Hinduism
Why ‘namaste’ has become the perfect pandemic greeting
By Jeremy David Engels — October 1, 2020
(The Conversation) — As people the world over are choosing to ditch the handshakes and hugs for fear of contracting the coronavirus, namaste is becoming the perfect pandemic greeting.
A Catholic priest takes on interfaith fight against COVID-19 in a sacred Hindu city
By Priyadarshini Sen — September 21, 2020
(RNS) — Though anchored in Christianity, Mathew draws from a broad swath of spiritual traditions to reach his fellow citizens, including Mahatma Gandhi's ideas of cosmic consciousness.
Yoga’s ‘father in the West’ still defining our spirituality and celebrity 100 years later
By Tara Isabella Burton — September 16, 2020
(RNS) — Pioneering a vision of wellness in which spirituality and self-help converge, Yogananda created a new model for pop spirituality.
Campaign brewing to get Hindu god Brahma off popular beer
By William Kole — July 14, 2020
(AP) — A spokesperson for the brand said Brahma beer is a tribute to Joseph Bramah — an Englishman who invented the draft pump valve.
India’s goddesses of contagion provide protection in the pandemic
By Tulasi Srinivas — June 15, 2020
(RNS) — Collectively known as the Divine Mother, the goddesses of contagion act as “celestial epidemiologists” curing illness. But if angered they can also inflict disease.
Near Boston, a Friendly’s-turned-Hindu temple serves holy offerings to go
By Aysha Khan — June 4, 2020
BOSTON (RNS) — The Hindu temple has been using its ice cream takeout window, left over from the facility's past life as a Friendly's restaurant, to serve socially distant holy food offerings.
With Nepal in lockdown, volunteers feed hungry animals at Hindu shrine
By Binaj Gurubacharya — April 14, 2020
(RNS) — At the country’s most revered Hindu temple, a dozen staffers and some volunteers take up the job of feeding monkeys and pigs that are normally fed by devotees.
Virus lockdown changes how Hindus celebrate holy period
By Biswajeet Banerjee and Gary Fields — April 2, 2020
LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Hindus around the world are in the midst of a nine-day period called Chaitra Navaratri that began with what for many is considered the Hindu New Year.
Can someone be a Hindu by culture and a Christian by faith at the same time?
By Joseph D'Souza — March 20, 2020
(RNS) — Christian Hindus do not live in contradiction between two different identities. Rather, they embrace the truth that is found in the person of Jesus Christ while holding on to their vibrant Hindu culture.
‘We are reclaiming Holi’: College students protest Hindu nationalism with a blackout Holi
By Aysha Khan — March 6, 2020
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (RNS) — At 21 university campuses across the country, Hindu students have organized a nationwide campaign called Holi Against Hindutva, held in solidarity with anti-government protesters in India.
What Trump should have told India’s Modi this week
By Ellis Heasley — February 25, 2020
(RNS) — President Trump has made freedom of religion a focus of his administration. In his India visit, he may find that India’s religious minorities have their own stories to tell about an increasingly hostile environment, if he will only listen.
When retail and reverence collide
By Indu Viswanathan and Parth Parihar — January 2, 2020
(RNS) — Yoga's ubiquity has put Hindu imagery in the mainstream, but until HIndus are seen as equals in the U.S., mocking our faith's images defines us as colonialist caricatures.
A spiritual icon to the Boomers, Ram Dass was godfather to the ‘nones’
By Ira Rifkin — December 23, 2019
(RNS) — One of the spiritual teacher's great gifts was his great willingness to share his imperfections with the world and his ability to laugh about them.
Goodbye, Baba Ram Dass
By Jeffrey Salkin — December 23, 2019
(RNS) — Why did Richard Alpert become Baba Ram Dass? It is the story of American Judaism.
Ram Dass, who introduced a generation to Hindu meditation, dies at 88
By Kimberly Winston — December 23, 2019
(RNS) — Pioneering the use of psychedelic drugs as spiritual practice, he also explored Buddhism and Hinduism, which took him to India and resulted in his 1971 best-selling book ‘Be Here Now.’
