Source BALI, INDONESIA, November 7, 2013 (The Jakarta Post): Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika has proposed that temples be excluded as tourist destinations on the island to limit, or even prevent, tourists visiting the places of worship. “Further discussion with the island’s tourist industry will be necessary to consider the proposal. It is high time for us to limit access…
Source WASHINGTON, DC, November 5, 2013 (White House Press Release): Today, First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed guests to the White House for a Diwali celebration. The celebration started with the First Lady surprising local students at a Bollywood dance clinic and trying out some moves herself. Then the First Lady spoke during a reception in the East Room: “We’ve celebrated…
Source UNITED KINGDOM, November 6, 2013 (Daily Mail): Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall tonight took part in a solemn ceremony of thanks with Hindus on the banks of the River Ganges. In the holy Hindu city of Rishikesh, the prince led his wife by the hand to the banks of the sacred river where they joined Hindu worshippers…
Source DHAKA, BANGLADESH, November 7, 2013 (Dhaka Tribune): Expressing grave concern over the recent attack on Hindus in Pabna and Lalmonirhat districts, the US embassy has urged the government to protect the rights of the minority communities. The call came through a statement issued on Wednesday by the embassy in Dhaka. The statement read: “We call on all those involved…
Source From one seed arises a huge tree; from it comes numerous seeds, each one of which in its turn grows into a tree. No two fruits are alike. Yet it is one life that throbs in every particle of the tree. So, it is the same Atman everywhere. All creation is That. There is beauty in the birds and…
Source Find the One everywhere and in everything and there will be an end to all pain and suffering.— Sri Anandamayi Ma (1896-1982), Bengali mystic and saint
Source LONDON, ENGLAND, November 5, 2013 (ASian Image): The values of the UK’s Indian community should be “ever more involved” in shaping British life, David Cameron said today, as he visited one of the biggest Hindu temples outside India. The Prime Minister said he wanted “many more British Indians” in Parliament after arriving at Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, north-west…
Source DEHRADUN, INDIA, November 5, 2013 (Zee News): Amid chants of Vedic hymns and light snowfall, the portals of Kedarnath and Yamunotri, the two major chardham pilgrimage centres in Garhwal Himalayas, were closed to visitors on Tuesday for winter during which they become snowbound and inaccessible. While the portals of Kedarnath, which bore the brunt of the June calamity in…
Source Just as a big banyan tree sprouts from a tiny seed, so the wide universe with names and forms sprouts forth from the heart.— Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950), South Indian mystic
Source FLUSHING, NEW YORK, October 21, 2013 (EcoWatch): A public school in Flushing, NY that was the first in the nation to offer a 100 percent vegetarian lunch menu reported recently that students have improved attendance, test scores and energy in the wake of the change. Students are still allowed to brown-bag, but the overwhelming majority–about 90 percent–of students are…