NEW YORK, NEW YORK, December 15, 2022 (NY Times, by Michael Grunwald): Earth is in the midst of the worst mass extinction since an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago — and this time, the asteroid is us. Human beings are displacing the planet’s other species at an unprecedented rate, a disaster that the landmark U.N. Biodiversity…
AHMEDABAD, INDIA, December 20, 2022 (New India Abroad): Mahant Swami Maharaj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially kicked off the spectacular centennial celebration for Pramukh Swami Maharaj on December 14, 2022, in Ahmedabad, India. In the presence of Mahant Swami Maharaj and other influential Indian businessmen, the month-long “International Convention for Better Living” was launched by India’s Home Minister Amit…
JAKARTA, INDONESIA, October 10, 2022 (jktmurugantemple.org): On February 14, 2020 Anies Baswedan, governor of Jakarta, attended the laying of the first stone for a temple on land donated by the governor in Kalideres, West Jakarta. According to a recent report, the local Tamil community has been working toward building a temple for Lord Murugan for the past 60 years. “We…
CHENNAI, INDIA, December 19, 2022 (AP News): Arjun Viswanathan stood on the street, his hands folded, eyes fixed on the statue of the Hindu Deity Ganesh. On a humid morning, the information technology professional was waiting outside the temple, the size of a small closet – barely enough room for the lone priest to stand and perform puja or rituals…
UNITED KINGDOM, December 3, 2022 (Hinduism Today): Two good friends take a weekend outing through idyllic countryside, driving slowly by green pastures with cows quietly grazing, they gaze endearingly as one coos with a jealous tinge, “I love how those cows are sooo peaceful and content.” Returning to town around midday they nonchalantly waltz into a family restaurant to enjoy…
UNITED KINGDOM, December 15, 2022 (BBC): A Sanskrit grammatical problem which has perplexed scholars since the 5th Century bce has been solved by a University of Cambridge PhD student. Rishi Rajpopat, 27, decoded a rule taught by Panini, a master of the ancient Sanskrit language who lived around 2,500 years ago. Sanskrit, although not widely spoken, is the sacred language…
INDIA, December 16, 2022 (Business Today): In India, the sight of people bringing their newly purchased two-wheelers and four-wheelers to temples for vahan puja (vehicle puja) is very common. Interestingly, this tradition went to a whole new level when a Telangana-based businessman brought his newly purchased helicopter to a temple for the rituals. Boinpally Srinivas Rao, the proprietor of the…
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, December 12, 2022 (India Today): Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will chair a meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss the arrangements needed for controlling the crowd in Sabarimala temple. Meanwhile, there has been a record-breaking booking for darshan on Monday. Additional arrangements are being made to manage the crowd since around 107,260 devotees have made bookings for darshan on…
NEPAL, December 12, 2022 (Hinduism Today, by Khim L. Gautam and Madhu D. Adhikari): the Himalayan Mountains form a 1,500-mile arc from Naga Parbat in Pakistan to Namchabarwa in Tibet, crossing India, Nepal and Bhutan. Three of the world’s greatest rivers, the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra, originate in the Himalayas–literally “the abode of snow”–providing fresh water to more than 700…
UNITED STATES, December 5, 2022 (CNN): We all eat them — ultra-processed foods such as frozen pizza and ready-to-eat meals make our busy lives much easier. Besides, they are just darn tasty — who isn’t susceptible to hot dogs, sausages, burgers, french fries, sodas, cookies, cakes, candy, doughnuts and ice cream, to name just a few? Ultra-processed foods now account…