last updated 1st November  2007

Kazakhstani online petition

Kazakhstani online petition

By Radha Mohan Dasa

Please visit http://www.krishnatemple.com NOW and click the link to the new petition, or go straight to the petition webpage:

http://harekrishna.epetitions.net

Please sign it soon as you can, and please tell as many people as you can about it.

Background: Workers and police arrived on 15th June at the village near Almaty, Kazakhstan, where the embattled Hare Krishna commune is based to demolish twelve more Hare Krishna-owned homes. “The houses were literally crushed into dust. By ten o’clock it was all over,” said ISKCON spokesperson Maksim Varfolomeyev.

The temple, which the devotees have been ordered to destroy, has not been touched but the devotees fear it could be the next target. Human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis is outraged at the continuing destruction. “The authorities are showing that they will do what they want, despite the international outrage at the earlier demolitions of Hare Krishna-owned homes.” He believes the local administration chief “doesn’t care about the political damage to Kazakhstan’s reputation – or to its desire to chair the OSCE.”

ys Radha Mohan das

British Government Asked to Intervene in Kazakh Crisis
http://news.iskcon.com/british_government_asked_intervene_kazakh_crisis

Asian Image (UK) on 24 Oct 2007

The British government is being urged to speak to the Kazakhstan President to stop the harassment and human rights abuse against minority Hindu communities in that country.

British MP's this week said they would pressure the Foreign Secretary to act after attending an event organized by the Hindu Forum of Europe at the House of Commons.

At the event two Kazakh human rights activists, Yevgeniy Zhovtis and Ninel Fokina made a presentation on how Hindu houses have been selectively targeted for demolition and a Hindu temple confiscated by a Kazakh Government that they claim is increasingly modeled on the totalitarian style of the older Soviet Union'.

Despite international pressure, the local Government in Kazakhstan has decided to demolish houses belonging to 100 Hindus without following any procedure, protocol or observance of human rights.

Riot police moved into Hindu properties and demolished them on 21 November 2006 and again on 15 June 2007 to render Kazakh citizens homeless simply because they were Hindu, while people of other faiths living in the same area have no problems and continue to live without any form of discrimination.

This was followed by an official order of the government to demolish the Hindu Temple and the dairy farm of the community.

The Temple continues to be under threat and the authorities could come at any time to demolish it.

Despite flagrant disregard for minority faith communities and blatant violation of human rights, Kazakhstan is seeking to Chair the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a body that safeguards human rights in Europe.

British MPs have now promised to take up this issue with the Foreign Secretary as well as the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. They plan to table an Early Day Motion to seek support from other MPs.

"The human rights abuse against Kazakh Hindus is shocking," said Virendra Sharma MP, who was one of the hosts of the event. "It is important that international institutions and world governments begin to understand the scale of abuse against minorities like Hindus and Baptists that is taking place in this country."

"Freedom to practise one's religion is an absolute right," said James Clappison MP who was also hosting the event. "We cannot just stand back and do nothing when women and children are being rudely thrown out of their homes into the streets during freezing winter conditions."

Referring to the Kazakh Government's official stand that the dispute was a legal matter, Sarah Teather MP, another Parliamentary host for the event commented, "Laws are made to uphold human dignity. If they allow minority communities to be persecuted, then it is clear that they need to be changed."

Faith leaders form the Sikh, Buddhist and Christian communities responded to the presentations made on the abuse in Kazakhstan.

Anne Noonan from the Catholic Bishop's conference said, "Catholics have also faced plenty of problems in Kazakhstan. UK has made a huge progress in dialogue between faith communities and we have a real model here which we can present."

"How can Kazakhstan bid to Chair the OCSE when its human rights record is so appalling?" asked Sudarshan Bhatia, President of the Hindu Forum of Europe.

"The judicial system of the Republic of Kazakhstan has passed rulings which do not reflect the constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan and severely affects the lives of the Kazakh Hindu community. These rulings allow the government to evacuate the Hindus from their home, destroy their homes, and confiscate their properties."

"We want the world to wake up and hear what is happening to the Hindu community in Kazakhstan," declared Hari Halai, Vice President of the Hindu Forum of Europe.

"The Kazakh government is determined to grab the land belonging to the temple because of the property is now worth twenty times more than it originally was.

Human rights activist have pointed to a growing nexus between the mafia and the government in which the vulnerable Hindu community has been made a victim."

Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain said that the Kazakh Government had set up a Commission to enquire into these issues. "But it reached no conclusion, had no representation of Hindus and collapsed without any just discussion," he added.

"The Supreme Court heard cases about Kazakh Hindus in their absence without serving them notice or allowing their lawyers to argue their case in complete viloation of their human rights.

"We hope that this discussion in the House of Commons will focus attention on the women and children who were dragged out of their lawful homes and left out in the cold winter for the simple reason that they were Hindus."

"We do need to do something more proactive," said Raj Joshi from the Society of Black Lawyers.

"An Early Day Motion is not going to achieve much. We need to ask the Foreign Secretary to consider imposing economic sanctions and political isolation on rogue nations like Kazakhstan. They will only listen if it hurts."

C B Patel, Chair of the Hindu Forum of Britain's Patrons Council requested the Members of Parliament to take up this issue in earnest. "We have seen what can be done when Hindus come together as they did for the Hare Krishna Temple Defence Movement. We must gather our forces in a similar way for this event is just the beginning of this fight."

The Defend Kazakh Hindus campaign is supported by the Hindu Forum of Europe, Hindu Forum of Britain, Hindu American Foundation, Hindu Forum of Belgium, Hindu Council of Holland, Italian Hindu Union, Federation of Hindu Temples in France, Hindu Council of Africa, Hindu Council of Australia, Hindu Conference of Canada, National Council of Hindu Temples UK, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness..

Read HERE how the original issue began in Kazakstan

Read HERE what the previous articles from November 2006 were

Iskcon Kazakstan
http://www.palaceofthesoul.com/news/index.php

PLEASE VISIT THIS PAGE
http://kazakhkrishna.com/en-main/

Kazakh
http://vedabase.net/kazakhstan/

MUMBAI, INDIA, October 19, 2007: (HPI note: The following press release comes from the organizers of the this campaign for McDonalds India. In part, they enthusiastically describe a marketing strategy to connect their 3D animation film, Bal Ganesh, with McDonalds restaurants. Click here for the film's website. http://www.balganesh.com/ )

Shemaroo Entertainment in a special tie up with Crosswords book store for the special promotion for their first kids' 3D CGI animation flick "Bal Ganesh," is delighting hundreds of children and those young at heart across the city of Mumbai.

