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Is it the end of an era? After a 13-year battle with the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for the right to distribute Hindu religious literature, Hare Krishna (ISKCON) devotees may finally have to throw in the towel. A California Supreme Court ruling earlier this week effectively banned the Vaishnava Hindu group from their airport…

Is Sandra Bullock a success? Well, that depends on a lot of things– and mostly on when you were to ask the question. Seeing her on Oscar night, as she gracefully stepped up to the podium to claim her prize, we might have answered with a resounding “Yes.” After all, that little statue in her hands…

I remember attending a sort of “Hindu pride” class as a pre-teen tween, and being taught the glories of all things Indian (or “Vedic” as our teacher would say).  “Vedic clothes” — dhoti for the males and sari for the females — “are simple, clean, modest, and chaste,” our teacher told us about our dress-codes.…

Padma Lakshmi’s pregnancy was anything but conventional. She posed nude for Page 6 Magazine. She still refuses to disclose the identity of the baby’s father. But when it came to naming the baby (a little girl born on February 20), Padma chose a name that is simply divine. Literally. US Magazine reports that Padma —…

My post yesterday described attempted to hint at the magic that is Holi in Braj, Lord Krishna’s hometown. I realize, however, that there is no substitute for actually experiencing Holi in Braj. These photos by Delhi-based freelancer Siddharth Jain are a close second, though. (You can also check out the whole collection here, on his…

HAPPY HOLI! Holi ( ???? in Sanskrit; pronounced almost like the English word holy), sometimes called Hinduism’s “Festival of Colors,” is about as joyous as a religious holiday can be. Although other rituals mark the observance, the highlight is throwing colored powder and colored water at each other. Class distinctions, skin color, age, and gender…

I’ve been wanting to blog about the Olympics because, well, let’s face it, everyone is absorbed in Olympics Consciousness right now. Wouldn’t it be cool to find a Hindu connection? It hasn’t been easy. I thought I did a pretty good job finding the obscure and puzzling but entertaining link between Armenian ice dancers and…

Beliefnet’s latest gallery — Seeing Jesus (and Mary) in Food and Other Objects — features photos from religious sightings in nature or non-religious objects. The gallery, crafted by pop-culture experts Harry and Sandra Choron (who also wrote a book, Look! It’s Jesus!, on the subject), includes images that range from the humorous (Jesus as a Cheeto,…

“Roses are red, violets are blue,don’t even think about celebrating Valentine’s Day if you’re a Hindu…” There are few things that get right-wing Hindu fundamentalists quite as rabid as the twang of cupid’s bow every year. In fact, on the foaming-at-the-mouth scale of outrage, Valentine’s Day is right up there with usurping temples, blaspheming deities,…

In honor of Valentine’s Day, a meditation on love: So, this is the idea people have, that surrender means to lose. Surrender is something that is very, very undesirable, by force. But in Sanskrit, the word sharanagati [surrender] is something very different. Sharanagati is the most positive expression of our gratitude and our love. It…
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