Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 23, 2016 (India Today): Revising its passport application rules, the Ministry of External Affairs today allowed sadhus and sanyasis (Hindu saints and hermits) to apply for the travel document by giving their spiritual Guru’s name instead of their biological parents. “Sadhus/ Sanyasis can apply for a passport with the name of their spiritual Guru mentioned…
Source INDIA, December 24, 2016 (Swarajya): Professor Braj Basi Lal, the renowned archaeologist and author of the book “Rama, His Historicity, Mandir and Setu,” has been awarded the first Gurukul Fellowship by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), reported Anubhuti Vishnoi for the Economic Times. The ICHR’s two-year fellowship has been introduced with the aim of promoting the traditional…
Source Hindus profoundly know that God is the same Supreme Being in whom peoples of all faiths find solace, peace and liberation. Nonetheless, we realize that all religions are not the same, and the doctrines of one often conflict with those of another. Even this should never be cause for religious tension or intolerance. — Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927 –…
KAUAI, HAWAII, December 25, 2016: Hinduism Today magazine is seeking advice and contacts for our teams coming trip to Sikkim to report on Hinduism in that mountainous state. Our India correspondent, Mr. Rajiv Malik of Delhi, and photographer Thomas Kelly of Kathmandu will likely be there in mid February. Please email ar@hindu.org with your suggestions of places to visit and…
Source There is no physical world for me. All I see, I see it as the glorious manifestation of the Almighty. — Swami Sivananda (1887‚Äì1963), founder of the Divine Life Society
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…