Page 159 - Religion Belief

Biography of social reformer Narayana Guru released

A comprehensive biography of Kerala's prominent social reformer and philosopher Sree Narayana Guru was launched here on Thursday, with the aim of popularising his life and teachings beyond the state.

India to celebrate Eid on June 16

The festival of Eid ul-Fitr will be celebrated across the country on June 16, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Ahmed Bukhari said on Thursday.Bukhari said that the festival will be celebrated on Saturday as there was no sight of moon anywhere across the country today.Eid ul-Fitr, an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide, marks the end of fasting month of Ramzan.The festival is celebrated on the first day of Shawwal, the 10th month of Islamic lunar calendar.The date and time of Eid are different in different countries.While Australia and New Zealand will ring into the festival on Saturday, Singapore and Malaysia will celebrate it on June 15.

Akal Takht tells gurdwaras to lower loudspeaker volume

Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, today directed all gurdwaras to limit the volume of their loudspeakers so that their neighbourhoods are not disturbed. Akal Takht jathedar Gurbachan Singh also announced here the excommunication of New Zealand radio host Harnek Singh Neki, who is accused of distorting religious hymns. In a directive to all gurdwara heads, the Akal Takht said loudspeakers should not be at high volume during the daily katha' (discourse) and for 'kirtan' recitals. Several organisations had approached the Akal Takht in the past, seeking directions to gurdwara management committees against the use of loudspeakers at high volume. They had complained that discourses broadcast at high volume disturbed students and the elderly. The jathedar also referred to the reported sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib, saying in most cases the gross negligence of priests and gurdwara committees was involved. He said if these cases happen again, those responsible will not .

Eid to be celebrated on Saturday, tomorrow in Kerala

Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan, will be celebrated across the country except Kerala on Saturday as the moon was not sighted here today. Jama Masjid Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari made the announcement tonight after a meeting of the moon-sighting committee here, a senior official at the city's historic mosque said. "The moon was not sighted today. So, that means the Eid will be celebrated on Saturday in Delhi and several other parts of the country," he told PTI. In Kerala, Eid will be celebrated tomorrow as the moon was sighted in Kozhikode, a top cleric said. Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramzan, symbolises peace and brotherhood. The festival is marked with feasts and the faithful offers prayers at mosques and idgahs to seek blessings of the divine. People, especially children dress up in their traditional fineries to mark the festival that spreads the message of brotherhood and communal amity.

Statistician Gopal Krishna officiates 100th international match

The historic India-Afghanistan Test match marked a rare milestone for veteran cricket statistician H R Gopala Krishna as he officiated in his 100th international game. Krishna, who has officiated as many as 38 Test matches, 57 ODIs and five T20s including the ongoing Afghanistan Test, is also close to completing 50 years in the profession in December. "I know it is Gopal Krishna's 100th international. I wish him good luck for his achievement," former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who is a part of commentary team, said. Reminiscing his association with Gavaskar, Krishna said he was very impressed with unearthing the legendary batsman's record of scoring 5,000 Test runs in the 1979-80 India-Australia Test match at Chinnaswamy stadium. Krishna also credited Gavaskar for boosting his confidence. "Sunil mentioned me in his Sports World column. This gave me lot of happiness and a boost to do more in the field of scoring and statistics, which was just growing in India,"Krishna said. Gavaskar

Odisha panel to study major temples' mgt scheme after SC order

Following an order of the Supreme Court, the Odisha government today constituted a three-member committee to study the management systems of six major temples across the country. The Supreme Court on June 8 had passed a slew of directions to prevent exploitation of devotees by staff at the Jagannath temple of Puri and directed the state government to study the management schemes of other important shrines. A government notification said the Committee will visit and study the management schemes of Vaishno Devi temple of Jammu and Kashmir, Somnath temple of Gujarat, Golden Temple of Amritsar, Tirupati Temple in Andhra Pradesh and Dharmasthala temple of Karnataka and suggest measures for the Puri Jagannath temple. Headed by the temple's former chief administrator S C Mohapatra, IAS, the panel has ex-Puri SP and now central range IGP Soumendra Priyadarshi, IPS, and Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee member Mohimohan Tripathy as the two other members. The Supreme ...

