Yegan

If my memory is correct, I think Krishna said somewhere that he is the smallest among the small. Could be that these strings stuff are actually krishna because if I have understood properly from Avinash, nothing is smaller than the string.

Everything comes from these little strings so by extrapolation everything comes from krishna (since he is the smallest and hence the string itself)

If these strings which are apparently the "source of everything" then this could be another indication that these strings are krishna.

If these strings are cosmic all-pervading as Avinash pointed out, then they the the biggest among the big. Krishna also says he is the biggest among the big.

The string theory opens the door to more than three dimension (11), and in the scripture it is said that there are 64 dimensions. The numbers do not match but at least science and religion agree that we have more than 3 dimensions.

In short, I think this string theory has some connection with religion.

Works kool here, (Firefox 1.5.0.3)

Christ have nothing to do with Hindusm, Buddhism or Judaism. He is not god not a son of a god or anything.

Be it Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi or Bin laden, we are all part and parcel of the supreme being. We are ALL the sons of GOD.

'It should be understood that all species of life, o son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed giving father' (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 14.4)

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->

“I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire”

(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.17)

Also, in Hindusm, it IS the biggest (unforgiveable) SIN to change Sanskrit Mantras according to your likings. SO, NO ... it is not OK to change Krishna's name with Christ.

I also think it is not wise to change mantras that have been handed over by the enlighted beings.

Thanks for pointing the error Avinash.

Can you check post number 16 and give us your opinion on the 230 millions yeras being wrongly calculated by scientist.

And I ask again, why did Adi Shankara, being enlightened, quote something as barbaric as that, when the same Adi Shankara bowed to an untouchable, when he was impressed by his knowledge? Bowing to an untouchable and touching his feet doesn't really fit the traditional image of an orthodox Brahmin, does it?

If the above quote by Number 2 is correct, then at least Adi Shankara is indirectly acknowledging caste is independent of birth but instead by the level of spiritual knowledge.

People irrespective of race, creed, colour and caste are allowed entry in all the temples today. Exceptions are

a) In puri those who are not born as hindus are not allowed entry in the temple

B)In Guruvayur krishna temple in Kerala, non hindus are not allowed entry.

C) In the temples of Kshudra devathas which are controlled by caste Hindus in villages entry in many cases are not allowed to harijans.

 

There are so many wonderful westerners hare krishna devotees. Restricting them access to temples is to my opinion a sin. I dont think that scriptures says anything about restricting non indian born devotees access to temples.

In puri, I think they do that because it is said that jaganath would be taken away one day by a westerner, but still this doesnt justify restriction to non indian devotees.

only shallow people judge by outer appearances. Some of the most spiritual people in the world, may be despised among men because they hold a low caste, are poor, or ugly, you name it..

 

No one should ever be forbidden to enter a temple of God or the demigods. Everyone has a right to worship God/gods in his/her/their holy sancturies. Temples are there for seekers to connect with the spiritual world.

 

every catholic church is open 24 hours a day, for people to come in and pray; and their doors are open to all, no matter what religion, race, or sex they are - they are allowed to come in and pray. Hindu temples must be the same.

Everyone (independant on sex, race) should be allowed to worship the lord, agree ,but there are some rules and regulations that should be observed as stated in the scriptures.

If say in the scriptures it is mentioned that someone should not come inside the temples because that person has eaten meat, then there is a reason for that( which we may not comprehend). Same thing applies to temples' timetables.

At times its happens that we cannot adopt an idea just because it makes sense to our mind( i.e make our temple's timetable like churches' timetable).Rules and regulations are there to properly worship the Lord, and these laws have been set by enlighted beings like vedas ved.

Brahmins are here to ensure that people worship the lord in the proper way and help in the spiritual ceremonies. Thats the functions of brahmins as per scriptures. As to whether they should pour liquid metals in non brahmins' ear, that I havent seen in scriptures, hence should be condemnable.

(Is Manu smirti considered as authorised scriptures?)

I personally believe in caste by actions. I dont know what scriptures said on such topic though. However in Mahabharat when knowledgeable being such as Drona refuses to train Karna because of caste, then confusion sets in my mind as far as caste by actions is concerned.

