Source KUALA LUMPUR, January 13, 2012 (Bernama.com): Indians in Malaysia are gearing up for Pongal celebrations on Sunday, January 15. It is celebrated during the 10th month of the Tamil calendar to mark the harvest of crops from the fields and to offer thanks to mother earth, the sun and God for a bountiful harvest. Malaysia Hindu Sangam president R.S.…
Source At a national and international level, we will enjoy more peace as we become more tolerant. Religious leaders can help by teaching their congregations how to live in a world of differences without feeling threatened, without forcing their ways or will on others. World bodies can make laws which deplore and work to prevent crimes of violence. It is…
Source USA, January 3, 2012 (WSJ): Say “placebo effect” and most people think of the boost they may get from a sugar pill simply because they believe it will work. But more and more research suggests there is more than a fleeting boost to be gained from placebos. A particular mind-set or belief about one’s body or health may lead…
Source INDIA, January 8, 2012 (Indian Express): Displaced Kashmiri Pandits came together in the city to recall the hardships of a migrant life after spread of militancy in the Valley. The first international Kashmiri Pandit Youth Conference, organized by ‘Youth 4 Panun Kashmir’ under the aegis of Panun Kashmir, was inaugurated on Saturday. Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar addressed…
Source [HPI note: This is a rebuttal for an article summarized on HPI on January 7, 2012, linked here .] WASHINGTON, DC, USA, January 7, 2012 (By Sheetal Shah): I’d like to thank the The New York Times for continuing to fuel the relevancy of the Hindu American Foundation’s Take Back Yoga campaign. The latest piece in the Times Magazine,…
Source WASHINGTON, DC, USA, January 11, 2012 (NYTImes): In what may be its most significant religious liberty decision in two decades, the Supreme Court on Wednesday for the first time recognized a “ministerial exception” to employment discrimination laws, saying that churches and other religious groups must be free to choose and dismiss their leaders without government interference. “The interest of…
Source How do you describe the constantly cheerful person? Grinning from year to year!— Anonymous
Source RUSSIA, January 3, 2012 (by Natalya Radulova): Only a few years ago, Tina-Sad vegetarian preschool founder and director Tina Trusova worked at a Moscow publishing house and was bringing up her three children on typical meals like borsch and roast beef. Today she is a devout vegetarian. Private preschools are becoming more and more common in modern Russia. They…
Source Can you weep for Him with intense longing of heart? Men shed a jugful of tears for the sake of their children, for their wives, or for money. But who weeps for God?— Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886)
Religion News Service USA, January 7, 2012: Last year saw two widely publicized, widely embarassing failed predictions for “the end of the world” by evenagelical pastor Harold Camping. But more may be coming: on December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar reaches the end of its 5,126 epoch. That’s a cause of consternation among some end-times adherents, and amusement among some…