Source CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, December 3, 2013 (Chicago Tribune): A group of Hindus looking for a more permanent spiritual home are on track to build a temple in Glenview (18 miles north of downtown Chicago, population 44,000). Site plans by Hanuman Spiritual and Community Center, a Hindu nonprofit organization, to construct a 37,200-square-foot, two-story building on 3.9 acres at 3623 West…
Source BALI, November 11, 2013 (eturbo news): Bali’s tourist industry is urging the provincial administration to implement stricter regulations for tourist visits to temples instead of banning them, saying tourism was fine as long as the purity of places of worship was upheld. The statement was made in connection with Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika’s plan to halt the national…
Source Is there a deeper tragedy than that of a man immersed in the pursuit of the not-self who has no time to realize the Divine Self within?— Sadhu Vaswani, (1879-1966) (/b) founder the Sadhu Vaswani Mission
Source LONDON, December 11, 2013 (NIERSR): This report, Caste discrimination and harassment in Great Britain, by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research was release in December, 2010, and is one of the important research documents in the current public debate in England over possible legislation to address caste discrimination. It includes 19 case studies described at some length…
Source NEW DELHI, December 5, 2013 (The Hindu): The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved verdict (that is, did not issue a decision) on a batch of appeals challenging the Tamil Nadu government’s order appointing Executive Officer to manage the affairs and properties of the Chidambaram Natarajar temple in Tamil Nadu. A Bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and S.A. Bobde reserved…
Source “In the joy of others lies our own.” — His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, (1921-) guru, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha
Source INDIA, December 3, 2013 (Niti Central): (HPI Note: Niti Central is not exactly an “unbaised party” in reporting on this issue, but their article is quite comprehensive.) On Wednesday, December 4, the Supreme Court will decide the much sought return of the sacred Nataraj temple at Chidambaram to its traditional custodians, the Podu Dikshitars. The Chidambaram temple, where Shiva…
Source CHENNAI, INDIA, December 6, 2013 (rsschennai.blogspot): HPI note: This is a very long article on the unusual appearance of a full-fledged college for Muslim women in the famed Hindu pilgrimage destination of Tirupati. A news item appeared in the newspapers regarding the construction of a big complex of 7 stories near Thondavada village about 7 miles from Tirupati in…
Source AUSTRALIA, November 16, 2013 (The Australian): HPI Note: This article follows on the one yesterday about the sale of a stolen Siva Nataraj to an Australian museum. Only now is the scale of the smuggling of stolen treasures from India becoming apparent. A little more than two years ago, in August 2011, a small, delicate Madonna and child ivory…
Source Wanting to reform the world without discovering one’s true self is like trying to cover the world with wool to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes.— Sri Ramana Maharishi (1879-1950), South Indian mystic