lokeshvara

Namaste Chandu, Thank you so much for the info and the link. Hari Om!

Namaste, I had actually ordered online as while it is possible to get ghee here, most of the Indian grocers are far from my part of the city. In regards to using vegetable oil, is the wick still prepared the same way, by soaking it and what not? Hari Om!

This is absolutely awful! Ghee for puja should have zero dilution. I will go and get the right kind. Thanks again for all of the help:)

Namaste Thank you everyone for the help and information. The ghee I bought said it was 100% pure but I will check the label when I get home. I had no idea that there was so much trouble around ghee. It is very sad too that there are not enough cows and milk products are being altered I will check and make sure the ghee is appropriate before using it. Just one more question. The ghee will dry in the the cotton so I can make numerous wicks at once? Thanks again Hari Om!

Namaste Everyone I wasn't sure where to put this so mods please feel free to move it if it's in the wrong category. Anyway, I am starting to do aarti at home and had a question about using ghee in the aarti lamp. I just bought a jar of it and know how to make the wicks. The ghee itself though is in a liquid form in the jar, can I use it as is to make the wicks or do I need to heat the butter? Thanks for the help Hari Om!

Namaste, Thank you for sharing this important information. The time of death is of absolute importance. The Lord makes this clear in the Gita. To those who ask if a devotee forgets the Lord at the time of death do they miss a chance to reunite with the Him, the material mind may forget but the soul doesn't. Also the Lord does not forget his devotees, they are his dear friends. You may ask then about some atheist who at the last minute thinks of Krishna, two things come to my mind. The first is, it will not be so easy for the atheist to remember the Lord at the time of death. If they are atheist then they will be worrying about losing their body, riches, family, fame, etc. Remember the Lord may not come so easily for them. More so, if they are atheist why would they think of Krishna at the time of death? If an atheist has no problem thinking of Krishna at the time of death then I question if they were really atheist to begin with. As far as my knowledge goes, most people empty their bowels at death because the physical muscle relax. It's a natural process. I wouldn't presume to know someone's destination based on bodily signs.

When you take the fish out of the sea, the weapon used is your very hands and the fishing equipment. Sea life suffocate on land, does that not sound like a terrible death to experience?

Krishna didn't kidnap any woman. He rescued those who asked him to. And what exactly did he lie about during the Mahabharata War? He didn't instigate Arjuna to do anything. Arjuna had a duty as a kshaitrya and Krishna reminded him of that. Not to mention that those family members he killed were standing on the battle field ready to kill him.

As far as I see it, the scriptures have in particular, the Yatra at Puri in mind, in which case it is an Ashada festival and should not deviate from the annual cycle. In other places though this isn't possible in which case the verse you quoted to would be applied. I think too, if the Lord didn't want his rath taken out at other times he wouldn't allow it. He is most mercyfull though especially to those of us who may never make it to Puri Rathayatra and who will never step foot in the Puri temple. If it was wrong I don't think it would be successful around the world ike it is. Thank you too for the great description of the festival I wasn't aware of all that went into the construction

we are better than the animals. we are for one reason, we have the ability to remember the Lord. Hari Om!

Knowing Hindi is not required to be a follower of Sanatana Dharma. Hindi is a modern language and while it may help you communicate while in India, it is not needed. Now Sanskrit may be a different story as it is tied up in religious rituals. Having a working knowledge of Sanskrit is helpful but once again I don't think it's a requirement. There are so many people who think they can define who is Hindu and who is not. For example the Hindutva government of the 1990's defined a Hindu as anyone who followed a religion that originated in India. Others use Hindu to correspond with Sindu valley peoples. The best way I think to determine if someone is a Hindu is if they accept the authority of the Vedas. If you accept the Vedas as truth and have faith then you are Hindu. Hari Om!

There's been a lot of hype around 2012, people saying it's the end of the world etc. This is nothing new, people have been trying to predict ends of ages and cycles for ever. The deal with 2012 is that there will be some astronomical evens and it is also the time when the Mayan calendar starts a new cycle. i don't think it will be the end of the world nor the end of the Kali Yuga. We still have a long time to go for that to happen. I agree with Hindustani, spiritual advancement would be very hard for us if we entered a new yuga. Unless every consciousness has a complete makeover we would still have our Kali Yuga mind set and thus the tapas would be very very difficult. I think it's best to not worry about such things. Remember God, try to surrender to him, and be happy. All is well. Hari Om!

As others have mentioned there is no mass murder or genocide in the Gita. All those on the field of Kurusetra were kshatriyas, warriors. It was their duty to fight, they agreed to fight by showing up. Not to mention this was a necessary war. The war of the Mahabharata prevented an even bigger war. It was necessary to reestablish goodness, to free a people from greedy and murderious rulers. The Pandavas were cheated out of their rightful claim first by a fixed dice game then when they finished the period of banishment they were not given back their rightful claim as was agreed upon. It wasn't revenge that motivated Krishna, he knew the nature of the Kauravas and if they were allowed to continue ruling, it would be incredibly destructive. More people would suffer and die, most innocent, if the Kauravas remained in power. Krishna was saving the material world by teaching Arjuna his duty and he saved our spiritual selves by teaching Arjuna yoga. Hari Om!

. your logic is flawed here. eskimos are abile to eat the fat because genetically they had to adapt in order to survive the harsh climate. it's the same reason why when i work in varanasi i see lower rates of cholera and typhoid infections in those who grew up around the ganges as opposed to foriegners who come into contact. the immunity is is passed down generationally. the talent for meditation is not. and until you can show me where exactly the chemical sequence on dna for meditation is you are the one who is the romantic idealist. you can not even make an argument for it culturally because there is no one unified indian culture. more so then that how about the meditation techniques of the east asian buddhists that have been develped completely outside of india, or the european kabbalists, or the turkish sufis, etc. no one culture has a monopoly on meditation. what makes someone good or bad at it is their karma, dedication, and guru. um actually the ascetics went to the forest because they were actively renouncing ordinary life not because God is less accessible in the town. they were turning their backs on normal social obligations and the way to do that is to move out. if your ideas were true then pujas and yajnas performed today would be valueless if done in an urban environment. God is reachable anywhere. for the record, i never said that all it took was to wish it. have you ever tried to develop bhakti? it is not easy and it can only be done through the mercy of God. by your logic Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Meerabai, and Srila Prabhupada (to name a few) were all british romanticist. well at least i have some good ocmpany. Hari Om!