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India, Shirdi, May 15, 2013 (Press Trust of India): Saibaba Sansthan trust has recorded Rs 1,441 crore (US$262 million) income in the last five years, with 22 per cent higher donations received every year, Sansthan's executive officer Kishor More said on Wednesday. Five years back, about 20,000 devotees used to visit the Saibaba's shrine daily, but presently figures show that around 60,000 people come to visit the temple everyday and the number goes up to about one hundred thousand on weekends. During special festivals at least two to three hundred thousand devotees visit the famous shrine, More said, adding that the daily income now was around $82,000, as compared to $36,000 per day five years back.

The trust has contributed funds on building super-speciality hospital, Shirdi's roads, water arrangements, various developmental works including Chief Minister's Relief fund and Shirdi's airport, he said. The audited report of the Sansthan will be tabled in the state Assembly during the winter session for grant, he said. When asked about "hidden donations" in boxes like gold ornaments, cash and foreign currency, More said the trust doesn't has a separate machinery to check such things because when devotees come to seek blessings of Saibaba they donate money, but from where they get it is difficult to know.

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WASHINGTON, U.S., May 18, 2013 (India Times): The number of Hindus migrating to the U.S. every year has more than doubled in the last decade, with an overwhelming majority of them coming from India, a new study released today said.

An average of about 30,000 Hindus were admitted each year in the 1990s, by contrast, the US admitted an estimated 70,000 Hindu immigrants in 2012, the prestigious Pew Research Center said in its latest report on religious affiliation of immigrants released today.

According to the report, the great majority of Hindu immigrants come from India and neighboring countries with significant Hindu populations, such as Nepal and Bhutan. The share coming from the Caribbean (or "West Indies") has decreased significantly, dropping from an estimated 16 per cent of all Hindu immigrants to the US in 1992 to five per cent in 2012, it said.

Over the same period, the estimated share of green card recipients who belong to religious minorities rose from approximately one-in-five (19 per cent) to one-in-four (25 per cent). "This includes growing shares of Muslims (five per cent in 1992, 10 per cent in 2012) and Hindus (three per cent in 1992, seven per cent in 2012).

Notably, the U.S. government does not keep track of the religion of new permanent residents.

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NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 13, 2013 (Times Of India): Among other intriguing properties, the sacred lotus has the ability to generate heat and regulate its temperature like birds and mammals. This has been revealed by a team of researchers from the University of Adelaide, who have unlocked the genetic secrets of one of the world's most unique and culturally significant plants, the lotus.

The work focused on its incredible ability to generate heat so that it can keep a constant temperature of around 32-34 degrees over a 2-3 day period, while the environmental temperature varies by up to 30 degrees - behaving like a warm-blooded animal.

An international team has sequenced and described the sacred lotus genome, now published online in Genome Biology. The paper sheds new light on the evolutionary position of the lotus, one of the world's oldest flowering plants, and facilitates further research into its unusual characteristics.

The paper stated that the lotus has been cultivated as a food crop for more than 7,000 years in Asia and is prominent in both Buddhism and Hinduism. The lotus is also noted for its long-lived seeds - viable for over 1,000 years - and for its water repellency and self-cleaning leaf surfaces.

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Remember, your own soul knows the reasons why you were born in this life. It knows what you need to accomplish in this birth. As a soul, you know what obstacles and challenges you need to face and overcome to grow stronger and conquer past karmic patterns through fulfilling your chosen dharma.
-- Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism Today

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BALOCHISTAN, PAKISTAN, May 17, 2013 (Daily Times by Muhammad A. Notezai): Historically, it is not clear in documents to assert how and when Hindus originally settled in Balochistan. But after having sat with Balochistan-based Baloch and Hindu historians and writers, all of them agree that Hindus have been living in Balochistan since time immemorial along with Buddhists. It is also said that in some parts of Balochistan paganism has been the religion of the scattered tribal people. However, Hindus ruled Balochistan before the invasion of the Arabs in 712 A.D.

(HPI note: Some people in Balochistan speak Brahui, a Dravidian language related to the languages of South India. Its presence here, against the Afghan border nearly a thousand miles from the nearest region speaking a Dravidian language, is the source of the conjecture that the Indus Civilization in the area in ancient times may have spoken a Dravidian language. Linguists, however, believe it is of relatively recent introduction perhaps around 1000 ce. For more, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahui_language)

In Balochistan, Hindus have two historical and famous sacred places that belong to ancient times. These two sacred places are the Hinglaj Shrine, which is located in Balochistan's Lasbela District in a hilly track, and the other one is in Kalat town called Kali Devi, who is the consort of the God Shiva.

At the time of partition, religious riots were rampant in the subcontinent, but Hindus were living harmoniously and peacefully in the princely state of Balochistan, which was under the rule of the chief ruler of the Kalat state, Yar Muhammad Khan. He respected the indigenousness of the Hindu community. He had also given to Hindus economic and religious freedom in Balochistan. That is why the Hindu community did not leave Balochistan at the time of the partition because all their rights were safeguarded.

