Religion News – Newsletter for January 29, 2011

11 years after his escape, Karmapa remains as controversial

DHARAMSALA – His flight to freedom from a monastery near Lhasa, the capital of Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) in China, was as mysterious as controversial. The Indian government has banned him from going to the Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim. And now, the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, has landed in another controversy with currency worth …. Source article  : 11 years after his escape, Karmapa remains as controversial.

Supreme Court dismisses plea to stop Haj subsidy

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Friday dismissed a petition by former Bharatiya Janata Party MP and Hindu ideologue Praful Goradia seeking the abolition of the subsidy given to Haj pilgrims.

There is no force in this petition and it is dismissed, the court said.
The court also said that a very small expenditure in … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Supreme Court dismisses plea to stop Haj subsidy.

Who is the Karmapa? (To go with Rs.6 crore currency seized from Karmapa’s monastery)

DHARAMSALA – An important institution in the Tibetan religious set up, the Karmapa Lama is the spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu sect, one of the four sects of Tibetan Buddhism and one of the richest.

In the Tibetan religious hierarchy, he is considered the third most important Tibetan religious head after the institutions … Original source on Gaea Times at : Who is the Karmapa? (To go with Rs.6 crore currency seized from Karmapa’s monastery).

Panel clears BJP, Hindu groups of church attacks; opposition cries foul

BANGALORE – The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its government in Karnataka and pro-Hindu outfits had no hand in the attacks on churches in the state in 2008, a judicial panel said Friday. The opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular, however, slammed the findings, saying “the government got what it sought.”

“There is no basis to the …. Read the original article  : Panel clears BJP, Hindu groups of church attacks; opposition cries foul.