Gauracandra

I have heard that there are very few Narasimhadev temples in India. Mostly because He is feared. Yet every Iskcon temple worships (atleast in prayer if not in deity) Lord Narasimhadev. I'm wondering if His worship might become more commonplace.

I have heard that there are very few Narasimhadev temples in India. Mostly because He is feared. Yet every Iskcon temple worships (atleast in prayer if not in deity) Lord Narasimhadev. I'm wondering if His worship might become more commonplace.

I remember reading a conversation between George Harrison and Srila Prabhupada. George was explaining how whenever he gets deeper into Krsna Consciousness, so many of his friends get more and more distant. Its like he can no longer relate to them the same way. This is the reason. Its like oil and water. Materialistic people and spiritualitic people don't mix all that well.

Thank you for your insight into the gypsies. I've read that there are many gypsies in Romania and they tend to be treated very poorly. In fact, I think Romania has had to promise protection to the gypsy minority in order to gain access into the European Union. That is a good thing. Thanks for your insight. If you have anything you could tell us about Gypsy religion I'd be interested.

I like this question. Too often I find people projecting their own desires as to what is right and wrong onto "God" and using that as an excuse. You'll hear "Everything can be done in Krsna's service". And so they do this and that and just claim it was all for Krsna. This is not a good way to establish a foundation for society. So what is the means to know what is right and wrong. If you say Sastra - which one? and who's interpretation. And given that these can at best be generalities how do you apply them. If you say "Ask the guru" this becomes very troublesome. If the guru is genuine then it is alright. If he is not, then you run into trouble. If you say "Ask Supersoul" and you are a deluded individual who will do what you want anyways, then again you are in trouble. So what is the basis for determining what is right and wrong?

I don't know much about their philosophy, but I believe they are very strict vegetarians. In fact I think they don't eat any rooted plant because to uproot a plant would cause too much pain. Thus potatos, carrots are out. I might be wrong on this but this is what I've heard.

Here is an interesting thing to consider. From a materialistic perspective aren't blond hair & blue eyes sought after because they are unique? We can say we are conditioned by Western culture to like these things, but I think that is too simplistic. Why do we value diamonds? Because they are so rare. If diamonds were everywhere then we wouldn't care much for them. In the U.S. 33% of women are blondes, but only 5% are real blonds, the rest are dyed. The thing is since blond hair & blue eyes are recessive genes, they will only become rarer and more "valuable". The vast majority of people in the world have dark hair and dark eyes (Africans, Indians, Asians and most of Europe). Thus since it is so common it isn't as "valuable". They can artificially ban Brad Pitt from bus advertisements, but that won't make him less appealing, to those that find him appealing.

This is interesting. A few days back I saw a program on China and it mentioned that a major portion of the female population (maybe 2/3rds) use skin bleaching creams. Same exists in India it appears. Kind of odd, but I’ve always thought that Japanese & Koreans have white skin. India debates 'racist' skin cream ads Parliament has now banned one of the adverts A recent row over a television advertisement for a skin-lightening cream has fuelled a debate in India over why fairer skin should be considered more beautiful. While India has seen a phenomenal growth in the number of skin-lightening products, women's groups in the country claim recent adverts are insulting, as they equate fairer skin with beauty and success. One advert - for a product named Fair And Lovely - has now been taken off the air. "It's a highly racist campaign," Brinda Karat, general secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association, told BBC World Service's Everywoman programme. "It equates fairness with beauty." Cultural basis The advert was known as "the air hostess ad". It showed a young, dark-skinned girl's father lamenting he had no son to provide for him, as his daughter's salary was not high enough - the suggestion being that she could neither get a better job or get married because of her dark skin. Many of India's models are light-skinned The girl then uses the cream, becomes fairer, and gets a better-paid job as an air hostess - and makes her father happy. "Of course, there is a cultural base in India for this kind of market. [Fair And Lovely are] taking advantage of that and exploiting that very backward understanding," Ms Karat said. "This advertisement, we believe, is demeaning to women and it should be off the air." The company that manufactures Fair And Lovely, Hindustan Lever Limited, said it acknowledged the concerns that had been raised regarding the campaign. "Some individuals or organisations have expressed objections against specific exhibitional elements advertisements," the company said in a statement. "As a responsible company, we have taken note of these objections and will address them." But they pointed out that only one advert had been withdrawn, and added that they had not intended to show it again anyway. "This ad had already been withdrawn by us, as it had run its campaign period," the statement continued. "All the other ads for Fair And Lovely are all on air." 'Polluting' India's youth But that is not likely to be the end of the row. The Indian Government is now looking into other adverts, and indeed the whole skin-lightening industry. The ads are targeted at the young and fashionable "You have to maintain a very delicate balance about that," Rita Vorimer of the ruling BJP party, told Everywoman. "I do not like the concept of moral policing. "But some of these ads have really been very irresponsible, and they portray women in a very poor light." Ms Vorimer was particularly critical of the impact the adverts were having on India's youth. "They are polluting the minds of the younger generation," she said. "They think women are the objects of lust - that is a very wrong value. "Something must be done by the government, and the government has a responsibility to stop all this nonsense."

