By John Di Leonardo Last week, Mayor Eric Adams announced alongside Schools Chancellor David Banks and State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar that New York City public schools will begin observing Diwali, the festival of lights, starting in 2023. “It is long overdue to say to our Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist students and communities that we...
By Yogvivekdas Swami BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj was the heart and soul of hundreds of thousands of young and old devotees around the world. Hundreds of leaders highly respected and honored him for his services to humanity. Yet, his life resonated with simplicity and contentment. Due to his simple and straightforward nature,...
By John Di Leonardo Today, I performed yoga and walked through the Gandhi Peace Garden at SUNY Old Westbury with new friends to commemorate the life and loss of Guarini Anjali, the founder of Long Island’s first ashram. Following a brief meditation, a pair of my fellow yogis discovered a paper wasps’ nest nearby. Fearful of...
By Juliana Di Leonardo Climate change often feels like the elephant in the room. Some choose to ignore it or outright deny it. Others semi-address it with reusable bags, cups, and compostable straws which help but are more feel-good than do-good. With the uprising of greenwashed products, corporations have instilled consumers with the belief that...
By Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj Mystic poetry and literature is rich in verses addressing the way to a peaceful, calm life. One of the greatest mystic poet-saints of the past century, Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj, has written a verse that captures the way to lead lives in which we reduce stress and anger...
By Jnanpurushdas Swami BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha The Vedic texts share numerous stories of those engulfed in pride and living in delusion. Pramukh Swami Maharaj often narrated an inspiring anecdote from the Kena Upanishad. Once, the deities were humiliated by the demons in a battle, so they ran to God and prayed for more strength. God blessed...
By John Di Leonardo Last week, Sloth Encounters — an illegal Long Island petting zoo that subjects sensitive sloths, including vulnerable babies, to grabbing hands, noisy crowds, and ramshackle cages — was ordered to shut down pending further orders from the Suffolk County Supreme Court. Larry Wallach — the exhibitor who owns Sloth Encounters — responded by announcing plans to haul the...
Mysticism, rightly understood, is the most universal and fundamental approach to achieving an integrated and fulfilling life. In a world that has made such remarkable scientific and material progress, the challenge before us, individually and collectively, is to make similarly spectacular progress in the spiritual sphere. Each of us is allotted a limited amount of time...
By Juliana Di Leonardo Rocks of various sizes stacked high around waterways, beaches, forests, and deserts are a common fixture nowadays when visiting natural landscapes. These piles, created by humans, may appear harmless, meditative, and inspiring to others, but by building these sporadic towering monuments we unintentionally disrupt our fragile ecosystem. The arbitrary stones used...