I have heaps of imperfections, but I keep on chanting.

Most of my bad habits are still here, and I am quite happy that some have gone. Some people however can see drastic changes in short lapse of time.

The bottom line is to keep on chanting, no matter what happens.

Which can explain why some planets "seem" dead?

Very nice observation!

 

Originally Posted by Yegan

During this awesomely long time, there is apparently no physical life.

<!-- END TEMPLATE: bbcode_quote --> I have read this many times. In the pralaya are where exactly are unliberated jivas?

Someonewho know the scriptures might tell us. Would be very iteresting to know.

So something happens at the end of each Maha yuga? because if look at something like the triassic, jurassic, and creataceous, there was a mass extinction at that end of every age.

Well from the web sites i have pointed out in my last post(and assuming I did understand properly), there is apparently a mini dissolution(laya) every maha yuga. And a greater one (pralaya) at the start of brahma night which last for 1000 maha yuga. During this awesomely long time, there is apparently no physical life.

Basically if we assume that this mini dissolution (laya) is not powerful enough to eradicate every living entities, then the oldest living creature should be some 121 millions years old (the begining of brahma day)

Correction:

From indiaheritage.org we are in the 28th Maha yuga but 51st year of Brahma (sorry for the error).

1 day brahma = 1000 Maha yuga

1 night brahma= 1000 Maha yuga ( This is when partial dissolution takes place).

If im right this means that 28 Maha yuga has passed by since the partial dissolution.

28 Maha yuga= 121 millions yrs(approx) passed by since the last pralaya dissolution.(Check here)

So basically speaking(if my above speculation is right), there shouldnt be any living creature before 121 millions years (stretching back to 1 full night of brahma). In the same line, we can argue that dinos dating back to 230 millions years back is wrongly estimated by scientists.

Any ideas?

Translation, yes.

Let us do some calculations.

Dinosaurs lived from 230 million years ago to 65 million years ago.

 

1 Maha yuga (cycle of the four yugas) = 4.32 million years.

 

Divide 230 by 4.32 and take the integer part. We get 53. So, dinosaurs came into existence 53 Maha-yugas before current Maha-yuga.

 

Divide 65 by 4.32 and take the integer part. We get 15. So, dinosaurs vanished 15 Maha-yugas before current Maha-yuga.

 

So, their existence spanned a little more than 53-15 = 38 Maha yugas. This means that in several Maha yugas, they existed in all the four yugas (satya, treta, dwapar and kali).

Dear Avinash,

I thought we are actually living in either 52 or 51(not too sure) Maha yuga. So dino came into exxistance 53 Maha yuga does not stand since only 51 or 52 Maha yugas have passed by eversince universe was created by brahma.

The interesting point however is that dino came into existance 230 millions years could easily be a wrong calculation. They could have well came into existance by some few millions years before (lets say some 234 or 238 millions years from now).That would nicely fit then.

This would mean that Brahma in his very early days created very 'strange' creatures such as dinos.

The reason why these dinos are not really mentioned in the scriptures is because to MY OPINION vedas were NOTwritten right from brahma birth but many many Maha yugas later. If the present vedas were written less than 15 maha yugas from now (extinction of dinos) then most probably there would be very few mention of dinos( which is actually the case in the present scripture, no mention of Dinos).

So everything to my opinion broils down to whether the present scriptures were written less than 15 Maha yugas from now. This might explain why the scriptures do not specifically mention about dinos.

The thing which bug me however is why didnt scientists find any human skeleton dating some 230 millions years ago.

Hare Krishna,

http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWH-Vedic-Jurasic.html

 

Haribol!

Kool link. Thanks.

During a lecture class(ISKCON), I did hear (if my memory is not playing against me) that species of life ( 8 400 000) is not in term of physical perspective but rather in terms of level of consciousness.

So even if science classified everyne of us as human species, in terms of spiritual species we can be very different to one another.

In a sense Darwin is right, there is evolution of species. But where he went "wrong" is he regards evolution as physical adaptation to environment. Whereas evolution of species in spiritual terms is evolution of the consciousness(i.e the soul progresses from one body to another of higher consciousness )

Btw what about an english version:cool:? I doubt it.

