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 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…
Source THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA, 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…
Source In the whole world there is no study so beneficial and so elevating as that of the Upanishads. It has been the solace of my life–it will be the solace of my death. Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), German philosopher and writer and first Western philosopher to have access to translations of philosophical material from India.
Source UNITED STATES, April 2011: The President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge will help magnify, value and encourage America’s religious and cultural diversity. The initiative will engage the rich, pluralistic diverse communities in partnerships for the common good. It will empower them to be innovative in providing services (seva) to communities in need. The Campus Challenge can build social…
Source UNITED STATES, April 4, 2011: Celebrating the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, over 5000 women attended the BAPS Women’s Conference 2011 at 20 locations across North America in the month of March. This conference focused on the theme “Women: Honoring the Past, Envisioning the Future.” Conference organizer in New York, Parul Patel said, “BAPS is committed to the…
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…