Source UNITED STATES, July 2011: A coalition of major Christian churches including the Vatican launched a rule book on Tuesday for spreading their faith that aims to reduce hostility from Islam and other religions to efforts to convert their followers. The code, entitled “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct”, comes amid growing tension between small local Christian…
Source NEW YORK, July 6, 2011 (Press Release): HAF announces its third annual NextGen Essay Contest, open to writers ages 14 through 27. As HAF continues its efforts to build a progressive Hindu American voice, it is also working to ensure the voices of future Hindu American leaders are heard. The NextGen Essay Contest was established in 2009 to engage…
Source KATHMANDU, NEPAL, July 2011 (AFP): It must be treasure season. After the fabulous wealth of the Padmanabhaswamy temple, workers renovating a former royal palace in the Nepalese capital have discovered a stash of gold and silver ornaments weighing more than 300 kilograms (661 pounds), the government said Tuesday. Only one of three boxes has been opened so far and…
Source MADURAI, INDIA, June 28, 2011 (hindu.com): For the devotees standing in the winding queues for darshan at the Meenaksi Sundareswarar Temple here, the temple authorities are installing a total of ten 32-inch LCD televisions for their benefit. The devotees will be able to see pictures of the presiding Deity, festival schedules and puja time while they are moving in…
Source Before I came on this earth, I was the same. As a little girl, I was the same. I grew into womanhood, but still I was the same. And, even now, I am the same. Though the dance of creation will ever change around me in the hall of eternity, I shall be the same.— Sri Anandamayi Ma, (1896-1982),…
Source INDIA, July 2011 (The Hindu): Developmental pressure on forests and their unscrupulous exploitation have caused “severe depletion” of Himalayan medicinal wealth, a government report said and warned that the situation would go worse if corrective steps are not taken. A report submitted to the Environment Ministry also said encouraging commercial cultivation is vital for the success of medicinal plants…
Source NEW DELHI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, July 6, 2011 (NDTV): The Supreme Court has ordered that the multibillion-dollar treasure found at a Kerala temple will now be filmed and photographed. The vaults of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, sealed for close to 150 year according to some estimates, is being supervised by two former judges of the Kerala High Court, appointed observers by…
Source PICKERING, ONTARIO, CANADA, June 30, 2011 (News Durham): The Devi Mandir Hindu Temple in Pickering is expanding and a grant from the Ontario government is helping cover the costs. The Satya Sanatan Dharma Cultural Sabha of Canada, also known as Devi Mandir, will receive $422,300 over 18 months. The money will go towards repairs and upgrades of the facility…
Source DHAKA, BANGLADESH, June 30, 2011 (msn): Religious minorities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh slammed the approval of the 15th constitutional amendment bill that retains Islam as the state religion as it goes against the secular character of the 1972 constitution. Bangladesh”s Parliament approved the 15th Amendment Bill 2011 that scraps the controversial nonpartisan caretaker system to conduct general elections and…
Source Everything changes, everything passes; things appearing, things disappearing. But when all is over–being and extinction both transcended–still, the basic emptiness and silence abide, and that is blissful peace.— Mystical song from a Hindu story