Tablet computers distributed to members of women SHGs

Telangana Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Jupally Krishna Rao today distributed Tablet computers to women self-help groups. The Tabs were being distributed to enable the self-help groups to conduct their work with transparency and more efficiency, he said. Rao said the state government was completing all arrangements for the conduct of panchayat elections. The state election commission would decide the dates for the election, expected to be held soon this year, he told reporters here.

Move closer to God for better sleep quality

Finding it hard to get a proper night sleep? A higher religious involvement can reduce stress levels and lead to healthier sleep outcomes, say researchers.

Religious people may live four years longer than atheists: Study

Religious people may live on average four years longer compared to their atheist peers, a study of obituaries in the US has found. The four-year boost - found in an analysis of more than 1,000 obits from around the US - was calculated after taking into account the sex and marital status of those who died, two factors that have strong effects on lifespan. "Religious affiliation had nearly as strong an effect on longevity as gender does, which is a matter of years of life," said Laura Wallace, a doctoral student at The Ohio State University in the US. The study, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, found that part of the reason for the boost in longevity came from the fact that many religiously affiliated people also volunteered and belonged to social organisations, which previous research has linked to living longer. "The study provides persuasive evidence that there is a relationship between religious participation and how long a person lives, said ...

Islamic art can help people understand Islam: Kuwaiti calligrapher

Islamic art, especially calligraphy, can play a key role in ada'wah', or inviting people to understand Islam and clearing misconceptions about it, feels Fareed A. Al-Ali, the head of Kuwait Islamic Arts Centre.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's footwear reaches Bangladesh for celebrations

The silver wrapped 'footwear' of 16th century Vaishnava saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has been taken to Chittagong in Bangladesh for a religious festival, said the secretary of a historical society in Nabadwip in West Bengal on Wednesday.

Bollywood director translating 'Samaveda' into Urdu, English

Bollywood director Iqbal Durrani is translating "Samaveda" into Urdu and English to spread the message of harmony and humanity.

I respect religion but it has no place on sporting field: Soumya

Chess player Soumya Swaminathan has been left a bit shaken by the storm triggered by her pullout from a tournament in Iran over the issue of compulsory headscarf but remains firm in her belief that religious diktats should not extend beyond places of worship. The 29-year-old woman grandmaster, who is also a former junior world champion, opted out of the Asian Team Chess championship after she found out about the organisers' instruction of 'compulsory headscarf'. Her Facebook post, explaining the decision, has generated media storm and the-soft spoken law and commerce graduate is struggling to come to terms with it. "I am feeling bad that I am not able to answer properly. I am unable to handle it," she said when contacted by PTI for a comment, surprised at the attention her decision has evoked. "It was a personal decision and I have nothing more to add to it. I believe in all religions and follow their rules but you can't force it outside religious places," she explained. Citing the ...

China should engage in direct dialogue with Dalai Lama: Pompeo

The US should express publicly that China needs to engage in a meaningful and direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told lawmakers, ahead of his visit to Beijing. The Chinese government officials and the Dalai Lama or his representatives have not met in formal negotiations since 2010. The US has encouraged both sides to engage in meaningful and direct dialogue, without preconditions, to lead to a settlement that resolves differences. In response to written questions from Members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Pompeo said he was committed to press for respect of human rights for Tibetans, including freedom of religion and belief, in his conversations with the Chinese officials, and advocating for the release of Tibetan political prisoners. Pompeo will visit China tomorrow and will exchange views with his Chinese counterpart on bilateral ties and major global and regional issues of common ...

