Letters to the editor

ASA - AGTSP    Paho      ---      Follows a letter from Bhakti PV, whom we formerly accepted as Prahlada-nrsmha Das.  There are many many points in his letters that we could slowly one by one address but his response below and a similar letter to HpS in private has led us to the conclusion that we are incapable of serving him as an ISKCON Diksa guru. We are not Srila Prabhupada. We don't the strength of Prabhupada. When we discussed for long time about Guru-Disciple relation these things were clear to him and other devotees.    Now we feel that things have gotten so far from that relation that it is best for us to formally end the relationship and hope that the devotee can make progress with the direct help of others.   I have only read a little bit of the first part of the letter, so I don't know all of the content.     As is our Blog system I could have read maybe the first part within the time constraints of this media and then responded and erased the rest with request for him to resubmit it as another part, but the many citations seem to have been posted as individual citations so it will take too long for us to edit.

O.K.    We are right, you are wrong, we are God.      I hope that isn't our mentality and of course we are open to discuss everything but we haven't strength or resources to do more than what we have done in this and the previous letter.

Thank you Bhakti PV, and other readers.

PAMHO AGTSP!

You say "we erased the following 27-pages of letters that you quoted because we feel that some of your passions are just to  #@$%  to put in print."  First of all I submitted about 2 or so pages of quotes, NOT AS YOU SAY "referenced 27 pages of quotes" and they where all directly from Srila Prabhupada's books, letters and conversations, and are thus meant for the betterment of the world, and for those devotees claiming to be part of ISKCON to make as their life and soul. So it is quite inappropriate and offensive to Srila Prabhupada for you to say about the words of Srila Prabhupada "passions are just to #@$% to put in print  Haw  Haw  Haw!".

In addition to this if your going to erase the stuff I submit to you and then post that edited version then what use is my posting it at all? why don't you just have as you say a Monodialoge with your self. no offense maharaja but really… You say "a dialog rather than a mono-log." Yes so this is what I was aiming for. But how can I do this when you delete my submissions? Isn't that indicative that you are the one having the mono-log?

you then say "What about the citation, "...sell without irritating...", huh?   You didn't highlight that." That is just my point! If devotees are not selling books and are even told by their So-called ISKCON authorities to not sell books then where is the question of selling any books at all?

You say "what do you think about you following his example to improve things." Yes I try, but because I have strong fidelity to Srila Prabhupada and am not a blind follower of the blind GBC and actually follow Srila Prabhupada's orders, and do not support the bogus unauthorized changes to Srila Prabhupada's books I don't have the support that he has. But on the contrary I am criticized instead of made into some type of Hollywood movie star like him. But I would rather be criticized and keep my fidelity to Srila Prabhupada then compromise my principals and become some type of ISKCON movie star. If the GBC would start to follow Srila Prabhupada's orders and support Srila Prabhupada's original books that Prabhupada personally approved of and distributed, instead of demonize those same transcendental books, then I would have some standpoint to preach from, but as the situation is now where the blind GBC is condemning Srila Prabhupada's books, what can be done. 

Srila Prabhupada clearly said: 

Just like in lawbooks, there is some law made already. Whimsically you cannot, I mean to say, erase the words and put something that "It should be changed like this." That will not be accepted….So change means imperfect knowledge. No change means that is perfect knowledge. So we follow that no change policy. No, not that because I think I have become now advanced, I change this to that. That mean I am not advanced.

(Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.15 - Los Angeles, September 20, 1972)

Radha-vallabha: So we should just leave it exactly.

Prabhupada: Oh, yes. You should not be more educated.

Radha-vallabha: He wasn't changing any of the words. He was just...

Prabhupada: Nothing of the... This of should be strictly forbidden.

Radha-vallabha: So no corrections. That makes it simple.

Prabhupada: They can divide the synonyms. That's all.

Radha-vallabha: Synonyms. So even...

Prabhupada: That is his tendency, to correct. That's very bad. He should not do that.

Radha-vallabha: So I'll just forget this, then.

Prabhupada: The system is: whatever authority has done, even there is mistake, it should be accepted.

Radha-vallabha: Oh.

