Luxury and Devotion

Source INDIA, June 3, 2011: (by Reshmi Dasgupta, Economic Times) Luxury marketers are perceptive. It pays to give reverential acknowledgement to our sacred sentiments, especially with more and more Indians added to the international rich lists. The recently launched Caran d’Ache limited edition solid silver Balaji pen (adding to its Artiste collection repertoire of Buddha, Ganesha and Shiva) is one…

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Over 213,000 Pilgrims Registered for Amarnath Yatra

Source JAMMU, INDIA, June 6, 2011 (Times of India): As many as 213,000 pilgrims have registered themselves for the annual pilgrimage to the 13,500-feet-high cave shrine of Amarnath in the Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir. The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) began the registration process on May 10 for the yatra which will commence on June 29 and culminate on…

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Sadhu Dies After a 73-day Fast to Save Ganga

Source NEW DELHI, June 15, 2011 (IBN – CNN): It’s the season of hunger strikes and fasts unto death. Far from the spotlight though in the same hospital ICU as the better known Baba Ramdev, Swami Nigamanand has passed away. Swami had been fasting for two and a half months over illegal mining, looking to save the Ganga, While sadhus…

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Superstitions Influencing the Stock Market? Knock on Wood

Source INDIA, June, 2011: (by Anand Kalyanaraman, The Hindu Business) To an observer, it would seem that the powerful and the wealthy are more susceptible to the superstition phenomenon. And omens, superstitions and quirks abound in stock markets. Here’s a list of some interesting ‘can’t-be-proven-but-it-exists’ phenomena which contribute to the song and dance on the stock markets in Mumbai. Well…

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The Sadhu Who Clicks

Source INDIA, June 5, 2011: The Himalayan temple town of Gangotri is located at an altitude of 10,300 ft. in the Garhwal Himalayas. This is the home of the Ganga, India’s holiest river, whose physical source at Gaumukh lies just 12 miles away. Looking at the river, Swami Sundaranand shakes his head sadly. “This is not the same Ganga as…

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Polish University To Set Up Tamil Chair

Source WROCLOW, POLAND, June 2, 2011: In a sign of growing interest in the study of Indian culture in European universities, the Jagiellonian University at Krakow in Poland will soon establish a Tamil Chair. The announcement was made by First Secretary in the Indian Embassy in Warsaw, Vikrant Rattan, at the third Middle European Student Indology Conference (MESIC 3) held…

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An Interview with US Army Captain Pratima Dharm

Source USA, June 12, 2011 (First Post): She spent two years earning a Masters in Theology and training in a Protestant seminary, when a phone call from the US Army in 2006 caught her by surprise. “I was all geared towards hospital chaplaincy when I got a call, asking, ‘Would you be interested in joining the Army?’ I said, ‘What,…

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US Military’s First Hindu Chaplain

Source WASHINGTON, U.S., June 2, 2011 (Stripes.com): As a child in New Delhi and other cities of India’s northern Plains, Pratima Dharm moved easily through a kaleidoscopic swirl of religions and cultures. “My close friends in school represented all the different faith groups, and it never occurred to me then that we were different or there was anything strange about…

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