Letters to the editor

Todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada

Querido Gurudeva

Por favor acepte mis humildes reverencias

¡Hare Krishna Gurudeva! Espero que se encuentre muy bien, aquí Bhakta Rodrigo de Santiago de Chile.

ASA - Somos en el sendero de purification of Lord Chaitanya, so our future is bright.

Entendemos que usted estuvo en India muy ocupado, con muchos programas, reuniones y actividades. Por eso NO escribimos antes.

Lalita Madhava dasa me dijo que usted recibió y leyó nuestra carta, escrita en afiche surrealista*.

*Hoy martes estuvimos en el Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda (donde usted dio una conferencia y la película La Luz del Bhagavata), estuvimos  viendo una muy importante exposición de Pablo Picasso.

Escribimos ahora mientras usted se encuentra en USA.

El motivo de esta carta urgente es el siguiente:

DALÍ,  nuestro perro, de mi familia, dejó el cuerpo este domingo a las 8:20 de la mañana. Pasaron cosas muy especiales, por eso cuento todo a usted. La historia es muy larga, espero poder resumir.

Dalí vivió 12 años y 6 meses. En enero se enfermó, el veterinario dijo que el perrito  tenía un tumor en la parte final de su columna (mi madre debe hacerse varios examenes, porque tal vez ella tenga un tumor en su cerebro).

Debido al tumor  el perrito perdió fuerza en su cola y piernas, y se arrastraba por el suelo. El veterinario le dió vitaminas y corticoides, entonces Dalí pudo caminar pero con mucha dificultad.

Este sábado en la tarde noche, Dalí se enfermó, tuvo muchos vómitos y estuvo muy muy mal.

(Mi padre y yo compartimos habitación y Dalí dormía con mi padre).

Mi papá estuvo toda la noche preocupado por su perro, yo despertaba a ratos y miraba a Dalí.

Como a las 8 de la mañana mi padre me despierta, porque el perrito estaba muy mal.

Entonces yo con un algodón puse tilak en su frente y cuerpo y el algodón también tenía agua del Ganges y agua de Radha Kunda.

Dalí estaba muy tranquilo, con mucha paz mientras yo lo tocaba con tilak y cante Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya y otros mantras.

Mi padre y yo estabamos junto a Dalí, pero mi padre salió de la habitación para tomar un baño y me doy cuenta que Dalí empieza a moverse (tiritar) para dejar el cuerpo y entonces yo tomo mi  mp3 y mis audifonos y los pongo en la oreja de Dalí.

Todo esto fue como 15 segundos antes que él dejara su cuerpo.

Dalí  murió con tilak y agua de Ganges y Radha Kunda en su cuerpo, y se fue escuchando "Jaya Radha Madhava" de labios de Srila Prabhupada. Escuchó cantar a Prabhupada mientras moría.

Yo siempre pensaba en Dalí y mi mayor deseo para él era que en su próxima vida tomara cuerpo de ser humano y fuera devoto.

En la noche del mismo domingo mi padre tuvo un sueño, y ayer lunes en la mañana mi padre me contó su sueño:

En el sueño Dalí le decía a mi padre "no llores por mi papá, oren  por  mí , yo voy  a tomar otro nacimiento".

Dalí tuvo cuerpo de perro, pero fue un gran amigo para mí y un hijo para mi padre. Mi madre y mi hermano Claudio amaban a Dalí.

Dalí muchas veces tomó Caritmrita, comió una vez maha prasadam de las Deidades del Templo, puse Tilak muchas veces y agua de Ganges y Radha Kunda, y todos los días escuchaba el Maha Mantra de manera indirecta (desde mi computador), el Maha Mantra cantado por Srila Prabhupada y Usted y otras canciones Vaisnavas. También hace 10 días aproximadamente puse en la boca de Dalí dos hojas de Tulsi.

Arjuna tiene su tienda de bicicletas muy cerca de mi casa, Arjuna es uno de mis mejores amigos y uno de mis Siksa Guru. Arjuna conoce a mis padres desde hace años y conoció también a Dalí. Arjuna hace poco estuvo en mi casa para ver a Dalí cuando estaba enfermo. Mañana miércoles Arjuna vendrá a ver a mis padres.

