A very happy Diwali to all my Hindu and IndoPagan readers. Diwali, the festival of lights, is a major Indian holiday representing a spiritual new year, and a triumph of good over evil. Depending on the region and tradition, this day commemorates the return of Lord Rama, the birth of Lakshmi, and the Austerities of Shakti (among other events). Celebrants usually light lamps, set off fireworks, play cards, and will occasionally pray to computers to commemorate the day. Of special note this year is that Barack Obama became the first US president to participate in the White House Diwali ceremony.

Hindu puja on the eve of Diwali.

“Obama became the first US president to personally take part in a White House ceremony for the festival of lights, lighting a “diya” oil lamp inside the executive mansion and bowing respectfully before a Hindu priest. “While this is a time of rejoicing, it’s also a time for reflection, when we remember those who are less fortunate and renew our commitment to reach out to those in need,” Obama said.”

Not to be outdone, the British Prime Minister held a “historic” Diwali celebration at 10 Downing Street. For more information on Diwali and its traditions, check out the informative Hindu Blog.

May you experience happiness and good fortune on this day, and in the year to come.

The five-day Durga Puja is one of India’s most popular festivals, and Hindus across the globe, from Moscow and Berlin to cities all across America attend (often lavish) gathering to worship the goddess Durga. However, one city for two years running has done its best to make sure local Hindus can’t have their festival.

“The Municipal Police authorities of Rome have today [Thursday] withdrawn permission, granted three weeks ago, to celebrate Durga Puja in Rome. The cancellation came a few hours before the Ambassador of India was scheduled to inaugurate the Puja at 8 pm local time. No acceptable explanation has been given. This has caused the local Indian community the loss of thousands of Euros spent in preparatory arrangements. The same thing was done in the same manner in 2008 also.”

Arif Shahid Khan, the Indian ambassador to Italy, was able to eventually get permission restored, though their festivities are now 48 hours behind schedule (imagine if Christians were forced to wait until Tuesday to celebrate Easter). While some believe these 11th-hour cancellations are Catholic retribution for the mistreatment of Christians in India (because the best way to make a point about mistreatment is to engage in it), Kanchan Gupta sees a deeper motivation.

“There could be another reason, apart from its “deep concern” about the welfare of Christians in India, for Italy’s callous disregard of the sentiments of Hindus in that country. Although the Italian Constitution guarantees religious freedom, under the Lateran Treaty with the Vatican, Italy recognises only the three religions of Semitic origin — Christianity, Judaism and Islam. All other religions are no more than paganism and are to be shamed and shunned. The Vatican would not countenance any open breach of the Lateran Treaty; Italy would not want to be seen as recognising Hinduism. “It’s only natural that Italy should have a surfeit of churches. But it’s the rejection of any other faith than Christianity, Judaism and Islam that explains why there are so many mosques but virtually no temples in Italy although this country has a large Hindu expatriate population,” my friend told me while regretting the attitude of the Government and the local authorities. According to him, there are only three temples in Italy: One in a garage in Venice; another at Frescolo and the third at Reggio Emilia. These survive at the mercy of local zoning officials.”

Catholic-dominated Italy, like Orthodox-controlled Greece, doesn’t tolerate manifestations of faith that fall too far outside the accepted Christian “norm”. In Italy you can still be prosectuted for insulting the Pope, and any whiff of modern Pagan religion gets you counted as a “Satanist” who needs an exorcism (despite all that, there is a thriving Pagan underground in Italy). These actions make Italian authorities look like vengeful thugs rather than prophetic Christians, as Gupta says in the close of his article: “if Christians can celebrate Christmas in New Delhi, Hindus have the right to celebrate Durga Puja in Rome. This is non-negotiable.” Maybe these authorities need to stop worrying so much about the Christians in India, and instead start worrying about the Consitution of Italy that guarantees equal treatment under the law.

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

In South Africa, News 24 interviews Damon Leff of the South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA) concerning recent comments by ANC MP Adrian Williams (an “out” Pagan politician) that modern Pagans in South Africa should abandon attempts to reclaim the term “Witch” due to its (sometimes violently) negative associations in the country.

“SAPRA rejected Williams’s views on the use of the word “witch”, saying communities must be educated about other people’s religious beliefs and practices. “While Williams self-identifies as pagan, it should be noted that he has no mandate to speak on behalf of all the witches in South Africa,” said SAPRA director, Damon Leff.”

