Source INDIA, June 8, 2014 (by Venugopala Reddy, The Hindu): Every day, thousands of devout Vaishnavas from all over the world return disappointed and frustrated from the ghats in Braj mandal, the land of Sri Krishna-Radha, when they see the miserable condition of the Yamuna river, stinking and rotting with pollutants, dead fish and toxins flowing down from upstream industrial…
Source KOTA KINABALU, BORNEO, June 9, 2014 (The Borneo Post): Close to a thousand Hindu followers spent yesterday at the Sri Pasupathinath Temple in Bukit Padang here to celebrate the Maha Kumbabishegam. The consecration ceremony is celebrated at all Hindu temples in the world once in every 12 years. It is a form of ceremony to celebrate the cleansing or…
Source Correcting oneself is correcting the whole world. The sun is simply bright. It does not correct anyone. Because it shines, the whole world is full of light. Transforming yourself is a means of giving light to the whole world.— Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)
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…