And Now It Is Christmas Day - Woohoo

Sooo excited to see what Affiliate Window will have put under the tree, I am all ready to go at designated time, 3pm, to collect my Chrissy Prezzie from under their tree and I am soooo excited what will it be. I need a bike, they have a bike shop on the merchant list...could i get a bike...wooohoooo...i will be first under that tree!!!

Its My Birthday

Its my birthday, yes it is my birthday!

Disruptive Technology - Genome Research By Dr Venter

The Dimbleby lecture on BBc tonight was awesome. Dr J Craig Venter spoke of the apathy towards science and popular movement towards regression from fundamentalists in todays society.

He spoke of disruptive technology, ie, A disruptive technology or disruptive innovation is a technological innovation, product, or service that eventually overturns the existing dominant technology or statud quo product in the market.

We have relied on fossil fuels for so long, wouldnt it be fantastic for there to be an instance of disruptive technology and innovation to bring about new energy sources. Not alternative energy like windmills and water power, but Dr Craig Venter speaks of biological means. With the decoding of the genome, it is possible to create new species, design new species, and although that probably strikes fear into some hearts, in actuality that means we can create organsisms that produce energy. An actual renewable source of energy, just by altering the DNA structure of bacteria that can be mass produced, as far as I could understand.

Its fantastic, but it is actually underway, and it is actually a really great thing that might just protect the future of mankind and our planet as we know it!

If you get a chance to see the Dimbleby Lecture by Dr Craig Venter then its really clearly explained there and its really exciting, I do not think anyone could fail to be excited by what he is saying , what he is doing and what this means for the future!

Jagannath Temple Puri Admission Policy

Jagannath Temple Puri Admission Policy Is totally non Hindu....and I mean that the policy is non Hindu, to deny entry to people based on skin color and geographical location, is a non Hindu attitude of intolerance that is totally unbecoming such a leading Hindu Holy Place.

Many of those who are allowed to enter, are meat eaters, drinkers, even alot of the Pujari are inoxicated on drugs like Marijuana/Bhang that is legal in Puri. So when did all this hypocrisy begin and when will it end?

Water Fasting Brightens Eyes

I did a 3 day water fast last week, taking nothing but water, no food or anything else, just water for 3 days and its amazing what the water fast has done to my eyes.

For ages I have complained of tired sore eyes and I have blamed fact that I work so much on pc staring at a screen all day. I even got a prescription for some glasses with an anti glare in them.

I didnt do the fast for my eyes, I had no idea it would have any effect, but the effect on my eyes is amazing. They feel so fresh and cool and they look really white as well, i did a google check on water fasting and eyes afterwards and apparently it is a common beneficial effect of a water fast that it is really good for the eyes.

It is always nice when you have done something tough like a water fast to get a noticable benefit, I wasnt expecting this, but am really pleased as it means I can work longer and better due to less eye soreness and stuff, don't mind looking a bit better too, that never hurts.

The other amazing effect I had was one on PMS, i have always suffered real bad for the 4 days of my monthly, with terrible cramps and weakness, this water fast coincided with my period and again I had no prior knowledge that it would have an effect, but googling it now I see others have had same benefit, which was that I had absolutely NO period pain during the period whilst on the water fast. I just funcioned normally, which is usually impossible for me during period.

So I dont really know all the benefits of a short water fast like that, but these are just 2 effects that I was amazed at.

I have read of people who do water fasts for several weeks, I was pretty weak by day 3 so unless it is possible to really just sit and do nothing after that, I can't imagine I could do a water fast whilst continuing to work for longer than 3 days. When I broke the fast with some grain, it tasted heavenly like I have never tasted before.

A Candle For Maddie

This is a candle for little Madelaine Mccann who has been missing for over seven months now. I praaaayyyy she is found, I pray that noone has hurt her and I pray she comes home safe and sound. HK

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Another 5 months have passed and it is now a year since Maddie went missing and I am hoping that this time next year I will be able to post here that Maddie was found safe and well. Anything is possible, I hope she is found, I hope she is ok and I hope she gets home soon to her mum and dad who miss her so much.




Anyone who can put this banner on their website somewhere it will be good, as if people remember Maddie, there is more chance she will be seen somewhere, so please use the following code to put the banner on any website

Damodarastakam

Click here to experience an Online Damodarastakam offering with mp3 and flash puja!!!