Shemaroo Entertainment also recently conducted promotions for "Bal Ganesh" in association with McDonalds during which special branded merchandise was available with the popular McDonalds Happy Meals across 50 outlets in the cities of Mumbai, Surat, Pune, Ahmedabad, Nashik, Indore, Baroda, Bangalore and Hyderabad. This charming collection of "Bal Ganesh" merchandise included a small diary, a children's height chart and a calendar, all with adorable Bal Ganesh pictures and branding.

In Mumbai, the McDonalds activity was conducted in all outlets with Bal Ganesh Mascot visits to the prime locations of Malad, Kemps Corner, Bandra, Ghatkopar, Goregaon, Mulund, Andheri and Navi Mumbai. Shemaroo also offered children at the assigned McDonalds outlets the opportunity to interact with the Bal Ganesh mascot at the Mumbai restaurants and get their pictures clicked with the adorable live size Bal Ganesh mascot!

Speaking on the success of the promotion, Ms.Smita Maroo, Vice-President, Animation Division of Shemaroo Entertainment said, "It's wonderful to see how 'Bal Ganesh's' popularity has taken off even before the launch of the movie! The little mascot has really hit a chord with audiences all over the country! Both the McDonalds and Crosswords tie ups have given our pre-launch promotions a great impetus and helped us spread the word in a fun and interactive way. This positive response has encouraged us immensely proving that the audiences are looking as forward to the launch of the movie as we are"!

Bal Ganesh, the 3D animation delight made by Shemaroo Entertainment has been created in association with Astute Media Vision. The movie is sc heduled to release on October 26th, 07 in select theatres around the country.

By Rosslyn Beeby for Stock and Land on 9 Oct 2007

They've got loose pages, ghee-spattered covers and smidges of turmeric marking favourite recipes. One was published in 1973 but its vintage recipes still outperform many of those found in latter-day lavishly illustrated cookbooks. It has the best recipe for potato kachoris, and the gajja kheer (grated carrots simmered in milk, with sugar, almonds and cardamom) is a party-stopper. Far tastier, and healthier, than Nigella Lawson's famous deep-fried Mars bars.

Over the years, vegetarian cooking has had its share of fads. Remember Gail Duff's penchant for wheatgerm with just about everything or Rose "Not Just a Load of Old Lentils" Elliot's enthusiasm for hearty bean hotpots and grated cheese toppings? During her pre-French regional cuisine and wicked-puddings period, British glamour chef Annie Bell flirted with a minimalist cuisine minceur style of vegetarian cooking. I'm a fan of her sticky gingerbread, but her vegie cookbook failed to hit the mark and was dispatched to the local second-hand bookshop within weeks.

But for tasty, fragrantly spicy vegetarian food that hits the palate with a burst of flavour, you can't beat the Hare Krishna cookbooks, or the recipes of Krishna chef extraordinaire Kurma Dasa. After a couple of decades of vegetarian cooking, I wouldn't part with my dog-eared copies they're as reliable as a tennis ball-retrieving border collie and as inspirational as Emily-Lou Harris hitting those ethereal high notes.

In the early 1970s, conga-lines of chanting, drumming, cymbal-crashing Krishnas threaded their way through the inner streets of Melbourne during lunch hour, proffering cards inviting people to eat at Gopal's, their first-floor restaurant in Flinders Street. Word quickly spread among students and the city's arty set that this was the place to eat. Musicians Billy Thorpe and Lobby Lloyd were regulars, and artist Peter Booth still rates it as a favourite. Word also spread that the food at Gopal's was especially fantastic when the big bloke with the glasses was running the kitchen.

Unlike the usual stodge fried rice with frozen peas and cauliflower, baked beans or mashed potatoes served with diced carrots and limp green beans served up to vegetarians at university cafeterias, the food at Gopal's was fantastic. You could also snaffle a free recipe book, The Higher Taste, to try to recreate those tasty curries and desserts at home.

While Gail Duff was earnestly trying to convince readers of the virtues of wheatgerm as an all-purpose garnish, the Krishna cookbooks were way out in front in their cross-cultural culinary approach. Back in the '70s, they were explaining how to make calzone, enchiladas (without the supermarket packet mixes), vegetarian kofta, panir and Chinese tofu spring rolls spiced with ginger.

As a young journalist with a Melbourne newspaper, I took one of the city's notoriously picky food critics to Gopal's. We were catching a tram downtown for lunch, and he was shocked to hear my destination was, as he sniffily put it, "the Hare Krishna canteen". Was I so broke I couldn't afford a nice camembert and salad bagel in an upmarket sandwich bar? He offered to shout me lunch, obviously out of pity that my options had sunk so low, and I dared him to put his prejudices on hold and join me.

He'd expected a plonk-it-on-your-plate curry 'n rice joint, with a chewy pappadum on the side, washed down with weak, milky tea. Instead, he was contemplating a well-presented choice of spicy dhals, Indian breads, samosas, vegetables in yoghurt or tomato sauces and desserts flavoured with pistachio and powdered cardamom. Who on earth did the cooking, he asked. As usual, it was the big bloke with glasses. "Whoever he is, he's bloody good," was the critic's verdict, before ducking back into the lunch queue for seconds.

The big bloke with the glasses was, of course, Kurma Dasa now known to millions around the world for his books, Cooking with Kurma, Great Vegetarian Dishes and Vegetarian World Food, and his hugely successful television series that's been screened across the United States, Britain, the Middle East, Russia, Turkey, Malaysia and China. His first cookery book, published 14 years ago, is now in its seventh print run which makes him one of Australia's best-selling authors.

Earlier this month, Kurma was back in Melbourne helping to prepare 1000 gulab jamuns (milk balls in a rose-scented syrup) to mark the birthday of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, Srila Prabhupada.

We were so lucky to have him running the Gopal's kitchen back in the days when many vegetarian cookbooks offered unremittingly dull fare. We might not have converted to Krishna consciousness (rising at 4am for devotional chanting could have been a factor there), but Kurma and the Krishnas did win millions of hearts and palates with joyously adventurous vegetarian cooking that was well ahead of its time.

For Kurma Dasa recipes go to http://www.kurma.net

By Giriraj Gopal Dasa

Before I the post of How is Porn Harmful from a non-devotional website.
Here is my rant and Krishna Conscious slant. (look I can rhyme!)

