Achintya Wants YOU for service!

[Guest guest]

Dear devotees,

 

I have been very pleased with the direction our mailing list has

taken, and I am happy that many of you have taken the time to read

and/or participate. As I consider the significance of it, I feel very

honored that by Lord Krishna's and Srila Prabhupada's grace, I have

gotten the chance to moderate this forum.

 

I would like to take this time to solicit more participation from

list members. We are all part of Lord Krishna's family, after all,

and consequently we should be willing to undertake devotional service

together. Achintya has many opportunities for service, above and

beyond merely posting and engaging in discussions. Service in the

temple and to the guru is certainly far superior than anything I am

proposing here. But enthusiastic devotees who like to spend time on

the internet might be interested to devote some of that internet time

towards devotional projects on the net.

 

The following are some areas in which Achintya could use some help:

 

FILES: This section of the Achintya web page is devoted to archiving

files for download that are of interest to Vaishnavas. Anything is

fair game, so long as it is relevant. However, there are some items

that would be particularly appreciated:

- Deity photos (complete with names and temple location)

- Sanskrit/Transliteration/Indian language fonts

- Devotional essays from the internet

- Scholarly documents pertaining to Vaishnava/Indology topics

 

VERSE LIST: As many of you know, we do have a Vaishnava verse list

specific to our philosophy that can be accessed from the Bookmarks

section. We could use help here with adding new verses based on

subject area. Verses would need to include Sanskrit (transliterated)

and translation, with verse numbers.

 

DATABASE: We have databases set up cataloging classical Indian

devotional music, devotional literature, Vaishnava literature by

secular scholars, translations, etc. We could always use more input

to make these databases grow.

 

RECIPES: I would like to start a file directory for downloadable

recipies for Vaishnavas - i.e. no onion/garlic/mushroom vegetarian

cooking that is fit for offering. This could include not only Indian

food but also vegetarian cooking from other cultures that is saattvik

(all recipies should be classifed by cuisine type)

 

BOOKMARKS: Currently, we have a list of bookmarks for the following:

- Vaishnava temples

- Vaishnava philosophy/Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy

- Gaudiya Vaishnava organizations

- Online scriptures

 

We could also use help from volunteers to periodically review those

bookmarks and make sure they are still valid.

 

TRANSLATIONS: Several times Vaishnavas have requested translations of

specific Sanskrit documents - usually for providing evidence for

various points of our philosophy. Those who are skilled in Sanskrit

could donate some of their time to producing translations of hot

items. Some of the literatures that would be well received include:

- sections of the Bhavishya Puraana discussing Chaitanya

Mahaaprabhu's unmanifest lila

- sections of the Padma Puraana describing Lord Shiva's advent as

Shankaraachaarya, description of various festivals, Ekaadashis

- any Krishna-katha from any scripture

 

CALENDAR: We currently have a calendar that records Vaishnava

holidays and gives holiday/Ekaadashi reminders. This requires that

someone input the information into the calendar on a regular basis.

It's easy, but takes some time. It would be wonderful if someone

could volunteer to do it.

 

PRABHUPADA-KATHA: I would like to see more postings describing Srila

Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, and some of his activities

which illustrate Vaishnava behavior and culture.

 

These are just some of the ways in which it would be nice to improve

Achintya. It is my hope that Achintya will eventually become a

comprehensive webpage for all things Gaudiiya Vaishnava. But this can

only happen if members want to participate. Every little bit helps!

 

If you are interested in finding a particular service opportunity

mentioned above (or something else you think might be useful), please

introduce yourself to me at achintya-owner with your

preferred area of contribution. Any or all of the services would be

much appreciated, and would significantly add to depth of the

Achintya page.

 

I also hope that, by getting more list members to participate, there

will be a feeling that this is *our* home page, which all of us

helped to create. After all, Achintya, like any forum, is what you

make of it. Please consider volunteering some of your time.

 

your servant,

 

Krishna Susarla