The piece also interviews a representative of the Traditional Healers Organisation (THO) who sympathizes with SAPRA’s goals, and feels that while it might be possible for the term to be used and reclaimed among white South Africans,  colonialist framing of the term “witch” has made reclaimation all but impossible among black South Africans. What’s clear is that this issue isn’t going away any time soon, and it remains to be seen if some sort of “dual understanding” equilibrium over terminology can be reached.

The Lancaster Sunday News has the official follow-up from the showdown in Stoudtburg Village, which pitted a planned Pagan festival against Christian protesters and shop-owners closing to avoid serving Pagan customers.

“Witches and pagans who traveled to Adamstown on Saturday for a festival “Celebrating Earth Spirituality” were greeted by a steady rain and praying Christians in a silent protest. The gathering held at Stoudtburg Village and hosted by Reading Pagans & Witches proved to far less controversial than the debate that brewed in the days leading up to it … Jen Anderson-Wenger, president of Reading Pagans & Witches, said several church groups “laid hands on us and prayed.” She said she was pleased at the turnout, and said her group was received “very peacefully”.”

You can read Jen Anderson-Wenger’s report on the festival, here. The Reading Pagans & Witches site has also posted a list of businesses that stayed open for them. It should be interesting to see what the long-term ramifications of this event will be. Will some stores that closed down end up regretting it? Have local perceptions of who modern Pagans are changed any? It would nice to see some follow-up on those questions.

The Boston Globe’s Articles of Faith blog reports on the massive new Hindu Temple of Minnesota, and the various issues that the growing numbers of American Hindus (1.5 – 2 million estimated) face.

“This temple is unlike anything you would see in India — there, temples are typically centered on a single deity, but because this is the U.S., where the Hindu community hails from all over India as well as the Hindu diaspora, the temple opted for a variety of shrines to meet the needs and devotional practices of a diverse group of worshipers … The biggest challenge, of course, is transmitting the faith from immigrants, most of whom grew up in a predominantly Hindu society, to their children, who are growing up in a predominantly Christian society.”

Reporter Michael Paulson also notes that the Hindu community in America is used to worship being a personal matter, and is still adjusting to the American tradition of clergy speaking out publicly on social and political issues. In the coming years it should be interesting to see how Hindu clergy in America start to adapt to Western expectations of what religious leaders do, and what the leaders that do spring to the forefront want to say. I wanted to highlight this article because there are some strong similarities between the Hindu community’s emergence into the American mainstream and our own. We should pay attention to how they grow and change, because the modern Pagan movement will be facing similar issues as our numbers start to rival theirs.

Canadian magazine The Walrus takes a look at the Theosophist and Transcendentalist beliefs of the Group of Seven,  a fellowship of influential landscape painters in the 1920s who were influenced by European Impressionism.

“Cosmic consciousness might seem an awfully thin rod to hang a flag from, but given the checkered history of nationalist experiments in the twentieth century, that may have been a godsend. During the 1920s and ’30s, when Germans were falling for a myth of the mystical superiority of the Nordic race, Canadian Theosophists were promoting a quaint, aristocratic mysticism that privileged the wisdom of colonized peoples and taught the values of internationalism and universal brotherhood.”

It’s a fascinating exploration of how the Canadian art world became infatuated with Theosophy and how that relationship influenced the art that was made. “New Age”, occult, indigenous, and modern Pagan religions and philosophies have had such a great impact on the history of art that I’m surprised we haven’t seen more explorations of the topic. It’s certainly true that we still await a good overview of fine art and illustration influenced (and created) by modern Paganism, something that I hope I don’t have to wait too long to see remedied.

Three Roman-era statues of Aphrodite have been discovered at the Israeli archaeological site of Hippos, excavators speculate they were hidden by worshipers of the goddess during the rise of Christianity in the 4th century CE.

“It is possible that during the fourth century [CE], when Christianity was gradually becoming the governing religion in the Roman Empire, there were still a number of inhabitants in Sussita who remained loyal to the goddess of love and therefore wished to hide and preserve these items,” suggests Prof. Segal.

No word yet on what will be done with the statues, or if they’ll eventually be put on display. If I were a devotee of Aphrodite I might see the recovery of these intact statues as some sort of sign or miracle, proof of her enduring power. It is, after all, how many Christians see the recovery of their ancient artifacts.

