Letters to the editor

AGTSP

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

All Glories to Hanumat Presaka Swami!

Maharaja Hanumat P., please accept my humbles obeisances! My name is Manuel Andres Poblete Moran, I have 25 years and studied Engineering degree in Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, currently I'm working on DuocUC as Coordinator of the Technological Center of Natural Resources, center under the same school, this is a place where students apply knowledge learned in the classroom on agriculture.

Devotees know 6 years ago, thanks to my father, who was the first person to preach, he is a devout Catholic, but loves the devotees, he has participated in numerous occasions the Food for life program along with my mother. Since I met Krishna Consciousness that I have participated in the process, singing rounds and doing service, but during this process I had times I've done full service and others hat I have distanced themselves from the devotees for variousreasons, but despite these distances have never stopped thinking of Krishna and Prabhupada, or chant the holy name.

During this time I have met many spiritual masters, initially when I met Swami Indradyumna, which preaches much I love andenthusiasm (and still does), but was not sure he really was my guru, in fact I wrote many times, but never I had a response from him, butyou really feel is my spiritual master, very recently is that I realizedthis and I am very happy doing service in the feast of cooking on Sunday and singing my 16 rounds and following the 4 regulative principles.

Your aspiring servant,

Bhakta Manuel

HpS - Jaya!    AGTSP   pamho.   Thank you for your letter.   Where are you?   Which country, temple???   You ae very fortunate to be engaged in such auspicious austerities.    If you go to www.jayarama.us/kd/guru-tattva.txt   You will find our comments on how we understand Guru.   Basically our idea is that we are following Srila Prabhupada and we are going back home to Godhead, and anybody following us, following Prabhupada is going back to Godhead.   In some ways it is that simple, unless we have simple clear understanding of Guru and then put our heart and sould into Krsna's service it doesn't mean much.

We tried to get out of Vrindavana Dham so many times, but we could not leave because of different reasons, it seems to me that Krsna has an arrangement for us here. So the family decided to move from Chennai to Vrindavana and give the opportunity to the baby to be born in the land of Radharani. We found a nice house in the Caitanya Vihara area. We are working for our parents business, by internet. So our plan is to start a Bhakti Vriksa program here, so many wonderful Vaisnavas and not so much association outside the temple. For Christmas and New year the Latinamerican devotees got together and we had a nice program with lots and lots of prasadam. We have a compass, we know it well… and we use it to don’t get out of the path, but our stupid self likes to adventure to the unknown and get out of the road sometimes. Every time we take a real look at the Dham, we feel our spiritual master’s spirit and that is becoming a big source of energy for us. Nice to know that your Health is well, and that you had a nice Vyasapuja and that you are in Radha Desa. Sometimes we don’t have internet or electricity or water, it’s like living in another era. We made a mistake, we thought that what we wrote last time was the annual report… so we just realize that we miss the opportunity of sending you our annual report, we are so very sorry for the mistake. We have no authority in theory. We pray for the opportunity to be able to see you and our beloved God-Brothers and sisters in this upcoming Kartika. Our obeisance Guru Maharaja, Trying to be of some use, Cakori Radha Devi dasi.

HpS - AGTSP.    Pamho.  Thank you so much for news.  If you can stay in Vrndavana and have a little work that is the perfection of life. If Vrndavana then enters our heart then we can go out and distribute her to others also.   Best wishes for your family also. The Bhagavatam is full, full, full, of families. They made a succes of their human form of life!!!

PAMHO

AGTSP

AGTSG&G

Dear Gurudeva:

I'm very happy, tomorrow is febrary and just in few days I'll be bless with your presence. I'm very fine, near to finish the Srimad Bhagavatam first canto, I'm very happy reading how Pariksit maharaj is speaking with Kaliyuga's representation. 

16 rounds ..... OK

4 principles......OK

Seva to Deities.....OK

Book Reading...... OOK!

Gurudeva, I was reading in internet forums about kabaca use, about if is proper the use or if Srila Prabhupad don't permit or dont said nothing about use it, is offensive the use of kavacas? can we use it? lot of devotees use kavacas but I really dont know if the use can be offensive or not.

I wait anxiously your arrive to BCN, for can I bless my life with your visit.

Your eternal servant

Prananath das  

HpS -  Jaya!   AGTSP    paoho.    Yes, in Spain very soon!     I heard from Visala Das how Prabhupada said that demigod Kavacas were unneccesary. However, devotees from Mayapura are distributing Nrsmha kavacas.   As far as I know Tulasi neck beads and Tilaka are suficient Kavaca, shield in Kali-yuga, but maybe devotee has some special feeling for some article related to Krsna, or Guru. 

