SourceNew Delhi, INDIA, June 18, 2003: Chinese authorities have cleared the way for people from India wishing to undertake the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, officials announced Wednesday. The yatra had been delayed due to concern over SARS. An External Affairs Ministry spokesman said the first batch of 30 persons will go on the pilgrimage next month, followed by nine other batches…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, June 17, 2003: It was Fritjof Capra’s “Tao of Physics” that launched Lord Nataraja as a global icon. In his book Mr. Capra wrote the dance of Siva was “the dance of subatomic particles.” He was not the first in portraying Nataraja as a universal metaphor for the interface between science, spirituality, dance and art, but he…
Agence France PresseAHMEDABAD, INDIA, June 13, 2003: A fully-computerized Hindu crematorium has sprung up in the western Indian state of Gujarat with live Internet broadcasts of funerals. Muktidham crematorium’s managers said the facility was set up to enable friends and relations of the deceased in far off places to take part in the ceremony if they were unable to personally…
SourceKUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, June 19, 2003: The Saiva Siddhanta Mandram, Malaysia, in association with 17 Saiva organizations worldwide, is hosting the ninth annual World Saiva Conference, September 26-28, 2003, in Malaysia. “Saivism for Future Generations” is the theme of this year’s conference and their objectives are: to preserve, foster, promote and develop further the Saiva Siddhanta Philosophy and Traditions of…
HPITAMPA, FLORIDA, June 19, 2003: Leaders of the Hindu Community here met with the editors of the Tampa Tribune in a continuing effort to deal with an article (see HPI, June 5, 2003) published in their newspaper called “Voyages into Madness” which cast Hinduism in a very bad light. HPI applauds the intelligent and controlled dealings of the community leaders…
Milwaukee Journal SentinelWISCONSIN, U.S.A., June 14, 2003: Some 2,000 to 4,000 Hindus from southeastern Wisconsin are expected to gather at the Hindu Temple of Wisconsin this weekend for phase two of what is known as the prana pratishthapana, or installation and consecration of deities. The main shrine in this temple is devoted to Lord Vishnu. The granite or marble murthis…
SourceJOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, June 17, 2003: Three white tiger cubs with blue eyes and chocolate-brown stripes were born at a South African wildlife ranch. They were the first such cubs to be born in Africa, which has no indigenous tigers. The ranch will ask South Africa’s Hindu Council to suggest names for them. White tigers were once found in the…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, June 17, 2003: The Hyndava Dharma Peethamu, a body which guides people on Hindu rituals, has devised unique ritual kits for people participating in the Godavari Pushkarams beginning July 30. It is a once-in-twelve-years ritual of worship along the Godavari River. An executive committee member of the Peetham, K. Sudhakar, told reporters on Monday that the ritual…
Daily PioneerNEW DELHI, INDIA, June 15, 2003: The administration of Deogarh, about 215 miles from the state capital, has taken the Baba Vaidyanath Shiv temple online so devotees can seek the Deity’s blessings without actually visiting the shrine. “People living in other parts of the country and abroad requested me to put the temple online as has been done with…
SourceUNITED STATES, June 9, 2003: Did you know meat leftovers from a favorite restaurant may be dinner for a cow? Or that calves, instead of drinking their mothers’ milk, are fed formula made from cows’ blood? These practices, all perfectly legal, have come to light with the discovery last month of North America’s first homegrown case of “mad cow” disease.…