INDIA, January 31, 2024 (Hindustan Times): A Varanasi district court on Wednesday allowed the Hindu side to offer prayers in the southern cellar of Gyanvapi mosque. The court directed the Varanasi district magistrate to make arrangements for pooja to be performed by the Hindu side and a pujari nominated by Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust. On January 17, the Varanasi…
INDIA, January 25, 2024 (Hindustan Times): Francois Gautier is a truly vindicated man today. For him, the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 is a dream come true. “It was great. I was reporting the temple-masjid issue in the late 1980s and early 1990s and I could never have imagined that a day would come when…
INDIA, January 23, 2024 (Swarajya, by S. Krishnan): The discovery of a number of statues and copper plates in Seerkazhi Sattainathar Temple is a landmark event—the first discovery of copper plates inscribed with ancient Saiva hymns. The temple is under the administration of Dharmapuram Aadheenam, a centuries-old Saiva mutt. The aadheenam is currently performing kumbhabhishekam (consecration ceremony) at a number…
INDIA, January 28, 2024 (Swarajaya): Nadaswaram virtuoso Tiruvarur V. Prakash Ilaiyaraja’s mission is to revive fading temple traditions tied to rituals and nadaswaram play. Alongside his son Kavin, they recently played the sacred nadaswaram, the South Indian temple horn, at the Ayodhya temple during the consecration of Ram Lalla on January 22. Although nadaswaram isn’t easy to play as it…
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, January 30, 2024 (Hinduism Today YouTube Video): “A Visit to the Jain Center of Southern California” is intended to assist in the presentation of the Jain religion in California 6th grade school social studies classes. The Jain Center of Southern California (JCSC) located in Buena Park, California is a non-profit religious organization to pursue a goal of…
KAUAI, HAWAII, January 17, 2024 (Hinduism Today, by Swami Advayananda): God is the very self, the very core of one’s personality. However, veiled by the mind, He remains unknown. Thus, beyond the mind is Ishvara-darshanam, the vision of the Lord. But, to meet Him, the journey beyond the mind can be accomplished with the help of mind alone. This precisely…
INDIA, January 27, 2024 (Indian Express): A central chamber “tastefully decorated with carvings of animals and birds,” pillars with “lotus medallion” and “flower bud chains,” a “large decorated entrance gateway” on the wall of one of the chambers — these, according to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), formed part of “a large Hindu temple” that existed at the site…
NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 27, 2024 (Indian Express): The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has concluded that “there existed a large Hindu temple prior to the construction of the existing structure” at the Gyanvapi mosque site in Varanasi. The ASI has said it has relied on “scientific studies and observations” and that there is also ample textual evidence that supports…
KAUAI, HAWAII, January 14, 2024 (Hinduism Today, by Dr. S.P. Sabharathnam): The following is excerpted from Dr. S. P. Sabharathnam’s translation of the Kamika Agama’s Uttara Pada, chapter 24. The eminent acharya should perform the jnana diksha for competent disciples through the perfect instruction on the essence-of-knowledge section of the Agamas. He should do this in the auspicious bright side of…
AYODHYA, INDIA, January 27, 2024 (Swarajya, by Swati Goel Sharma): As the sun began to set on 22 January, I exited the just-dedicated Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. Passing through an ornately decorated gate about 328 yards from the temple’s inner sanctum, the garbha griha, I saw queues of tens of thousands of devotees lining both sides of the road. …
