Reply #4: Since you asked

[billyskank]

when I was about 16 I was pondering why it was that my consciousness was located where it was. In essence, I was asking why am I me, and not someone else? This inevitably led on to further questions, such as: is it possible for me to become someone else? Will my existence come to an end? If not, have I been someone else before I was me? Thinking in this way, I became convinced that the only satisfactory theory was reincarnation, as held by buddhists, hindus and sikhs.

With that in mind I could easily have become a buddhist, but I was prevented from making further progress due to a lack of information. After leaving university, one day I met a Krishna devotee on the streets of Derby (in the UK), just like the guys you used to see in New York and other cities (ISKCON is now far less active than once it was). I was interested, approached him and plied him with questions. He said I should come and see their brand new temple in Birmingham.

I am very glad I did. It took me a few years, but I gradually came to realise that the dry intellectual approach of buddhism was not for me. What I was looking for was Vaisnavism; the science of the heart and love.

Last year I was initiated into the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and this year I was accepted as a diksa disciple by our Gurudeva. And I am very happy.