Hindus had also been living amicably with the Baloch and Pashtuns since the pre-partition days in Balochistan. But after the partition, due to religious uproar and turmoil, Hindus had to leave Balochistan's Pashtun belt to settle in Baloch populated areas or migrate to India. In 1941, the Hindus' population was 54,000 in Balochistan's Pashtun belt, but soon it dwindled by 93 percent after 1947.

Hindus (those that are left) have been richly contributing in Balochistan's economic prosperity and development since pre-partition days. They have built schools, libraries and hospitals in various parts of Balochistan. In Balochistan, many of the Hindus are educated. They have been offering services in health, education and other sectors. But it is profoundly shocking that Hindus are now living dangerously in Balochistan. They cannot even perform their religious practices freely due to the nightmarish situation where they interminably fear for their lives, faith, honour and property. Hindus, in spite of being Balochistan's peaceful and largest minority, are running from their old 'motherland' to escape persecution, because their lives are in a precarious and worsened condition these days.

More at source.

HPI

KAUAI, HAWAII, May 18, 2013 (Hinduism Today): Our editor-in-chief, Sadasivanathaswami, is traveling to Europe in June and July, there to make a presentation at the Lisbon Yoga Summit. He and assistant editor Senthilnathaswami will be traveling through Portugal, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands and France. Their objective is to understand the current status of Hinduism in Europe, and the trends that lie ahead.

We are reaching out to see if you know anyone who has done research or even blogged on the status (or history) of Hinduism in any of these nations, or in Europe as a whole. Good, solid research will help this feature article reflect the complex presence of Hinduism in Europe.

Please contact: sadasivanatha@hindu.org

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One should go beyond relative knowledge and abide in the Self. Your own Self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world. Seek the seeker.
-- Ramana Maharishi (1879-1950), South Indian mystic

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TEXAS, U.S., May 2013 (by M. Vijalapuram/V. Tummala): Holi, also known as "The Festival of Colors," is a Hindu festival that has also become popular with people of other backgrounds and communities, with thousands of people celebrating it each year. Holi is a joyous occasion that commemorates the story of Prahlad, an ardent devotee of Vishnu, prevailing over the demon Holika. Furthermore, Holi ushers in the new spring season, and celebrates good harvests. It is observed worldwide, with participants organizing Holika Dahan, a bonfire symbolizing the defeat of Holika, and throwing colored powder at each other. As college students involved with the Hindu Students Association at our respective universities, we strive to bring together Hindus and individuals of other backgrounds as we celebrate Holi on our campuses.

At the University of Houston the theme for this year's Holi, "Connecting cultures through color" was truly brought to life with the diversity of the students of all cultures who came to celebrate. It is a holiday to unite all cultures and races together. It is a day where no social classes exist; everyone is equal regardless of race, religion or status.

Holi at Texas A&M University had a huge turnout of over 1,500 students, professors and families who, seemingly strangers at first to one another, danced together covered in color.

Holika is a Hindu program that happens every year at Bellaire High School. The event consists of different organizations who organize a dance team competition for all local schools. The purpose of Holika is to provide a fun and informational event which showcases the diversity of Indian culture. An estimated 500 students attended the event this year.

Additionally, the 3rd annual Holi at The University at Texas at Dallas had over 500 students of different backgrounds attend their event and the HSA branch at The University of Texas at Austin hosted their 10th annual Holi this year attended by 6000 students and faculty.

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SRI LANKA, May 11, 2013 (New York Times by Aatish Taseer): Four years ago this week, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam announced that their struggle for an independent homeland in northern Sri Lanka had "reached its bitter end." The group had been fighting on behalf of the Tamil people for more than a quarter-century, and its defeat was absolute.

Today, great sections of Tamil country are still a scene of devastation. The houses are either destroyed or brand-new; the land is uncultivated and overgrown; there are forests of decapitated Palmyra palms, damaged by heavy shelling. And then there are the relics of war -- graveyards of L.T.T.E. vehicles rotting in the open air.

When I first arrived there last March, I saw the loss in primarily military terms. But the feeling of defeat among the Tamils of Sri Lanka goes far deeper than the material defeat of the rebels. It is a moral and psychological defeat.

For the truth is that the Tamil defeat has less to do with the vanquishing of the L.T.T.E. by the Sri Lankan Army and much more to do with the self-wounding ("suicidal" would not be too strong a word) character of the movement itself. The Tigers were for so long the custodians of the Tamil people's hope of self-realization. But theirs was a deeply flawed organization. Under the leadership of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tigers pioneered and perfected the use of the suicide bomber. This was not simply a mode of warfare, but almost a symbol, an expression of a self-annihilating spirit. And it was to self-annihilation that Mr. Prabhakaran committed the Tamils. He was a man who, like a modern-day Coriolanus, seemed to lack the imagination for peace. He took the Tamils on a journey of war without end, where no offer of compromise was ever enough, and where all forms of moderation were seen as betrayal.

More at source of this insightful essay.

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Youth is not a time of life--it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of ripe cheeks, red lips and supple knees. It is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions. It is freshness of the deep springs of life. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
-- Swami Bua, famed yogi who lived approximately 120 years

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VIETNAM, May 1, 2013 (Tuoi Tre News): The Ponagar fest, the biggest cultural event held by Cham people in the south of the central region, kicked off on April 30 in Khanh Hoa's Nha Trang coastal city. The event also earned the recognition as an intangible national heritage the same day.