In a final note, there’s a new Pagan e-zine starting up called “Eternal Haunted Summer”.

“Eternal Haunted Summer is the only ezine of its kind: one which gives voice to modern devotion to the many Gods and Goddesses of our ancestors. Poems and stories celebrating the Deities and heroes of the Celts, Norse, Germans, Romans, Etruscans, Greeks, Phoenicians, Canaanites, Sumerians, Egyptians and many, many, many others are all welcome. If you have been inspired to write a poem honoring Apollo or Brigid or Enki; or a short story about Inanna or El or Jove; or if you have written a review about a book or journal with a Pagan focus, please consider submitting it here. Our first official issue will go live on the Winter Solstice 2009, with quarterly updates on each subsequent Equinox and Solstice.”

I wish them every success and hope the poets and writers who read the The Wild Hunt will check them out.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

The Hindu has a fascinating article up about the artisans who create idols of the various Hindu deities. As you can imagine, it isn’t merely a job, but a holy undertaking.

“I can never fully express the joy and satisfaction I feel when I see the deity in all her/ his glory being prayed to by hundreds of devotees. The metamorphosis of a dull lump of clay to a vibrant throbbing god is an incredible process and it’s an honour to be a catalyst in this transformation,” says an emotional Vishwanath. A day in the life of an idol maker is marked by strict self-discipline, both physical and mental. “We bathe at dawn, get into fresh clothes and say a small prayer before embarking on idol making as often our work require us to stand/ stamp/ climb the idols. We also try and abstain from all worldly addictions in this period,” says Biswajeet Pal, one of Vishwanath’s chief helpers.”

It is important to note that traditionally made idols in the Hindu tradition are treated quite differently than mass-produced statuary. Once completed and “awakened” they are considered “alive” with the essence of the god or goddess in question. They must be fed with offerings and cared for, and once planted/rooted in a temple, never moved.

In a related story, the Indian district administration in Varanasi has prohibited the application of hazardous chemical paints during this years Navatri (when nine forms of female divinity are worshiped) to cut down on pollutants in the sacred Ganga/Ganges river.

“In a path breaking move to contain contamination of the holy Ganga due to immersion of idols laden with chemical paints and colours during Dussehra, the district administration has put a ban on the use hazardous chemical paints on idols during this Navratra. While the prohibitory order calls for ban of application of synthetic chemical paints on the idols of Goddess Durga and other deities during the festivity, the district administration is also looking for ways to promote the use of eco-friendly natural colours (obtained from leaves and flowers of some plants) on the occasion.”

In a land where millions of devotees immerse their idols into the Ganges, such changes could have a dramatic effect on pollution levels in the river. Both of these stories give us a fascinating insight into the behind-the-scenes activities that feed into a thriving religion of nearly a billion worldwide.

A very happy Diwali to all my Hindu and IndoPagan readers. Diwali, the festival of lights, is a major Indian holiday representing a spiritual new year, and a triumph of good over evil. Depending on the region and tradition, this day commemorates the return of Lord Rama, the birth of Lakshmi, and the Austerities of Shakti (among other events). Celebrants usually light lamps, set off fireworks, and wear new clothing to commemorate the day.

Hindu puja on the eve of Diwali.

May you experience happiness and good fortune on this day, and in the year to come.

Back in August I reported that Nepal’s new Maoist-led government seemed ready to scrap the tradition of the Kumaris (”living goddesses”), calling the practice an “inessential” and “evil” symbol of the former monarchy. A decision by the country’s highest court ordering the Kumari to attend school seemed to be a further harbinger of an outright ban on the practice. But it looks like the fears of this tradition being scrapped are somewhat premature.

Shreeya Bajracharya, the new Kumari of Bhaktapur.

So what made a government hostile to the Kumaris willing to get into the living goddess business? First off, the Nepalese people have been increasingly hostile towards Maoist attempts to curtail religious traditions, and secondly, the Kumaris are a major tourist attraction.

“The Kumaris are a major tourist attraction and are considered by many as incarnations of the goddess Kali and are revered until they menstruate, after which they return to the family and a new one is chosen.”

A tourist attraction that no doubt gained even more attention after the previous Kumari of Bhaktapur visited America to promote a documentary about their lives. So enter Shreeya Bajracharya, the new Kumari of Bhaktapur.

