Source SALISBURY, NORTH CAROLINA, USA, February 19, 2012 (Salisbury Post): The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to let stand a ruling that Forsyth County commissioners’ opening prayers are unconstitutional is rippling across the state as other governments examine their own practices. The nation’s highest court declined in January to hear an appeal to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2011 ruling…
Source COIMBATORE, INDIA, January 2012 (The Hindu): The Rest and Restoration camp for temple elephants was doing a world of good not only for the pachyderms but also their handlers (mahouts), observed the Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments M.S.M. Anandan at the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve on Sunday. With the camp for 36 female and one male temple elephant…
Source Give up everything to Him, resign yourself to Him and there will no trouble for you. Then you will come to know that every thing is done by His will.— Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886)
Source KAUAI, HAWAII, February 18, 2012 (HPI): Maha Sivaratri will be celebrated throughout the Hindu world on the 19th or 20th (depending on location). On “Siva’s Great Night,” Maha Sivaratri, the fourteenth day of the dark half of Kumbha, or Aquarius (Phalguna February/March), devotees fast all day in preparation to worship Lord Siva from evening until early dawn bathing the…
Source BATU CAVES, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSSIA, February 7, 2012 (The Star): It was a fitting pre-Thaipusam tribute as thousands of devotees gathered here while others joined the chariot procession in preparation for the annual festival today . The chariot carrying the statue of Lord Murugan made its way from the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Jalan Bandar, starting the journey…
Source MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, February 10, 2012 (Knox Leader): A group of 12 young Indian students are the first Hindu chaplains to graduate in Australia. The Melbourne Hindi Foundation announced the first round of graduates after five months of intensive training, in-patient management at hospitals, spiritual services, family counseling and Hindu prayer. They will get refresher courses every six weeks to…
Source COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, February 14, 2012 (AP): The Maldives’ national museum reopened Tuesday without some of its most valuable exhibits a week after a mob of suspected religious extremists smashed images from the pre-Islamic era of this Indian Ocean archipelago. About 35 exhibits — mostly images of Buddha and Hindu gods — were destroyed. Some of the artifacts dated…
Source As righteousness resides in the hearts of the virtuous, so does deceit dwell in the hearts of thieves.— Tirukkural 288
Source PATHANAMTHITTA, KERALA, February 12, 2012 (IBN Live): Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, the 163rd Dharmacharya of Nandinatha Sampradaya, Kailasa Parampara, Kauai Aadheenam, Hawaii, USA, has said that spiritual awakening comes from improving one’s behavior. Delivering a talk on Hinduism and spiritual unfoldment at the centenary celebrations of Ayiroor Cherukolpuzha Hindumatha Parishad on Saturday, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami said that, “awakening comes from…
Source If a diplomat says yes, he means maybe. If a diplomat says maybe, he means no. If a diplomat says no, he ain’t no diplomat!— Andre Gabor, economist