Source INDIA, August 22, 2020 (Times of Malta) Indian authorities have imposed tough anti-coronavirus restrictions on gatherings and the size of Ganesha elephant God statues for one of the biggest religious festivals of the year that started Saturday. The 10 days of prayers and family gatherings for Ganesh Chaturthi started under a pandemic cloud with the country close to three…
Source Only when we remain equipoised in praises and persecutions shall we be able to fulfill our objectives.— His Divine Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, spiritual head of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha
Source KATHMANDU: The prohibitory orders enforced by the District Administration Office, Bhaktapur to contain the spread of Covid-19 has cast its shadow on the Teej festival on Friday. Usually, Hindu ladies throng the Doleswor Temple in Bhaktapur, Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, and other shrines on this day by taking fast. Due to the lockdown, the temples today look deserted without…
Source UNITED STATES, August 21, 2020 (India Times by Archana Adalja): Ganesh festival, like other festivals, is a happy occasion for Indians in the U.S. as it offers relaxed times when one can speak Indian, dress Indian, eat Indian food and go to temples and mingle with other Indians. Every year in the U.S., Ganesh celebrations take place in California…
Source Do not resist change. Accept change as one of the prerequisites in your life to spiritual illumination. A positive mental attitude overlooks many things that happen and sees the overall picture of what is progressing in your life. — Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism Today
Source JAKARTA, INDONESIA, August 21, 2020 (Asia News): Bali, better known as the “land of the Gods,” became over time Indonesia’s favorite destination for local and foreign visitors. Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, it could now reopen to international tourism by 11 September. Both local and central government authorities have sought to limit the devastating impact caused by the…
Source INDIA, August 17, 2020 (30stades.com): Sometime in 2008, the over 500-year-old Gunja Narasimha Swami temple in Karnataka was in dire need of repair and restoration. The foundation of the temple, located on the banks of the Kaveri, about 20 miles south of Mysuru, had become weak due to flooding and loosening of soil. It developed cracks and some structures…
Source Hinduism was organized for peaceful and harmonious coexistence, not for continued confrontation with external enemies in the shape of unbelievers. It is no accident of history that, though Hinduism knew internal feuds like any social polity, it never crossed its borders to wage wars against people simply because they worshiped different Gods. Organized on such nonmilitary principles, there is…
Source MALAYSIA, August 21, 2020 (The Star): There will be no chariot processions for the Vinayagar Chaturthi festival tomorrow, says Malaysian Hindu Sangam president. Datuk R.S. Mohan Shan explained that temples had decided to cancel their customary chariot processions as it would be very difficult to follow the National Security Council’s (MKN) standard operating procedures (SOP) under the recovery movement…
Source JAMMU, INDIA, August 16, 2020 (Indian Express): After nearly five months, the Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrimage in Trikuta hills of Jammu and Kashmir resumed on Sunday morning, with 244 pilgrims proceeding to the holy shrine from Katra till 6.30 pm. The Vaishno Devi pilgrimage had been suspended on March 18 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. On August 4,…