Source TRINIDAD/TOBAGO, March 15, 2011: Plants of Religious Significance: The Hindu Perspective, by Rabindranath Lackhan from Trinidad and Tobago, aims to provide information about the plants and flowers used in Hindu rituals and pujas. Sri Lackhan wrote the first edition of the book while he was an undergraduate student at the University of the West Indies (UWI)-St. Augustine. Now, after…
Source THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, April 4, 2011: The Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the hill shrine of Sabarimala, has begun the process of distributing solatium of US$5,668 each to the families of the 102 devotees who died in the stampede at Pullumedu on January 14. Most of the devotees who died in the tragedy, mainly from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra…
HPI KAUAI, HI, USA, April 13, 2011: If you celebrate the New Year often enough, does time move faster? Maybe not, though Hindus can say it certainly makes it more enjoyable. Particularly in North India, many celebrate New Year on the day after Diwali, which signifies hope and new beginnings. There are other dates still. But nearly everyone joins the…
Source [HPI note: The New York Times ran two stories recently about how delicious Veggie Burgers have become in the last few years.] They were the four syllables that used to have the power to make both carnivores and vegetarians cringe: veggie burger. If that has been your mental framework, it might be time to take another bite. Across the…
Source INDIA, April 07, 2011 (rediff.com): Is Sathya Sai Baba recovering? That’s the question which has triggered anger and anxiety among devotees at both ashrams at Puttaparthi and Whitefield. According to this report here from four days ago, “Sai Baba, the 85-year-old wild-haired spiritual leader with a following of millions across the world, is in a critical state suffering from…
Source PANCHKULA, HARYANA, INDIA, April 5, 2011 (Times of India): With Chaitra Navaratra commencing on Monday, a number of devotees from across the region visited Mata Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula. On the first day of the festival, about 60,000 devotees paid obeisance here. Many could be seen performing rituals early in the morning. From children to newly-married couples and…
Source Over the last few years, American universities have had to adjust their cafeteria menus to reflect the fact that ten to fifteen percent of their incoming students are vegetarians. Now the US federal prison system is doing the same, perhaps a dubious distinction for the advocates of vegetarianism. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals see an up side,…
Source INDIA, March 30, 2011 (FT): Indians are almost as crazy about silver as they are about gold and the country ranks as the third largest consumer of the bullion, according to the most recent research on silver from Deutsche Bank. But unlike India’s recent gold craze when Indians did their bit to to drive global prices higher, the rising…
www.HinduStudentsAssociation.org [HPI note: a late but noteworthy report about Holi in American campuses.] USA, April 7, 2011 (Press Release): Over the past weekend, the Hindu Students Association (HSA) celebrated Holi at several of its branches. Though some branches of the organization are quite new, they all drew very impressive turnouts. The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and University of…
Source In one stroke, one can destroy a rock but not a pillow, even so a humble man can never be destroyed, though the man with ego can be! — Swami Sadananda Saraswati