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Thanks so much for reminding me to read Prabhupada's books although you said you don't follow Prabhupada. Thought this was a kind of interesting offer for sale for the "friendly marketplace forum", which reminds people that although demigod worship is presently introduced by the Vaishnava institutions - demigod worship is also performed "by devils who have to be annihilated by Vishnu Ji in his several incarnations....."

A Hindu Temple for Oxford? http://ruthwilkinson.mycouncillor.org.uk/2008/08/31/a-hindu-temple-for-oxford/ You may have read in the local press recently about a new project looking at providing a Hindu Temple for the county’s Hindu community, possibly in Oxford and possibly in the Headington area. I met last week two of the organisers of this new project to learn from them what their community wants and to see how we can work together in future. It should be said that this project is at a very early stage, at the moment gathering support in the Hindu community across the county. In the first instance, the intention is to hold regular prayer meetings at an accessible location — the first occasion is in Kennington on 14th September where I hope to be to watch and learn about the ceremonies. In the longer term, there will be a fund-raising campaign looking to support a building and a priest. At that stage, they will be looking for a suitable site, which is in large part dependent on the location of those wanting to attend. The Headington area, in its widest sense, already serves a range of faith groups, with a variety of Christain churches and, in Marston, the Sikh community represented. I am on record praising the cosmopolitan and open nature of Oxford and I would see a Hindu Temple as a further addition to that positive tradition. Equally, the help I’m giving to the project does not mean I want to tie them solely to my part of the city; I appreciate that there may well be other locations better suited to them than our area of Headington. My hope is that, in the fullness of time, they will find a site, in or near the city, best suited to them. I hope you join me in wishing them good fortune in their endeavours.

Thanks for posting this, the essence of vedic knowledge - how to actually enjoy on the spiritual platform. "The Nectar of Devotion will teach us how to turn the one switch that will immediately brighten everything, everywhere. One who does not know this method is missing the point of life." The Most Beautiful Janmastami Deities http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBEm_1oItdc <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBEm_1oItdc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBEm_1oItdc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Good point - traditionally Hindus don't preach, this should be changed. "Let The Hindus Also Do Missionary Work" By Kancha Ilaiah & Yoginder Sikand http://www.countercurrents.org/ilaiah310808.htm 31 August, 2008 Countercurrents.org Kancha Ilaiah, Professor of Political Science at Osmania University, Hyderabad, is a leading ideologue of the Dalit-Bahujan movement. He is a prolific writer, and among his best known works are ‘Why I Am Not a Hindu: A Critique of Hindutva From a Dalit-Bahujan Perspective’, ‘God as a Political Philosopher: The Buddha’s Challenge to Brahminism’ and ‘Buffalo Nationalism: A Critique of Spiritual Fascism’. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand he talks about his work and reflects on the role of religion in the Dalit-Bahujan struggle. Q: All of your major works deal with the Dalit-Bahujans, but they are in English, a language that few Dalit-Bahujans can read. So, then, whom do you write for? A: My English works are, of course, addressed primarily to a middle-class readership, but I also write for several Telugu papers. My works have also been translated into several Indian languages. ‘Why I am Not a Hindu’, for instance, has come out in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Marathi. Q: What about Urdu? Do Muslim papers also publish you? After all, most Indian Muslims are descendants of oppressed caste converts and count among the Dalit-Bahujans. A: Some of my articles have been published in Urdu newspapers, but no one has yet taken any initiative to translate my books into Urdu. Perhaps that is because of some sort of resistance that I perceive among many Muslims to certain critical ideas and social issues. That, in turn, has probably to do with the fact that while Muslims were once carriers of an evangelical ideology, today that evangelical spirit, of seeking to reach out to oppressed communities, to the oppressed castes, is now almost lost. We in the Dalit-Bahujan movement have been shouting hoarse for Muslim-Dalit-Bahujan unity for the last thirty or forty years, but the elite Muslim leadership does not take this seriously. Instead of joining hands with us, they want to dialogue with ‘upper’ caste Hindu-led parties—the Congress and the Left—and even with various Shankaracharyas! They aren’t even very concerned about their own fellow Muslims who live in the ghettos and slums, most of who are descendants of Dalit-Bahujan converts. I, for one, am all for Muslims to take to missionary work among the Dalit-Bahujans in a major way. In that way, they would revive the tradition of the Sufis of the past, who reached out to the oppressed caste victims of Hinduism, and won their hearts and their allegiance with their love and message of equality and liberated them. Islam became attractive to the labouring castes of India when the Sufis went and lived among them, ate with them, spoke their languages. They invited them inside their mosques and Sufi hospices, and allowed them to touch the Quran. Imagine what a revolution this was for the oppressed castes, who were forbidden by the Brahmins, on pain of death, from entering temples, forbidden even from so much as listening to, leave alone touching, the Vedas! Only when that evangelical spirit of the past is revived can the critical ideas of the sort that I am seeking to advance on issues related to caste and Brahminism win serious attention in Muslim circles. Further, interacting with and living with the Dalit-Bahujans in this manner can help bring Muslims out of the ghettoes into which they have been forced. They would solidify fraternal bonds with the Dalit-Bahujans and this can go a long way in curbing anti-Muslim violence, where, routinely, Dalit-Bahujans are instigated by the oppressor castes into attacking hapless Muslims. Let me elaborate on this. I am not a Muslim, but I have read about Islam. The Quran exhorts Muslims to tell others about their socially liberating faith, and also to practically exert themselves in seeking to liberate them from oppression. In the Indian context, this means that Muslims must take this task earnestly in reaching out to the oppressed castes, the Dalit-Bahujans, who are victims of Hinduism, which is another name for Brahminism or what I call spiritual fascism. They must present before them genuine Islamic spiritual democracy as an alternative, as a source of liberation. Q: Isn’t that what Babasaheb Ambedkar also said, about how every socio-political revolution of the oppressed castes in India was preceded by a spiritual revolution? A: Exactly. And this has been the case not just in India. The black struggle for liberation in America started in the black churches and in the mosques. There are four major spiritual cultures in the world today: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. The first three are what I call democratic spiritual cultures. They preach the fundamental equality of all believers. Hinduism is what I call spiritual fascism, for caste, caste oppression and caste-based inequality is ingrained in it. All the Brahminical Hindu scriptures champion caste. And Hindu spiritual fascism leads to political fascism as well. So, obviously, the complete liberation for the Dalit-Bahujans must start with renunciation of Hinduism that has kept them as slaves for centuries and accepting one of the three democratic spiritual cultures, Christianity, Islam or Buddhism. And this is precisely what is happening in India today. I regard this as a very welcome development, which needs to be speeded up. I personally don’t describe myself as a secularist. I am a spiritual democrat, and I realise that my people, the Dalit-Bahujans of this country, are also desperately in search of spiritual democracy, which cannot be found in Hinduism, which is its complete opposite. So, conversion to Christianity, Islam or Buddhism is a must for our people. Let these three religions and their followers work among our people in a democratic manner. There are some possibilities of resuscitating egalitarian trends in Dalit-Bahujan religious traditions, but this project has its limits. In today’s globalised world why should our people stop at our local Pocchamma or Elamma or other such village goddesses? In their search for empowerment and liberation they must join one of the three global spiritual cultures. 800 million Dalit-Bahujans are ready to hear the word of God as the democratic spiritual traditions understand it. They have been kept ignorant of spiritual democracy for over three thousand years. Q: But what about Hindu missionary work? Surely that is also happening, and vast numbers of Dalits and Adivasis are rapidly being Hinduised. A: Let our people choose whichever religion they want. Let the Hindus also engage in missionary work. But, increasingly, Dalit-Bahujans will realise the truth, that all the major Brahminical Hindu scriptures are all predicated on caste and sanctify caste-based oppression. The Rig Veda says that Brahmins were created from Manu’s mouth, and the Shudras from his feet. Thankfully and luckily, the Dalits were not created from this Manu at all! The Gita also champions caste. The Ramayana says that Ram killed the Shudra Shambhukh. The same is true for the other Brahminical scriptures. There is simply no way to reform Hinduism to remove caste. I am sure as awareness of this spreads among our people they will begin to reflect and will protest. That is already happening today, although the media prefers to remain silent on it. Conscious Dalits, followers of Navayana Ambedkarite Buddhism, are fighting Hindu spiritual fascism in an open ideological battle. Q: But is mere conversion enough? A: It depends on what one means by conversion. Conversion of self-identities and cultures through religious conversion is a major step, but this is must be accompanied by conversion of oppressive social structures through peoples’ struggles. Preaching is just part of the process. It also involves living with, empathising with and struggling along with the Dalit-Bahujans for liberation and emancipation from Brahminism.