Muslim cleric thrashed, forced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'

A Muslim cleric was allegedly thrashed by a group of men in Jharkhand's Ranchi.The man named Azhar-ul-Islam was brutally beaten up by some unknown miscreants when he was returning home after evening prayer.As per the father of the victim, Azhar was thrashed and was allegedly asked to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'."While returning home from evening prayer some people attacked him. He was asked to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'," the father said.The victim has been hospitalised with multiple injuries in head, hand and other parts of the body.Earlier on June 1, a group of men allegedly thrashed some people, who were offering Namaz at a mosque in Haryana's Karnal.The victims alleged that a group of 20-25 people walked in, vandalized the mosque, broke speakers and thrashed those offering Namaz.

Bhaiyyuji Maharaj to be cremated on Wednesday

The last rites of Madhya Pradesh-based spiritual leader Bhaiyyuji Maharaj, who shot himself on Tuesday, will be held on Wednesday.

US should express China engages in direct dialogue with Dalai Lama: Pompeo

The US should express publicly that China needs to engage in a meaningful and direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told lawmakers, ahead of his visit to Beijing. In response to written questions from Members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Pompeo said he was committed to press for respect of human rights for Tibetans, including freedom of religion and belief, in his conversations with the Chinese officials, and advocating for the release of Tibetan political prisoners. Pompeo will visit China tomorrow and will exchange views with his Chinese counterpart on bilateral ties and major global and regional issues of common concern , Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said today. "I will recommend that the United States express publicly, and at the highest levels of government that Chinese authorities need to engage in meaningful and direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, ..

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat condoles death of Bhayyu Maharaj

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today condoled the death of spiritual guru Bhayyu Maharaj and said the organisation has lost its "very old friend". Maharaj, who had refused to accept ministerial rank granted by the Madhya Pradesh government over two months back, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself in Indore today, police said. In a joint statement, Bhagwat and RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi said, "We pray for the peace of the departed soul and pay homages from the entire organisation." Bhayyu Maharaj, whose original name was Uday Singh Deshmukh, was one of the five saints to whom the Shivraj Singh government in Madhya Pradesh had granted Minister of State (MoS) rank in April. However, he had refused to accept it saying "a post holds no importance for a saint". He was very popular in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh because of his spiritual and social works and enjoyed a large following among politicians and film stars. His ashram is situated in Indore city and top ...

Pope's envoys in Chile to 'ask forgiveness' over sex abuse

The Vatican's top abuse investigator arrived in Chile today, a day after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of three bishops from the scandal-wracked Chilean Church. Maltese archbishop Charles Slicluna was accompanied by another papal envoy Jordi Bertomeu. "We have come to ask forgiveness" from the victims on behalf of Pope Francis, said Bertomeu as they arrived in Santiago. The two officials are to travel to Osorno, the Catholic diocese that was led by controversial bishop Juan Barros, one of three bishops whose resignation Francis accepted yesterday, following a child sex abuse scandal which has come to haunt his papacy. The entire Chilean delegation of bishops that was called to a meeting with the pope in the Vatican last month resigned. But so far, the pope has accepted only three resignations. When asked if others were to follow, Bertomeu said: "That we have to leave in their hands, but we have to be very expectant that things will go very well." Several members of the Church .

Politicians express shock over Bhayyu Maharaj's death

Political leaders cutting across party lines expressed shock and grief over the "untimely" death of spiritual guru Bhayyu Maharaj, who allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself in Indore today. Union minister Nitin Gadkari tweeted that he learnt about the death of the spiritual guru, with whom he had a "personal relationship". "His untimely death is saddening. My humble tributes," Gadkari said in the tweet. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed similar sentiments and hailed the spiritual guru for the "huge work" he did for the deprived in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Fadnavis said farmers and tribals were at the centre of Bhayyu Maharaj's activities. The CM said his work towards land reforms, water conservation, farmers (welfare) and education of children will always be remembered. "Tributes to him! Am part of mourning of his big family and followers," Fadnavis said on Twitter. Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray also expressed "pain" over Bhayyu Maharaj's ...