Are dinosaurs from the previous Kali Yuga?

Thats an interesting question. I wonder if there are any verses that pin point to a possible existence of dinosaurs.

Anyone have an idea?

There are 64 dimensions as stated in vedas.

I have heard that in the mahabharat,Durudhan became bewildered and didnt know in which dimension he has set foot in.

Jai Radhakrishna

If someone is in China then use proxies to bypass the ban. There are a lot of free public proxies on net. Just do some googling:smash:

I have a sort of similar question regarding caste system. Below is my question from a previous post. Didnt get a convincing answer though.

Previous Post:

Hari Bol,

I have been reading some of the threads on this forum and have come across one which has shed some confusion in my mind.

As per his holiness Srila Prabhupada, caste is nature dependent and NOT birth dependent. So someone who is born in a sudra family for example can later do preaching and thus is a brahmin, independent of his family background.

Now what I cannot understand is if this is so, then why Dronocarya refuses to accept Karna as his disciple. To my knowledge Dronacarya refuses to accept Karna as his disciple because he thought the latter was from "sudra" family.

Karna blatantly has the nature of a warrior and as such Dronacarya should have accepted him as disciple, since caste is nature dependent.

Can anyone plz enlighten me on this issue. I am not well versed in Mahabaharat, my appologies if I made a wrong statement.

Jai Radhe

End post:

If Adi Shankara has indeed stated the following,

Shankara seems to have upheld the caste system, as there are statements in his commentaries such as "A shudra who hears the Vedas should have molten lead poured into his ears."

then his teachings are meant only for the brahmins.

Dear Davina,

My point was meant for "home raised cows". In my post I did mention that Industrialised milk production could be another history.

You have raised a very interesting point. The best way would be to buy milk from trusted farmers who do not practice these atrocities(and nowadays it is pretty rare unfortunately).

Lord Vishnu is very merciful, but yet what I cannot understand is why he is very "harsh" to his devotees if they(devotees) happen to fast on Ekadesi which overlap with dasami.

I know that it has been clearly stated not to fast on such day(And we should never fast on such day, I understand that completely), but still what about the devotees who worship Lord Vishnu with love and affection (on ekadesi which overlaps with dasami) but are UNAWARE about dasami? They are still "severely punished".This is what I cannot understand (Why the lord still "punishes" them so "harshly" even if these devotees have been worshiping him with love. The Merciful Lord knows that some devotees of him are UNAWARE of such inauspicious fasting, so why still this very "harsh punishment" even if these devotees have been worshiping HIM with love?)

My appologies if I have offended anyone. I have some confusion on this matter and would appreciate if someone can help.

The following quotes might help to understand what I mean:

EKADASI CA SAMPURNA VIDDHETI DVIVIDHA SMRTA

VIDDHA CA DVIVIDHA TATRA TYAJYA VIDDHA TU PURVAJA

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/199 from SIVA PURANA)

There are two divisions of Ekadasis - the complete Ekadasi and the overlapping Ekadasi. The overlapping Ekadasis are also divided into two - begin overlapping and end overlapping. The beginning overlapping should always be given up.

EKADASIM UPAVASED DVADASIM ATHAVA PUNAH

VIMISRAM VAPI KURVITA NA DASAMYA YUTAM KVACIT

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/202 from SAURA DHARMOTTARA)

Ekadasi and Dvadasi are both qualified for fasting. Furthermore, one should fast when Ekadasi is combined with Dvadasi, but one should never fast when Ekadasi is combined with Dasami.

NA UPOSYA DASAMI-VIDHA SADAIVA EKADASI TITHIH

SAMUPOSYA NARO JAHYAT PUNYAM VARSA SATODBHAVAM

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/205 from NARADA PURANA)

One should never fast on the days when Ekadasi is overlapped with Dasami. If one does so, looses whatever merit he had accumulated for one hundred years.

