V.N. Gopalakrishnan,  Mumbai

Guru Purnima will be celebrated on July 15, this year. The period ‘Chaturmas‘ (four months) begins from this day. The full moon day in the Hindu month of Ashad (July-August) is observed as the Guru Purnima day in memory of the great sage Vyasa originally known as Krishna Dwaipayana. Sage Vyasa is described as the son of sage Parasara and Matsyagandhi was born on this day. 

Popularity: 5% [?]

(Click here to view Harivarasanam Project summary, created by H.H. Jagadguru Swami Sathyananda Saraswathy)

An appeal to all Hindus by H.H. Swami Krishnananda Saraswati:

Sabarimala, the abode of Lord Ayyappa, is a place of unity and harmony. The recent vile attempts by vested interests to project this Holy place as unsafe and deter devotees from going there is an insult to millions of Hindus all over the world. People forget their entire material possessions just to pilgrimage there and see Lord Ayyappa, to pray there and fulfill all their material and spiritual desires. It is a place of salvation and prosperity.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Yet more studies are hinting towards an etiological role for soft drinks in various cancers. The so-called ‘caramel colouring’ in beverages like coke,pepsi, etc. is found to contain chemicals like 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI). These are prepared from chemical reactions with ammonia.

There are now a list of reasons to avoid soft drinks.

• 2-methylimidazole (2-MEI) & 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) present in coloured colas are possible carcinogens.
• Indian studies found high levels of pesticides which are potent neurotoxins in colas in India, possibly due to ground water contamination.
• The 10 teaspoons of sugar in a non-diet can of soda is a health risk because it contributes to obesity.
• Drinking as little as two soft drinks a week appears to nearly double the risk of getting pancreatic cancer also.
• There is an association between people who have high soda intake and risk of fracture , due to osteoporosis.

Is there an alternative? Yes! Read on…

Popularity: 21% [?]

The Supreme Court India bowed to pressure from the Christian community and on Tuesday changed the reasons for awarding a life sentence to Dara Singh, a Hindu vigilante convicted of killing Australian christian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons in 1999.

Dara Singh and Mahendra Hembram, convicted for burning alive the Australian missionary and his two minor sons as revenge for forced conversion in January 1999, had on January 21 escaped death penalty with the Supreme Court ruling that the crime was not “rarest of rare” and upheld the life sentence awarded to the duo by the Orissa high court.

A bench of Justice P Sathasivam and Justice BS Chauhan, which had given the verdict in the Staines case , replaced the original remarks in two different paragraphs with new sentences. 

Popularity: 4% [?]

By V.N. Gopalakrshnan Nair

Pilgrimage to Sabarimala, the forest abode of Lord Ayyappa in Kerala begins during the Mandalam period commencing from the 1st day of the Malayalam month of Vrischikam (November 17). Bearded, black-clad men with their forehead smeared with vibhuti and sandalpaste are seen everywhere giving them a radiant and ascetic look. They are the devotees of Lord Ayyappa who undergo 41 days of penance abstaining from sex, meat and intoxicating drinks. All cities and villages are getting ready for receiving lakhs of pilgrims flooding to Sabarimala, abode of universal brotherhood and equality. The latest estimate of their number is around fifty millions.

Popularity: 29% [?]