01: AASTHA, India’s leading religious broadcasting station, is being beamed through satellite throughout the world and has recently entered the U.S. market.
The U.S. satellite provider DirectTV is now offering the 24-hour channel, which, according to promotional literature, is said to be “America’s first Asian Indian spiritual and cultural network.“ The Mumbai,-based company began broadcasting to Indian villages and is now tuned in by 20 million households in 166 countries.
Although “Hindu” or “Hinduism” is rarely used on the network, 90 percent of its content is said to be rooted in Hindu culture, featuring discourses from swamis, classes in Vedanta, yogo and mediation, and coverage of Hindu festivals.
(Source:Hinduism Today, April/May/June)
02: Haredim L’Svivah (or “religious hareidim for the environment”) is probably the first ultra-orthodox Jewish group to focus on environmentalism.
The Haredim spend most of their time in the study of the Torah and rigorous practice of Jewish law. The founder of the group, Yehuda Ganut, cited Jewish law concerning the need for a clean and safe environment and the value of nature as an expression of God’s works. The effort has met the support of others in the community, including a haredi newspaper.
(Source: Inside Israel, May)