a lion. It is easy to charm poisonous snakes. It is easy to conquer the celestial and the noncelestial realms. It is easy to trek the worlds invisible. It is easy to command…

Source INDIA, September 2, 2014 (The Guardian): A court in remote northern India has banned a long tradition of sacrificing animals for religious reasons, deeming the practice cruel and barbaric. The high court in Himachal Pradesh has asked police and other officials to enforce its ban on the slaughter, mainly of goats, in Hindu temples throughout the state. “A startling…

Source BHOPAL, INDIA, September 5, 2014 (Daily Pioneer): To avoid pollution in the water bodies during the Ganesha statue immersion, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to place small containers filled with water, where the devotees may immerse statues in Narmada water. These containers would be placed at every ward. With the implementation of the instructions given by BMC…

Source PALERMO, ITALY, August 31, 2014 (Repubblica Palermo): The Vinayakar Chathurthy holy day was celebrated yesterday by hundreds of Sri Lankan Tamil immigrants in the shipyard district of Palermo. The festival commemorates the birthday of Ganesha; one of the most beloved Deities of the Tamil community. The event began with a function at the Muthu Vinaayakar Aalayam on Via Venancio…

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 6, 2014 (Press Release, with correction providing names of editors): In this anthology edited by Vamsee Juluri and Murali Balaji, we seek to show how the digital age has transformed the way Hinduism is communicated — and practiced — across the world. From online worship services and philosophical forums, articulations of LGBT Hindu identities through online portals,…

Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 5, 2014 (Business Standard): As Pakistani authorities are all set to raze a 79-year-old temple in Rawalpindi, anger and disappointment prevail among the country’s Hindu minority that is seeking protection and freedom to practice their religion in an Islamic state. Hindus have been living in Rawalpindi for over a century and the 1935-built Maharishi Valmik…