so, with all the sex disscussion thats been going on (not appealing at all!), maybe some of you would like to think about other stuff(like me! why is sex so overrated anyway?) and answer a couple of questions that came up in a disscusion with orange vodka and orange juice (together mind you! )
so the question is..why are foreigners barred from pasupathinath?
if my friend who is wasnt a hindu, read up on hinduism, became aware of hindu ideoligies and knew more about it than the general nepali population and became a "hindu" and wanted to go inside pasupathinath to experience the glory of it (maybe because i talk about it so much?) how would she be able to go in?
how would she be able to prove herself as a hindu (shes fair skinned..)?
is there a legal way?
is it only my conception that the reason deciding whether one is a "hindu" or not is soley based on skin colour?
what makes a person hindu?
:) hope ur thursday night is as FINE as mine.and oh yea..thoughtful and insightful answers will be greatly appreciated..
~puchi..
please excuse typos and blame them on the vodka (not the orange juice..thats definately a healthy affair!)

I agree with you. I have seen a stoping a Nepali who's hair and face look like a white guy. Is not that just descrimination of color? We should let everybody to get in their, if possible they need to make a tourist place, so goverment can earn more money from it. Why racisim on believing of god............ Its sucks........

thanks for replying thapa :)

i definately agree that they should let everybody in there..and should not discriminate in terms of colour, race etc. that however brings up a thought. I would definately not like it if there were two foreigners inside pasupathinath and were kissing. Even if that would be fine with me, it does not match with our cultural beliefs. what do you think about that? how do we get rid of such problems while having no discrimation on entrance?

i have to disagree on making it a tourist place and reaping financial benefits out of it because I dont believe that spiritual people have to pay to be spiritual. that very much undermines the fundamentals of religion itself.

happily STILL tipsy :)
~puchi

well.. if i were the PUNDIT.. n ur gf looking attractive.. i have no problem letting her do anything..... and when i say anything.. i exactly means anything

no hard feelings... n i hope it answers ur questions..

There are many Restrictions in Hinduism as u find in all other religion. and of them got to do with what we eat. Hinduism strictly forbids the eating of beef. Since, westerners eat beef, this probably gave the idea to the earlier hindu pundits that that they aren't holy anymore, so people who have been defiled with such blasphemy(according to hinduism) are strictly kept off the religious site like Pasupatinath.
cheers

youngbloodz,
what if i was a guy!!!??? would the pundit still feel the same way??? if you swing that way, i understand your perspective..haha.(excuse the TYPSINESSS..the vodka gets me..i admit!)

RAM ji,
What if my friend if vegan, how would the "police" at the entrance of pushapitan even know that? that was the foundation of my second question " is there anything legal" that my friend can do?

how do we separate us nepaslese that enjoy quater pounders in hardy's/mcdonalds/burger king etc (and still very much feel hindu)..and people who are of ismalic religion who also enjoy beef BUT are not restricted from entering pasupathinath cause of their colour(cause you can't tell em apart from nepalese) from foreigneers who may be completely vegetarian/vegan. According to you there is no way to distinguish those nepalese from those forigeners and yet those nepalese/muslims ( who enjoy beef) WILL be allowed inside pasupathinath but those forigners(who are vegetarian/vegans) won't...ridiculous?
what do u think?
~puchi
btw..me still on TIPSY..skeptics out there? check the fuggin time..:D

it is like this puchi... Hindu is one who follows the Sanatana Dharma, which means that if you believe in one Para Brahma (the supreme soul) and that you are part of that, then you are Hindu. Shiva, Vishnu et al are all form of that Para Brahma who has specific task such as while creating he is Brahma, during the period of existence he is Vishnu and when time for annilation he is Mahadev. "He" however is vague because 'he' (again) is not defined with gender. Anyways, when we have water he is water or Barun and when fire he is Agni.. and so on. Pasupatinath is a symbol of the phallus of Shiva whom we worship as the lord of all animals including ourselves. If you are not a devoted hindu, you would want to steal that beautiful "Jyotirlingam" and the jewely housed within the temple, because we have been raised to fear the ghastly anger of Shiva and fear of coming back to Martyamandal to suffer again, which doesn't apply to people of other faith.

The discrimination by color of skin is just being careful. I am discriminated unknowingly or knowingly in this country, because i look like middle eastern... but hey.. what can i do.. same in pasupatinath.. they are jsut being careful.. because from the time of ancient, alchemists were trying to find the philosopher's stone to convert anything to gold.. and everyone are told that pasupatinath temple houses one called.. paramani...

it is nothing to do with eating beef... in usa beef is raised for food, just as goat in nepal. so i love eating steak... if i were in nepal, i would be worshipping cow on laxmi puja.. just like we celebrated the 1st birthday of my friend's dog 'Nivaya'.

