KATHMANDU, NEPAL, September 13, 2018 (Kathmandu Post): According to the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), nearly 70,000 devotees stood in queues to enter the Pashupati Temple from early morning. The PADT had assigned three routes leading to the main temple complex this year. The temple gates were opened for devotees from 3 am. Teej is celebrated by Hindu girls and women to celebrate the union of Goddess Parvati with Lord Shiva. They observe a day-long fast on the day which is believed to bring prosperity, good health and blessings. Devotees also perform songs and dances to celebrate the holy union Parvati and Shiva.
The lines of worshippers at the Pashupati temple were well organized and managed this year, claimed Pradeep Dhakal, the member secretary of PADT. According to the PADT, 4,000 security personnel were deployed in and around the temple premises to manage the crowd and to ensure the safety of visitors. ”We wanted to ensure the safety and comfort of visitors since Teej draws the second largest crowd to Pashupati after the Maha Shivaratri festival,” said Dhakal. Girls and women in other parts of the country also observed Teej by observing fast and offering prayers at temples close to their homes.
Vivid photos at ”source” above.
MUMBAI, INDIA, September 11, (News 18) Devotees carry Ganesha statues from studios to temporary places of worship for the upcoming Ganesha Chaturthi festival in Mumbai. Must see slide show at ”source” above.
INDIA, September 15, 2018 (India Post): India’s Vice President Venkaiah Naidu renewed Swami Vivekananda’s message to the World Parliament of Religions in 1893 and appealed to the second World Hindu Congress delegates to follow the ideals of the great saint of India. Naidu was delivering the keynote address at the concluding session of the congress, on the eve of the 125th anniversary of the Hindu monk’s exposition of Hinduism to the Western world in Chicago on Sunday. Swami Vivekananda was the embodiment of Hindu culture. ”Let us rededicate ourselves to the thoughts (of Vivekananda) for the greatness of mankind,” Naidu said.
Naidu peppered his speech with generous Sanskrit and Telugu quotes. He told the gathering though he was not in politics anymore, he was glad to come to Chicago and felt it was his duty to attend the great event happening in the name of Swami Vivekananda. Naidu extensively referred to Swami Vivekananda’s epoch-making address, which described Hindu philosophy as ”discovering of spiritual well springs” that have sustained the world for many centuries. The philosophy of tolerance and acceptance of all religions, was an essential part of the timeless, eternal, holistic, integrated and universal worldview of Hinduism. Naidu elaborated on some of the essential elements of Hinduism namely the breadth of its vision in treating the world as one family, tolerance and acceptance of plurality, unity in diversity, and that truth is one though wise men describe it in different ways.
More at ”source”.
TORONTO, CANADA, August 23, 2018 (Bangalore Mirror): Toronto’s growing Sringeri community, mostly comprising professionals from Bengaluru and other cities, celebrated its biggest event of the year at the country’s only Sringeri temple this weekend. The two-day Maharudram in praise of Lord Shiva attracted Sringeri followers from across Canada and the US. Federal science minister Kirsty Duncan and the local MP joined in the celebrations as the temple turned into a mini-South Indian enclave, with mantra chants and rituals by 130 priests trained by the Shankaracharya.
”This was our second Maharudram,” says clean technology scientist Dr. Lucky Lakshmanan, chairman of the Sringeri Vidya Bharati Foundation (SVBF) that runs the Toronto temple. ”The temple and religious-cum-cultural activities here symbolize that our community is now in the stage of institution building,” adds Dr Lakshmanan, who was instrumental in setting up the temple. Mangaluru-born nuclear engineer Param Bhat, who looks after religious affairs at the temple, says the activities at Sringeri have rejuvenated their growing community. ”When I landed here in 1978, there were just a handful of Kannada families. Today, there are over a thousand families in the Greater Toronto Area alone,” says Bhat. ”Seeing the ritwiks (priests) chanting rudram in praise of Lord Shiva more than 1,331 times was such a learning experience for us and our new generation.”
”I went to the root of things, and found nothing but Him alone.”
— Mira Bai (1500-1550), princess of Rajasthan, Northwest India, a saint celebrated for her lyrical poetry dedicated to Krishna
