INDIA, September 16, 2024 (The Intel Drop): Nearly a century ago, in an era before steroids, there was an Indian who was both a yoga master and an accomplished bodybuilder. Named Bishnu Charan Ghosh, he was the younger brother of Paramahansa Yogananda (originally Mukunda Lal Ghosh), famously the author of perennial spiritual best-seller, Autobiography of a Yogi. Ghosh has seen…
JAFFNA, SRI LANKA, September 9, 2024 (island.lk, by Dinasena Rathugamage): Devotees from around the world gathered at the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple in Jaffna to witness the parade of the temple’s principal Deity, Murugan. This revered Hindu temple, dedicated to Lord Murugan, the God of War and Victory, is the focal point of the annual Nallur Festival. Spanning 25 days, the…
CHINA, August 10, 2024 (SCMP): A top university law graduate in China has been arrested for stealing donation money from Buddhist temples in a number of provinces by changing their receipt QR codes to his own. The man, whose identity was not released, confessed to the police that he had stolen more than 30,000 yuan (US$4,200) from temples in the…
BALI, INDONESIA, September 27, 2024 (Surfline, by Nick Carroll): Ulu Watu. The name triggers a deluge of images for surfers worldwide. Dream-like visions of long peeling lefts, trade-winds, sunsets. Images of Bali as Paradise, the ultimate escape. As one surfer we spoke to while researching this story told us: “It’s one of the holiest places on earth, and one of…
JAKARTA, INDONESIA, September 20, 2024 (Independent Observer): The Kingdom of the Netherlands is returning hundreds of objects of Indonesian cultural value that have been kept in the country since the colonial era, based on the recommendation of the Dutch Colonial Collections Committee. The Dutch Education, Culture, and Science Minister Eppo Bruins explained that the repatriation of the cultural objects would…
USA, September 24, 2024 (Religion News Service, by G. Jeffrey MacDonald): As many as 100,000 Christian church-owned buildings are expected to be sold or repurposed by 2030, according to an analysis in a new book, “Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition.” Though Sunday attendance has recovered in part from COVID-19 restrictions, a decades-long decline has…
INDIA, September 25, 2024 (The Hindu): Even as the sacred Tirumala laddu is shrouded in controversy over the alleged use of adulterated ghee in its preparation, the focus has now shifted to inscriptions at the Lord Venkateswara temple in the town, which refer to measures to be taken while handling ingredients, especially ghee. The temples in Tirumala and Tirupati have…
INDIA, September 23, 2024 (India Currents, by Vijay Rajvaidya): The Rann of Kutch in Gujarat is a place that many from India have heard about, yet few have truly experienced. A vast, desolate salt flat, this was once part of the Arabian Sea until the waters receded, leaving behind a stark, shimmering expanse. Divided into the Little Rann and the…
SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI, September 25, 2024 (West News Magazine): Right behind the Wildwood YMCA recreational fields lies the site of the upcoming Murugan Temple of Saint Louis, a project spearheaded by the devotees of the Hindu Deity Lord Murugan. On Sept. 14-15, a consecration ceremony of smaller Deities – Utsava Vighra – was held for the temple. Priest Shri Bharadwaj…
UNITED STATES, September 23, 2024 (RNS, by Khyati Y Joshi): Outside my fourth-floor window, the sounds of devotional chanting, lively music and drum beats echoed in the narrow street below. It was Ganesh Chaturthi, a 10-day Hindu festival that earlier this month celebrated the birth of Ganesha, the beloved elephant-headed God known as the remover of obstacles. As a second-generation…
