Source GEORGE TOWN, MALAYSIA, January 17, 2014 (The Malay Mail): Malaysian Hindu devotee Karthi Gan grimaces while tapping his feet to the beat of ritual drums as two men plunge dozens of sharp hooks into his chest and back. The painful ritual is Karthi’s way of giving thanks to the Hindu Deity Muruga as part of the country’s colorful annual…
Source MADURAI, INDIA, January 6, 2014 (The Hindu): One look at the sprawling Mariamman Teppakulam, and it is the buzz of humanity inside the tank (a line wate reservoir) that first catches your attention — boys playing cricket, people walking across the tank to go to the other side and few wheeling bicycles through patches of the dry brown and…
Source True gurus are available in every religion. They may not be in the ordinary world of strife, for such a world does not want them, nor have they any use for it. Go, therefore, in search of a true master. He is ever available and is only waiting for a symptom of real earnestness in you. If you have…
Source In thinking “This is I” and “That is mine” one binds himself with himself, as does a bird with a snare.— Krishna Yajur Veda, Maitreya Upanishad 3.2
Source BANGALORE, INDIA, January 5, 2014 (New Indian Express): Erosion in people’s beliefs in nature worship, religion and social values are posing a threat to the sacred forests (Devara Kadu), that are conserved patches of forests that lay undisturbed, according to experts. “Religion played a very important role in traditional and informal conservation. An elephant symbolises Ganesha while some types…
Source NORWAY, Janukary 17, 2014 (Aftenposten–translated from Norwegian): Happy news from the Tamil diaspora community. It appears that the future is bright for the Norwegian Tamils. This long article quotes a government study of how immigrant kids (elementary and middle school age) in Norway are doing. Pupils born in Norway with parents from Iran, Poland, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, China…
Source Go beyond science, into the region of metaphysics. Real religion is beyond argument. It can only be lived, both inwardly and outwardly.— Swami Sivananda (1887-1963), founder of Divine Life Society
Source UNITED KINGDOM, January 15, 2014 (BBC): The US has returned to India three ancient sculptures that had been smuggled into the US by art dealers and accomplices. The 11th-12th Century sandstone sculptures had been stolen from temples in India and offered for sale in the US. India’s consul general in New York, Dnyaneshwar Mulay, expressed gratitude to US. “I’d…
Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 14, 2014 (New Indian Express): Orange-robed monks of the Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, in Fiji provide healthcare, education and spiritual guidance not just to those of Indian origin but anybody in need in the South Pacific archipelago nation. The Fiji branch of the Ramakrishna Mission, set up in 1937, was conferred the Pravasi…
Source BANGLADESH, January 13, 2014 (Anirudh Sethi Report): They came at 9.30am on December 13, about 60 or 70 of them, to sack his family home in the village of Jagannathpur and terrorise the occupants. “When anything happens, Hindus are attacked,” says Subhash Ghosh, his eyes filling with tears as he stands outside the burnt shell of his house in…