A Sacred Turtle and a Controversy

Source: www.kalingatimes.com KENDRAPARA, ORISSA, INDIA, November 12, 2009: State forest department today registered a case against the head of a Hindu mutt under animal welfare legal provisions. That is because A soft-shell-Gangetic fresh water turtle, parts of which bears resemblance with Lord Jagannath (a form of Lord Vishnu), was taken to the mutt to be worshiped. The case was registered…

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The Rise of the Non-Veggie Vegetarian

Source: news.bbc.co.uk What happened? Juliet Gellatley, director of the vegan and vegetarian group Viva, is clear on the issue of whether fish eaters can use the term vegetarian. “They cannot. The definition is very clear. It’s someone who doesn’t eat anything from a killed animal. It does cause confusion if someone who calls themselves a vegetarian goes into a restaurant…

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Daily Inspiration

Source: www.hinduismtoday.com As the bee takes the essence of a flower and flies away without destroying its beauty and perfume, so let the sage wander in this life.    Dhammapada 50

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Yoga Studios Fighting State Taxes

Source: Religion News Service ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, November 7, 2009: [HPI note: Yoga in the West has long been taught stripped of its spiritual roots, however possible that might be. But that causes some unforseen developments.] On November 1st, Missouri became the only state to enforce a sales tax on what many see as a spiritual pursuit — the practice…

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Maryland Governor Celebrates Diwali

Source: www.indiajournal.com ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, November 5, 2009: Maryland Governor, Maryin O’Malley, celebrated Diwali for the first time at the Governor’s Mansion here, along with members of the Indian-American community. “The Festival of Lights is a beautiful tradition, and the message of light over darkness is one that can be an inspiration to us all during these difficult times,” the Governor…

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Utah Girl’s Pierced Nose: US-Indian Culture Clash

Source: www.google.com UNITED STATES, November 8, 2009: To 12-year-old Suzannah Pabla, piercing her nose was a way to connect with her roots in India. To Suzannah’s school, it was a dress-code violation worthy of a suspension. Suzannah was briefly suspended last month from her public school in Bountiful, Utah, for violating a body-piercing ban. School officials — who noted that…

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RSS Service Projects Growing

Source: HPI NAGPUR, INDIA, November 4, 2009: Sewa Disha, a special journal published by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) front organization released to the media on Tuesday reveals that its service projects all over the country that numbered 15,063 in 1997 have grown into a massive network of 157,776 in 2009. The journal, published once in five years, gives full account…

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Learn Hindi or Sanskrit to Stimulate Brain Cells

Source: indiatoday.intoday.in NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 4, 2009: Learning Hindi, or Sanskrit or any other language of this family has an advantage over English: it exercises more areas of the brain. Scientists at the Manesar-based National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) have for the first time studied the processing of an Indian script-Devanagari-in the human brain using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging…

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Daily Inspiration

Source: www.hinduismtoday.com One party says thought is caused by matter, and the other says matter is caused by thought. Both statements are wrong; matter and thought are coexistent. There is a third something of which both matter and thought are products.    Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)

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