<!--- blog subject ---> Massive flood hits India <!--- blog body ---> Millions Are Displaced by Floods in India Villagers navigated floodwaters on Friday in Jankipur, India. Aid workers said the official death toll, currently at 12, was low. An antipoverty agency estimated that 2,000 people had died. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/world/asia/30india.html?_r=1&oref=slogin By GAVIN RABINOWITZ, Associated Press Writer Sat Aug 30, 1:59 PM ET SAHARSA, India - The deluge came and turned his world to water, so Umesh Kushyaha decided to build a boat. Kushyaha squatted Saturday hammering nails into his rickety-looking wooden row boat on the side of the road, a lone strip of dry land that cuts across miles of water. He was preparing for what authorities say will be months more of life submerged under flood waters. About 1.2 million people have been left homeless and scores have been killed in the impoverished state of Bihar in the two weeks since the monsoon-swollen Kosi river in neighboring Nepal burst its banks, dramatically changing course and spilling billions of gallons of water into the plains of northern India. Authorities say hundreds of thousands remain stranded after their homes and villages were inundated, clinging to the roofs of houses or whatever dry speck of land they can find. An estimated 3 million residents of Bihar have been affected. Those who could flee fled, piling their families, goats, chickens and sacks of grain into boats and heading for safety. Some waded for miles through the waters, carrying bundles of their belongings on their heads as they sought refuge. But as the waters rushed in and flooded more than 750 villages and towns, many were unable to escape. Twenty people drowned Friday when their rescue boat capsized. By Saturday, some 330,000 people had been rescued, said Prataya Amrit, secretary of the state's disaster management department. Many of them were being housed in state-run relief camps. But while rescue efforts — buoyed by a $200 million Indian government relief fund — were finally picking up steam, officials warned the flooding was spreading to new areas and the high waters would last for months. Authorities say the breach in the Kosi embankment is more than a mile wide and growing every day, and they will be able to fix it until late November, when the monsoon ends and the torrent begins to subside. "Since they say the waters will be here until the end of October, I'm making a boat," said Kushyaha, a 49-year-old farmer from the badly hit Saharsa district, some 750 miles northeast of New Delhi. "We will be able to use it to get to the market and come back with supplies," he said. At a nearby relief camp set up in a four-room high school, teachers said the government had asked them to look after people for two months. "From tonight, we will begin supplying them with cooked food," said Rameshwar Prasad Mandal pointing to sacks of rice and lentils stored in a classroom under the watchful eye of a portrait of Indira Gandhi, India's prime minister in the 1970s. For many of the 800 people in the camp, it will be the first hot meal since the floods. "We have had nothing to eat except some rice cakes and palm sugar," said Lalita Devi, a 28-year-old mother of four, who grabbed her children and two goats and fled when the waste-high water swept through her village. Since then, they have been living with thousands of others camped out on the sides of the roads or railway, which are built on high embankments to prevent them being washed away. India's monsoon season, which lasts from June to September, brings rain vital for the country's farmers but also often causes massive destruction. This flooding, however, is different from the annual monsoon deluge. Apart from the roads, the vast plains have been turned into a massive lake, with only an occasional tree or rooftop breaking the surface. The waters are deceptively placid in places but swirling and menacing in others where dozens of workers pile sandbags and rocks on the road embankments, trying to strengthen them and prevent these last vital links from being washed away. Those who have made it to the few points of high ground consider themselves lucky. The government has some 900 boats carrying out rescue operations but they have not even penetrated some regions. D. R. Ayub was trapped on the roof of his home for more than 10 days until he managed to get word to his brother-in-law who owns a boat. "We did not see anything of the government," he said as he wearily clambered out the rescue boat, which he had shared with 100 others people and several goats. The boat was heading back to the village where about 1,000 more people were waiting, he said. But not everyone wanted to leave their homes. Nearby, a government worker was loading relief packets — each containing 5.5 pounds of rice, 9 ounces of sugar and a matchbox and a candle — into a boat along with 300 polyester sheets to use for shelter. They were for people who were refusing to leave their homes, fearing looters, said the worker, Binod Senha. The government says it has not yet been able to asses the extent of the devastation, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described as a national calamity. "We will only be able to tell the extent after the water recedes," said Amrit. "But it is colossal."

