Hindu American Seva Charities’ Report for the White House in U.S.A.

Source: www.hinduamericanseva.org
Monday,May 31,2010

(On March 9, 2010, the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships presented its final report of recommendations to senior Administration officials at a day-long briefing at the White House)

WASHINGTON D.C. : Under the guidance of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (OFBNP), an inspired team with Anju Bhargava, a member of President Obama’s Advisory Council, formed Hindu American Seva Charities.

The Hindu American Seva Charities recently compiled a report that details specific seva activities, interfaith collaboration and information on infrastructures and capacity building among the Hindu American community. HASC discovered there was a significant gap between the U.S. government and Hindu/Dharmic institutions, particularly in capacity building and areas of civic engagement between these institutions and organization and the various stakeholders in our country.

To download the report prepared by The Hindu American Seva Charities for President Obama click here.

A Hindu 10-Day Ceremony For World Peace Maha Yagna , United States

By Purushottam singh (PHP Editor)
Tuesday,May 18,2010

KANSAS CITY, U.S.: The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Kansas City is holding a special spiritual ceremony, “World Peace Maha Yagna,” through May 16 at the temple. An elaborate fire pit has been created, and each day during the ceremony, priests make offerings of grain, fruit and other items to the fire God while chanting mantras from the Vedas.

Maha Yagna is performed on a grand scale, where the whole community takes part in seeking peace and harmony for the common good of humanity, said Debabrata Bhaduri, a member of the temple board.

“Yagna is a Sanskrit word derived from the root ‘yaj,’ which has a three-fold meaning: worship, unity and charity,” said Arvind Khetia, a member of the Hindu community. “As the Yagna begins, fire is ignited, and the mantra is chanted, ‘Into you I place fire that consumes the oblation that will be offered, so that everywhere all who are sustained by food are nourished and live in happiness’ ” he explains.

First Historic Hindu Prayer to Open Senate and House of Alaska , USA

Source http://www.chakranews.com/
Tuesday,March30,2010

Alaska, USA (CHAKRA) – The House of Representatives in Juneau as well as Alaska State Senate will reportedly open with Hindu prayers for the first time on April 9th, by Rajan Zed,  Indo-American and Hindu statesman.  

Zed will read the opening prayers from Hindu Sanskrit scriptures.  He will read these scriptures before Senators and Representatives on April 9th.  Once he has read in Sanskrit, he will translate the prayers from Sanskrit to English.  Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism and is known to be the root language of Indo-European languages. 

The Rig Veda will be used to read the prayers from, by Zed who is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism. 

The Rig Veda is the oldest known scripture in the world dated from around 1,500 BCE.  Some lines from the Bhagavad-Gita as well as the Upanishads will be read as well. Zed plans to commence and end the prayer with AUM, the mystical syllable which is the essence of the universe, used in Hinduism at the beginning and end of any prayer. 

Reciting from the Bhagavad-Gita, Zed plans to deliver the message of keeping the welfare of others in mind at all time, to the Senators and Representatives.  He also plans to say Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya, which translates to lead us from unreal to real, darkness to light and from death to immortality. 

One of the panellists for On Faith, a well-known conversation on religion between Newsweek and washingtonpost.com.  He has received are the World Interfaith Leader Award which was presented to him by National Associate of Interchurch and Interfaith Families. 

The Alaska senate comprises 20 members with Gary Stevens as their president. Mike Chenault is the Speaker for the House of Representatives which is made up of 40 members.  Alaska is a beautiful place with the highest mountain peak in North America.

Celebrating Holi In USA

February 24th, 2010 Source: www.i-newswire.com

UNITED STATES, February 22, 2010 - Bloggermoms, a website that celebrates life and parenting at the intersection of multiple cultures, today released a package of ideas for celebrating Holi in schools, preschools and the workplace. The package contains ideas for crafts and celebrations in the classroom, hosting a Holi party for kids, precautions to keep in mind when celebrating Holi and even ideas to bring Holi into the office in a respectful yet fun way.

Holi, the festival of colors is one of India’s most colorful, vibrant and fun festivals. It is a celebration of spring and of the victory of good over evil. For most people, it is all about smearing colored powders or spraying colored water on each other. Holi is also celebrated in the USA and other parts of the world with large expat populations within friends and communities.

Schools and preschools interested in multicultural education or parents interested in bringing a little bit of their culture into the classrooms often look for ideas for celebrating Holi which are culturally appropriate, yet easier to manage and clean up in a class room environment. The article on ideas for celebrating Holi in schools and preschools is available at http://www.bloggermoms.com/celebrating-holi/