Word: hindu
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...Calmer celebrations might bring back to memory the real reason for all the splashing: the promise of rain. Chinese scholars often trace the Songkran festival back to India. Classic Hindu texts describe water-splashing as a means of washing away sin on the occasion of the New Year, when deities would visit the land of the living. Since at this time the gods are so close, it is also an opportune moment to ask for precipitation; splashing therefore becomes a way of praying for plenty. By sprinkling water, the Dai, like the Indians before them, should be attempting to entice...
...Thailand is a nation that prides itself on its Theravada Buddhist heritage. But Buddhism in Thailand is blended with a brew of Hindu, animist, Khmer, pagan and other beliefs. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the country's 82-year-old constitutional monarch, spent time as a Buddhist monk but also retains astrologers and Brahmin priests at court, as is tradition. So it's no wonder that coup plotters, Prime Ministers and lawmakers have frequently consulted fortune-tellers before making important decisions. Performing dark rites to increase one's power and defeat your adversaries is as pervasive among the political class as bribery...
...million people - crammed with refugees from the decade-long civil war fought in Nepal's rural areas - Kathmandu is a place of constant noise and traffic, and the occasional boisterous protest. There's no longer a monarch, but the city has royal remnants aplenty, along with exquisite Thangka and Hindu art, Buddhist artifacts, great food and a paradise of adventure sport right on its doorstep. In town for the weekend? Here's how to spend it memorably...
...nicely written "Living Long and Living Well" advised, "Finally, have a purpose." Life's purpose should be understood early in life, or the journey will be like an aimless drive without proper directions. According to the Hindu philosophy, which advocates a long, happy, healthy and blissful life, the primary purpose of life is to righteously do one's duty, with honesty, love and justice. Yoga and meditation provide the techniques for gaining a long, blissful life...
India, for its part, maintains that it has always had a "very deep and vast relationship" with Nepal based on its shared cultural ties. Both countries have a majority Hindu population, and they share millions of cross-border migrant workers. But the character of that relationship has changed. India used to engage Nepal only at the highest levels, in meetings between bureaucrats, ministers and - until Gyanendra stepped down in 2008 - representatives of the King. That has changed dramatically over the last few years, since Nepal's Maoists came to power in a 2006 peace agreement that ended the monarchy, halted...