Letters to the editor

All Glories to Sri Sri Goura Nitai!

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

P.A.M.H.O.

Dear Hanumat Presaka Swami,

In this letter I would like to present myself, I'm Rafael Nitay, I'm 22 years old, from são paulo, Brasil. I was born a devotee, and grew up in sao paulo. I work in my family business, since I was 13 years old, and I use to go to the temple in Sao paulo before it closed, and New Gokula. I have association with devotees in namahattas that are a weekly appointment, and association with the devotees in BBT Brasil, where I attend most of the programs and classes.I follow the four principles and chant my rounds. I have family in USA where I know a few devotees as well, I usually go to NY, Alachua, Miami, and recently visiting my family in Santiago-Chile, got to know the temple and the devotees, and I have been in a relationship with one of your disciples(Candrarekha Devi Dasi). I'm really enthusiastic about the movement in Brasil and in the rest of the world as well. In Chile as well as Brasil I have been in association with disciples and well wishers of yours, and I have watched a few classes of you in internet as well, and they speak very good about you sir, and I’m very excited to meet you in Santiago Ratha Yatra, and attend your classes.

This would be a little about myself, I’m really thank full for you letting me write on your blog and for your time reading this letter. I would like if its ok for you to write more questions on your blog in other occasions. I really hope I can serve you in one opportunity.

Your well wisher and servant aspiring,

Rafael Nitay - São Paulo - Brasil

              ASA - HpS - Jaya!  AGTSP... Please accept our humble obeisances and thank you so much for speking Inglish!!!!            -{:O)+           Then we maybe will see you in like one week, no?   Are you one meter tall with bright red hair and weigh 80KG.  Ha!   Ha!   Ha!   Is so ridiculous to have personal relation with people without ever seeinng them.     !     Your Sankirtana sounds great  !          Hope to see everyone and try to remember everyones body, email, and diksa names and lilas.           Jaya Jagannatha!    Rafael Nitay!

HpS - ASA -  Jaya!  Now things are so much more clear in our stupid brain. So, if you want to get re-initiated we could take that service. Some devotees want it some don't.  We don't feel it is so necessary if the Diksa guru was properly representing Srila Prabhupada at the time of initiation.     Beyond the super important instruction of following our ISKCON vows and keeping full morning and evening program, we would certainly hope that you can send us news of your situation, Yatra, your Sankirtan with devotees and out in the public!  Thank you very, very much.
For Europe, it is getting fixed. We will be in Radha-desa from February 6-16th, then from April 30th to May 27th

Dear Hanumatpresaka Swami,
Please accept my respectful obeisances,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Sorry for the late answer, this is my 10th attempt to compose a letter. I wanted to write positive things but i couldn't word few things positively :(

Thanks for your kind answer and the opportunity for initiation but i'm not a good candidate.
I have written You previously i'm just a fallen and in the past i gave up my japa for a while but due to the huge ammount of letters what You get daily maybe You don't remember it.

My short story: My spiritual master preached in Scotland and i was there also for 1,5 years. It was years ago. We served a lot there and usually slept less than 6 hours daily. There was serious psychoterror there. I was sick at that time so i couldn't tolerate less sleep and after 1,5 years i had just one meditation: sleeping. I chanted extremely bad rounds and i was weak both spiritually and bodily. I said to my GM i would like to come home but He didn't allow me, You know i hadn't ID (i wrote You previously few details about it) but i decided autonomous and came back to Hungary. I needed to rest but i continued chanting. The devotees pushed me here to move back to the ashram but i was like half dead. Few weeks later i wanted to clear up my situation with my GM i wrote him but He didn't reply me approx 15 times. I wrote to the GBC but He said i don't follow my GM therefore He can't help me.

    HpS - ASA -   AGTSP   pamho... Wow!  Sounds like something out of a Stephen King novel or something.  At this point you deserve to do whatever you want to do (within a little reason. :o))  and think that Krsna is completely happy with you.

At that time the devotees started to spread that i'm a fallen demon and not so good to associate me. I wanted to do sankirtana but it wasn't allow me also. Due to my bad japa i failed this test and became weaker day by day and i felt this is the end of my spiritual life. Everybody rejected me. I prayed to Lord Nrsmhadeva everyday but gave up chanting for a while.

