www.thestar.com TORONTO, CANADA, July 23, 2007: The new BAPS Shri Swaminarayan temple was declared not just a place of Hindu worship for Indo-Canadians, but a symbol of their new home in Canada. “It seems to me Toronto is the perfect place for this mandir (temple),” Premier Dalton McGuinty said before thousands of Indo-Canadians waving Indian and Canadian flags yesterday during…
www.hindu.com HYDERABAD, INDIA, July 3, 2007: With Ganesha Chaturthi just around the corner in September Deity makers are focusing on providing Ganesha murthis for the festival. Many families earn their livelihood making murthis. Deity maker Subodh Singh says, “About 500 families live off them.” The news report explains Singh’s profession, “He has four sheds in Dhoolpet, a corner of the…
news.bbc.co.uk KATHMANDU, NEPAL, July 19, 2007: Returning home to Kathmandu after a 39-day visit to the U.S., Kumari Sajani Shakya will have to undergo a cleansing ceremony in order to maintain her status as a temple goddess. Temple elders were upset that Sajani had left the country as she should have known that she is forbidden to do so. The…
www.nytimes.com ANNANDALE, VIRGINIA, July 21, 2007: The first hour at the Chinmaya Mission day camp unfolds as at any other camp. Children shriek through tag, while a few other play Uno. But by 9 a.m., the grammar-school-age campers are sitting down, their attention focused on a long-haired Indian man in the front of the room, Swami Dheerananda, the mission’s Hindu…
www.newkerala.com PURI, ORISSA, July 13, 2007: The famous Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa has become known for its large kitchen that has the capacity to accomodate the making of mega offerings. The news release explains, “Around 500 cooks and 300 helping hands prepare 56 different offerings known as Mahaprasad or Abhada for Lord Jagannath, which are served to the deity…
www.ajc.org NEW YORK, NEW YORK, July 17, 2007: (HPI note: following four reports are press releases from various organizations regarding the Hindu prayer in the Senate.) The American Jewish Committee is deeply troubled by the verbal assault on Rajan Zed, a Hindu religious leader who delivered the opening prayer on the Senate floor last week. “Senate Majority leader Harry Reid’s…
www.vhp-america.org USA, July 13, 2007: World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) is delighted that for the first time in its history, the U.S . Senate on July 12 was opened with a Hindu prayer said by a Hindu chaplain, Rajan Zed, a Hindu from Nevada. We express our gratitude and appreciation to all the Senate Leaders including Senate Majority Leader…
www.hscnet.org NEW JERSEY, USA, July 12, 2007: The Hindu Students Council commends the United States Senate today for creating history in having a Hindu priest lead the opening invocation of today’s session. Such an event marks the profound diversity of religion in American civic life, and HSC compliments Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada for taking the courageous step of inviting…
www.HAFsite.org WASHINGTON, D.C., July 13, 2007: The Hindu American Foundation joins all Hindu Americans in celebrating the epochal events of July 12 in our community’s history in the United States. Yesterday, the faith of 2 million American Hindus and nearly 1 billion of the world’s population was represented in the chambers of the U.S. Senate for the first time. Shri…
Vedanta Society of St. Louis ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, July 14, 2007: (HPI Note: Following story was received from Swami Chetanananda of the St. Louis Vedanta Society.) On May 12, 2007, I was invited to say some universal Hindu Prayers in the Graduation Ceremony of the Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri. It was held in Edward Jones Dome in the downtown…