Page 21 - Religion Belief
EC finds Congress' Milind Deora's Jain comment 'violative' under MCC
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday found the speech delivered by Mumbai Congress chief and South Mumbai candidate Milind Deora as "violative" under the guidelines of Model Code of Conduct (MCC)."In a matter concerning violation of MCC in a speech delivered by Milind Deora, a candidate of Indian National Congress, April 2, Commission after considering his reply found it violative of para1 and para3 of MCC," the ECI said.The Commission censured and warned him to be more careful in the future.The ECI's action came after Deora while addressing an event at Zhaveri Bazar, had accused Shiv Sena of hurting religious sentiments of Jain followers. The Mumbai Congress president urged the Jain community to teach them a lesson by not voting for the party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections."Shiv Sena has been against the minorities. A few years ago, the party insulted the Jain religion by cooking meat outside Jain temples during Paryushana festival. Remember, you have to teach them a .
SP's bicycle will 'puncture' under weight of BSP's elephant: Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took a swipe at the opposition alliance in the state on Monday, saying the Samajwadi Party's 'bicycle' will "puncture" under the weight of the Bahujan Samaj Party's 'elephant'. The chief minister addressed four rallies in Maharajganj, Fazilnagar, Pipraich and Jaitpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, where polling for the Lok Sabha election will be held on the seventh and last phase on May 19. "The 'bicycle' will puncture as the elephant is riding it," he said, referring to the poll symbols of the two parties. The SP's poll symbol is bicycle and the BSP's elephant. Listing the "good work" done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Adityanath said, "Whatever welfare schemes we have implemented so far, we did not discriminate people in the name of caste and religion. These were implemented in the interest of the poor." "In Kumbh Mela, Modi ji washed the feet of sanitation workers like Lord Krishna washed the feet of Sudama," he said. Appealing for votes ..
Top cardinal says 'many questions' remain despite Vatican thaw with China
A top cardinal has said "many questions" remain despite the Vatican's diplomatic thaw with China, and that a deal paving the way to rapprochement was "only a starting point". Cardinal Pietro Parolin's remarks -- in an interview with China's state-run Global Times, published Monday -- follow the signing in September last year of a historic bilateral agreement on the thorny issue of the appointment of bishops. That deal came after decades of mistrust between Beijing and the Vatican. China's estimated 10 million Catholics are split between an underground church that swears allegiance only to the pope and a state-supervised body -- the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. The September agreement allowed both sides to have a say on the appointment of bishops, and paved the way for a rapprochement between the Vatican and Beijing, which broke diplomatic ties in 1951. Parolin -- the Vatican's number two -- called the deal "a starting point" and that there were "elements which demonstrate .
Gunmen kill six in Burkina Faso Catholic Church: sources
Gunmen killed a priest and five other people during mass Sunday in an attack on a Catholic Church in Dablo, northern Burkina Faso, security sources and local official said. "Towards 9.00 am, during mass, armed individuals burst into the Catholic Church," the mayor of Dablo, Ousmane Zongo, told AFP. "They started firing as the congregation tried to flee.
Germany debates 'mosque tax' to replace foreign funding
Support is growing in Germany for a "mosque tax" to make Islamic institutions less dependent on potentially anti-democratic or "radical" foreign funding sources, a media report said Sunday. The federal government sees it as "a possible path", according to an answer to a parliamentary query, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported. Several of Germany's 16 states had also signalled support in principle for the idea which would mirror Germany's voluntary Christian "church tax", the newspaper said. Concern has grown in Germany about the influence of foreign funding sources on mosques for the country's estimated five million Muslims, who hail mostly from Turkey and Arab countries. Some 900 mosques in Germany are run by the Turkish-Islamic Union of the Institute for Religion (Ditib), under the authority of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. Its imams are paid by the Turkish state, and the group has come under scrutiny with some of its members suspected of spying on Turkish ...
Pope gives church 19 new priests in Vatican ceremony
Pope Francis has given the church 19 new priests, ordaining the men in an elaborate ceremony Sunday in St. Peter's Basilica, as the credibility of the Vatican and many of its clergy is threatened by widespread scandals of pedophile priests and systematic efforts at cover-ups. Fifteen of the seminarians ordained by Francis are Italian; the others are from Croatia, Peru, Haiti and Japan. The seminarians' ages range from mid-20s to 46. Wearing white robes, the seminarians stood in three rows before the central altar after replying, "Here I am," as their names were called one by one. Francis, reciting a ritual formula, asked if they were worthy to become priests. Later in the ceremony, the seminarians prostrated themselves in a sign of obedience to church authority and to God, on a carpet in front of the altar. During his homily, Francis instructed them to never "tire of being merciful" toward the faithful who confess sins. "Aware of having been chosen among men and appointed in their ...
