Letters to the editor

Todas las glorias sean a Sri Sri Gaura Nitay
Todas las glorias sean a A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Todas las glorias sean a los Vaisnavas del Señor

Por favor acepte mis respetuosas reverencias guru maharaj, aquí estamos en buenos aires argentina, gracias por su misericordia al permitirme viajar. aquí hay 9 brahmacaris, así que me siento muy contento por la asociación. Se desarrollan bastantes actividades de predica como clases de bhagavad-gita, harinam sankirtan por las calles, distribución de libros, dias de kirtan en el templo para la congregación, etc. gradualmente valoro mas el proceso, pues he leído pasatiempos muy profundos e instrucciones de krsna y sus devotos, gracias a la asociación. hace poco pensaba que realmente sin la asociación de los devotos no tendría ningun control sobre mi mismo, ni podría ver los errores que cometo y trabajarlos. estoy muy dichoso por la asociación! le pido disculpas si me he inundado de conocimiento avanzado para mi ignorancia (tal como srimad bhagavatam, caitanya caritamrta, nectar de la devoción, rasa entre krsna y los habitantes de vrindavan, los extasis de sri caitanya mahaprabhu, etc), pero es por la asociación con devotos mayores y situaciones especiales que tengo la oportunidad de oir y purificar mi corazón, y le pido su misericordia para que pueda mantenerme en ese nectar que tanto he ansiado... le ofrezco mis reverencias nuevamente. trato de asistir a sus lecturas en startmeeting y llenar lo mas posible de servicio el tiempo que dispongo en este mundo, mientras este aquí. le agradezco inmensamente todo, ya que lo que estoy viviendo no es más que por la misericordia suya, la de srila prabhupada, la de los vaisnavas que me ayudan, la de krsna y la de radharani, que permiten que mi sucio e insignificante servicio sea tomado en cuenta...

tengo unas preguntas que me gustaría hacerle, le pido humildemente que por favor me las responda.

¿cuál es el significado del kaupina? y ¿cómo surge esa vestimenta? pues la he observado en imagenes del bhagavatam desde tiempos muy antiguos.

con el paso del tiempo, voy conociendo anarthas cada vez mas profundos en mi personalidad, tal como un iceberg! sin tomar en cuenta el sufrimiento que vivo al sentirme muy contaminado, intento generar el entusiasmo para seguir purificandome y enfrentarme ante mi cara mas oscura. he aprendido gracias a los devotos que hay contaminaciones densas y sutiles, y siento que sutilmente tengo deseos reconocimiento, de ser reconocido por lo que hago, u observado por mi servicio. lo visualice un dia mientras cantaba los santos nombres en la japa mala, y siempre lo tuve, pero esa vez lo vi claramente, y quería preguntarle ¿cómo enfrentar este anartha y trabajarlo?

Le agradezco infinitamente toda su contribución a mi vida y a la del mundo, sin más que decir, se despide su aspirante a sirviente, mandara sakha dasa.

Le adjunto algunas imágenes de un harinam por las calles

HpS - Hare Krsna. Desculpa demurra responder. Estuvimos en pleno panico arrelgando todo part esta viaje a India-Australia.

Su carta aparece super. Aparece ya hay buen ashrama de B'caris in BsAs. Por nuestra experiencia a vexes hay, a veces no hay. Cuando hay tomamos apoyo de la oportunidad y cuando no hay esforzamos adelantar con paciencia (NOI 3) Como podemos.

Hare Krsna.

Es facial ver La contamination en la Corazon y ver como stamps mad y mad libre de eats locura.

Adelante...  Krsna espera su regresa. Hay mucho hacer.   Quienes alla en el templo?? Gracias pot los fotos. Sentimos mucho separation del templo de BsAs.

Hare Krsna Maharaj, 

Please accept my humble obeisances, All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to your preaching efforts and wisdom!

Maharaj, this is Anadi Radha dasi from Boise, Idaho. I was hoping to ask you a question regarding an experience I had recently.

HpS - ASA -- Our honor!

Around the beginning of August 2017, one of my teacher mentors from my high school who is now more of a friend (HS was almost 10 years ago) came to visit me at my apartment (I currently live on the temple grounds right next to Tulsi Kunja at New Biharvan). She knows devotees in Peru (she's a spanish teacher) and was telling me one devotee she knows there just recently got engaged to a girl named Tulsi. She also shared with me how she loved chanting with this group she's associated with and she just got a meditation pillow. In the spirit of such a conversation I asked if she would be interested in chanting Hare Krsna on japa beads and that I would be more than happy to give her some. So I brought out a bag with two japa malas, one neem and one tulsi, planning to give her the neem, as she still eats meat. She asked me she liked the other, darker beads, the tulsi beads. I kindly told her that Tulsi is one of those plants very sacred to Krsna and devotees, that she is given very special care and devotion. Because of these factors, its better to start out with the neem beads, and get tulsi beads later after you really get to chanting. So I gave her the neem beads. I felt I was kind, however, I also felt I conveyed a little separatist mentality. I also thought maybe her draw to Tulsidevi and the fact she was talking about this Tulsi girl was an indicator that.. she could have been okay to take the beads. Maybe Tulsidevi would be her inspiration in Krsna Consciousness. Because afterall, the first devotee I met gave me tulsi neckbeads... 

