Source There is not a fellow under the sun who is my disciple. On the contrary, I am everybody’s disciple. All are the children of God. All are His servants. As for me, I consider myself as a speck of the dust of the devotee’s feet.— Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886)
Source NEW YORK, NY, USA, September 24, 2011 (nytimes.com): The American obesity epidemic is often “explained” by saying that junk food is cheaper than a healthy, home-cooked meal. But despite extensive government subsidies, hyperprocessed food remains more expensive than food cooked at home. Moreover, it’s unnecessarily high in calories, and most people in this country–especially the poor–already consume too many…
RNS USA, October 3, 2011 (Religion News Service): Attendance in American churches has dropped in the last decade and their membership has aged, despite an increase in minority congregations, according to a new Hartford Seminary study covering thousands of Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregations in 2000 and again in 2010.T he median worship attendance at a typical congregation decreased from…
Source CHENNAI, INDIA, September 25, 2011 (Bernama): The world-famous Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple in south India has auctioned human hair donated by devotees for a whopping US$ 22.2 million. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the temple’s custodian, sold 466 tons of hair in its maiden e-auction last Thursday, where 49 bidders, including foreign buyers, joined in the bid, reported the…
HPI KAPAA, HI, USA. October 5, 2011 (HPI): The monks of Kauai Aadheenam, from where Hinduism Today and HPI are published, have been using Macintoshes since their release more than twenty years ago. It is with these remarkable tools that we make our voice heard loud and clear across continents, lauding Hinduism and protecting dharma from what is otherwise a…
Source August 24, 2011 (Salon.com, by David Sirota): Food has become a political issue in America, and some carnivores have become increasingly aggressive toward anyone or any fact that suggests they reconsider their culinary habit. Some will even aggressively challenge a person who quietly declines to eat meat. The author, raised in a meat-eating family but vegetarian for over a…
Source NEW YORK, NEW YORK, September 27, 2011 (WNYC): It’s a big season for Indian art at New York City museums. As the Brooklyn Museum wraps up its “Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior” exhibit this weekend, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens its own major show of art from the subcontinent on Wednesday. The show, called “Wonder of the Age: Master…
Source PUNE, INDIA, September 22, 2011 (Times of India): Under the National Manuscripts Mission, a collection of around 40,000 manuscripts in Sanskrit are being digitized at the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal. A team began work over a month ago. The work includes digitizing manuscripts from private sources in the city as well. The process of digitization began at early August,…
Source KAPAA, HI, USA. October 5, 2011: Wikipedia, ever a work in progress, has established itself as the world’s most important repository of information, the first place to go to learn about almost anything. Curated by dedicated contributors, behind the scenes Wikipedia works to assess the quality of information presented and fill in the gaps. One of the methods is…
HPI INDIA, October 4, 2011 (HPI): Tavathiru Nachiappa Gnanadesika Swami of Koviloor Aadheenam, the math’s 12th matadhipathi, left his body at age 70. A brilliant man with an expertise in photography and printing technology, Swami took sannyas later in life. He was part of the Kalakshetra established by Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundable for nearly six decades. After renouncing the world…