Page 177 - Religion Belief
Odisha HC asks govt, SJTA to settle temple deadlock amicably
The Orissa High Court today expressed displeasure at the irregularities in rituals at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and said it had at no point of time interfered with the rituals of its presiding deities. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Vineet Saran said the state government and the temple administration should immediately settle the issue amicably after holding discussions with the stakeholders. The devotees visiting the temple for last four days have been deprived of 'Mahaprasad' due to dispute between servitors and the temple administration. The high court has been monitoring the repair undertaken by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the 12th-century shrine since 2016, while adjudicating over a PIL seeking judicial intervention for effective repair and renovation of the temple. "About the high court's order passed on April 10 pertaining to restrictions of entry of servitors and devotees into the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, it said the relevant ...
Surat boy, son of a diamond merchant, becomes Jain monk
Twelve-year-old Bhavya Shah likes to enjoy life like any other child of his age. And going by his family background--he is the son of a millionaire diamond merchant--he seems to be better placed than his peers as far as accessing the luxurious life is concerned. However, for Bhavya, the true luxury now lies in spiritual path, which he chose today by becoming a Jain monk. Bhavya was initiated in ascetic life in the presence of his parents and hundreds of monks at a function organised in Parle Point area of the city. As per the tradition of the Jain community, Bhavya's grand procession was taken out in the city on the eve of his initiation in monkhood. While talking to reporters before embracing monk-hood, Bhavya said he was happy to leave behind his "luxurious life". "I am extremely happy that I am able to walk on the path shown by God. My parents taught me that this is the true way of life. Though I was attached to luxurious life earlier, I later realised that monkhood is
Duterte ordered probe against detained Australian nun
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he personally authorised an investigation against an Australian nun who was detained in the country earlier this week after being accused of political activity that breached her visa.
Nagpur Archbishop Abraham Viruthakulangra dies
Archbishop of Nagpur Abraham Viruthakulangra died of a cardiac arrest early this morning, Archdiocese of Nagpur said in a statement here. He was 74. The Archbishop died in Delhi, where he had gone to meet the Hindi-speaking Bishops at the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), the statement said. Born in Kerala on June 5, 1943, he joined the seminary in Indore after his high school studies in 1960. He was ordained priest in October 1969 after his priestly studies at St Charles Seminary in Nagpur, it added. After the ordination, he worked among the Gond tribals for eight years. "He was just 34 years old and the youngest prelate in India when appointed as the bishop of the newly-created Diocese of Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh in 1977. He also became the 100th Indian Catholic Bishop since the establishment of the Indian Hierarchy in 1886," the statement said. "During one of her visits to Khandwa, St Mother Teresa commended him for his profiency in language that helped ...
All religious beliefs as good as Tripura CM's views: Javed Akhtar
Writer Javed Akhtar on Thursday took a jibe at Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb for saying that the Internet existed during the time of Mahabharata.
UP, J&K government protecting rapists, says Goa Church body
The governments in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh are protecting rapists and denying justice to rape victims and their families in the Kathua and Unnao cases, the Council for Social Justice and Peace, a wing of Goa's influential Roman Catholic Church, said on Wednesday.
Rituals delayed, but deities not left fasting: govt
After two days of disruptions in Odisha assembly over ritualistic 'irregularities' in Sri Jagannath Temple at Puri, the government today admitted delay in observance of rituals, but denied that deities were left fasting. "It is a fact that there has been delay in certain rituals, but the deities are not kept on total fasting," Law Minister Pratap Jena informed the House. Jena made the statement after Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat directed him to do so following disruption of the proceedings since yesterday. On the allegation that the deities were not offered 'bhog' yesterday, Jena said, "Though other morning rituals were performed on April 17, the temple kitchen could not function as the 'mahaprasad' was kept there due to delay in rituals on the previous day." Stating that about 8 truck loads of cooked food were kept in the kitchen, Jena said it took time to clear those items. Over 100 people were engaged for cleaning the temple kitchen, which was cleared by 10.50 pm yesterday. The ...
