Letters to the editor

Dear Maharaj,

PAMHO AGTSP!

Maharaj for the past 15 days I’ve been working to submit university applications for graduate studies. Thanks to help from your esteemed self, Prof. Dr. Bandyopadhyay, Aja Govinda and my father.

My goals until then: 1) Hanuman Film with Yogi, 2) complete Odissi workbook for my students, 3) complete Kalaripayattu Martial Arts training and workbook, 4) complete making online Odissi curriculum and choreographies and video lectures, 4) build separate courses for Kalaripayattu and yoga, 5) bring in more teachers to create various courses and curriculums for online university and eventual accreditation together with Aja Govinda and my father.

HpS/ASA - Seems like a lot! Very nice. What is your general strategy for these five projects? How do you see them fitting into helping Lord Caitanya with His mission? Nabadvipa and Boston?

Personal Sadhana: chanting 16 rounds before breakfast, reading SB regularly. Trying to hear your lectures on iskcondesiretree regularly.

ASA - Got cohorts? 🐵

🐖

🐖

🐖

your aspiring servant,

Subhadra Mayi DD

ASA - Do you have some people who inspire you? Eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotte_Reiniger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Guy-Blach

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_film_and_television_directors

Yadubara Das and Vishaka Devi Dasi????

Dear Guru Maharaja, Hare Krsna. Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

If I may ask, 

-question in a short form- 

What are your views, experiences, and thoughts about editing of Srila Prabhupada's books? 

HpS - As Srila Prabhupada desires it to be done, we should do it. Eg. he had his KRSNA book dictation tapes edited into regular college level English, no?

-question in enlarged form-

We put a lot of emphasis on books for inspiration and our progress, it is our approach and faith that what is in the books is what SP wrote (wanted to be written there). 

My background to the question: over the years I watched some videos here and there from both sides. I read about it, too.

I find it a complex situation. Because SP dictated and had different devotees type and edit his books. To me it looks like SP wanted the books to be edited, that is for sure. But how much and until when, is a question? 

As one devotee says one thing and another says another, for me it is difficult to distinguish the truth. I was not there to see how it happened from 1965 to 1977. Even if I was there, there were a lot of personal exchanges on the topic. 

I am not in favor or against the editing. 

What I do is read and try to see what SP is saying about the same point somewhere else. This is maybe not a perfect solution, but one that I do until there is some new insight. Also, I may confer upon caitya guru, but I leave that to my inner world and do not share it. 

Thank you!

Your servant Namacarya Das

HpS - Our thought exactly!

👍👍 👍 👍👍

Hare Krsna, Gurudeva.

AGTSP, PAMHO.

We will be quick so that your bodily eyes are not strained.

We request you to use speech to text for writing replies.

HpS - Thank you. Send more suggestions as they occur. Takes more energy for us speak than type. That is why we don't talk on phone too much.

"We think we are enjoying holy name, can you write in detail for humanity and us --

how do we serve holy name? what are ways we can enjoy holyname ?"

ASA - Serve Holy Name by Chanting, He.

HK HK KK HH... !!!

With attention and meaning!! Meeening!

"Oh, Radha, please pray to Rama/Krsna to help us with our Sankirtan".

HK

HR

---

HK

HR.

2) We don't want to enjoy the Holy Names, no? Serve them.

Chant more clearly. Chant louder. Chant and Dance.

Do some Karma yoga while we chant. Eg. Cook for Krsna while you chant. Chant while you draw. Chant from your heart while your mind plans. Play recording while you answer mail.

trying to be Das of (Hayagriva Avatar) or ( just HpS Swami and parampara).

HpS/ASA - Trying to follow your examples in many ways. What do you think of Ganesha? Thank you for all the ISKCON India work!!!!!!!

More.

Post-Thanksgiving November 24, 2023

Hare Bolo Maharaja!

please accept my humble obeisances, All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Am submitting a commentary from a post face-book dialogue with a person disgruntled with ISKCON and they were targeting some specific devotees (?).

In repute, I felt some elaboration on the appearance of the situation versus the sources of agitation might bring some clarity. For your discretion and critique:

Welcome to Kali-Yuga, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. Sadly, all humanity is in times of confusion and dishonesty. Even obvious solutions are confounded by perverse logic.