Today India's leading financial news makes a research about the impact of globalization on faith. "Considering that Hinduism is not an evangelical religion like Christianity or Islam, the main factor that is determining the global spread of Hinduism is the growing numbers of non-resident Indians or the Indian diaspora. But some discussions on Iskcon or the Arya Samajis would have shed useful light on the changes in global Hinduism." Faith is a global commodity http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Faith-is-a-global-commodity/355480/ Posted online: Sunday , August 31, 2008 at 01:34 hrs The discourse on globalisation is enriched by scholars examining its impact on different aspects of culture and society during the past two decades. As part of this discourse, this book breaks new ground by choosing to reflect on what globalisation has done to various religions. It examines all the major religions like Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and Buddhism that have arrived in the modern world like Christians of Later Day Saints. The major global religions have been seeking to globalise by spreading their messages long before the emergence of modern conventional forms of globalisation, rooted in the Bretten-Wood System in the post-World War II era. Overall the analysis here emphasises non-economic aspects of globalisation. A major part is devoted to the analysis of major religions, their evolution and the impact owing to globalisation, but most of these narratives are historical in nature. It also devotes considerable space to analysing the transformation of religion during the post-modern era, and to each religion’s engagement with modernity. The chapter on Christianity examines how fundamentalism and modernism have emerged as two different forms of responses in recent times. While fundamentalism views Christianity as an unchanging embodiment of eternal truth, modernism views Christianity as an historical community whose growth and transformation are inspired by God’s original and continuing revelation. While both share a common scripture with stories of God’s action in time, for modernists this means admitting historical change in the development of scriptures and of church doctrine, whereas for fundamentalists this means God’s actions can never depart from the models acknowledged by pre-modern Christianity, which embody eternal and unchanging truth. What globalisation has done is that it has created diverse spaces in social, political and historical circumstances. Owing to Israel-Palestine conflict, Judaism has remained a polemical religion in global politics today. The discussion on Judaism, however, refrains from entering contested terrains, instead explaining how Jews all over the world grapple with the secular and the sacred, the diverse ways of Jewish life that religion can either reject or accommodate. One of the issues that remains part of the ongoing debate is how Jewish life should take shape in Israel. The ultra-Orthodox, who reject the secular, view religion as being about the sacred and the eternal. All modern and post-modern/ post-holocaust religious forms of Judaism, by contrast, view the holy and the secular as complementary. Whether secular or religious, Jews are still deeply shaped by the stories of Israel. What sort of strategies they employ to deal with the Other in the future will determine the global image as well as the internal character of Judaism as religion. At this point of world history, Islam draws a great deal of curiosity from non Muslims for a variety of political and cultural reasons. Its alleged linkage with terrorism, the new appeal of jihad and its abuse by some of the Muslim followers, raises new concern about the future of Islam, its relationship with other faiths. Islam in the contemporary world, as through out much of history, continues to be a religion of dynamic change. In contrast to Judaism and Christianity, Muslims due to centuries of European colonial dominance and rule, have had only a few decades to accomplish what the West experienced as a result of centuries of religious and political revolution and reform, a process that included the Enlightenment, Reformation, Counter-Reformation, and the French and American Revolutions. But the relationship of Islam with modernity has taken a new direction with Jihadis using the modern ways of communication to spread terror and justify it as Islamic. At the same time, it prefers to glorify pre-modern forms life as sacred and ideal. At the heart of this contradiction lies the difficult future that Islam is likely to face unless a charismatic leader brings requisite reform and changes its face as a peace loving faith which is what it is. Hinduism and Buddhism are two other religions which have entered into Western awareness strongly, but interest in these religions is selective, mainly centred on Yoga and meditation. Considering that Hinduism is not an evangelical religion like Christianity or Islam, the main factor that is determining the global spread of Hinduism is the growing numbers of non-resident Indians or the Indian diaspora. But some discussions on Iskcon or the Arya Samajis would have shed useful light on the changes in global Hinduism. Likewise, the gobal migration of Asian Buddhists is going to impact the fate of Buddhism as well. One wonders whether Buddhists revivalists could offer compelling interpretations of Dharma, as Buddhists find themselves drawn into the global markets of multinational capitalism, its doctrine of individualism and idealisation of consumerism. All in all, the book is a major contribution in the area of comparative religion and certainly advances our understanding of the impact of globalisation in the arena of culture. The reviewer teaches at Jamia Milia University. <table class="pagination" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td width="24%"> </td><td width="76%" align="right"> </td></tr></tbody></table>

Thanks stonehearted, additionally the understanding of some devotees to associate the Capitol architecture with the White House isn't well investigated. The St.Charles church, Vienna, see below, was constructed 1716 whereas the White House was completed 1863. The church Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, Italy, below, was built 1630. In fact this kind of architecture became so popular that you find in thousands of old cities all over Europe a building with such a dome. Prague, Czech Republik, Capitol of the Empire Amsterdam Sacre Coeur church Paris London: St. Paul's Cathedral Berlin Church Church Of Our Lady, Dresden Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow St. John's Cathedral, Malta