Here are the words to sing along to this beautiful prayer that is sung during Karthik month to baby Krishna who is bound by the ropes of his mothers love.

1
namamisvaram sac-cid-ananda-rupam
lasat-kundalam gokule bhrajamanam
yasoda–bhiyolukhalad dhavamanam
paramrstam atyantato drutya gopya
(1) To the Supreme Lord, whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence,
knowledge, and bliss, whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro,
who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula, who I (due to the
offence of breaking the pot of yogurt that His mother was churning into
butter and then stealing the butter that was kept hanging from a swing) is
quickly running from the wooden grinding mortar in fear of mother Yasoda,
but who has been caught from behind by her who ran after Him with greater speed-to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.
2
rudantam muhur netra-yugmam mrjantam
karambhoja-yugmena satanka-netram
muhuh svasa-kampa-trirekhanka-kantha-
sthita-graivam damodararm Bhakti-baddham
(2) (Seeing the whipping stick in His mother’s hand,) He is crying and
rubbing His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes are
filled with fear, and the necklace of pearls around His neck, which is
marked with three lines like a conch shell, is shaking because of His quick
breathing due to crying. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is
bound not with ropes but with His mother’s pure love, I offer my humble
obeisances.
3
itidrk sva-lilabhir ananda-kunde
sva-ghosam nimajjantam akkyapayantam
tadiyesita-jnesu bhaktair jitatvam
punah prematas tam satavrtti vande
(3) By such childhood pastimes as this He is drowning the inhabitants of
Gokula in pools of ecstasy, and is revealing to those devotees who are
absorbed in knowledge of His supreme majesty and opulence that He is only
conquered by devotees whose pure love is imbues with intimacy and is free
from all conceptions of awe and reverence. With great love I again offer my
obeisances to Lord Damodara hundreds and hundreds of times.
4
varam deva moksam na moksavadhim va
na canyam vrne ‘ham varesad apiha
idam te vapur natha gopala-balam
sada me manasy avirastam kim anyaih
(4) 0 Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do
not pray to You for the boon of impersonal liberation, nor the highest
liberation of eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon (which may be
obtained by executing the nine processes of Bhakti). O Lord, I simply wish
that this form of Yours as Bala Gopala in Vrndavana may ever be manifest in
my heart, for what is the use to me of any other boon besides this?
5
idam te mukhambhojam atyanta-nilair
vrtam kuntalaih snigdha-raktais’ ca gopya
muhus cumbitam bimba-raktadharam me
manasy avirastam alam laksa-labhaih
(5) O Lord, Your lotus face, which is encircled by locks of soft black hair
tinged with red, is kissed again and again by mother Yasoda, and Your lips
are reddish like the bimba fruit. May this beautiful vision of Your lotus
face be ever manifest in my heart. Thousands and thousands of other
benedictions are of no use to me.
6
namo deva damodarananta visno
prasida prabho duhkha jalabdhi-magnam
krpa-drsti-vrsyati-dinam batanu-
grhanesa mam ajnam edhy aksi-drsyah
(6) O Supreme Godhead, I offer my obeisances unto You. O Damodara! O Ananta!
O Vishnu! O master! O my Lord, be pleased upon me. By showering Your glance of mercy upon me, deliver this poor ignorant fool who is immersed in an ocean of worldly sorrows, and become visible to my eyes.
7
kuveratmajau baddha-murtyaiva yadvat
tvaya mocitau Bhakti-bhajau krtau ca
tatha prema-bhaktim svakam me prayaccha
na mokse graho me ’sti damodareha
(7) 0 Lord Damodara, just as the two sons of Kuvera-Manigriva and
Nalakuvara–were delivered from the curse of Narada and made into great
devotees by You in Your form as a baby tied with rope to a wooden grinding mortar, in the same way, please give to me Your own prema-Bhakti. I only long for this and have no desire for any kind of liberation.
8
namas te ’stu damne sphurad-dipti-dhamne
tvadiyodarayatha visvasya dhamne
namo radhikayai tvadiya-priyayai
namo ‘nanta-lilaya devaya tubhyam
(8) 0 Lord Damodara, I first of all offer my obeisances to the brilliantly
effulgent rope which binds Your belly. I then offer my obeisances to Your
belly, which is the abode of the entire universe. I humbly bow down to Your
most beloved Srimati Radharani, and I offer all obeisances to You, the
Supreme Lord, who displays unlimited pastimes.

