Peepal tree obstructing traffic in Vijayawada translocated
ADC horticulture wing head V.S. Dharmaja supervised the translocation, facilitated by the traffic police. Translocation is done to mitigate the harm to the environment caused by removal of trees. Trees are uprooted and rehabilitated elsewhere instead of discarding them to wither away.
Peepal trees are considered by Hindus as sacred, and they have medicinal properties also. Devotees walk around these trees (circumambulation) on auspicious occasions.
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Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Sawan Shivratri 2025: 70+ wishes, messages, WhatsApp status and quotes to share with loved ones
Sawan Shivratri 2025: The auspicious Sawan Shivratri festival is recognised as one of the most prominent among Hindus. It is held during the month of Shravan in the Hindu lunar calendar and is devoted to Lord Shiva. According to the details, Sawan Shivratri falls on the 14th day of the waxing moon phase in the Shravan month, this year on Wednesday, 23 July. Sawan Shivratri is observed during the month of Shravan, while Maha Shivratri marks the convergence of both Shiva and Shakti, as per Hindu's Drik Panchang. Though both are important festivals dedicated to Lord Shiva, they are different. On Sawan Shivratri, devotees fast, pray and do rituals to receive Lord Shiva's blessings. Here are 70+ wishes, messages, WhatsApp status and quotes to share with loved ones: Sawan Shivratri 2025: Traditional and devotional wishes May Lord Shiva bless you with health, wealth, and prosperity. Happy Sawan Shivratri! Har Har Mahadev! May Bholenath shower you with endless blessings. Om Namah Shivaya! May this Shivratri bring peace to your heart. On this divine occasion, may Shiva's blessings bring happiness to your life. Wishing you and your family a blessed Sawan Shivratri! Let the power of Lord Shiva destroy all your troubles. Happy Shivratri! May Lord Shiva fulfill all your desires on this holy night. Chant the name of Shiva and experience bliss. Happy Sawan Shivratri! May your soul find peace and clarity in Shiva's presence. Celebrate this Shivratri with devotion, faith, and love Sawan Shivratri 2025: Messages to share with loved ones Har Har Mahadev! Wishing you a divine Sawan Shivratri. Om Namah Shivaya! Stay blessed. Happy Shivratri! May Mahadev protect you always. Blessings of Bholenath be with you! Mahadev's grace is infinite. Happy Sawan Shivratri! May this Shivratri fill your life with positivity. Lord Shiva's blessings always stay with you. May your heart be pure and your thoughts divine. Let's celebrate Mahadev's divine power today! Shivratri is a reminder of eternal love and devotion. Sawan Shivratri 2025: WhatsApp wishes to share with loved ones Sawan Shivratri reminds us of the power of faith and devotion. Surrender to Lord Shiva and feel the magic within. May this holy month purify your soul and guide your path. Celebrate the strength of devotion this Shivratri. Let your spirit rise with the vibrations of 'Om Namah Shivaya'. In Shiva, we find strength. In Sawan, we find grace. May every chant bring you closer to enlightenment. Let your life be as serene as the Himalayas where Shiva resides. May the divine dance of Shiva remove all negativity. On this night of Shiva, embrace stillness and surrender. Sawan Shivratri 2025: Quotes 'Shiva is not a god up in the sky. Shiva is the very source of existence.' – Sadhguru 'Om Namah Shivaya – The five sacred syllables that connect you to the infinite.' 'In the depth of silence, Shiva speaks.' 'When the third eye opens, ignorance burns away.' 'Shiva teaches us to destroy the ego and embrace the truth.' 'He is the eternal yogi, the one who dances on the edge of time.' 'Meditate like Shiva, calm yet powerful.' 'Where there is Shiva, there is peace beyond understanding.' 'Surrender to Shiva, and find freedom in stillness.' 'Shiva's trident destroys evil, his drum awakens wisdom, and his love heals all.' 'Sawan Shivratri is not just a festival – it's the celebration of spiritual awakening.' 'Chant his name this Sawan and let your soul dance like Nataraja.' 'In every droplet of the Sawan rain, feel Mahadev's grace pouring in.' 'The holy month of Shravan is the time to dissolve into devotion.' 'On Sawan Shivratri, let go of anger, ego, and attachments – just like Shiva did.' 'This Shivratri, may you hear the sound of Shiva's damaru in your heart.' 'A heart filled with devotion becomes Shiva's temple.' 'Celebrate Sawan Shivratri not just with rituals, but with inner transformation.' 'Just as Ganga flows from Shiva's locks, may blessings flow into your life.' 'Let Sawan purify your mind, and Shivratri enlighten your soul.' Sawan Shivratri 2025: Wishes for family and friends Wishing you and your loved ones a joyful and blessed Shivratri. Happy Sawan Shivratri to you and your family – stay safe and divine! Let's celebrate Mahadev's blessings together. Happy Shivratri! May your home be filled with the presence of Bholenath. Sending prayers and warm wishes to you this Shivratri. May your relationships strengthen with Mahadev's blessings. On this auspicious night, may Shiva unite hearts with love. May Lord Shiva bless your family with unity and joy. Celebrating this pious day with you in spirit. Happy Shivratri! Wishing you moments of spiritual joy and deep devotion. Sawan Shivratri 2025: Creative and poetic wishes for dear ones Shiv ki leela, shiv ka gyaan, shiv mein hi hai jeevan ka pehchaan. Damaru baje, trishul chale, Mahadev aaye, bhalayi ke liye. Chandrama jise sheesh sajaye, vo hai Mahadev jo sab dukh bhagaye. Shivratri ka yeh paawan din, laaye aapke jeevan mein nayi roshni. Shiv ka naam japo, man ko shaanti milegi. Bhole baba ke charno mein mil jaaye sab sukh. Sawan ka mahina hai bhakti ka geet, Mahadev ki kripa sadaa mile preet. Rudra ka roop hai bhayanak, par bhakton ke liye hai wo sukhdayak. Mahadev ki kripa se sab kuch sambhav hai. Happy Shivratri! Trinetra wale Mahadev aapki har manokamna poori karein.