Prabhupada: Asa-praya(?) [NOTE: should be - “arsha prayoga”. Arsha-prayoga is a Sanskrit word meaning complete acceptance of what is left by the authorities, as it is, without any change at all] That is ha... He should not become more learned than the authority. That is very bad habit....

Prabhupada: Why finish it? Whatever is done is done. No more....

Radha-vallabha: Well, now that this system of no corrections anywhere, that makes it very simple. Then he can't do anything. I don't think he wants to, either. It makes it more simple for him. It makes him very uncomfortable.

Prabhupada: No corrections.

(Conversation with Italian Woman with Translator - February 28, 1977, Mayapura)

Prabhupada: So you... What you are going... It is very serious situation. You write one letter that "Why you have made so many changes?" And whom to write? Who will care? All rascals are there. Write to Satsvarupa that "This is the position. They are doing anything and everything at their whim." The next printing should be again to the original way….

Prabhupada: So write them immediately that "The rascal editors, they are doing havoc…

Prabhupada: So what to do?…

Prabhupada: So you bring this to Satsvarupa. They cannot change anything….

Prabhupada: So on the whole, these dangerous things are going on. How to check it?…

Prabhupada: So they are doing very freely and dangerously.

(Conversation, "Rascal Editors," and Morning Talk - June 22, 1977, Vrndavana)

Please do not delete these Srila Prabhupada quotes! Let everyone know the truth!

Todas las Glorias a Srila Prabhupada!

Todas las Glorias a HanumatPresaka Swami!

Por favor acepte mis humildes reverencias

Querido Maharaja:

En primer lugar Le cuento que estoy sin internet en mi casa y no pude escribirle a Usted en estos dias, ni entrar en Japa Joe, realmente eso me hace mucha falta.

Yo soy bastante reservada y timida para hablar de mi vida, pero necesito contarle que en estos dias estoy muy emotiva, un poco sensible. Sucedieron algunos cambios en mi vida, fueron momentos de mucha presion,  ahora todo está mas tranquilo pero yo me siento angustiada, creo que es algo normal despues de tanto stress, pero me asusta un poco.

Por otra parte, estoy estudiando mucho, esta semana empieza el nivel 3 del curso de Bhakti Sastri, dictado por Mahahari Prabhu. Sigo muy firme y entusiasta en mi servicio en el templo, eso llena mi corazon y me da mucha inspiracion, yo siento que  el servicio en la recepcion del templo los domingos es  el lugar perfecto para mi,  donde yo puedo  servir a los devotos,  abrirles la puerta, darles la bienvenida, estar atenta a sus necesidades, desde ese humilde lugar creo que puedo prestar mi mejor servicio a los devotos, y mediante ellos complacer a Sri Krishna.

Falta muy poco para que Usted llegue y poder postrarme a Sus pies de loto, eso es muy fuerte para mi, me produce una mezcla de sentimientos. Todo esta sucediendo de una manera hermosa que no deja de sorprenderme, pura misericordia!!!

Cuatro principios, tratando de mejorar mis rondas, asociacion con devotos, servicio, fiesta de domingo, estudio y la vida....

Por favor disculpe mis ofensas

Tratando de alcanzar el polvo de Sus pies de loto, Su Sirvienta Bhaktina Diana.

HpS - ASA ---  TlgaSP    Pienso no tenemos pies de loto.  Mas de lodo. Aun siento en el sendero com Madhyama adhikari.  Yo tambien estoy pasando de mucho stress.  Eso es normal en el mundo material.  Podemos ver Arjuna, no?   Mucho stress, austeridad...    pero es para Krsna y entonces es para logar la posicion de no mas stress o mejor stress espiritual!     Si, estamos en BsAs en menos de un mes.

Rick Warren es un GRAN PASTOR Bautista.  Muchos devotos mayores les gusta sus libros. El dijo que los invitados que llegan para primero vez toman la decision si va a volver or o entre los 10-15 primero minutos. Necesita una buena reception y orientacion. Necesita suficiente atention, honor como sienta tranquilo pero no tan much que siento molestado.  Buena suerte mejorando su servicio!

