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 UDUPI, INDIA, July 26, 2011 (IBN live): With wealth worth over billions being unearthed from Sri Ananthapadmanabha Temple, wealth suspected to be stored or hidden in other temples are now the talk of the town. Sri Krishna Temple in Udupi, with a history of over 800 years, is no exception to it. In fact, a legend dating back to…
Source UK, July 22, 2011 (Daily Mail): Teenagers from Hindu backgrounds are almost twice as likely to go to university than those of a Christian faith, Government research suggests. More than three in four (77 per cent) youngsters who describe themselves as Hindu go into higher education, according to statistics gathered for the Department for Education. In comparison, less than…
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 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…