カテゴリー: Religion
Worshippers are frisked on entering temple in Kandy where relic is held and photography is strictly prohibitedSri Lankan police have launched an investigation into a photo circulated on social media claiming to show a Buddha tooth relic, which has gone…
Assassination of former Japanese prime minister in 2022 spurred official request for South Korean-based sect to be closedA court in Japan has ordered the Unification Church to be dissolved after a government request that was spurred by the investigatio…
Hundreds of millions of pilgrims flocked to the Ganges for this year’s festival, housed in a sprawling temporary metropolis stretching across 4,000 hectares of the floodplains of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh For 45 days the floodplains of Prayagraj, a ci…
Brother of the Dalai Lama and political envoy who led talks on the exiled leader’s return to Tibet with the Chinese governmentThe life of Gyalo Thondup, who has died aged 97, was transformed after one of his younger brothers, Lhamo Thondup, was identif…
Some 400 million devotees will attend this year’s Kumbh Mela festival. Pilgrims and politicians explain why it’s bigger than everThey sat quietly together on the banks of the Ganges river, heads bowed in sombre meditation. Some men were naked, their bo…
Rush broke out as travellers scrambled to board trains in India’s capital to go to world’s largest religious gatheringAt least 18 people have died in a crush at a railway station in India’s capital when surging crowds scrambled to catch trains to the w…
Spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims and billionaire businessman who enjoyed a jet-setting lifestyleFast cars, yachts and racehorses are not the usual accoutrements of religious leaders, but they fitted the lifestyle of the Aga Khan, the spiritual leade…
Aspiring emigrants seek help at ‘Visa Hanuman’ and ‘Visa God’ temples after US president demanded tougher vettingIndian professionals have been flocking to Hindu temples believed to grant prayers for a US visa after Donald Trump signed several executiv…
This year’s event, heavily promoted by India’s ruling party, continues despite deaths of at least 30 peopleAs the sun set on the sangam, the sacred meeting point of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers on Tuesday, there was a mood of jubilation on the banks. T…
World’s largest religious gathering, held in India, has become scene of crowd crush as estimated 100m people travelled to take holy dipDozens feared dead in crushes at Kumbh Mela festivalIndia crowd crushes: latest updatesAt least 30 people have been k…
Deadly crowd crushes took place as tens of thousands of Hindus rushed to take a holy bath in the river at the massive Kumbh Mela festival in northern India. Officials said dozens of people were killedDozens feared dead in India at Kumbh Mela religious …
Witnesses describe people being trampled amid surging crowds on the banks of the Ganges during Hindu festivalAt least 30 people have been killed and scores injured in crowd crushes at the Kumbh Mela festival, Indian police have confirmed, as vast numbe…
Women from all over West Bengal and beyond travel to Vrindavan for a life of prayer, many having suffered abuse, stigma and abandonment by families who see them as cursed. Up to 20,000 widows – nearly 20% of the city’s population – have found refuge in…
Millions of people have gathered on the banks of the Ganges in Prayagraj, northern India, for the beginning of the Maha Kumbh Mela. The Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, which takes place every 12 years, is widely seen as the ‘festival of festivals’ in the Hindu …
The grand version of the 12-yearly Hindu pilgrimage is expected to draw more than 400 million devoteesThe world’s largest religious gathering kicked off on Monday as millions of Hindu devotees gathered on the banks of Ganges in India to mark the beginn…