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Lord Ganesha Installed at Tri-State Hindu Temple

2009-11-08T23:06:01Z

NEWBURGH, INDIANA, November 6, 2009: In a three-day ceremony in Indiana that concluded Sunday, worshippers gathered for the installation of a new murti of Lord Ganesha, the elephant-faced God revered for his wisdom, known as the remover of obstacles.

With the help of three Hindu priests, the devotees chanted prayers, made ceremonial offerings and performed rituals designed to bring God’s presence into the 2,200-pound stone carving. “We all are so proud and happy today that this time has come,” said Tri-State Hindu Temple President K.C. Jain as he made remarks to the crowd. Many members had never witnessed such a ceremony and the event marks a milestone for the temple.

Photos and video of the ceremony are available at the source.

Visit Madurai’s Most Holy Meenakshi Temple From Your Chair

2009-11-08T23:05:01Z

Source: www.view360.in

KAPAA, HAWAII, USA, November 8, 2009: A new interactive experience brings the massive Meenakshi Temple to your computer screen in this 360-degree photo tour. A wonderful virtual pilgrimage to this ancient and traditional site.

Click on the source above to walk virtually through Meenakshi Temple’s hallowed halls; HPI recommends enabling the “fullscreen” button at the bottom left of the screen.

Nepal’s Massive Animal Sacrifice Rites Attract Criticism

2009-11-08T23:04:01Z

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

BARIYAPUR, NEPAL, November 6, 2009: Plans to sacrifice more than 500,000 animals during the two-day Durga Puja festival in Nepal have met with the wrath of animal rights activists, who called for the ancient ritual to be banned.

[HPI note: The form of Hinduism practiced in Nepal is influenced by "left-handed" Shakta tantric practices, which includes extreme rites inexistent in mainstream Hinduism, including animal sacrifice.]

Every five years the tiny village of Bariyapur, near Nepal’s southern border with India, is inundated with hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees who flock to the local temple where the sacrifices happen. This year it is expected that about 500,000 animals, including about 25,000 buffaloes, will be offered to Gadhimai, a form of Durga.

The local authorities support the practice. Most observers think it is unlikely that the Nepalese Government, which has pledged about $60,000 for the festival, will intercede. An influx of tourists are expected from India, where such practices are banned. But this year temple authorities face a more powerful set of opponents than ever before. Pramada Shah, of Animal Welfare Network Nepal, said, “By perpetuating this we are projecting Nepal as barbaric.”

A Look In The Mirror About Animal Rights

2009-11-08T23:03:01Z

Source: www.animalrightsblog.com

USA, November 4, 2009: [HPI note: This is an excerpt from the opinion piece published by the admin of the Animal Right's Blog, a widely-read blog on the subject. Unequivocally condemning the animal sacrifices in Nepal, it warns against blindness and hypocrisy.]

Let us not be too blind. It can be difficult to argue against this clearly horrifying ritual without first looking ourselves in the mirror. Every year, 46 million turkeys in the United States are slaughtered for what appears to be a ritualistic celebration of life - Thanksgiving.

On a scale, certainly the American slaughter of turkeys is far greater than the Gadhimai Mela festival. The brutality is no different. And, there is no denying it, American consumers pay for the slaughter of 10 billion land animals every year. That’s 320 animals every second of every day–many more than those who perish per minute at the brief and bloody two-day Nepalese festival.

The blog suggests writing to local Nepalese Embassy to protest against the sacrifices.

Bangladesh Approves Law To Return Property to Hindus

2009-11-08T23:02:01Z

Source: www.zeenews.com

DHAKA, BANGLADESH, November 2, 2009: The Bangladesh cabinet on Monday approved a proposed law to return Hindu property which were confiscated during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, when the country was eastern wing of Pakistan, ending a major violation of the rights of minorities in the country.

The proposed law is meant to redress the long-disputed law of the Pakistani era, which was widely criticized as a major violation of the Hindu minority’s rights. During the Pakistan period, the law was called as Enemy Property Act (Later renamed the Vested Property Act 1974). The Pakistani government had seized approximately 2.5 million acres of land from Hindus, affecting nearly 10 million Hindus.