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<table width="452" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" height="287"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="vocc" valign="top" width="451" align="left" height="29">Amazing how many schools are run by Christians in India, 45,000! Could that this is therefore such a big topic for NYT: The Convert August 29, 2008 http://www.theindiancatholic.com/report.asp?nid=11196 </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="news-headline2" valign="top" align="left">Christians closed 45,000 schools protesting violence </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="text"> <table width="444" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td class="news-text" valign="top" width="450" align="left"> NEW DELHI (ICNS): some 45,000 educational institutions run by Christians across the country were closed on Friday to protest the continued anti-Christian violence in Orissa, which has claimed some 20 lives. </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="11"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table></td> </tr> <tr> </tr><tr valign="top" align="left"> <td colspan="2" class="news-text" height="26"> Protesting the violence that began a week ago "all our schools and colleges are closed” on Friday, Father Bubu Joseoh, spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India told the Indian Catholic. Catholics alone manage some 20,700 educational institutions. Following the CBCI call to close its schools, other Christian groups like Church of North India, Church of South India and other Christian groups also decided to close their schools. These groups together run some 20,000 schools and colleges. Violence griped Orissa last week after Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and four others were killed on Saturday at his Jalespata ashram in Kandhamal district. His killing triggered violence in the state against the Christian community by some Hindu groups. In Delhi scores of Christians marched to Orissa Bhawan, the office of the state resident commissioner, to protest the violence. Several schools and colleges like St. Stephens College, St Columba's School and Somerville School were closed for the day. A group of Christian leaders had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday and appraised him about the situation in Orissa. Joseph said the prime minister had assured them the government would "take all steps to bring peace and normalcy". In Kerala, around 5,900 educational institutions remained closed. The institutions in Kerala included four medical colleges and 11 engineering colleges run by the Catholic Church.</td></tr></tbody></table>

This is an important point. I would also say that Lord Caitanaya's temples outside of India have the mission to spread the principles of spiritual knowledge, who am I, what is this world, what is the goal life and how to actually become situated in my original position as eternal soul? If temples are turned into places to bless people for becoming successful in material ambition then how can this be called " to extinguish the fire of conditional life of repeated birth and death?" Lord Caitanya's mission is to save us from repeated birth and death, to take us out of this material ocean and not to become successful within this material ocean. "I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet."

Kirtan is sadhana, it is musical japa, and if it is done as a discipline, it can take you all the way. As Swami Sivananda says: “Kirtan is singing of the Lord’s glories. The devotee is thrilled with divine emotion. He loses himself in the love of God. His hair stands on end due to extreme love for God. He weeps in the middle when thinking of the glory of God. His voice becomes choked, and he flies into a state of divine bhava. One can realize God through kirtan alone.“

It might not be a presentation to be shown at the Sunday feast but Mark Bittman resembles the type of person who can influence our rascal politicians. Fact is that Vaishnava institutions have lost that battle. People in general have become callous, therefore you find that 6 mio Hindus in US - they defacto don't preach vegetarianism or cow protection - have all become meat-eaters or agree to cow slaughter industries. Their main focus having come to US was to escape from poverty in India even at the cost to pay huge taxes for supporting cow slaughter. Same with Hindus in UK, they even vote for meat eating at the first UK Hindu elementary school, called Krishna Avanti School. In India only 20% of present Hindus are vegetarians. Gurudeva Sivaya Subramuniyaswami: This is a very touchy topic, http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Eating_Meat_in_Hinduism/id/51476 "Mass of people, they do not know what is hell because they are living in the hell already. That was the story. When hell was described, he was undisturbed, but when he was informed that there was no newspaper in hell then he became… “Horrible. How one can live there without newspaper?” So so far hellish condition is there now." Garden Discussion on Bhagavad-gītā Sixteenth Chapter by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda June 26, 1976, New Vrindaban

Might not work with any browser, firefox seems to work <embed src="http://documents.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=2277783&access_key=key-1bjgu7wfa3rgpf7xkqfi&page=&version=1&auto_size=true&viewMode=" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_870234755724460_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%" align="middle" height="500"> Hindu Rituals and Routines - Upload a Document to Scribd Read this document on Scribd: Hindu Rituals and Routines