Click here to experience an Online Damodarastakam offering with mp3 and flash puja!!!

Clare Ross - Crosshatch Design

Having left India and returned to UK
Clare Ross
continues to work for
Crosshatch Design
Chandrika Gauranga's adventures in India....to be continued....

Another Station: Life On The Line.: A Branch Line To The Seaside

Lots of people pass through the Gandhara Hotel in Puri, a welcome break on sometimes tiring journeys. Here is a blog of one such train traveller (having read some of the tales of train travel in India from Paul O Halloran, I have decided to FLY!! Its a good read ... Another Station: Life On The Line.: A Branch Line To The Seaside

photos

Puri Hotel Gandhara

Photos In Puri 2007

Sunrise in Puri from Gandhara Hotel Jan 2007

Sunrise Closeup Puri 2007 from Gandhara Hotel

Sunset In Puri From Gandhara Hotel Jan 2007

Sunset2 In Puri Jan 2007 From Gandhara Hotel

Sunset over Cottage Room At Gandhara Hotel In Puri

Cottage Room At Gandhara Hotel In Puri

In My Room - Gandhara Hotel Puri 2007

Sea View From Cottage Room Gandhara Hotel Puri 2007

Day 3 - Arriving In Puri, Orissa

24th Jan 2007
After an early start from Delhi, picked up from hotel at 5.15 am, I boarded the Deccan Airways flight to Bhubaneshwar at 7.30 am.

My baggage was overweight again, as it had been for the Virgin Atlantic flight yesterday, however Deccan were slightly less expensive on excess baggage than Virgin, charging a mere £20 to take my extra 10 kilos, compared to the £300 Virgin charged me it seemed like a bargain.

It riles me I have to pay extra for the 10 kilos overwieght my bags were anyway. I mean I have spent a year low carb dieting and am absolutely sure that my body weight is at least 10 kilos less than the majority of passengers on that plane, so it seems an injustice and an insult to my weight loss efforts that I am made to pay £300 extra to cover the 10kilos extra in my suitcase.

I should have eaten the stuff, carried it in my belly and weighed myself in at 10Kilos more, then there would have been no charge. However as most of the weight was computer equipment, I was unable to swallow any of it and hence had to use a suitcase, for which I get this bloody surcharge!

Anyway...my flight was free seating and I grabbed a window seat. Big mistake as I got penned in by some leary man who proceeded to spread his legs so that he could tocuh mine and when I moved mine, he positioned himself so that his arms touched mine and was trying to stroke me with his fingers. Bad enough, I kept shifting position to avoid it, but it got too much when he turned his head towards me, and proceeded to start blowing on my face. A sharp stop that with a hand gesture stopped him and he tried to make up by offering to buy me a coffee, I refused and he tried to apologise, which I said fine, as it would have been had he stopped there. When I complained, he accused me of being racist and not liking Indians. I wanted to explain it wasnt Indians I didnt like, just sleazy men who try to tuch me up and blow in my frickin face. But couldnt be bothered. He started taking photos of me with his mobile phone and that was it. If the flight had been longer I would have asked to be moved, as it was, I think I was remarkably tolerant, but glad to get off that plane and away from Mr Sleaze.

So, I was picked up in a smart car at the airport and whisked to Puri, the abode of Lord Jagannath, arriving before noon at the Gandhara Hotel.

I was pleasantly surprised at the Hotel, I had chosen a less expensive one so I could stay longer, and it is really, really nice.
In the picture above, my room is the one on the left of the roof. This is so cool as I have a view of the sea from the front and from the right a view of the Jagannath Temple. It is quite awesome. Very clean and bright. The room has windows on all sides, I am tempted to call it a penthouse suite, I even have the entire roof terrace, with table chairs and sunbed, at my disposal. Even the internet access in my room, that I specially requetsed, worked without a hitch. All in all I am very happy to be here.


In the afternoon, after a shower and change and dousing myself in probably hugely toxic deet, I went to visit the Gopinath Temple and the home of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Gopinath Temple was nice. There are 3 deity areas, in the center Gopinath with Radharani on his left and Lalita on his right. Lord Gopinath plays a flute, this is the only deity of him playing his flute at all times. He is seated crossed legs, in one of his lges is a crack, it is covered today, but it is where Gauranga disappeared into when he left the world apparently. Lalita and Radha also appear to be playing wind instruments as well.

