Hinduism Summit at Chicago

The Forum for Hindu Awakening is conducting a Hinduism Summit from April 24, 2010 at Chicago, IL. The aim of this summit according to the organizers is to "promote an understanding about the unique science behind Hinduism concepts and practices, and provide practical guidance on living Hinduism...."

One of the good results of living in a foreign country for Hinduism is that Hindus here are willing to come to a common platform forgetting their caste, region, heritage, guru, philosophy, etc and discuss the religion in general.

Unfortunately in India though a Hindu-majority nation, this kind of summits are rarely held and even when they are conducted they tend to be dismissed as some "RSS-type event" and touted as a "Hindu Fundamentalist event" by the mainstream left-inspired media. Caste based and narrow group based events are encouraged across the country.

Luckily in the US a new Hindu Awakening is possible and hopefully all Hindus will come together as one strong group rather than weak fragments. I will not be attending this event in person but will get updates on the web and keep myself informed.

Study online to Earn Prestigious Master of Arts in Teaching Degree

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of USC. All opinions are 100% mine.

Higher Education is a sure shot gateway to better career, greater earnings, enhanced respect, broadening of intellectual horizons and of course a better quality of life. Unfortunately all of us have not been lucky enough to go to graduate school when we were young. Some of us had to start working early and had neither the means nor the time to go to the university. There are many among my friends who would like to go back to school, earn a masters degree, but are unable to do so due to clashing schedules.

It is also a reality that in today's ever changing jobs marketplace one needs to be constantly upgrading skills, acquiring new knowledge to have the competitive advantage. This is specially so for teachers and those that are contemplating becoming teachers. I recently came across a fantastic online masters degree program for current and aspiring teachers/ educators, from the USC Rossier School of Education.

The program aptly titled Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT@USC) is completely online and offered by none other than the University of Southern California, considered an elite research institution. As I read more about the program information I am totally impressed by its interactivity and fast pace that enables students to complete a Masters degree in just 12 months. The two features of the program that attracted me the most was the phenomenal tuition reimbursement program of the university and the rare chance to become member of the USC Trojan Family.

Though the program is completely online there are field work opportunities at the student's local area. The university will work with you to schedule field activities for you.

These advantages seem too good to be true or at least that is what I felt when I first read through them. On further research I came to know that USC is an internationally recognized school with over 100 years of history of educating teachers. USC was ranked #22 in the US and #9 among private universities by the US News and World Report. With such high credentials I would be glad to graduate from the USC.

Important Indian Events in Dallas

Dallas area has a fairly large Indian community... something or the other seems to be happening always. I try to keep abreast of different activities that take place in the area, if I don't attend it personally I end up reading about it on someone's blog or looking it up on a forwarded email and sometimes even on desi event sites. Couple of days ago I received this information about the Hasya Kavi Sammelan 2010. This is the third year in a row and according to the organizers the show has been sold out the past two years. I am quite sure this event will be enjoyed by Hindi speakers and listeners, I have viewed some programs on TV when I was in India. The Kavi Sammelan's are usually quite hilarious and also provide important lessons to society.

Details of the Dallas event are as follows:
Date: Friday, April 9th , 2010

Venue: DFW Hindu Temple, Irving

Ticket price: $25 at the gate but only $20 if purchased in advance. VIP tickets are $50

Presenter: International Hindi Association

And like most Indian events, first food and then show. The Kavi Sammelan is also serving Complimentary dinner for ticket holders and dinner is served from 5:45PM to 7:45 PM.

Show begins promptly at 8PM.

Hanuman Jayanthi Celebrations in Dallas

Since yesterday the Datta Yoga Center has been celebrating the Hanuman Jayanthi festival. The actual birthday of the Simian God is tomorrow March 29, 2010. Today was an attempt to chant the Hanuman Chalisa 1008 times. I could not be part of the chanting because of work schedules but did chant the Hanuman Chalisa once today.

I would say the Hanuman Temple at Frisco, TX in DFW Metro area is one of the grand Hindu shrines here. This is also perhaps the most dynamic shrine, with numerous activities to educate American-born children about Hindu culture, traditions, languages, scriptures, Sanskrit holy chants etc. Whenever I visit the temple I feel as if I am back in India for the few minutes I am in there.

The organizers did a great job in putting together this event.