Religion News ServiceWASHINGTON, D.C., April 2, 2004: A bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled a US$100 million bill Thursday (April 1) that they say will help protect “soft targets” such as churches and synagogues from terrorist attacks. The High-Risk Non-Profit Security Enhancement Act would open $50 million in government grants to allow hospitals, theaters and houses of worship to beef up…
SourceUJJAIN, INDIA, March 28, 2004: The countdown for the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela, has begun in the holy city of Ujjain. The festival will be held from April 5 till May 5. It is estimated that about 30 million people will attend the event. The mela is held every 12 years, in Ujjain, Allahabad, Hardwar and Nasik in rotation.
SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, MARCH 27, 2004: A number of artists and scientists have helped to design the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai, India, as a celebration to Lord Siva. The hotel interior showcases over 100 commissioned artworks of various artists. The hotel’s lobbies, gardens and restaurants are around themes like the Sadashiva icon, deconstructed and seen as fragments of a puzzle…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, March 29, 2004: It’s still a mystery how a CD of sacred Tibetan hymns, not widely circulated, muscled its way onto the Grammy jury panel. But creativity is known to break barriers. Monks of the Sherab Ling monastery, some 60 km from Dharamsala, achieved a first, winning the Grammy for the best traditional world music album. This…
Press ReleaseBANGALORE, INDIA, March 31, 2004: Dr. N. S. Rajaram sends this summary of his coming talk on “Genetics on Migrations in History” at the Mythic Society, Nripatunga Road, Bangalore, 560 001, on Friday, April 2 at 6:00 pm. As George Santayana said: “History is always written wrong, it needs always to be rewritten. But first we need to identify…
SourceNEW YORK, NEW YORK, June 9, 2003: This article appeared in the Wall Street Journal last year, but was only brought to HPI’s attention recently. It is by Bruce Gilley and called “Asia’s Quiet Miracle. It is given here in its entirety. As it nears the end of its fifth year in office as the head of a coalition government,…
SourceTRINIDAD, March 31, 2004: Thousands are expected to attend a three-day Ramayan Yagna this weekend at which renowned swami, Parama Puja Sri Sri Ganapati Sachchidanda Swamiji, will deliver discourses on the first 100 stanzas of Sage Valmiki’s Ramayan. The event and is being hosted by quarry magnate Sieunarine Persad Coosal, at his Acono Road, St Joseph, residence. The Swami, who…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, March 28, 2004: Charlie and Carol Hopkins write, “As devotees around the world remember and honor the Divine Guru, Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj, on the tenth anniversary of His Mahasamadhi, it is our joy to announce the first visit to North America of Swamiji’s spiritual son, Shri Shivarudra Balayogi. Baba will be coming to the US as part…
SourceUNITED KINGDOM, March 26, 2004: There are no dues or initiation rituals. Your age, citizenship, political affiliation, gender, religion (or lack of it) don’t matter. The invitation comes from Danny Wallace of London. He is the director of a new comedy development for the BBC, and has written a book about how two words, ingenuity, a sense of humor and…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, March 21, 2004: Those devotees planning to undertake the month-long Amarnath Yatra to a cave high in the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir State with an ice Siva Lingam will now have two months to complete the trek after it opens on July 1. The Shrine Board says, “Crowd control measures, on the pattern followed by Mata…