Now non-Hindus can have 'prasada oottu' at Guruvayur temple
The 'oottupura' (temple dining hall) attached to the famed Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple here will henceforth be opened to all, including non-Hindus. In a major decision, the management of the temple, where non-Hindus are barred from offering worship, has opened the portals of its 'oottupura' to everyone, cutting across religion. The Guruvayur Devaswom, the management, also lifted the restrictions on dress code imposed at the dining hall and allowed devotees to wear shirts, pants and footwear there. Hundreds of devotees from and outside the state have 'prasada oottu', the delicious temple feast, every day at the oottupura of the centuries-old shrine. When contacted, Devaswom Chairman K B Mohandas said the decision in this regard was taken in a meeting yesterday and it came into force with immediate effect. A board saying non-Hindus are not allowed, displayed in front of the dining hall, was also removed, he said. "The dining hall was located inside the temple complex ...
Yoga not connected to any religion, says Naidu
Yoga is the "most beautiful exercise" in the world, it has nothing to do with religion, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said today, urging people to refrain from raising "meaningless" controversies on the ancient exercise form. Some people object to 'Surya Namaskar' despite the fact that 'Surya' or sun is nature, Naidu said here at the launch of the Assam government's new health scheme - 'Atal Amrit Abhiyan'. "If you have a problem with Surya Namaskar, you can try Chandra Namaskar. Surya gives us light, it is not connected with any religion," he explained. More than 170 countries have taken up the exercise after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to make yoga a mass movement, the vice president claimed. "Yoga brings unity in mind and body. That's why the entire world is looking towards India. Keep that in mind... Some people unnecessarily raise controversies, meaningless and absurd ones," he said Criticising modern lifestyle, he said physical training was earlier
Din continues in Odisha assembly over temple ritual irregularities
The controversy surrounding the delay in rituals and huge wastage of 'Mahaprasad' in Puri's Jagannath Temple dominated the Odisha assembly for the second consecutive day on Wednesday.
Educate nation to save your generation, say inter-faith leaders
With the Karnataka assembly election campaign picking up, an inter-religious faith conclave was organised here last evening.It was attended by spiritual leaders, politicians and intelligentsia. The aim of the conclave was to foster and promote the spirit of patriotism, communal harmony and national integration among citizens. Its focus was to make a call to all sections of society not to exploit religious sentiments for political capital or advantage in the run-up to the election.The conclave unanimously pledged that only through education and skill development can fraternity be promoted among religions and people could become immune to political rhetoric.The conclave was organised under the banner of Ilm-o-Hunar, an organisation that seeks to educate and skill develop underprivileged sections of society.Noted Islamic scholar and Chairman of the Ilm-o-Hunar Foundation Mufti Manzoor Ziayee said ueday, "A nation-wide movement is being launched from Bengaluru today which is called ...
News channel journo booked for "offensive" post on Hindu Gods
A case has been registered against an English TV news channel journalist for allegedly reposting an "offensive" post on Hindu Gods on social media and hurting sentiments of the community. Police registered the case following a complaint from a practising advocate Karuna Sagar Kashimshetty last week. In his complaint to police, Karuna Sagar said while he was browsing his twitter account, he saw a post and picture of Lord Ram and Sita by one Ahmed Shabbir, which he termed "offensive" targetting Hindu Gods. He alleged that it was a a deliberate attempt to promote enmity besides hurting the sentiments of Hindus. "The cartoon was offensive and hurt religious sentiments of Hindus," the complainant said. Following the complaint, a case under IPC section 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) has been registered against Shabbir, a senior police official said. During the course of ...
Pakistan says India's charge of inciting Sikh pilgrims wrong
Pakistan on Tuesday rejected as "falsehood" the Indian charge of "attempts to incite Sikh pilgrims" to raise the issue of Khalistan.
HC lets Centre decide if prayers can be offered at Khirki Masjid
The Delhi High Court today left it to the Centre to decide a lawyer's PIL challenging the bar on offering 'namaz' or prayers at the Khirki Masjid in south Delhi, saying the government was the competent authority to take a decision on it. The lawyer was seeking lifting of the bar on offering prayers at the protected monument as there was no other place near the Saket court complex to offer 'namaz'. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said if the matter was entertained by it, there would soon be requests coming to it for building temples and churches near court complexes. The bench said the plea by advocate Shahid Ali be treated by the Centre as a representation and disposed it of. The petitioner had claimed that while the protected monument may have historical importance, 'masjids' or mosques were built so that Muslims can pray. The plea also contended that despite it being a protected monument as per the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), the ...
