Spirituality/Culture

When the sun changes direction from one constellation of the zodiac to another, it is known as Sankranti. There are 12 Sankrantis in a year, of which Mesh (Aries) Sankranti, when the solar year begins, and Makar (Capricorn) Sankranti, when the sun begins its northward journey from the Tropic of Cancer, are of primary importance. [...]

It has often been said that much of our spiritual journey is an attempt to tame the ‘monkey mind’, as the mind is often compared with the actions of a monkey-jumping from one thing to another.  It would be true to say that the serious spiritual work does not begin until one has tamed the [...]

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 [...]