Source HAMPI, INDIA, June 16, 2011 (The Pune Mirror): Some of the most impressive structures at the world heritage site at Hampi are in various stages of collapse following unchecked quarrying of granite in the vicinity. On Sunday, a portion of the famous Varaha temple came crashing down. Regular dynamiting of rocks in the periphery of the Vijayanagar ruins had…
Source VARANASI, INDIA, June 19, 2011 (The Times of India): A group of dalit women will go to historic Kashi Vishwanath Temple to offer prayers and later share a meal with brahmins on Monday. Around 200 untouchable women from Alwar and Tonk districts of Rajasthan, who were once engaged in cleaning toilets, will make a visit to the famous temple…
Source The highest form of grace is silence.— Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1922), founder of the Chinmaya Mission
Source INDIA, June 16, 2011 (peopleandplanet.com): India will overtake China in terms of population by 2025, an analysis of the provisional Census, 2011 data suggests. India’s population of over 1.2 billion is then expected to have grown to more than 1.4 billion. Reporting this, The Hindu newspaper says that with more than 1.2 billion people, India contains about 17.5 per…
Source BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, June 15, 2011 (mangalorean.com): Over 200,000 devotees from various parts of the country converged in Orissa’s temple town of Puri Wednesday and witnessed the bathing ritual of three Deities that precedes the famous chariot festival or Rath Yatra, an official said. The Deities — Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra — were taken out…
Source AHMEDABAD, INDIA, June 14, 2011 (Times of India): Next time you enter the Somnath temple, ensure that you have removed your belt and are not in “improper or disrespectful” dress. The Shree Somnath Trust has recently imposed a dress code banning short skirts and shorts. A board at the security counter reads, “Not allowed inside the temple improper disrespectful…
Source UK, June 20, 2011 (BBC):The oceans are in a worse state than previously suspected, according to an expert panel of scientists. In a new report, they warn that ocean life is “at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history”. They conclude that issues such as over-fishing, pollution and climate change are…
Source USA, June 20, 2011 (Press Release): H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji Maharaj, President of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram, is visiting America. He is currently in South Carolina, and will be in Chicago on the 25th, touring several states until July 17. Pujya Swamiji travels the world, speaking to audiences large and small, formal and informal, spreading inspiration, upliftment and…
Source BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, June 2, 2011: Bonnie Farmer, M.S., R.D. for PlantWise Nutrition Consulting in Plainwell, MI has gained national recognition of her research completed at the School of Health Sciences of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. About to be published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Dietetic Association, her article, “A Vegetarian Dietary Pattern as a Nutrient-Dense…
Source USA, June 13, 2011 (Huffington Post, by Rajiv Malhotra): The word “dharma” has multiple meanings depending on the context in which it is used. Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary lists several, including: conduct, duty, right, justice, virtue, morality, religion, religious merit, good work according to a right or rule, etc. Many other meanings have been suggested, such as law or “torah”…