Although I won't deny that there is misogyny present in the society of ISKCON today ( Hare Krishna), due to misunderstanding of the application of cultural synthesis), there is a real danger being outside in the world of "free choice and free love" which is destructive and based on evil.

 "Evil" being that people don't care for the consequences of their actions, though it is harmful to others in their progression into the light: Back to Godhead.

Morality is real. Dharma is real. There is an absolute good that is not relative.

Only a fool with say that there is no different between consentual sex between two people who care for each other and gross animalistic displays of meaningless passion.

What to speak of the Absolute stance of perfect dharma. Sexual union only for the propogation of  children aware of the absolute objectively morality. Spiritual children who would be capable of protecting dhama in this world.

 It is so suprizing that a society based on economic development for sense gratification, encourages to sell the most valuable commodity? The human body and its sexual appeal. I am disgusted at what we have become as a human family.

Srila Prabhupada: So this instruction is strisu dustasu: "When women become polluted, there is unwanted population."

That is coming all over the world, the hippies. Therefore the first thing is how to train up women not to become polluted. This is the way of... In the modern society they have given women freedom. That I have already explained.

 In the name of freedom of woman, they are being exploited.

Everything is there: social, religious, political, cultural, educational. We have to accept that course. Then everything will be all right. If you don't accept, then you have to suffer problems. It is not meant for a particular class of men or particular country, it is meant for the whole human society. Therefore, this purification of the society at the present, fallen condition is very, very difficult to revive. Because people are so fallen, it is almost impossible.

Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has recommended that "You all together chant Hare Krsna, and everything will be done nicely."

>>> Ref. VedaBase =>  Room Conversation with writer, Sandy Nixon -- July 13, 1975, Philadelphia

Srila Prabhupada: They are giving the bluff that "You become liberated" means "We shall exploit you, young girls." This is the idea behind. Because the karmis, they want sex, young girls, and they get energy to work.

The Europeans, Americans, they work so hard. They get energy from new, new girls. This is psychology, Therefore they work like hogs and dogs. Dog civilization. Hog civilization. Because the hog has no restriction, either mother, sister, or anyone, "Come on." Nayam deho deha-bhajam..., kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye [SB 5.5.1].

This civilization is for the hogs, to take energy by sex with mother, sister, and anyone, and work hard. It is stated in the Bhagavata. I have not manufactured. Nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye [SB 5.5.1]. And here is the civilization. Tapo divyam. Be brahmacari, undergo austerities and rectify your, this conditioned life, birth and death.

 This is human civilization. Why you are under birth and death? One life remain brahmacari and solve all the question. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti [Bg. 4.9]. Teach them, these rascals -- they are accusing, "brainwashing" -- that this is civilization.

It is not civilization to work hard like hogs and dogs and have sex enjoyment.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- January 24, 1977, Bhuvanesvara

 See related pages at seX-files

VELLORE, INDIA, October 11, 2007: (HPI note: You must see the photos of this temple at the URL above. It is completely covered in gold!) One of the biggest Hindu shrines in southern India, the Sri Puram Golden Temple a grand golden temple built by a spiritual organization in Tamil Nadu at an approximate cost of US$160 million (Rs 600 crore), the consecration (kumbhabhishekam) was performed on August 24, 2007, presence of over 30,000 devotees. The Mahalakshmi temple, located on a sprawling 100 acres of land at Sripuram, near Vellore, about 125 km from Chennai, has been constructed by Vellore-based Sri Narayani Peetam, headed by spiritual leader Sri Sakthi Amma (click here). "The Taj Mahal was built as an expression of love for a single person but the Sri Puram Golden Temple stands for unconditional love for the entire humanity," says Amma, 31, who also goes by the name of Shakti Siddha.

"W e know it is also the sign of the universal goddess - Lakshmi," says William, who gives only one name and says he is of Canadian origin. The steps that lead to the innermost section are laid with polished black and grey granite from the neighboring South Arcot and Dharmapuri districts. The grey stone called "Paradiso" because of its wavy patterns of violet with the color of iron. And this too has been used in large quantities.

"If we had built a hospital, factory, educational institution or a business, it would have ended up serving a small community. But now, Amma's temple will sow the seeds of goodness in the hearts of everyone who visits here," Amma, clad in ochre robes, says in Tamil.

The temple, covering 55,000 sq ft area, has intricate carvings and sculptures in gold. Except the walking path, the entire structure has been covered with gold and copper. This would be more grandeur than the Golden Temple in Amritsar, mutt sources said. About 400 goldsmiths and coppersmiths, including craftsmen from Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams, have completed the architectural marvel in gold in six years. More than one and one-half ton of pure gold was glitter and gleam under the sun, Devotees hail the temple as "one of the wonders of the world," and say that it is the only temple covered fully with gold.

According to official so urces, the gold bars were purchased through RBI in "a transparent manner. " First the coppersmiths set to work creating a copper base on the temple structure with engravings and etchings before the gold, beaten into nine layers of foils, was draped around it. The sanctum sanctorum will hold the Deity of Mahalakshmi made of stone granite, but covered with gold kavacham (adornments). "The Sripuram or Spiritual Park is Amma's dedication to the world and mankind," said P. Murali, a trustee of the Peetam.

Surrounded by mountains and lush and scenic beauty, the temple, entirely conceived and designed by Amma, would be open to people of all religions. "The temple is Amma's gift to mankind," the sources said. "When one enters the Sripuram, their focus is just on the magnificent temple. But when they leave, they cannot do so without taking some messages and gaining some wisdom," according to a booklet detailing the 'services' rendered by the Peetam. "In this quagmire of materialism, Sripuram rises as an inspiration to man to find the divinity wit hin him," adds a brochure.

Murali said arrangements were being made to hire personnel to throw a security cover around the temple. "But the gold sheets have been laid out in such a manner that it would cost more to rip it off than purchase the gold," said a top Vellore district official.

courtesy of Hinduism Today  http://www.hinduismtoday.com

By Deena Bandhu dasa

A couple of days ago, while I was studying for giving Bhagavatam Class, one of the members of the Vrindavan Municipality called me. He informed me that there were 25,000 people from all over India walking by foot from Gwalior to New Delhi. They were protesting different issues, including pollution of the Yamuna and various problems of poor people. I was informed that they were not connected to any specific political group and were being led by one respectable gentleman who had received a National Award. He wanted us to come with our kirtan party to greet them as they entered Mathura District. They were due to arrive at 10 am, which is just after breakfast prasadam.

