Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com AMARNATH, JAMMU & KASHMIR, August 6, 2009: Hi-tech gadgets — deep search metal detectors, hand held thermal imagers, sniffer dogs and CRPF and BSF sharpshooters patrolling the arduous route — ensured that the centuries old tradition thrives protected from terrorist threats. The multi-layered security blanket around the cave shrine, located at an altitude of 13,500 feet in the…
Source: sify.com JODPHUR, INDIA, August 3, 2009: A temple dedicated to Lord Siva reverberated with sounds of cymbals amid chanting of hymns in Jodhpur, as 51 priests joined others all over India in praying to the Lord to bless the country with peace, harmony and prosperity. The eight-day prayer session was organized to coincide with holy monsoon month of Shravan,…
Source: www.radioandmusic.com MUMBAI, INDIA, August 3, 2009: Seven stations in India’s Big FM network will be creating huge papier-mache Ganeshas for this year’s Ganesha Chaturthi. Their goal is for every listener household to get involved by donating old newspaper to the cause. During the first ten days of August, a newspaper drive will be held at housing societies and other…
Source: www.hinduismtoday.com Eternal, pure, groundless, death-and-birth free, pervasive, ever immaculate, distant, near, enveloping effulgence of void, the support of all, the fullness of bliss, the consciousness-form beyond thought and speech, That which thus stood, the expanse vast that generates bliss, let us contemplate. Tayumanavar (1706-1744), South Indian devotional poet
Source: www.hinduismtoday.com Eternal, pure, groundless, death-and-birth free, pervasive, ever immaculate, distant, near, enveloping effulgence of void, the support of all, the fullness of bliss, the consciousness-form beyond thought and speech, That which thus stood, the expanse vast that generates bliss, let us contemplate. Tayumanavar (1706-1744), South Indian devotional poet
Source: www.wscountytimes.co.uk CRAWLEY, UK, July 31, 2009: The opening of Crawley’s new mandir and community center in Ifield, planned for this month, has been put back to the end of the year. So far, delays have cost the funding organization, the Gurjar Hindu Union, US$320,000. Now they may have to pay an additional $830,000, due to the councillors’ decision to…
Source: www.pr-inside.com PARIS, FRANCE, July 27, 2009: Paris’ Fete de Ganesh, a colorful celebration, will be held August 30, 2009, centering around the Sri Manicka Vinayakar Alayam Temple, in the Little India district of the city. A procession will depart from the temple around 11am and weave its way through the streets of Paris, passing through various areas including the…
Source: www.pib.nic.in INDIA, August 3, 2009: Cremation of dead bodies on ghats at the banks of rivers is an age-old practice. However, disposal of poorly cremated bodies is a source of river pollution. Setting up of electric crematoria has been sanctioned by the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the National River Conservation Plan and to address the pollution by…
Source: www.hinduismtoday.com We owe a lot to Indians, who taught us to count, without which no worthwhile discovery could have been made. Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Source: www.smithsonianmag.com TANNA, VANATU, February 2006: Every year, February 15 is John Frum Day on the remote island of Tanna in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. On this day, devotees descend on the village of Lamakara from all over the island to honor an American messiah, called by the locals “John Frum.” The island’s John Frum movement is a…