Source: news.bbc.co.uk UNITED KINGDOM, December 21, 2009: An international scientific effort has revealed the genetics behind Asia’s diversity. The Human Genome Organisation’s (HUGO) Pan-Asian SNP Consortium carried out a study of almost 2,000 people across the continent. The study answered a question about the origin of Asia’s population. It showed that the continent was likely populated primarily through a single…
Source: www.pressdemocrat.com CALIFORNIA, USA, December 21, 2009: Sonoma County’s top official on Monday ordered the removal of stars, angels and other religious symbols from Christmas trees in county buildings after a complaint that the decorations violate constitutional protections. “I understand the concern about government endorsing religion or a doctrine, and I respect that is not our role,” Acting County Administrator…
Source: www.babajiskriyayoga.net/english/bookstore CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA, December 21, 2009 (Press Release): A new English language translation of the Tirumandiram will be released at a gala celebration in Chennai, India on January 17, 2010. The Chief Guests will be Sri P. Chidambaram, the Honorable Union Home Minister, and the heads of the Saiva monasteries at Dharmapuram, Tiruvavaduthurai, and Tiruppanandal. This monumental…
Source: www.hinduismtoday.com To give love is true freedom; to demand love is pure slavery. Swami Chinmayananda
Source: www.thaindian.com LUCKNOW, INDIA, December 19, 2009: Around 20 million devotees are expected during the more than month-long Magh Mela that begins December 31 in Allahabad, but civic amenities to handle such a massive crowd, including hospitals, are not ready yet. The work by civic agencies was to be completed by December 15. However, the basic infrastructure at the site…
Source: www.pib.nic.in INDIA, December 18, 2009: The Government is promoting the use of solar and other renewable energy sources throughout the country. Solar steam cooking system for cooking food for 15,000 people per day at Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh and for 20,000 people per day at Shri Sai Baba Sansthan have already been installed with support from the Ministry of New…
Source: www.nytimes.com NEW YORK, USA, December 14, 2009: Say cheese and stay married? Yes, according to Matthew Hertenstein, a psychology professor at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. He and three colleagues recruited more than 600 people for a review of their college yearbook photos. The researchers rated the yearbook smiles by coding muscle movements around the mouth and the eyes.…
Source: www.hinduismtoday.com Many advances in the sciences that we consider today to have been made in Europe were in fact made in India centuries ago. Grant Duff, British historian of India
Source: www.chron.com UNITED STATES, December 18, 2009: In James Cameron’s new film, Avatar, the Titanic director creates a world where humans take on the form of what the characters call avatars to exist on a planet called Pandora. Humans control the avatars through technology, but some use their powerful avatar bodies for evil as they try to ruin the resources…
Source: www.theage.com.au [HPI note: HPI will, periodically, feature a temple around the world that exemplifies Hinduism’s vibrant diaspora.] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, May 8, 2004: The Shri Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple is located in the suburb of Carrum Downs, 21 miles from Melbourne’s central business district. This temple is the largest Hindu temple in Victoria. Worship at the temple is centered around…