After thinking a bit about it and feeling a bit uncomfortable with my choice, I asked Anantarupa Prabhu about the incident and his thoughts. He told me I did the right thing, but maybe for a little more information and input, I could ask you for some instruction on your blog. 

I always thought giving Tulsi to nondevotees was sort of wrong, and I still feel that way, but I'm also open to Krsna's will...

Maharaj, could you share what you think about this subject matter? 

Thank you so much.

Yhs, Anadi Radha dasi

HpS - Wow. Great question. We would feel hesitant to give Tulasi unless the person was Sattvic, vegetarian, etc. We give little 18-bead Malas that we import by the bag full from Mexico, pine. Look nice, not too many beads, fit in you bag.

But Vijitatma Das, our B'cari partner, and great Sankirtan man since 1974 or more distributes Tulasi beads to attract people to buy books. He is still distributing books. Maybe it works for book distributors but us folk have to be more careful until we some to their level.

That's all I could say. Thank you. Hope to see you soon.

Hare Krishna Gurudev,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I hope this meets you in good health and momentum. In Benelux we have a monthly kirtan event (called Kirtan Connection), taking place in a different centre every month. Last week i learned that the organization stopped because the person who organized had a hard time to get things organized every month with every centre's and everyone's enthusiasm. I took the opportunity to take over, and after some inquiry i concluded it is good to make it into a bi-monthly event. More dates being optional. I'm very happy to have this chance for service, and i hope to receive your blessing for this faltering initiate's undertaking.

ASA - May God bless you very much!

Regarding sadhana, things are going with ups and downs in enthusiasm. Sadhana is fluctuating, heavily depending on my schedule. Sometimes my schedule is more suitable and i can do reasonably well (still sub-par though) while at other times it's just doing whatever i can. So basically i'm running behind the caravan, trying to catch up one day soon. I ask myself sometimes why it is so hard to find and spend 2,5 hours a day on japa. (Sleeping less is no option, i learned).

ASA - Because you are ignorant!  You have not yet learned that EVERYTHING will improve at the maximum possible rate with improved Japa. We know you are ignerant because we are also ignerant.

We visit sunday feast as often as possible and had a kirtan event in our house last weekend.

ASA - Super.... !.

Also i've finished some nice memories books recently. I look forward to having the chance one day to visit the States and have ample time to be somewhere close without bothering, and deepen our relationship. I think about diksha often. Basically i still wallow in self pity for lagging behind but i take comfort in your remark that whatever is being done, will add up to forever. But i think i mentioned this before.

Your aspiring servant,
Raghava pandita dasa.

ASA - We think about you often. Maybe we will see you very soon. We will be in Europe Thursday.   You news is just wonderful.  Keep trying and soon you will be LEADING the caravan or at least one branch.

Anjana Suta Academy

www.JayaRama.US

SB 7.1-4

Module Review

(rev. 170925)

As we remember Śrīman Upendra Das pushed us to have Module Reviews. We study Srimad Bhagavatam systematically. Naturally the Chapters group themselves into different topical modules of about four each. Take them to heart.

A MR should include a Summary of the chapters, specific Cogent Points and Essay Topics. How does this all relate to our focus of book distribution? What points can we make for the teacher and future revisions? Under what circumstances was this MR made?

Example: Canto Seven Chapters 1-4, The Advent of Hiranyakasipu.

We are writing this Module Review as the first for our Anjana Suta Academy (WWW.JayaRama.US) Bhaktivedanta Curriculum Development Team. To our perspective we are faced with fundamental problems in developing Sastric Studies in ISKCON and we are involved in the politic of the matter as is delightful for a Sannyasi of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.

Module Summary:

(Mostly we just edited the first paragraph of the Chapter Summary)

In Chapter One, in response to a question by Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī gives his conclusions concerning how the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although the Supersoul and friend of everyone, killed the demons for the sake of Indra. He totally refutes the argumentthat the Lord is partial.  A second question raised by Parīkṣit Mahārāja concerns how Śiśupāla, although always blaspheming Kṛṣṇa from his childhood, attained salvation when Kṛṣṇa killed him.