Nice gesture of Sri Chinmaya to install Radha Krishna Deities, could be that finally he also introduces bhakti-yoga. Celebrating spiritual growth http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-relig-hindu-29-aug29,0,7828766.story Near Grayslake, a Hindu mission will consecrate shrines to two gods. The event has more than religious significance: it marks the expansion of the area's Hindu population, members say. <dl class="byline">By Denise Linke |Special to the Chicago Tribune<dd> August 29, 2008</dd></dl> Hindus from around the nation are welcoming the gods Krishna and Shri Radha into a shrine near Grayslake this Labor Day weekend. The three-day ceremony, which began Thursday and will conclude Saturday, will sanctify the 9-year-old Chinmaya Yamunotri mission's new building by placing two statues of the gods in the shrine. The ceremony will enable members to worship and study there. "This is something most Hindus get to participate in once, maybe twice in their lives," said Shubi Mansukhani, a trustee of the Chinmaya mission's Chicago branch, which oversees Chinmaya facilities in Grayslake, Willowbrook and Merrillville, Ind. "It's especially important for those of us in the Chicago area because we are celebrating the growth of our community here in the U.S." Shanker Pillai, president of the Chicago branch, said the ceremony is a sign of the Chicago-area Hindu community's growth. "There are not too many shrines in a community, so to have a new shrine in our community is a blessing," Pillai said. "When I came to the U.S. in 1967, there were fewer than 2,000 Hindus in the Chicago area. Now there are more than 100,000 Hindus here. So we are happy to have a new place to worship." The ceremony opened on the mission's lawn Thursday morning with a welcome for His Holiness Swami Tejomayananda, who will oversee the consecration rituals. Tejomayananda, the spiritual leader of Chinmaya Hinduism worldwide, traveled from his home in India to preside over the event and to visit other Chinmaya missions in the Midwest, said event coordinator Rajul Bhalala of Lake Forest. On Thursday evening, Tejomayananda placed two statues representing Krishna and Shri Radha, his favored consort, on an altar within the shrine. The painted and costumed statues will be covered with a cloth until the unveiling Saturday morning. The Yamunotri mission focuses on the teachings of Krishna; it is named for the Yamuna River in India, where the god lived while on Earth, Bhalala said. "This is the physical representation of the Lord Krishna that will be filled with his spiritual presence during the ceremony," she said. "Shri Radha represents the concept of devotion to Krishna, though she also is worshiped. The Prana Pratishta ["establishing breath"] ceremony Saturday invokes the lord's presence, so it is a very big occasion." Lectures and chanting Friday morning and evening will end with a ceremony in which food formally presented to the gods will be shared by members of the congregation after receiving the gods' blessing. The mission also held the same ceremony on Thursday evening. Saturday's festivities will begin at 7 a.m. with a sacrifice of burnt offerings to the god Agni in honor of Krishna and Shri Radha. After chanting mantras sacred to Krishna and Shri Radha, the congregation will watch as Tejomayananda unveils the statues and instills the gods' spiritual presence in them. Mission officials expect more than 600 Hindus to attend the ceremony, along with Chicago-area Christian and Jewish officials who participate with Chinmaya mission in interfaith services. Songs, dances and skits performed by Hindu children from 2-4 p.m. Saturday will close the event. "We're hoping non-Hindu people come this weekend just to learn more about us and our religion," Bhalala said. "It will be a learning experience for them and also for us, to get a different perspective on what we study here." Members of the public are welcome to all parts of the three-day ceremonies, she added. While the rituals will be performed in Sanskrit, lectures will be given in English. The ceremony to welcome Krishna and Shri Radha marks a new step in the growth of the Chinmaya Yamunotri mission, Bhalala said. The mission operated out of rented school buildings in Libertyville, then in Mundelein, on evenings and weekends from 1999 until December, when it opened its own custom-built facility at 30877 N. Fairfield Rd. near Grayslake. Now that they have their own permanent space, mission officials are expanding classes and other activities. They are teaching theology, Hindu history, meditation and yoga as well as language classes in Hindi and Sanskrit. Classes in the south Indian dialect of Telugu will begin in a few months, Bhalala said. Religion classes will continue to stress the Vedantic Hindu tradition, which teaches that everything, every person and even every god is a direct extension of the ultimate truths that support the universe, Pillai said. "Hinduism includes several different schools of thought," he explained. "Some believe there is a creator and his creations, but the Vedantic school is more unitarian. We are all expressions of God."

http://www.infocustech.com/skyscrapers/worlds%20tallest%20buildings.jpg There're actually lots of buildings which look like the Capitol style of architecture. Could be that people are anyway used to this type of building.

Thanks - this cannot be repeated often enough! "Ahimsa means not arresting the progressive life of any living entity. One should not think that since the spirit spark is never killed even after the killing of the body, there is no harm in killing animals for sense gratification. People are now addicted to eating animals, in spite of having an ample supply of grains, fruits and milk. There is no necessity for animal killing. This injunction is for everyone. When there is no other alternative, one may kill an animal, but it should be offered in sacrifice. At any rate, when there is an ample food supply for humanity, persons who are desiring to make advancement in spiritual realization should not commit violence to animals. Real ahimsa means not checking anyone’s progressive life. The animals are also making progress in their evolutionary life by transmigrating from one category of animal life to another. If a particular animal is killed, then his progress is checked. If an animal is staying in a particular body for so many days or so many years and is untimely killed, then he has to come back again in that form of life to complete the remaining days in order to be promoted to another species of life. So their progress should not checked simply to satisfy one’s palate. This is called ahimsa." Garden Discussion on Bhagavad-gītā Sixteenth Chapter by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda June 26, 1976, New Vrindaban Mark Bittman: What's wrong with what we eat <param name="movie" value=" "></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src=" " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Hindu mission to install sacred statue 'Krishna is a very favorite form of the one God' <!--p--> <!-- Article Publsih Date --> August 29, 2008 http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1133866,5_1_WA29_HINDU_S1.article <!-- Article By Line --> By JUDY MASTERSON JMASTERSON@SCN1.COM <!-- Article's First Paragraph --> <!-- BlogBurst ContentStart --> GRAYSLAKE -- There are a multitude of stories about the Hindu deity Krishna, whose sacred likeness will be installed Saturday in special ceremonies at Chinmaya Mission, Lake County Center, 30877 N. Fairfield Road. In one such tale, Kamsa, Krishna's evil uncle, plots to kill the infant lord with the help of Putana, the Rakshasi (female demon). Putana disguises herself as a simple cowherdess, sneaks into Krishna's home and lifts him to her breast, intent on murdering him with her poisoned milk. But the divine baby Krishna tricks the demon. He suckles her so hard that he extracts her life along with the milk. <!-- BlogBurst ContentEnd --> <!-- start sidebar --> » Click to enlarge image Swami Sharanananda (left) carries a Kalash on his head during a ceremony to ready the sacred statues of Krishna and Radha for installation at the Chinmaya Mission, Lake County Center, near Grayslake. (Thomas Delany Jr./News-Sun) <!--p--> » Click to enlarge image Rashmi Mehrotra of Naperville looks at the statues of Krishna and Radha that will be installed Saturday. <!--p--> <!-- begin poll --> <!-- end poll --> <!-- Fact box starts here --> <!-- BlogBurst ContentStart --> Such stories are the lifeblood of Chinmaya Mission, founded in 1953 to help "seekers of truth" acquire and impart the ancient teachings of the Upanishads -- Vedic treatises dealing with man in relation to universe. The mission in Grayslake, one of 350 such centers around the world, was built in 2005. About 200 families visit the "Yamunotri," which means pilgrimage, for weekend classes on the Hindu faith and Vendanta philosophy. The main floor of the building includes a shrine to Shri Radha Krishna. It is here, after two days of ceremonies, that life-size marble statues -- imported from India -- of Lord Krishna and his devotee, Radhaji, will be brought in procession and unveiled at about 8:45 a.m. Saturday. The Hindu ceremony in which sacred images are formally installed is called Sri Radha-Krishna Moorti Sthapana. Chinmaya member Shubi Mansukhani said Hinduism is often "grossly misunderstood." "People often think Hinduism is polytheistic because we have so many names for God," Mansukhani said. "But we are monotheistic. Krishna is a very favorite form of the one God -- a very cheerful, playful, loving God." According to Hindu belief, Krishna was incarnated to wipe out evil from the world. Radhaja, a female deity and Krishna's most devoted disciple, represents purity and love. Lake County is home to several thousand Hindus. A Hindu temple was recently constructed by the Indian Cultural Association at 20444 Peterson Road in unincorporated Fremont Township. For more information on Chinmaya Mission, Lake County Center, call (847) 740-1215 or visit: www.chinmaya-yamunotri.org. <param name="movie" value="http://documents.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=2277783&access_key=key-1bjgu7wfa3rgpf7xkqfi&page=&version=1&auto_size=true&viewMode="> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="play" value="true"> <param name="loop" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showall"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="devicefont" value="false"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="menu" value="true"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="salign" value=""> <embed src="http://documents.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=2277783&access_key=key-1bjgu7wfa3rgpf7xkqfi&page=&version=1&auto_size=true&viewMode=" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_870234755724460_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="500" width="100%"></embed> </object><div style="font-size:10px;text-align:center;width:100%"><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/2277783/Hindu-Rituals-and-Routines">Hindu Rituals and Routines</a> - <a href="http://www.scribd.com/upload">Upload a Document to Scribd</a></div><div style="display:none"> Read this document on Scribd: <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/2277783/Hindu-Rituals-and-Routines">Hindu Rituals and Routines</a> </div>