I saw to be karmi also not so easy. Krsna showed me this world is very dangerous and without chanting we can become crazy.  So i started to chant again and i decided i don't mind what others think.  I was convinced i do everything for myself i have to get square with Krsna and no one else so i didn't deal with what others talked about me.
In the meantime i started to associate my husband an we got married and my spiritual master left the movement but this is a very long story...

This period of my life was very heavy but I learnt from this case so many things.
1. Without good japa we cant make progress
Nowadays i want to cry when i chant inattentively and i feel this is just waste of time and energy!
2. It's my road and mine alone. Others may walk it with me but no one can walk it for me! I found this sentence in the internet but it mirrors my realization.
3. Spiritual master is very important but we need an uttama adhikari. I'm on kanistha level and i can't see others level but have to cry and pray to Srila Prabhupada and Krisna and if i cry sincerely Krisna will send me a Guru who helps me to reach Krsna prema.
I cried a lot in Mayapur and finally met You. And without your help i would be crazy already.
So thats my story, Maharaja. I pray to Krsna everyday for being able to attach to my sadhana but You can see i'm just a fallen. You wrote me so many times it's not necessary to get reinitiation and now i don' t know what i want. Sometimes i want to get initiation sometimes not. I'm sure i still need time. I have to understand things deeply.

About my yatra:
In one word the situation is chaos. There are big fight for the positions and money, so much politics but there are no harinama, no university preaching, no intensive book distribution just money collecting because the church has financial problems at the moment.

My situation: Nowadays i don't have too much time but i distribute books once a week, just 2-3 hours. I can give 4-5 big and mahabooks for the people. My plan is to distribute minimum 7 books (altogether one per day). I know it's not too much and i hope i can offer more service in the future.
If i meet interesting people i preach them in person or by e-mail so i keep in touch with them.

My sankirtana inside of the community: I 'm in the background i don't like to be in the center and there are lot of directors here they can help to the devotees.
I just set an example to the matajis and try to serve everybody. There are matajis in the ashram who usually get up at 7 am. The prevoius mataji leader taught to them they have to take rest enough. That's why if they attend Mangala arti after 2 yawns they go back to the sleepingbag. I just tell them stories about the spiritual power what they will get if stay in the temple room and chant their rounds early. They are grateful for the stories and if they have problem with sankirtana i try to help them also and give them useful guidance what i also got from somebody else in my past.

These are not so big things but until this management supervises the yatra we can't do big things. Due to this situtation there are devotees who want to open a new center in the city and the old devotees lost their faith in the process. Painful to see it but the solution is the Holy Name and Krsna katha. I'm sure we get what we deserve and all of us have to learn from this situation.
I just pray to Krsna for giving to the yatra what is the best for the devotees progress.
I feel myself badly when i write negative news to You because Your attitude is always so kind and positive.
This blog is very useful. Thanks for the answers, guidance and advices what You write to me and others because i can learn from it so much.

I hope we can meet in person next year. My plan is to go to Radhadesh in February and to Spain in May. I hope i will have enough money.
Thank you very much for your association, dear Maharaja and sorry for the complain and the long letter.

Your insignificant servant, Sri Radhe devi dasi

              HpS - ASA - Jaya!   AGTSP....  Please continue just as you are doing.  You seem to be a Saint amongst people.   If we belong to a healthy spiritual institution and have a nice Madhyama adhikari Guru who is helping us relate to the Uttama adhikari Acharya we go on. But if the institution is in chaos and the Madhyama adhikari guru falls down, there is just no choice, we still have to go on.  That's a quote from Srila Prabhupada's Godbrothre Sridhara Swami, but seems 100% Srila Prabhupada also.  Also his life.  We lived through such stuff in Berkeley Temple also.  Ooof.  We learned: If you chant 16 nice rounds a day and follow the four principles strictly and keep a full morning and evening program ans see that everyone under your authoroity does the same thing you will have NO PROBLEMS.   That is a quote from Srila Prabhupada to Nava yogendra Swami that we heard from NYS and we took it to heart like 20 years ago and it is a fact!
Srila Prabhupada is building heros and heroines who can live through

            <<<<Anything>>> ...

