Source People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. — Steve Jobs, founder and CEO of Apple, Inc.
Source USA, July 26, 2011 (BBC): The oldest and largest trees within California’s world famous Yosemite National Park are disappearing. Climate change appears to be a major cause of the loss. The revelation comes from an analysis of data collected over 60 years by forest ecologists. They say one worrying aspect of the decline is that it is happening within…
Source In today’s multicultural world, the truly reliable path to coexistence and creative cooperation must start from what is at the root of all cultures, from what lies infinitely deeper in human hearts or minds than political opinion, convictions, antipathies or sympathies. That is transcendence. To be in harmony with that which we are not, what we do not understand,…
Source USA, December 19, 2010 (USA Today, by Stephen Prothero): The school committee in Cambridge, Mass., stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy when it voted in October to include a Muslim holiday on its academic calendar. Though not particularly controversial among local residents, this change earned the ire of Bill O’Reilly, who asked his Fox News viewers, “Are we…
Source BHOPAL, INDIA, July 6, 2011 (hindustan times): Dating back to 1845, the Hindu Shyam Kaka Krishna temple complex near Narsinghgarh, about 62 miles from Bhopal, has a panel depicting Muslim men offering the namaz (prayers). The temple and its story remind us that there are numerous places in India where warring religious factions once stood in solidarity. Legend has…
Source MUMBAI, INDIA, July 11, 2011 (DNA India): The famous Ganpati mandals, essential to the celebrations of Ganesha Chaturthi in Mumbai, are required to get permissions from a number of government bodies. They need to approach the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) ward office concerned and the fire brigade for permission to set up a pandal. The permission of the traffic…
Source Some people think they are worth a lot of money just because they have it.— Fannie Hurst (1889-1968), American novelist
Source INDIA, July 2011 (TodayIFoundOut.com): Some Tibetan monks can control the temperature of their skin through meditation. Specifically, they have been shown to be able to raise their skin temperature, measured from their toes and fingers, as much as 17 degrees Fahrenheit, while their core temperature stays normal. Scientists from Harvard University, lead by Herbert Benson, were first able to…
Source [HPI note: Kanwariyas are those who undertake the Kanwar Yatra. The Kanvar Yatra or Kavad Yatra is annual pilgrimage of devotees of Siva to Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand, to fetch holy waters of Ganges River which is later offered at their local Shiva temples. The Yatra takes place during the sacred month of Shravan (July/August), according to…
Source VARANASI, INDIA, April 29, 2011 (Hindustan Times): The first-ever illustrated French version of the Ramayana will be launched in France and India by a Paris-based publishing house. It is a seven-volume book which uniquely combines textual narratives and miniature paintings of the Ramayana arranged from museums across the globe, Ramayana project manager Colombe Verges disclosed. The French version of…