Could be that this is the reason why in India there's no state religion - the state doesnt see temples as religious institutions but as any other liable to pay taxes business. Why must Temple Collections be controlled by Indian Government http://www.esamskriti.com/html/essay_index.asp?cat_name=why&cid=1084&sid=177 A couple of months ago the India Today magazine carried an article stating that in Karnataka state temple collections did not become part of the Temple Fund corpus but were credited to the State Treasury. Further the article stated that of the 70 odd crores collected in 2002 a meager 3-4 crores was used for temple maintenance. A friend of mine from London, Jayant, always complained that we had such beautiful temples but did not maintain them well. I always blamed the temple management for being inefficient till I read the articles below. I then realized that in most cases temple collections became part of the State Treasury. And we all know how difficult it is to get the Governments to act! I was shocked! When a Hindu goes to a temple and makes an offering to the Deity of his choice he assumes that the money/gold he donates to the temple would be used to maintain the temple or used by the temple trust to support poor Hindus, open schools & hospitals. BUT, in India it is different. The following table gives you the Karnataka story. I quote Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Art of Living Foundation) from Arsha Vidya Newsletter of Dec 2003). He said "There are as many as 2,07,000 temples in Karnataka and the total income of these temples amounts to Rs 72 crore only a sum of Rs. 6 crores is being spent by the Government for their upkeep. On the other hand, the Government spent a phenomenal amount of Rs.50 crores for the madrasas and Rs.10 crores for the churches, and for the Hindu temples only a partly sum of Rs.6 crores is being spent". Statement of Temple Collections & Utilization 1997-2002. (data received from the Revenue section of Tourism & Temples, Govt of Karnataka, excerpts from an article by Anjali Patel dated 29/10/2003 (anjali_patel111@). Figures in Crores. <table width="636" border="1" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="8%"> Year </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> Temple Nos </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> Temple Revenue </td> <td valign="top" width="12%"> Temple Expenses </td> <td valign="top" width="13%"> Madrassa, Haj </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> % of Revenue </td> <td valign="top" width="10%"> Church </td> <td valign="top" width="9%"> Others </td> <td valign="top" width="16%"> Others Description </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" width="8%"> 1997 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 2,64,000 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 52.3 </td> <td valign="top" width="12%"> 17.3 </td> <td valign="top" width="13%"> 9.3 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 18 </td> <td valign="top" width="10%"> 3.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="9%"> 22.8 </td> <td valign="top" width="16%"> Rural,women development. </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" width="8%"> 1998 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 2,67,073 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 58.3 </td> <td valign="top" width="12%"> 16.5 </td> <td valign="top" width="13%"> 14.3 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 25 </td> <td valign="top" width="10%"> 5.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="9%"> 22.6 </td> <td valign="top" width="16%"> Health Rural. </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" width="8%"> 1999 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 2,67,000 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 67.3 </td> <td valign="top" width="12%"> 15.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="13%"> 27.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 41 </td> <td valign="top" width="10%"> 8.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="9%"> 17.3 </td> <td valign="top" width="16%"> N.A. </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" width="8%"> 2000 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 2,62,038 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 69.9 </td> <td valign="top" width="12%"> 13.7 </td> <td valign="top" width="13%"> 35.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 50 </td> <td valign="top" width="10%"> 8.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="9%"> 13.2 </td> <td valign="top" width="16%"> Haj Victims </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" width="8%"> 2001 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 2,54,038 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 71.6 </td> <td valign="top" width="12%"> 11.5 </td> <td valign="top" width="13%"> 45.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 63 </td> <td valign="top" width="10%"> 10.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="9%"> 5.1 </td> <td valign="top" width="16%"> N.A. </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" width="8%"> 2002 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 2,51,012 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 72.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="12%"> 10.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="13%"> 50.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 69 </td> <td valign="top" width="10%"> 10.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="9%"> 2.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="16%"> N.A. </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" width="8%"> Total </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 391.4 </td> <td valign="top" width="12%"> 84.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="13%"> 180.6 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 20.7 </td> <td valign="top" width="10%"> 44.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="9%"> 83.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="16%"> </td> </tr> <tr><td valign="top" width="8%"> $Mill </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> 87.0 </td> <td valign="top" width="12%"> 18.7 </td> <td valign="top" width="13%"> 40.1 </td> <td valign="top" width="11%"> </td> <td valign="top" width="10%"> 9.8 </td> <td valign="top" width="9%"> 18.4 </td> <td valign="top" width="16%"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> $ are in Million Dollars exchange rate Rs 45 to a dollar. I asked a few lawyer friends how the Government could transfer temple offerings to the Government Treasury. They brushed me off by saying that the matter is too complex. Thereafter I tried hard to get some information on the legal provisions that make government control of temples possible but for now, my efforts have not born fruit. Thereafter I contacted a few friends who forwarded me some interesting articles on the subject. I have reproduced them for you. The chapters are - Status of Hindu Temples by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Temple Legislations, Maharashtra by Dr. Shrikant Jitchkar. Hindu Temples and Endowment BoardsSri V.R. Gowrishankar. Nationalization of Hindu Temples by Sandhya Jain. A Looming Disaster by Siddharth Kak. Temple Funds diverted by Anjali Patel. We need Dharmic Councils by Krishan Bhatnagar. Temples, Andhra Pradesh.