Tal vez  DALÍ fue uno de los perros más afortunados de Chile.

Este viernes su cuerpo va a ser cremado, por eso el carácter de urgente de la carta.

¿Qué puedo yo hacer para ayudar a Dalí en su viaje? ¿Cuál es el consejo de usted?

Mil gracias Gurudeva por ocupar su tiempo en leer esta carta.

Con mis reverencias eternas,

su inútil aspirante a sirviente,

Bhakta Rodrigo

HpS - ASA -- Hare Krsna!!   Muy interesante. Pienso qu ha realizado todo que puede realizar para el. Aparece que su proxima vida puede ser de ser humano - tomando Prasad, oyendo Krsna katha de Srila Prabhupada.

Es natural sentir separacion de un amigo, como el a ido en un barco, pero, no es que no mas exista. Entonces, continuando con sus propias esfuerzas de purificacion y si piensa de el orar para su bienestar. Ya es suficiente como yo entiendo.

Nos vemos en Julio, no?  Hay eventos entonces?

Cual era el trabajo de su Papa?

Hare Krsna.

5.20PM. The sun is going down. It is getting dark. We get depressed this time of day, year. You also?   There are no leaves on the trees. We have not really seen one human being all day. It is pretty good. The alarm went off at 1.15AM. We got up  and turned it off and then dozed again until 2.48AM. Then we jumped into Japa, Fool Mourning Program.

Then we Cut, Scanned, Uploaded the TPP-CB and sent the Link to CMDD and Patraka Das. They asked for it.  We cooked pop-corn in ghee with walnuts for Lord Nrsmha deva's breakfast and then baked two potatoes for His lunch. Seems to be going pretty well.

We feel depressed alone in our mind and stomach many times but when we try to chant externally we become quite animated. It is strange. Seems to indicate a real purification deeper than the mind and body.

Booked the ticket to Boise: 1st June. It was like $182.80 today and would have been $235 tomorrow and a two hour longer flight.

Got the Auto Sales papers off with Rufus to Tandavika Das and he called asking which Docs to sign. I told him, but now he just called and said he is on the road (45-minute drive) to deliver them. That's strange. Maybe he wants a little Vaisnava association. We can do some Kirtan for Radha Natabara maybe.

We have 25GB to use within three days so we looked at what's on the YouTube. We found Radhikas Sad Sandarba lectures from the Silicon Valley from a long time ago and listened for three hours. Of course, we sped it up to 2x speed and still could have gone faster. Was very enlightening.

We've answered all the letters older than three days and one more even older. We are catching up. Now we'll do some Japa and get a USB drive to mail the "LOB" movie by Oscar to Giridhari Swami in Hong Kong.

Lot of other things happening. We chant Hare Krsna in the middle of it all. We will go from Brahman to Paramatma to Bhagavan.

You too?

HARE KRISHNA DEAR GURUDEVA, AGTSP, AGTYOU!

I HOPE THAT WHEN YOU RECEIVE THIS EMAIL, YOU ARE HEALTHY.

ASA - Could be better, could be worse. We have to conquer our senses more!

I WRITE IN ENGLISH LIKE A CHILD, BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS BETTER FOR YOU.

I´M VERY HAPPY TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE COMING TO SPAIN AND AT THE SAME TIME, I FEEL PAIN, BECAUSE MAYBE, I AM NOT ABLE TO GO TO MADRID,  BUT I HOPE I CAN ARRANGE IT!

HpS - I think you should be able too do it!  God helps those who help themselves.  You see the Calendar we are discussing with Jayanta Das. 3-6 morning in NVM. Then 6-12th in Espiritu Santo. Maybe go back to NVM a little more if that is convenient for devotees who want to come to visit with us, no?

DURING ALL THIS TIME, I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO LISTEN TO MY HEART TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT MY NATURE AND WITH THE HELP OF KRISHNA AND A BOOK (ABOUT PERSONAL GROWTH ) NOW I CAN KNOW WHO I AM.

HpS - Wonderful!  Yet, even Krsna does not always know who He is!