Also the Catholic church, Boy Scouts, Olympic Coaches, Private Schools, Uncle Bob... the list goes on in sexual abuses and other atrocities. We are in the worst-case scenario on this planet, add wholesale slaughter and exploitation of animals and we have a perfect storm of suffering.

The only solution to our dilemma is an understanding of the superficial layers of existence and maintaining a proper relationship with our Souls, though here's where vast opinions and methods get misconstrued.

The science of Self-Realization does work and does bring clarity. Getting the information from reliable sources is getting more difficult for as mentioned, this age is not conducive for such education. Regardless, as we are vigilant in defending, we also need to be vigilant from ignorance ascending.

Thank God there are people who pursue these virtues and are able to assist us. The others who are polluted will not help. As mentioned, the onslaught of offenses in many walks of life, committed within institutes we placed trust in is a blatant fact. Knowing this and arming ourselves with intelligence we may fight and conquer such demoniac mentalities.

The trick is in patience versus immediacy. The wheels of justice turn at their pace and karma is not always an immediate event, though it is eternal until neutralized with proper sacrifice. So, those, Saints, Gurus, and Spiritually Enlightened Leaders are all implicated in what we all are in, the Material World.

Place Faith from within to our own Souls, not others' chagrin of perception, for the Paramatma is with us directly and will supersede any external nonsense... now we must face our own nonsense and this is where we need trust in our Faith and those who are sincerely seeking and sharing theirs. (We especial try to focus on this! Thank you, HpS/ASA)

God is in control, give Thanks.

Some subtle cryptic sentences for the author who posted, hopefully, the subtle nuances might bring some future enlightenment. Trying to purge abusive confusions for persons with honest goals and all the while maintaining my meager clarity.

Looking forward to your association.

your servant in training,

|C.C.D.| Thank you.

ASA - Thank you.

Hare Krishna dear Guru Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada...

My favorite bead is the Radha bead, it has almost half missing. It makes for a perfect fit for my thumb pad, and when I start my Japa I feel like my thumb is merging into the Radha bead...but in a completely simultaneously one and different kind of way!!

I like it because I remember Radha with this bead, and I feel like my thumb meant to chant there!

Your servant,

Jaya-hari das

ASA - Jay! AgtSP!!! Why do you call her the Radha bead? This is the first time we have heard this term. Interesting. 🙂

Hare Krishna, Dear Gurumaharaja

Please accept my hubmle obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Writing after very long time.

HpS / ASA - Not so long. Ag ag tSP! Paoho. So nice to hear from you.

I am very happy to share that my Mangala Arati attendence is by your's and Krishna's mercy finally perfect. Sometimes there are only 2 of us, pujari and me. Sometimes we are 4. For long long time I was part of the problem by my bad sadhana, but I pray I will be able to continue as good example. So now just to keep it fixed and to improve consciousness.

HpS - Param drstvam nivartante[?]. When we see the natural, happy result of good Mangala arati then we keep it fixed.

Learn the word by word meaning of the song.

Get some rounds done before Mangala arti! ... See Radha and Krsna listening to you all! . . .

Our son, Balarama, is energetic and cute child. Bringing us both happiness and distress :)

He loves to offer lamps with us for Damodara.

My wife is working on design for puppets for another devotee who will make Ramayana puppet plays for nursery schools.

My wife likes to do things like this.

Working on new vedabase.io version.

Last few days I struggled somehow with user authentication system and trying find way of connecting it with current data.

It makes me insane, but I hope I am very close to make it working nicely.

Once that is done, I can quickly finish other stuff and make online beta version. Then when it will be consider stable it will replace current vedabase.io. 

After new version will be running I can finally finish offline Vedabase app. It became more urgent due to attitude of Indian BBT toward all other projects, causing one devotee who made offline reader few years ago to delete it.

As I mentioned last time we spoke Indian BBT is trying to remove Online Vedabase too, but by Prabhupada's protection we will not give up and instead increase preaching even on more.

Your servant Prahlad Nrsimha das

HpS - Thank you so, so, much for this facility. We certainly feel that online Vedabase.io is an essential Sankirtan tool for so, so, many devotees. It allows us to quickly access texts for Sankirtan and share precise citations.

Maybe BBT India and others will be more enlivened if they see orders for hard copies of books coming in through online VedaBase?!!

Maybe you can offer then space to develop their advertisements.