Letters to the editor

Hare Krsna Respected Guru Maharaj,
    Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
    All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
    All glories to Guru parampara.

    Guru Dev, i will come to meet you in Vrandavan on 25 Feb 2014, have booked my tickets.

    You will reach by 5:30 PM in Vraja, On 25 Feb 2014. Where you would stay at Radha-kunda or MVT? I will plan accodingly.

your fallen servant,
Girivaradhari-Gopal Das

HpS - AGTSP - Paoho.   We will be staying in MVT with Nitai-gaurasundara Das. We come to the Temple for the Morning Program. We usually stand next to Tulasi in the back Gaura-nitai side or even father back next to the picture of Girivaradhari.

Hare Krsna Respected Guru Maharaj,
    Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
    All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
    All glories to Guru parampara.

    Guru Dev, Below are complete travel details. I would divide it in three parts as :

    A. Vrandavana (3 Nov - 13 Nov 2013)
    B. Home Town with Parents (14 Nov - 25 Nov 2013)
    C. Remote Village in Chhattisgarh (26 Nov - 3 Dec 2013)

A. Vrandavana (3 Nov - 13 Nov 2013)
   
   Started from Pune on 3 Nov 2013 and reached in Vrandavan on 4 Nov 2013
   
   Day 1 (4 Nov 2013):
   1. 5:00 AM - Reached Mathura, stay at railway station till 7:25 AM
   2. 8:00 AM - Reached Krsna-Balaram Temple, Vrandavan      
   3. 9:00 AM - Till 9:00 AM, discussion with H G Ramakant Pr and other, about temple events and activity during Kartik & Prabhupad's festival.
   4. 9:30 AM - Bath + Washing cloths
   5. 10:00 AM - Darshan
   6. 11:15 AM - Govardhana Puja + Abhishak at temple
   7. 12:30 PM - Prasadam
   8. 1:00 PM - Read Prabhupada's book - "This is my request" - finished.
   9. 2:30 PM - Started from Vrandavana for Govardhana for Govardhana Parikarma
   10. 9:00 PM - Finished Govardhana Parikarma
   11. 9:45 PM - Returned from Govardhana
   12. 10:30 PM - Prasadam & went for sleep
   
   Day 2 (5 Nov 2013):
   1. 3:00 AM - Wake up, bath, Japa
   2. 4:00 AM - Mangal Arti, Japa at Prabhupada's samadhi
   3. till 7:30 AM - 42 rounds japa

                HpS - ASA - You finished 42-rounds from 3AM!!! ! !???? [Hare Krsna! What is your secret?]

   4. 7:30 AM - Guru Puja
   5. 8:00 AM - SB Class
   6. 10:00 AM - Prasadam, Meeting with H G Rangabihari Pr
   7. 4:00 PM - Discussion with H G Gopendra Pr, H G Vaisanava Pr, H G Ramakant Pr on BG (Sloka one), NOI - Sloka one and other
   8. 5:30 PM - Darshan, Lamp offering
   9. 8:30 to 11:00 PM - Discussion with H G Gopendra Pr
   10. 11:30 PM - Prasadam & went for sleep

So nice that you have friends in Vrndavana!

   Day 3 (6 Nov 2013):
   1. 3:00 AM - Wake up, bath, Japa
   2. 4:00 AM - Mangal Arti, Japa at Prabhupada's samadhi
   3. till 7:30 AM - 42 rounds japa

           Hmmm! If not going to Mangala arati and other programs in main temple room then that is 2.3 seconds per mantra!

   4. 7:30 AM - Guru Puja     
   5. 10:00 AM - Meeting with Pune devotees
   6. 12:00 PM - Went for Vrandavana Parikrama
   7. 8:30 PM - Discussion with H G Gopendra Pr on Modern Civilization & culture.
   8. 11:00 PM - Prasadam & went for sleep
   Note : This day, all were very busy due to Prabhu Pada's Festival so did not get time to interact more but i took more time to finish the Vrandavan
               Parikram. Visited all the places & interacted with Braja vasi.

