Source NEW YORK, NEW YORK, December 21, 2016 (New York Times): One of New York’s most prominent antiquities dealers was arrested Wednesday on charges that she obtained millions of dollars in stolen artifacts from international smugglers and sold them illegally — often through major auction houses — by creating fraudulent documents to camouflage their history. In a complaint filed in…
Source JAMMU, INDIA, (Sputnik News): Hundreds of persecuted Rohingya Muslims migrants from Myanmar have found a new home in the Jammu region of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. But the largely Hindu population of Jammu sees this as a ploy by the Muslim dominated state government to create instability in the region. People of Jammu fear continued migration of…
Source Bhakti is nothing but the devotion we show to the divinity that resides within us. Once we regard the divinity within us with devotional fervor, we are bound to develop the same affection towards everything outside, for the same divine truth runs through all things. — M.S. Subbulakshmi (1916-2004), renowned Carnatic singer
Source PATHUM THANI, THAILAND, December 20, 2016 (New York Times): HPI Note: This article worth reading for the shear scale and showmanship of the temple’s gatherings as shown in the article’s opening photograph. It is a temple for a changing Thailand: clean, unadorned, high-tech and unashamed of praying for wealth. “Sit here and get rich,” read small medallions embedded in…
Source CHENNAI, INDIA, December 21, 2016 (Times of India): The Madras high court on Wednesday threatened to abolish the Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR&CE) department of the Tamil Nadu government and even abrogate the HR&CE Act. The court summoned the HR&CE department commissioner to remain personally present before the first bench on Thursday. The department wields administrative control over…
Source Awareness is ever there. It need not be realized. Open the shutter of the mind, and it will be flooded with light. — Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897‚Äì1981), Hindu sage
Source INDIA, December 20, 2016 (by Liz Mathews, India Express News): For the first time in its history, the Indian Catholic Church has officially accepted that Dalit Christians face untouchability and discrimination, and that “their participation in the level of leadership… at the higher levels is almost nil.” These admissions are contained in a policy document prepared and released Monday…
Source CAMBODIA, December 20, 2016 (by Hanna Hawkins, Cambodia Daily): Chhom Kunthea became Cambodia’s first Sanskritist on Friday after receiving a doctorate for her research on the impact the ancient Indian language- on the Khmer language. It is widely accepted that the country’s primary language could not have developed effectively without interacting with Sanskrit, which is believed to have arrived…
Source Everyone wishes to be loved. Only a blessed few wish to love. — Dada Vaswani, leader of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission
Source UNITED KINGDOM, December 17, 2016 (by Genevieve Roberts, iNEWS): A controversy is raging in the world of yoga – and many people are getting their yoga pants in a twist over it. The British Wheel of Yoga, appointed by Sports England as the governing group for mind-body workouts, is setting out to offer a minimum benchmark of competence and…