Hindu Press International <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: Hindu Press
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Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 16:08:19 -1000
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Subject: HPI, August 18, 2007
Hindu Press International August 18, 2007 August 18, 2007
Sacred Nallur Kantha Swamy festival attracts thousands of devotees
Sewa International USA Provides Flood Relief
Angkor Wat as Big as Los Angeles
Hinduism Today Seeks History Researcher
Christians Work for a Common Code of Conduct for Conversions
1. Sacred Nallur Kantha Swamy festival attracts thousands of devotees
www.asiantribune.com
JAFFNA, SRI LANKA, August 19, 2007: The annual festival of Nallur Kantha Swamy
temple here commenced yesterday with Kodi Etram - the ceremony of flag hoisting
to mark the beginning of the festival in the temple. Nallur Kantha Swamy Temple
is said to be one of the few temples in the Peninsula that all the festivals,
rites and observances as found in the Tamil Saiva traditions are practiced and
reflected with regularity, splendor and pageantry. The temple festival will be
held for the next 25 days. Unlike earlier annual festivals, according to the
temple authorities, this year the festival is to be held with subdued version
of the pageantry. The day puja (adoration of Deities with rituals) is to be
held with the temple Deity taken into procession within the inner court of the
temple.
It is said to be one of the impressive temples dedicated to Lord Murugan.The
annual festival of the famous Nallur Kandasamy Temple in the Jaffna peninsula
is expected to draw tens of thousands of pilgrims from across Sri Lanka and
also a few hundreds of Tamil expatriate from Western countries.
Normally fifty temple priests conduct different activities on each of the 25
days of the festival, beginning with the flag raising through a series of very
elaborate chariot processions to the final theertham "water cutting" ceremony
to immerse the Deities and mark the festival's end.
Historians say that the history of the Nallur temple is closely intertwined
with the history of Jaffna. Prof.Gunrarasa of Jaffna University in his book on
the Temple says that the Temple was originally constructed in a place called
Kurukal Valavu in A.D 948. The temple was destroyed in AD 1450 during the
invasion of the Sinhalese King Shenpakaperumal (Sapumal Kumaraya). Sapumal
Kumaraya defeated King Arya Chakkaravarthi, destroyed his palace and the
original Nallur temple. But upon becoming Buvaneka Bahu the 6th, he sought to
make amends by building a new temple in 1467 at a nearby location, says
Shanmugapriya in Nallur Kanthaswamy: A Spiritual Experience. S. Pathmanathan
in his Hindu Temples of Sri Lanka states the temple established by Buvaneka
Bahu continued to flourish even after he had lost authority over Yalppanam
(Jaffna) and the Tamil Kings who were restored to power around 1467 extended
royal patronage until they were displaced from power around 1620 by the
Portuguese. Philip de Oliveyra who took control of Yalppanam in 1619 ordered
the large Nallur temple razed down in 1621.
Thereafter, according to C.S. Navaratnam in A Short History of Hinduism in
Ceylon, for nearly 170 years there were no temples for worship for the Hindus
in that locality. When the Dutch in their latter period became more liberal,
some pious people applied for permission to build a temple and permission was
granted in 1773. The temple was again reconstructed in 1734 during the time of
Dutch rule by Irakunatha Mappanar Mudaliyar in the piece of land that belonged
to the old Kantha Swamy Temple. Today Nallur Kantha Swamy Temple is the bes t
administered temple in the Island and in its popularity it is only second to
Kataragama.
---------------------------------
2. Sewa International USA Provides Flood Relief www.sewausa.org
USA, August 18, 2007: (HPI note: Following is a press release provided by
Gautam Desai.) Sewa International USA released US$20,000 for relief and
rehabilitation of flood victims in India. Many states in India are reeling from
the aftermaths of a devastating flood. The floods have wrecked so much havoc
and destruction that United Nations has called it the worst in the living
memory. Many states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Orissa,
Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh have witnessed severe flash
floods resulting in considerable loss of life and property. Millions of people
have been affected by this calamity and thousands have been rendered homeless.
The task of rushing the emergency supplies like food, fresh water and basic
medical supplies to the needy and rehabilitating the affected people is
gigantic.
To support the immediate relief work of our partner organizations, Sewa
International USA has released $20,000. Sewa International USA is actively
marshaling all its resources to provide whatever timely assistance it can in
the coming days. For more information, click URL above.
---------------------------------
3. Angkor Wat as Big as Los Angeles news.bbc.co.uk
CAMBODIA, August 16, 2007: The great medieval temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia
was once at the center of a sprawling urban settlement, according to a new,
detailed map of the area. Using Nasa satellites, an international team have
discovered at least 74 new temples and complex irrigation systems. The map,
published in the journal PNAS, extends the known settlement by 1000 sq km,
about the size of Los Angeles. Analysis also lends weight to the theory that
Angkor's residents were architects of the city's demise.
