Letters to the editor

Hare Krsna!!

Dear Gurudeva,
Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada,

Many wonderful things are going on here in Mar del Plata. We feel like the pracetas being blessed by the lord because of their friendly relations to serve him (SB 4.30.8).

I would like to tell you about the preaching perspective for Mar del Plataour local yatra. The vision is developing the Sankirtan movement in the city and the 4^th wave varnaasram dharma based in cow protection and brahminical culture in the rural area. For our project in the city we have rented a real loft 8 time bigger than the present one (which is not a loft but a house) in downtown mar delplata, amazing location. There we are going to install beautiful and big neem gaura nitai deities and also SP murti (later we will take him to our rural community). We are going to have bramachari ashram, Sunday school for children, literary coffee, temple room, small conference place and a professional kitchen to deliver lots of prasadam.

Programs to be held there are going to be morning program, Sunday feast, vasinava feasts, SP`s night, reading club (devotees gather every Wednesday to read the small SP books), Bhaktas course held by mahajan das prabhu, krsna deli (prasadam distribution), yoga club (hatha yoga lessons with different teachers), dojo of judo (oriented in the philosophy), and all of SP`s book accessible in the literary coffee. The place is huge, we are going to be able to hold our interfaith meetings there (the place is even bigger than the hotel where we did it last time). The price for the location is half of the one for the present loft with 3 months free to fix the place to our needs.

On the other hand, we have aquired 5 has of land in a beautiful place 30 min outside mar del plata, with small hills sorroundings. The project is called Sri Govardhan “Tierra de Krishna”, there the isthadevas are going to be Sri Sri Radhika Giridhari (who has been installed a few months ago and are know being cared by prabhu mahajan das and his good wife Kamyavana devi dasi), there we are going to build a temple for the presiding deities, bramachari ashram (bramacharis are now in brasil collecting for this purpose), goshala, natural health center, elder devotees house (I will be personally in charge of this 2 areas), matajis house, conference center, school (paramatma level), 7 condos for rent and bungalows for guests and 15 plots for grhastas. We are in the process of presenting the project to the local government in order to be approved, after that we are going to convert the land in what we call here “propiedad horizontal” which will be like an apartment building where one can buy his apartment and you share the common places like temple, gurukula, etc. Many of us had committed to this project for the rest of our lifes. We are going to sell 13 plots of land to finance the main develop of the land.

Once you asked me what you can do to help this project so I humbly request you consider please this proposal. You can establish here for the time you consider convenient to develop an education program for bhaktishastri and bhaktivaibhava, similar to the one HH Dhanvantari maharaj has in northern brasil.

Noticing your present condition, having health challenges due to excessive travelling, and your willingness to improve and set a higher standard for education within ISKCON, maybe is a good idea you settle for a while in a place and work to develop an education program. We can work together with NIOS to establish nice facilities, classrooms, first class internet connexion to broadcast lectures and make Sri Govardhan a pilgrimage place where devotees mostly from latin America can come to study sastra the way you want to establish it.

I see this as a very nice opportunity, we have the land, very good relations with local government, good relations with main religious groups, we have a good leader, community is growing nicely, politics free, we have a radio show for more than one year from now and having perspectives to start a tv show which will bring many sources of funding.

Of course this is the shallow vision of a conditioned soul like me so if you think this idea is nonsense I apologize for that, but if your good intelligence consider it could be possible I will be more than happy to cooperate for this come to reality.

Thank you gurudeva for your constant inspiration. My desire is only to serve you. I Hope your health is improving.

Aspiring to become your servant.

Bhakta Nicasio.

HpS - ASA -  Wow!    AGTSP   paoho.        Wow!   You must a Congregation of 5,000 devotees and 50-full time people living the Ashrama to be focusing on so many programs.  Is it a fact?      How many devotees living in the Ashrama!

Hare Krsna!!