Parasmani...

I have been to Church 3 or 4 times in my lifetime and everytime i've felt cold and uncomfortable not because the place is not familiar to me but just because those people inside giving me the looks....God I wished there was a sign on the entrance only for Christians.....
peace

I have an incident.. it was my friend's wedding with a catholic.. and u know how they give you cookie and wine at the end of some ceremony (i think they call it communion or something)... everyone were given one but we were asked if we were catholics,, we said no and so we were not given the cookie.. but if you go to a temple anywhere (the only exception in the world is pashupatinath of nepal), they will be happy to give anyone prasadam and bhoj... and even let them participate in dasain and tihar...

"you are not a devoted hindu, you would want to steal that beautiful "Jyotirlingam" and the jewely housed within the temple, because we have been raised to fear the ghastly anger of Shiva and fear of coming back to Martyamandal to suffer again, which doesn't apply to people of other faith." -sujanks
sujan
fine, my friend who is fair skinned knows the fundamentals of hunudism and does not want to steal jotirlingam and does fear the ghastly anger of shiva and the fear of coming back to martyamandal to suffer again, how is she to prove that she does ?

"which does not apply to others"
in tangent of the view presented above, I think that to think that hinduism excludes some while "hugging" others is not hinduism itself because the essence of hindusim is the unity of everything..

~4.06 am
still TIPSY and staying TIPSY (not drunk!)
puchi :)

phuchi.. not hinduism... pashupatinath temple is only a part of hinduism.. it is not hinduism.. only pasupatinath temple doesn't allow non-hindus... just like the mecca... only muslims are allowed.. you can go to any other mosques but that mosque.. just like st. basiclica.. you can go to any church but not that church for holy communion, unless you are already a catholic ormuslim...

and you are right when you say.. hiduism is the unity of everything.. because it is an inclusive faith, which says that all you need to believe is that we are made up of a form of energy that will change in its form ... how we understand that doesn't make much difference... as long as we understand and do not worry about that... we believe shiva is the main player fine... jesus's father.. still fine... allah.. still fine.. it is all good, because that is faith - one of the four ways to identify the reality ... free from the world of suffereing... and it is still okay to believe in allah and worship krishna at the same time.. because you are only following the path of faith... and faith will allow you to acceot anything pleasing and anything that makes sense to you which may not necessarily be true to others.. and it is still okay...

no one identify who you are except yourself.. unless we are talking about name, address and citizenship or ethnicity. we can only identify the physicality of others but not spirituality. we can only know what clothes they are wearing but not what they are thinking. faith is the same thing... there is no way the policeman confirmly say that this is hindu, this is not... he is just being careful.. just like US is careful about people coming from the 6 countries that they have listed as "bad" states. over time it is okay and all will fine... it just takes time..

you see... shiva ratri is on sunday... and i am going to be high all day... just like st. patrick's day.. when i am drunk all day...

here is a nice discussion on religion and faith
- http://sajha.com/sajha/html/OpenThread.cfm?forum=2&ThreadID=26340

oh yea,
does it also mean that just because u chose to go to a chruch and then u were not allowed "do to" "holy communion" we should treat those people who might spiritually follow hinduism, the same way and not allow them inside pasupathinath?
how would we distinguish these people from others?
i agree there are others who do now allow "others" into mecca etc..i do not agree in following a blind cause where there seems to no rational in the modern world ?(where anybody can truly be a hindu/mulsim/christian etc)
when u are in a church...it asks u whether uve been baptished (christian?) ..to come and receive the "bread and the wine"..so my friend decides shes a hindu..any legal way..rite of passage she can go through to prove this?

Has anyone(westerners) tried to defend their rights as a Hindu to enter to Pashupatinath when stopped? Puchi, if you find the answer then i guess u'l be enlighted about all the questions u've been asking. I am not tryin to say that these people who have converted to Hindu aren't true Hindu, I think they know more about Hinduism than you or me, at least theoretically. But, everthing lies in the willingness to participate. Just because there is a sign outside Pashupatinath makes these convert-Hindu conscious and do not even try to enter. Just get me the statistics that any true Hindu-convertee trying to persuade the security at the doorstep of Pashupatinath to let them in coz they are as Hindu as any nepalese? If you don't belive then ask your fren to try to do so in the Pashupati. If she wants to go as a Hindu, she will. The thing is that it all depends on her will. BTW, seems like they got new kinda Vodka in ur town.....U have not slept yet...
peace

i think it's wrong to not allow everybody into the temple. why is it this way anyway? the god doesn't like people from other faiths?