The last week I've had twice very bad headaches (one last night). Sometimes taking Tylenol (or aspirin) isn't enough for me. Last night I had a very bad headache and the quickest cure I've found is to create cold compresses. I take two old t-shirts and soak them in water. Then I put them in the freezer to chill. Afterwards I roll up one and put it behind my neck, and another I fold up and put over my eyes. It is kind of painful for the first few moments (because it is so cold). But after 10 or 15 minutes it really takes away much of the pain. Not sure the exact physiological reason. Thats my tip for the day /images/graemlins/smile.gif

This week's Srila Siddhaswarupananda television program is a repeat concerning one aspect of Christian philosophy. Srila Siddhasvarupananda: There are many so-called Christians who say that God came down as Jesus and bled in order to cleanse us of our sins. In the old Jewish tradition the blood-letting of an animal was used as a purifying sacrifice. We aren’t going to go into whether this is bonafide or not. But this process was laid down in the old Jewish scriptures. Now within Christianity it is said that we all became dirty due to the actions of our great, great, great, great… grandparents Adam and Eve. As such all of mankind has become impure. The whole mystery about the incarnation of Jesus Christ is that God became man and ended up being the lamb/blood sacrifice to cleanse mankind. So these Christians are promoting the idea that there is no other way for man to become purified except to sacrifice God on an altar. God became man to be sacrificed like an animal. Audience Member: I remember growing up Catholic we used to say “Lamb of God take on the sins of the world.” Srila Siddhaswarupananda: It is true to call him a lamb as he did not fight back. He was humble. But the problem with this philosophy is that it says that God had to come under the laws of material nature. God does not have to follow the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are for those who aren’t God. It is nonsense to think that God has to follow certain laws in order for man to be purified. Why is it necessary for God to come into the material world in order to experience it? They are saying that the most offensive activity, the crucifixion of a loving servant of God was the sacrifice needed. A real sacrifice is out of love. Audience Member: Some would say that it is an act of love on the part of Jesus. Srila Siddhaswarupananda: It is an act of love on Jesus’ part but it is the priest who slits the throat of the animal. Those who crucified Jesus Christ committed a sin cast upon all of man. This act was so offensive to the Supreme Person that it would not be hard to see God rejecting the whole of the world. [intermission] Audience Member: … they call it Good Friday. Srila Siddhaswarupananda: Why is it good that on this day the pure loving servant of God was murdered and tortured? This is not good, it is the ultimate bad. On this day one should cry. This is what the servants of God feel. Whoever sees or hears about this, it must tear their heart out. If it does not then they are not my friend, they are not lovers of Jesus. It is true that if I become his devotee and give my life to him, make his commandments my very life, then indeed you will be purified of your sinful reactions. But to say that God is obligated to be tortured in order for mankind to be purified is nonsense. God does not need to be tortured by animals/demons. This isn’t necessary. This is mayavadi philosophy. Maya means illusion. It means that God comes under the laws of material nature and comes under ignorance. Because of this they deny God’s power to purify. They are trying to understand the big picture but really they are doubters of God’s power. As such they put Him in a powerless position. He had to go through this lila – pastime. Any sacrifice done in lust, anger, or hate is not a real sacrifice. They say that God the father sacrificed His son on the cross. God so much loved the world that He sacrificed His son. So they make God the priest to bring on a higher power. Who the hell is God sacrificing for? SACRIFICES ARE NOT FOR GOD!!! YOU IDIOTS!!! They are saying there is a law above God that God must follow. This is Mormon philosophy. That you can become a God and have your own universe. A God has a God. God does not worship anyone. They think God is like us… like Michelangelo speculating that God is old with a white beard. Thus if God must make a sacrifice it must be something very valuable to Him. The most valuable thing to God is His pure devotee. In the Bhagavad-Gita the Lord says that “No one is more dear to me than my pure devotee.” Audience Member: Why did God allow His son to be crucified? Srila Siddhaswarupananda: To ask why does God allow bad things to happen means we want God to take away our freedom. We have within us the ability to do harm to a devotee of God. In the 15th Century in India Haridas Thakur was beaten in one market place after another. He was immersed in samadhi – love for God. So these pure devotees take on all hardships in service for the Lord. If a burden comes they are willing to take it on and if you take away these hardships in fact you take away their life. God will never take away your freedom to reject Him. You have this freedom but watch out what you do with it.