Dear Gurudeva,
Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada,

Here we are in the solitude of our ashram, waiting for joining the japa joe meeting. Here is 4.20 amI guess is now 040 am in san Franciscoso 50 min to go.

This time I will appeal to your causeless mercy and I will take some of your precious time to write a long letter.

I can feel so strong your mercy upon me, this particular present moment I,m living has taught me so much, I can sense the hand of krsna behind this situation, so many realizations. Main one is I can see in which platform I am which is my level of kc, now I understand when you say “different people in different levels”. I can see some of my anarthas so clearly. And I accept them, I face them and i.m sure krsna loves me anyway.  that`s why he sent me his pure devotee, to heal me, help me in my way towards him. Today i have read this purport from SB 4.29.55 “…One cannot give up this abominable association through one's own effort, but if one takes shelter of a bona fide spiritual master who is a paramahamsa, he will gradually be elevated to the platform of spiritual life…”  This brought me so much relief, cause is obvious I can do nothing by myself. Today I can say I really accept in which platform I am and from there I establish my relationship with you and with krsna. Today most important to me is to please you and Srila Pabhupada according to my present abilities and capacity being patient and having full faith that gradually following the process everything will come and as you say “ you will get to the uttama adhikari level”

Your instructions are so clear, I understand what do I have to do, I can see more and more that everything we need to know is in SP`s book, we only have to read them and study them. Please gurudeva give me your blessings to study SP`s books in deep.

My present standard is 16 rounds every day and 4 principles.

With this I myself have a big conflict. It is pretty clear to me that the standard that SP and you propose regarding sex for initiated disciples is only after garbhadana samskara, and also is clear that no one can enter in to the spiritual sky without being celibate. But the other day I listened to a lecture by HH Hridayananda das Goswami and he was saying that SP when he speaks about illicit sex he makes a distinction between illicit sex and sex outside marriage, he was saying that for this principle SP established a top line which is only sex after garbhadana samskara and a bottom line which is only sex with one`s wife in a regulated fashion. He was puting the example of an obese person  that in order to cure that person you don’t make him fast until he is ok but you prescribe him a regulated diet, so the same, marriage is a regulated way to cure oneself from the bondage of sex desire.

So personally at the present moment I can reach only the bottom line of this principle, more would be artificial and dangerous. So beloved gurudeva I  humbly pray for your mercy in order to one day overcome this attachment and reach to the highest standard and become a pure instrument in your hands, poison free.

Regarding my relation with my wife, gradually things are going back to its place, I think is a matter of time only for reconciliation, i`m doing my best, the result is up to Krsna.

Medical studies go ok, lately little bit slower but we are very enthusiastic about profounding our ayurvedic studies. I made an agreement with a very good ayurvedic doctor from south India, udupi, Dr Shivkumar Sharma, to make an argentinian ayurvedic pharmacopoeia according to a book called dravya guna vijaña which describes the 20 atributes of every substance in order to mesure its effect in the body, so the idea is to find the argentinian plants equivalent to those in India described in this texts. I feel very comfortable as an ayurvedic doctor, I have more than 650 patients and like 10 of them are regular members of our congregation, so for me I see it as a nice way to preach KC.

My present service in our yatra is to be the treasurer and collect donations and funding for our projects (described in other letter). Due to my pasionate tendency I used to put lot in my shoulders and I was involved in so many services, but nicely devotees seeing my present condition and noticing that it was too much for myself they released me from many of them and gave me this specific service ( I feel like following in your footsteps).

So gurudeva the conclusion is that I feel very happy to be part of this wonderful ISKCON family being guided by our captain Srila Prabhupada and his beloved sons.

Hoping that one day I can render some service to you.

Aspiring to become you servant.

Bhakta temporary bachelor.

