KAUAI, HAWAII, April 29, 2024 (Hinduism Today, by Nimmi Raghunathan): It was 1965 when Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda made his first visit to the US—to the San Francisco of social commotion of experimentation, peace, and New Age ideas. His first three-day lecture series stateside was impactful enough for him to come back every year after that. This guru was different.…
THAILAND/CAMBODIA, April 24, 2024 (Swadharma): For over a century, Cambodia and Thailand have been engaged in a contentious battle over the ownership of the ancient Hindu Preah Vihear Temple. Following Cambodia’s independence in 1954, Thailand took control of the temple, leading to ongoing conflicts between the two nations. The dispute between Cambodia and Thailand regarding the land near the temple…
LOS ANGELES, April 23, 2024 (India West, by Preity Upala): One of the most pertinent issues of our time is equality, specifically, gender parity and women’s rights. Despite enjoying more freedom and rights than ever before in the history of human existence, women today are struggling to fully embody and express their true feminine nature. Suffice it to say, feminism…
HYDERABAD, INDIA, April 22, 2024 (India West): (IANS) The Vedda, an indigenous group of Sri Lanka, has a close genetic affinity with the Indian population, revealed a landmark study by 10 researchers from five institutions. The significant findings of the study, which involved a comprehensive analysis of high-resolution autosomal and mitochondrial genomes and shed new light on the initial peopling…
LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA, April 15, 2024 (SFGATE, by Shoba Narayan): It is Saturday morning at the famed Shiva-Vishnu Temple in Livermore. Thousands of devotees arriving in Teslas and Range Rovers throng the shrines dedicated to Shiva, Ganesh and other Hindu Gods and Goddesses. I, on the other hand, can only think about the free food. The first time I came to…
UNITED STATES, April 19, 2024 (NBC News): Bees play by rolling wooden balls — apparently for fun. The cleaner wrasse fish appears to recognize its own visage in an underwater mirror. Octopuses seem to react to anesthetic drugs and will avoid settings where they likely experienced past pain. All three of these discoveries came in the last five years —…
BENGALURU, INDIA, April 18, 2024 (Indian Express): A three-minute-long Surya Tilak ceremony — where a beam of sunlight was projected onto the forehead of Lord Ram’s murti — was performed at noon on Wednesday (April 17) in Ayodhya’s newly-built Ram temple, marking the occasion of Ram Navami. This was achieved using a special mirror-lens arrangement, designed by astronomers at the…
INDIA, April 14, 2024 (Organiser): In a unique and innovative move to manage the bustling crowds at the revered Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, police officers have taken on the dress of a pujari to assist devotees during their spiritual visits. This initiative, spearheaded by Varanasi Police Commissioner Mohit Aggarwal, aims not only to streamline the influx of worshippers but…
INDIA, April 2, 2024 (Curly Tales): Kashi Vishwanath Dham is one of the holy pilgrimage sites for devotees practicing Hinduism. A temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the ancient city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, this sacred site is known for its extravagant Ganga aarti. Recently, Kashi Vishwanath Dham set a new record for the highest-ever footfall in the shrine…
INDIA, April 2, 2024 (Christianity Today): Christian ministries operating in India are continuing to lose the government’s authorization to legally collect foreign donations, in what is amounting to a devastating financial blow to many organizations. This March, Vision India, an organization that provides leadership training for Christian young people, was unable to renew its Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) license.…
