Jagannath Temple's Research Institute

Hindu temples and religious institutions have always tried to contribute to the welfare of the society. For a substantial period in India's history Hindus were so poor due to foreign invasions restricting their faith that this spirit of charity somehow came in the shadow, still we have fine examples of people renouncing all they have for the welfare of society. In this light, a recent news appears to be very positive. 

Gujarat Chief Minister has inaugurated Shree Jagannath Cultural Academy and Research Centre (JCARC). As Indian Express reports in its news article titled "CM inaugurates Jagannath temple research institute", June 30, 2014, Shree Jagannath Cultural Academy and Research Centre (JCARC) near Adalaj houses a replica of Puri Jagannath temple of Orissa and a centre that will also impart training to students on various subjects of public wellness, skill and entrepreneurial development, art and culture, education and philosophy. “I will be going with this new concept (of a place which has a temple and which also imparts training) from here today,” Patel said. “The IAS officers should go and bring trustees of various temples and show them (JCARC),” Patel said.

Source and detailed news: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/cm-inaugurates-jagannath-temple-research-institute/

The 2014 Pandharpur Wari Under Progress

The Pandharpur Wari or Yatra which is a pilgrimage on foot is currently in progress. Local and national newspapers are covering this evening in their own ways. This pilgrimage is a hundreds of years old tradition and it is wonderful to see it still going strong. This morning I witnessed the yatra and what a spectacular scene it was. Last night our neighborhood housing society had invited a group of Warkari pilgrims to stay in their premises and the pilgrims were given food and shelter. For the whole night the pilgrims sang religious songs and prayed to God. They had a truck with them carrying essentials like drinking water. This morning they joined the other Warkaris to form an ocean of devotees – it was a scene of all individual egos getting lost and spirit of oneness rising above everything else…

Posting some of the newspaper articles on this subject to know more:

Why every Gen X must check out the Palkhi in Pune

First-time pilgrims fascinated by the wari experience 

At home in India, hurdles not in way of 'wari' for Japanese pilgrim 

All the wari's a stage for these NSS students

Pune's young pilgrims

Walk of faith

Palkhis of Sant Dnyaneshwar, Sant Tukaram arrive in Pune

Disability not a deterrent for annual pilgrimage

Warkaris brave ailments, surgeries to walk for faith

Attend MTDC's mini-wari to get feel of Palkhi

Pune bikers to turn their rides into ambulances for warkaris

Tourism department promotes wari tradition among non-Marathis

Non-Brahmin and Women Priests at Maharashtra Temple

In very old times, varna system (castes have roots in this social system) was based on work and not on birth. Due to compulsions and convenience of society, gradually it degenerated into a birth-based system where caste of a person started getting determined by the caste of one's parents (or father). Many social reformers tried to break the rigidity of this system which was a major reason why Hindus appeared "divided" at the face of any challenge. Even till date many good works are being done by many temples and individuals. 

The news item below published in Indian Express tells about Pandharpur Temple where non-Brahmins and women were allowed to compete and get selected to work as priests: 

Maharashtra temple breaks barriers, invites non-Brahmin and women priests

Written by Parthasarathi Biswas | New Delhi | May 25, 2014 12:57 am

Dressed in a simple sari, with a mangalsutra, a haldi-kumkum tika and bangles as accessories, Hema Ashtekar looks a bit out of place in the mostly male group. Like them, she is here to appear for an interview for the posts of eight priests for the ancient Shri Vitthal Rukmani temple in the pilgrim town of Pandharpur, Solapur district, Maharashtra.

Ashtekar is one of 23 women candidates who have applied for the position of priest for Goddess Rukmani. On May 18, 161 applicants appeared for the interview, in response to an advertisement placed by the temple committee, which mentioned that non-Brahmins and women were eligible to apply. Out of the 199 responses to the advertisement, 93 were from Brahmins.

Complete article at: http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/maharashtra-temple-breaks-barriers-invites-non-brahmin-and-women-priests/

Machines to be used for cleaning in Temple Town Pandharpur

In the below news item titled “Machines do away with manual scavenging in temple town”, we get to know about the good changes happening in society. In temple town of Pandharpur of Maharashtra, special machines are to be deployed to prevent any manual cleaning of toilets. The news also talks about some other changes and improvements happening:

Useful Textbooks on Hinduism

I just happened to go through a post from Murali Balaji from Hindu American Foundation (HAF), where he has listed some useful books and resources on Hinduism. More readers can consider giving these books a glance for interesting insights. Here are some of the books: 

1. India Unveiled by Robert Arnett
2. Finders Keepers by Robert Arnett
3. The History of Hindu India by the editors of Hinduism Today and Shiva Bajpai
4. The Hindu Mind: Fundamentals of Hindu Religion and Philosophy for All Ages by Bansi Pandit
5. Hinduism for Dummies by Amrutur V. Srinivasan
6. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hinduism by Linda Johnsen

Read his complete article on below link:

Need Extra Resources on Hinduism? These Books Are Just a Start

By Murali Balaji 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/murali-balaji/need-extra-resources-on-h_b_5489518.html