Hare Krishna Gurudeva

pamho

Tg p SP

 Con respecto a mi sadhana

Ahora estoy haciendo rehabilitación por mis problemas de espalda y una pierna (ciática)

Mi sadhana es muy mejorable pero canto 16 rondas 3 gayatris  4 principios lectura, clases  un arati  prasadan aprender mantras, aprender informática para uso de la propagación de la Conciencia de Krishna 

Me levanto entre las 5 y 6 am y después de ducha y aseo

Samsara  Tulasi puja y Gayatri luego sigo con las rondas acabo con Gurú puja y lectura del Sri Caitania C. durante el día las obligaciones y si puedo clases de Srila Prabhupada mientras cocino

A las tarde 7:30 Sundara Arati rondas si me ha faltado alguna y Gayatri

Sábado la mañana escuela de ingles y tarde la familia compras visitas o arreglos varios en la casa

servicio en el templo los domingo:

cocina limpieza vestir a Srila Prabhupada, preparo informe para intentar poner en funcionamiento la central eléctrica de la NVM temas forestales etc. y

cuidar la familia dos hijas una de seis años, y fuerte presión emocional con la esposa y de momento no puedo con mas,

los temas más delicados espero tratarlos con UD. Cuando venga o no en publico

esperando   tener su asociación personal pronto

su inútil sirviente

murari dasa

            ASA - HpS   - Jaya!    TlgaSP  Pfarnh.  Muy muy bien.   Si, podemos hablar de cosas individualmente, pero, claro solamente tengo una cabeza.  ha Ha Ha!!!  El Senor Brahma solamente tiene cuatro.  Realmente la ayuda es de Krsna en forma de Superalma, libros, personas empoderado hablar con nostros. inspriacin en la corazon.          De otro manera pienso 20-personas (esposas y esposos) va sentir gran, GRAN, G  R A N, alevio leer que hay otros quienes tiene fuerte presion con su pareja emotionant.  "No soy la unica sufriendo de eso en el mundo!".   Y entonces es algo tenemos que confrontar juntos, no islado!!!   Al infierno con todo la progoganda de los demonios que Romeo y Julieta es al meta de la vida.

Si ambos, esposo y esposa no tiene relacion fuerte, emocionante con su amante, Krsna, va a buscar en la matrimono y eso es estupido, esperando que mis munecas va a realmente comer mi ofrenda de dulces a ellos!

AGTSP !

Please accept our humble obeisances

Dear Maharaj

You are right !  we also noted the Siksastaka link has indeed a very spanish-flamenco flavor !.  Possibly that`s why we liked it,  some comments on the link point to Atmarama das, we`ve seen him play and it`s quite possible although now he performs in a much mellow mood, very sattva.  If it`s him performing then it must be very old recording from his youth.   You once mentioned Visnujana prabhu`s cousin's reaction to your flute and we forgot to mention that our first kirtan tape many years ago was indeed a Visnujana kirtan tape. We still have it.   How much this recordings helps us in setting the proper mood at home.   Maharaja we are in Montreal, Quebec - Canada. 

        ASA - AGTSP   paoho.  Monte Real  (Giri-raja! Govardhana!)

Next tuesday we`re going to the asrama for some days, really need it., a break from city and kaliyuga that`s reigning around, even in our neighbors.   Maharaja today the temple`s secretary asked us for your e-mail to send an invitation.  We just mentioned you and that was it. You are very much loved around here,  jaya !     *this is the version of the Jagannastakam we`re using to learn the proper pronunciation and mood  http://youtu.be/D_c6cX0-KZQ 

your most unqualified servant

Raul GC

               HpS - ASA -  Jaya!   AGTSP   paoho... 3.04PM  here in P'pada Ashrama.  The Kapi Dh.   Sent a lot of news yesterday.    Our eyestrain is getting rather sever with the computer so we should reduce use, but is so nice for your news.  We have saved the Jag. Astakam link and hope others use it.  We bought a huge JA  blow up for the Temple in Peru, Miraflores and at least one devotee has memorized the JA from that.  LIttle by little we build our ISKCON cultural traditions and pass then on fromm generation to generation.  Best traditions are oral!!

