Gouranga?
So, I open my email this morning and find I've gotten a message from "Neateye" (email address nitaigouranga@aol.com) with the subject line "Gouranga". I figure it's probably spam, so I open it up with the intention of forwarding it along to spamcop. But instead of seeing a message about naughty high school girls or home mortgages or misspelled Viagra, here's the body of the message...
Call out Gouranga be happy!!!
Gouranga Gouranga Gouranga ....
That which brings the highest happiness!!
Huh?
So, it has to be spam, right? But for what? So, I decided to search for "Gouranga"...
First hit - A Grand Theft Auto News and Resource Site. Huh? That's weird.
Second hit - A word seen on bridges in the UK that's only purpose is to make passers-by wonder what it means. Hmmm... Am I a sucker?
Fourth hit - Wikipedia tells me that it's a Sanskrit word meaning "Golden One" that is used by the Hare Krishna movement. It refers to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu who has been described as the "personification of blissful pastimes. He possesses a beautiful, transcendental complexion as effulgent as molten gold. He is the distributor of the superlative mellows of Divine love." Superlative mellows of divine love? Wow. That actually sounds quite lovely. But, uh, how does this fit in? I can't imagine that the Hare Krishnas would be part of a marketing ploy by Sony.
Back to the third hit - a discussion of this spam email. Seems people have been getting this particular piece of spam, or something remarkably similar to it for quite some time now. Here's a longer variant...
Call out Gouranga be happy.
Gouranga Gouranga Gouranga.
Say Gouranga my friend
Gouranga...That which brings the highest happiness!
I hope this isn't some new viral marketing scheme that I'm perpetuating. I hate me some spam, but this spam feels a little different. If it's just a message telling me to be happy, how pissed off can I really be? Don't get me wrong, I'm still sending it along to spamcop, but I think I'll be a little more mindful of my mood today, and maybe try a little harder for that "highest happiness" everyone seems to be buzzing about. Bring on the superlative mellows of divine love!
Call out Gouranga be happy!!!
Gouranga Gouranga Gouranga ....
That which brings the highest happiness!!
Huh?
So, it has to be spam, right? But for what? So, I decided to search for "Gouranga"...
First hit - A Grand Theft Auto News and Resource Site. Huh? That's weird.
Second hit - A word seen on bridges in the UK that's only purpose is to make passers-by wonder what it means. Hmmm... Am I a sucker?
Fourth hit - Wikipedia tells me that it's a Sanskrit word meaning "Golden One" that is used by the Hare Krishna movement. It refers to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu who has been described as the "personification of blissful pastimes. He possesses a beautiful, transcendental complexion as effulgent as molten gold. He is the distributor of the superlative mellows of Divine love." Superlative mellows of divine love? Wow. That actually sounds quite lovely. But, uh, how does this fit in? I can't imagine that the Hare Krishnas would be part of a marketing ploy by Sony.
Back to the third hit - a discussion of this spam email. Seems people have been getting this particular piece of spam, or something remarkably similar to it for quite some time now. Here's a longer variant...
Call out Gouranga be happy.
Gouranga Gouranga Gouranga.
Say Gouranga my friend
Gouranga...That which brings the highest happiness!
I hope this isn't some new viral marketing scheme that I'm perpetuating. I hate me some spam, but this spam feels a little different. If it's just a message telling me to be happy, how pissed off can I really be? Don't get me wrong, I'm still sending it along to spamcop, but I think I'll be a little more mindful of my mood today, and maybe try a little harder for that "highest happiness" everyone seems to be buzzing about. Bring on the superlative mellows of divine love!