I_love_krishna_

The wise devotee- Hey Govindaram guess who it is! /images/graemlins/smile.gif " hare Krishna what do you think this is, mate!, justin, if you want a name on you self how about a Krishna/rama etc why get your own name on yourself, please don't be so ignorant." The above message was from a cool devotee making fun of people who want their name written in Hindu. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I am glad you had fun reading about this trip of mine, I highly recommend this trip to any one. I did learn something there, not just in sadhu sanga but also from the whole place itself. I learned something special which is not really new to you people here- the feeling that krishna was right by me as I was walking on the streets of new vrindavan.

I_love_Krishna

He will serve better compared to the democratic candidates. The candidates today are not really important by my perspective. but thats just me... Most people are politically illiterate and will vote for him and that is for sure.

I always get excited when people ask me about this trip. Although it was a very boring drive (10 hours duration) from where I live, it was all worth it /images/graemlins/smile.gif . I did n't know it was on a mountain but it was on this huge mountain and it took like 25 mins to get on top of it. When we got to the top , I not only felt elevated physically but also spiritually /images/graemlins/grin.gif . I saw the beautiful palace dome and as we passed it and entered the temple parking lot, there was a sign saying "you are entering a sacred place" and then when we got into the temple, every one was chanting and some people were like raising their hands toward the deities and moving their bodies in some sort of a rhythmic motion. The whole temple upper wall was filled with Krishna pictures. One picture was about him and his friends playing. The other was him and Gopis dancing... it was fun. The Deities themselves were very beautifully decorated and very beautiful themselves. Then there was Jagannatha and there was Lord Narasimha...my parents were very happy to see Lord Narasimha there. When we all got into the dancing mood (it was very contagious , no body could help themselves but dance) a devotee started going around with aarti (Fire) taken from radha krishna and every one touched it and then touched their eyes and forhead. Staying in cottages was fun too, even though I wanted to stay in the temple , my parents insisted that I stay in the cottage. We went to the palace on the same day... we arrived pretty late and it was the last tour through the palace. The palace itself was very gorgeous inside. It was decorated with beautiful chandeliers (which were expertly crafted) when I asked about the chandeliers , the guide said it was done by a devotee who had no previous experience /images/graemlins/shocked.gif . The paintings of Radha Krishna on top of walls and in the samadhi temple of Prabhupada were very impressive. One painting was very beautiful and it was krishna dancing with the gopis. One other impressive painting was a work of love and art /images/graemlins/smile.gif It was a painting of 1000 flowers or so on top of prabupada's room... it was very beautiful. The peacocks were beautiful and the garden was just wonderful! The garden was only a small part of the beauty there, the real beauty was in the mountains and the atmosphere . The busy life of long Island is no match for inner peace that we find on top of those mountains. Also, the whole place was "spiritually inclined". People there were chanting hare krishna on streets, which was very nice to hear. The whole place made me feel very peaceful. Every one was friendly and kind. The owner of Govinda snacks gave me free Mango lassi! The next morning , we went to the temple again. My grandfather and others spoke to a devotee there who was very sweet and pure hearted. Overall, the place was fun to visit and the drive was worth it... I don't think krishna wanted me to leave that place because when we were leaving the main road was blocked by a power line .. that was cut off. SO, the traffic stopped and it was raining . So, we had to go back up the mountain again. Then a local there came to the rescue and showed us another way down the mountain... Which was on a muddy road , but was quite safe. The whole trip was very spiritually enlightening. /images/graemlins/smile.gif ! Thank you , for asking me to post this here. You have made me very happy by doing so /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Sorry, but I think that is completely ridiculous and just a rumor. However, If he did not run, he would have probably voted for Arnold Swasshneiger. Would I vote for a baby killer? - No. Would I like my vote to count? - Yes. So who would I vote for ? - Mr . Arnold.