“Shreeya was enthroned on Sunday amid prayers by Buddhist priests and will be worshipped by devout Hindus and Buddhists until reaching puberty, the girl’s caretaker Nhuchhe Ratna Shakya said, adding: “She is pretty and nice.” Shreeya, in a golden costume with her eyelashes blackened by mascara, was sitting on a carved throne, a butterlamp burning by her side, when a Reuters team visited her on Monday. Asked what she wanted to become in future, a quiet Shreeya just said: “nurse.” She loves to eat biscuits and flattened rice, a common Nepali food, her aides said.”

Unlike previous Kumari, she will no doubt attend school and have more personal freedom than previous girls in her position. Her appointment may represent an new spirit of compromise between the Maoist urge to “modernize” Nepal by ridding it of “inessential” institutions, and the desire by Nepalese Hindus and Buddhists to keep their religious traditions intact. Perhaps, like in the case of Togo’s Vodou adepts, Nepal will decide that human rights and modernization can move forward without destroying religion and culture.

I want to direct your attention to a heart-wrenching New Yorker piece about women within the devadasi system (essentially sacred prostitutes) in India who are increasingly ravaged by HIV/AIDS, loss of social standing, and poverty. These women are dedicated/married to Yellamma, patron goddess of the down-trodden, and protector of prostitutes.

“Yellamma never wanted it to be like this,” Rani said. “The goddess is sitting silently,” Kaveri said. “We don’t know what feelings she has about us. Who really knows what she is thinking?” “No,” Rani said, firmly shaking her head. “The goddess looks after us. When we are in distress, she comes to us. Sometimes in our dreams. Sometimes in the form of one of her children.” “It is not the goddess’s doing.” “The world has made it like this.” “The world, and the disease.” “The goddess dries our tears,” Rani said. “If you come to her with a pure heart, she will take away your sadness and your sorrows. What more can she do?”

While the devadasi are given more respect than “common” prostitutes, and are often invited to give their blessings to weddings and other festivals, they still live in poverty, are usually sold into the practice as children, and are often abandoned by their family if they can no longer contribute fiscally due to illness.

“Later, I asked one of the project managers of an N.G.O. working in Belgaum about AIDS and how the devadasis’ families reacted. ‘It’s terrible,’ she said. ‘The families are happy to live off them and use the money they earn. But as soon as they become infected, or at least become bedridden and sick, they are dumped in a ditch—sometimes literally. Just abandoned.’”

William Dalrymple’s haunting piece paints a picture of sacred prostitution that is anything but sacred. In trying to address this problem, some have tried to introduce “de-initiation” ceremonies, unbinding them from what the women see as their unchangeable fate. Others have attacked the system itself as an upper-class method of control, while government agencies have tried to enforce dedication prohibition through education campaigns. Until these women are given a better life through social and legal reforms, one can only hope that their goddess will give them the comfort and protection they pray for.

The Washington Post’s Brigid Schulte reports on the problems faced by the Rajdhani Mandir Hindu temple in Chantilly, Virginia (in the Washington Metropolitan Area). It seems that the temple has become a victim of its own success, and is facing an increasingly hostile community.

Ganesh at the Rajdhani Mandir

So why don’t they just move into a bigger building as Christian churches often do? Well, there is a thorny theological issue preventing them.

“The 17 deities that sit serenely in alcoves around the maroon sanctuary hall are alive. “They’ve been enlivened in a process we call prana pratishta,” Khanna, a doctor and chairman of the temple’s board of trustees, explained. “Once the stone statues are transformed into living deities, they are rooted to the spot. They can never be moved. That’s why there are temples in India that are 2,000 years old.” And that’s why priests daily perform the Aarti, which literally feeds and cares for the gods…”

Since these problems began, Rajdhani Mandir’s board of trustees have made several good faith efforts to deal with the parking problem, including renting a shuttle service, hiring off-duty police officers to direct traffic, and installing an electronic sign warning adherents to not park illegally. But despite these efforts, local residents are increasingly hostile towards the temple, and are opposing plans to build a new parking lot. In the meantime, County officials have warned the temple that just one more adherent illegally parking in the neighborhood would trigger a lawsuit to shut the whole place down.

“County officials warned temple leaders at a meeting Friday that one more violation, meaning even one more person parking in the neighborhood, could be sufficient grounds to take the temple to court to shut it down, Khanna said. Barring new violations for 30 to 60 days, county officials said they would help expedite meetings with the community and begin reviewing the new parking lot plan, according to temple leaders.”