Foreign devotees arriving in large number for ISKCON 'Chandan
Thousands of devotees from abroad have already turned up at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Mayapur to celebrate the 'Chandan Yatra festival' beginning here from April 18. The foreign devotees flocking here for the event hail from 35-40 countries, a spokesman of the ISKCON said here today. The Mayapur centre is the global headquarters of ISKCON. During the festival, which will continue for 21 days, a large procession carrying the deities on a palanquin will be taken out every evening within the ISKCON compound, he said. The deities will then be placed on a nicely decorated swan-shaped boat and taken out for a ride in the pond. As the name suggested, the devotees will smear the idol of Radha Madhav with sandalwood paste (Chandan). A grand Maha-Arti (worshipping the deity with lamp) will also be performed while the deities are seated on the boat.
India should shun caste system: Dalai Lama
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Monday condemned the discriminating caste system in India, saying it should be discontinued.
Root of Indian culture will be cut if temple not rebuilt, says Bhagwat
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said if Ram Mandir was not rebuilt, the root of the Indian culture will be severed.Speaking at a rally in Palghar district, the RSS chief said that the temple which was demolished by the Muslim based outside India, it is now the responsibility of the people to restore the demolished temple, where it originally stood."The temple in Ayodhya was demolished by the Muslim community outside India. Indian nationals can't do such a thing," Bhagwat said."It is our responsibility to restore what was demolished within the country. The temple should be built where it actually was. We are ready to fight for it," he added.The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute is being heard before the Supreme Court.The Babri Masjid, built by Mughal emperor Babur in Ayodhya in 1528, was on December 6, 1992, demolished by Hindu Karsevaks, claiming that the Ram temple that originally stood there was demolished to construct the mosque.
BJP UP Ministers extend Guru Purab wishes 7 months early
Several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders from Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday, took to their Twitter accounts to extend their greetings on the occasion of Guru Purab, without realising that they were seven months early with their wishes.Guru Purab, which marks the birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, falls on the 23rd of November this year. However, Deputy Chief Minister, Keshav Prasad Maurya and state government spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh, among several others tweeted their greetings yesterday.Siddhart Nath Singh later issued an apology for the snafu, which he stated was caused because of the wrong date mentioned in a Wikipedia page, tweeting, "Sorry for Guru Nanak Ji's birthday tweet. Confusion happened due to Wikipedia (enclosed). Apologies to everyone."The tweets were deleted from the respective accounts soon after.
Protests against killing of two Christians in Pakistan
The leaders of the Christian community have launched a protest against the killing of two Christians near a church by four unidentified gunmen who opened fire at them in Pakistan's Balochistan province, officials said. Provincial police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari said that a group of Christians had come out of the church yesterday when the four gunmen appeared on two motorcycles from a nearby lane and opened fire on them. "Two people were killed on the spot while six others were injured and rushed to a hospital," he said. The deceased have been identified as Azhar Masih and Rohail Masih. They were residents of Essa Nagri which houses a large population of the Christian community. The attack has been claimed by the Islamic State terror group. Ansari said that it appeared that the purpose of the attack was to spread panic and fear in the province. "These terrorists are targeting security forces and now minorities to spread fear and panic because of the ongoing operation against them in ..
Ghana orders Mosques, churches to use Whats app for prayer calls
The authorities of Ghana's capital Accra on Saturday ordered the mosques and churches to restrict the use of the loudspeakers and instead make use of the social networking application WhatsApp to initiate prayer calls to the people.The main reason behind the move is to curb the noise pollution in the urban areas.Often the places of worship attract heavy movement of traffic and a massive gathering of the pedestrians. In addition to that, the church bells and prayer calls add to the noise pollution adding to the woes of the people residing nearby, as reported by the German media group Deutsche Welle.Ghana's environment minister Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng justified this move by saying that Imam would be sending WhatsApp messages to the people informing them of the time of the prayer."Why is it that time for prayer cannot be transmitted with a text message or WhatsApp? So the imam would send WhatsApp messages to everybody. I think that will help to reduce the noise. This may be ...