Depressed? Maybe It’s Your Diet

2009-11-08T23:01:01Z

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

LONDON, ENGLAND, November 6, 2009: A University of London study of 3,500 middle-aged civil servants found that people who ate vegetables, fruit and fish had a lower risk of depression.

The study split the participants into two types of diet - those who ate a diet largely based on whole foods, which includes lots of fruit, vegetables and fish, and those who ate a mainly processed food diet, such as sweetened desserts, fried food, processed meat, refined grains and high-fat dairy products. After accounting for factors such as gender, age, education, physical activity, smoking habits and chronic diseases, they found a significant difference in future depression risk with the different diets. Those who ate the most whole foods had a 26% lower risk of future depression than those who at the least whole foods. By contrast people with a diet high in processed food had a 58% higher risk of depression.

Margaret Edwards, head of strategy at the mental health charity SANE, said, “Physical and mental health are closely related, so we should not be too surprised by these results, but we hope there will be further research which may help us to understand more fully the relationship between diet and mental health.”

Daily Inspiration

2009-11-08T23:00:01Z

Source: www.hinduismtoday.com

Just as a man will use a staff to climb a mountain, so should virtue be used in life.
Yogaswami of Jaffna (1872-1964)

Princeton Universty Hosts Diwali, Appoints Hindu Chaplain in University Chapel

2009-11-07T23:03:01Z

Source: mailto:vchander@princeton.edu

PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, November 7, 2009: Princeton University will host its official celebration of the Hindu festival of Diwali at the University Chapel on November 14, 2009. The Diwali celebration is hosted by the University’s Office of Religious Life (ORL) and spearheaded by the University’s recently created Hindu Life Program. The program was launched last year as a pilot; this fall, Princeton made the program a permanent part of the ORL and hired Vineet Chander to be a full-time Coordinator for Hindu Life. The unique appointment makes Chander the first Hindu chaplain in the more than two hundred year history of the prestigious University.

The worship service includes a mix of students, faculty, and staff; residents of Princeton; and members of the broader Hindu community in Central New Jersey. All are welcome to attend, and organizers hope that the worship service can also serve an educational purpose.

Chandler said, “One of the aspects of the celebration that we’re most excited about is the opportunity that it provides for guests to experience something new and expand their horizons. Last year, I met guests who regularly attend Hindu services at the Chapel, but who had never witnessed Hindu worship. At the same time, I met members of the Indian community who had lived in Princeton for decades but had never set foot in the Chapel. To bring folks like this together under a common banner was extremely gratifying.”

While the Chapel was founded as a Presbyterian house of worship, it has since grown to become “a truly ecumenical and inter-religious worship space” for students and the wider Princeton community, according to the Chapel’s website. For some Hindus, the significance of Diwali being observed at the Chapel - which is home to Opening Exercises and Baccalaureate, and has hosted guest preachers like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - goes beyond the event itself.

“It is a metaphor for the way that Hinduism has finally come to be welcomed into the American mainstream,” said Vineet. “To have the University honoring a Hindu holiday in its shared sacred space, bears testimony that the Hindu community has been warmly welcomed into America’s pluralistic landscape.”

Faculty Approve New Course Exploring Modern Hinduism

2009-11-07T23:02:01Z

Source: www.thedepauw.com/media/storage/paper912/news/2009/11/03/News/Faculty.Approve.New.Course.Exploring.Modern.Hinduism-3820883.shtml“>media.www.thedepauw.com

GREENCASTLE, INDIANA, November 3, 2009: The DePauw University faculty approved a new course called REL 357: Modern Hinduism at the faculty meeting Monday.

According to the course description, students will examine “the rise of Hindu modernity from the colonial period to the present day.” The main objective is to “encourage an understanding of the embedded nature of modern Hinduism within the historical matrices of culture, society, politics and economics in South Asia.”

“Religious studies allows us to look at the various religions of the world from a perspective we don’t typically do otherwise,” said senior Melissa Zimmerman, a religious studies major. “There are modern courses in Islam and Christianity, so why not Hinduism?” she said.

Mandatory School Closures for Muslim, Hindu and Sikh Holidays Stirs Controversy in East London

2009-11-07T23:01:01Z

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

LONDON, ENGLAND, November 1, 2009: A directive, by Waltham Forest and Newham councils, in east London to close all schools on religious holidays of many faiths has been criticized by some residents. The councils stated that the policy is intended to “raise awareness of different faiths and cultures within the school community, which in turn supports cohesion for the wider community”. A review of the policy has been launched in Waltham Forest, with some criticizing the closures as inappropriate, unnecessary and “political”.

