Letters to the editor

Su Santidad; por favor acepte mis humildes reverencias, me ha dado mucha alegría el recibir una carta suya, y sus palabras me inspiran a seguir firme en el camino que Śrīla Prabhupāda nos mostró, me pesa el hecho de que por mi indecisión y falta de Bhakti se me fuera el tiempo y la oportunidad de servirle formalmente, pero así es la decisión de Śrī Kṛṣṇa y mi karma, aunque me siento infinitamente bendecido con sus palabras y su indicación.

Śrīla Prabhupāda solo siguió la indicación de su Gurv amado y Śrī Kṛṣṇa le dió todo, yo no soy ni siquiera polvo de los pies de Loto de Jagatha Gurv, no soy nada, pero por su misericordia y la de Śrīla Prabhupāda puedo intentar seguir su ejemplo y también servir de forma correcta a Śrī Gurv y al Supremo, aún recuerdo sus indicaciones de usar una consertina Alemania (cómo acordeón) en mi Show y el aparecer a muchos Devotos saliendo de un automóvil pequeño haciendo Śrī Saṅkarṣaṇam, no tengo mucho Lakṣmī Mahārāja y no he podido cumplirlo pero en eso estoy trabajando, le pido perdón por no haberlo hecho aún, es debido a esa indesicion y falta de Bhakti, la muerte de mi madre me dió la fuerza para ser firme en la conciencia de Kṛṣṇa y tener buen sadana bhakti, su instruccion es para mí su misericordia, trataré de recordar a Śrīla Narottama dāsa y Servirle en un humor de separación su Santidad. Gracias por su misericordia infinita, tan solo su Darśana es para mí todo Mahārāja. No sé cómo podré lograrlo, pero lo haré. Me contactaré con Madre Asthasakhi y buscaré el refugio de Su Santidad como UD me lo indica.

Gracias eternas Su Santidad, UD. Siempre será para mí la inspiración y la fuerza para seguir en conciencia de Kṛṣṇa.

Aunque tenga que tomar refugio con otro Santo Vaiṣṇava, en mi corazón Siempre será Ud. Mi padre, Grácias por su Siksagurv Mahārāja, con éste contactó me siento muy felíz e inspirado.

Dandavats Praṇāmas Mahārāja

Que Kṛṣṇa nos permita tenerlo mucho tiempo más.

Su sincero bienqueriente y servidor Kazzymiro el Clown.

Hare Kṛṣṇa

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Your Holiness; please accept my humble obeisances, it has given me great joy to receive a letter from you, and your words inspire me to continue firm on the path that Śrīla Prabhupāda showed us, I am saddened by the fact that due to my indecision and lack of Bhakti It was time and opportunity to serve Him formally, but that is the decision of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and my karma, although I feel infinitely blessed with His words and direction.

Śrīla Prabhupāda only followed the indication of his beloved Gurv and Śrī Kṛṣṇa gave him everything, I am not even dust from the Lotus feet of Jagatha Gurv, I am nothing, but by his mercy and that of Śrīla Prabhupāda I can try to follow his example and also correctly serve Śrī Gurv and the Supreme, I still remember his instructions to use a Germany concertina (as an accordion) in my Show and seeing many Devotees getting out of a small car doing Śrī Saṅkarṣaṇam, I do not have much Lakṣmī Mahārāja and I have not been able to fulfill it but I am working on it. I apologize for not having done it yet. It is due to that indecision and lack of Bhakti.

The death of my mother gave me the strength to be firm in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and have good sadana. bhakti, your instruction is your mercy to me, I will try to remember Śrīla Narottama dāsa and serve you in a mood of separation your Holiness. Thank you for his infinite mercy, his Darśana alone is all Mahārāja for me. I don't know how I'll be able to do it, but I will. I will contact Mother Asthasakhi and seek the refuge of Her Holiness as You direct me.

Eternal thanks to her Holiness, YOU. He will always be the inspiration and strength for me to continue in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Even if I have to take refuge with another Vaiṣṇava Saint, in my heart You will always be you. My father, Thank you for your Siksagurv Mahārāja, with whom I contacted I feel very happy and inspired.

Dandavats Praṇāmas Mahārāja

May Kṛṣṇa allow us to have it much longer.

His sincere well-wisher and servant Kazzymiro the Clown.

Hare Kṛṣṇa

HpS - Krsna never left the Vraja vasis. When He went to Mathura he stayed in his Lila smarana svarupa, which is a MORE intimate form. After that there is more, more. We must learn to be more and more integrated as Sankirtan partners.