"The large-scale city engineered its own downfall by disrupting its local
environment by expanding continuously into the surrounding forests," said
Damian Evans of the University of Sydney and one of the authors of the paper
and map. Working with researchers from Australia, Cambodia and France, the map
was produced from ground surveys, airborne photography, and ground-sensing
radar from Nasa's AIRSAR flying laboratory. "The radar can sense differences
in plant growth and moisture content that result from topographical variations
of less than a meter," Mr Evans said. The data allowed the researchers to peer
through the vegetation that now shrouds the World Heritage site.
It suggests that the medieval settlement surrounding Angkor, the one-time
capital of the Khmer empire which flourished between the ninth and 14th
centuries, was at least three times larger than previously thought. The team
believes it could have covered 3,000 sq km (1,150 sq miles), the largest
pre-industrial complex of its kind. Its nearest rival is Tikal, a Mayan city in
Guatemala, which covers between 100 and 150 sq km (40-60 sq miles). The
detailed survey also allowed the researchers to map at least 74 new temples as
well as more than 1,000 manmade ponds.
They also discovered that the city's water supply probably relied on a single
complex channel that extended 20 to 25km out from Angkor city. The researchers
say that the system, until now thought to be purely decorative and ceremonial,
was probably used to support farming, in particular intensive rice agriculture.
In all, the newly mapped terrain could have supported half a million people,
the researchers believe.
The new analysis of the irrigation system also sheds light on the
civilization's collapse in the 14th century. "We saw signs that embankments had
been breached and of ad hoc repairs to bridges and dams, suggesting that the
system became unmanageable over time," Mr Evans told the AFP news agency. In
addition, deforestation, over population, topsoil erosion could have
contributed to the population's sudden disappearance. "Angkor was extensive
enough, and the agricultural exploitation intensive enough, to have created a
number of very serious environmental problems," he said.
---------------------------------
4. Hinduism Today Seeks History Researcher hinduismtoday.com
KAUAI, HAWAII, August 18, 2007: Hinduism Today is planning a second and third
installment of its lesson on Hindu history for sixth grade published in the
April, 2007 issue (see URL above). The second lesson will cover the history of
Hinduism from 300ce to 1800 ce, and the third from 1800 ce to the present.
We are seeking a qualified researcher to develop the basic material for the
lessons. The researcher would do a preliminary analysis of the time periods and
propose the different religious personalities, events, trends, (philosophical,
practical, ritual) that occur in the time frame, against a light backdrop of
political developments of the time--enough to give context to what is happening
in the religion.
Then, following an approved outline, the researcher would provide in-depth
material on the selected subjects. This assignment does not involve writing the
final lesson text, only providing well-researched presentations of the variou
s topics, which will then be adapted for presentation at the sixth grade by
another writer. The resulting lessons will be published as Educational Insight
sections in Hinduism Today.
Compensation for this assignment is possible, and would depend upon the
qualifications of the researcher and the successful completion of the
assignment to the satisfaction of Hinduism Today's editors. The project likely
will require eight weeks of full-time work. Those interested may write [EMAIL
PROTECTED] with their cv, example of their research work and compensation
expectations.
---------------------------------
5. Christians Work for a Common Code of Conduct for Conversions
www.indeonline.com
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, August 17, 2007: Evangelical groups have joined efforts
spearheaded by Roman Catholic, Orthodox and mainstream Protestant churches to
create a common code of conduct for religious conversions that would preserve
the right of Christians to spread their religion while avoiding conflict among
different faiths. The World Council of Churches, which joined the Vatican last
year in launching talks on a code, said Wednesday that the process was formally
joined by the World Evangelical Alliance at a meeting earlier this month in
France. The code aims to ease tensions with Muslims, Hindus and other religious
groups that fear losing adherents and resort to punishments as extreme as
imprisonment and even death for converts from their faith and foreign
missionaries.
The Taliban kidnapping of 23 South Korean Christians in Afghanistan last month
underscored tensions. Two of the 23 have been killed. The accusations against
the South Koreans include wanting to meet with former converts from Islam.
But their church has denied they were trying to spread Christianity. The
hardline Islamic militants freed two women on Monday.
WCC said the code of conduct should serve as an "advocacy tool in discussions
with governments considering anti-conversion laws (and) help to advance the
cause of religious freedom." The rules should also address concerns in other
religions about Christians seeking converts, and inspire those faiths to
"consider their own codes of conduct," it added.
Evangelization also has caused concern among the branches of Christianity
because of the vigor with which Pentecostal and evangelical congregations have
led the drive for conversions around the world, outstripping the growth of
older churches. Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Brazil in May was partly a
response to the exodus of millions of Catholics to Protestant evangelical
churches.
---------------------------------
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