VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, May 16, 2017 (Indian Sun): On 22 April, members of the Hindu community flocked to Wyndham, Victoria, for the opening ceremony of the city’s newest temple. The Hindu temple in Wyndham is now the home of many sacred statues–called murtis–and their presence is already drawing devotees daily and in large numbers on the weekend.
”This is now a living, breathing house of God,” said Pandit Radha Raman. The temple offers a community room free of cost to the people to have their special prayers, devotional functions, bhandaras, birthday havans etc, and even teaching Hindi. The temple is open to people from all walks of life and religion. The murti sthapana, which means placing of sacred murtis through religious ceremonies, was done over the course of two auspicious days. On the second day the murtis were made visible to public.
INDIA, June 8, 2017 (The Hindu): Temple priests (archakas) on Wednesday continued their protest at the Deputy Commissioner, Endowments, office at Turner’s Choultry, on a charter of long-pending demands, including implementation of the Supreme Court judgment on Pay Revision Commission scales forming a fund. The three-day protest began on Tuesday.
Agitating under the banner of Visakhapatnam District (North Andhra) Archaka Sangham, they were also demanding recognition of priests and temple staff as government employees and payment of salaries through Treasury and in temples under ”6B” category with sufficient revenue as per the 2010 PRC and a minimum pay of Rs.10,000 (US$155) to those under ”6C” irrespective of revenue. Other demands include implementation of the GO on hereditary priesthood, issue of health cards and extension of ”Dhoopa Deepa Naivedya Scheme” to more temples and increasing the grant to Rs.10,000.
We want to claim that which we already are. You are already the Self, you are just not aware of it. Do not put it off based upon some concept that we are not ready, we are not worthy, we need more of this or that. None of those principles apply when it comes to Self Realization.
— Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, publisher of Hinduism Today
