Source NEW YORK, U.S., June 20, 2014 (New York Daily News): Some beach goers worship more than the sun along the shores of Jamaica Bay during the summer. Hindu pilgrims take to the beaches to perform Puja rituals using flowers, coconuts and fruit as offerings designed to honor and respect nature. But detritus from ceremonies sometimes washes up on shore,…
Source The practice of yoga is not for ourselves alone, but for the Divine; its aim is to work out the will of the Divine in the world, to effect a spiritual transformation and to bring down a divine nature into the life of humanity. It is not personal ananda, but the bringing down of the divine ananda, the Satya…
Source MUMBAI, INDIA, November 1, 2010 (de zeen Magazine): Edmund Sumner has photographed a temple by Mumbai studio Sameep Padora and Associates. Called Shiv Temple, the project involved simplifying a traditional temple design by removing the usual decoration but maintaining symbolic elements. A wood-clad frame wraps around one corner making the entrance while the interior is illuminated by skylight. The…
Source SINGAPORE, June 6, 2014 (NDTV): A 179-year-old Hindu temple in Singapore, which is among the 75 heritage buildings proposed for conservation, will reopen this month after a US$5.6 million makeover. The Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple was built as a small shrine in 1835 by early Tamil immigrants. A dozen craftsmen from Tamil Nadu have been doing restoration work to the…
Source KARNATAKA, INDIA, June 15, 2014 (New Indian Express): Come summer, the banks of Cauvery teem with known Carnatic musicians, connoisseurs, budding artists and ordinary village folk converging on the remote village of Rudrapatna in Hassan, Karnataka. However, for most visitors, it is also an occasion to visit Rudrapatna’s unique temple dedicated to music and the great Carnatic composers. The…
Source He is the Supreme Brahman, the Self of all, the chief foundation of this world, subtler than the subtle, eternal. That thou art; thou art That.— Atharva Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad
Source WASHINGTON, June 19, 2014 (Indian Express): India-born plant scientist Sanjaya Rajaram has been named the winner of the US$250,000 World Food Prize for his breakthrough achievement in increasing global wheat production by more than 200 million tonnes following the Green Revolution. Rajaram’s contributions in successfully cross-breeding winter and spring wheat varieties, which were distinct gene pools and had been…
Source KATHMANDU, NEPAL, June 18, 2014 (My Repbulica): Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) has issued permits to only 330 priests to carry out rituals on the premises of the famous Hindu shrine. The PADT selected the 330 priests on the basis of their academic qualification. From now onward, priests other than the ones approved by the PADT won’t be allowed…
Source WASHINGTON, DC, June 21, 2014 (indiablooms.com): Rajan Zed, first Hindu to offer the opening prayer in the US Senate, delivered the third opening Hindu prayer in the House of Representatives on June 19. Starting and concluding with “Om,” Zed read the Gayatri Mantra followed by excerpts from the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita–all in English. He sprinkled a few…
Source You may develop a thousand virtues and be reckoned as the greatest in the land. But the lotus of your heart will not blossom until you receive the grace of the Guru, the grace of God!— Dada Sadhu Vaswani