As described in the next chapter, after the annihilation of Hiraṇyākṣa, his relatives were very much aggrieved. Hiraṇyakaśipu as his brother reacted trying to diminish the religious activities of people in general and instructed his nephews about a history just to diminish their aggrievement.

Chapter Three describes how Hiraṇyakaśipu performed a severe type of austerity causing great distress throughout the universe. Even Lord Brahmā became somewhat disturbed and personally went to see Hiraṇyakaśipu.

Finally, Chapter Four describes how Hiraṇyakaśipu obtained power from Lord Brahmā and misused it by harassing all the living entities within this universe. It finishes as Nārada Muni describes the characteristics of Prahlāda Mahārāja and how his father envied his own qualified son.

Cogent Points:

 (Of course these can be basis for Short Answer Questions)

Chapters 1-3 ASA we ask ASA team member Candramukhi Devi Dasi to do them as part of her Module Review presentation at the Saturday Morning ASA ABC Workshop.

Chapter Four:

From the Summary - “…he began enjoying life in great luxury and thus became mad.” … All the brāhmaṇas… they cursed him with determination.

7.4.2 – “If one possesses more and more, a benediction itself may become a curse, for just as achieving material opulence in this material world requires great strength and endeavor, maintaining it also requires great endeavor.”

“…one should not take benedictions one cannot enjoy peacefully.”

SB 7.4.5-7 – NDX – Sankirtan; science.

SB 7.4.8 - Therefore the upper planets cannot be appraised by imperfect men using imperfect man-made instruments.

12 – “No one in the three worlds can live in peace and prosperity without disturbance.”

13 – “There are three [ndx – cosmology] kinds of demigods — the Ādityas, the Vasus and the Rudras — beneath whom are the other demigods, like the Maruts and Sādhyas

14 - I myself [brahma] . . . offered prayers to him again and again just to glorify him.” [Devotees accept these arrangements as Krsna plan to annhiliate the demons]

19 – “In spite of achieving the power to control in all directions and in spite of enjoying all types of dear sense gratification as much as possible, Hiraṇyakaśipu was dissatisfied because instead of controlling his senses he remained their servant.”

21 – “If from the very beginning [of any endeavor] we seek shelter of the supreme friend, there will be no cause of danger.

30 – “Hiraṇyakaśipu had four wonderful, well-qualified sons,…”

32 – “…and he considered his teachers, spiritual masters and older Godbrothers to be as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

33 – “Prahlāda Mahārāja . . . was neither directly nor indirectly interested in the fruitive activities…” [Siksastakam: Fruitive activities described in flowery language. Na janam na dhanam]

37 – “For a small boy to give up playing is impossible…”

44 – “Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.25.25), satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ” [Refresh it!]

Essay Topics:

(Others can add these during the meeting Saturday, CMDD can edit them in and send everything to Srivasa-pandita Das’s administrative team for archiving, no?)

1. Why can we say that Krsna is equal to everyone if he killed Vrtasura and gave liberation to Sisupala?
2. How do you see Srila Prabhupada adopted these principles to his preaching?
3. Is Hiryanyakasipu’s cremation ground lecture correct?
4. Discuss some of the technical aspects of Hiranyapasiku’s austerities and relevance to ISKCON yoga.

Hare Krsna!

AGTSP! Paoho.

After a 45-minute conversation with Srivasa Pandita Das from ISKCON Silicon Valley educational projects, last evening, we want to share our current views on Sastri education in ISKCON.

Of course, these are our views as one of the several blind men trying to understand the elephant. Please contribute your understanding from your point of view.

A lot of the impetus of the conversation was the SB class that we had just finished with ISKCON Boise, Idaho yesterday moring. For us it was a colossal effort involving Temple President, Ananta-rupa Das, Radhika-raman Das and many others.

It was one of the nicest experiences in our life and confirmed our idea that ISKCON Temple means a community of devotees organized around daily, morning study of Srimad Bhagavatam.

Of course, this can mean members who can physically attend the programs in the Temple Building, but with Srivasa Ji we were very much discussing (some times with great zeal and alacrity) that this can also mean Grhasthas studying the texts in their own homes in the morning and then discussing together on a weekly basis what they have studied.

From our perspective, hearing opinions of many others also, Sastric studies in the Western hemisphere, is in a very dangerous, little reliability, situation. There can be local programs promoted by local gurus that are very nice, but we feel that without a global educational network coordinating these and offering these programs to others we will always be lacking in essential features to make a healthy ISKCON educational aspect.

We need local gurus and global integration.

Our first product aim in Anjana Suta Academy, Sastric studies, is learning how to associate with teachers, fellow students and our students. Then we are concerned with didactic methods, calendars, and finally learning facts.

