Source NEPAL, November 7, 2018 (Pretty 52): Nepal celebrated our fluffy four-legged friends in its Kukur Tihar–Day of the Dogs–on Tuesday, and it looked incredible. The five-day Nepalese Hindu festival of Tihar kicked off earlier this week, and the second day is dedicated entirely to dogs. Pooches are given flower garlands and are blessed with a Tika, which is a…
Source Being upset reflects the lack of a strategy. — Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, publisher of Hinduism Today
Source DAVIS, CALIFORNIA, October 9, 2018 (Washington Post): There’s nothing super-looking about moringa (drumstick, Tamil murungai). It’s skinny and sparse in foliage. Its fragile branches sprout puny white flowers and droop with long twisted pods knobby with seeds. But if plants were superheroes, then moringa would be Iron Man. “If there were a top ten list of plants that are…
Source KOLKATA, INDIA, November 5, 2018 (Newsmen): On the eve of Kali Puja, the world famous Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Kolkata today got a gift in the form of a skywalk that has been built by the state government. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the US$8.225 million Rani Rashmoni Skywalk that connects Dakshineswar railway station to the main gate of…
Nadadur S. Kumar MALIBU, CALIFORNIA, November 9, 2018 (Malibu Hindu Temple press release): “To the members and devotees of the Temple: On behalf of the temple, I wish to convey my regrets to all of the families that have been affected by the fires. I am sure the devotees and visitors to the temple are very concerned about the well-being…
Source GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS, October 15, 2018 (Lowell Sun): Banana bunches and other fruits welcome worshippers at the entrance as they ascend a tall flight of steps to the main hall — representing the people’s rite of passage from the earthly to the divine world. Inside the new 40,000-square-foot, two-floor temple, they see a familiar sight in the lobby: Lord Ganesha,…
Source SINGAPORE, October 29, 2018 (Straits Times): Close to 4,500 devotees braved the heat last night at Sri Mariamman Temple in South Bridge Road for the annual fire-walking festival, or Theemithi. Displaying nerves of steel, they strode barefoot across a bed of burning charcoal, before stepping into a pit of milk. The ritual, held a week before Deepavali, is a…
Source AUSTRALIA, October 25, 2018 (Indian Link): The history of Hinduism in Australia goes back to the arrival of the First Fleet in 1787. It is understood that there were some Indians, possibly Hindus, who arrived with early European settlers [half of them convicts]. A recent study of Indigenous Australian DNA suggests there was some form of migration from India…
Source Look at your mind dispassionately; this is enough to calm it. Only when it is quiet can you go beyond it. Do not keep the mind busy all the time, stop it and just be. If you give it a rest, it will settle down and recover its purity and strength. — Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981), Hindu sage
Source To drink pure water from a shallow pond, one should gently take the water from the surface without disturbing the mud at the bottom. If you desire to be pure, have firm faith and slowly go on with your devotional practices without wasting your energy in useless scriptural discussions and arguments. Keep your mind like clear water, for God…