PURVAM TVAYA SABHARYENA DASAMI SESA SAMYUTA

KRTA CA EKADASI RAJAN TASYA IDAM KARANAM MATAM

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/211 from BRAHMA PURANA Maitreya speaks to Dhrtarastra in answer to his question as to why all of his 100 sons had been killed)

Oh king, previously, you, along with your wife, had fasted on an Ekadasi which was overlapped with Dasami day, therefore you are suffering the separation of all of your sons.

DASAMY EKADASIM PURVAM SAMUPOSYA JANARDANAH

ABHYARCITAS TVAYA DEVI TASYEDA KARMANAH PHALAM

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/214 from BRAHMA PURANA Valmiki Muni answered Mother Sita's questions of why she had been vanquished to the forest by Lord Rama)

Previously you had observed an Ekadasi fast which was overlapped with Dasami and worshiped Lord Sri Hari. This is the result which you are experiencing now.

DASAMI SESA SAMYUKTAM YAH KAROTI VIMUDHADHIH

EKADASI PHALAM TASYA NA SYAD DVADASA VARSIKAM

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/218 from KURMA PURANA, NARADA PURANA AND VISNU RAHASYA)

Those foolish persons who fast on Ekadasi which is mixed with Dasami, do not receive any result for performing Ekadasi fast for the past twelve years.

GANGODAKASYA SAMPURNAM YATHA TYAJYAM GHATAM BHAVET

SURAVINDU SAMYUKTAM TAT SARVAM MADYATAM VRJET

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/223 from BRAHMA VAIVARTA PURANA)

Just as a cup of Ganges water which has been mixed with a drop of wine is fit for giving up, in the same way an Ekadasi which has been minutely mixed with Dasami is fit for giving up.

VIDDHAM EKADASIM VIPRAS TYAJANTY ETAM MANISINAH

TASYAM UPOSITO YATI DARIDRYAM DUHKHAM EVA CA

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/226 from GARUDA PURANA)

Oh brahmanas, learned souls reject Ekadasis which are mixed with Dasami because they know that if they fast on this day, they will only get poverty and misery.

DVAPARANTE TU GANDHARI KURU VANSA VIVARDHINI

KARISYATI CA SENANI MUDHA BHAVAD SIKHI-DHVAJA

TENA PUTRA SATAM TASYA NASAM ISYATY ASAMSAYAM

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/228 from SKANDA PURANA)

Oh commander and chief of the demigods (Skanda) at the end of Dvapara-yuga, Gandhari, who will increase the Kuru dynasty by producing one hundred sons, due to bewilderment and madness will observe Ekadasi which will be mixed with Dasami. Due to this, her hundred sons will be destroyed. Of this, there is no doubt.

DASAMY EKADASI YATRA TATRA SANNIHITO'SURAH

DVADASY EKADASI YATRA TATRA SANNIHITO HARIH

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/230 from SKANDA PURANA)

The demons reside in any Ekadasi which is overlapped with Dasami and whoever fasts on this day achieves negative results. Lord Hari resides in any Ekadasi which is overlapped with Dvadasi. If someone observes fasting on this day, he receives complete results, which is proper.

YE SAMSANTI DINAM VISNOR DASAMI VEDHA DUSITAM

JNEYAS TE PAPA PURUSAH SUKRAMAYA-VIMOHITAH

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/234 from SKANDA PURANA conversation between Lord Siva and Uma devi)

Any person who fasts on Ekadasi which is contaminated by Dasami or makes somebody else fast, has been controlled and bewildered by Sukracarya, the spiritual master of the demons. This should be understood properly.

EKADASI DASAMI-VIDDHA DHANA SANTANA NASINI

DHVANSINI SARVA PUNYANAM KRSNA BHAKTI PRANASINI

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/239 from SKANDA PURANA)

Dvadasi or Ekadasi, if it overlaps Dasami, it ruins offspring of one who fasts on those days, ruins the merit of all time, takes away the devotional service to the Lord and gives him a birth among the devils or ghosts.

DASAMI SESA SAMYUKTAM NISIDDHAM VISNUNA PURA

TASMAD BHAGAVATAIR BHUPA SODHAYITVA HARER DINAM

UPOSITAVYAM YATNENA PURVA-SANGATI-VARJITAM

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/244 from SKANDA PURANA Markandeya Rsi speaks to King Bhagiratha)

Oh king, previously the Supreme Lord Visnu prohibited one to fast when the Ekadasi overlapped Dasami. Therefore, the devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead should endeavor to reject the Ekadasi which overlaps Dasami and observe a pure Ekadasi fast.