DUE TO THIS I AM NOW STUDYING COUNSELLING IN THE SPANISH ASSOCIATION OF THERAPY CENTERED IN THE PERSON AND COUSELLING (CARL ROGERS) THIS ASSOCIATION HAS VERY GOOD TEACHERS, THE DIRECTOR ACADEMY HAS A VERY NICE CURRICULUM. WHEN I READ ABOUT HIM, I IMMEDITALY I THOUGHT OF YOU, " I AM SURE THAT GURUDEVA WOULD LIKE TO MEET HIM" I HAVE SPOKEN WITH HIM ON THE PHONE, HE LOOKS LIKE A GOOD PERSON TO ME. SO IF YOU WANT I CAN ASK HIM.

ALSO I AM LEARNING TO DEVELOPE WEB AN DESING, WITH THE  LANGUAGES OF PROGRAMATION  HTML Y CSS. (INTENERT TATTVA) 

ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE ARE TRYING TO HAVE A MONTHLY  PREACHING PROGRAM,  ARROUND THIS AREA.

 THERE ARE SOME GROUPS OF YOGA, THEY ARE IMPERSONALIST BUT AT SAME TIME THEY ARE QUIET OPEN.

SO THE IDEA IS TO BE ABLE TO FIND OUR SPACE  BETEWEN THIS GROUPS, PRESENTING THE MAHA MANTRA WITH A THERAPEUTIC APPROACH, AS A MEANS TO DEVELOPE THE CONSCIOUSSNES AND THE SELF-HEALLING. 

WE ARE PREPARING OUR FIRST PRESENTATION, ALTHOUGH, WE DONT HAVE A DATE STILL.

SO WE ARE VERY HAPPY WITH OUR NEW LIFE, OUR RELATIONSHIP AS A COUPLE IS MORE MATURE, SO THERE IS A BALANCE AND I THINK THAT THIS IS POSITIVE FOR OUR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSSNES. I AM STILL TRYING TO TRANSFORM  MY LUST IN LOVE. 

THAK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR GUIDE Y COMPASSION, I HOPE, SOME DAY, I CAN BECOME YOUR DISCIPLE.

I TAKE YOU ALWAYS IN MY HAERT,

BHADRA V.

HpS - Very, very nice. Carl Rogers was a nice person when we read his books. They are dealing with reality so it is the same no matter what name it has, but some are Mayavadis and some are Brahmavadis.  They both are transcendental in a general sense but one set is envious of Krsna as a person and the other just doesn't know about him. Go ahead with full enthusiasm!  See you soon.

Hare Krishna Dear Gurudeva, AGTSP, PAMHO,

I sent him my monthly report, for work and other subjects, but he did not regularly attend the Temple since his last visit to Cusco, but at the beginning of this year we began with force to resume service in the Temple, we have been giving BG classes in Sunday parties and we also did it in Nityananda Trayodasi which was a great success. I commented that I was offered a job in Puerto Maldonado 9 hours from Cusco, is another city, Puerto Maldonado, the jungle part of Peru, a good place to start the preaching here, I saw several Gnostic centers you see that there are people with a degree Of philisophy. We will accept this work because the pay will help me with my personal issues. This already informed Goura Rupa Prabhu and gave me his blessings, the days that I will be in Cusco I committed to give classes in the Temple. I will be alone, my family will stay in Cusco in the house of my father, we will see how it goes, if we stand firm in our faith and shadana and with his blessings of hechi that our life will be arranged and our destiny too.

ASA - Hare Krsna!!!  Is the work permanent or temporary?    Have you promised to work there for some time, like one year???   Maybe your family can come some weeks and be there also.

From the programs I spoke to you were stanby, but you can start here in this place, Sri Krishna will give us some intelligence to act, we need it, we have to improve our actions. The relationship with the family is fine, we must be the example for them, the relationship with the devotees is also very good, we are happy about it. Dear Gurudeva, I would like to fulfill the promise I made to a devotee, he wants to know: "If a devotee who for years would secure his human birth for his next life, he has still left his service, shadana, no rounds, etc. ??" He explains the example that you once told us "of the tortoise and the log with a hole floating in the sea", but he wants you to send him the answer, he appreciates it very much. Dear Gurudeva, thank you very much for your time, I will ask Sri Nrishimha to always protect you, we owe you a lot that we will be eternally indebted to you. May Sri Krishna always pour His blessings on His Lotus Feet.

