Oppiliappan is the lord who, out of mercy on His devotee who did not know how to cook properly and forgot to add salt in his offering, refused to ever take any offering cooked with salt. To this day, within and around the premises of the Temple, nobody takes any food prepared with salt. Nevertheless, the prasadam's taste and flavour are, as expected, unparalleled in the three worlds.Oppiliappan Temple is one of the 108 divya-desams.
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I would always at our Iskcon centers, it was always free, there was so much service to do, we simply slept on the floor anyway, prasadam is there, and anywhere in the world I could go and be welcomed by freinds and those who understood and do the same things I did, ie sankirtana, no matter what country. Nowadays, politics and other maya has enterred heavily. I have been pushed out of GBC led centers, and had to provide a letter from an ISKCON GBC etc to stay in Hungary temple, so i did not even go there. The Caitanya Maths and Param advaiti swami's ashrmamas are freindlier to Prabhupada's disciples than the current GBC !
Yes, selfishness, but the rulers have set things up like this, that we have to compete and struggle for our survivals. Karma as we say. But things can be improved if we all take to serving Sri Krsna together. The ultra rich want us to be needy so we work hard all our lives like asses, while they pocket the profits and laugh at our slavery.
Yes, one must take precautions in such a huge and heavily populated land as Bharata varsa, but being familiar from the seventies makes it easier. For a white bodied devotee living there, it can be frustrating, as, as you say, they are thinking, here comes a fool to be cheated. So, I generally do little or no busines there and buy nothing, and if necessary, I walk instead of take a rickshaw and then have to argue.
Every country the same; a handlful of good people, and a handful of rascals, everywhere ! But in Temple towns, there are more of the good ones, and always benefits are derived by seeing the Lord's Deity Forms.
Glad to hear you are keeping well! Hare Krsna, obeisances and well wishes.
I have been busy with academic work, Prabhu. All is well, and my health is alright. Kumbhakonam is towards the southern parts of Tamil Nadu. From Puri till Kanyakumari, it will be about over a 1000 km. Whether you can walk or not, you know :D
All nice experiences, Prabhu. When we know the language and place, it is usually not hard to manage. Kumbhakonam has many famous temples and is definitely worthy of a visit once in a lifetime. But a planned trip can save cost and time.
In India, many temples still offer accomodation, though it is charged nowadays. India is becoming a harder place in some ways because people have generally become more greedy and materialistic. People who arrange for foreigners, guides etc. generally try to cheat them off of a lot of money because foreigners are unaware that the cost of living here is significantly lower than in developed countries. Cab drivers etc. all charge insanely high amounts. So if you can handle all that with a know-it-all attitude about India and not giving in to these greedy people, you will be safe Prabhu. There is occasionally news about people stealing money and stuff from foreigners, but if you are careful you should be alright.
Where have you been, good friend? I sincerely hope all is well and your health is good. It is nice to see your comments. Where is Kumbhakonam, thoug clearly it is south. Can one walk along a beach all the way from Puri to the tip of the sub continent?
You surely visited this mighty Deity. Did you have any nice experiences or dark ones, or etc while there, Suresh Prabhu? Would you advise to visit this place?
Where does one go to stay when one goes to visit India? Are dharmshalas safe and recommended? I stayed in a couple of pretty bare rooms more than once, but it was mostly clean. I like airy sunny marble rooms!
I once cooked dahlma for Gour Govinda Swami and the devotees, but he does not like any goor in it. Iusually used some goor, as we Montreal devotees cook like for kings! So, I did it again the next day, little less, thought he would not notice, but he noticed and refused to eat, and instead fasted that whole day. We only ate once a day in those days, Bhubaneswara, 1978. So, I learned a lesson in cooking there.
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Thank you! yes, good informations. Haribol!
I would always at our Iskcon centers, it was always free, there was so much service to do, we simply slept on the floor anyway, prasadam is there, and anywhere in the world I could go and be welcomed by freinds and those who understood and do the same things I did, ie sankirtana, no matter what country. Nowadays, politics and other maya has enterred heavily. I have been pushed out of GBC led centers, and had to provide a letter from an ISKCON GBC etc to stay in Hungary temple, so i did not even go there. The Caitanya Maths and Param advaiti swami's ashrmamas are freindlier to Prabhupada's disciples than the current GBC !
Yes, selfishness, but the rulers have set things up like this, that we have to compete and struggle for our survivals. Karma as we say. But things can be improved if we all take to serving Sri Krsna together. The ultra rich want us to be needy so we work hard all our lives like asses, while they pocket the profits and laugh at our slavery.
Yes, one must take precautions in such a huge and heavily populated land as Bharata varsa, but being familiar from the seventies makes it easier. For a white bodied devotee living there, it can be frustrating, as, as you say, they are thinking, here comes a fool to be cheated. So, I generally do little or no busines there and buy nothing, and if necessary, I walk instead of take a rickshaw and then have to argue.
Every country the same; a handlful of good people, and a handful of rascals, everywhere ! But in Temple towns, there are more of the good ones, and always benefits are derived by seeing the Lord's Deity Forms.
Glad to hear you are keeping well! Hare Krsna, obeisances and well wishes.
I have been busy with academic work, Prabhu. All is well, and my health is alright. Kumbhakonam is towards the southern parts of Tamil Nadu. From Puri till Kanyakumari, it will be about over a 1000 km. Whether you can walk or not, you know :D
All nice experiences, Prabhu. When we know the language and place, it is usually not hard to manage. Kumbhakonam has many famous temples and is definitely worthy of a visit once in a lifetime. But a planned trip can save cost and time.
In India, many temples still offer accomodation, though it is charged nowadays. India is becoming a harder place in some ways because people have generally become more greedy and materialistic. People who arrange for foreigners, guides etc. generally try to cheat them off of a lot of money because foreigners are unaware that the cost of living here is significantly lower than in developed countries. Cab drivers etc. all charge insanely high amounts. So if you can handle all that with a know-it-all attitude about India and not giving in to these greedy people, you will be safe Prabhu. There is occasionally news about people stealing money and stuff from foreigners, but if you are careful you should be alright.
Where have you been, good friend? I sincerely hope all is well and your health is good. It is nice to see your comments. Where is Kumbhakonam, thoug clearly it is south. Can one walk along a beach all the way from Puri to the tip of the sub continent?
You surely visited this mighty Deity. Did you have any nice experiences or dark ones, or etc while there, Suresh Prabhu? Would you advise to visit this place?
Where does one go to stay when one goes to visit India? Are dharmshalas safe and recommended? I stayed in a couple of pretty bare rooms more than once, but it was mostly clean. I like airy sunny marble rooms!
Hari bol! Amazing austerities. Old days!
Wonderful Deity, Obeisances to Him !
I once cooked dahlma for Gour Govinda Swami and the devotees, but he does not like any goor in it. Iusually used some goor, as we Montreal devotees cook like for kings! So, I did it again the next day, little less, thought he would not notice, but he noticed and refused to eat, and instead fasted that whole day. We only ate once a day in those days, Bhubaneswara, 1978. So, I learned a lesson in cooking there.