Head teachers have argued that they should be given discretion in deciding which days to mark, as happens in big multi-ethnic cities including Manchester, Birmingham and Bradford. Lynette Parvez, head of Kelmscott School, in Walthamstow, told officials conducting the review, “For a school such as Kelmscott where the vast majority of pupils are either Christian or Muslim, there is no need to take additional time out for Diwali or Guru Nanak. However, the school does promote and celebrate these events allowing the very small number of staff or pupils to have religious absence days if they request.” She added that schools should be allowed to decide whether or not to allow religious holidays based on their own circumstances.

Daily Inspiration

2009-11-07T23:00:01Z

Source: www.hinduismtoday.com

Do not make the mistake of thinking that you are the physical body. That consciousness which vibrates within you is the same consciousness which pervades the outer world. This is the truth expounded by the siddhas, the perfected beings. To know this is the highest attainment.
Swami Muktananda Paramahansa

Getting Married, A Costly Affair This Season

2009-11-06T23:03:01Z

Source: epaper.timesofindia.com

NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 01, 2009: Delhi’s great winter wedding season has begun. But tying the knot will be more expensive this season. Few auspicious dates have led to a desperate rush for venues and sub-vendors, and consequently, higher costs.

Astrologers say between November and February, the winter wedding season, there are only 24 auspicious days as per the Hindu calendar. In comparison, there were 50 such dates for the same period last season. “Planet Jupiter is weak till March 13 next year. Also Mars, which is considered auspicious for any Hindu festivity, is weak till May 2010,” says astrologer Suresh Kaushal.

He adds, “The combined effects of both these planets create fewer auspicious dates for weddings this season. Further, lunar eclipse on December 31 and a solar one on January 15 next year mean no weddings immediately before and after the eclipse.”

North India’s Little-Known Garhmukteshwar Ganga Festival

2009-11-06T23:02:01Z

Source: epaper.hindustantimes.com

GARHMUKTESHWAR, INDIA, November 3, 2009: Aside from the Kumbh Mela, the Hindu religious gathering that takes place once in 12 years, the 10-day annual Garhmukteshwar Ganga Fair on the banks of the Ganga is the largest festival in North India in terms of attendance. The official number of visitors to the annual fair is close to 3 million.

But unlike the Kumbh, which receives around US$850,000 from the government and gets twenty million visitors for two months, the Garh fair is still awaiting recognition. The place has considerable religious importance of the Hindus, as a bathing here on the full-moon day of Kartika is traditional to many.

Garhmukteshwar — 58 miles from Delhi — still does not figure in the official list of state fairs in Uttar Pradesh. “The fair is organized by the District Gram Panchayat department and is incurring heavy losses every year with an increase in the number of visitors,” said Additional Chief Officer Aditya Kumar from the department.

European Court of Human Rights Rules Against Crucifixes in Italian Schools

2009-11-06T23:01:01Z

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

STRASBOURG, GERMANY, November 6, 2009: In a case brought by an Italian mother who wanted to give her children a secular education, The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against the use of crucifixes in Italian classrooms.

The Vatican said it was shocked by the ruling, calling it “wrong and myopic” to exclude the crucifix from education, and the ruling has sparked anger in the largely Catholic country. The Strasbourg court found that, “The compulsory display of a symbol of a given confession in premises used by the public authorities… restricted the right of parents to educate their children in conformity with their convictions.” It also restricted the “right of children to believe or not to believe”, the seven judges ruling on the case said.

Although a revised accord between the Vatican and the Italian government ended Catholicism’s position as the state religion in 1984, the crucifix law has never been repealed.

Daily Inspiration

2009-11-06T23:00:01Z

Source: www.hinduismtoday.com

O God of mercy who performs the dance of illimitable happiness in the hall of inconceivable intelligence! The Rig and the other Vedas are thundering forth in words, announcing to us that all are thy slaves, all things belong to thee, all actions are thine, that thou pervades everywhere, that this is thy nature. Such is the teaching of those who, though they never speak, broke silence for our sake.
Saint Tayumanavar