Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna, dear Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

HpS/ASA - Gurudeva, Ki Jaya!!

My family (Tarangaksi dd, Devahuti) and I are grateful to Krishna for having your association online. We truly appreciate reading and staying connected through your messages on the anveSaka WhatsApp group. They've been especially helpful for us (particularly for me living in Finland), and we are thankful for the effort, energy, and time you put into it.

HpS/ASA 👦 🐵 🐖 We are very enlivened by your association and hope it develops more and more into association with you all and everyone on the completely spiritual platform!

What are people in Finland like? Do they all have big beards and drive sleds with reindeer?

It has been almost 10 months since I moved to this northern country. It has been tremendously hard, perhaps the hardest experience in this life so far. Even though the city I live in is relatively warmer than others, 2 things disturb the mind the most: the dark winters (with little or no sunlight) and the isolation (as Finnish people often build homes in the middle of forests🌲).

ASA - The Sun is as incarnation of Aniruddha and Aniruddha is the predominating deity of the mind. ... Therefore, it is impossible to keep good mental health without sufficient sunlight!

(Of course, KRSNA is the divine Sun!) 🌞

Multiple times, the mind felt so disturbed, caught in lamentation and ignorance. Yet, by Krishna’s mercy, we have good friends here, and a Buddhist sangha became our refuge, too.

Now, I realize that solitude is a great opportunity for introspection—the chance to look deeper within ourselves and better understand who we are.

When you are 'alone', you can hear the mind louder (and you can easily go crazy😅), but you can also engage with your inner wisdom and discover the incredible strength that lies within. Ultimately, I believe all this comes from Krishna (Paramatma?).

ASA - https://vedabase.io/en/library/bs/5/38/

Now, I'm reaching the end of the 1st year of my master’s program. My conclusion is that the program has given me a broad perspective on how education systems function around the world, particularly how international organizations (e.g. United Nations, OECD, World Bank, etc) manage global education agendas through a sort of 'soft power' that encourages countries to align with them. To sum up, we learnt how this material world works and how conditioned we are by it. For the 2nd year, I must complete both an internship and a thesis.

I'm eager to write my thesis as an offering to You and Srila Prabhupada. By the mercy and help of Maha Lakshmi mataji (from Spain), I was able to connect with Sri Mayapur International School. Since the school follows the Cambridge curriculum, I'd like to write a thesis on how the school keeps a 'balance' between what this global curriculum expects/demands, and the values, principles, and knowledge from our Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. For that, I intend to intern as a teacher at the school for a full year, which means moving to Mayapur. Therefore, if You consider this a favorable plan, Gurudeva, and I could be useful to the Mayapur community, and ultimately to ISKCON, I humbly beg for your permission and blessings to move to Mayapur and carry out this seva.

HpS - Sounds fine. Of course, this is the material world, so there will be problems in Mayapura too, but the more we become devotees, we see that all these problems are great. Purifying our relation with the looney bin! 😬

Thank you so much for reading this letter🙏

Trying to be your disciple,

Rukmini Devi Dasi

HpS - Did we mention Bhadra rupa Das to you? He is from Peru. He has gone through a very similar route as you.

Studied in Japan, then Finland or Sweden??? Then did his Doctorate in Switzerland, and is now on the United Nations promoting music education as essential for world peace and getting an audience.

We think he is doing like Bhakti vaibhava with Yadunandana Swami.

We will send a link to this post to him.

Thank you!

Do you feel Srila Prabhupada thanking you!!!?

Hare Krsna, Gurudeva,

PAmho, agtSP

HpS/ASA - AgtSP. Paoho!!!

In node 15383 you wrote -"Start with the general principle of Hayagriva Avatar"

This is what we found about

Hayagriva appeared to restore the sacred Vedas, which had been stolen by two demons, Madhu and Kaitabha. He descended to retrieve the Vedas and restore order. This avatar symbolizes the triumph of knowledge and wisdom over ignorance and evil. Hayagriva is often revered as the deity of knowledge and learning, and his story emphasizes the importance of preserving sacred texts and wisdom.

The principle of Hayagriva Avatar, seems to be very Brahminical , its not about propagation of knowledge, but rather preservation/restoration of knowledge.

If we follow this principle does it mean we are to be a scholar and write books?

HpS - We don't know. We hope that the names we give are on behalf of Srila Prabhupada, Krsna.

