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KAUAI, HAWAII, March 9, 2013 (Hinduism Today): Mahasivaratri is the most important festival dedicated to Lord Siva. This holy day, which takes place on March 9 this year, is observed by millions of Hindus all over the world. It is one of Hinduism's most esoteric holy days, when yoga practices, mantras and meditation take the devotee closer to God's essence within the core of himself. Hindus typically fast, maintain silence and stay up all night to perform spiritual practices, such as worshiping, chanting and singing. In some regions, devotees visit as many Siva temples as they can on this night.

Who is Siva?

For hundreds of millions of Hindus Siva is the Supreme Being, the absolute One God who both transcends creation and pervades it--thus existing as our own innermost essence. Siva is the powerful Deity whose energetic dance creates, sustains and dissolves the universe in endless cycles. He is the master yogi delving into unfathomable mysteries, the supreme ascetic, the prime mystic, the Light behind all light, the Life within all life. Siva is often called Mahadeva, "Great Being of Light," for He created other, lesser Gods such as Ganesha and Karttikeya. Although Siva is usually depicted as male, in reality God and the Gods are beyond gender and form, as depicted by His half-male, half-female form, Ardhanarishvara. Parvati, regarded as Siva's consort in village Hinduism, is mystically understood as His manifest energy, inseparable from Him. The ancient Tirumantiram scripture says of Siva, "Himself creates. Himself preserves. Himself destroys. Himself conceals. Himself all of this He does and then grants liberation--Himself the all-pervading Lord."

What happens on Mahasivaratri?

Many Hindus perform an all-night vigil, plunging the soul into its own essence, led by Siva, the supreme yogi, who is both the guide and the goal of the search. Staying awake through the night is a sacrifice and a break from life's normal routine, a time out of time to be with God within, to reach for the realization of our true, immortal Self. Siva is known as Abhisheka Priya, "He who loves sacred ablutions," and thus many temples and home shrines have water always dripping on the Sivalinga. On this special night, Sivalingas are bathed with special substances, sometimes several times. Mahasivaratri occurs on the night before the new moon in February/March.

What is the Sivalinga?

Linga means "mark, token or sign." A Sivalinga, representing Siva, is found in virtually all of His temples. The Sivalinga is the simplest and most ancient symbol of the Divine. It is especially evocative of Parasiva, God beyond all forms and qualities, the unmanifested Absolute. Sivalingas are commonly made of stone, but may also be of metal, precious gems, crystal, wood, earth or even transitory materials like sand or ice. Ardent devotees make special Sivalingas to worship during Mahasivaratri.

Is there a special mantra for Siva?

Namah Sivaya is among the foremost Vedic mantras. It means "adoration to Siva" and is called the Panchakshara, or "five-letters." The five elements, too, are embodied in this ancient formula for invocation. Na is earth, Ma is water, Si is fire, Va is air, and Ya is ether, or space.

Tidbits About Mahasivaratri

What is holy ash? Holy ash is a sacrament that is dear to devotees of Siva. Taken from sacred fires, it purifies and blesses those who wear it. This fine, white powder is worn on the forehead as a reminder of the temporary nature of the physical body and the urgency to strive for spiritual attainment and closeness to God.

What is the special offering to Siva? Hindus believe that offering bilva leaves (Aegle marmelos) on Mahasivaratri is most auspicious. Legend tells of a hunter who was chased by a tiger. Scrambling up a thorny tree, he plucked and dropped its leaves to stay alert. The tree was a bilva, The leaves happened to fall on a Sivalinga, and it was the night of Sivaratri. That all-night worship of God, though inadvertent, earned the hunter liberation from rebirth. Siva accepts devotees irrespective of their faults and foibles, forgiving man's cognizant and innocent mistakes.

Fasting & Silence

While virtually every Hindu festival comes with a sumptuous list of foods to feast on, during Mahasivaratri most Hindus fast. A spiritual practice found in almost all of the world's religions, fasting calms the physical, mental and emotional energies, helping the devotee draw nearer to the ineffable Self within. While the most strict fast on nothing but water; others permit themselves fruits, milk or rice.