All Glrory to Srila Prabhupada, All Glory to Sankirtan Movement by Sri Caitanya & Nityananda, and All Glory to ISKCON, and all the Vaisnavas.

Pleace accept my humble obeisances.

Dear Gurudeva HPS: the last day we habe many parties, from Purushottama Masa, Jalayatra Mty, Jhulayatra, Balaram, Janmastami, Prabhupada, and Radhastami. Thanks to the mercy of the devotees I was able to participate in the festivities,

I keep the 16 rounds, and the 4 principles strictest,

reading Prabhupada's books and trying to share what I learn with each person I treat.

So, from long time ago, I have heard different questions about japa and etiquette, which I've now compiled, although I've already heard some answers given by other devotee, I hope to know your answers:

HpS//ASA - We will give answers as we know.

*Is it mandatory to chant the pancha tattva mantra before or after each round?

No

*Can the panca tattva mantra be chanted in the middle of the round?

Yes

*Does Chant without japa have the same value?

Do you mean without Japa beads? If yes, then it is like apples and bananas. They are both valuable but have different kinds of nutrition.

*Is it mandatory to chant on Tulasi beads, and if you don't have Tulasi, stop the chant?

Unless there is strange circumstance we should do 16-rounds on Tulasi beads, but if we cannot then knots on rope, grains of rice etc are o.k. for counting.

*Is it forbidden to chant rounds of the Panca Tattva mantra?

Prabhupada told devotees to not chant PTM on beads.

*Is it a priority to chant the rounds instead of sleeping, eating, or attending to other duties?

1. Always chant.
2. 16-rounds
3. 4-principles
4. FM & E Service.
5. Sankirtan

*Is it valid to Chant a round in pauses?

Only in demanding situations.

*Can you start the Chant before bathing or washing your mouth?

Yes, but best to wash mouth, hands, face, body.

*Can you eat while Chant?

Must chant while eating.

*Is it possible to Chant lying down?

Yes.

*Can you chant with the left hand using a non-Tulsi japa?

Yes, but seems very unusual activity and not for 16-rounds. Of course if you only have left hand then even on tulsi is o.k., no?

*If two different devotees instruct us in opposite ways, what consideration should be taken?

Always happens. https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/9/5/

*Can Brahmins be salaried?

No, but their can be regulated donations.

Srila Prabhupada says that our movement is not a religion, so how to present it to religious groups?

It is a religion to those who understand religion as including science, politics etc.

Otherwise the Brahminical aspect includes what people call religion and the rest is "culture".

Thaks a lot, for your exceptional activities, I hope you're in good health.

Your crew member Aniruddhakrsna Das.

HpS - Thank you!!!

Let's go to the next letter.

Hare Krishna Gurdeva

Please accept my obeisances

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

I feel fortunate to be your disciple and thus be able to be in contact with Prabhupada, the Acaryas and Sri Sri Radha Krishna.

I have some questions:

- how should I write my name?

Piyari Mohan das?

Or

Pyari Mohan das?

HpS - As far as I know... AgtSP... "Piyari Mohan das"

- What is the feeling of separation and how does it manifest itself in the life of the devotee?

HpS - Seems that we want to feel well integrated with Srila Prabhupada and his ISKCON.

- Can Radha and Krishna be visualized as father and mother?

HpS - Yes, Radha is the beloved Mother of all the cowherd boys.

- As I understand it, one of the characteristics of uttama adhikari is that he is scholarly and knows how to debate philosophically, but on the other hand there are learned people who you can debate but they are not uttama adhikaris. How to make a difference?

HpS - Because their logic is very superficial. Maybe based on Euclid's Principles. Do no know BalaRama, Jesus, Nitya ananda as the real logos.

- Is there any relationship between the platform of devotee (kanishta, madhyama and uttama) with the ladder of bhakti? For example, it could be that to move to anharta nivriti the devotee has to move to the platform of madhyama adhykari, etc.

HpS - As we know:

Kanistha = Adau sraddha and Sadhu sanga.

Madhyama = Bhajana kriya to Asakti.

Uttama = Bhava and Prema.

Thank you very much Gurudeva

Your servant

P(i)yari Mohan das

HpS - Thank you! Hop you are reading the other posts. They are for you also!

Hope your relations with ISKCON institution is clearing and any offenses to devotees are resolving so that you can be on friendly terms with all of them.