They need to have a few kids who stand up to people who make fun of the other kids. It happens alot in my school. Kids are cruel to the minorities... I was also harrassed a few times and the authorities don't do anything... Some kids ignore the harrassers mostly due to fear...(in my case) I completely agree with you , any kind of bullying should not be tolerated. But the authorities don't do a thing, It is us the kids who need to stop these things by standing up for the victims.. then they won't develop mental problems. "i'm am one of those "quiet/weird" kids. i'm not going to go on some shooting rampage. i don't take insults personally." People like you are clearly special... it takes courage to stand up to the suffering brought on by the bullies and not get into fights. You will be very successful in your future though. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

The people in India are very poor. The middle class lives a good life, but it is horrible to see the poor suffer. The thing that suprises me the most is the fact that every one is so uncaring for the poor in India. No one cares for people who beg, even one of my cousins there said... "there are too many of them, if you give one beggar something then every one else rushes to you" When I sat in a bus station in southern India, an old lady sat down in the station and held a sign which said "I can't speak, I can't walk". She looked so weak, I took out 30 rupees and a banana and gave it to her and she was very happy just for that... and she was actually touching my feet. There are also many kids who beg so that they can go to school. The child labor laws in India suck! They don't help the poor families because the poor kid can't work and buy something to eat... Parents have to feed him. I have read that there are government plans in India where the kid goes to school and the school gives him some bowls of rice for him and his family. It is very sad to see people suffer so much.

It is a Rudraksha mala that is used for chanting. Shouldn't we use that mala for chanting? Or is it so that we can use any mala? Please help.

But don't you see, the attraction never ends in this material body. Unless the person really comes to such a status that he thinks nothing of this world and only of krishna and for people who wake up and walk and run and eat and sleep ... it is not possible ... ever. Unless we get out of these bodies and live with out a body, it is never possible for us to live with out eating , drinking, sleeping. These are necessary functions to carry out and their resultant would be attraction... they can deny it and stay away from attraction by not acting on it, but they cannot fight maya... If you are drowning in the sea, how the heck are you going to stay away from water? it is not possible... but you can swim and not drown in the sea. Similarly, people still have attraction... I don't think you can ever get away from it.

This has troubled me for quite a while and I tried to buy some Mala, but sadly failed. However, I do have a question for devotees here. Is it necessary to use the mala to chant the beads? Can't we not use the beads and keep track of chanting in our minds? Or does the mala have any special importance? Please shed some light on this issue, I thank you very much.

The most liberal state and our politics are controlled by the media. The Terminator has made good use of Media... smart guy! He is going to win in cali , because he has "great views"(liberal thinking) . I would also vote for him if I was in cali and if I was 18... why? - because i would naturally want my vote to count. Why lose a precious vote to the loser when you can vote and make yourself the winner!

Sí Senor, comprendi la diferencia entre prem y prema Muchas gracias... Oh wait! Avinash is wrong! oh wow, I guess this really is the age of kali /images/graemlins/wink.gif

Piya= beloved. Priti= sweetness or sweetheart Pyara= Dear one, dearest. Piya is only used for lover. Priti is usually a feminine name, but also could be used as a masculine name through additions to Priti for example, Priti kumar would be masculine. Pyara is usually said about the person one really likes...it does not have to be just beloved... but it could be used in any relationship. For example, a mother might say "Mera beta bahut pyara hai" - this would translate to "My child is very dear to me" (please correct me if i am wrong) So, you can also use pyara as an adjective or something that describes a person or an action or a relationship. For example, you can say "Hamari Pyari Dhosti" (Pyari is feminine use of Pyara), this would translate to "Our dearest friendship" which would be equal to "Our treasured friendship".

What you wrote would spell out to be "Prem", how is it different than "Prema"?

It is not wrong to feel that one's child should be courteous. The parents should encourage their kids into following certain rules and regulations with guests. However, that does not mean the parent has to force the kid into giving up his/her room for the guest... that is just ridiculous. According to the book "Keys to developing our child's self-esteem" by Dr. carl pickhard, "How children are treated has a lot to do with how they learn to treat themselves and to treat others in return. " if the child feels he/she is important, then he/she will treat others with importance. Mostly little things mean alot to children... complimenting them on the little things would develop their self-esteem, thus making them give respect and show courtesy to others automatically.