From April 30th to May 2nd when the festival takes place, the 1,200-year-old Ponagar tower is open free of charge to tourists. Roughly 60,000 pilgrims and visitors, almost double last year's number, are expected to join the four-day festival. The festival features such rituals as dressing up the Ponagar Goddess, requiems, floating flowers and colored lanterns, processions and offerings to the Goddess and Cham traditional dances.

The fest, held annually in the third month of the lunar calendar, is to pay tribute to Goddess Yan Po Nagar, or Thien Y Thanh Mau in Vietnamese, who is identified with the Hindu Goddesses Bhagavati and Mahishasuramardini. As legend has it, Thien Y Thanh Mau taught locals how to do farming, weaving and knitting along with several other vocations to fend for themselves and safeguarded them from calamities and wars.

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MARTINIQUE, May 2013 (martinique.franceantilles.fr): The 160th anniversary of the arrival of Indian workers in Martinique was celebrated in Basse-Pointe during the first weekend of May 2013. The festivity was the second edition of the "Days of Indianness." It was an opportunity to showcase all those who are contributing to the preservation of the Indian cultural contribution to Martinican society.

Among the activities were an exhibition "History of Indianness in Martinique" at the town hall and a walking tour of the two small Hindu temples in the area. There were also seminars and exhibitions of Tamil language, cuisine, traditional dress, jewelry and medicinal uses of plants of Indian origin that are growing on the island. There was a seminar on important Indian historical figures and an honoring of the elders.

To honor the event the town named a street after Antoine "Zwazo" Tangamen, who was a respected Hindu priest, one of the last fluent Tamil speakers on the island, and widely recognized for helping to insure the survival of Hindu tradition in Martinique. The event was organized by the tourist office in Basse-Pointe in collaboration with the Martinique-India cultural association.

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Man arrives at immortality by breaking beyond the limitations not only of his physical self, but of his mental and his ordinary psychic nature into the highest plane and supreme ether of the Truth: for there is the foundation of immortality and the native seat of the triple infinite.
-- Sri Aurobindo (1879-1950)

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Though Pakistan was established as a state for Muslims, the original vision of its founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was of a place of tolerance and inclusion. "You are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the state," he said in speech in August 1947.

Yet Jinnah's vision has steadily been eroded. Today, as Pakistan prepares for a historic election on 11 May, its Christians and Hindus, which together comprise perhaps 3 percent of the population, face persecution and assault. Some have fled. "If people have any resources, they want to leave here," Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, of the Pakistan Hindu Council, said from Karachi.

The Pakistanis who have made their way to the village of Bijwasan, not far from Delhi's international airport, all belong to the same low Hindu caste and come from the same part of Sindh province. They have applied unsuccessfully for visas to India for years and hit upon the idea of asking to visit the Kumbh Mela festival, the most auspicious date in the Hindu calendar. "Getting a passport is not so difficult. But getting a visa is very hard," said 35-year-old Hanuman Prashad, another fruit trader from Hyderabad, explaining how they told the Indian authorities they wished to attend the festival.

The Hindus, who came in three groups, said their biggest motivation to leave was the challenge of educating their children. There was discrimination in government schools, where they were referred to as "kafirs," told to go and work in the fields and obliged to recite the six kalimas, or tenets, of Islam.

They said the situation had become worse since the rule of the military leader General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who seized power in 1977 and for the next decade oversaw an increased Islamisation of Pakistan. Following the notorious destruction of India's Babri mosque by a Hindu mob in 1992, the Hindus of Pakistan were often the victims of revenge attacks.

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PHUKET, THAILAND, May 8, 2013 (The Phuket News): Despite having already served the Thai-Nepalese community for more than a decade, the Thai-Nepalese temple on Patong Hill was officially opened on April 19. The event attracted hundreds from the local Nepalese community, many of whom work in the tailor industry in Patong and other tourist areas, as well as a select group of politicians and local government representatives.

Phanuphong 'Daniel' Limbuprasertkul, president of the Thai-Nepalese Association, took time to speak to The Phuket News. "We have many VIP guests here today, including nine Hindu priests from Nepal and of course the Ambassador of Nepal," Daniel said, as we watched the lighting of incense sticks and offerings of food.

The whole bright and colorful celebration had begun a few days before, with the initial offering of donations that included water, milk, honey, butter and rice to several newly installed statues. "These objects represent life," explained Omjee Khodomkul, just one of the devotees wearing traditional dress, "and on this day we give these things back to those from whom we received life."

Although similar to Buddhist ceremonies in certain aspects, Hindu events are also very different, with such as the ritual walking in circles by devotees around the new statues. "This reminds everyone that we are constantly going around the universe by dying, being reborn, and dying again," said Daniel.

Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa, representing the island's government at this culturally significant ceremony, expressed the importance of the Nepalese community to Phuket. "There are around 1,500 Nepalese in Phuket and they do business very well and are important for Phuket industry - they are especially very good at tailoring."