Source: www.thaindian.com TORONTO, CANADA, October 10, 2009: The Canadian parliament celebrated Diwali this week with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other top leaders lighting the traditional lamps. They were among the 450 dignitaries to attend the festivities Thursday night. High commissioner Shashisekar Gavai of India and Hindu envoys from Pakistan and Malaysia were also among those who attended the evening…
Source: www.dallasnews.com DALLAS, TEXAS, October 5, 2009: The thousands gathered in a parking lot at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday commemorated Diwali Mela — the Hindu festival of lights — helping celebrate the diversity of North Texas. This is the fourth year the festival, which is popular not just in India but with Indian immigrants around the world, has been celebrated…
Source: www.carynews.com CARY, NORTH CAROLINA, October 7, 2009: On Saturday, Sandeep Acharya, winner of the 2006 season of “Indian Idol,” and Aditi Paul, a fellow contestant, will bring their acts to the United States, headlining this year’s Cary Diwali festival. The free festival, one of the biggest of its kind in the Southeast, will be held at Koka Booth Amphitheatre…
Source: www.latimes.com WASHINGTON, DC, USA, October 8, 2009: The Supreme Court debated Wednesday whether a large Latin cross standing in the Mojave National Preserve is a symbol of all fallen soldiers–including non-Christians–and whether it violates the 1st Amendment ban on establishment of religion. The cross has existed since 1934 on a remote hill in the Mojave National Preserve. The National…
Source: www.nytimes.com NEW YORK, NY, USA, October 6, 2009 [An editorial from The New York Times]: The Supreme Court is currently deliberating whether a large cross that has been placed on federal land violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment, the constitutional provision that requires a wall of separation between church and state. The religious significance of the cross…
Source: www.hinduismtoday.com There are things of deadly earnest that can only be mentioned under the cover of a joke. J. J. Procter
Source: ibnlive.in.com WASHINGTON, DC, USA, October 12, 2009: U.S. President Barack Obama will personally join members of the Asian American community to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, at the White House next week, as announced on Friday. While it was former president George W Bush who started the tradition of celebrating Diwali at the White House, he never personally…
Source: www.bernama.com KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, October 8, 2009: A Hindu Temple Action Committee has been formed to address temple construction issues in the capital, said Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk M. Saravanan. “It is formed to solve temple construction and merge small temples in the capital and the office bearers will be decided at its next meeting,” he said on…
Source: www.thehindu.com PALANI, INDIA, October 7, 2009: The Palani Temple administration has started processing the hair offered by pilgrims, even setting up a system to auction it to buyers. The buyers, in turn, send the processed hair to local and overseas markets. Total revenue earned through direct auction of hair the year ending last June was US$500,000, according to T.…
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com INDIA, September 6, 2009 (by Gurcharan Das): Growing up Hindu was a chaotically tolerant experience. My grandmother visited the Sikh gurudwara on Mondays and Wednesdays and a Hindu temple on Tuesdays and Thursdays; she saved Saturdays and Sundays for discourses by holy men, including Muslim peers, who were forever visiting our town. In between, she made time for…