With only a few minutes left to give class, I rushed to inform our Co-president Srestha Prabhu who made all arrangements. With very short notice, I made an announcement after my class and at prasad time to try and collect some devotees.

Then Sri Vasistha, our municipality member and President of the Brahmin Society of Vrindavan, came along with the son of a famous Bhagavatam reciter. We filled up our Braja Darshan bus and rushed off to the site on the highway where they were all sitting as you can see in the photo. Half of the National Highway to Delhi was blocked off and traffic was going two-way on the opposite side. They walk, they sleep, and eat all on the highway.

The organizers asked Srestha Prabhu to speak and even though he is not proficient in Hindi, being from South India, he had them all cheering. He announced that to welcome them all to Braja, we would be doing Harer Nama Sankirtan. So after a few other speeches, the organizers requested us to begin our kirtan. As you can see there were four lines of people lining the highway in lines that stretched for 3 km!

All along the route we danced down the middle of them. They were all carrying green flags which they happily waved in the air as they joined the joyful kirtan as we passed. Although they were sitting on the highway in the hot sun, seeing Lord Caitanya’s kirtan party, they all broke into bright smiles.

After about an hour, we reached the end of the line. By Krishna’s arrangement, it ended exactly in front of our devotee Jankinatha Prabhu’s family house. Jankinatha, you may remember from other postings, is the head of our Prison Preaching Dept. He guessed that the procession would end somewhere near his house, so he had phoned ahead for them to arrange nimbu pani and snacks. Was he surprised to find the line ended directly in front of his house? We just walked off the highway into his house.

And the nimbu pani was delicious and refreshing. This was one of the most unusual Harer Nama parties I have ever been on. And 25,000 people got to chant the Holy Names and see the foreign ISKCON devotees on entering Braja. Sri Krishna Sankirtan ki Jaya!

In service of Srimati Vrinda Devi, Deena Bandhu dasa

Read more on Chanting Hare Krishna HERE:

(The alternative science project)

"All ideas which have far-reaching consequences are usually simple."
(L.N. Tolstoy)

Despite the unbelievable scientific development during the 20th century, almost all traditional moral values were underestimated during this period as well. However, one should ask the following question: Where did the results of atheistic science lead to? It seems that into a blind alley. Various theories exist within physics as the most prestigious science, being independent on each other. Some of them are contradictory from the point of view of classical logic or even one theory eliminates the other. Despite of this, each of them is considered to be valid, at least under strongly defined conditions.

The most visible example is the contradicton between two great theories of 20th century - the theory of relativity, which is mostly applied in macro-world and, the quantum mechanics, the manifestation of which becomes obvious at the extremely small values of physical quantities (micro-world, if we are talking about dimensions, but in general, the quantum phenomena can be observed in macro-world too, e.g. at the extremely small temperatures). The problem arises everywhere we are forced to apply both these theories under special conditions like in the world of particle physics or theory of black holes. Although it seems that the superstring theory is on the right way to comply with those two theories, looking in details it appears that satisfactory solution requires the modification of at least one of them - the most probably, the hottest candidate is the theory of relativity.

The Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, being one of the basic quantum mechanics laws, strongly attacked our seeing of surrounding world - no more it is valid that starting at precisely defined conditions (the uncertainties of input parameters are equal to zero), the result is fully determinable.

Another example, the wave - corpuscular paradox, is leading to misunderstanding when we intend to explain the behavior of matter without anticipation of the shocking fact - the resulting trajectory is the linear superposition of all trajectories over the whole universe, having the same initial and same final points respectively. Approaching smaller and smaller dimensions, this fact results in the behavior where the term "trajectory" loses its sense and the wave aspects are more obvious.

Perhaps it was the mentioned above contradicton between the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics what should be found beyond the proclamation of then 38 year old mathematician and physicist S. W. Hawking (graduating as the professor in Cockroft lecture-hall of Cambridge University) who, having his introductory lecture, proclaimed the end of theoretical physics which is going to begin in the 21st century. The listeners were really shocked by this statement.

Thus I wanted to show the fact that different valid theories and systems exist, in spite of their contradiction in terms of classical logic. We should tolerate another systems and theories!

In all probability, boundaries of physics in terms it is known today are where begins the physics of consciousness. Let us mention namely Professor Jahn Robert, who is physicist and his affiliation is the research in the field of psychotronics (bio-communication).

The research of human counsciousness finds itself in a similary conflicting situation. As in theoretical physics we have here many different schools and philosophically based theories. While the one field discusses the doctrine of the free will of ego and the whole spectrum of schools of psychology based on the Freudian school and the classical philosophy, the other field deals with the conception of unconsiousness following the esotheric tradition of C.G.Jung, oriental philosophy (the hypnotic regress, holotropic breathing, transpersonal psychology) and biological mechanisms of personality.

There are also known arguments that genetics can provide us with all the answers to the philosophical questions.

I disagree with this opinion and would like to emphasize the fact that genetics and unconsciousness are essentialy not oposing each other rather they are compatible like hardware (organism) and software (unconsiousness) naturally interacting and complimenting each other.

Consciousness as a subset of unconsciousness can not be defined by neurological processes only, which is a statment approved by many reputable experts in this field.

According to certain theories counsiousness is a link between idea and matter, from a point of view of quantum physics it is actually a kind of matter, and it is exceeds to the higher levels of the time space continuum.

Few years ago I read a book "The Essence of Budhism" from already deceased theravadan Budhist monk Nyanasatta Thera (Martin Novosad) who lived his all life in a monastery in Sri Lanka. In this book he points out a fact that if we would approach the research of reincarnation with the same importance as given to the research in other fields of modern sience, the potential and credibility given to reincarnation would not be regarded so much as a "religion" but sientific fact.

Of course it is natural that in order for Western science to accept the proof of reincarnation we have to base our project on the experimental and statistic methods native to this science.

Read more on Reincarnation HERE:

http://www.indiaenews.com/technology/20071013/75049.htm

KANPUR, INDIA, October 13, 2007: Indian metallurgists have developed a type of corrosion-resistant iron that construction engineers would love. And vital clues for it came for Delhi's famous Iron Pillar that has been standing tall for over 1,600 years. Developed by Ramamurthy Balasubramaniam and his former student Gadadhar Sahoo of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur, the iron contains phosphorus and shows remarkable resistance to corrosion, especially in concrete. "This is a significant first step in the possible commercial (large-scale) use of these irons," Balasubramaniam, better known as Bala, told IANS.

