SRINAGAR, August 26, 2018 (Tribune India): The two-month-long Amarnath yatra concluded peacefully on Sunday with the holding of prayers at the cave shrine of Lord Shiva nestled in the South Kashmir Himalayas at an altitude of around 13,500 feet. Puja was held when the Chhari Mubarak (holy mace) depicting Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati arrived at the shrine. ”We prayed for peace in the state as well as the country,” said custodian of the holy mace Mahant Deependra Giri, who led a group of sadhus to the cave shrine. The Amarnath yatra, which is held along the Pahalgam and Baltal routes, concludes when the mace arrives at the cave shrine on Shravan Purnima.
According to Bhupinder Kumar, Additional Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), 285,006 yatris paid obeisance at the cave shrine. Last year, 260,000 pilgrims had performed the yatra. This year, the annual yatra had begun on June 28 amid security concerns even as inclement weather conditions posed a bigger challenge, causing frequent suspensions in the pilgrimage. During the first two weeks, several pilgrims had to go back without undertaking the yatra despite reaching the base camps. However, weather conditions improved later and the yatra too was conducted smoothly.
BALI, INDONESIA, September 21, 2018 (The Guardian): Authorities in Bali have vowed to stop Westerners in bikinis posing in front of sacred temples as they lament a decline in the ”quality of tourists” visiting the island. Bali deputy governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Sukawati, known as Cok Ace, said the authorities had been concerned by a recent rise in disrespectful behaviour by tourists visiting Bali’s hundreds of sacred Hindu sites. ”This is the government’s attempt to maintain the Pura [temples],” said Cok Ace at a regional council meeting this week. ”The temples need to be preserved since they are the spirits of Bali’s cultures and customs.” He said in the coming weeks they would be re-evaluating the system that allows tourists to visit temples unaccompanied.
Bali has become an increasingly popular tourist destination over the past few years, attracting over five million visitors in 2017, with many drawn to the island for its unique Hindu temples. The government crackdown was prompted by a photo of a Danish tourist sitting on Linggih Padmasana shrine at Puhur Luhur Batukaru temple, which went viral. The shrine, which is shaped like a throne on top of a pillar, is reserved for the most important Deity in Balinese Hinduism, known as the supreme God and to sit on it is seen as highly offensive to the faith. Indonesia has strict blasphemy laws and the Indonesian Hindu Religious Council said they have instructed the police to investigate the Linggih Padmasana shrine incident and find the tourist responsible.
USA, September 23, 2018: Dilip Amin posted the YouTube video at source above entitled ”Fake News on Interfaith Marriages” He writes: ”ABP News has made many errors covering my poster at the World Hindu Congress, Chicago and concluded based on statements that I did not make. Now all other media are taking it as gospel and spinning the story. Even Vice President of India is questioned about my poster at the WHC2018. With all these negative publicity, the WHC withdrew my poster. I am guilty as charged, without a trial! Here I want to clarify my position. If you feel there is value to my message, please forward this video today to all your friends via e-mail, Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. We need to speak out against the media giants when there is injustice. You will also help expose religious exclusivist ideologies of some religious institutions and governments and will help empower today’s youths.”
KAUAI, HAWAII, September 22, 2018 (HPI): Hinduism Today’s latest issue has gone to press and is now available online free of charge at ”source” above. You can also download our free Hinduism Today app and get the entire magazine in a mobile-friendly format for your device at bit.ly/HT-APP.
In this issue’s Publisher’s Desk editorial, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami addresses how we can enhance the peace and contentment in our life. He gives a number of effective techniques for the individual and for members of the household. Especially useful are his guidelines for a reduced-stressed existence achieved by living in the eternal now, and not bringing stress and contention into the home.
Our Insight section is titled ”Gurudeva’s Spiritual Toolbox.” In 16 pages it address 21 of life’s most challenging issues, and then offers Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami’s insights. If you ever asked yourself questions like ”Why am I so burdened by my karma?” or ”Where do I find the time for spiritual practices?” you will want to read the entire article.
Our feature story is all about health. Not medicine, but staying healthy using ayurveda. Our senior Indian correspondent and his wife take us along for their days at a topnotch ayurvedic clinic in Mumbai, where we meet Dr. Smiti Naram and her team. This is a first-person, day-by-day exploration that reveals exactly how ayurvedic healers work and how challenging changing our lifestyle can be. Challenging but effective.
At one of humanities largest annual pilgrimages, Thaipusam at Batu Caves in Malaysia. Alexandra Radu is enamored of this spiritual happening and she shares that love in her story. The voices of pilgrims are particularly moving, telling of their fasting, their prayers and sadhanas, their anticipation of the difficult kavadi sacrifice that is the hallmark of this festival.
Arvind Gopal lives in Kerala, the son of a retired Hinduism Today journalist. In the story ”My Trek to Siva’s Magical Abodes” he journeys throughout India to fifteen ancient temples. Again and again he is amazed, and amazes us, with the grandeur of these sacred homes to God Siva. They are massive, ornate beyond imagination, full of spiritual energy and a reminder of what is possible in building sacred spaces. Happily, Arvind is also a great photographer, so we are privy to his visual discoveries. When we realized that we could only include a couple dozen, we decided to have a giant slideshow in the online edition, so you can explore more images there.
Other stories include the amazing Bharatanatyam skills of Puruvian dancer Ananga Manjari Malatesta Gonzalez, our Hindu of the Year (Sivasri Thangam Bhattar) and a rousing call by Maria Wirth to be proud of Hindutva, our Hinduness.
This edition of Global Dharma reports on the massive youth conference held by the Swaminarayan devotees in Atlanta, Georgia, a creative group making biodegradable papers with elephant poop, a protest against Malaysia’s proposal to turn Hindu temples over to a management board–and more.
As always, there are cartoons, Quotes and Quips and letters from our readers.
”Sweet are the sounds of the flute and the lute,” say those who have not heard the prattle of their own children.
— Tirukkural