Hare Krishna Dear Gurudeva

HpS - Not sure of the question by the devotee. He is doing some 'service' but not chanting his rounds???   It depends on our Bhava at the time of death: yam yam vapi smaran bhavam...

More news.

Hare Krishna Maharaj,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Below is the summary of 1.1.19 - 1.1.23.

Verse Summaries:

V 19:

• About developing taste.
• Mundane news is static. Transcendental news is dynamic and above the mode of darkness.
• Prabhupada said that he could write BG again.
• NOD 2:  Devotional service is easier for people who have taste, not for mental speculators.
• Chanting the holy name will increase the taste.
• HpS - ASA -- We also get a taste for hearing and chanting by doing Karma yoga as directed by Guru.  We are mechanics so we fix ISKCON cars then we like to hear!

V 20:

• Summary of Krishna’s super human acts.
• We are eligible for liberation by hearing the above.
• Explains why Krishna was like a human being : To have relationship with devotees.

V 21:

• Regular hearing of Srimad Bhagavatam is the only way for self-realization.

V 22:

• The ocean of Kali is difficult but we have a ship to cross over it and Suta goswami is the captain of the ship.
• Sages of Naimisharanaya are highly intellectual. Their association is incredible.

V 23:

• Question 6: Since Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth, the master of all mystic powers, has departed for His own abode; please tell us to whom the religious principles have now gone for shelter.

Next week's syllabus would be 1.2.1 - 1.2.5. Thank you for your association. We appreciate it and are grateful for it.

Your servant,

Sundari Radhika dd.

HpS - Such a nice start.  We arrive Boise 7PM, June 1st and hope to stay for about a week. Our mind says, "What to read?". Then the answer is easy - these SB verses. Of course, we will try to expand the program.

Please accept my humble obeisances and all glories to Srila Prabhupad! 

Thank you very much Maharaj for taking the time to reply to me. My counselor has stopped responding to me, it's been almost a year and he did not tell me why. He recommended one boy for me with whom he communicates with about me. None of these messages I ever see and I feel misrepresented by this boy to our counselor and when the counselor makes sharp comments about me I cannot help but feel misrepresented, hurt and sometimes like I should leave. I don't know how to deal with such a complex relationship. I'm not sure if I should end this entire scenario of relationships. I was happily following my counselor until he distanced himself and started communicating only through this boy who barely tells me anything. The process of Krsna consciousness our counselor prescribed to us is very nice, but with difficult feelings like this it's really difficult to progress. I have been trying to pray to Krsna for some help, so I can hold on. But I wonder if I should, in my situation, continue to hold on or leave and seek guidance from someone else and get married to someone else. I seek your guidance. Everything has become very difficult...

Yes the counselor is Radhanath Maharaj's disciple. I still listen to his lectures, still trying to chant and get up early in the morning (still failing) and sing morning prayers (though daily failing to get up early enough). But I haven't given up on striving to do sadhana. I heard that sadhana is to actually please the guru, but when you have no communication with your siksha guru for such a long time, the lack of clarity is dulling. I wonder if this is his way of telling me to go away or testing me. Just heard a lecture by him in which he said lack of clarity can be a test also. When he accepted me as a counselee he told me he will never leave me even if one day I want to. But this complete cut off is becoming daily more unbearable and I am scared of developing negative feelings for him, very harmful for my spiritual life :(. I am eager to hear from you on how to go through this phase.

Your aspiring servant,
Vrsabhanu Nandini dd

HpS - ASA -- Hare Krsna. We initiated wife of Ambarisa Das in Argentina as Vrsabhanu-nandini DD, but your good self, you are disiple of Radha-natha Swami, no? To many aunts and uncles in ISKCON.  We should all live in a village and know each other. Ja!   Ja!   Ja!
Maybe your Counselor was eaten by a lion. Maybe he, she, is in Maya.  Seems like it was not a very practical relationship unless you know the associates of your Counselor and can ask them for advice.

Is true?