Bali’s Unusual Sacred Cloth

BALI, INDONESIA, September 6, 2023 (printmag.com, by Ellen Shapiro): If your eyes are open in Bali, Indonesia, you’ll see black and white checked fabric just about everywhere. On my first vacation there with my son and his family, I spotted it at a roadside pottery shop on the way from the airport. What is this doing here? I asked myself.…

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Wonderful Video of G-20 Summit’s Siva Nataraja

DELHI, INDIA, September 9, 2023 (YouTube): The G20 Summit in New Delhi is witness to the awe-inspiring presence of a colossal 28-foot tall Nataraja statue, believed to be the tallest of its kind in the world. The installation of this magnificent statue captures the essence of Lord Shiva’s cosmic power of creation and destruction. Crafted in Tamil Nadu using the…

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What is “New Atheism”?

USA, August 14, 2023 (Christianity Today, by Stefani McDade): HPI Note: we found this long article instructive in understanding recent statements about “Sanatana Dharma” coming out of South India. “I think a case can be made that faith is one of the world’s great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate,” Oxford professor and renowned atheist Richard…

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G20 Summit: 28-foot-Tall, Bronze Nataraja Statue Installed at Summit Venue in Delhi

NEW DELHI, September 5, 2023 (Business Today): A towering 28-foot-tall statue of Nataraja has been installed at Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the upcoming G20 Summit in Delhi. Sculpted by eighteen South Indian experts in bronze, the world’s tallest Nataraja statue stands at the entrance of the convention hall at Bharat Mandapam. The statue symbolizes Lord Shiva as the Lord…

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Vadtal Gadi Swaminarayan Sect Agrees to Remove Controversial Hanuman Murals From Temple In Gujarat’s Botad

SALANGPUR, GUJARAT, INDIA, September 5, 2023 (Republic World): A Swaminarayan sect on Monday said it will remove controversial wall murals installed on the pedestal of a giant statue of Lord Hanuman at a temple in Salangpur town of Gujarat’s Botad district. In some of the murals at the famous Hanuman temple in Botad, the revered God is shown as a…

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Hindu Temples in Pakistan

PAKISTAN, January 23, 2021(How2HaveFun by WIK): I have been to quite a few Hindu Temples in Pakistan and hear stories of families living there for ages having to move out overnight during Partition. Combine that image with the dilapidated condition of long-abandoned Hindu Temples, this does not make a pleasant sight. But some, with their gold, saffron, and orange colors,…

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Chhari Mubarak Returns to Dashnami Akhara After Immersion Ceremony at Pahalgam

SRINAGAR, JAMMU/KASHMIR, September 2, 2023 (Daily Excelsior): The annual pilgrimage of Chhari-Mubarak Amarnath Ji culminated today at Pahalgam with its last rituals Pujan and Visarjan, which were performed at the bank of River Lidder. A sizable number of sadhus and tourists who had come from various parts of the country joined the Pujan. Later, Bhandara was organized and Dakshina was…

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Free Temples: Government Control of Hindu Temples Is Violation of Constitution

INDIA, August 29, 2023 (The Organiser, by T. R. Ramesh): Government control over places of Hindu worship across India is in violation of constitutional provisions and various court orders. Yet it continues. In Tamil Nadu alone, 400 temples and their valuable properties have been suffering colossal mismanagement and annual losses of thousands of crores for over 70 years now. The…

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Raksha Bandhan 2023: First Rakhi Tied to Lord Shiva in Ujjain

INDIA, August 30, 2023 (Organiser): On the eve of Raksha Bandhan, the first Rakhi was tied to Bhagwan Mahakal on August 30 in the courtyard of Baba Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain. A Bhasma Aarti was also performed and laddoos were distributed among devotees. It is a tradition to tie the first Rakhi to Lord Mahakal, a form of…

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Nepalis Bring Comfort to Migrant Workers With Raksha Bandhan Ritual

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, August 30, 2023 (Free Malaysia Today): For the many migrant workers who have traveled from Nepal to Malaysia in search of better wages and opportunities, spending nights alone without the company of their loved ones has become part of their lives. That loneliness can play on their minds and, without the love of their families, there is…

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