Most steels today contain small amounts of carbon and manganese. Modern steel makers avoid phosphorus because its segregation to grain boundaries makes the steel brittle. But the IIT team successfully produced ductile phosphoric irons by driving the phosphorus away from grain boundaries through clever alloy design and novel hea t treatment.

Ironically, Bala's material is not new. It was being made by Indian ironsmiths centuries ago. Bala says he got the clue for developing this material from the six-ton seven-meter tall Delhi Iron Pillar - a major tourist attraction in the Qutb Minar complex -- that has been standing for centuries in the harsh weather of the capital without any corrosion. "As a metallurgist, I was intrigued," Bala told IANS. And his passionate quest to unravel the mystery that began in 1990s has now culminated in phosphoric irons.

Bala thanks his forefathers for the success. "I am of the firm belief that ancient Indian metallurgists had the empirical knowledge that high phosphorus content ores resulted in corrosion-resistant iron. They did not create this material by accident."

courtesy of Hinduism Today  http://www.hinduismtoday.com

Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY, October 18, 2007: Twenty-one years ago this month, Pope John Paul II met in Assisi, Italy, with more than 150 leaders of different religions to pray for peace. Images of the pontiff worshipping in the Basilica of St. Francis alongside colorfully garbed Tibetan Buddhists, Japanese Shintoists and representatives of traditional African and American faiths captivated millions around the world. Not everyone was pleased, including the man who would one day succeed John Paul. "This cannot be the model," said Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI). Ratzinger later wrote that it was "indisputable that the Assisi meetings, especially in 1986, were misinterpreted by many people." Ratzinger feared that such displays, however well-intentioned, could promote the relativistic idea that all religions are equally true, or that all faiths could be combined in a single syncretic blend.

This Sunday (Oct. 21), Benedict will attend the opening day of the International Meeting for Peace in Naples, Italy. It is the latest in an annual series of events intended to sustain the "spirit of Assisi." The pope will offer an ecumenical Mass in Naples' main piazza, then have lunch with some 200 religious leaders, including the chief rabbi of Israel and the Muslim rector of Al-Azhar University in Egypt. The organizers of the gathering stress that there is not--and never has been-anything in the spirit of Assisi that promotes relativism or syncretism. Ever since the 1986 gathering, Mario Marazziti, co-founder of the Catholic lay group, Sant'Egidio, notes, organizers have arranged for representatives of different faiths to pray in separate locations--a specification that is prominently noted in this year's program. Last September, to mark the 20th anniversary of the first Assisi event, the meeting was again held in Assisi. Benedict sent a letter of support, but warned against any seeming endorsement of relativism.

Events since then have underscored the importance of inter-reli gious relations for the Vatican. Two weeks after he sent the letter to Assisi, Benedict angered Muslims with a speech in Regensburg, Germany, in which he quoted a medieval Christian emperor describing the teachings of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman" and "spread by the sword. " Benedict later responded by expressing his "regrets" and held a special meeting with representatives of Muslim nations. Then, on a visit to Turkey in December, the pope surprised many by praying alongside Istanbul's chief Imam in the city's Blue Mosque. Last week 138 Muslim scholars and clerics published an open letter seeking better relations with the Christian world. Two of the document's authors complained that the Catholic Church has resisted the theological dialogue with Muslims, limiting inter-religious relations to the diplomatic sphere.

The roundtable discussions being held in Naples on Sunday will offer an opportunity for such dialogue, though Benedict himself, who will leave before the official beginning of the meeting, will not take part in them. Nor will Benedict share in the prayers for peace, which will not take place until Wednesday (Oct. 24). As for the Mass that he will offer on Sunday, the only religious leaders who have been formally invited ar e other Christians. So if the pope offers any prayers in the presence of non-Christian representatives this weekend, it will be just before their meal together and presumably in silence.

courtesy of Hinduism Today  http://www.hinduismtoday.com

By Khelen Thokchom for Calcutta Telegraph on 25 Oct 2007

Iskcon has turned its personal experience of the reality of terrorism into a reel weapon in the fight against terror across the world.

A year after an act of violence sullied its precincts midway through a Janmashtami function, the management of the Iskcon temple in Imphal has produced a documentary that it hopes will hold a mirror to practitioners of terror. The 23-minute film, aptly titled 'Karigi?' [English: Why?], documents the bomb attack that killed eight persons during a Ras Lila performance on August 16 last year. Among those who died in that attack — about 50 more, including foreigners, were wounded — was international spiritual leader Damodara Swami.

“Before passing away, our Swami (Damodara) advised us to make a film in such a manner that those behind the attack realise their folly and repent their actions after watching the human tragedy caused by them,” producer Ajit Das, who is the director of the temple, said.

Bachaspatimayum Sunzu, who produced an award-winning documentary on the Armed Forces (Special Powers), directed the Iskcon venture.

The film has no narration and footage of the terror strike. It tells the story through the comments of some of those who were wounded that night and the relatives of the victims.

“Our film is meant to encourage people across the world to ask the question: why spill the blood of innocent people?” Das said.

The film was released on Sunday at the Manipur Press Club auditorium and is in line for screening at film festivals in the country and abroad. “We have sent prints to Vietnam, Singapore and Philippines for film festivals there. We have also applied for entry into the Mumbai International Film Festival next year.”

The fact that the director of the documentary was in the temple when the blast rocked the temple adds to the evocativeness of the film. “I was just as traumatised as anybody else who was there that night and I wanted to question why this happened through a film,” Sunzu said.

The documentary will be screened in front of 1,000 devotees from 20-odd countries when they assemble at the Iskcon complex on November 21 for the inauguration of a newly constructed temple. The management plans to gift a copy of the film to each of the foreign delegates for screening in their respective countries.

“We believe that if more people start asking the same question, the frequency of terror strikes will lessen. That will be the turning point in the journey towards peace,” Das said.

The Associated Press on 15 Oct 2007

STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Sweden wants to curb the influence of religion in private confessional schools in a move to prevent the spread of fundamentalism, government officials said Monday.

The new rules being drafted by the center-right government would ban religious elements in subjects other than religion, such as biology, Education Minister Jan Bjorklund told Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

"Students must be protected from every form of fundamentalism," Bjorklund was quoted as saying.

His comments came after a legal dispute involving a Christian sect's efforts to start a confessional school in southern Sweden.

