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Source For our cause I too am prepared to die, but for no cause, my friend, will I be prepared to kill.— Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), Indian spiritual leader

Source WASHINGTON, D.C., August 2, 2013 (Civil Beat): In June, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard wasn’t in Hawaii or in D.C., but in Chicago, handing out awards to the winners of the national Dharma Bee, an event in which youths answer questions about their religion. She praised them, according to a report in an Indian-American newspaper, saying in a rare speech about…

Source SURINAM, GUYANA, July 13,2013 (datcheenterprise.com): For three days from June 28th to 30 the Stichting Suriname Hindu Guyanese Cultural Organization Shiv Shakti Samadj (SHGCO) celebrated their 25th Anniversary. The three day yajna was attended by approximately 1,200 people. The SHGCO was formed a few years before 1988, but was officially registered in 1988 by Jairam Ghir, Sanco Bhuddhu and…

Source KARNATAKA, INDIA, August 5, 2013 (The Hindu): In an effort to draw more people to learn Sanskrit, Karnataka Sanskrit University has framed new textbooks to make learning easier for about 45,000 students across the State, from high school level to post-graduation. University Vice-Chancellor Mallepuram G. Venkatesh said that the change had been made for reaching out to more students.…

Source Only in the depth of pure silence can we hear God’s voice. Silence is like an upright empty glass that is capable of being filled with, and retaining, the water of knowledge.— Mata Amritanandamayi Ma, India’s Kerala-based “hugging saint “

www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/govt-cancels-kailash-manasarovar-yatra/article4977618.ece?css=print 1/2 NEW DELHI, INDIA, August 1, 2013 (The Hindu): HPI Note–this item is a bit dated. It is in reference to pilgrims taking the very difficult route from India through the Himalayas for which special permission is needed from the government. It is not in reference to those who go via Nepal by land or helicopter. The government on…

Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 29, 2013 (Deccan Herald): As the academic session under Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) has already commenced in Delhi University, students of Sanskrit Department are all set to study some unconventional subjects in the coming years. Surprisingly, they will get lessons in fashion, make-up, Indian polity, aesthetics and self-management through Bhagavad Gita. “The main purpose behind…

Source INDIA, July 26, 2013 (Pune Mirror): Life as a student is bit off the beaten path for four-year-old Ovi Kale. Till she leaves her parents at the school gates, she speaks Marathi. But once in class, it’s Sanskrit — a language mostly associated with Hindu religious ceremonies, but rarely with preschool kids. Like Ovi, 700 other students at the…

Source MALAYSIA, 24 August 2013, (by Richard S. Ehrlich, RNS) The government of Malaysia expelled a group of Singaporean tourists for chanting Buddhist prayers inside an Islamic prayer room where they erected a large Buddhist painting on the wall facing Mecca. The government also revoked the permanent resident visa of the businessman who allowed the Buddhists to pray at his…

Source INDIA, August 20, 2013 (Deccan Chronicle): Raksha Bandhan, the festival of love between brothers and sisters, is being celebrated across the country today with full enthusiasm. The central ceremony involves the tying of a sacred thread, Rakhi, by a sister on her brother’s wrist. This symbolizes the sister’s love and prayers for her brother’s well being, and the brother’s…