Normally we do not review institutional sites intended for devotees, but the sheer depth, beauty and life of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) website at http://www.swaminarayan.org [http://www.swaminarayan.org] puts it in a class of its own. Established in the late 18th Century by Bhagwan Swaminarayan, this socio-spiritual organization is a superb example of bettering the world through practical spirituality, mass motivation and uplifting projects for all–irrespective of class, creed, color or country. A veritable goldmine of information on the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, the site details scriptures, philosophy, festivals, education and happenings throughout the organization's worldwide network.
VEGETARIANISM
HAPPYCOW'S GLOBAL GUIDE
Whether your travels take you across the Americas, to Oceania or to points beyond, you can now easily find vegetarian fare along the way. Simply pull up the HappyCow Global Guide to Vegetarian Restaurants at http://www.happycow.net [http://www.happycow.net] on your laptop to find a broad array of vegetarian friendly restaurants and health food stores worldwide. HappyCow serves not only as a guide for travelers. The site includes tips on raw diets, vegetarian cookbooks, healthy living advice and much, much more.
CHILDREN
ADOPTING INDIAN CHILDREN
Raja Krishna adoption Seva, http://www.rkas.org [http://www.rkas.org], dedicated to promoting the concept of adoption among the Indian Diaspora, is an exceptionally comprehensive resource for adopting and raising children from India. Covering a broad range of topics from "Why Adopt? to "How to Adopt to "Post-Adoption, RKAS presents a website that provides answers to those who want to adopt one or more of the over 30 million orphans in India in need of a home. The focus is primarily on NRIs interested in adoption, but their links page connects to other sites with focus on Americans. One such is http://www.serve.com/ichild/ [http://www.serve.com/ichild/] which has similar information but is geared toward cross-cultural couples.
INFORMATION TECH
PROTECT MIND AND HOME
E-mail spam and viruses continue, despite new laws, to consume untold amounts of mental real-estate. Regain that time for self-reflection by choosing an Internet Service Provider who uses Postini, http://www.postini.com [http://www.postini.com]. Then configure Postini as a preemptive gatekeeper to your address, working out in front of your ISP's mail server to eliminate spam, viruses and attacks before they ever reach your company or computer. http://www.spamarrest.com [http://www.spamarrest.com] works for individuals if your ISP doesn't use Postini.