Hinduism Today Oct-Nov-Dec 2015

Hinduism Today’s October/November/Decenber 2015 issue has gone to press and is now available.

It’s a story that, while known in London, has never been told. Our intrepid team conducted myriad interviews, scoured the history of Hinduism in the UK and came up with a fascinating story of how 23 Saivite temples were built in London, almost exclusively by the immigrant Sri Lankan community. See how an ethnic war resulted in new life in England, and how easily you can reach the temples following our London Tube map!

When our Nepal photographer, Thomas Kelly, woke up ne morning in his Kathmandu home, little did he know what the day had in store. At 11:56 A.M. a powerful earthquake shook the earth for 50 long seconds, bringing devastation to dozens of surrounding Himalayan communities. It turned out to be history’s most impoverishing loss of world heritage sites. Thomas and his family took refuge outside, and he was able in the ensuing minutes and hours to venture through the rubble to capture an extraordinary tale on film (OK–no film was involved). See his powerful photos and Sally Acharya’s personal narrative, which captures the voices of those who survived this 7.8 magnitude quake.

Not often in one’s life do the spiritual heads of major monasteries change, and so this story by Choodie Sivaram provides a rare look into the traditional process by which a new successor is chosen, prepared and initiated. Join us for the ceremonies at Sringiri Math, one of India’s great monastic institutions.

It’s now official: International Yoga Day. Find out how it happened and what it may mean for the future of humanity now that the United Nations has officially designated June 21st of each year to be celebrated as a day of yoga, peace and nonviolence. This first year was observed by millions in 177 nations! The photo of yogis under the Eiffel Tower in Paris tells the tale.

Our publisher, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, tackles the ultimate goal in life, Moksha. His take is different from what you might expect, focusing on how such a seemingly remote attainment can remain relevant in our day-to-day life.

This issue’s 16-page Insight Section is all about astrology. World renowned expert Vamadeva Shastri takes us on a wide-ranging adventure into this ancient science of time, touching on all of the basics, along the way exploring some of the controversies that arise when astrologers abuse their clients’ trust.

Rajiv Malhotra has authored some of the most trenchant and historically relevant books on Hinduism. In this issue of HT we explore Indra’s Net, his epic dismantling of the last hundred years of encounters between Western academia and Hinduism. It has not been a happy relationship, and Mr. Malhotra is never shy about explaining just how fatally flawed the Western intellectual view is.

There is more, much more. A young man discovers appreciation for his ancestors and what they accomplished, our Digital Dharma page reveals just how rich the topic of vegetarianism is on YouTube (more than 780,000 instances). Our reviewers give you an inside track for exploring the subject. You’ll always find a cartoon surrounded by inspiring and witty remarks in our “Quotes and Quips,” reader responses in our “Letters” section and an array of diaspora stories from around the world in “Global Dharma.”