serving the faith communities of the Goulburn Valley
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted a few photos on his X handle of himself celebrating the Bandi Chhor Divas, a big day for the Sikh community, on Friday (November 1). Albanese visited Sydney’s Murugan Temple where he celebrated Diwali with the Tamil Australian community. “Deepavali celebrates the victory of light over darkness”.
Ever since Vice President Kamala Harris became a presence on the national scene, her name – a common one for women in India – has attracted a lot of attention, most specifically for its pronunciation. Kamala as a word in Hinduism has significant associations with divinity, response to divinity and worship. One form of surrender to divinity is charana kamala.
… Read more…
Hundreds of people from all walks of life filed in to see Amma at New York’s Javits Center on Wednesday morning. Though Amma has held virtual calls for her followers since 2020, her main appeal — giving hugs and blessings — could not be replicated through a screen. Some admirers shook and cried in her presence.
… Read more…
PARIS (AP) — As athletes rev up their training and organizers finalize everything from ceremonies to podiums before the Paris Olympics, more than 120 faith leaders are preparing for a different challenge — spiritually supporting some 10,000 Olympic athletes from around the world, especially those whose medal dreams will inevitably get crushed.
… Read more…
Vaisakhi (also spelled Baisakhi) is a national festival and will be celebrated on April 14, 2023. Vaisakhi marks the solar new year according to the Hindu Vikram Samvat calendar. In India, this translates to evening, April 13. It is a harvest festival when all give thanks for the new crop and pray for prosperity in the coming year.
… Read more…
Ayodhya, India CNN — Half a million people entered the new Ram Mandir on Tuesday, a controversial Hindu temple in the holy town of Ayodhya that is built on the ruins of a destroyed 16th century mosque.
Huge crowds of devotees queued outside the temple in the early hours of the morning carrying saffron flags and religious offerings on the first day the large complex was open to the public.
A day earlier Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a statue of Lord Ram, one of Hinduism’s most revered deities, in the building’s inner sanctum in a ceremony widely seen as a landmark departure from India’s secular foundations post-independence.
The Vatican has called on Christians and Hindus to avoid giving in to “contempt for human dignity”, the “curtailment of the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens, including religious rights” and “aggression” against those who are different and instead collaborate using religion to build peace.
… Read more…
One of the most authentic portrayals of Hindu life in a Western country has just been released as a film on ABC ME and iview, called “Namaste Yoga”. Namaste Yoga is about Shiv, a 10-year-old boy living in Australia who is ashamed of being Indian, and when he gets into a fight at school, the only way to avoid suspension is by doing mandatory lunchtime yoga classes. Cue Miss Blanche – home room teacher and self-proclaimed yoga “guru”.
… Read more…
The Nepalese Shepparton Community will celebrate Holi – the Hindu Festival of Colours – at the Kialla Scout Hall on Sunday, 13 March, from 3pm – 8:30pm.
… Read more…
Hundreds of thousands of Hindu worshippers have gathered on the banks of India’s Ganges river for a holy dip despite a 30-fold rise in coronavirus cases in the past month.
Hindus believe a bath in the frigid waters of the holy river during the Makar Sankranti festival, observed every year on January 14, washes away sins and frees them from the cycle of death and rebirth.
Diwali – sometimes called Deepavali – is a festival of light. It is a joyful time, a happy family time – observed by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and in some places, Buddhists. There is a legend that Diwali commemorates the time Lord Krishna saved the earth from an incoming meteorite by raising his hand into the sky and making the meteorite explode.
… Read more…
As pandemic eases with India reporting lowest daily cases since February, the Diwali festival this year is back in full swing. Diwali, also known as the festival of lights, is the biggest festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists around the world.
… Read more…
The Mother Goddess is well known in Hinduism. Almost every God in Hinduism either has a consort or a feminine counterpart. Shiva is Ardhanareeswara – both male and female; Ganapathi has Lakshmi for his consort, just as Krishna has Radha, and Rama has Sita. Divine forms take birth as human in order to overcome evil and restore righteousness to the Earth. Each year, there is a festival of the Mother Goddess – Navarathri (with a few spellings) which celebrates the victory of good over evil with the blessing of the Mother Goddess, who has many names and forms.
… Read more…
October 2nd is the birth anniversary of Gandhi. INTERFIDEI (Indonesia), it is pleased to inform you that they are organizing series of Talkshows titled: Reflections on the Meaning of the Three Gandhi Issues in Interpreting the Practice of Religious Life in Society.
… Read more…
Pravrajika Gayatriprana, senior nun of Ramakrishnba Order will give one talk on preparation for meditation – online – on Sunday 26 September, 2021, – 11 am to 12.30 pm
… Read more…
Narali Purnima festival also known as Coconut Day is an important festival dedicated to the Hindu God of the Sea – Varuna. The festival of Narali Purnima or the Coconut festival is celebrated with great fervour and in a jubilant manner by fisher-folk community of the western coastal regions of India. It is observed on the ‘Purnima’ (full moon day) in the month of ‘Shravana’ in the Hindu calendar and therefore referred to as ‘Shravana Purnima’. This year Narali Purnima falls on August 22, 2021.
… Read more…
A study in 2013 at the Max Planck Institute by researchers, led by Irina Pugach suggested that Aboriginal genomes consist of up to 11% Indian DNA which is uniformly spread through Northern Australia indicating a substantial gene flow between Indian population and Northern Australians occurring around 4,230 years ago. Some changes in tool technology and food processing also appear in archaeological records around this time, suggesting some migration from India. There is a harmony between the cosmogony of the Australian Indigenous peoples and the Vedic teachings about nature and harmony of all that exists.
… Read more…
In the lead up to International Day of Yoga, Vishuddi Films have prepared a series of video on the History of Yoga in four languages. History is traced from the times of Harappa civilization. The story moves to explore the elements of Yoga in the times of Veda, Jainism, Buddhism, and several other doctrines. It takes you through the delightful journey of 3000 years of developmental history of Yoga up to the medieval ages.
… Read more…
The New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations. On January 1, 1600 Scotland, was the first country to adopt January 1 as the first day of the New Year. Now, many countries celebrate the New Year on that day. The Panchang, the calendar used in India, uses a different reckoning to the Gregorian Calendar. This day is reckoned as the New Year in many states in India: it marks the entry of the Sun into Aries.
… Read more…
As part of Hindu tradition, a Hindu temple is renovated, refurbished and reconsecrated every 12 years.
In the Dandenong Ranges, the Hindu Temple at The Basin is being reconsecrated on Monday, 25 January 2020. Covid-19 protocols will be followed, as more than 2,000 people are expected to attend and actively participate. Social distancing protocols will be followed.
After $4 million of renovations, the Sri Vakrathunda Vinayagar Temple in The Basin is having its status as a holy site restored with the return of sacred statues.
These statues, known as deities, can usually only be touched by priests. As part of the temple’s reconsecration celebrations, rank-and-file devotees have been given a chance to apply oil to them.