Source UTTARAKHAND, INDIA, May 3,2012 (India Today): Heavy snowfall has badly affected the annual pilgrimage to Kedarnath this year in Uttarakhand. The portals of this famous Hindu shrine, located in Rudraprayag, were opened for visitors on April 28. But it’s been snowing in Kedarnath ever since, creating problem for the local administration. Situated at an altitude of 3,581 metres, the…
Source [HPI note: This is relevant as a report of the government taking over temple facilities for administrative and bureaucratic purposes. Only Hindu houses of worship are subject to intervention in India, where all other faiths are free to manage their affairs.] THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, May 1, 2012 (The Hindu): Tense scenes were witnessed near the Sreekanteshwaram temple on Monday after…
Source MUMBAI, INDIA, May 2, 2012 (ibnlive): Amidst the reverberating sounds of the nadaswaram and thavil and the melodious Vedic chanting by priests, the first Maha Kumbhabhishekam of the 33 feet tall Hanuman statue at Nerul was performed today. The ceremony, at the SIES temple complex in adjoining Navi Mumbai, took place under the guidance of Sankaracharya of Kanchi Sri…
Source It is the unique and all-encompassing nature of Hinduism that one devotee may be worshiping Ganesha while his friend worships Subramaniam or Vishnu, and yet both honor the other’s choice and feel no sense of conflict. The profound understanding and universal acceptance that are unique in Hinduism are reflected in this faculty for accommodating different approaches to the Divine,…
Source USA, May 4, 2012 (NY Times): [HPI note: This is a long piece about how McDonalds slowly reversed its negative image of the world’s largest seller of unhealthy food. Read the whole article at the source, above. The core of it is summarized below.] The company’s bottom-line success in recent years has been unmatched by its traditional burger-chain competitors.…
Source There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.— Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Source MADURAI, INDIA, May 3, 2012 (India Today): Nityananda has been prepared to fight tooth and nail for his newly acquired crown after heads of 13 Saivite mutts put their heads together in Nagapattinam on Tuesday to finalise their strategy to oppose his appointment as the chief of Madurai Adheenam. “My devotees will go on an indefinite hunger strike if…
Source MADURAI, INDIA, May 4 (The HIndu): The Madras High Court on Thursday ordered notice of admission on a writ petition seeking a direction to the State government to forbear Nityananda from acting as the 293rd ‘Guru Maha Sannidhanam’ of the Madurai Adheenam by holding his appointment as illegal. A Vacation Bench comprising Justices C.S. Karnan and K. Ravichandra Baabu…
Source [HPI note: Due to the interest expressed by our readers on this contentious subject, HPI continues to cover relevant developments of the appointment of Nityananda as the next head of Madurai Aadheenam.] MADURAI, INDIA, May 4, 2012 (The Hindu): The 292nd pontiff of Madurai Aadheenam, Sri Arunagirinatha Gnanasambanda Desikar, filed an affidavit in the Madras High Court Bench here…
Source MADURAI, INDIA, May 3, 2012 (The HIndu): The celestial wedding of Goddess Meenakshi with Lord Sundareswarar was held at the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in the city on Wednesday. Witnessed by thousands of devotees and amidst chanting of hymns, the ‘tirukkalyanam’ (celestial wedding) was performed for the Deities. The Deities of the Tirupparankundram Temple — Lord Subramaniaswamy and Lord Pavalakkanivai…