Many observe silence on this night, thinking of nothing but God. Silence, known in Sanskrit as mauna, quiets the demands of the mind and body, bringing forth spiritual clarity.

In Hinduism, God is not separate from creation. A virtuous life and certain techniques, such as yoga and ascetic practices, allow a person to remove the veil that makes us think of ourselves as separate from Him.

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TRINIDAD, March 9, 2013 (The Guradian, by Paras Ramoutar): Hindus in Trinidad and Tobago will celebrate Mahasivaratri tonight. It is the night of the great awakening of Lord Siva according to the Hindu holy books. He is also the Absorber of the Universe, and the third force in the Hindu pantheon of the Godhead. Hindus are expected to keep an all night vigil.

Lord Siva is the redeemer as well as the destructive Force which is manifested in all aspects of creation. He embodies the positive ideals of renunciation, asceticism, serenity and all negative human values as untruthfulness, vanity, ignorance, impurity, deceit and deception. Hindus consider Sivaratri as one of its most noble and monumental observances.

The 300-plus temples across the country would be holding vigil, including Edinburgh Hindu Temple, Chaguanas Mandir, Longdenville Temple, Caparo Shiva Mandir, the Seva Sangh of Caparo, Felicity Hindu Mandir, Gasparillo Hindu Mandir and Blue Star of Bandoo Trace, Claxton Bay.

Observances would be held in all temples not only on the night of Sivaratri, but also on the days leading to the celebration itself where Lord Siva yagnas would be organized, requiring devotees and followers to abstain, fast and observe strict spiritual disciplines. The devotee is thus engrossed in purified thoughts and actions that should keep him or her from unwelcome distraction.

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As your mind releases its desires and cravings, it releases the hold that it has on you. You dive deeper, fearlessly into this blazing avalanche of light, losing your consciousness. And as you come back into the mind, you see the mind for what it is, and you are free. You find that you are no longer attached because you see that the binder and the bound are one. You become the path. You become the way. You are the light.
-- Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism Today

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DHAKA, BANGLADESH, March 7, 2013 (The Hindu): Amnesty International has made an urgent appeal to the Bangladesh government to provide its minority better protection. "The Hindu community in Bangladesh is at extreme risk, in particular at such a tense time in the country. It is shocking that they appear to be targeted simply for their religion. The authorities must ensure that they receive the protection they need," said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty's Researcher.

In the report, 'Bangladesh: Wave of Violent Attacks Against Hindu Minority', Amnesty gave the country's war crimes trial as the context to the violence against the minority.

The report said attacks on Hindus and other minorities were often reported from Bangladesh, especially from the far-flung areas. The latest attack took place on March 6 at Daudkandi in Comilla, where a Hindu temple was vandalized and burnt down. It said on Feb. 28 a minority village of Rajganj Bazar in Noakhali was set on fire by the Jamaat supporters. According to Amnesty, Bangladesh's Hindu minority constitutes only eight per cent of the population and has historically been at risk of violence. They suffered heavily during the 1971 liberation war and again after the 2001 parliamentary elections, when BNP-Jamaat coalition came to power.

The rights body urged all political parties to condemn such violence against the Hindu community

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PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA, February 25, 2013 (The Star): Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has obtained a magistrate court order to demolish Sivan Temple in Bukit Gasing after a council report recommended it to be torn down as it posed an imminent danger to people's lives and properties in the surrounding area.

Petaling Jaya mayor Datin Paduka Alinah Ahmad said the temple building was in danger of collapsing as further rains could weaken the soil strength. The mayor stressed that the court order was requested "in the best interests of the people, to protect the lives of devotees, people living at Fraser Towers and the students of SMK Taman Petaling that is located below the apartments.

"We respect the religious sensitivity and have given full responsibility to the temple committee to handle the demolition exercise." Alinah said the council would assist and was willing to offer advice if required. "We assure the committee and devotees that the land on Bukit Gasing remains for the Hindu temple." "For the new temple, building plans must be submitted and our officers will facilitate the process," she said.

On Feb 1, StarMetro highlighted that the concrete roof of the Sivan Temple had tilted and more cracks were visible. Sculptures of huge deities, a cow and the ornate tower on the roof of the two-level building had tilted and Maharathan had said he was worried the temple would collapse in view of the rainy spell.

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Surrender can never be regarded as complete so long as the devotee wants this or that from the Lord. True surrender is the love of God for the sake of love and nothing else, not even for the sake of salvation. Love Him unconditionally.
-- Sri Ramana Maharishi (1879-1950), South Indian mystic

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KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, February 7, 2013 (Free Malaysia Today): Hindu temples nationwide are facing a shortage of priests. This is because the Immigration Department is only granting visas for only one or two priests from India to work at a temple.

The Petaling Estate Sree Maha Mariamman Temple board of trustees chairman A. Vasudevan Nair said it was difficult for one or two priests to serve about 5,000 to 10,000 devotees who throng temples, especially during Hindu festivals. "While they allow barbers and restaurant workers from India to work here without any major restrictions, the same cannot be said for priests.

The issue of shortage of Hindu priests was brought up just after the 2008 general election. The government had entrusted Human Resources Minister and MIC vice-president S. Subramaniam to look into the matter. The government then came-up with a plan to send local Hindus to be trained, not only as priests, but also musicians and sculptors, in India for a one-day induction course.

"Local priests are not well versed in Sanskrit... most prayers and mantras must be recited in Sanskrit. This is one disadvantage. Another is the small number of priests serving thousands of devotees. For example this temple has some 5,000 devotees but is only serviced by one priest. This is absurd," Vasudevan said.

He said the government should not only concentrate on repairing and rebuilding temples but also pay heed to the temple's needs and requirements of devotees," he said.

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ALLAHABAD, INDIA, March 1,2013 (Washington Post): -- Onno Ruhl, head of the World Bank in India, calls it "an incredible logistical operation." Harvard researchers describe it as "a pop-up megacity". On the sandbanks of the Ganges River at Allahabad, bureaucrats and workers from Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and one of its poorest, took less than three months to build a tent city for 2 million people -- complete with hard roads, toilets, running water, electricity, food shops, garbage collection and well-manned police stations.

Organizers do much the same every three years - although on a particularly large scale every 12 years, as in 2013 - for the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival celebrated in turn at four different locations in India.

Apart from a Feb. 10 stampede at the nearby Allahabad railway station in which 36 people were killed, the Kumbh Mela itself has so far gone smoothly. Fresh water comes out of the taps. Toilets are disinfected. Trained police carefully shepherd the crowds to the bathing ghats. The lights come on at night.

In the minds of both Indians and foreigners, this raises important questions: How? Why? Or, if the authorities can build infrastructure so efficiently for this short but very large festival and its instant city, why can they not do the same for permanent villages and towns?

The World Bank's Ruhl, who was moved to bathe in the Ganges himself when he visited the Kumbh Mela this year, says the city on the sandbanks, soon to be dismantled before the river floods, "has water, sanitation, power, solid waste management, everything, actually, that many Indian cities lack".

"To somebody who does projects, it's like a mega-refugee camp that came up overnight and gets sustained and managed for two months with people filtering [in and out] at a rate of millions a day. I've never seen anything like it in my life. It's managed by the UP [Uttar Pradesh] government. If somehow we could translate that capacity to day-to-day business, you could transform UP. It's a really powerful thought."

More at Source above.

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MADURAI, INDIA, March 2, 2013 (The Hindu): With Meenakshi Amman Temple coming under a security blanket, devotees as well as residents in the vicinity are uneasy over the heightened police presence. "The temple has been taken over by the police for all practical purposes and under the guise of security the police are troubling the common man," devotees complain.

There were complaints from some of the Bhattars working in the Temple. "The police are checking us physically before entering the sterile area...We objected to this and informed the temple authorities. The moment we produce our photo identity cards, the police should allow us in without frisking," they argued.

Women devotees with infants, unaware of the heightened security, are irked when they are told to leave camphor, match box, tender coconut water filled in bottles and other puja items such as agarbathis and milk outside the premises.

A policeman is on guard atop a specially erected watch tower. All this gives an impression that we are living in a high security zone such as New Delhi." Even the temple staff are uncomfortable with the repeated checks. "When will the police relax this scale of security, a temple staff asked"

A senior police officer said, "After the receipt of a specific threat, we have no other option but to step up vigil. The public have to cooperate. When the Central security agencies alert us about a possible threat, we cannot remain silent or hope nothing untoward would happen," he argued and added "if something goes wrong, the police would be blamed."

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There is no true path that leads away from religion.
-- Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism Today

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TAMIL NADU, INDIA, March 4, 2013 (The Hindu): Grama Kovil Poojarigal Peravai and the Tamil Nadu unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have urged the State government to sanction monthly remuneration for priests of village temples. The two organisations have urged the State government to end the practice of issuing tickets for special darshan in temples that were under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments.

Resolutions to this effect were adopted at the two-day Hindu Marumalarchi conference organized here jointly by the VHP and the Grama Kovil Poojarigal Peravai on Saturday and Sunday.

Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakodi Peetham, Sri Ramanuja Jeer of Thirukurunkudi Jeer Math, and other swamijis, priests from across the State, Vedantham, advisor, All World VHP, the former Union Minister and Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, VHP State general secretary R.R. Gopalji, and office bearers of the Peravai participated.

Although the State government had announced pension for 4,000 village Hindu priests, the target was yet to be achieved completely. Hence, pension should be provided to all priests as ordered by the government. Another resolution said seeking the increase in pension from Rs. 1,000 (US$18.22) to Rs. 2,000 (US$36.45). The pension should be provided to the spouses of pujaris after their demise.

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, March 6, 2013 (press release): Fifty American high school teachers will receive an in-depth summer education in nonviolence, thanks to a special program facilitated by the Center for Jain Studies at Claremont Lincoln University. From July 15 through August 7, the teachers will study in Delhi, Aligarh and Jaipur to gain a multifaceted understanding of ahimsa, the Jain and Hindu principle of nonviolence practiced, most famously, by Mahatma Gandhi. Transforming the world begins with transforming individuals, and this program will turn India into a classroom where participants are immersed in a lifestyle of ahimsa.

"At Claremont Lincoln University students learn from the wisdom of the world's religious traditions and the most compelling spiritual practices of the ages, so that they can apply them to a world in need," said Philip Clayton, Claremont Lincoln University Provost. "In a world torn apart by violence, the nonviolent resistance of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is more important than ever. Teachers wield huge influence on future generations. We are really excited to launch the first training in the practice of ahimsa for high school teachers across the United States."

A grant from the Uberoi Foundation enables Claremont Lincoln to publicize this program to high school teachers in North America. Funds from the International School for Jain Studies, Claremont Lincoln's partner school in India, will heavily subsidize the costs of food, lodging and studies, so that the high school teachers will pay far below the actual cost of the trip.

For more information, go to "source" above.

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INDIA, March 6, 2013 (HPI): At source above is a three-minute video of a dance performance by two children, brother and sister, age 11 and 7 on the India's Got Talent show. The highly professional performance melds classical Indian dance with modern ballet moves such as lifts. Definitely worth watching.

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The poverty of poverties is having plenty yet shunning guests. Such senselessness is only found in senseless fools.
-- Tirukkural

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TIRUPATI, INDIA, March 2, 2013 (India Times): The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which administers the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara, has approved a Rs 2,248 crore (approx. US$409.4 million) budget for the fiscal year 2013-14.

The offerings, to be made by millions of devotees in the temple hundi (offering box), was expected to fetch about US$156.5 million while the interest on investments deposited in national banks by TTD was estimated to account for US$101.1 million, TTD Board Chairman K Bapiraju told reporters, after the Board of Trustees monthly meeting held on the hills.

The sale of various darshan and other ritual tickets is estimated to bring in US$42.1 million while auction of human hair is expected to net about US$36.4 million for the new fiscal, he said.

The payment of salaries and wages to about 9,000 staff was expected to be a major outgo -- US$61 million, besides US$26.4 million that was projected for outsourcing expenses, he said. Revised estimates of the TTD budget for 2012-13 was put at US$393.4 million, he added.