HpS - AGTSP      paoho       The real solution is to hear and chant Bhagavata Katha, (Holy Names, SB etc) as well and as often as possible. Then we will live naturally in the material world.     Srila Prabhupada is so , so clear, for initiated devotee we must follow four principles strictly, other adjustments are to bring us to that point.  As much as we are progressive our suffering from stupid activities will be minimal, but if we are trying to take advantage of the situation to indulge in nescient sex, drugs, rock and roll, then we will suffer and maybe slip completely. It seems you know this pretty well.

Of course, so many older disciples of Srila Prabhupada have become lax in these principles and tried to enjoy loosely talking with opposite sex, but so often then it goes to gross fall down and suffering and miserly humiliation beyond human imagination.

So, be progressive.

Todas las Glorias a Sri sri Caitanya y Nityananda!!

Todas Gloria a Srila Prabhupada!

Porfavor acepte mis humildes reverencias a Ud.....

(16r, 4p)

Hare Krsna querido Gurudev, espero Ud se encuentre bien en todos los aspectos, y Su salud tambien.

Bueno escribo para contarle noticias del sankirtna por estos lados, ya no salgo sola a distribuir libros, Krsna a enviado un equipo para salir a las calles, estoy saliendo con mis compañeras de ashram, Veronica, Fresia y madre Anadi, estoy muy contenta por eso, nos damos fuerzas mutuamente. Hay más devotos que se van inspirando a distribuir libros en la congregación.

Además han continuado realizandose los festivales de sankirtan que le hablé, cada sábado por medio, el pasado sábado 21 de julio, tuvimos la compañía trascendental de Maharaja BhaktiBusana S. que nos acompañó al programa, y fueron muchos devotos estaban muy entusiastas todos, se distribuyeron 259 libros pequeños y 4 Bhagavad Gitas gracias a Sus bendiciones y  la particxipación de tantos devotos. 

Bueno aqui le enviaré algunas fotos, de los ultimos eventos. Gracias Guru Maharaja por ser siempre tan Comprensivo y Misericordioso conmigo, por tomarse la molestia quizas de responder las cartas que le envío, a pesar de su ocupada agenda, Gracias infinitas por todo,. 

Sin más que decir se despide su aspirante a discipula y sirvienta, Bhaktin Fernanda,

HpS - ASA  -   !!! ! ! !      !                        !              tlgaSp.    Calle es su casa si distribuir es su esfuerza!                COnvertiendo la gente que enceutran en sankirtaneros.                Por favor mucha animacion por sus esuferzas.  Adelante!        Hay moo, moo, mooochas mas cosas aprender.....     Moochas.  Ensenas inconsebibles en relacion de nuestra cultural actual.

Todas las Glorias a Srila Prabhupada

Querido Gurudeva

Por favor acepte mis más respetuosas reverencias

Hare Krishna! Aquí Bhakta Rodrigo Hernández de Chile. Por la Gracia de Krishna estamos fijos: 16 Rondas diarias y 4 principios.

Mi servicio devocional: Junto a devotos y devotas estamos trabajando en la nueva página web de IKSCON Chile. La meta es tener lista la página Web para Janmastami.

También este año pensamos hacer la segunda versión del Concurso de Poesía Devocional. El año pasado fue la primera vez, muy buena experiencia. Claro, esto fue una instrucción de usted para mí.

Si todo sale bien, para noviembre queremos hacer la premiación del Concurso. Queremos hacer la premiación con Usted!

Esperamos poder ayudar en algo a Prabhu Jagat Guru para organizar conferencias de Usted en Santiago para noviembre.

Este último tiempo he estado muy bien. Sintiendo más fuerza para avanzar espiritualmente. Pienso que es misericordia de Usted, por todas las bendiciones que usted me ha dado. Un poco más de vida espiritual y un poco menos de maya en mi vida.

Hace 10 días trabajamos full time para hacer postulación de poeta amigo (Ludwig Zeller, 85 años, nacido en Chile, pero viviendo hace 40 años en el extranjero) al Premio Nacional de Literatura de Chile.

Ludwig Zeller es surrealista muy importante en el mundo, pero en Chile No muy conocido. ("Nadie es profeta en su tierra").

