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…
Source Victory is not won by the lance, but by the king’s scepter, provided it is not crooked.— Tirukkural
Source VARANASI, INDIA, Aug 17, 2013, (by Meera Vohra, TNN): Music and language teachers from the city are holding e-classes for their students abroad. While e-classrooms are not a new concept, it’s only recently that international students who used to come to Varanasi to learn music and Indian languages have turned to city-based gurus to teach them online. Binit Kumar…
Source BANGALORE, INDIA August 23, 2013( The Hindu) An educated Shivalli Brahmin boy from Hornad married an orphan brought up in a government shelter without bothering about her lineage, horoscope, caste or gotra and without seeking the counsel of a priest. Is it an indication that a section of Brahmins of interior Malnad region appear to be shunning caste and…
Source Like the household fire, devotees seek the glory of the Lord even from afar and enshrine it in their inner chamber for enlightenment. The glory of our Lord is full of splendor, all-illuminative and worthy to be honored in every heart.— Rig Veda 7.1.2
Source COLLIERS WOOD, ENGLAND, August 19, 2013 (This is Local London): Hindu worshippers evicted from their temple last year have found a new home in Merton after an application for a new Hindu cultural center was approved by councillors. Bailiffs executed a dawn raid on the Sivayogam temple in Hebdon Road, Tooting on May 22, 2012, following a long running…
Source HYDERABAD, INDIA, August 19, 2013 (Post Noon): The 11-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival will be commencing on September 9 and massive arrangements at pandals are already in full swing. Although majority of Deities are made with plaster of paris (POP), with every passing year, more and more organizers are trying to ‘go green’ by installing eco-friendly Ganeshas. In a bid…
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
Source BALI, INDONESIA, August 18, 2013 (The Daily Mail): A mass cremation was held today in the Balinese town of Ubud in which more than 60 bodies were burned. The ceremony, well known as Ngaben, was shared by mourners who could not afford to perform the ritual by themselves. Ngaben, which means “turn to ash,” is considered to be the…
Source BALI, INDONESIA, August 15, 2013 (The Jakarta Post): Balinese Hindu devotees celebrated Pagerwesi on Wednesday by performing prayers in temples throughout the island. In some parts of the island, Pagerwesi is a minor religious holiday, not on par with Galungan and Kuningan, during which the Balinese Hindus celebrate the victory of virtues over vices. In Buleleng, the northern coastal…