One general principle is that when there is trouble Krsna incarnates in a suitable form to help his devotees, people, even if He has to take the head of a horse!

That could definitely be a Sankirtan attitude.

If Vedic knowledge has been lost to public, village, global village drama, puppet shows, then Hayagriva Das will help His master take the head of horse, or CPU, screen name and incarnate to spead Vedic knowledge even in popular media.

Now it 🌄 sun is at 4.33PM, Sunday. We will head to the Temple and be available for people to talk!

Then, at 5.30PM is Arati, Kirtan, then... Class, then we can stay for a little longer in the adjacent hall to get/give a little association.

Thank you!!

Best wishes for your Sankirtan, finding Sankirtan partners in ISKCON.

regards,

Das of Hayagriva Avatar

Hare Krsna Gurudeva,

Please find interesting Link

Biograhies - Index

https://www.sushmajee.com/biographies/index-bio.htm

ASA - 🐵 🐷 🔭 Again!!! Hare Krsna!!! Thank you!!!!

Hare Krsna Maharaj ,

pamHo, agtSP,

The word enthusiasm originates from the Greek ἐνθουσιασμός from ἐν (en, “in”) and θεός (theós, “god”), meaning "inspired or possessed by [a] god".

ASA - Thank you!!! Socrates was a very religious guy, no???

Hare Krsna Maharaj, PAmHO, agtSP,

Thank you consistent classes on Sunday.

We were thinking we are uttering and not chanting.

Secondly we could see our attention is less when we are uttering.

We talk to people/we give classes, we are more attentive because their is response.

When we write, Diary or journal, still there seems some reciprocation

While watching YouTube, there seems to be reciprocation.

How can we experience reciprocation during chanting?

Trying to serve

Das of Hayagriva Avatar

HpS/ASA - Thank you!

Krsna says in BG chapter 10, yajyanam japa yajno smi, among sacrifices I am Japa.

so seems it is not easy to do, but has really great result, no?

NoI 7 & 8 talk about the stages of development, no? In Text 7 it just talks about how we get liberated by chanting.

Maybe I don't experience a personal reciprocation, but I get liberated. Teaching geometry to students or watching grand masters playing chess on YouTube may distract us, but we should be getting a deeper liberation from chanting.

Then 7 & 8 say we start to get a regular taste, which we can develop in Raganuga bhakti.

When we are on the platform of Raganuga bhakti we are goswamis: jitatmanam prasantasy, paramatma samahitam.

Then we are getting inspiration from the supersoul whom to talk to, which things to read, how to chant.

Usually it is coming from external sources, but the paramatma is telling us, I sent this person, I'm leading you to read this dialog in the CC.

Of course, the only taste is personal relations. Either with Krsna Himself or things or people eternally, connected to Him.

So, maybe we get a spark of that sometimes. We read in the sastra it will develop. We hear from devotees. So we go on. It is mentioned in Text 8, '.... srila bhakti siddhanta recommends'.

Satsvarupa Goswami asked Srila Prabhupada: how to chant better rounds, and he said that Srila Prabhupada looked at him with a stern gaze and said, "By chanting better rounds".

So, sometimes we know what we should do eg. Chant in the morning. Chant on beads and kirtan, with deities, associate with devetees etc. etc. Yet, there is no substitute for Bhakti, Sraddha. Sometimes is not technique, it is just a fact that we have to do our part and apply everything!! 👍

Hare Krsna Gurudeva, pamho agtSP.

As, there are tricks to play Mrdnga.

What are the tricks to play Brhad Mrdnga?

HpS/ASA - Prabhupada calls them spiritual though material tricks.

For example, if you ask a question in such a way that the answer is naturally yes, eg. "you like to eat grass, right", then keep your mouth shut and smile and nod your head up and down, there is tremendous pressure for the other person to answer yes.

Of course you ask, "So you'd like to take a book, right".

Then if it takes one, two minutes, you don't say anything. You just keep the "iron smile" on your face and keep nodding your head up and down encouragingly.

There are others.

They are just regular stuff that salesmen use.

Devotees can learn some. They become habit, but the real book distribution potency is purity of purpose eg. compassion, realization by intelligent deliberation and personal austerity that these books will benefit the person!!

Thank you.

Hope you become a Sankirtan man on the level of Narada Muni.

"Every salesman develops his own technique", SP.