Hindus have hailed the National Church of Iceland for efforts in building bridges with other religions and denominations.

Delhi outpolls Bangalore, Mumbai but doesn’t cross halfway mark

NEW DELHI - Switch on the radio and you hear it, step out from home and find a huge banner, open the newspapers and it’s there, the TV channels are full of it too — voter appeal campaigns have never been so intense but have failed to jack up polling percentages by more than the halfway mark in the major metros.

Red Cross reports dozens killed in US bombing, including women and children

KABUL — Villagers dug dirt graves Wednesday to bury what the international Red Cross said were dozens of Afghans — including women and children — killed in American bombing runs. A former Afghan government official said up to 120 people may have died.

US commander says Taliban beheadings led to US air strikes that locals say killed civilians

KABUL — Amid a U.S. apology for civilian deaths in Afghanistan, the commander of U.S. forces there is voicing some doubts about whether it was an American air strike that caused the tragedy.

Obama administration apologizes for deaths among innocents in Afghanistan, says ‘deeply’ sorry

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration took on high-stakes diplomacy with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan Wednesday, seeking more cooperation against Taliban militants while apologizing for a U.S. bombing strike that Afghans said killed dozens of innocent civilians.

Artist recreates Jade Goody’s last moments in live-action

LONDON - Artist Mark McGowan has recreated late British reality TV star Jade Goody’s deathbed and dying moments in a controversial exhibition.

Not leaving NDA: Nitish Kumar rebuffs Congress overtures

PATNA - With the Congress tactically wooing him, Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar denied Tuesday for the second time in as many days any move to join the Congress-led UPA and asserted he would never leave the NDA.

Ballot measure could bring package alcohol sales to Lubbock, Texas’ largest dry city

LUBBOCK, Texas — When Prohibition was lifted way back in 1933, Texas was a little reluctant to go along with the trend.

Concerned at Nepal crisis, India hopes for peace, consensus

NEW DELHI - With Nepal headed for a crisis following the resignation of Prime MInister Prachanda, a concerned India Monday walked a diplomatic tightrope, saying it was ‘an internal affair’ fo the Himalayan republic and advocated ‘broadest possible political consensus’ that will enable Nepal to focus on democratic transition.

Christian nuns invite Hindu leader Zed to pray together

In a remarkable interfaith gesture, Carmelite nuns in Reno (USA) invited acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed for dialogue and praying together yesterday.
 
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, prayed from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 BCE, with lines from Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), both ancient Hindu scriptures. The nuns prayed from Psalms and Hymnal, and read from Romans in New Testament.
 
According to Sr. Susan Weber, Prioress of Carmel of Our Lady of the Mountains Monastery, it was a joy to meet and share conversation and prayer together. They have decided to make this interfaith dialogue and prayer an annual feature. Zed presented nuns with copies of Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord).
 
Rajan Zed started and ended his prayer with "OM", the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work. After Sanskrit delivery, he then read the English translation of the prayers. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages.
 
Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed said, "Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya", which he then translated as "Lead us from the unreal to the Real, from darkness to Light, and from death to Immortality." Nuns repeated after Zed– "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti" (Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all). 
 
Rajan Zed points out that in our shared pursuit for the truth, we can learn from one another and thus can arrive nearer to the truth. As dialogue brings us reciprocal enrichment, we shall be spiritually richer than before the contact.
 
Carmelites, a Roman Catholic religious order now spread worldwide, was founded as a community of hermits in 12th century in what is now northern Israel, and was joined by nuns in 1432. The life of a Carmelite nun is completely contemplative, consisting of prayer, meditation, manual labor, and silence/solitude. Carmel of Our Lady of the Mountains Monastery, spread over 19 acres on a hill overlooking city of Reno in Nevada, was founded in 1954. Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion followers and moksha (liberation) is its ultimate goal.  - SAMPURN

Hindu Baccalaureate Service in a prestigious American university