Source MALAYSIA, January 22, 2016 (The Star): The sound emanating from the urumee, a double-headed hourglass-shaped drum commonly used by village musicians in south India, easily attracts a crowd. During Thaipusam, urumee melam (drum beat) groups typically accompany kavadi and milk pot bearers to give them strength and courage to fulfil their vows. In Malaysia, especially Perak, the urumee is…
Source In thinking ‘This is I’ and ‘That is mine’ one binds himself with himself, as does a bird with a snare.— Krishna Yajur Veda, Maitreya Upanishad 3.2
Source RAMESWARAM, INDIA, January 25, 2016 (Deccan Chronicle): Even as the consecration of the Sri Ramanathaswamy temple here was performed on a grand scale with utmost religious fervor on Wednesday, a controversy brewed over the alleged sidelining by the temple authorities of the visiting Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt, Sri Jayendra Saraswathy. While the pre-consecration rituals including the yaga…
Source NAPERVILLE, IllINOIS, January 22, 2016 (by Timothy C. Morgan, Religious News Service): HPI provides this news item to inform Hindus of the kind of predatory tactics used by some Christians to gain converts from traumatized communities. Evangelical leaders are calling on American Christians to welcome Syrian refugees in their communities despite anxieties over differences of religion — arguing that…
Source MADURAI, INDIA, January 8, 2016 (Times of India): The Madurai Bench of the Madras high court on Thursday passed a common order dismissing two petitions challenged the kumbabishekam of the Rameswaram temple scheduled for January 20 on various grounds, including that the day fixed for the ceremony was inauspicious. At the same time it directed the temple authority to…
Source CAMBODIA, January 22, 2016 ( BBC): A French museum has returned the head of a 7th Century Hindu statue to Cambodia 130 years after it was taken. The statue, a representation of the Hindu gods Vishnu and Shiva, had its head broken off and taken in French colonial times. It was returned by the Guimet Museum in Paris at…
Source CHENNAI, INDIA, January 20, 2016 (News Today): Whether you are a religious person, politically inclined, a cinema buff or a bizman, this is the day you were waiting for. The day, 20 January, has seen so much activity as it is considered an auspicious day to conduct kumbabhishekams or launch any event. Since the day holds an important place…
Source I felt great need of a holy pilgrimage, so I sat still for three days and God came to me.— Saint Kabir (1440-1518)
Source MUMBAI, INDIA, January 27, 2016: As mentioned in our last HPI, photographer Sudharak Olwe was awarded Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honors for his social work. One example, at source above, is his documentation of the work of Mumbai’s 30,000 “conservancy workers,” or sweepers.
Source RAMESHWARAM, TAMIL NADU, INDIA, January 22, 2016 ( Press Trust of India):The kumbabishekam at the historic temple of Sri Ramanathaswamy here was performed today. About 200,000 devotees witnessed the function. The last kumbabishekam was performed on February 5, 2001. The kumbabishekam at Srivilliputhur Andal temple was also performed today.