We feel that we are lacking in the extreme with proper association between the ISKCON Administrators and Brahmans which are the two pillars of happiness for the community in general.

This is our view and of course 60% of the problem is our fault, 20% others faults and 20% God's arrangement.

So, we propose to go ahead trying to integrate Temple President's et al with ISKCON Ministry of Education. We will go ahead with niscayena and put our heart into it but we depend 60% on your mercy.

Of course, we are certainly continuing with our own responsibility of regular, daily, SB study and how that is developing systematically you can see at our web-site, www.Jayarama.US, through our News.

Annual Report

Hanumatpresaka Swami

September 24, 2017

We traveled representing NIOS, ISKCON, Anjana Suta Academy, from September to December to Chicago, Richmond, Raleigh, Washington D. C. and Mexico. We also participated in the Gala Event in Houston.

End December to beginning March we had a very hard trip from Mexico City to Houston that was then supposed to go to Delhi, but got rebooked in route four times. Twenty-four hour trip became like 54-hours and we were have severe chest-pains by the end of the trip, but we visited the Indian Council on Philosophical Research, Prof. Kalyan Kumar Cakravary, former Director, of the Lalita-kala Academy, Indians, fine arts academy, presented a paper at a symposium on the Srimad Bhagavatam organized by the University of Madras and Oxford Center for Hindu Studies. Then in Kolkata we did programs with Presidency University and one other. We travelled through the remote North East to Assam, Tripura, Manipur and then Pune, Navi-mumbai and Mayapura. Meeting Directors of biggest NGOs et al.

With ISKCON Kolkata, Delhi et al we did extensive lecturing with hundreds of Society Member and Guests and Brahmcari Ashrams. With Dr. Samaresh Bandhyopadyay we worked on our ISKCON publications: Man Making book, Promtional Brochure, Stapathyam. We finished in Delhi with a visit to Dr. Lokeschandra and the ICCR (Indian Council on Cultural Relations). He proposed to send five scholars from India to participate in Art and the Sacred in Peru in June 2018.

Back in USA we worked with NIOS Nashville. The Peruvian National Library changed their Director three times and the Indian Ambassador for Peru, Dr. Sandip Cakravorty, was re-stationed to Washington D. C. so we could not get a firm sponsor for Art and the Sacred and lost the opportunity.

However, Abhirama thakura Das, Alejandro Salazaar, and other staunch NIOS supporters in Peru pushed ahead The Second Symposium on Psychology and the Sacred in June.

It only had one evening in the National Museum this time for the public and then with the Jesuit University and San Marcos University we organized two more days of extremely potent and informative symposia at universities.

We published the second edition of ‘Solari’ our magazine but will not post it in English.

We have a clip of the events in Peru at www.youtube.com with a keyword search for “psychology and the sacred 2017”.

Besides these massive events in Peru we then continued to Chile where we presented Arjuna and Hamlet at the National Library’s marble hall with the National Poet Laureate, Raul Zurita, and Jung and the Bhagavata at the best Community Cultural Center in Santiago. All these programs and many more were packed with excellent and influential audience members.

We also did programs in Bolivia and worked in a very concentrated effort with local ISKCON educators such as Mathuresa Das on developing education in ISKCON as a NIOS project.

We were one of the principal organizers for the Third Annual Symposim on Education with ISKCON in Seattle. It was attended by 25+ of the best educators and educational institutions in ISKCON and we are working on the editorial board of ‘Viplavah’ the newly formed ISKCON Ministry of Education Journal. The first issue has come out and many educators are asking for more.

We took advantage of NIOS facilities in Murfreesboro to revive our energy. We had traveled through 26-airports from 1 June through 1 August.

We have worked and have a Webmaster: Joshua and Grants-lady: Ambika in Houston and Corresponding Secretary: Dr. Ayus Goyal in Texas.

We are now working on this project: Art and the Sacred, with requirements that Abhirama get a signed proposal for Sept-Oct in the Ricardo Palma Cultural Center in Miraflores, Lima, Peru. They have 4-exhibition halls and guarantee 40,000 people will see displays each week. In their theater we hope to premier our move, “Art and the Sacred: A pilgrim’s progress”. Participation in this symposium and movie are from top Hispanic and International Directors, Artists and Art Historians.

Of course, many people came forward with generous donations which are reported in the Annual Financial Report.

Now we are headed for India and Australia to do interviews for Art and the Sacred, work with Dr. Samaresh and help develop Education with ISKCON.

Of course, at 70-years old this is all happening by Krsna’s will and quite seriously we can die of heart failure and any moment and plan to die of old age November 2024, God willing.

Next year, 2018, is the last year we will serve as General Secretary of the Advisory Board of NIOS.

There are other projects so please ask us questions as you wish.