Source By constantly repeating, “I am free, I am free,” a man verily becomes free. On the other hand, by constantly repeating, “I am bound, I am bound,” he certainly becomes bound. The fool who says only, “I am a sinner, I am a sinner,” verily drowns himself in worldliness. One should rather say: “I praise the name of God.…
Source BOGOTA, COLOMBIA, July 11, 2017 (CGTN America): According to some estimates, 11 million people worldwide consider themselves of the ethnic group known as “Roma.” [The Roma or Gypsies are originally from India.] In Colombia the Roma are trying to preserve their culture and traditions as they make their home there. According to a 2005 government census, there are nearly…
Source FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, July 14, 2017 (press release): Yesterday afternoon, United States District Court Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco issued an order denying part of California state officials’ motion to dismiss the complaint brought by California Parents for the Equalization of Educational Materials (CAPEEM) and three parents of California schoolchildren that challenges the unconstitutional denigration of Hinduism in the…
Source JUCHEN, GERMANY, July 3, 2017 (NGZ Online, translated from German): It is quite colorful in the new Hindu temple at Hochstrasse 10b in Hochneukirch. Members of the Tamil community transformed a former supermarket into a Hindu temple with several large and small shrines, decorated in every detail, after just seven months of construction. With solemn ceremony and worship, the…
Source Free will is not free–it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect–but there is something behind the will which is free.— Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
Source UNITED STATES, July 11, 2017 (New York Times by Sara Manning Peskin, MD): Every major organ in the body — heart, lungs, liver, kidneys — has the capacity to shut off the brain. It’s a biological veto system. The mysterious exception is “terminal lucidity,” a term coined by the biologist Michael Nahm in 2009 to describe the brief state…
Source Love says, “I am everything.” Wisdom says, “I am nothing.” Between the two, my life flows. I express it by saying that I am both, and neither, and beyond both.— Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981), Hindu sage
Source GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, July 8, 2017 (mlive.com): For the first time, a Hindu parade called Granth Dindi was performed in the U.S., bringing 3,000 people to downtown Grand Rapids. The parade began at 8 a.m. July 8 outside DeVos Place and ended an hour later at Van Andel Arena. The intricately-choreographed performance included dancing, drumming and Hindu scriptures being…
Source UTTARAKHAND, INDIA, July 6, 2017 (Hindustan Times): After the Union government’s plans to start a spiritual circuit, Uttarakhand said it was all set to promote “mystical and supernatural” tourism. “Uttarakhand is not just about the five dhams. We are making a new tourism policy and I need to tell you that in our state there is an unusual (kind…
Source ATLANTA, GEORGIA, July 1, 2017 (BAPS): His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj joined devotees and well-wishers in celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Atlanta, Georgia. The festivities welcomed guests from all parts of North America and from around the globe. His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj performed the unforgettable inauguration ceremonies in 2007 surrounded by the…