This week’s Srila Siddhaswarupananda television program concerns how to get off of the cycle of birth and death. We are now going to speak about how a person can get off of the wheel of birth and death. The material world is one of superficial pleasure and suffering. I understand that this is the age of positive thinking and so some might view this as negative thinking. But the reality is that you are spirit soul. As spirit you are not meant for this material world. First, I want to make sure you understand why you are on this wheel of birth and death. There are three main reasons. First, the individual still has material desires. Second, the individual has karmic reactions. And third, the individual is still attached to some material form. Now actually these three cannot be separated from one another. Still we separate them for the purpose of discussion. If you want to stop this cycle you must become free of material desire, must purify yourself of karmic reactions, and at the time of death your mind must not be attached to a material form. If these things are achieved then you will not be reborn. How can we do this? We must become completely God conscious. Love the Supreme Lord with all your heart, mind, and being. Work for His pleasure. If you make your love perfect and without deviation then you can transcend this wheel of birth and death through God consciousness. Why does God consciousness free a person? First, in connection with material desires, a person tries to enjoy his senses to achieve some level of happiness. But as Mick Jagger still sings “I can’t get no satisfaction.” You will always be craving more. But a spiritualist is self-satisfied in God consciousness and is free from material desires. Second, how does one become free of karmic reactions? If a person is God conscious, then they are conscious of the fact that God owns everything including their body and themselves. They understand the truth of the Sri Isopanishad (mantra 1): “Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.” A person who lives life as though they are the enjoyer lives life as a false god. God is the rightful owner and enjoyer of all fruits. A person who lives with this knowledge does not engage in activities that bind him to another birth. This is confirmed in Sri Isopanishad (mantra 2): “One may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he continuously goes on working in that way, for that sort of work will not bind him to the law of karma. There is no alternative to this way for man.” In addition, the Bhagavad-Gita 5:12 states: “The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.” For a person who sees the material world as his playground, his activities become binding and create karmic reactions. However, actions in the service of God do not create reactions. The third point I would like to go into more depth. The person in God consciousness is thinking of the one he loves. It is similar to how one loves their wife, or husband, or friend very much. We’ve all experienced our heart being someone else’s property. You can’t go to sleep without thinking of the one you love. This is actually a cause of rebirth. At the time of death your heart goes toward what you treasure. “From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” Bhagavad-Gita 8:16 It is very unfortunate that people do not know these subtle material laws. Do not think that the form is the person. Real love is not attachment to that form. Misguided love is love directed towards a material form. This causes one to be reborn in connection to that form. I know this one lady who loves this poodle very much. Every day she brushes his hair, talks to him, feeds him. Her consciousness is being immersed in the form of this dog. Most likely she will think of this form at death and take on a dog’s body. This is very unfortunate. There is the story of Jada Bharat from the Vedic scripture the Srimad Bhagavatam. He was a very spiritually advanced person. One day he was meditating in the forest when he saw a pregnant mother deer. A lion roared and scared the mother deer to jump into a river where she gave birth. Seeing this he jumped into the river to save the baby deer. From that moment he would take care of this deer constantly. The deer became his friend. He would be meditating and the deer would snuggle up against him. In this way, over time his heart became attached to this deer. When the time came for him to leave his body, he was thinking of this deer friend. This dear deer friend. By natures arrangement he took on the body in his next life as a deer. However, due to the blessings of the Lord, he was able to remember his previous life. He understood that he wasn’t a deer. To make a long story short, since we are running out of time, when he next took the human form of life, he decided never again to become attached to anyone or anything. He would act like he was deaf, dumb, and crazy. In his young adulthood he finally spoke. And from here we learn of the teachings of Jada Bharat. You will take on the form of what you think of at the time of death. If you love God and perceive His spiritual form your mind will be on the transcendental form of God. “For one who always remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Prtha, because of his constant engagement in devotional service. After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.” Bhagavad-Gita 8:14-15 Serve Him, surrender to Him, and become perfectly God conscious. Then you will go to Him and transcend the wheel of birth and death.