Querido y Respetado Hanumat Presaka Swami Todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada Porfavor acepte mis humildes y respetuosas reverencias Maharaja por la misericordia sin causa de Sri Sri Radha Gopinath pude escuchar una hermosa clase del bhagavatam hoy en Houston! Estamos muy entusiasmados de eacuchar mas y de Usted! Cuando podremos tener esa bendicion? Su Sirvienta eterna Maha Bhava Cintamani dd

HPS - ASA --  BLOG READERS - Esta carta recibe 3 dias pasado.  Ya estamos con la Madre aqui in Houston.  Es muy bien tener association de ella y los devotos aqui en Houston.

Hare Krsna Maharaj,
    Please accept my humble obeisances.
    All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
 
    Please find my comments in Blue.

    HpS - Jaya!!!!      President Radhe Shyama Das wrote to me and said that he is not familiar with you.   
    I said that you had told me that you were arranging a meeting with him through another devotee.  
    He answered to have you to send a copy of your letter to me to him.      
    So please write to [email protected] with your introduction and petition  for
    initiation.

    Your news of travel and preaching in India is super, super inspiring. We feel we can leave our body
    now in peace knowing that ISKCON is in such good hands!

    Gopal - Sorry Maharaj. I should have been told you in detail about the Pune councilor System
                  (Hierarchy System to reach Temple President).

            Correct, he does not know me.

            There is a hierarchy system to reach Temple authority/Top authority in Pune temple. we can not
            approach Temple President/Top authority directly in Pune.

            Suppose if i have to reach or approach Temple President/Top authority then i have to approach
            my Shiksa guru, he (Shiksa guru) will take me to the Temple President/Top authority.i can not
            approach directly or indirectly (if my shiksa guru are available).

            So in my case, it is true, he (Temple President, Pune) does not know me directly or indirectly. we
            do our all activity under the guidence of Shiksa guru.

            So you have to tell him(Temple President) that i am under the guidence of H G Sri RadhaKunja
           Bihari Das, ISKCON, Pune.then he will inform and call  my shiksa guru H G Sri RadhaKunja Bihari
           Das and will inquire about me then he will meet me with my Shiksa Guru. Then there will be
           question/answer session. and if he satisfy then he will issue letter otherwise i will have to wait
           next 1 and half year for approaching him again.

            So this kind of hierarchy or councilor System available in Pune.

            My local Shiksa Guru H G Sri RadhaKunja Bihari Das, ISKCON, Pune. Other then i know the below
            brahamachari with whom i assoicate.
              
             i. H.G. Gopendra Das (bramachari & Pujari of Sri Krsna-Balaram, Krsna-Balaram Temple,
                 Vrindavan, India)
             ii. H.G. Balaram Hari Das (bramachari, Sri Sri Radhakunj Bihari Temple, Pune, India)
             iii. H.G. Gangapati Nimay Das (bramachari, Sri Sri Radhakunj Bihari Temple, Pune, India)
             iv. H.G. Sri Keshav Das (bramachari, Sri Sri Radhakunj Bihari Temple, Pune, India)

           Please advice me.

Your aspiring servant,
Gopal Biswas

HpS - AGTSP   Your letter is very informative.   We get to learn something about the details of Indian ISKCON big temple function.   It is nice.   O.K.   We write to Radha-Shyama Prabhu.

PAMHO AGTSP!

BG 3.33 - "Even a man of knowledge acts according to his own nature, for everyone follows his nature. What can repression accomplish?…It is better to be situated in one's position and to try to attain Krsna consciousness under superior training. Thus one may be freed from the clutches of maya."

Sometimes Srila Prabhupada would say stuff like this, but, as far as I can see by studying all SP's books lectures and audio I have found that Srila Prabhupada clearly emphasized book distribution over everything else. Even though sometimes he would make statements like the above. So how are we to understand all this???

I often times meet devotees, and I, being a servant of Srila Prabhupada, want to stick to his instructions as close as possible, and naturally as a result feel fired up to talk about the wonderfulness of transcendental book distribution with others. But - most of the time other devotees do not feel that book distribution is the most important service. And it seems that also MOST of the time, it seems that they are simply annoyed by me being fired up about it and cannot relate to me at all due to them being so not fired up, and me being fixed on it. So I feel like they are in maya, and serious illusion, for not being fired up about book distribution. All this depresses me and makes me sad.

What am I supposed to think?

Any way, every time I write to you something you tell me "post it on the blog" so here I am posting it on the blog lets see what happens...

DISCLAIMER - let me make it implicitly clear that I am not, nor do I think I am any type of advanced devotee! Nor am I very fixed up, I am just some dufice that is trying to some-how-or-other do some service for Srila Prabhupada. 

I am just posting this because I am sick of being disgusted by seeing other devotees. I want to be ecstatic when I see other devotees! But how can I when they have no enthusiasm to do sankirtana! and when I tell them about how important it is they basically tell me to go to hell.   

- To have some lazy devotees twiddle some incense in the temple and eat nice overly spicy prasadam with too much chillies in it so it becomes doubtful if even Krishna likes it - is NOT why Srila Prabhupada traveled all over the planet and worked so hard!  

Sankirtana means going out of the temple and preaching through book distribution and Harinama. Not sitting in the temple waiting till sunday when the #$%%^  come and stuff the hundi (donation box), bring some cheap GMO rice, and pull their ears.

I get frustrated that this is the pitiful condition that Srila Prabhupada's movement has come to. and want to be happy and have nice fired up devotees to associate with that also can get the simple fact that Srila Prabhupada wanted us to not sit in the temple on our @#$ and twiddle some incense but get our #$% out on sankirtana!

So what am I to think when people say to me that they do not want to distribute books???

The following list of quotes are just a few I dug up to prove my point, but if necessary, I could give much much more quotes and instances to substantiate that Srila Prabhupada placed book distribution clearly above EVERYTHING else.

(still want me to contribute to this forum?)

it is explicitly directed that one should perform sankirtana-yajna and nothing more.

SB 3.13.36

if a person is not interested in others' welfare, he should be considered to be condemned by the Personality of Godhead 

SB 4.17.26

Preaching is our first-class engagement, including Sankirtana party, selling books, speaking, like that. But if for some reason a devotee is unable to do these things, then I say that they are allowed to live outside and work as a concession. Our service for Krishna is voluntary and can never be forced. And whatever position in life one holds he can serve Krishna in that way. But yourselves being such qualified and experienced preachers, what is the benefit of engaging in the second-class activity when there is so much preaching work to be done?

Letter to: Vamanadeva, Indira  -  Delhi 8 December, 1971

So that is the real preaching, selling books. Who can speak better than the books? At least whoever buys, he will look over. If you have to sell books, do it by hook or by crook. The real preaching is selling books. You should know the tactic how to sell without irritating. What your lecture will do for three minutes, but if he reads one page his life may be turned….the success of your preaching will be substantiated by how many books are sold.

Letter to: Bali-mardana  -  Los Angeles 30 September, 1972

ASA - Jaya!   AGTSP       paoho.       Esteemed, Fired-Up Dufice.       Yes!              Definitely please continue contributing.  Of course you see we erased the following 27-pages of letters that you quoted because we feel that some of your passions are just to  #@$%  to put in print.   Haw!      Haw!      Haw!

Your contribution is super.     Please write more, but because it is a Blog please keep the letters short and then frequent - a dialog rather than a mono-log.

In those parameters we have many things to say but can only say a few.

1)   Basically you seem to be right-on.    So please keep writing.

2)    We spent two intense hours with Vaisesika Das yesterday discussing the Bhakti Sastri, Bhakti-vaibhava courses and his Sankirtana.   He has taken an average ISKCON Temple plagued with the faults you described and now they distribute thousands and thousands of dollars of books.  So, what do you think about you following his example to improve things.

3) What about the citation, "...sell without irritating...", huh?   You didn't highlight that.   Why not become a clever Dufice for Prabhupada than a    @#$%%  Dufice for Prabhupada?

O.K.   Are you still gonna write to the Blog!!?   Haw!    Haw!    Haw!                  Such fun.     Buy 'em.   Stack 'em up where you can see them and get 'em out. 

I