En nuestra carta más reciente usted dijo: “Por favor envía también algunas noticias de tu Yatra, México, amigos, competidores, etc”

Respuesta:

En este lugar de ISKCON, las cosas parecen estables. Aun en medio de un lago de rencillas administrativas y entre devotos, el ISKCON de Srila Prabhupada se mantiene firme y en desarrollo como una flor de loto. Es debido a la misericordia sin causa de Srila Prabhupada, que los devotos, desde sus propias posiciones están luchando por mantener el entusiasmo y continuar en la misión. Observamos que, durante la celebración de los festivales, todos los grupos trabajan de forma armoniosa, es posible que haya un poco de competencia por complacer al Señor, pero aun así, cada uno toma la posición donde es más hábil, felizmente ejecuta su labor y ¡todos brillan como si se tratara de joyas engarzadas en uno de los anillos de los Pies de loto de nuestro Señor!

“Amigos”- Por su misericordia sin causa, luego de su visita a México he recuperado la amistad con varios devotos, entre ellos, algunos de sus agradables discípulos y estamos intentando apoyarnos en diferentes proyectos. (Espero pronto estar en posibilidad de comunicarle los esfuerzos de todos ellos).

Medité mucho en el concepto de “competidores”, pero para donde quiera que miré solo encontré devotos intentando contribuir en la misión de Srila Prabhupada, así que me sentí incapaz de verlos como competencia, me pareció identificarlos más como “compañeros de lucha”... Sin perjuicio de lo anterior, debo decir que también he aprendido a mantener cierta distancia de algunos devotos pues, aunque de corazón aprecio y admiro su servicio y a ellos mismos, no comparto algunas de sus prácticas o ellos las mías 😊

Desde mi perspectiva ¡ISKCON es enorme! y hay ocupación para todos, por lo que no hay necesidad de competir entre nosotros por un lugar, pues por la misericordia de Guru, siempre habrá algo que hacer. Por mi parte solo aspiro poder ser útil de algún modo, bajo su misericordiosa guía.

Muchas gracias Gurudeva

Su aspirante a sirviente

Karuna-Sakti Devi Dasi 

🙇

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In our most recent letter you said: “Please also send some news about your Yatra, Mexico, friends, competitors, etc.”

Answer:

In this ISKCON place, things seem stable. Even in the midst of a lake of administrative and devotee squabbles, Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON remains firm and developing like a lotus flower. It is because of Srila Prabhupada's causeless mercy that devotees, from their own positions, are struggling to maintain enthusiasm and continue in the mission.

We observe that, during the celebration of the festivals, all the groups work harmoniously, there may be a little competition to please the Lord, but even so, each one takes the position where he is most skillful, happily executes his work and They all shine as if they were jewels set in one of the rings of the Lotus Feet of our Lord!

“Friends” - Through his causeless mercy, after his visit to Mexico I have regained friendship with several devotees, among them, some of his pleasant disciples and we are trying to support each other in different projects. (I hope to soon be able to communicate the efforts of all of them to you).

I meditated a lot on the concept of “competitors”, but everywhere I looked I only found devotees trying to contribute to Srila Prabhupada's mission, so I felt unable to see them as competition, I seemed to identify them more as “fellow fighters”. Without prejudice to the above, I must say that I have also learned to keep a certain distance from some devotees because, although I wholeheartedly appreciate and admire their service and themselves, I do not share some of their practices or they share mine 😊

HpS - Hmmm. Candravali and Radharani are "competitors"? They regulate Their distances? Hmm.

From my perspective ISKCON is huge! and there is occupation for everyone, so there is no need to compete among ourselves for a place, for by the mercy of Guru, there will always be something to do. For my part, I only hope to be useful in some way, under his merciful guidance.

HpS - We have same realization. ISKCON is no longer and institution, it is now a movement, like Democracy or Surrealism. Even the institution is very big, like the USA or Mexico. We must try to be a part of the big picture, but we must also be part of local team.

Also, we realize, we are constitutionally unique. We have been created unique. No one can do what we do, and not even KRSNA realizes our full potential. We have to discover more and more our potentional for service.

Thank you very much Gurudeva

Your would-be servant

Karuna-Sakti Devi Dasi

HpS - Thank you. go ahead. Develop a great Sankirtan.

🙇

Your in my heart and soul, love doing diety worship with your photo on the alter it keeps me connected to you your servant mani bandhani das

HpS//ASA - Thank you. AgtSP.

Hope service in San Diego ISKCON also great.

Making friends.

Fighting Kamsa.

Serving Krsna.

no content!!!