KURUTE VAISNAVO BHUTVA SA SALYAIKADASI VRTAM

JNANATO'JNANATO VAPI NA SA VISNU PRIYO BHAVET

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/246 from SKANDA PURANA)

Any Vaisnava who knowingly or unknowingly observes Ekadasi overlapped with Dasami should certainly understand that Lord Sri Visnu will not be happy with him.

TASMAD EKADASI YUKTA DASAMYA NARASATTAMA

NA KARTAVYA PRAYATNENA NISKALA DVADASI MATA

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/248 from SKANDA PURANA)

Therefore, O best among human being, it is not recommended to observe Ekadasi overlapped with Dasami. Great sages have recommended and stated to you to observe only pure Ekadasi fasts.

PUNYAM SUSANCITAM YATI KALPA KOTI SATA ARJITAM

SASALYAM YE PRAKURVANTI MUKTIDAM MAMA VASARAM

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/253 from DVARAKA MAHATMYA spoken by the Supreme Lord)

Any person who fasts on the liberating day of Mine, but which is mixed with Dasami, their collective merit for the past 100 cycles (one cycle equals 1000 yugas) is destroyed.

SAVIDDHAM VASARAM YASMAD KRTAM MAMA PITAMAHAIH

PRETATVAM TENA SAMPRAPTAM MAHA DUHKHA PRADAYAKAM

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/256 from DVARAKA MAHATMYA Sri Candra Sharma prays to the Supreme Lord)

Oh Supreme Personality of Godhead, my forefathers had observed the day of Lord Hari fast some time on the Dasami day. This is why they have achieved the form of ghost which is very miserable condition.

Srila Sanatana Gosvami remarks in his Digdarsini-tika: "Candra Sharma brahmana was a devotee of Lord Siva and was against the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. Somehow, in a dream, he saw that his forefathers had achieved the form of ghosts due to observing fasting on the overlapping day of Ekadasi and Dasami. Then he was advised by a devotee of the Lord to go to Dvaraka near the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He worshiped Him and prayed to Him to please free his forefathers from their devilish condition. The Lord then freed them because of his prayers."

SUKRENA MOHITA VIPRA DAITYANAM KARANENA TU

PUSTY ARTHAM DASAMI VIDDHAM KURVANTI MAMA VASARAM

VASARAM DASAMI VIDDHAM DAITYANAM PUSTI-VARDHANAM

MADIYAM NASTI SANDEHAH SATYAM SATYAM PITAMAHA

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/257,258 from PADMA PURANA the Supreme Lord speaks to Lord Brahma)

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said, "O Brahma, the brahmana bewildered by the illusion created by Sukracarya fasts on the Dasami mixed Ekadasi to enhance the strength of demons. My day (Ekadasi) influenced by Dasami day increases the strength of demons. I repeatedly and truthfully say this. Of this there is no doubt."

YAVAD DASAMYA SAMYUKTAM KARISYANTI DINAM MAMA

TAT PUNYAM DAITYA JATINAM SURAIR DATTAM PITAMAHA

TEHA PUNYENA SAMPUSTO HIRANYAKSAH PITAMAHA

NIRJITYA VASAVAM SANKHYE HRTAM RAJYAM DIVAUKASAM

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/259,260 from PADMA PURANA conversation between the Supreme Lord and Lord Brahma)

O Grandfather of the world, as long as somebody fasts on Ekadasi mixed with Dasami, the demigods extend their merits to the demons. Therefore the demon Hiranyaksa became strong due to that merit and defeated Indra in the battle and usurped the kingdom of the demigods.

PURNA VIDDHAM UPASTE KO NANDAM VEDA BALAD API

KO VEDA VACANAT TATA GOSAVE GAM NIHANTI VAI?