Why should they impose certain values on the kids if such things are not wanted by their children. I think most of the values that parents impose on children are ridiculous. People can be pious with or with out showing respect to others. In the west, kids show more respect than the kids in the east in some ways. Kids in the east are just afraid of their parents. In my view, forcing values on kids would be a bad step and if parents do that then 90% will be their fault.

Dude... the fact is ahimsa works. If you try to destroy their anger for the hindus then do it with out bloodshed from your side. Or you will be the bad guy and the bad guy will be recognized as the good guy. That was the main point.

Well, my granddad came here and he was very happy to see people greet each other when going out and coming in... He was very happy that Americans whom he did not know greeted him by saying "hello" or "how ya doin" just because he was walking by them. Such things don't happen in India. they don't say "Hello" to you unless they know you. And they don't smile at a stranger. Why?-because it is just a different culture thats all. It never happens because that is not the way they do things. The same applies to children growing up here, many people hate their parents because they just push them in something they don't want to do. The parents might be totally excited about the sanyasi or sadhu coming to their house but the kid doesn't care. because it is not something he/she likes. Parents can't force their children... that will just turn their kids against them. Even though some parents think kids are their property... the children are individual living entities who were not created by their parents... They have their own interests and learn different ways of treating people in different locations. Some kids listen, some kids don't... still most parents.. especially Indian parents impose Indian morals on their kids... Some kids listen and some don't.. and mostly the kids who listen are probably in touch with their past.

Though originally from India.

I am growing up in the west... ----------------------- One of the children will most likely open the door. The children will bring water and then tea and snacks. The children will help cook for the guests. The children will sit with the guests and talk. The children will give up their bedroom for the guests. The children will give up their bed for the guests. ------------------------ I gave up all those things from time to time. I also know many kids who do those things when we go visit them. However, I did not do one thing... which is : "The children will give up their clothes for the guest children."

"ok this is deep for me at least. How you feel 10 years down the road - gay Guru maharajA! I want to say - Oh Jesus! opps. what else I can say?! I better leave this subject alone." ------------------------ If a gay is one who has sexual attraction toward the same sex but never indulges in sexual acts with the same sex, then what is wrong in having a gay guru?

"Subal, you may not be aware that many devotees who are gay do follow all four regulative principles. For you to accuse them of not following is a serious mistake." Prabhu, if they follow the four regulative principals that are explained here, then how can they call themselves gay? An individual is a homosexual if he or she participates in sexual acts with the same sex.

Yes, Krishna did tell arjuna to pick up the gandiva... but if you are neither arjuna , nor is krishna giving you the directions. The fact is, arjuna did pick up the gandiva to destroy the evil empire of Duryodhana. We here are not trying to destroy an evil empire... but an evil race! there is a big difference. You want to destroy the evil in the race in this case, not the race all together!. If you try to destroy the race.. which is not possible, their hate will always increase and anger will too increase. The muslims all over the world will attack and you will have more destruction.... hate and misery! on both sides... Still the evil will stay because the "evil" lies in their ideas and behaviors. Ideas and Behaviors are very contagious and are never destroyed by material weapons.

Intelligence is just a notion entertained by various cultures and different groups of people with different view points and perspectives. The intelligence is so abstract that the so called "intelligent" individual may think he/she is intelligent due to his/her mathematical skills, but then again he/she may fail in mastering skills needed to understand physics. The fact is, intelligence is just a notion that gives hope to the hopeless these days. One may be very intelligent and quick in verbal and mathematical skills but then lose horribly in a chess game... does that mean he/she is not intelligent? The whole idea of intelligence is very abstract. Also, to argue that one sex is more intelligent than the other by polls and similar methods would be an unintelligent argument. because, the polls and surveys are very unreliable... and the answers depend on time and circumstance in a given situation. They also depend on who one asks and what type of questions one may ask. So, intelligence should not be considered real... if it is considered to be real ... then that would be very unintelligent thing to do. ------------------------ Speak to the neurologists if you want more proof.