Source UNITED STATES, June 4, 2014 (Washington Post): Christianity is by far the largest religion in the United States; more than three-quarters of Americans identify as Christians. A little more than half identify as Protestants, about 23 percent as Catholic and about 2 percent as Mormon. But what about the rest of us? In the Western U.S., Buddhists represent the…
Source CHENNAI, INDIA, JUNE 3, 2014 (Hindustan Times): National Award winning art director Thota Tharani has played Swami Chinmayananda, a Hindu spiritual leader who inspired the formation of Chinmaya Mission, in an upcoming English documentary The Quest, scheduled to release in August. R.S. Prasanna of Tamil comedy Kalyana Samayal Saadam fame has directed the film, which is currently in its…
Source FORT WORTH, TEXAS, June 6, 2014 (Star-Telegram): For five days and nights they have prayed, burned wood and incense, and offered fruits and melons, part of the Maha Kumbhabhishekam rituals in which several granite statues are prepared to be consecrated as living vessels. The ceremonies will culminate Saturday with the opening of the new Hindu Temple of Greater Fort…
Source All this universe is in the glory of God, of Siva, the God of love. The heads and faces of men are His own, and He is in the hearts of all.— Krishna Yajur Veda, Svetasvatara Upanishad 3.11
Source KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, June 6, 2014 (The Malay Mail): Officers who interrupted a Hindu wedding Sunday will be disciplined if found to have violated its code of conduct, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) said. The state Islamic agency said it is investigating fully the controversy in which its religious enforcers had gatecrashed a marriage ceremony at a Hindu…
Source KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, June 4, 2014 (Malay Mail Online): Selangor Islamic authorities interfered with the affairs of other religions when it raided a Hindu temple to probe a bride-to-be it suspected was Muslim, Malaysia’s largest interfaith group said. Jagir Singh, the president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), described the Selangor Islamic…
Source AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, June 6, 2014 (Scoop): Plans to make grieving families seek permission before scattering the ashes of loved ones and charge them for the privilege need to be reconsidered, Labour’s Ethnic Affairs spokesperson Phil Goff says. “Auckland Council’s proposals seem heavy handed, unnecessary and bureaucratic. There has been insufficient consultation with the public and in particular with…
Source Like the household fire, devotees seek the glory of the Lord even from afar and enshrine it in their inner chamber for enlightenment. The glory of our Lord is full of splendor, all-illuminative and worthy to be honored in every heart.— Rig Veda 7.1.2
Source Mexico City, June 1, 2014, (OEM): At exactly 8:30 am, families, couples, young cyclists and children gathered at the fountain of the Glorieta Diana on Paseo de la Reforma to participate in a yoga session outdoors, sponsored by the Government of the Federal District, through the Institute of Sport (Indeporte), held every Sunday as part of the strategy for…
Source DEHRADUN, INDIA, May 31, 2014 (The Hindu): Chief Minister Harish Rawat, on Saturday, said that the first and second phases of reconstruction work shall begin in the Kedarnath Valley in the coming week. Suggesting that the State government would want to make the Char Dham yatra a year-long yatra, Mr. Rawat said that the priest community of the four…