www.ekal.org HOUSTON, TEXAS, August 17, 2006: The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, Houston Branch, held a number of fundraisers in July and raised over US$270,465 to support their educational programs in India. The Consul General of India and keynote speaker at the Houston event, Hon. S.M. Gavai, recounted how India’s literacy rate has gone up from 18% of the population in 1947…
timesofindia.indiatimes.com IMPHAL, INDIA, August 17, 2006: Janmashtami celebrations in Manipur turned bloody on Wednesday when a grenade was tossed into the Iskcon temple crowded with more than 20,000 devotees. The blast left at least four devotees dead (the BBC today reports that five people have been killed) and at least 40 others injured, including Iskcon international director Damodara Swami, police…
www.ndtv.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, August 14, 2006: Non-Brahmins will now have to wait a while longer before they can apply for the job of a priest in temples in Tamil Nadu. The Supreme Court has put a stay on an ordinance passed by the Tamil Nadu government in July, which stated that anybody who was a Hindu could become a…
www.himalayanacademy.com KAUAI, HAWAII, August 13, 2006: We at HPI and Hinduism Today are proud to announce the inauguration of a daily podcast of our founder’s talks. Three hundred sixty-five talks by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami are included and will be issued one each day. The first is now posted at “source” above, and will be available on iTunes on the 15th…
www.sivacharya.org CHENNAI, INDIA, August 13, 2006: A website devoted exclusively to the ancient tradition of the Sivacharya priests, and specifically to Shri T. S. Sambamurthy Sivacharya, is now available. A video of Sambamurthy Sivacharya speaking on the Agamas, temple rituals and mantra and the history of the Shri Kalikambal Temple where Sambamurthy served as a priest from the age of…
www.chinmayauk.org LONDON, ENGLAND, August 13, 2006: A one-day conference conducted by Swami Swaroopananda, acharya of the Chinmaya Mission, is planned for Saturday, September 2, 2006, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Kings College. The purpose of the conference is dedicated to discovering and applying the ancient principles of Vedic philosophy into everyday life. For additional information and to register,…
www.nj.com EAST WINDSOR, NEW JERSEY, August 13, 2006: Devotees of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, known as BAPS, have proposed a $142 million cultural and religious center on 152 acres near Turnpike Interchange 8 and Route 33 which has spawned an intense debate in the East Windsor community. BAPS’s preliminary plans call for the construction of 17 buildings and…
www.courierpress.com EVANSVILLE, INDIANA, August 12, 2006: A group of men, women and children sit on the floor in front of a colorful altar adorned with flowers, candles, food offerings and images of Hindu deities. Different people take turns leading the group of 30 or so in Sanskrit and Hindi songs–prayers offering praise. Evansville-area Hindus gather here, a meeting room at…
english.ohmynews.com KATMANDU, NEPAL, August 10, 2006: Gai Jatra, known in English as the festival of cows, is celebrated across Nepal but particularly in the Kathmandu valley. This year the festivities began on August 10. In this festival teenage boys dress up as cows and parade the streets of the town. This custom springs from the belief that cows help the…
www.cnn.com BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, August 11, 2006: Faith and spirituality were cited most often by people over the age of 100 as the source of their longevity, according to a survey sponsored by a unit of UnitedHealth Group. In a survey of 100 people between the ages of 100 and 104, 23 percent said faith rather than genes and good medical…