Source INDIA, April 15, 2011: Kolhapur Collector Laxmikant Deshmukh and Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Satej Patil on Friday announced that women would henceforth be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Sri Mahalakshmi temple here. This decision was taken at a meeting attended by the priests, the Devstan Management Committee officials, and Superintendent of Police Yashashwi Yadav.…
Press Release USA, April 8, 2011 (Press Release): BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandirs across North America commemorated Earth Hour by switching off lights within the complexes at 8:30pm on Saturday, March 26, 2011 to join millions of supporters across the world in observing Earth Hour 2011. Many diverse iconic landmarks as the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, Bird’s Nest (Olympic…
Source SRINAGAR, April 12 (Kashmir Observer): Kashmiri Hindu community celebrated Ram Navami, the birthday of lord Ram, with religious fervour and gaiety on Wednesday. Members of Kashmiri Pandit community visited temples since early this morning. A large number of Pandits assembled at Ram temple, Sathu Barbar Shah for special prayers. The society demanded that the State Assembly pass the Hindu…
Source MUMBAI, INDIA, April 14, 2011 (The Daily Pioneer): A group of women activists created history on Wednesday by storming into the sanctum sanctorum and performing puja at the famous Mahalakshmi temple at Kolhapur in western Maharashtra, where only men are allowed to enter the “garbha-griha”. In an incident that created a sensation, as many as 20 activists, led by…
Source Whatever defect I have in my sight, in my heart or mind, may God amend! May He, the Protector of the world, bless us! — Yajur Veda 36.2.
RNS USA, April 11 (Religion News Service): Bibles cannot be the only reading materials allowed in jail, the U.S. Department of Justice said in joining a lawsuit against a South Carolina detention center on Tuesday (April 12). The original suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Prison Legal News last October, charged that the Berkeley County…
Source Wealth and happiness are not related to each other as cause and effect. An attempt to secure happiness by securing wealth is as futile as it is absurd. — Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal(1912-1954), 34th pontiff of the Sarada Peetham
Source INDIA, April 2011: The state Cabinet on Friday accorded sanction for preparing and introducing the controversial Black Magic Bill in the state legislature. The Bill aims at curbing the exploitation of people at the hands of tantriks and fake sadhus. The state government has been struggling with pioneering the legislation against such faith since 2005. The previous bill, the…
Source [HPI note: With the Hindu diaspora, this is becoming more common: temples and ashrams receiving donations from many places around the world.] PANCHKULA, INDIA, April 10, 2011: The faith of devotees coming to pay obeisance at Mata Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula can not only be witnessed in numbers but also in the form of foreign currency donations. Like…
Source INDIA, April 10, 2011: Temples in Himachal Pradesh will now be able to sell half their gold reserves in the form of gold biscuits and coins at the current market rate. The state assembly has amended the HP Hindu Public Religious & Chairitable Endowments Act 1984 to accomodate the suggestions by temple committees. The yellow metal lying in temple…