The disciples of Srila Gour Govinda Maharaj put out literally the best publications out there. The content is of very high quality. And their production values (art, binding, layouts) are just top notch. I'd recommend reading "The Embankment of Separation."

I remember on one of the "Memories" videos Srila Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Maharaj mentioned how Italians fit in so easily in India. They take to Vaisnava culture so easily. Any thoughts on why this is? I know Srila Prabhupada was impressed that the Italian culture was very respectful towards those who were religious.

Even if we don't realize it, everything is done for a reason. Often times we may lose track of why something was initially done, and instead take it at face value as just something "cultural". So what was the idea underlying the dowry? What purpose does/did it serve?

Here is the architect for the San Diego Mormon temple: http://www.hyndman-hyndman.com/

This week’s Srila Siddhaswarupananda television program answers the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Let me read a letter from a woman whose 8 year old son died of cancer: “You teach that we should love God, but why should I love God when he causes my son to suffer. I must question if He exists, if He is all powerful, all wise, and compassionate.” We all experience this. We have certain reactions to God in the face of bad times. What are some these? Audience member: There is no God. Srila Siddhawarupananda: The most common reaction is that there is no God. Most atheists use this argument. If God exists how can there be so much suffering in the world. What other ones? Audience member: That God is cruel. Srila Siddhaswarupananda: Yes, that God doesn’t care or that He likes to see us suffer. This lady is writing sincerely. If He felt love how could he care and still let this happen? “God, how could you let this happen?” We experience compassion when someone suffers. So we wonder how come God doesn’t care. You start to believe that you are more compassionate than God, that you love this person more than God does. We consider God’s attributes and conclude that He doesn’t care. Any others? Audience member: Maybe God isn’t all powerful. Maybe he can’t do anything about it. Srila Siddhaswarupananda: One Jewish scholar concludes to this theological problem that God loves us but He is not all powerful. So even though He would like for bad things not to happen, there is nothing He can do about it. In this sense there is no God. He may care and love but lacks that power. That isn’t God. Another possible reaction is that maybe He is not all wise. What are all of these reactions based upon? Audience member: This world is for our enjoyment. Srila Siddhaswarupananda: What is our relationship with God? Why do you exist in this world? What is the relationship between you, the world, and God? Why did God make the world? Most people think that God created this world so that we can enjoy it. God’s purpose then is to help us enjoy. Thus when we aren’t enjoying it must be God’s fault. God screwed up. We believe we are the body. And yet our body keeps suffering. Your body is destined for death. Every body has died. It is built into this creation. Why are you so confused about suffering in this world? Because you think this world is meant to be enjoyed. You think that this is your home. Thus, good means you can live here, and bad means you can’t live here. But in the end we all get smashed. We experience disease, old age, and death. So God must be a lousy creator. Either that or He is too stupid or else He allows suffering for His enjoyment. This is all based on ignorance. In reality you are spirit. You are not matter. This place made of matter is not your home. This is not your eternal habitat. Your real world is the world of spirit – the Kingdom of God. What is the real purpose of this material dimension? And what can you do about it? Your true essence is spirit and you belong in that spiritual world to experience natural happiness. God lives in His kingdom eternally and everyone in the spiritual world loves to serve Him. However, because you experience envy of God, because you desire to be the Lord, therefore you are place in this material world. You come under the laws of cause & effect, becoming bound to the wheel of birth and death. This world is a place of suffering because it is meant to be temporary. We experience birth, getting old, disease, and finally being kicked out of this body at death. Since we are spirit and not matter, this world of matter has built into it an amount of suffering. But pain and suffering has a purpose to make us question if this is our real home. Pain is not always bad. If I didn’t have the sensation of pain, then I could put my hand in a candle flame and cause lots of damage. Pain is part of this world and can be a learning experience. The purpose of existence is to develop love for God, not to enjoy this temporary world. Audience member: Does that mean He is not responsible for the good that happens to you? Srila Siddhaswarupananda: Yes. Sometimes you strike it rich. It is not that God is favoring you. Each of us sow and reap. Don’t think that God is arbitrary. Audience member: Can meditation free me from this cycle? Srila Siddhaswarupananda: Yes. Meditation means focusing your heart on the Supreme Lord. If you are not attached to this world, then you will never return. Audience member: Can a person still be happy while here? Srila Siddhaswarupananda: Yes. If you develop love for God. God is a person and you are a person. If you taste this love for God then you will have real love. Don’t be in the illusion that God is not perfect. He is the perfect friend and you will be happy now if you establish a relationship with Him. Then at the time of death you will return to Him.

