Source MALWA, INDIA, January 17, 2018 (Hindu Existence): The British ruled the Indian subcontinent for hundreds of years, and built many churches and cathedrals. But in the 1880s, a Shiva temple in Agar Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, was renovated by Lt. Col. Martin as per the wish of his wife — the only Shiva temple ever made by an Englishman in…
Source SINGAPORE, June 4, 2018 (Little India): India had a big role to play in the renovation and the consecration ceremony of the 148-year-old Sri Krishnan temple. Priests have been flown in from India for the ritual, which marks the start of the 48-day consecration process. Stones were also sourced from India to renovate the temple. Indian painters provided a…
Source SINGAPORE, June 4, 2018 (The New Paper): Waterloo Street was filled with the beating of drums and the patter of barefoot dancers yesterday morning as the Sri Krishnan Temple was unveiled in its fully restored glory after four years of works costing US$3 million. The 148-year-old Hindu temple, one of the oldest in Singapore, was re-sanctified in a consecration…
Source Great achievements are possible through unity.— His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, spiritual head of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha
Source SRI LANKA, June 1, 2018 (Up, translated from French): In Sri Lanka, a family business produces paper from elephant dung. It’s an ecological alternative to fight the ravages of deforestation. Ninety percent of the products (notebooks, photo albums, maps) are exported abroad. For the past twenty years, the company Maximus has developed an unusual and environmentally friendly paper manufacturing…
SORENG, INDIA, May 31, 2018 (Washington Post): Fifteen years ago, the tiny Indian state of Sikkim (population 610,000) launched a radical experiment: Its leaders decided to phase out pesticides on every farm in the state, a move without precedent in India — and probably the world. The change was especially significant for India, a country whose progress in agriculture was…
Source UNITED STATES, May 22, 2018 (Patheos, by Mat McDermott): The phenomenon of non-Indians adopting Hinduism is not new. However, the stories of how individuals came to the religion have not been regularly recorded. I hope to rectify that by time to time publishing interviews with those people who weren’t raised Hindu but now publicly identify as such, in the…
Source Your heart is the temple where God should be enshrined. Your good thoughts are the flowers, your good words the hymns, your good deeds the rituals. And love is the offering.— Mata Amritanandamayi Ma, Kerala-based hugging saint
Source MALAYSIA, May 26, 2018 (The Star): The government is planning to set up Hindu Endowment Boards in all states to ensure credibility and transparency in temple management. Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran said the board would ensure conformity and uniformity in the running of temples nationwide, as well as make public the financial accounts of temples. “We want to…
Source TIRUPATI, INDIA, May 29, 2018 (The Hans India): With the summer vacation drawing to a close, especially to the school-going children, the temple city of Tirupati has been witnessing a peak in the pilgrim crowd. For the past several days, the transit points have been bustling with activity as many people are making last minute plans to visit the…