Source MUMBAI, INDIA, November 11, 2011: A growing number of Indians are hiring private detectives to check up on a prospective bride or groom’s character, sexual history and finances before marriage. Agencies say they’ve seen a huge rise in pre-matrimonial investigations to check a suitor’s background, because more people are meeting online and families are less involved. Pre-matrimonial investigations are…
Source CHENNAI, INDIA, November 9, 2011 (Times of India): Long before paper was introduced in India, birch bark was used for writing scriptures and texts in Sanskrit and other languages in North India. Now, Chennai can take a closer look at this piece of history as a rare birch bark, used during the 17th century by successive Kashmiri rulers, has…
Source Good thoughts are the foundation stones in the mansion of good conduct. If the foundation is strong, the mansion will endure.— Sri Rameshbhai Oza, inspired performer of Vaishnava kathas
Source Mud thrown is ground lost. The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.— Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
RNS USA, November 16, 2011 (RNS): Got the blues? Go to worship. A new study in the Journal of Religion and Health suggests that — at least for some women of a certain age — there’s a link between optimism and attendance at religious services. “We looked at the religious practices of nearly 100,000 women and — like it or…
Source LONDON, UK, November 17, 2011 (metro.co.uk): Amma, the HIndu saint, spreads her arms to embrace all colors, faiths and creeds. For 30 years, the spiritual leader, real name Mata Amritanandamayi, has been offering strangers darshan – her unique brand of spiritual embrace – and is said to have doled out more than 30million hugs worldwide. ‘There’s a universal message…
Source INDIA, November 2011 (The Hindu): Jayendra Saraswati, guru and chief of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, has urged the people to be aware of the oneness of existence, which has neither birth nor death, and avoid divisive thoughts. He was speaking to a gathering of representatives of several Hindu groups, brought together by the Hindu Aikya Vedi in connection with…
Source MALAYSIA, November 2, 2011 (NST): The Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry will help legalize about 70 illegal Hindu temples in the city by 2013. Deputy Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk M. Saravanan said the temples, which are mainly in residential areas, have been vetted by ministry officials to comply with the criteria for legalization. The temples…
Source Knowing others is wisdom; knowing the Self is enlightenment. Mastering others requires force; mastering the Self needs strength.— Lao-Tsu (ca 600 bce), Chinese philosopher who inspired Taoism
Source MUMBAI, INDIA, October 29, 2011 (The Hindu): The country has seen over a quarter of a million farmers’ suicides between 1995 and 2010. The National Crime Records Bureau’s latest report on ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’ places the number for 2010 at 15,964. That brings the cumulative 16-year total from 1995 — when the NCRB started recording farm…