Deceiving the World with Pictures http://byzantinesacredart.com/blog/2008/08/deceiving_the_world_with_pictu.html This photo was first published by the Reuters as an image of a "dead woman being carried by the Georgian soldiers from the town of Gori". But this "dead woman", incredibly, is clutching the nurse's arm. This man exhibiting rage and grief happens to sit in the exact same place where the earlier picture was taken: the same pile of garbage is behind his back and scraps of metal from the picture of a "dead" woman being 'rescued' are lying around like in the earlier photo -- plus some, additional, unidentified scraps of metal. What are these supposed to represent? Fighting Dirty: Pictures to Provoke Hatred and More Suffering Remember the image of an emaciated Bosnian Muslim allegedly caged behind "Serb barbed wire", in a "Serb concentration camp" Trnopolje? The fake photo filmed by a British news team became a worldwide symbol of the war in Bosnia. Even after it was proven that the "prisoner" wasn't a prisoner to begin with, and was filmed outside the gate, part of which had barbed wire, this picture had still continued to be proudly exhibited all over the world to this day as the "evidence" that Serbs ran the "concentration camps" in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even the Hague tribunal's web site carries this fake image on its home page, offering another demonstration of its patent bias and voluntary blindness, a willful disregard for the facts and truth in all forms. Deception through imagery is as old as man's ability to produce images. But photo-manipulation and staging the atrocities against one's own people to have them immediately filmed, disseminated throughout the world and used to provoke violent reaction -- retaliation -- against the designated culprit, was never used with so much success in propaganda war as during the 1990s, against the Serbs in all stages of Yugoslav civil wars. Someone Keeps Moving "Their Son" The caption Reuters gave to this photo is "Georgians stand next to the body of their son in the town of Gori". The woman is looking up towards the sky from where, presumably, death had stricken "her son". But for the purposes of this photo the body of the "son" has been obviously moved quite a bit away from the curb. This was clearly not done in order to cover up the naked parts of the dead man's body, nor to allow some measure of dignity to the dead. Was it done for the light? (One should challenge Reuters to find a mother -- any mother -- who would allow the body of her child to be dragged through dirt half naked like this, while she is taking instructions from a photographer where to stand, where to look and what to do next) Shameful role Western mainstream media has played in demonizing the Serbs and spreading the filthiest, basest propaganda against the Serbian nation and its leaders during the civil wars in the territory of former Yugoslavia, had dealt a fatal blow to Western news agencies' claims of neutrality, objectivity and impartiality. It turned out that Western mainstream media is a willing cobelligerent in the aggressive imperial wars West is constantly engaged in, being no more than a tool used by Western political powers to advance their own agendas. One will often hear Reuters, AP, AFP, DPA and others refer to, say, Serbian RTS as "Belgrade's official TV", as if BBC, CNN, CBC, ABC and others are "independent", far removed from the offices of their respective states' governments and administrations. Rubbish! If they are all independent and each on their own, then how come they're all always tooting the same horn and always rooting for the same side in every conflict, every war, every confrontation -- how can that be?! How was such a wide consensus achieved on every single international issue, when was this perfectly unison choir formed, spanning millions of newspapers, magazines, web sites, TV studios and news agencies? Are they all copying from each other because they are all border-line retarded, a world wide club of semi-retards who can't come up with a single original thought, or because they follow political instructions, an unwritten, unquestionable set of rules, a codex saying you either fall in line and follow the script, or you're out in the cold, and out for good? You decide. But, when you see the rigged photo stories like these latest ones from British Reuters, be kind and remember -- they might be out to destroy entire nations, but someone's paycheck depends on it, so ...they had to do it.

