Chhari Mubarak Returns to Dashnami Akhara After Immersion Ceremony at Pahalgam

SRINAGAR, JAMMU/KASHMIR, September 2, 2023 (Daily Excelsior): The annual pilgrimage of Chhari-Mubarak Amarnath Ji culminated today at Pahalgam with its last rituals Pujan and Visarjan, which were performed at the bank of River Lidder. A sizable number of sadhus and tourists who had come from various parts of the country joined the Pujan. Later, Bhandara was organized and Dakshina was…

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Free Temples: Government Control of Hindu Temples Is Violation of Constitution

INDIA, August 29, 2023 (The Organiser, by T. R. Ramesh): Government control over places of Hindu worship across India is in violation of constitutional provisions and various court orders. Yet it continues. In Tamil Nadu alone, 400 temples and their valuable properties have been suffering colossal mismanagement and annual losses of thousands of crores for over 70 years now. The…

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Raksha Bandhan 2023: First Rakhi Tied to Lord Shiva in Ujjain

INDIA, August 30, 2023 (Organiser): On the eve of Raksha Bandhan, the first Rakhi was tied to Bhagwan Mahakal on August 30 in the courtyard of Baba Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain. A Bhasma Aarti was also performed and laddoos were distributed among devotees. It is a tradition to tie the first Rakhi to Lord Mahakal, a form of…

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Nepalis Bring Comfort to Migrant Workers With Raksha Bandhan Ritual

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, August 30, 2023 (Free Malaysia Today): For the many migrant workers who have traveled from Nepal to Malaysia in search of better wages and opportunities, spending nights alone without the company of their loved ones has become part of their lives. That loneliness can play on their minds and, without the love of their families, there is…

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Texas Fire Fighters Honored for Being Protectors During Indian Festival of Raksha Bandhan

FORT BEND, TEXAS, August 30, 2023 (Houston Chronicle): Eduardo Hernandez, captain at the Northeast Fort Bend Fire Station 2 in Richmond, stood patiently while a young lady finished tying a silk thread around his outstretched wrist. Around him, other firefighters sporting matching bracelets enjoyed Indian sweets as they guided children around the fire station. The visitors were members of the…

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Yoga Popular in America’s Black Community: Rosa Parks, Angela Davis Practiced It for Inner Peace

UNITED STATES, August 28, 2023 (The Print, by Sudarshan Ramabadran): Today marks the 60th anniversary of the historic March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. His work on advocating for civil rights for Black Americans was also complemented by the actions of several others, perhaps the most well-known being Rosa Parks’…

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Amarnath Yatra Inches Closer to Conclusion, 440,000 Pilgrims Visit Cave Shrine So Far’

SRINAGAR, JAMMU/KASHMIR, August 26, 2023 (Asia News Network): The longest Amarnath Yatra 2023 is finally inching to a conclusion as sages are carrying Chhari Mubarak to the holy cave while no fresh batches of Yatris left for Kashmir from Jammu. So far, 440,000 pilgrims visited the Amarnath cave shrine this year. Officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that…

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Taliban Imposes Restrictions on Afghanistan’s Sikh, Hindu Minorities

NEW DELHI, INDIA, August 26, 2023 (Daiji World): When Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021, there were concerns that some of Afghanistan’s tiny non-Muslim minorities could vanish. Two years on, those fears are becoming realized, a media report said. While Afghanistan’s last-known Jew fled the country shortly after the Taliban takeover, the Sikh and Hindu communities are believed to…

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The India Problem Under the Surface at the Parliament of the World’s Religions

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, August 18, 2023 (RNS): It has been over a century since Swami Vivekananda introduced the tenets of Hinduism to a Western audience for the very first time. Vivekananda’s speech at the first Parliament of the World’s Religions — part of the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago — was a message of tolerance, mutual respect and universal acceptance. The…

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