Spirituality/Culture

Just days after the news broke that a Satanic Temple in New York City is seeking to build a monument to Satan on the grounds of the Oklahoma Capitol, a Hindu organization announced this week that it, too, would like to build a monument there, to one of its chief deities. Rajan Zed, president of [...]

Inclement weather on November 17did not deter participants and guests who flocked to Redgum Community Centre to celebrate Samaskrutotsavam 2013, the annual day of the Sydney Sanskrit School (SSS). It was an event at which history was truly in the making. The SSS is the world’s first school to produce and launch a bilingual CD [...]

The United Nation’s International Court of Justice ruled on Monday that Cambodia should have sovereignty over the disputed land around the 900-year-old Preah Vihear Temple bordering Thailand. The ICJ also ruled that Thailand should at once withdraw its troops from the area, BBC reported. “A 1962 verdict by the court declared the temple to be Cambodian, but did [...]

Stylish Samantha Cameron is known for her knack of dressing impeccably, whatever the occasion, and today the Prime Minister’s wife chose a dramatic autumnal sari to take in London’s colourful Diwali celebrations. Samantha, 42, chose a russet-coloured sari edged in gold for a visit to the Swaminarayan Mandir, the largest traditional Hindu temple outside India, [...]

Hindus light lamps to celebrate the festival of light Diwali (Reuters) Diwali, India’s festival of lights, will take place on 3 November with celebrations organised across the UK. The five-day festival starts on the 13th lunar day of Krishna paksha (dark fortnight) of the Hindu calendar month, Ashwin. It is one of the most important [...]

WASHINGTON: The first ever Diwali festival was celebrated at the US Congress today amidst chanting of Vedic mantras by a Hindu priest .Over two dozen influential lawmakers along with eminent Indian-Americans gathered at the Capitol Hill to lit the traditional ‘diyas’. The event — the first of its kind event at the Capitol Hill — [...]

Western society today believes only in “exploitation,” “expansion,” “efficiency,” “competitiveness”—and seeks to transform its members into unthinking cogs in a huge Machine. We will certainly find some remarkable individuals here and there, but the mass is left to live from day to day, with, now and then, the luxury of a fit of depression, when [...]

“Golu” in Tamil, also known as Kolu, is a unique display of various dolls and figurines in odd numbered steps (“padis”). It is celebrated in this manner in the four southern states of India. These steps are covered with a white cloth and the dolls are arranged on it. The dolls are mostly of the [...]

It was my great pleasure to be invited to the September 29th, 2013 Hindu Unity Day organized by the tireless and dedicated Narain Kataria and Arish Sahani of the Indian American Intellectuals Forum.  The event hosted many bright lights of the international Hindu community, including Dr. Subramanian Swamy and Baba Ramdev. The entire event was [...]

Religious fundamentalists are on the rise and that is bad for our societies. Most people will agree on this. Yet few examine who religious fundamentalists are. Obviously, such persons would want to stick to the fundamentals of their religion. They want to live a life that is advocated in their holy books and would please [...]