Prabhupada explained this again and again, without stopping sinful activity the horrible karmas cannot be stopped. <param name="movie" value=" &hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src=" &hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<center> http://www.hinduyouth.net/hindupopulation3.html Current Global Hindu Population: 1,036,067,587 </center> <!--@@@text ends here@@@--> (Based on a world Sanathana Dharma population of 1.0 Billion in 2006 with a growth rate of 1.4% / year) Free Hindu Counter courtesy of: Hindu Youth Network USA, August 28, 2008: An HPI reader sent the link above with a counter displaying the number of Hindus on Earth, updated continuously using Hinduism’s current growth rates. The website was created by the Hindu Youth Network, a very active Toronto-base group of young Hindus. As of the writing of this news summary we are 1 billion 36 million 42 thousand and 60 people strong — and counting! Tags: none

This seems a common misunderstanding, Krsna should help to change our karma. This is not the case and doesn't make sense. When I start a foolish business it is only me who has to accept the result of the bad contracts I signed. To pray to God for help in a state of despair when before having committed all kind of foolish mistakes and then expect help and in case Krsna decides, no, this is the result of your own foolishness, even turning against Krsna, is rather egotism and not religious sentiment. Looks like Andy Smith considers Draupadi also praying for mundane help. Thursday, August 28, 2008 Hinduism- How Lord Krishna Saved Draupadi? Author: Andy Smith http://voodoowhodo.blogspot.com/2008/08/hinduism-how-lord-krishna-saved.html Lord Krishna is the incarnation of Parabrahma- the God according to Hinduism. Lord Krishna took birth on the earth to reduce the weight of the earth. He did this with the great battle of Mahabharata. In this battle millions were killed and earth became lighter. Lord Krishna is the savior according to Hinduism. Call him when in deep distress and he always helps. This is revealed in the story of Draupadi. The story is this. Kauravas invited the Pandavas for a gambling match. In this match the Pandavs lost everything. In the end they put the bet on themselves and they lost that. After that they bet upon Draupadi and they lost her in the gamble. After Draupadi was lost, the rascal Dushasana brought her to the court, pulling her by her hair. Dushasana wanted to disrobe her. He therefore started pulling her sari. Draupadi called her husbands to save her. As they had become slaves of Kauravas they could not help Draupadi. Draupadi then called for help from all the elders sitting in the court. But the elders’ including Bhishma kept did not get up. Most of them closed their eyes. But none came forward to help Draupadi. Then Draupadi called Lord Krishna to save her. Lord Krishna lengthened her sari to infinite length. The rascal Dushasana kept pulling on the sari but after hours could not disrobe her. He got tired of the whole thing and retired. That man could not fulfill his desire to make Draupadi naked in front of everyone. Lord Krishna helped Draupadi when no body did. He came at a moment’s notice when Draupadi called him for help. Hindus believe that if one has faith in the lord and calls upon him in deep distress Lord Krishna always helps. Lord has helped many other followers when they needed him most. The author writes text messages and advises and consults for social networking content for myspace comments, myspace graphics and evaluates creative ideas for personality quizzes.

By Sivarama Swami I would like to give one reason that may ring a bell with devotees concerned about the topic. Please bear with me, One Reason Why Not to Change the Design of the TVP Imagine that Srila Prabhupda is again physically present and that he’s sitting in his room in Mayapura Dhama receiving a report of the state of ISKCON today—a society which has some regional success stories, but which is globally sluggish (to be kind). No doubt ISKCON’s indolence would be a source of concern for Srila Prabhupda; and his areas of concern would be many. Let’s name a few: For having failed our youth we are paying settlement fees of over $10,000,000; outside of India book distribution continues to wane; ISKCON’s leadership is struggling to retain its credibility after the regular falldown of GBC’s, gurus, and sannyasis; other Gaudiya organizations have ended ISKCON’s monopoly on preaching Lord Caitanya’s message—preaching that is now anemic at best; daily harinama parties are practically a thing of the past; ISKCON’s central resources are so meager that it cannot even finance a secretariat for the GBC; and, of course, after more than 30 years of planning (at a cost of $15,000,000) the Temple of Vedic Planetarium is still nowhere in sight. Yet a bright spot looms over ISKCON’s questionable global performance: a team of devotees, under Ambarisa Prabhu’s guidance and sponsorship, has prepared plans for the TVP. Construction is scheduled to begin in two months. This “Capitol” version of the TVP can prove to be a landmark achievement for ISKCON, its members and leaders. A delegation representing devotees who do not like the plan of the TVP has been sent to Srila Prabhupda with a request to delay construction for some years until the temple is again redesigned for the umpteenth time. Srila Prabhupda’s secretary has informed His Divine Grace of the delegation’s purpose.

By Giriraj Swami Yesterday I visited Dandavats. com to see the discussion about the design of the TVP, and I saw Tattvavit Prabhu’s letter, which included a sentence from a letter from me to him, which was featured by the editors of the Web site on the front page. And so I thought to clarify my position. What I probably should have written was “I too have heard devotees express dissatisfaction with the present design, and I encourage the GBC or the team in charge to consider their views.” I wanted the team to elicit devotees’ responses, consider them, and in turn explain their considerations to the devotees–to encourage healthy exchange and perhaps also improve the temple’s design. Personally, I completely support Ambarisa Prabhu and his team’s effort–whatever the final design.

thanks sasisekaran_pti, article above is not written by me but by Punit Pandey. As Krsna highlights in Bhagavad-gita, there're two types of human being, suras and asuras, so I would suggest that the present internet is similarly divided into asura and sura. Those who supply/develop the technology can be also demoniac - people like Maya Danava, or Mayasura who was an Asura, Daitya and Rakshasa, but was the designer of the three flying cities, known as the Tripura. They were great cities of prosperity, power and dominance over the world, but due to the impious nature, Maya Danava's cities were torched out of the sky by Lord Shiva. So to program phantastic things like the internet doesn't mean so much rather for what purpose it is being used. There're programmers who make applications for payment systems, there're folks who specify on visual presentation. A big field is personal websites, like celebrities, what requires that you can expertly deal with such people etc. Mars for logic in IT? Mars is ability to assert oneself on the bodily platform, ksatriyas have strong Mars. Logic requires first of all good brain, what is Mercury. In fact someone with a powerful Mars will smash his computer, since IT requires patience, patience, patience. Powerful Mars cannot accept such condition. Jupiter is good karma. People who make millions surely have a good Jupiter. My conclusion is that Sun and Mars are not a criteria, but Ascendant (temperament) and Mercury (brainpower). Guess most IT technicians have an Ascendent in water element.