The Exclusive Brethren Christian Fellowship, which dismisses the theory of evolution, was granted permission by a county administrative court to start the school after it promised to follow the Swedish school plan and to welcome all students.

The decision was widely criticized as the group is perceived to isolate itself by enforcing a number of restrictions on its members.

There are 67 elementary schools and six high schools with a confessional orientation in Sweden, which is a highly secular country. Most of them are Christian. They are outside the public school system, but are governed by Sweden's law on education.

The government claims the law is not clear on how much religious influence is allowed in the curriculum.

The new rules, which need parliamentary approval, would be introduced in 2009, Bjorklund's spokeswoman Anna Neuman told The Associated Press.

"A student shouldn't be able to pass a natural science test by answering that God created the world. We don't think that's OK," Neuman said.

The schools would also be required to report financial donations to the authorities, she said.

Dear Vaisnavas,
Please accept my humble obeisances. I pray that I may always be engaged as the servant of the servants of Lord Krsna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada, whose home is here in Sri Vrndavana Dhama. It is by his mercy only, which is available by carefully taking shelter of his instructions at every moment, that we have the adhikara, the authorization, to come here and even stay.

I have returned to the lotus feet of Sri Sri Krsna Balarama, Radha Syamasundara and Gaura Nitai in Vrndavana. I came to render some service to them.

Again I go every day to Srila Prabhupada's Mangal Arati in His Samadhi. That has been one of my secrets over the years, one of the sources of joy and inspiration in my life.

In Kartika we seek some shelter, some mercy and we go to the Holy Dhama. 'mathura vasa' to reside in the Holy District of Mathura, Vraja, is one of the five aspects of bhakti through which even if only a little, we can very quickly achieve love for Krsna. So it's important to come here. Even though at present my love for Krsna may be rather shallow. Srila Prabhupada made the phrase "Back to Godhead" a motto for all of us and wouldn't it be nice to join Krsna in His eternal pastimes in the spiritual world?

I also need this time here for rejuvenation, to rest up physically and to take time for hearing and chanting. I have done a lot of travel and I have tried to encourage a lot of people in Krsna consciousness. So Kartika is not all about austerity, it's about becoming more absorbed in remembering Krsna. It can be in a gentle way.

I am also in to collecting blessings. Blessings from Giri Govardhana, blessings from the dust of Vrndavana, blessings from all the holy places and the river Yamuna. This year we rented a boat with about a dozen devotees and went from Kesi Ghat, Vrndavana to Visram Ghat, Mathura in about 2 1/2 hours, we sang gentle bhajans, had some Krsna Katha and of course had a picnic. We did a number of parikramas with the same devotees, Kusum Sarovara and Govindakunda and from there we walked on the soft sandy stretch along Govardhana Hill. Later to Varsana, where the Pandas interrupted our talks about Radha Krsna by hitting us up for a donation. But we started kirtana and they sang along and then left after some time. Param Vijayate Sri Krsna Sankirtanam. We had a peaceful time in Prema Sarovara and more Pandas in Nandagrama. In Mahavan Brahmanda Ghat, Gokul and then Raval, Smt. Radharani's birthsite, where the local Sevaits are actually very nice.

Here I eat simple, because it feels better and chant more throughout the day, here in the Dhama one returns to the essentials of life.

We always check out some of the new books that have come out, this year the "Gita Bhusana", the commentary on the Bhagavad Gita from Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana. Some interesting points I noted were;

- yuktahara viharasya yukta cestasya karmasu

"if one has regulated eating regulated recreation, regulated use of organs in bothy material and spiritual activities, regulated sleep and regulated waking, yoga destroys all suffering." (Bg.6.17) Regulated recreation is an interesting addition in the translation. I guess I am just having some here in the Holy Dhama. - om tat sad iti nirdeso

The brahmanas, Vedas and sacrifices were manifested (vihitah) by four-headed Brahma long ago through this Brahman in the form of the three names om tat sat, indicating Visnu. Teherfore these names are very powerful. if these names are used along with sacrifice and otheer acts, these names will compensate for any faults in the performance of the various parts of the sacrifice. By uttering these three sounds, one is assured of getting the results (Bg.17.23 Commentary).

Daivi Sakti brought out a nice book with quotes from Srila Prabhupada about Vrndavana; "Our Vrndavana temple is perhaps our nicest building in the whole movement and I want at least 25 good men here at all times. Because it is Vrndavana those who come should be exemplary so that all the people of Vrndavana, even those who would be prone to criticize, will see that we are actually following the six Goswamis headed by Rupa Gosvami. I want that those who come wheather grhastas or sanyasis, behave on the level of real Gosvamis. Gosvami means controlling the senses and always glorifying Krsna by varieties of engagement in devotional service 24 hours a day."(SP letter 23 March, 1974)

Over the years this letter has had special significance to me because I always wanted to be one of these 25 Gosvamis. Now that I am a traveling preacher and I can not personally stay in Vrndavana for too much time, I want to make it my mission to find 25 such Gosvamis to stay in the Krsna Balarama Mandir to fulfill the desire of Srila Prabhupada. In this way we can bless the entire world.

Posted by Mukunda Charan under A Day In The Life , ISKCON , Vrindavan Life
 
Krishna-Balarama Temple, Raman Reti, Vrindavan

The mood here at Krishna-Balarama Temple is ecstatic.  It felt like Kartik even before Kartik actually began.  Krishna-Balarama draws a very nice crowd - from various parts of India and abroad.  It has a really open feel about it - sarva-dharman-parityajya.  I like it.

The atmosphere is thick with bhakti - ubiquitous as the Vrindavan dust.  We go on with our daily activities: the morning programme, honouring prashadam, going on parikrama (circumambulating the holy places of Vraja), preaching, chanting in Aindra prabhu’s kirtan, taking darshan,re-filling our water bottles with purified water, offering lamps to the Deities and Lord Damodar.  Behind these activities, however, is a warm wave of love that seems to draw you closer, closer to Krishna.

I haven’t been to Vrindavan in Kartik for ten years.  I don’t think anything in this earthly realm could compare to the experience.  Although I am leaving for Mayapur soon, I don’t feel like leaving Vrindavan.   I am quite content to stay on Krishna-Balarama campus and absorb myself in devotional activities here.