Pope: It's OK to organize pilgrimages to Bosnian shrine
Pope Francis has given his OK to pilgrimages to a Bosnian shrine where young people said the Virgin Mary appeared to them, but the Vatican cautioned on Sunday that the Church still hasn't ruled on the authenticity of the phenomenon, which has drawn millions of Catholic believers and the curious to the site. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said in a written statement that "the Holy Father has ruled that it's possible to organize pilgrimages to Medjugorje." The decision, which could further boost tourism, was announced also by the Vatican's envoy to the local parish and by the papal nuncio in Sarajevo. The shrine is 120 kilometers south of Sarajevo, the capital of predominantly Muslim Bosnia. In 1981, during the papacy of the first pope from Eastern Europe, John Paul II, six youths said they witnessed apparitions of Mary. Gisotti stressed that "care be taken to avoid interpreting these pilgrimages as authentication of the noted events, which still require examination by the ...
Meditation not pleasant for everyone: Study
Meditation -- which is widely believed to be an antidote to mental health issues -- may not always be a pleasant experience for everyone, according to scientists who advocate more research into such practices. The research, led by scientists from University College London (UCL) in the UK, found that over a quarter of people who regularly meditate have had a 'particularly unpleasant' psychological experience related to the practice, including feelings of fear and distorted emotions. Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the study also found those who had attended a meditation retreat, those who only practiced deconstructive types of meditation, such as Vipassana (insight) and Koan practice (used in Zen Buddhism), and those with higher levels of repetitive negative thinking, were more likely to report a 'particularly unpleasant' meditation-related experience. However, the study, which comprised an international online survey of 1,232 people who had at least two months' meditation ...
Amazon staff 'mistakenly' took down religious ads
Employees from e-commerce giant Amazon have been "mistakenly" taking down ads with religious content that has negatively affected the sale of products from some small sellers.
Proponents of ideologies of hate need to be 'constructively engaged': Naidu
Voicing concern over the growing menace of terrorism, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Sunday that the proponents of ideologies of hate need to be "constructively engaged" to avoid mindless death and destruction. In his keynote address at the 16th UN Day of Vesak here, Naidu said the genesis of conflict among nations has roots in the idea of hate and violence originating from an individual's mind-space. "The growing menace of terrorism in the world is a manifestation of this destructive emotion. The proponents of ideologies of hate need to be constructively engaged to avoid mindless death and destruction," Naidu said at the event attended by Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Myanmar President Win Myint and Nepal Premier K P Sharma Oli among others. Naidu said Lord Buddha's message of peace and compassion provides an ideology and effective answer to overcome sectarian and ideology-driven violence all over the world. "The global leadership more than ever needs to work ...
Cross-border faith brings warring countries on common ground (IANS Special Series)
Over 70 years after they became separate countries and have largely witnessed at best strained to downright hostile ties, India and Pakistan have been brought on common ground by a religious monument of faith - the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara.
Dalai Lama holds teaching sessions for Russian Buddhists at Dharamshala
Dalai Lama held teaching sessions on request of Russian Buddhists at Tsuglagkhang, the main Tibetan temple in Dharamshala, on Friday.Over six thousand people, including Tibetans, monks, nuns, and followers from different countries, gathered at the main Buddhist temple in the morning.Telo Rinpoche, representative of Dalai Lama's office to Russia and Mongolia said: "It is the tenth anniversary and we are very happy and grateful that his holiness the Dalai Lama has agreed to give teachings. Over 1200 Russians have come here especially for this. Originally it was scheduled in Delhi but due to certain circumstances we had to change the location to Dharamshala".Dolma Ann Kane, a nun from the United States said: " People from all over the world have come here to attend the teachings. I feel blessed and privileged that his holiness is giving teaching even at this stage of life as he is in mid-eighties.
Varanasi: Devotees gather to celebrate 'Ganga Saptami'
Celebrations are in full swing on the occasion of Ganga Saptami with chants echoing at the 'Kashi k Dashami ghat' on Saturday.Varanasi, which is known for celebrating Ganga Saptami in a traditional way every year, held Pujas. The occasion marks the birth of River Ganga.According to the mythological beliefs, on this day, Ganga came on the earth after being pleased with the harsh austerity of Rishi Bhagirath.Chief organizer and priest of Kashi Vishwanath temple, Pandit Shrikant said: "Like every year, we have gathered here at the 'Kashi k Dashami ghat' in Varanasi to celebrate the birth of Ganga Ma.""People from various sections of the national and international community have come to the ghat to celebrate this day. People from all over the world have come to dip in Ganga and wash their sins," he added.It is said that on this day taking a dip into the holy waters destroys the sins. This day also sprinkles light upon the significance of charity. It is believed that on this day, salvation
After Facebook ban, Farrakhan denies hating Jews
Racist demagogue and dangerous fundamentalist to some, heroic crusader for black rights to others, incendiary religious leader Louis Farrakhan is finding the audience for his message increasingly hard to reach. The head of the Nation of Islam -- barred for years from Britain and blocked from mainstream TV -- has been declared an undesirable by Facebook for his long record as an unrepentant merchant of anti-Semitism and homophobia. Farrakhan's black advocacy and mantra of self-reliance has lent him a measure of legitimacy over the years, bolstered by his role a quarter century ago in organizing the Million Man March that drew hundreds of thousands of African Americans to Washington. And while his continuing influence is undeniable, critics of the 86-year-old son of a Massachusetts seamstress point out that he has compared Jews to "termites," called Hitler a "great man" and claimed that the white race was created by an evil wizard. True to form, one of the most divisive political ...