NDTV
a day ago
- NDTV
A Fight To Save A Hindu Temple For The 'Unheard And Unseen' In New York
Illuminated by a skylight at the center of a small factory-turned-Hindu temple in Queens sits a murti of the Divine Mother - a 1-ton, 6-foot-tall icon of the South Indian village goddess Mariamman, an incarnation of Kali, the deity of time and death. Smoke from cigarettes and incense fills the room, and bottles of rum sit next to fruit at the altar. "Our religion is very rural, very villagelike," said Chandni Kalu, 31, a priestess at the Richmond Hill temple. "It's very raw." Even other Hindus might find Sunday worship services at the Shri Shakti Mariammaa temple unfamiliar. The mostly Indo-Caribbean congregants worship goddess Kali, who also represents transcendental knowledge that can manifest within, or spiritually possess, her followers. At a recent service, a young male pujari, or lay priest, shook and danced vigorously through the crowd, entranced with Shakti, the feminine energy that inhabits someone possessed by Kali. "We are a healing temple," said Sharda Ramsami, one of the original members of the temple when it was founded in 2008. "Whether it's something physical or something spiritual, we arealways the last resort, and when people come here, they're desperate for help. I think that's what's most powerful: that desperation, and then here's the answer that no one else could provide for them. Mother knows." But the temple is also known as one that is open to all. Its clergy have married same-sex couples after they were shunned or rejected from other Hindu temples in the area, and, uniquely, those clergy, the temple staff and congregants are mostly women. Women come to seek refuge at the temple, Ramsami explained, sometimes to escape dire situations. They have been quietly offered money from temple staff or even given the keys to the building to stay there. Other temples, Ramsami said, would throw women out for menstruating or not allow women to approach the altar. "That's just not something we believe in," she said. "We worship a woman." "Even in mainstream Hinduism," Kalu said, "there's so much patriarchy. Women aren't really given roles, and whenever they are, it's just mediocre roles in the kitchen making prasadam (offerings). I was really given a platform here to become a priestess." Now, the temple is in danger of closing. Without more than $150,000 in necessary upgrades to the space, the landlord and the city will move to push the temple out. "I think Mother had a plan for us all to be here, because our lives changed so much and in so many ways," said Hilda Thamen, Ramsami's aunt and another founder of the temple. "She did so much for us. So now what's going on here is really sad. It's really hurting us." Back in 2018, a noise complaint from a neighbor led to intervention from the city's Department of Buildings, resulting in a small fine. In 2024, after another noise complaint by the same neighbor, the city determined the temple needed to legally register as a community space. To do so, said Ramsami, the building needs several costly improvements to electricity, plumbing, fire safety and accessibility. But it is unclear whether these changes are viable in a building intended for manufacturing, not worship. Though renting another location for more money may eventually be possible, "if we move somewhere further, we lose some of our congregants," said Ramsami. "A lot of older folks come here, and the bus stop is right down the block, so it's just easy for them to walk here." The neighbor, who lives in a single-family home behind the temple, heard the loud bhajans, or devotional songs, and drums nine nights in a row during the holiday of Navratri, an homage to the goddess Durga. At the time, he told congregants he would "rather there be a bar" than a temple so close to his windows. The neighbor has denied the temple's request to build an exit in the back, and has constructed a 12-foot fence in between them." He came once and he saw our logo painted on the gate and he said, 'Oh, Diablo, Diablo meaning the devil,'" said Ramsami. "So it definitely stems from fear. "Most Kali temples in the area are tucked away in basements or backyards. "If you look at the murti or an image of Ma Kali, she's so different from other mothers," said Kalu. "She's dark,she's disheveled, she's naked. She has blood dripping from her tongue. And I think all of that makes people uncomfortable. Blood is kind of deemed inauspicious, and I think from fear it became so taboo." Even in Guyana, said Thamen, "you were afraid to say you go to a Kali temple, because people look at you different." In the 19th century, the British brought scores of indentured Indians to Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname in the Caribbean. Many came from southern India and brought their animistic and folk religions with them. Caribbean Shaktism was thus born, with rituals passed down in a "broken" version of Tamil by word of mouth to the mostly English-speaking Indo-Caribbean population, with no Scriptures to consult and no book of mantras. Yet the tradition still thrives thanks to the Queens temple's founders, some of whose parents were priests in Shakti temples back in Guyana. A small group of second-generation New Yorkers destroyed the factory, built a kitchen and redid the roof, all while holding day jobs in commercial and residential cleaning, catering and nutrition school. The mission of Shri Shakti Mariammaa was clear, said