State adopts infants' cause In the second of a two-part report on infanticide in India, CNN's Satindar Bindra takes a look at efforts to find new homes for little girls surrendered by their parents to the state. There are high hopes that education and law enforcement can put an end to female infanticide in India. SALEM, India (CNN) -- Eighteen-month-old Hema's biological parents abandoned her within hours of birth. Now she has been adopted by the Somasundram family. "Imagine a blind man suddenly getting the gift of sight. There's as much joy when a childless couple can adopt a child,'' says the child's new father. The Somasundram's live in southern India's Salem district -- an area where prejudice against girls runs so deep officials say every year about 100 girls are murdered by their own parents. It's a practice that shames and embarrasses the Somasundrams. "Instead of killing children, if these people only dropped off the girls at state adoption centers thousands of people like us can get tremendous happiness,'' says the father of the Somasundrams household. Officials are now encouraging mothers who do not want to keep baby girls to surrender them to the state. Government agencies then arrange for their adoption. Officials are also taking other steps to curb female infanticide. It is now mandatory for all pregnant women in the Salem area to register at the local hospital. Here many receive their first lessons in gender equity and are counseled not to kill or abandon female children.'' Such counseling appears to be working. One expectant mother, Jayalakshmi, says she is looking forward to giving birth to a baby girl. "Those who kill baby girls discard them like trash," she says. "Do they have such low regard for women? Can't that girl become a civil servant a doctor lawyer? Why do they kill them?'' Local women volunteers called "motorcycle messiahs" travel door-to-door spreading just such a message. In the areas they work in, fewer girls are now being killed. The messiahs, though, admit they have not been able to stem the number of babies being handed over to the state and social agencies. But the social workers are not worried. They have a long list of childless couples that want to give these female children their right to life.

Grim motives behind infant killings In the first of a two-part report examining infanticide in India, CNN's Satinder Bindra looks into the social environment that can drive parents to kill their baby girls. SALEM, India (CNN) -- Fifteen hours after a baby girl was buried alive by her father in central India, police managed to pull her out -- and she was still alive. Police say the baby survived because she had been buried among stones and there was enough space for her to breathe. Every year, thousands of baby girls in India are murdered by their own parents. Sociologists blame such killings on a widely held Indian belief that girls are an economic drain because families still have to pay expensive dowries at the time of their marriage. Authorities have said that over the past few years, more than 4,500 female babies in India's southern Salem district alone have been killed -- by their own parents. Social scientists say the severity of the problem of selective abortions is so bad, the country's gender birth ratio shows there are 880 females for every 1,000 males. Modern technology has only worsened the phenomena. While infanticide has long been practiced, female foeticide is a relatively new phenomenon. Over the past decade, inexpensive access to ultrasound technology has led to many families determining the sex of an unborn child and then aborting it if it is found to be female. New laws and an aggressive intervention program mean fewer girls in Salem are being murdered. But the practice of female infanticide continues. Officials in this south Indian city have put the word out to parents they will treat every suspicious infant death as a homicide. Police, however, are still finding the shallow graves of babies and say more than a hundred female children here are killed by their parents every year. A Salem woman sits crushing grain as she tells CNN she has to live the rest of her life with the pain and guilt of knowing she murdered her own new born baby girl. "I wanted to keep the baby. But people around me said, 'You have three daughters. Why do you want to have yet another one?' How can I kill her, I asked?" "They suggested giving the baby something that would kill her. So I got some tobacco leaves, mixed it with water and gave it to the baby. She died.'' In the southern Indian district of Salem, such murders are fairly common. In this region alone officials say that over the past year about one hundred female children have been murdered by their own parents. Some were asphyxiated, others poisoned or starved and many just left to die in sewers and garbage dumps. Adoption scheme Sociologists blame such killings on a deep-rooted gender bias. Compared to boys, girls are believed to be an economic drain because it is still customary to pay the husband's family expensive, albeit iillegal, dowries at the time of their marriage. So harsh is the dowry system, it can bankrupt a poor family with more than one daughter. One man told CNN that raising young girls was like "watering your neighbor's lawn." To control female infanticide, officials in southern India have launched a program called the Cradle Baby Scheme to convince parents not to kill, but surrender unwanted baby girls to the state. So far more than 420 baby girls have been handed over to state officials, who claim every baby surrendered is a life saved. Parents like Kamala Palanisami agree. Six months ago when she gave birth to her sixth child, a baby girl, Palanisami decided to give her to the state. "I felt one daughter was enough, five children were enough. This child should get a better life -- so I gave her up,'' said Palanisami. This woman who killed her baby also says it is poverty that drives parents to murder. "If I could have clothed, fed and given the baby a decent life I wouldn't have done what I did.'' Officials are now trying to educate more women and find them higher paying jobs so they are better able to save their children and this region from so much suffering and shame.