Vedantic Influence over Chinese Philosophy

Professor Huang Xinchuan
Department of Oriental Philosophy
Institute of Philosophy
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
5, Jian Guo Men Nei    Dajie Street
Beijing 100732, China

The religious as well as the cultural interflow between Indian and China occurred as early as over two thousand years ago. Following the Buddhist and Hindu religious activities, the Indian orthodoxy philosophy---the Six Darsanas, Vedanta in particular once flourished in China. Vedanta had exerted also some influences on Chinese Buddhism and Taoism in its own way.

In China we have preserved abundant historical records and relics of Hinduism as well as Buddhism. Since the third century AD, China has discovered numerous Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit. There are records in Buddhist and Hindu scriptures either systematic or piecemeal.    For example, the Vedas and Upanishads as seen in Chinese historical record were translated freely into Chinese as Ming-Lun (the Science of Knowledge),    Zhi-Lun (the Science of Intelligence) or transliterated into Chinese as Feituo, Pituo, etc. Besides, there are Chinese historical sources of Vedangas.    At the stage of Mahayana Buddhism, Madhyamika drew close to Vedanta in both theory and practice. Samkara's Advitaism was in confrontation with Nagarjuna's Sunyata. We can find out the influences on some Sects of Prajna School (Three Treaties Sect, Tiantai Sect, Mahayanasamgraha Sect etc.) in Sui and Tang Dynasties and also on some eminent Buddhist monks. At the last stage of Indian Buddhism, it mixed with Hinduism again, in other words, Vajna-yana Mixed with Sakta.

It is noted that Vedanta's concept and application also directly influenced the formation of the Jo-nna Sect of Tibet. The Jo-nna Sect preached the "doctrine of non reality of person". This doctrine is similar to Vedanta's theory of two kinds of Brahmans, Mayavada and Adhyasa. Jo-nna Sect was formed in the 12th century and flourished during the period of 14-17th centuries, and still exists today. Tarnath's History of Indian Buddhism and a number of Buddhist works in Tibetan versions described the arguments between Samkara and Pandits Hulisasestha, Dharmakriti, Kumaralila and Kunadarorul in Varanasi, and worth making studies. Taoism is indigence to China. Chinese Taoism has something in common with Saktism. The interflow between Taoism and Brahmanism-Hinduism rarely appeared in ancient China, nonetheless, we can find some examples. One text in which the Tung Hsuan Section of the Tao Tsung (Taoist Canon) originated goes by the name Lin Pao Ching (Book of the Marvelous Jewel). In this text, we can find the influence of Brahmanism and Upanishad (Vedanta) in particular. It has a portrait of Yuan Shih Tien Tsun (the Highest God of Taoism) based on the portrait of the Maha Brahma of Brahmanism at the numerous kalpas in the unlimited darkness of Chaos. Thus, He transforms himself into thirty-three devas, asuras, " Ten directions of the Universe" etc. Thus we can say that there existed interflow between Taoism and Vedanta.

Vedic China Evidence
    Posted by: "Vrndavan Parker" vrnparker@yahoo.com
    Date: Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:44 am ((PDT))

Click links to see the images and details
Chinese Most Ancient Known Pictograms had Vedic Symbols
http://vedicempire.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=9

Ancient Chinese Document Reveals Vedic Based Society
http://vedicempire.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=9

Courtesy of Vedic Culture list

Vedic World Heritage links:

See our pages supporting these views HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWH.html (Vedik World Heritage)
Western Indologists been exposed page:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/WesternIndologists-page.htm
How British Misguided the World on Vedic History
http://www.hknet.org.nz/MotiveBritishRajMissionaries.html

By Brendan I. Koerner for Slate.com on 23 Oct 2007

"If we put [greenhouse gas] emissions above all else, then veganism beats lacto-ovo vegetarianism handily," says Gidon Eshel, a co-author of the University of Chicago study. "That much is clear and unequivocal."

As a longtime vegetarian, I've always been confident that my diet is better for the planet than that of your typical carnivore. But a vegan pal of mine says I could be doing a lot more, by rejecting all animal products—no eggs, no milk, not even the occasional bowl of mac 'n cheese. Is veganism really that much better for the environment?

Since few Americans have followed Alicia Silverstone's abstemious lead and renounced animal products altogether, there aren't many data available on the environmental consequences of veganism. Somewhere between 2 percent and 5 percent of the nation's eaters classify themselves as vegetarians; of that number, perhaps 5 percent are strict vegans. As a result, most research on meat-free diets has focused on lacto-ovo vegetarians, the milk-and-egg eaters who form the lion's share of the veggie demographic.

According to a 2005 University of Chicago study, a lacto-ovo vegetarian emits far less greenhouse gas than a counterpart adhering to the standard, meat-rich American diet—the difference is equivalent to around 1.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, assuming the same daily caloric intake. (The study's authors thus claim that going vegetarian has the same effect on carbon dioxide emissions as switching from a Chevrolet Suburban to a Toyota Camry.) The savings mostly come about because of the disparity between the fossil fuel required to produce a calorie's worth of grain vs. that needed to make a calorie's worth of beef; grain is nearly a dozen times more efficient in this regard. Cattle are also a huge source of methane, a particularly noxious greenhouse gas; it's estimated that bovines are responsible for roughly triple the methane emissions of the American coal industry.

Yet lacto-ovo vegetarians still derive about 14 percent of their calories from animal products. Bring that number down to zero, as strict vegans do, and you'll certainly ratchet down your carbon emissions by another several hundred pounds per year. "If we put [greenhouse gas] emissions above all else, then veganism beats lacto-ovo vegetarianism handily," says Gidon Eshel, a co-author of the University of Chicago study. "That much is clear and unequivocal."

But Eshel hastens to add—and The Lantern wholeheartedly agrees—that your vegan acquaintance isn't necessarily some environmental saint. That's because direct carbon dioxide emissions are only part of the story when it comes to food's eco-impact. You also have to look at the issue of land use—specifically how much and what sort of land is required to sustain an agricultural enterprise. In a region with poor-to-mediocre soil, for example, it may be more efficient to operate a well-managed egg farm than to try growing vegetables that can't flourish under such conditions. And animals are handy at consuming low-quality grain that isn't necessarily fit for human consumption. (Rather than going to waste, that grain can help create nutrient-rich dairy products.) In fact, a recent Cornell University study concluded that modest carnivorousness may actually be better for the environment than outright vegetarianism, since cattle can graze on inferior land not suitable for crops. Squeezing more calories out of the land means that less food needs be imported from elsewhere, thereby reducing the burning of fossil fuels.

