Source Washington DC, June 21, 2013 (Press Release): Hindu American Seva Communities (HASC) attended the historic White House event on Tuesday, June 18, to witness the U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden announce and release a 38-page guidebook instructing faith congregations to prepare for any emergency including an armed shooter situation. These downloadable “Guides for Developing High Quality Emergency Operation Plans for…
Source KOLKATA, INDIA, July 20, 2013, A few relics of Sarada Devi have been stolen from the Belur Math, headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, raising security concerns. Some of the objects were nearly 100 years old. The theft was described as traumatic by senior monks of the Order and is likely to lead to increased vigilance at the…
Source ATLANTA, GEORGIA, July 14, 2013: This year more than 8,000 Hindu youths attended the BAPS North American Youth Convention hosted at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Atlanta, Georgia.The 11-day event, unprecedented in the history of Hindus in North America, took place from July 4th to July 14th and consisted of three separate conventions, each catering to different age…
Source DEHRADUN, INDIA, July 2013 (Times of India): A series of advisories sent out by the Met department on June 14, 15 and 16 to various authorities in Uttarakhand warned not only of “very heavy rains” but also urged that people be “moved to safer places” and that the Char Dham yatra be “postponed.” These advisories, accessed exclusively by TOI,…
Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 14, 2013 (New Kerala): The thoughtful construction style of the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand saved the 11th century structure from any serious damage during last month’s devastating floods, says an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official, adding that a barrier would be constructed to protect the shrine from any future calamity. “The safety of the…
Source Sugar is sweet at all times, even in the dark. So remains devotion for the devout, in times of comfort or discomfort, praises or insults, darkness or enlightenment.— His Divine Holiness Pramukhswami Maharaj, spiritual head of Bochasanwasi Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha
Source COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, July 9, 2013 (The Hindu): The Madhya Pradesh government is all set to start building a Sita temple, designed in the South Indian architectural style, at Divurumpola in Sri Lanka. Sita is believed to have undergone her agni pareeksha (test by fire) at this spot. The design has been finalised. Divurumpola is near Nuwara-Eliya, in the…
Source Every two miles the water doth change, and every four the dialect.— Hindi proverb on India’s languages
Source INDIA, July, 15th July, 2013 (by R. Sujatha, The Hindu): (HPI Note: readers wishing to comment on this report may email ar@hindu.org). Subadra Muthuswami, who has a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University, hoped to pursue her interest in Hinduism when she returned to India but discovered that no university in India offers a comprehensive course in…
Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 15, 2013 (The Hindu): Jurists, advocates and other civil society leaders expressed concern over “illegal” government control of Hindu temples and analysed the constitutional rights of their administration and management at a symposium organized in the Capital on this issue on Sunday. Swami Paramatmanandaji, secretary of the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha (HDAS), which organized the…