Batu Caves is among Malaysia’s most popular attractions. In 2005 alone, some 2,250,000 visitors arrived from India to Malaysia’s capital and majority of the figure headed to Batu Caves.

It receives most attention during the Thaipusam festival, which celebrates two events: the birthday of Lord Murugan, the son of the god Siva and his wife Parvati, and Lord Murugans defeat of the demon Soorapadman with the aid of a powerful lance given to him by his mother. (more…)

I had reached Vrindavan — the abode of the gods — in the hope that the place would heal my bleeding heart. I was trying to come to terms with the sudden death of my husband Madhu. But I was yet to overcome the pain.

I then realised that I could drown my sorrow in my work. It was the perfect balm for an injured soul. So I started to look for work, if that was what would relieve me of the agony I was going through. (more…)

Rodger Kamenetz, English and Religious Studies professor at LSU, sees interest in Kabbalah by non-Jews as neither new nor strange.

“There’s a lot of good stuff there,” he said.

“Almost as soon as ‘The Zohar’ appeared in the 13th century, Christians began reading it and pretty quickly we get a Christian Kabbalah,” he said. (more…)

In the New Age book field, it is impossible to guess which book is going to be popular and which one is not. But when I looked at the manuscript to Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft I knew it was going to be something special! Few books have been as needed, and as anticipated as this one-it’s the first totally comprehensive, eclectic, and sensible guide to the art and the practice of modern Wicca!

I say “Wicca” rather than “Witchcraft” because it includes not only the Craft of the Wise but gives you a firm foundation for understanding the spiritual dimension that is the essence of this born again Old Religion for the Modern World. (more…)

Archaeologists working near Stonehenge have discovered what appears to be an ancient religious complex containing a treasure trove of artifacts that may finally illuminate the lives and religious practices of the people who built the mysterious monument 4,600 years ago.

The circle of massive stone blocks on England’s Salisbury Plain southwest of London is one of the best known archeological sites in the world, but researchers know surprisingly little about the people who built it and lived in the region. (more…)