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/268 from BHAVISYA PURANA and MARKANDEYA PURANA)

Oh son, after knowing the instruction about fasting on Dasami, who is that person who would like to fast on the Ekadasi which overlaps Dasami? Who would be those persons, after hearing Vedic instructions, who would kill cows in the name of worshiping cows?

SUPUNYA EKADASI SUTA YADI SALYA VIVARJITA

KARTUR NIRAYA PATAYA SASALYA SAMUPOSITA

SALYAM VEDHA ITI PROKTAM PURANARTHA VICAKSANAIH

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/270 from KURMA PURANA and BRAHMA VAIVARTA PURANA Srila Vyasadeva speaks to Suta Gosvami)

Oh Suta Gosvami, if somebody strictly observes a pure Ekadasi which is not mixed with Dasami, it is all auspicious. If Ekadasi is mixed with Dasami and is observed, then the observer who is fasting will fall into the hellish planets. Therefore, the learned people, the knowers of Vedic literatures have determined this fasting to be improper.

DVAYOR VIVADATOH SRUTVA DVADASIM SAMUPOSAYET

PARANANTU TRAYODASYAM ESA SASTRA VINIRNAYAH

DVADASI DASAMI YUKTA YATA SASTRE PRATISTHITA

NA TAT SASTRAM AHAM MANYE YADI BRAHMA SVAYAM VADET

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/277,278 from KURMA PURANA Srila Vyasadeva speaks to Suta Gosvami)

If there are two people arguing and due to that argument and unsteady opinions the exact date of Ekadasi cannot be determined, then hearing this, one should fast on Dvadasi day and break fast on Trayodasi. This is the scriptural instruction. If any scripture recommends to observe Ekadasi mixed with Dasami, even if Lord Brahma is the writer of that scripture, I (Vyasadeva) do not accept it.

Hari bol

This SITE is absolutely wonderful. Plz do check it out. Lots of information on Ekadasi.

Seems that ekadasi should be followed strictly as per the rules and regulation laid by the scriptures.

Im a bit confused though about the Ekadasi which overlapped with Dasami. It is said to be very inauspicious (scroll till about middle page for explanation on Dasami) if one fast on that day.

I cannot understand why Lord Vishnu is seemingly so "harsh" on his devotees if they happen to even unknowingly(devotees not aware that fasting is prohibited on such ekadasi) fast on that particular ekadasi day (please refer to the above link). I cannot understand how a devotee who lovingly worship Lord Vishnu get so harsh result (loss of devotional service, take birth amongst devil and ghosts,etc) for workshiping HIM on that day(devotees not aware of the consequences of Dasami).

Ill appreciate if someone do help me to understand this.

Hare Krishna

Hare Krishna,

Can U Pls Tell Me Y Eggs R Not To B Consumed?

N Y Milk Is 2 B Consumed.

I Guess Both Shud Not B Consumed.

Y?

Coz Milk Is Given By A Cow For Her Baby

N We Take It Away 4m Her.

N Egg We Take It From Hen

So Pls Explain Me In Deatil

Hari Bol

As Govinda_das has said, eggs are associated with the hens' menstruation just like women. Also most of the time the egg's shell would have some stool on it with uninviting smell.

When the egg is delivered by the hen, some people say that the hen experience pain may be not like when a woman delivers, but still pain is there.

Some people consider eggs as molten flesh. If fertilisation occured, these eggs are potential life carrier.

Thats roughly why it is not nice to offer eggs as food to the supreme.

Coz Milk Is Given By A Cow For Her Baby

N We Take It Away 4m Her.

The cow has PLENTY of milk for our consumption and her baby. There is NO question of taking away milk from the cow to the disadvantage of the baby cow. I have been living near people who do raise cows and the point you have raised is definitely not an issue.

Industrialised milk production could be another history.

N Egg We Take It From Hen

Another very good reason not to consume eggs.

If you are someone who is more towards scriptures, then the TOP MOST reason why not consume eggs but milk is because it is clearly mentioned in the Gita.

Milk is in the goodness mode therefore fit for consumption and fit to be offered to the lord. Whereas eggs are in the ignorance mode and unfit for consumption.

That website is wonderful!

Just a question, is there a "Super/Maha" ekadasi for ISKCON?