Q. Why do blondes wash their hair in the sink? A. Because that's where you’re supposed to wash vegetables. Q. What do smart blondes and UFO's have in common? A. You always hear about them but never see them. Q. What is a brunette between two blondes? A. An interpreter. Q. Hear about the blonde that bought an AM radio? A. It took her a month to figure out she could play it at night too. ---- A blonde and a brunette are driving down the highway in a convertible. The brunette knows that she's speeding so she asks the blonde if there's a cop behind them. The blonde looks behind her and sees a cop and tells the brunette. The brunette then asks if he's got his lights on. The blonde replies "Yes...No...Yes...No...Yes...No" ---- A police officer stops a blonde for speeding and asks her very nicely if he could see her license. She replied in a huff, "I wish you guys could get your act together. Just yesterday you take away my license and then today you expect me to show it to you." ---- Two blondes were in a parking lot trying to unlock the door of their Mercedes with a coat hanger. They tried and tried to get the door open, but they just couldn't! The blonde with the coat hanger stopped for a moment to catch her breath. The other blonde said anxiously, "Hurry up! It's starting to rain and the top is down." ---- Three blondes are stuck on a desert island and one finds a magic lamp. They rub it and a genie pops out and gives them each a wish. the first blonde says, "I wish I was 10% smarter so I could get off of this island." Then she turns into a redhead and swims off the island. The second sees what happens and says "I wish I was 25% smarter so that I can get off this island!" She then turns into a brunette, makes a raft from trees and sails off. Finally, the third blonde says "I wish I was 50% smarter so I can get off this island." She then suddenly turns into a man and walks across the bridge. ---- A blonde walks into a doctor's office. She gets in the room with the doctor and says, "Doc, I hurt all over." The doctor is really confused. He says, "What do you mean, you hurt all over?" The blonde says, "I'll show you." She then touches herself on her leg. "OW!!! I hurt there." Then she touches her earlobe. "OW!!!!!! I hurt there too!" Then she touches her hair. "OW!!!!! EVEN MY HAIR HURTS!" So the doctor sits back and thinks on it for 5 min. Then he says, "Tell me, is blonde your natural hair color?" The blonde says "Yes, why?" The doctor says, "Well, you got a broken finger..." ---- What do you get when you offer a blonde "a penny for your thoughts"? Change. ---- A blonde walks up to a Coke machine and puts in a coin. Out pops a coke. The blonde looks amazed and runs away to get some more coins. She returns and starts feeding the machine madly and of course the machine keeps feeding out drinks. Another person walks up behind the blonde and watches her antics for a few minutes before stopping her and asking if someone else could have a go. The blonde spins around and shouts in her face: Can't you see I'm winning.

I remember reading that Srila Prabhupada says that so called instinct is actually the supersoul within the animal guiding it. I believe it was Srila Siddhaswarupananda I heard on one of his programs say that if you analyze what instinct actually means when the scientists say it, it means "We don't know." But instinct sounds oh so scientific. There was a program on television a couple years ago that showed ants growing and harvesting a certain kind of mold on leaves. They said it was instinct. That means nothing. Why in the world is a dumb animal growing food? Instinct means nothing. If you say it is chemical molecular interations then break down why that happens. But they can't because they don't know why it happens. It just does.