One wonders if a successful Christian church unwilling to move would be treated in the same fashion. Schulte insists this story isn’t about religion or race, but its hard to imagine that these factors haven’t played a part in exhausting the patience of local residents, and hardening their hearts to new construction that would solve the parking problem. Whatever the ultimate outcome of this conflict, it is an excellent example of the issues we will continually face as America moves into a post-Christian and truly religiously pluralistic reality. Pagans who hope to someday see their own temples dot the American landscape should start taking notes.

In India, the Madras High Court has ruled in favor of Pinniyakkal, the daughter of a temple priest, to inherit the duties of her father.

“Observing that “altars of God” must be freed from gender bias, the Madras High Court has directed that a woman priest, who is the only legal heir of her father, be allowed to perform pooja in a village temple where the presiding deity is Goddess Durga. Justice K Chandru of the Madurai Bench allowed a petition filed by Pinniyakkal, the only legal heir of the temple priest and rejected the plea of one of the respondents, a male cousin of the petitioner, that only he should perform ‘pooja’ on the grounds that only a male member can be a priest.”

“The goddess becomes manifest over and over again to protect the world”

“It is ironical that when the presiding deity of the temple is a Goddess, objections are being raised against a woman in performing poojas in such temples.”

No doubt that the goddess who came forth to defeat an enemy no male could overcome approves.

The religious and cultural practices of the Nepalese rarely make headlines in the West. That changed back in 2007 when a Nepali Kumari (living goddess) made a historic first journey to America in support of a documentary. That film, “Living Goddesses”, explored the lives of the Kumari against a backdrop of conflict between Maoist/Communist revolutionaries and the Nepal monarchy.

Former Kumari Sajani Shakya during her American visit.

Since then, King Gyanendra, in negotiations with Maoists and other democracy advocates, gave up some of his sovereign power. In May, the monarchy was dissolved in the wake of an electoral landslide which gave the Communist Party of Nepal control of Nepal’s House of Representatives. Nepal was declared a federal republic, and is now officially secular, dropping Hinduism as the official state religion.

In this new atmosphere, many have wondered what the fate of the Kumari would be. In the past, the Kumari were intrinsically tied to the monarchy, and in many ways helped validate monarchical rule. At first, it seemed that Nepal was going to carry on the tradition, despite hostilities from the newly appointed Maoist Prime Minister and MPs.

“This year she was called to approve the Himalayan state’s interim prime minister. But the change in Nepalese politics over the past year could make the current Kumari search the last. In elections in April, former Maoist guerrilla fighters won most of the seats. The country’s new leader, Prachanda, who was appointed Prime Minister yesterday, is a former communist rebel – and not a fan of girl goddesses. “The Kumari is not an essential institution for the new Nepal,” Janardan Sharma, a Maoist MP, said. Many of his colleagues regard the Kumari as an “evil symbol” linked to Hinduism’s rigid caste system and incompatible with socialism.”

Now a recent ruling by Nepal’s supreme court seems to have doomed the tradition.

“…the country’s highest court accepted the argument from a lawyer that keeping a young girl locked up in a medieval palace in Kathmandu was a violation of her fundamental rights. The court ruled against the rights of the Kumari being “be violated in the name of culture”. “There should be no bar on the Kumaris from going to school and enjoying health-related rights as there are no historical and religious documents restricting Kumaris from enjoying child rights,” the court said. Some analysts said the court was simply responding to the new political atmosphere in the Himalayan nation under former rebel Maoists, who are determined to end “feudal” practices.”

The court’s stance does seem to be a nod to the new powers in Nepal. While the living goddesses (there are several, the Kumari of Kathmandu being the most prominent) aren’t formally educated, they are hardly “imprisoned”, and their temporary position of power often greatly benefit the girl’s family (who take part in her care and daily rituals). It seems that, unlike Togo’s situation with Vodun adepts, the government and courts weren’t willing to come to a compromise or modernization that would afford the Kumari more freedoms while keeping the institution in place.

It remains to be seen if this is truly the end of the Kumari throughout Nepal, or if some regions will fight to keep their living goddesses. One can only hope that “secular” to the newly empowered Maoists doesn’t really mean the suppression of religion.