Ahora estoy trabajando en mis poemas para postular a dos importantes concursos de poesía en Chile.

Estoy leyendo "Néctar de la Devoción", muy muy profundo: La Ciencia del Bhakti.

Una vez terminado "Néctar de la Devoción" empezaremos a leer "Caitanya Caritmrita" por instrucción de Usted.

Hace 10 días tuve la misericordia de poder entrevistar a Maharaja Bhaktibhusana Swami para mi libro de entrevistas. Fue una entrevista maravillosa.

El libro se va a llamar "Conversaciones con grandes almas". El año pasado pude entrevistar a Usted para este libro. En esa oportunidad usted me dijo súbtítulo del libro: "Encuentros con personas Bhagavata". ¿Se acuerda?

Bueno, Querido Gurudeva este es mi reporte. Antes de despedirme le envío dibujo que un amigo hizo. Es un "retrato" mío. El dibujo se llama "Poeta surrealista bipolar".

A sus pies de Loto,

Su aspirante sirviente

Bhakta Rodrigo Hernández Piceros

HpS -  Hmmm!    TlgaSP.....  Estamos super debil.  Casi no podemos escribir. pero muy bien oir de Vd.      Pienso no hay mas gran surrealista que Senor Caitanya y Nityananda.  Puede ser fuetes de trabajo para Vd. como poeto...

Hare Krishna Gurumaharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thank you for your reply. What i'm up to, after quite a long period of unemployment i started working in the facility department of a bank a two weeks ago. It's a capitalist walhalla, and i try not to associate too much with the people there but be a devotee, so i strive to work by myself as much as possible, listening katha and kirtans on the faithful ipod, my lifeline.

Besides that, still serving Radhadesh congregation dept by helping to publish the bi-monthly magazine for Benelux with translating, editing and content. Now that salary is coming in again i can decide on some course to take to be more equiped in making future livelyhood in the field of publishing. That is my wish and it seems feasible. 

Also, still busy with final paper necessary for the paperwork for residence permit for M. Hope to submit in August. Time consuming! Need time to adjust anyway: old life is over, new life is here. Last but not least is that a brahmacari offered us to use his house while he's serving in Gadeigiri. His desire is to do that for five years. We were happy to receive that offer, and are curious to see how things will work out. That's all things major going on. Perhaps there's something here that pleases you. 

An aspiring servant,

Richard van Dijck

HpS - ASA   - AGTSP    paoho.   We are sick, weak near death, but that's O.K. because we are immortal and after leaving this body we will get a better one for playing with Gopal, maybe.           If you're trying to make money then try to make money for Krsna.

   Then all of your work is devotional service.

Dear Hanumatpresaka Swami,

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

Thanks for your answer and detailed purport.
You showed me the main point in this theme (temporary insanity but then api cet su-duracaro) so i have to put things in order in my mind and try to be Krsna conscious and not fault conscious.
When i wrote i miss personal instructions i didn't think about this subject but how can i serve You better and how can i make You satisfied. But maybe it's too early, first i have to prove i'm able to follow You. I'm in big rajas and always want everything immediately :(
Please forgive my offences!

Thank you for your help and compassion.

Your useless servant,
Sri Radhe devi dasi

HpS - ASA - Jaya!    AGTSP.      It's nice when you hear people repeating what you preach it helps you organize your own life.          I am confused, not with any individual so much, right now, but rather my Project Tasks.   We have this projects, this project, this project.              If we are going to do Sankirtan then we have enter into Time and Space for the most part.  Enter the mode of Passion.  Yet, how much of that is our contamination rather than compassion.

We want to destroy overything, but we have to "get into good things consciousness, rather than fault consciousness".        Today, especially, it is Balarama purnima, Happy New Year for our Guru's Guru, so we have to make big reviews and changes.    Thank you.
I guess the way to "please us" is to read the Kapi Dhvaja and then participate in thei Blog!