   Day 4 (7 Nov 2013):
   1. 3:00 AM - Wake up, bath, Japa
   2. 4:00 AM - Mangal Arti, Japa at Prabhupada's samadhi
   3. 8:00 AM to 1:45 PM - Attended Prabhupada Festival (all events, lectures).
   4. 2:30 PM - Prasadam
   5. 3:00 PM - Went outside for Shoping
   6. 4:30 PM - Prasadam Packing Service.
   7. 6:30 PM - Visited the Prem Mandir (Kripalu Maharaj's temple)
   8. 8:00 PM - Lamp offering & Darshan
   9. 9:30 PM - Prasadam
   10. 9:45 PM - Discussion with H G Gopendra Pr on Current status of society & Moral, ethics.
   11. 11:00 PM - went for sleep

   Day 5 (8 Nov 2013):
   1. 3:00 AM - Wake up, bath, Japa
   2. 4:00 AM - Mangal Arti, Japa at Prabhupada's samadhi      
   3. till 7:30 AM - 32 rounds japa
   4. 7:30 AM - Guru Puja
   5. 8:00 AM - Lecture by H H BhaktiCharu Swami Maharaj
   6. 10:00 AM - Prasadam
   7. 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM - Attended the appearance day of H H Narmada Swami Maharaj at his samadhi at Goshala (Speakers : H H Gopal Krsna
                                                 Maharaj, H H Bhakti Vikash Maharaj, Senior Prabhupada's Disaples, Ahmadabad temple president, other seniors from
                                                 BBT).
   8. 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM - Evening lecture (Part I) by H G Visnava Prabhu, about Krsna on Mahabharat Youdha.
   9. 8:00 PM - Visited the Prem Mandir (Kripalu Maharaj's temple)
   10. 9:30 PM - Prasadam
   11. 9:45 PM - Discussion with H G Gopendra Pr about Krsna's existence, relationship with gopies after dwarika departure.
   12. 11:00 PM - went for sleep

   Day 6 (9 Nov 2013):
   1. 3:00 AM - Wake up, bath, Japa
   2. 4:00 AM - Mangal Arti, Japa at Prabhupada's samadhi      
   3. till 7:30 AM - 32 rounds japa
   4. 7:30 AM - Guru Puja
   5. 8:00 AM - Lecture on Association with devotees
   6. 11:15 AM - Discussion with H G Ramakant Pr about you (H H Hanumatpresaka Swami), Technology impact on society.
   7. 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM - Evening lecture (Part II) by H G Visnava Prabhu, about Krsna on Mahabharat Youdha.
   8. 8:00 PM - Lamp offering & Darshan & Gopi Git
   9. 9:10 PM - Prasadam
   10. 9:35 PM - Discussion with H G Gopendra Pr about Sadana (How reach next level).
   11. 11:00 PM - went for sleep

   Day 7 (10 Nov 2013):
   1. 3:00 AM - Wake up, bath, Japa
   2. 4:00 AM - Mangal Arti, Japa at Prabhupada's samadhi      
   3. till 7:30 AM - 32 rounds japa
   4. 7:30 AM - Guru Puja
   5. 8:00 AM - Gopastami Darshan, Gau Puja at Gosala, Lecture by H H Bhakticharu Swami Maharaj, Prasadam
   6. 11:30 AM - Attended Initiation Cerimony by H H Bhakti Vikash Swami Maharaj at temple
   7. 12:00 PM - Meeting with Pune Devotees, Purchasing beedbagas for devotees from outside of temple shop.
   8. 2:00 PM - Discussion with H G Ramakant Pr about Sadana (eye, hearing, mind etc, why sages are always keep close their eye and lots of things).
   9. 2:30 PM - Started Gopal-champu (owned by H G Gopendra Prabhu)
   10. 5:00 PM - Visited Radha Damodhar Temple, Radha Shyam Sunder Temple, Purchased Gopal-Champu
   11. 8:00 PM - Lamp offering & Darshan & Gopi Git
   12. 9:10 PM - Prasadam
   13. 9:35 PM - Q/A Session with H G Gopendra Pr.
   14. 10:30 PM - Prasadam & went for sleep

   Day 8 (11 Nov 2013):
   1. 3:00 AM - Wake up, bath, Japa
   2. 4:00 AM - Mangal Arti, Japa at Prabhupada's samadhi      
   3. till 7:30 AM - 32 rounds japa
   4. 7:30 AM - Guru Puja
   5. 8:00 AM - Lecture by H H Bhakticharu Swami Maharaj, Prasadam
   6. 10:30 AM - Prepared Tulsi leafe for home as Mahaprasadam
   7. 12:00 PM - Meeting with Devotees
   8. 12:30 PM - Started for Radha Kunda, spent almost 5 hours, prayers, shoping etc.
   9. 7:30 PM - Returned from Radha Kunda
   10. 8:00 PM - Lamp offering & Darshan & Gopi Git
   11. 9:10 PM - Prasadam
   12. 9:35 PM - Q/A Session with H G Gopendra Pr.
   13. 10:30 PM - Prasadam & went for sleep