Dave Kutaiyah, the temple's chairman."This is not only a place for religion or a place where you come to pray on Sunday," he said."This is a place where you come and you see people who look like you, people who are familiar to you. "That's one of the things we instill in our temple: Treat everyone the same, whether you work for city government and you're the right-hand person to the mayor, or you're working at Dunkin' Donuts on the 12 a.m. shift. People need to be loved and respected, and that's what we try to bring here." The temple has survived through individual donations from families wanting a particular puja, or ritual, to be performed. But Kutaiyah and his team, even during the current financial struggle, have never asked for money from the congregation, or passed out a tithing plate. "We believe worship should be free, health should be free, and we shouldn't gain financially from that," said Ramsami. "I think 90% of people who attend here will tell you they work in a department store, factory or at JFK (International Airport), so we don't have a lot of white-collar professionals that have a lot of disposable income to donate," added Kutaiyah, who works in human resources. "I always tell people, use your pension money to pay your bills first, and then think about God. God will not be upset with you if you can't give anything." A GoFundMe campaign, co-signed by a number of organizations that have used the temple's space for meetings, such as Jahajee: Indo-Caribbeans for Gender Justice and the Caribbean Equality Project, has been circulating since June. In November, at a court date to pay an outstanding fine, the temple will ask the city for an extension to figure out its next steps. Rohan Narine, NYC organizer with the national organization Hindus for Human Rights, one of the supporters of the GoFundMe campaign, has a personal stake in the temple's success. A Queens native, Narine has been hosting Om Night open mics at the temple for years. Narine considers himself an "orthodox Hindu" and was surprised on his first visit to see worshippers throwing menthol cubes of fire into their mouths and dousing themselves in rosewater. But despite theological differences, "I felt that beauty and that raw spiritual energy thatyou don't feel in other temples," he said. "It's not like sitting down at an ashram, offering prasad, do a little aarti (lamp ritual) and you eat and go home. Here, it's very involved. It's almost like being part of a live interactive performance." In Indo-Caribbean spaces in Queens, according to Narine, the temple's style of worship is becoming more mainstream. More people are coming to the temple not just for curiosity's sake, but to worship alongside the Shakti community. "I think the entire expanse of Hinduism should be represented," said Narine. "All of the Hindu pantheon should have the ability to practice their faith freely. We as Hindus, and especially Indo-Caribbean in America, are very comfortable with the more simplistic way of worship, and Shakti worship might be more complex. But we can't shy away from that. I think we should be more open to that."
News18
3 days ago
- News18
Amid Chhangur Baba's Shock, These UP Muslim Women Defy Norms To Marry Lovers In Temple
Last Updated: Swaleheen and Noorfatima decided to accept Sanatan Dharma, along with changing their names to Shalini and Neelam to marry Hindu men. In Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, two Muslim women chose to change their faith and start a new life as Hindus by marrying Hindu men. Swaleheen and Noorfatima decided to accept Sanatan Dharma, and held their wedding ceremonies at the Arya Samaj Temple in Hapur, earlier this week. After their conversion, Swaleheen became Shalini and married Amit Kumar, while Noorfatima took the name Neelam and married Gaurav Kumar. Videos of the wedding celebrations, which were held according to Hindu rituals, have been circulating on social media As per Amar Ujala, Shalini, a resident of Katghar, Moradabad said she had been in love with Amit for a long time. But as her family didn't accept their relationship, she stayed silent. She now fears for her safety and claims her family could harm her. Neelam, on the other hand, from Bhojpur, shared that she loves Gaurav and chose to convert on her own. Both women have said that their decisions were made willingly. Reacting to the post, a user wrote, 'Not a good thing to share their video and whereabouts if they are under threat." Another shared, 'Hope they are protected always and do not leave a forwarding address. Hope they have lots of kids and are happy till eternity." 'If Love is making them safe in life, then Love should not look at any religion. Obviously, Sanatan is Best," a comment read. One more added, 'It's their personal choice. They are adults. No one should have any say other than the two adults marrying each other, it's simple." So far, there has been no major controversy related to their marriages. But the local police are on alert to make sure everything remains peaceful. This extra care has been taken because Moradabad has a nearly equal number of Hindu and Muslim residents. Shalini and Neelam's story comes at a time when there is already attention on the case of Chhangur Baba. He is accused of gaining wealth through illegal activities and was involved in converting Hindu girls by trapping them. view comments First Published: July 19, 2025, 09:06 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
