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Source: And although Indian nationals – assumed to come as pilgrims rather than as tourists – have traditionally been exempt from paying an entrance fee, the Pashupatinath Temple Development Trust (PADT) is reportedly considering an entry fee for Indian visitors to generate additional funds. More areas in the Pashupatinath area have been opened to tourists, but the restriction to non-Hindus…

Source: www.ft.com LUCKNOW, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA, May 23, 2009: On the banks of the Gomti River outside Lucknow, an elaborate memorial is being constructed in honor of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the erudite hero of India’s “untouchables,” the Dalits. Large statues of Dr. Ambedkar and other Dalit heroes look down on giant sandstone elephants that line the walkway to a…

Source: news.bbc.co.uk KASHMIR, INDIA, June 15, 2009: The famous two-month-long annual Hindu pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave in Indian-administered Kashmir has begun amid tight security. Over 2,500 pilgrims, including women and children, left the state’s winter capital, Jammu, early on Monday. Over the next month and a half, some half a million devotees from different parts of India are expected…

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, June 16, 2009: Sixty-six special trains will connect Puri with different corners of Orissa and other states on the occasion of the Rath Yatra this year. Special trains are being planned not only for Gundicha Yatra day but also for Sandhya Darshan, Sunabesha and Bahuda Days.

Source: www.stabroeknews.com GEORGETOWN, GUYANA, June 16, 2009: Shri Prakash Gossai, special assistant to President Bharrat Jagdeo, popular Pandit and activist of Hinduism known for his devotional songs, died at a hospital in Miami, Florida early yesterday morning, of heart complications. Gossai, who was born on April 23, 1953 at Handsome Tree, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, was 56 years old. He…

Source: www.nytimes.com NEW YORK, USA, June 15, 2009: United States census data show an ethnic pattern in male and female birth rates. In American families of Chinese, Indian and Korean (but not Japanese) descent, if the first child was a girl, it was more likely that a second child would be a boy. If the first two children were girls,…

Source: www.hinduismtoday.com Look at the man who walks on a tight rope. He is performing various tricks, but his mind is only on the rope. So also, we may be doing various things, but our minds must be on God.    Sri Sri Sri Sivaratnapuri Tiruchi Mahaswamigal, founder of Kailasa Ashram, Bangalore

Source: www.hafsite.org WASHINGTON, DC, USA, June 17, 2009: Several of Hinduism’s most senior spiritual and religious leaders traveled from India to come together with Jewish leaders at Capitol Hill here yesterday in a rare summit jointly organized by the American Jewish Committee (AJC), Hindu American Foundation (HAF) and World Council of Religious Leaders (WCORL). Two days of intense dialogue hosted…

Source: wwrn.org WASHINGTON, DC, USA, June 17, 2009: The Manmohan Singh government has derailed a proposed visit to India this week by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a US Congress-related organization that monitors religious rights worldwide and gives independent policy recommendations to the US President and his administration. A USCIRF team that was to leave for…

Source: www.asianage.com BHOPAL, INDIA, June 13, 2009: With the spectre of drought and water wars looming large in the state, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is planning another round of som yagyas to placate the rain gods — much like the ancient Hindu kings of the Vedic era. The yagyas were recommended by Somaji Nana Kale, owner of…