There are two more deity areas, of Lord Balarama and Madan Mohana and Radharani, Gauranga and Gadhadhara.

The Pujari said we must go there for lunch there one day, so I am looking forward to that. We browsed the gardens, where some people have bhajan Khutirs to live and pray in. I am trying to establish what trees grew in that garden, I kept a nut from one tree, maybe olive trees. I will try and find out. It was in this garden that the Deities were found, dug up by Gadhadhara and Gauranga some 500 years ago.

There is also a very nice Tulsi garden on entering the temple, to the left. It was a little dry, Tulsi looked a little forlorn, but I expect it is the dry weather has taken its toll.

Across the road from the Gopinath Temple is a hill, which is known to be non different to Govardhana Hill in Vrindavana. Overlooking this hill, is the house of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura. Srila Prabhupada's Guru, it is pink and quite large and has been kept with his bed and deities in it behind mesh windows, for everyone to see. His deities there are of Vyasadeva and Madvacharya and sit on thrones by his lovely wooden 4 poster bed, complete with mosquito net.

From his window he could see the hill know to be non different to Govardhana Hill. We walked round his house, taking care not to step in the shadow of Tulsi, who griws prolfically in his garden.

Feeling tired and a little overwhelmed, I returned to my hotel quite early to get good rest. Which I did. Apart from waking at midnight to a raucous chorus from local dogs. I slept right through till noon the next day.

Day 2 - Arriving In Delhi

23rd January 2007
After an uncomfortable, but entertaining flight I arrived in Delhi just before noon.

The flight was good, Virgin Atlantic, always more of an experience than the usual boring long haul flight. I actually look forward to flying Virgin Atlantic, mainly for the entertainment system that is in the back of each chair, the food is also really good.

This flight I enjoyed, apart from the discomfort which was my own fault for not having the brains to spot that I could pull a wing from the headrest to rest my head against to sleep.

I had a really nice person sit next to me, which made the trip good. Her name was Nav (short for Navdeep) and she was flying to Delhi with her sister and brother in law, to be fitted for a special Indian Wedding Dress and gold. She introduced me to Bollywood Movies and made me watch quite a funny film called Chup Chup ro something, about some guy who owed loads of money and pretended to be deaf and dumb and ran away to escape his debtors. Not sure what happened in the end as I fell asleep, no reflection on the film or the company, it was just a night flight and my body clock switches off some time after midnight, whether I like it or not.

Anyway, so I arrived in Delhi on time and was whisked by car to the Hans Plaza Hotel. Delhi looked nice, green, clean and the temperature was wonderfully cool. Something I wasnt expecting and was glad I had taken my coat.

All I did from then until the next morning was sleep.

Day 1 - Setting Off From The UK

Here I go!
Today I am setting off from the Uk to travel to Jagannath Puri in India!
I am all packed, all organised and all set. My suitcase is bursting because I dont know what clothes to take to wear there, so I just packed everything, including an industrial supply of DEET having heard of the Chikunguya ad Dengue fever that I didnt fancy running into. I have also packed a few home comforts, cheddar babybels, breakfast bars of course my laptop.

The plan for today is to get to Heathrow many hours early, for my 9pm Virgin Atlantic flight to Delhi. Should be able to sleep all night on the plane if I get a window seat, using the best technique of a Cushtie and half a zopiclone. So will arrive fresh in Delhi for an overnight stopover at the Hans Plaza Hotel.

I have been worried about going because of recent uproar over Jade Goodie and Shilpa Shetties little spat. Hope I dont bear the brunt of any anti Bitish feeling when I get there, although I think not, and am looking forward to being in India again with all the sights, sounds and smells that go with it.

I better sign out as I have to get a few things in town, wash my hair and do up my suitcase.

Prayer To Lord Jagannath

Please Lord Jagannath watch over this traveller who is coming to your home land. Please give me the strength to overcome with dignity and repose any obstacles that may be set in my way and please if at all possible, make such things few or even better non existent. Protect and guide me and may this trip be the beginning of a great future.

Jaya Jagannath
Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna