Letters to the editor

VYASAPUJA OFFERING

2023

With great humility we offer our obeisance at the lotus feet of His Divine Grace Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Prabhupada, author of the book, KRSNA, The Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Srila Prabhupada, you have given us the Holy Names of the Panca-tattva, and Smt. Radharani, Krsna and Lord Balarama.

You have given us Dvaraka and Krsna's pastimes with Vasudeva and Devaki and all the Dvaraka-vasis.

You have given us the worship and friendship of Lord Nrsmha deva in thick-and-thin.

The list goes on without limit.

What have we given to you?

It seems mostly whole bunch of petty, greedy, selfish desires.

Oooof!

It is just amazing that we can look at your transcendental Murti and feel some presence of you there looking back at us.

You're concern for your disciples new and old is very personal. It is not just black or white. You are upset with their offenses and appreciative of their little efforts in so many detailed ways.

We feel like dogs.

Mostly we are just driven to serve in your Iskcon by the modes of material nature.

What could be more fun, freeing from fear etc than to belong to your ISKCON?

Yet, like a dog, when put into the mode of goodness by the arrangement of his master, he can sometimes actually make a little personal, conscious effort to do some real causeless service.

Thank you, again and again.

Thanks to all your disciples and well wishers.

By your divine grace we will continue to try to do something for your Sankirtan efforts to illuminate Radha Krsna and transcendental world, and hope to be a part of your Sankirtan party life after life.

Hanumat-presaka Swami

Todas las glorias a nuestro Fundador Acarya A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda! 

Querido Gurumaharaja

Por favor acepte nuestras respetuosas reverencias. 

Orando y agradeciendo al Señor Nrisimhadeva para que siempre proteja su energía consagrada al sankirtana eterno de Śrīla Prabhupāda y porsupuesto para que proteja mi contaminado corazón de nuestro enemigo más grande: la lujuria.

Prontamente se celebrará Janmastami, por la bendición de Śrīla Prabhupāda desde el corazón purificado podemos saber que existe una atmósfera de paz y prosperidad en todas partes y en todas las direcciones pero quizás nuestros ojos materiales no pueden ver, sin embargo las estrellan brillarán en su máximo esplendor por el nacimiento del Señor Krishna.

Estamos leyendo los libros de Śrīla Prabhupāda y escuchando algunas clases regularmente, tenemos algunas preguntas.

De acuerdo a Srila Jiva Goswami el paribhasa sutra del Srimad Bhagavatam es el 1.3.28 , nos gustaría saber por favor si es correcto que el paribhasa sutra del BG es el 18.65 ? 

Atma Tattva 

•BG. 2.24

El alma está en todas partes y es inmóvil..

Cómo entendemos está aparente contradicción? 

También queremos aprovechar la oportunidad para solicitar por favor su ofrenda para el Vyasapuja 2023 de Śrīla Prabhupāda para poder leer en el templo.

Muchas gracias por su misericordiosa atención.

Disculpe por favor nuestras ofensas. 

Vuestra eterna aspirante a sirviente

Asta Sakhi dd

Prabhu Manash Ranjan le ofrece sus respetuosas reverencias. 

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All glories to our Founder Acarya A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda!

Dear Gurumaharaja

Please accept our respectful obeisances.

Praying and thanking Lord Nrisimhadeva to always protect his energy consecrated to Śrīla Prabhupāda's eternal sankirtana and of course to protect my polluted heart from our greatest enemy: lust.

HpS/ASA - AgtSP. . . . ! . We wonder how we can continue in devotional service, since we are very insincere, but maybe it is because of the best wishes of other devotees!

Janmastami will soon be celebrated, by the blessing of Śrīla Prabhupāda from the purified heart we can know that there is an atmosphere of peace and prosperity everywhere and in all directions but perhaps our material eyes cannot see, however the stars will shine at their maximum splendor by the birth of Lord Krishna.

We are reading Śrīla Prabhupāda's books and listening to some classes regularly, we have some questions:

According to Srila Jiva Goswami the paribhasa sutra of Srimad Bhagavatam is 1.3.28, we would like to know if it is correct that the paribhasa sutra of BG is 18.65?

HpS/ASA - As we remember, we have read from devotees that the most cited verse by Srila Prabhupada is BG 18.66. Yet, we remember one comment by Srila Narayana Maharaja that BG 18.65 was the essence of BG.

That is all I know.

It seems to me that Srila Bhakti siddhanta might have comment that it is the PBS.

Certainly very important verse, often emphasized and used by Srila Prabhupada, no?

Atma Tattva

•BG. 2.24

The soul is everywhere and it is immobile.

How do we understand this apparent contradiction?

HpS/ASA - In the Purport Srila Prabhupada makes some comment on this: https://vedabase.io/es/library/bg/2/24/#bb572.

The souls collectively are distributed everywhere.

🐒 Bh. Tom suggests it is like saying that in Mexico Tamales are everywhere and immobile.

Also, we remember that SP comments the soul is sarva-gataḥ (omnipresente) means within the entire body... by its consciousness.

We also want to take the opportunity to please request your offering for Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vyasapuja 2023 so that we can read in the temple.

ASA - We searched our files on our computer and letters in our E-mail account and cannot find it.

🤔

We will compose a little offering in another Blog Post!

Thank you very much for his merciful attention.

Please excuse our offenses.

Your eternal would-be servant

asta sakhi dd

Prabhu Manash Ranjan offers his respectful obeisances.

HpS - Thank you! What will be our next ASA service assignment from Srila Prabhupada! Will he give us one??!1

Thank you.

Respond to other posts.

Come with us?

W/A

AGTSP

PAMHO

Jay Gurumaharaja, we have already booked a house 20 mins away. With 3 bedrooms and full kitchen we can organize a small program there also , we may cook some pizza for you as well as anything else, we were wishing to be calm and close to you mainly, so I think it worked out perfect. Thank you

HpS/ASA

Very nice. Srila Prabhupada mercy.

What is the location?

How do you find Krsna Consciousness?

🐒🐒🐒🦍

asa[e] - ISKCON; Stay away! ISKCON Will Break Your Heart

WhatsApp from Carudesna Das (Name Changed to Protect the Innocent):

Hare Krishna, Maharaja, please kindly accept my most humble obeisances; all glories to Srila Prabhupada.  I hope that all is going well for you in your devotional service. 🙏 

I feel very embarrassed and afraid to share with you the following information.  There was some kind of discussion that took place with the GBC and the leaders of this community.  As a result of that discussion, I was so hurt by what our GBC shared with me that I have decided to stay away from the temple indefinitely.

I only know what the GBC shared with me in our drive back to the airport and nothing more.  I don't wish to burden you with my grief, but because you have always been so kind and merciful to me in the past, I have this great responsibility to let you know well in advance what has transpired and why I will be absent during your visit. 

Our GBC and I are good friends. I hold no blame, no ill thoughts or feelings towards him for anything.  By Krishna's grace I have been spared such foolish tendencies.🙏🏻

He actually gave a genuinely warm and compassionate hug when I dropped him off at the airport.  So, I feel very confident of his support. 🙏🏻

Please forgive me for my offenses. You are still a siksha guru in my life. 🙏🏻😞🙏🏻

HpS/ASA - AgtSP! AgtSP's ISKCON. We have discussed so many times that there are three ISKCON"s. The institution. The circle of friends and finally our individual, directly experienced relationship with Srila Prabhupada FAOI.

Jaya.

I have hellish, HELLISH, H-E-L-L-I-S-H experiences in ISKCON, usually in management relations eg. Temple Presidents, GBC. B. S. Damodara Swami expressed the same to me. Three other GBCs I know express the hell of being involved with the situation.

Even today, I wrote we write notes in our Diary of how to deal with these things:

Devotees in the institution who are causing intense pain to others may be doing it because of the hell they personally, confidentially, are experiencing. They torment others, even to such a degree that they hope others will react with physical violence and kill them. (Direct admission of the tormenters revealed to us).

O.K, we have to avoid, mentally, socially, physically this problem and keep ourselves in a situation where we can give as much help to them as possible.

Of course, this may be Hanuman "helping" the Raksasa army that Ravana sent to the Asokavan when he was talking to Sita. He snuffed them all. (To help them 👍) but he left Ravana for Rama to chastise!

In general, in our association with your self, we never see that you act in such a way as to cause anything other than a desire for your association! We want it!

Maybe... some misunderstanding??

Maybe GBC miscommunicated something??? Possible??? Go to the source and ask them politely if this is true.

asa[e] - yoga ladder; mangala-arati attendance

Hare Krsna Gurudev

AGTSP, PAMHO

this is regarding integration of many verses like

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/9/22/ ananyāś cintayanto

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/8/7/ tasmāt sarveṣu

bg 12.8-12.12

now one verse is focusing on internal contemplation, and another verse is focusing on simultenous action of external activities and internal contemplation.

i know you have many times told us 16-4-4, FMP, FEP. i know these external activities are good starting point to develop internal contemplation [cintan for Krsna].

we have seen in ourself that, if we commit to these activities, we develop an obsession for these activities [and justify ourself by saying --only excuse to miss Mangal Arti is "inability to crawl"].

in that obsession, any one who opposes us (for whatever reason ) faces our wrath. 😠

We act like a neophyte, and ultimately its bad for the movement, we push people away from Krsna, ISKCON and devotees.

So at our stage should we attempt for verse 9.22 /8.7. I think this is stage BG 12.8 [https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/12/8/]

and we are being advised to follow bg 12.9 . But we are very Tamasic, then Rajasic and very small Sattva.

should we increase our hearing sb 1.2.17 to develop the sattva.

we are actually confused, at this stage

what should be done externally ?

simulateneously what should be thought internally?

harsh pradhan trying to be Hayagriva Avatar Das

HpS/ASA - AgtSP! Paoho.

First we will give a very, very, advanced perspective. We may not be able to act on this platform yet, but we might take some of the aspects even now and use it as a lighthouse for navigation from our current situation:

1. https://vedabase.io/en/library/kb/29/#bb91286
2. https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/29/9/
3. https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/29/10-11/

Then for neophytes we have NoI:

https://vedabase.io/en/library/noi/2/#bb5839

We should realize FM/ES, 16/4 etc. with enthusiasm.

We should cultivate knowledge of the purpose of these things and the best way to do them.

Don't try to smash obstacles presented by the demons and demonic, avoid the obstacles.

Also, in Noi:

1. Love God,
2. Preach to the Innocent,
3. Be friends with the devotees,
4. Avoid the Demons.

Of course, this means avoiding the demonic half of our fellow ISKCON Madhyama adhikaris also.

CONCLUSION:

Go to Mangala arati but don't wake up the neighbors.

asa[e] - Yoga Ladder: detachment from subtle body

Hare Krsna Gurudeva

AGTSP, PAMHO,

During this surgery, and post experience, we are constantly able to remind ourself that we are not this gross body. Even we see our childhood photos, We are reminded ourself of verse- "dehino asmi yath dehe".

On the other hand when somebody say Harsh, you are fool/idiot/ wrong /impractical, our veins enlarge, immediately come to defend us. I don't know why so much attachment to subtle body.

How can we start getting detached to subtle body also ?

harsh trying to become hayagriva avatar das

HpS/ASA - Thank you. Sure everyone reading this has similar reactions.

There is jJyAna and vijJyana (Harvard Kyoto transliteration 😃 - https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/), theoretical and realized knowledge.

We know we are not the body, but not deeply.

We know how to drive a car from reading a book, but driving in the Grand Prix is different matter.

The whole SB, CC, NOD is aimed at answering your question in full.

What does the NoI say?

Verse 1 says that the mind is controlled by chanting 'HK/HR'. So when persona is attacked, call "HK/HR". Live in Vraja! In Vraja only Krsna and Balarama kill demons, no?

Everyone else chants, "HK/HR".

Of course, we may have to, will have to, chant like Draupadi when Dusasana was trying to desnude her in front of all the elite men and women of the world.

Cry 'HK/HR' like little children.

This may be a challenge if we are trying to keep our reputation as big, big intellectuals, but give our name and fame and gain into Krsna's hands.

NoI one also says that the subtle body is defeated by making plans.

This is second class method.

First class is chant 'Hare Krsna', but we may be on second class level.

Our ego is attacked when our plans, ambitions, are attacked.

So, just change you plan to avoid the attack, or include the attack in your plans.

"Better to have a wise man for an enemy, than a fool for a friends", Socrates, Canakhya Pandita.

Listen to the criticisms of wise enemies and use it to correct your plans/attitude.

O.K.?

So many citations in NoI. NoI 6 especially seems to have the ultimate answer.