Devotees Throng Penang Temples

Source GEORGE TOWN, MALAYSIA, October 16, 2012 (The Star): Thousands of devotees, carrying candles and incense, thronged the Nine Emperor Gods (Kew Ong Yeah) temples in Penang to seek blessings and in typical multi-religious style, Hindu devotees marked their ‚ÄúNavarathri‚Äù (nine nights) vegetarian festival. Over in Burma Road leading to Tao Bo Kong Temple, there was a bumper-to-bumper crawl stretching…

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Hindus Light Earthen Lamps As Part Of Annual Ancestor Worship Ritual

Source GAYA, BIHAR, INDIA, October 14, 2012 (ANI): Hindu devotees lit earthen lamps over the weekend as an obligatory duty ahead of the annual ancestor worshipping ritual of Pind Daan, which falls during the Pitr-Paksha period (16-lunar day period as per Hindu calendar). Pitr-paksha generally falls in the month of September or October every year. Devotees were seen lighting earthen…

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California’s Bhutanese Refugees Celebrate Fall Festival As They Assess Ongoing Challenges

Source OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, October 13, 2012 (Contra Costa Times): Five years after a few pioneering families began trickling into East Oakland and Alameda, a burgeoning Bhutanese exile community is happy to have left refugee camps in Nepal but still struggling to adjust to Bay Area life, according to the first report to survey their well-being. “The community is still trying…

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Daily Inspiration

Source The more we are conscious of God’s presence in daily life, the more intense is the fullness of the joy we experience. God means infinitely more to our existence than the light of the sun means to the plants and trees.— Swami Omkarananda, (1930-2000), founder of Omkarananda Ashram, Rishikesh

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Srirangam Temple Among Five Tamil Nadu Sites In Unesco Tentative List

Source KUMBAKONAM, INDIA, October 15, 2012 (India Times): The Union minister for culture, Kumari Selja on Sunday visited famous temples around Kumbakonam and said that the culture ministry has included five sites in Tamil Nadu, including the famous Lord Sri Ranganathar temple in Srirangam, in the tentative list for UNESCO world heritage status. She was on a heritage tour to…

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Daily Inspiration

Source Man arrives at immortality by breaking beyond the limitations not only of his physical self, but of his mental and his ordinary psychic nature into the highest plane and supreme ether of the Truth: for there is the foundation of immortality and the native seat of the triple infinite.— Sri Aurobindo (1879-1950)

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Dalits Break Caste Barrier, Enter 120-Year-Old Tamil Nadu Temple

Source COIMBATORE, INDIA, October 1, 2012 (India Times): It was a defining moment for Coimbatore’s dalits when several of them entered the 120-year-old Mariamman temple at Kalapatti for the first time on Sunday with the support of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) and Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) activists. Located three miles away from Coimbatore airport, the…

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Harvard Business Review Article Makes the Case for Meditation

Source MASSACHUCETTS, USA, October 12, 2012 (Harvard Business Review, article by Peter Bregman): This morning, like every morning, I sat cross-legged on a cushion on the floor, rested my hands on my knees, closed my eyes, and did nothing but breathe for 20 minutes. People say the hardest part about meditating is finding the time to meditate. This makes sense:…

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