That's music to the ears of The Lantern, a devoted meat-eater who weeps at the very thought of life without bacon cheeseburgers and curry goat. But there are important caveats to the Cornell study: First, its calculations assume that all meat is raised locally, rather than frozen and trucked cross-country; second, the study recommended that to optimize land use, residents of New York state (where the research was conducted) limit their meat and egg consumption to two cooked ounces per day—3.8 ounces less than the national average.

Though The Lantern admires the ascetic fortitude of vegetarians and vegans, it's pretty unrealistic to expect the majority of adult Americans to forgo steak for the benefit of the planet. At the same time, agriculture is responsible for between 17 percent and 20 percent of the nation's energy consumption. So instead of hectoring people to become vegetarians—a tactic that causes many Americans to roll their eyes—perhaps we should start by urging consumers to be more cognizant of exactly how much energy it takes to produce and transport an Extra-Long Bacon Cheddar Cheesesteak. And it wouldn't hurt if people got wise to the fact that meat needn't be the focus of every breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

That's going to be a serious challenge, however, considering that per capita meat consumption rose by 40 percent in the United States between 1961 and 2002. One hopes that the Chinese don't follow our gluttonous lead, but the news so far isn't encouraging: Meat consumption in China has already doubled over the past decade.

See our World Vegetarian Day Newsletters 2004 - 2005 - World Vege Day

See similar articles at Vegetarianism & beyond:
http://turn.to/Vegetarianism

Once a thief and a rich man were travelling together. Actually, the thief was following the rich man because he knew him to be very wealthy. Whenever the rich man would go to the bathroom, or when the train would stop and the rich man would go to buy puris or something, the thief would look all through the room and in his bags, drawers, everywhere. Every stop he would try somewhere new. "Maybe in the overhead locker," he thought, and searched all over. The train journey was just about to end, and as the train was slowing down, the thief confessed, "Actually, I'm a thief, and I have been trying all this time to get your wealth, but you have outwitted me sir." The rich man went over to the thief's bed and began pulling out his wealth from underneath the bed. "This is where I hid it," the rich man said, "Because I knew that underneath your bed would be the last place that you would look."

MORAL: So often we look for pleasure in many different places, travel to different countries looking for this pleasure, but we don't realize that pleasure is actually right there in the heart. That is Krsna.

See similar inspirational snippets HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/parables.htm

The phaomnneil pweor of the hmuan mnid: Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig!
Mybae the I can sotp slpel ckchenig?

http://www.gaura-gambhira.com/

Written by HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami

Dear Maharaj/ Prabujis/ Matajis,

It is my great pleasure to inform all the devotees of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that a great service opportunity has been offered by the temple authorities of Gambhira, in Puri dham, where Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spent the final years of His manifested pastimes on this earthly planet. Kasi Mishra's house, also known as Gambhira, and the Radha Kanta math, were both under the care of the Orissa government due to 20 years of litigation. Finally, this litigation problem has been resolved and the management of the institution has been returned to the temple mahanta.

The temple has sustained much damage over the years due to lack of proper maintenance. The whole place is very dirty and the roofs and walls are falling down. The temple roof is also cracking. Additionally, the temple has a lack of proper income for the maintenance of the devotees and for deity puja—and, of course, the more the Gambhira is allowed to deteriorate, the fewer visitors it will have.

At this crucial point, the mahanta of Gambhira has requested ISKCON to extend kind assistence to him in order to protect and maintain this most holy place. Devotees from all over the world come to offer their prayers and obeisances at Gambhira. This is one of the most important places for the followers of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and must be maintained nicely.

Thus, this is a golden opportunity for devotees to render service to this most sacred cause. I request all devotees to kindly donate towards this purpose. There are many things to be fixed at the place. For the time being we have prepared a rough budget, for whatever the most urgent needs are, just to bring the situation up to  survival position. Later on, we will let you know about further opportunities for service in the development of the Gambhira.

For further information contact

Bhakti Purusottama Swami

Phone: ++ 91 9434506434

E mail: bps@pamho.net

Topical Articles:
Abortion - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-abortion.htm
Genetic Engineering ( GE or GM ) - http://www.hknet.org.nz/GE.html
Environment - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Environment.htm
Encroachment - http://www.hknet.org.nz/WE-Day2004.html
Cloning - http://www.hknet.org.nz/cloning.htm
Science - http://www.hknet.org.nz/science2KC.html
Cow Protection - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Cow-protection.htm
The Four Regulative Principles of Freedom - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Regs-4page.htm
seX-files - http://www.hknet.org.nz/seX-files.htm
Mundane Knowledge - http://www.hknet.org.nz/mundaneknowledge.html
Death (Yamaduttas - Terminal Restlessness etc)- http://www.hknet.org.nz/death.html
Near Death Experience - http://www.hknet.org.nz/NDE.htm
Ghosts - http://www.hknet.org.nz/ghosts.htm
Reincarnation again here - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Reincarnation-page.htm
Gain some insights in the TV culture  - http://www.hknet.org.nz/television.html
The aweful Truth about softdrinks - http://www.hknet.org.nz/theREALthing.html
Changing the face of the Earth - http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1390/index.html
UFOs - http://www.hknet.org.nz/UFOs.html
Vegetarianism & Beyond - http://turn.to/Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism in the major Religions - All manner of religions
Articles for newcomers to Krishna consciousness - http://www.krishna.com/newsite/main.php?id=87
Self Help and Motivational pages - Deals and Affiliate programs: - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-selfhelp.html
Myth of the Aryan invasion by Dr. David Frawley: - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Aryan-invasion-mythDF.html

The Peace Formula - (By HDG Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) http://www.hknet.org.nz/PeaceFormula.html

.........many other articles - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-articles.htm

and from there go to the Main Index http://www.hknet.org.nz/index.htm

Iskcon News Articles now available - many topical insights
http://www.iskcon.com/new/index.html

Paradigms - where things are not all they seem

 The Peace Formula
http://www.hknet.org.nz/PeaceFormula.html

The Real Peace Formula
http://www.hknet.org.nz/PeaceRealF.html

See more on Yoga and Meditation HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-yoga.html

World Vegetarian Day October 1st yearly &
World Vegetarian Awareness Month of October yearly
...please visit our links and see what you can do to help

World Smoke Free Day
31st May Every Year 

http://www.be-free.org/b-media/market-bfree03/cinema.php

yeah kick the butt
...and remember from 10th December 2004 no more smoking in public places in New Zealand by law