Hyderabad-based trust serves food to around 500 people every day during Ramzan
It's Ramzan time, the Muslim month when the followers of the faith observe fast from before sunrise to sunset.Besides fasting, the holy month is also about feasting from dusk to dawn.And in this spirit of Ramzan, a Hyderabad-based trust provides food to almost 400-500 people every day- all without any funding from outside."We have been serving the poor people for 17 years. On the first day of Ramzan, we distributed ration consisting of various items to 1600 poor families and daily we arrange Iftar for the poor people. Around 400-500 people come here to have Iftari daily," Mohammed Nasiuddin Khan, a trustee of Mohammed Zaheeruddin Khan Memorial Trust, told ANI.Charity is one of the five tenets of Islam. Feeding the poor and needy, supporting orphans, relatives and travellers, spending in the way of Allah, all these find references in Quran, the holy book of the Muslims.Rich and well-off followers of the Islamic faith do charity during Ramzan. Some give money to the poor, several others
1 in 4 meditators suffer 'unpleasant' experience: Study
One out of four people who meditate regularly suffer an "unpleasant" psychological experience, reveals a new study.
Don't allow mosques to promote hatred; Submit recordings of sermons: Lanka govt
The Sri Lankan government on Friday said the trustees of all the mosques in the country should not engage in or allow any gathering to promote or propagate hatred and also directed them to send the audio recordings of the sermons to authorities. The government's move came after security forces recovered swords and other weapons from mosques during search operations following the April 21 bomb blasts in which over 250 people, including 44 foreigners 10 of whom were Indians, were killed and 500 others injured. All trustees of Mosques should not engage in or permit any gathering to promote or propagate hatred or extremism in any form, doing so will result in the Board of Trustees being held fully responsible under may laws including the Penal Code, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Muslim Religious Affairs. "In view of the prevailing situation in the country, the Trustees are directed hereby to send audio records all sermons of Jumma (Friday) or otherwise on their ...
Indian Jews in Israel a vital link between the two nations, says senior Indian diplomat
The 85,000-strong Indian Jews community in Israel is a vital link between the two nations that has seen rapid growth in relations over the years across a broad spectrum of areas, a senior Indian diplomat has said. Speaking at the launch of a book titled "The Synagogues of India," whose first copy of limited edition was presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Israel in 2017, Counsellor at the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv Muanpuii Saiawi said the future vision of cooperation between the two knowledge economies is of a strong hi-tech partnership. "The 85,000 strong Indian Jewish community here form a vital and important link between India and Israel. Both nations have excellent relations with over 25 years of full diplomatic relations. Relations have seen rapid growth across a broad spectrum of areas and the future vision of cooperation is of a strong hi-tech partnership as befits two knowledge economies," Saiawi said at the gathering that was attended by hundreds of .
Bishop accused in Kerala nun rape case appears before court
Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun, appeared before a court in Pala on Friday.A charge sheet, that was filed by Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Kerala Police last month, has been handed over to Mulakkal.Prior to the appearance in the court, the accused bishop participated in a mass prayer at Bharananghanam church. In the court, he was accompanied by a group of supporters including women.The next hearing in the case has been posted to June 7.Mulakkal has been accused of raping a nun several times between 2014 and 2016. He is currently out on bail. The victim has also alleged that the probe is being delayed as the accused is an influential authority in the Roman Catholic Church.
Telangana CM offers prayers at Rameswaram temple
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao Friday offered prayers at the Ramanathaswamy temple here. Rao, who arrived at the temple in this holy town along with his family members this morning, was received by the Joint Commissioner Kalyani. The Telangana Rashtra Smiti (TRS) chief went around the temple after offering prayers to the main deity. He appreciated the temple architecture and praised the authorities for maintaining the premises well. The Telangana Chief Minister, however, refused to talk to reporters. He had yesterday visited the memorial of former President A P J Abdul Kalam here.