All glories to Sri Sri Gouranga Nityananda
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to Sri hanumatpresaka Swami<o:p></o:p>

Please accept my most humble obeisances<o:p></o:p>

Hare Krsna Guru Maharaja, I hope that every day are you getting healthier and stronger every day. My name is Ignacio González and I`m writing to make a report of my personal issues. I haven´t write to you in a long period of time. <o:p></o:p>

I have been on charge of the programs here in Viña del mar, so with the devotees we have been discussing a lot in the view of ISKCON and what we want to do. We have settle that preaching for us means education therefore we have trying to educate ourselves. In this matter we have been discussing about the guru-parampara and the roots of knowledge. But in secret, I have been working with the idea of the session of the new “bhakti sadacara” so we can have a feedback of some students.<o:p></o:p>

I have been chanting 16 rounds every day, and following only 3 principles. But, just for 2 weeks ,I have been following the 4º principle. The good thing is that I have realized that it just me that doesn´t follow them. It`s not so smart, but is big because I have been putting the all responsibility in myself so I can changed now.<o:p></o:p>

Trying to serve you<o:p></o:p>

Ignacio

            HpS - ASA ---  Jaya!   Krsna never suggests anything impractical.      It is only because our society is so un-natural, impractical, that we don't follow the four principles.  It is natural for human being to hear the Vedas from Socrates or Confucious or Jesus or Mohamad or Lord Caitanya and then follow them.
             Girls have their lives, boys have their lives. 90% of the time it is physically separate with their friends and same gender family, but emotionally and spiritually    <VERY VERY CLOSE>     and fully satisfying.    Tobacco is for bruises, not to smoke,   animals are to love and befriend, not murder.....

...  as we take the austerity to chant all of this becomes very natural!!!

All glories to Sri Sri Gouranga Nityananda
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to Sri Hanumatpresaka Swami

    ASA - Hmmf!  Muy pocos glorias a HpSwami. Pero esforzando mejorar.

Please accept my most humble obeisance<o:p></o:p>

Hare Krsna Guru Maharaja, I hope that you are getting healthier and stronger every day. My name is Ignacio González and I`m writing in name of your disciples from Valparaiso.

  ASA - Ignacio.  We remember you and I think you aprtment also!

We have been successfully organized two seminars about Phaedo. We will make presentations of this topic at university (1) Santa Maria (November 14) and in the (2) music conservatory of Viña del Mar (November 13)<o:p></o:p>

1.       The first presentation is very interesting because it will be part of the course dictated by Juan Ayala (the professor with who we organized Hamlet – Arjuna last year) for students called “Introduction to Art” and will be qualified like a complementary topic therefore we will have a big concurrence of students (150) and teachers. The presentation will be masterly and a systematic class, so is exclusively for students and teacher of Sta. Maria, so only you and seven more of our people will be able to get in the conference. The idea of Juan Ayala about the class, is an analysis about the soul, from the Plato`s perspective and the BG also. <o:p></o:p>

In this occasion, like last year, they want to make you an interview. For that we will have to arrive at 15:00 to the university and the class will be at 17:00.<o:p></o:p>

This presentation is an opportunity to create a closer relationship between NIOS and Sta. Maria, Carlos and I was projecting that maybe we could build a relation like the one you have with Ricardo Palma University. But that is for later…<o:p></o:p>

2.       At the music conservatory of Viña del Mar, we thought that it will be a good idea to make the same presentation but now for an open public. In this presentation we will have a music presentation, thanks to Lalita Madhava dasa, and prasadam with a beautiful presentation like last year.  The room is for 130 people so it´s a good space. <o:p></o:p>

All of these are thanks to Sripati, Vanamali and Carlos, because they have put a lot of effort to make all of this happen. Maybe this year we can say that we have been working as a team.<o:p></o:p>

Your lousy servent<o:p></o:p>

Ignacio

ASA - Esteemed Lousy Servant and Lot of Effort Servants.
      Paoho..    AGTSP  He has probably been working on this harder than anyone.    The Phaedo program in San Marcos was a BIG success. We have and excellent booklet in Spanish of the Programs and when we get to Chile you can make photo copies for distribution if you like.  We can refine the program.
The Dean loved it. The Professors loved it and the hall was full of Students.  The Professors were amazed at how sincere they were to understand these things.

What is the rest of the Calendar for our ASA stay in the great nation of Chile?

Yes, if we can distribute books and make friends to discuss philosphy based on BG and SB and Caitanya-caritamrta what more do we want.  There will be a rapid and profound change in peoples consciousness!

See you in a moment!