   Day 9 (12 Nov 2013):
   1. 3:00 AM - Wake up, bath, Japa
   2. 4:00 AM - Mangal Arti, Japa at Prabhupada's samadhi      
   3. till 7:30 AM - 32 rounds japa
   4. 7:30 AM - Guru Puja
   5. 8:00 AM - Started for Nidhi Van, Seva Kunj, Sri Sri Radha Damodhar Mandir
   6. 12:30 AM - Shoping for home - Prasadam, Narsingh Dev Photo, beedbag etc.
   7. 2:30 PM - Q/A Session with H G Gopendra Pr & H G Ramakant Pr about 'nature' behaviour/characteristics
   8. 3:00 PM - Prasadam
   9. 3:30 PM - Started for Mathura Rly Station
   10. 5:30 PM - On board train for Raipur
   
B. Home Town with Parents (14 Nov - 25 Nov 2013)

   Reached home town at 4:30 PM on 14 Nov 2013. Normally, i get chance to go home town once in a year and as elder son of family, lots of tasks
   waits for me for parents and younger brother. So i do all those and check for other responsibility.

   My mother is a devotee and she is very strict to her sadhana. She always wake-up at 4:00 AM. She has a strick schedule for her sadhana - worship,
   flowers offering, japa and other home responsibilities. I never seen her to break any rule for her comfort, she never.

C. Remote Village in Chhattisgarh (26 Nov - 3 Dec 2013)

   I visited almost 12-13 villages in chhattisgarh in the search for simplicity, true life (which i don't found in the city life).

   Why i choosed those village?
   Krsna's arrangement. I visited one village first and found a 10" diety of Lord Krsna with two cows (surrounded) in the village.
   Krsan was blue in color and it was evening time, when i saw Krsan there, got fully attaracted.

   when returned home from that village, thinking to go back again to see Krsna again. On the same night, went on the roof of our home and
   somewhere some villagers very far from our home, were singing about Krsan. To here those village songs, i was very happy and excited.

   So i inquired with my mother about those people, she said, there are many villages in that side, where people loves Krsan very much, every village
   has a Krsna deity and they perform Krsna story in the evening time, every day. So i decided to visit all those to see how they love Krsan or how they
   express love for Krsna.

   Villagers say them self - "Yadava". But scripturs says, there is no "Yadava" after Krsan's departur. But anyway, i found the villagers very simple
   heart, simple living and actually leaving a true life. They wake-up very early in the moring, do there farming duty every day and in the evening time
   they play or sing Krsan's lila or Ramayan every day and sleep early.

   I came back in Pune but my heart is there, near the blue 10" diety of Lord Krsan surrounded with two cows, playing floots in the village.

   One more thing is in my mind, There were many cows in those villages. One day when i was returning from a village in the evening time, i saw huge
   no of cows returning from field. Cows were looking lovely, beautiful and a boy was taking care of those cows. Actually the boy was bringing back
   those cows in the evening time. To see those, i was remembering Krsan. Krsan used to bring back cows from field in the evening time. Every thing
   was looking so truth and simple. I was totally wordless.

your fallen servant,
Girivaradhari-Gopal Das

             ! ! ! ! !   Such mercy to hear about life in India ! ! !   Do you have any plans for like the next twenty years? Stay B'cari? Take to Sannyasa life?

Hare Krishna Maharaja, please kindly accept my most humble obeisances at your lotus feet;

All glories to his divine grace, Srila Prabhupada.  

I have been wanting to take some time out to write some meaningful words to you, but witing is something that does not come easily for me.  I am easily distracted for the most part, because I don't always know how to say what is in my heart.  I want to express so much gratitude for your kindness when you come to our home, but I don't want it to sound like cheap flattery;

Showing gratitude is not something that I do lightly.  Yet, with your vyasa puja observance upon us, I am feeling compelled and inspired to try and share something here and now, during the quiet moments when everyone is asleep, about how my devotional service has been lately.  I heard once that a devotee can offer his admission of weaknesses and failures as an offering unto the spiritual master, and not just his achievements.  So I thought that since I have plenty of weaknesses and failures, that this would be a good place to start.