I agree with most of the points made. The Libertarians got their idea because there has developed a view that the left has done pretty much this with the state of Vermont. Apparently back in the 1970s Playboy wrote an article suggesting all the socialists take over Vermont. It used to be actually quite conservative. But within a few decades they were electing the most leftwing individuals including the only open socialist in Congress. My main concern is as was said that there really should be a temple in every town and village. The only logical part that still likes this idea is that in the short run perhaps there would be a reduction. However, in the long run such a consolidation strategy may enable better focused and planned preaching. You would be operating from a position of strength. This could lead in the long run to more preaching. I'm also reminded abit about the Mormons. The Mormons once had many little communities. However, due to persecution they all decided to pack up and move to Utah. From there they built a truly cohesive society. The Seventh Day Adventists and Jehova Witnesses were starting out around the same time as the Mormons, and yet they have never accomplished anything remotely as great as owning an entire state. This gives great advantage to Mormons. They all send their kids to public schools because all the kids in Utah are already Mormon. Seventh Day Adventists have to create private schools and divert funds there. Since all (actually most not all) businesses in Utah are Mormon owned, all monies stay within the community.

I don't know enough about Islam (though from what I've read it is possible it is impersonalistic). But Christianity is not based on impersonalism. If you want to read a great article check out G.K. Chesterton's "The Everlasting Man". After reading that article I developed a new found understanding of what makes Western civilization not Eastern civilization. There are those who will claim that all religions are the same. They all teach fundamental values, to be good and such. But this is not true. The philosophical conclusions of Christianity are diametrically opposed to voidism. After reading "The Everlasting Man" what you will realize is that what made Western civilization was precisely that it wasn't Impersonalism. It is about shape and form. Western civilization is about shape and (most of) Eastern civilization is about shapelessness. Check it out, its really very good.

I don't know enough about Islam (though from what I've read it is possible it is impersonalistic). But Christianity is not based on impersonalism. If you want to read a great article check out G.K. Chesterton's "The Everlasting Man". After reading that article I developed a new found understanding of what makes Western civilization not Eastern civilization. There are those who will claim that all religions are the same. They all teach fundamental values, to be good and such. But this is not true. The philosophical conclusions of Christianity are diametrically opposed to voidism. After reading "The Everlasting Man" what you will realize is that what made Western civilization was precisely that it wasn't Impersonalism. It is about shape and form. Western civilization is about shape and (most of) Eastern civilization is about shapelessness. Check it out, its really very good.

This is just an idea posting. I know it will never (and probably shouldn’t) get implemented but I think it can open up a discussion on how to actually implement a varnashram society. So here is the idea: Close down all (or most) centers in the world and build a single Vaisnava city. This could be done all over the world or perhaps regionally (ie. one city in Europe, one in North America, one in South America etc…). You can never build a Vaisnava society until there is a critical mass of people. If you closed down all temples in North America and moved everyone to a central location this would give you a singular point of strength. This wouldn’t have to happen immediately, but perhaps over a period of 10 years. I got this idea from the Libertarian party. They are seeking to gather 10,000 fellow Libertarians and all together move into a very small state. From there they would dominate local politics, state politics as a major voting bloc. They’d vote in Libertarian Senators, Congressmen, State legislators and such. If you had 10,000 voters in a state like North Dakota you could have some major influence. In addition, if you built your own city the state would be required to build a school for the students. A public school made up of Vaisnavas (even if it didn’t teach Vaisnavism) would be a far better environment than a public school of 20 Vaisnavas and 1500 non-devotees. Now once you have concentration then internal businesses can develop. For instance, there will never be a devotee grocery store with just 100 devotees. That means whenever we purchase food we are taking devotee earned money and having it siphoned off to non-devotees. There will never be real dairy farms until we increase concentration. Everything we talk about wanting, I can only see coming about by concentration. If we consolidate, we may then be able to move outwards from that point of focus.

Here is something I picked up on Religion & Ethics. It does present a problem. There are approximately 400,000 unused embryos in frozen storage in the United States. The excess embryos, produced for infertile couples engaged in in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments, present an ethical and religious dilemma: What should be done with them?