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…
Source One must be patient like the Earth. What iniquities are being perpetuated on her! Yet she quietly endures them all.— Mother Sarada Devi (1853-1920)
Source WASHINGTON, D.C., January 8, 2014 (HAF): Leaders at the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) expressed deep concern today over recent election related violence in Bangladesh that left more than 22 dead and hundreds injured across the country. Supporters of the right-wing Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which boycotted the elections, and their allies from Jamaat-e-Islaami (JeI) and Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS)…
Source BANGALORE, INDIA, January 13, 2014 (Times Of India): French author and journalist Francois Gautier feels traditional Indian knowledge is at risk. At a lecture here on Saturday, Gautier said, “Education in India is in a tragic state. Parents produce children in order to export them. India is being Westernized. People here want to be more Westernized than the Westerners…
Source PALERMO, SICILY, January 13, 2014 (The Moderator, translated from Spanish): The city administration is making available its public spaces for important events organized by various religious communities in Palermo announced the mayor, Leoluca Orlando, and the commissioner for Participation, Giusto Catania, as a way to make the city more welcoming and intercultural. This type of activity is part of…