Whilst we do still have daily morning and evening sadhana in our home, there are many mornings when I feel lazy and therefore am not alert to the importance of the early start of mangala hours; As such there is no punctuality in either the morning or evening programs in our home.  In spite of years of endeavoring to practice Krishna consciousness, in my heart I still feel so much contamination of the material energy, always contemplating sense gratification.  And even though I am fully convinced that I will be a devotee for life, I haven't the slightest inclination and make any significant sacrifice outside of my comfort zone; I can't say if it is laziness, or lack of true faith, or lack of devotee association: Or all of these things.  Lately, we have had some really ecstatic kirtanas in our home each week for the past 6 weeks.  But then the devotees leave, and the normal pattern of the material energy returns into our daily existence, and it seems like I find myself beating my head against the wall.   At times I contemplate going on some spiritual retreat, but then I easily talk myself out of it, feeling it is too much trouble and how I can't just leave my wife alone to deal with the economic struggles.  When the GBC came to Boise last spring, we invited the entire community of devotees to join us for a lunch program, and they all came, but it wasn't without total anxiety and reservation on my part.  And when I visited the temple for Janmastami last summer for the first time in so long, I was struggling with so much envy and anxiety, that I only stayed long enough to witness and participate in the Sundara arotika, and then went home.

I can say for sure that when I am engaged in my morning sadhana, much of the time I am alone, and it is in those moments that I am able to hear more attentively the meanings of the prayers that we chant every day: Such as "the lotus feet of the spiritual master....I bow down to his lotus feet with great awe and reverance."  And I can understand, at least in some part, that accepting the shelter of the spiritual master is not merely some formality, but an absolute essential.  I can also understand that I don't know how to show such deep, genuine, heartfelt respect.  At best, I can only act out some show of respect superficially.  When I hear myself uttering these translations, I sometimes reflect on how much you have to sacrifice your own life in the service of Srila Prabhupada, and I wish that I had even an ounce of such dedication: If I did, then I would be an inspiration to others.  I can understand that I am in great need of your mercy, if there is to be any hope for me in my Krishna consciousness.  So I pray that you not forget me in your own prayers to Srila Prabhupada, that you continue to bless our home with you future visits to the Boise community, and that you kindly accept my humble efforts and meager words as an offering, for my own purification.

Your lowly servant,

Balabhadra dasa

                  HpS - ASA - Jaya!!!!   AGtSP. We don't have much to say after such an intense offering. We are in Argentina with a little headache growing. I think it is in part from the computer screen and part from the lack of oxygen in our basment room. So I opened the windows (with a hammer) and now the mosquitos will drift in one or two. 

Ha!  Ha!  Hare!
I don't feel much ahead of you in your advancement: Comfort zone, anxiety about institutional problems etc. My only effort is to chant good rounds. Get association by tele-communication. For example, get a Japa partner and check in by Twitter or telephone, and do the same for Mangala arati and SB!
We hope to see you soon. Thank you for your inspiration. It is a reality for us.

AGTSP

Vyasa puja Offerings are Tagged at "Category B".

Uncle Gismo/ Piggy

All glories for Srila Prabhupada

All Glories for his holines Hanumatpresaka Swami

Hare krishna Maharaj

I am David Leyton to ISKCON Santiago de Chile. , my life it's so hurt about (HpS - ASA - Jaya! AGTSP. Thank you for the explanation. Works, healing through touching, but could also make people sick if the touchers are sinful!  What about starting a family?) Thank for the recommendation of reiki. only i am doing therapy to myself, because i have fear to sick other people. Thanks

I spoke with my girlfriend (Macarena) and she is ok about having family. We a starting a relationship but now we have some money's problem, i don´t have a job, only sankirtan. i studied Engineering Agriculture and this is not enough, i also got a Diploma degree to start a project in febrary. i have spending a lot of money to pay my studies that I can not afford for anything else.

may be i am not a good devotee, only i can do my best effort to improve, chanting 16 round, i meet the four principles, i do Sankirtan and the saturday i do service on the temple but i dont have sadhana.

Please tell me what can i do for be better? can you tell me, what sadhana can i do in my home?

We will see us in Chile

Hare Krishna Maharaj

                HpS - ASA - Jaya!!!!  AGTSP.   Amongst the people on the planet you are doing, very, very well. Given your situation maybe one of the best people on earth.  Let us just talk personally when we get to Santiago. It is just three days!

hare krsna maharaj, pamho, agtsp

this is regarding formal aspirant, http://hps.monkeywarrior.com/node/3774.  we have going  o chowpatty and juhu temples.. but were never able to contact admin authorities there.
in mumbai we contact Prana Pr, Ram Giridhari pr and other devotees for counselling....
in such cases any other person apart from Temple president can be authority.
if not.. then we will see

regards,
horse

= = = =

AGTSP! paoho.
This is the GBC and also Srila Prabhupada's arrangement. We have to have a practical relation with ISKCON for Sankirtan etc.  Are you in contact with devotees from Boise or places like that? Can you start to cultivate a practical relation with ISKCON institution?
Maybe Ramagiridhari and Prana Das can make some suggestions.
Chant Hare Krsna / Rama and They will help us!