Source SAN FRANCISCO, CA., August 24, 2012 (artdaily.org): Sculpture is an essential part of Indian civilization; a culture that dates back to ancient times and has flourished uninterrupted to the present. It is fundamentally important to India’s nearly one billion Hindu adherents. Consecrated images and forms of the divine serve as the focal point for devotees to worship, meditate on,…
Source KATHMANDU, NEPAL, August 25, 2012 (Himalayan Times): With Teej, the biggest festival for Hindu women, around the corner, Solid Waste Management Technical Support Centre (SWMTSC) is gearing up for the preparation of environment friendly Teej programme on August 31. Teej, which generally takes place in August-September, is a three-day celebration with a sumptuous feast known as Dar followed by…
Source The present is the result of past action. Man is the architect of his future.— Satguru Yogaswami (1872-1964), Sri Lanka’s most revered contemporary mystic
Source RICHMOND, TEXAS, August 23, 2012 (Indo-American News, by Puja Chugh): I slowly removed my sandals and gazed at the white tables smothered in what looked like hundreds of shoes. As I approached the “sign in” table, I managed to put on an uneasy smile as I anxiously looked around for my friends. It was my first year at Hindu…
Source ALLAHABAD, August,2012 (Times of India):”Clean and Green” should be the buzzword for the Mahakumbha Mela slated to be held in January next year and our topmost priority should be to undertake a massive sapling plantation drive combined with effective garbage disposal and provision of clean toilets, said Swami Chidanand Saraswati of Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh, during the course of his…
Source NEW DLEHI, INDIA, August 23, 2012 (Indian Defence): Jitendra Singh, the Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs announced in the upper house of the Indian parliament that only 808 Pandit (Hindu) families remain in the Kashmir Valley, according to the 2011 Census. He also said that another 59,442 Pandit families are living as registered refugees in regions such…
Source COLUMBIA, MISSOURI, USA, August 19, 2012 (Press Release by University of Missouri): Despite differences in rituals and beliefs among the world’s major religions, spirituality often enhances health regardless of a person’s faith, according to University of Missouri researchers. The MU researchers believe that health care providers could take advantage of this correlation between health – particularly mental health –…
Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, August 11, 2012 (Hindustan Times): A whopping 93% of Indian youth consider religion to be a matter of faith and not of cultural or social identity. 32% of them assert that they are staunchly religious, while 59% say they are moderately religious. These are the findings of a survey commissioned by HT and carried out by…
Source Austerity is the powerful bath of fire and bright rays of showering light that washes the soul clean of the dross of its many past lives, and of the current life, which have held it in the bondage of ignorance, misgiving, unforgivingness and the self-perpetu-ating ignorance of the truths of the Sanatana Dharma. — Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder…
Source The first day a guest, the second day a guest, the third day a guest, the fourth day a calamity.— Indian proverb