In a spot of weird news, a Kathmandu Hindu temple is outlawing PDA. Evidently, courting young lovers use the temple's grounds of canoodling and the pandits think they should take it more seriously. To whit, anyone found courting will be hit with a fine that amounts to about $7. Take that, young libertines.
A North-Indian festival, Karva Chauth is where thousands of married Hindu women fast all day in hopes of increasing their husband's life span. According to a blog published on the festival in the Wall Street Journal, wives dress up in colorful clothes with matching bangles and jewelry, sport henna on their hands," and fast until they see their husband in the flesh or photo form.
Last December, I made the eight thousand mile trip to the subcontinent to meet his family, hopeful as ever to impress my in-laws-to-be, only to be told that our Vedic horoscopes were not a good match for marriage. In other words: astrology ended my relationship.
Andrea Syrtash gives advice to a Hindu woman who has fallen reluctantly in love with a Muslim man.
Religion has never played a large part in my life. I grew up celebrating "Christian" holidays like Easter and Christmas, but in America, these days are so mainstreamed and commercialized, they almost seem secular. I've never minded not having a religion, and I like the fact that because I'm a blank religious slate, I can approach new religions without prior assumption. I've learned Hindu traditions while in India, marveled at the Muslim mosques while in Indonesia, caroled in a Carmelite monastery, and recently visited a Zen Buddhist center for meditation.
One of the misperceptions of the Tantra practice is that it inherently involves sex. Not so. The belief system is so much more about aspiring to a controlled state of mind than it is about sticking to specific rituals. Like so much of Buddhist and Hindu thought (to which Tantra is closely linked), at all times—including during sex—the goal is being present and "tuned in" to the moment. As one New York City Tantra guru told YourTango, her instruction can seem more like couples therapy than red-hot sex workshop. To start, she tells partners to place their hands on the others' hearts and describe the times they feel most loved or cherished by them. So, before taking it to the bedroom, try applying Tantra to other parts of your life and relationship—the results could be mind-blowing.
People often confuse sex and sexuality with love. Using Tantric practice it's possible to enjoy more oneness during sex. It's more than just about the act, it encompasses all of the senses and should be an 'in the moment' event.