If there is one, is it the Nirjala one?

If in case nirjala is the 'super' ekadasi, is it because of post no. 6, or because of other reasons?

Thank-you

Underwater Dwarka

Newspaper article about Dwarka-Friday January 8th 1999

http://www.iskcon.net/hktv/news1.htm

<hr>India Abroad News Service BANGALORE - Nearly two decades after marine archeologists found the lost city of Dwarka off the coast of Gujarat the state government continues to drag its feet on a proposal to estab-lish the world's first underwater museum to view the remains of the city submerged in the Arabian Sea. <hr>The proposal for the museum, submitted by the Marine Archeology Center of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Goa, involves laying a submarine acrylic tube through which visitors can view through glass windows the ruins of the city said to have been be ruled by Sri Krishna, 3,500 years ago.An alternative suggestion is to have acrylic wells, to be accessed through boats, from which the remains can be viewed.Another proposal that remains on paper is for setting up a marine archeology museum of Dwarka antiquities found in the sea.

Discovered in 1981, the well-fortified township of Dwarka extended more than half a mile from the shore and was built in six sectors along the banks of a river before it became submerged. The findings are of immense cultural and religious importance to India. <hr> "The search for the lost city has been going on since 1930," S.R. Rao, former adviser to the NIO who is still actively involved in the excavations, told India Abroad. "It is only after marine archaeologists started exploring the seabed near modem Dwarka from 1981 that the structural remains of the city were found."

Rao said that if a fraction of the funds spent on land archeology were made available for under-water archaeology, more light could be thrown on Dwarka, which had much archeological signifi-cance because it was built during the second urbanization that occurred in India after the Indus Valley civilization in northwestern India.Dwarka's existence disproves the belief held by Western archeologists that there was no urbanization in the Indian subcontinent from the period between 1700 B.C. (Indus Valley) and 550 B.C. (advent of Buddhism). As no information was available about that period, they had labeled it the Dark Period. <hr>Among the objects unearthed that proved Dwarka's connection with the Mahabharata epic was a sea engraved with the image of a three-headed animal.The epic mentions such a seal given to the citi-zens of Dwarka as a proof of identity when the city was threatened by King Jarasandha of the powerful Magadh kingdom (now Bihar).The foundation of boulders on which the city's walls were erected proves that the land was reclaimed from the sea about 3,600 years ago. The epic has references to such reclamation activity at Dwarka. Seven islands mentioned in it were also discovered submerged in the Arabian Sea.

Pottery, which has been established by thermoluminiscence tests to be 3,528 years old and carrying inscriptions in late Indus Valley civilization script; iron stakes and triangular three-holed anchors discovered here find mention in the Mahabharata. <hr> "The findings in Dwarka and archeological evidence found compatible with the Mahabharata tradition remove the lingering doubt about the historicity of the Mahabharata," said Rao. We would say Krishna definitely existed."' What is needed, he added, is the political will to reconstruct the cultural history of the Vedic and epic periods of northern India. The maritime museums at sites of ' wrecks and submerged ports are absolutely essential, and portable antiquities should be conserved properly, lie emphasized. If the proposal to have a maritime museum is accepted by the Gujarat government, it would be the first of its kind in India, he pointed out.Recounting the start of exploration for Dwarka, Rao said, "We carried out the original survey with just four scuba divers, while the operation called for the services of around 200 divers and other staff."But for the work to progress now, more equipment is needed, besides funds and time, he warned, adding:

"We need two barges, one mounted with a crate, and equipment such as an airlift. We need 30 or 40 divers and engineers. The work should go on for at least six months and cannot be halt-ed midway." <hr>According to Rao, the project would need at least Rs. 20 million ($476,000).Funds would have to be provided by the Gujarat government and its tourism department Other possible sources are the federal Depart-ment of Ocean Development (DOD), which organizes big projects such as expeditions to Antartica, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which have not contribute much, Rao said. <hr>"The findings in Dwarka and archeological evidence found compatible with the Mahabharata tradition remove the lingering doubt about the historicity of the Mahabharata. We would say that Krishna definitely existed" S.R. Rao.