Source: The Hindu PATHANAMTHITTA, INDIA, December 26, 2001: The 41-day annual Mandalam festival at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple came to a close with the Mandala puja today. The Ayyappa idol was adorned with the sacred golden attire, the Thanka Anki, which was was brought to Sabarimala in a procession on Tuesday evening prior to the puja. The Ayyappa temple will…
Source: The Hindu THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA, INDIA, December 27. Religious and cultural meetings, seminars, group discussions and poetry sessions are being organized by the Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham in connection with the 69th Sivagiri pilgrimage which will commence on December 30 at Sivagiri math at Varkala. Announcing this at a press conference here today, the working president of the Dharma Sangham,…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 26, 2001: The World Congress for the Preservation of Religious Diversity was held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Delhi from November 15 to 17, 2001. Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati headed the Commission to preserve and protect the world’s ethnic religions and to give them a collective voice in all matters relating to their well…
GO TO SOURCE KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, December 27, 2001: Malaysia Hindu Sangam president A. Vaithilingam (e-mail at “source”) issued the following statement today regarding a TV program broadcast in Malaysia. “The Malaysia Hindu Sangam is shocked that NTV7 broadcasted a television program titled “Islam, Cara Hidupku” on Saturday, December 22 that recounted the experiences of one Muhammad Fitri Abdullah, a…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, Dec 23, 2001: Recent changes to Indian history textbooks have provoked an outcry that Hindu rightwingers are trying to “saffronise” the past. Critics see the move as an attempt to whitewash India’s past or, as some would rather say, paint it saffron, the color most associated with Hinduism. The controversy over changes to the…
GO TO SOURCE KANCHIPURAM, TAMIL NADU, INDIA, December 29, 2001: Religious and historical sites will form the basis for a “golden triangle” proposed for development by the Union Tourism Ministry. The sites, already popular tourist destinations, are Gingee with its famed fortresses from the Vijyanagar empire and near the great temple town of Tiruvanamalli, Mahabalipuram with its ancient stone monuments…
GO TO SOURCE WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA, December 28, 2001: This story appearing on the web site of Christian Week is an interesting look into how missionaries deal with the ancestral religious practices of the native American Indians who convert to Christianity. Hindus are familiar with attempts of Christians in India to “inculturalize” their religion by incorporating features of Hindu puja,…
GO TO SOURCE HOUSTON, TEXAS, December 27, 2001: An international yoga conference and workshop will be held March 2 -7, 2002, at the University of Houston’s University Center on the main campus. Experts in yoga and related fields will give lectures and participate in panel discussions, while yoga therapy workshops will cover the applications of yoga in the following conditions:…
GO TO SOURCE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, December 27, 2001: Chakrapani Ullal, one of America’s foremost Vedic astrologers, offers a monthly astrology newsletter by e-mail. It contains articles by him as well as his travel and lecture schedule for the month. Subscribe at “source” above.
Source: The Hindu PATHANAMHITTA, December 24, 2001: The Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple has seen unprecedented crowds since Saturday. The police had to detain pilgrims for up to three hours as part of crowd-control measures. The line of devotees was extended on the trekking path this morning with many pilgrims waiting for eight to ten hours to enter the temple. Meanwhile, traffic…