My dear Maharaja,
Dandavat pranams. Jai Prabhupda.
During time of initiation, Srila Prabhupda gave you name "Hanumat-presak". You accepted that name with faith. Now, you must have accepted it so deeply that you will wake up in sleep when someone calls your name.
Based on CC Antya 4.193, Srila Prabhupda also instructed you to accept that your self is sat chid ananda and beyond the inert matter. He taught you that you (self) always belong to Krishna as you are His eternal ansh. This world is not yours and only Krishna is yours.
You may not realize above statements. You may not see the above truth. You also did not realize your name. You did not see your name as fact. Still, you accepted your name. Same way, you need to accept above statements of Srila Prabhupda - "You belong to Krishna and only Krishna is yours." Please don't have any IFs and BUTs and please accept these statements with faith.
Swami Ramsukhdasji says that you need to just accept these statements with faith. Realizations will automatically follow as these are eternal TRUTHS. That is beauty of bhakti. Krishna will take care of the rest and do not fear.
Based on CC Antya 4.193, I hope you accept above statements of Srila Prabhupda and teach the same to your disciples. I am puppet in the hands of Krishna. If you agree with me, please consider these statements coming from Jagat-guru Krishna Himself. If you don't agree with me, please consider me puppet in hands of maya and please forgive me.
This is my last email to you. Please forgive my offences. I don't have any to write further if we don't agree on the basics.
Your servant,
Gaurav Mittal

HpS - AGTSP   pamho.   Esteemed Puppet!      I answered most of these points in the previous letter. Yes, this is BG 4.35, but Srila Prabhupada did not give me the name Hanumatpresaka.   He gave me the name Hanumatpresaka Das.  And I alway hope to remain Das anu Das anu Das. Yes, we can see Krsna directly, but it is so, so, nice that even though he has no desire for fame one of Krsna's intimate servants has accepted me as his servant.

Jaya!  Sri Rama!        Jaya!     Sri Laksmana!      Jaya   Janaki Devi,  Ki Jaya!

My dear Maharaja,
Dandavat pranams. Ram Ram.
CC 7.5 --> Pancha-tattvas are same and there is not difference between them. Yet, the devotees accept various differences to enjoy the rasas (mellows).

Here the devotees refers to one who sees himself as sat chid ananda and as eternal ansh of Krishna. As we are eternal ansh of Krishna, we have direct relationship with Krishna. Accepting various differences does not mean that we don't have direct relationship with Krishna.

Your relationship with Krishna is eternal. Krishna is always yours and you always belong to Krishna. It is better to accept this truth without any  "IFs" and "BUTs".

Guru shows our direct relationship with Krishna. Accepting guru does not negate the truth i.e. we are sat chid ananda and eternal ansh of Krishna.
Many Iskcon devotees see guru as a broker between disciple and Krishna. It appears that you also believe the same. I am sorry but that is not correct understanding. There are thousands of verses which can show that we are eternal part of Krishna. It would be difficult to find verses which show that guru is broker between disciple and Krishna.
There are many beautiful ways in which Krishna sends us guru and we need to open for those gurus. I try to be open as Krishna has funny ways to teach me. I have learnt a lot from you. Actually, this email conversations has given me new vision. You are my guru (teacher) and so are many others.
Your servant,
Gaurav

 HpS - AGTSP   pamho.  Gaurav means worshipable, no?!

Again thank you for your letter.
1) I'm always suspicious of estimates such as "many ISKCON devotees think". ISKCON now has over 400 centers and Temples, Radhanatha Swami just finished a Parikrama with over a thousand devotees in the South of India!    Ooof!   It seems almost like saying, many American's think.
On the other hand, I certainly use, respect, qualified estimations of ISKCON think, America think.  I have to live in both so its nice to here, develop pratical ideas of general consciousness of this great institution.

2) The core of this problem, I think (Haw! Haw!), is this idea of Guru as a broker.  I tried to address that in the last letter. If Guru is a broker trying to do some business in the name of his boss, Krsna. Then he is not Guru. Guru, logos, Jesus Christ, are important when we realize that to associate with Krsna directly is just too, too scarey.  O.K. Radharani and Balarama can handle Him, but we want someone else to help us.  Ooof!
Direct statement of this idea by Srila Prabhupada is in the end of the Gita.
http://vedabase.net/bg/18/75/en 
 

"Vyāsa was the spiritual master of Sañjaya, and Sañjaya admits that it was by Vyāsa's mercy that he could understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This means that one has to understand Kṛṣṇa not directly but through the medium of the spiritual master. The spiritual master is the transparent medium, although it is true that the experience is still direct. This is the mystery of the disciplic succession. When the spiritual master is bona fide, then one can hear Bhagavad-gītā directly, as Arjuna heard it."

Also, if you look at Raghunata Goswami's dealings with Lord Caitanya, Krsna, Rama, even when he was in a Dasrsana with Mahaprabhu with other devotees he would always ask his questions through Svarupa Damodara.  This natural.  Svarupa Damodar is Lalita and Raghuantha Goswami is Rati manjari (as far as I know). Rati is just like an 9 year old girl, so she is so, so, so awe struck in the presence of handsome, heroic Krsna, that she just wants Lalita to ask her questions.
The "Direct" experience is more intense that way.   We can all see the moon. We call all talk to Rama directly, but if we find a bona-fide Acharya, like we feel we have found in Prabhupada, then we have the chance to see the moon through a telescope.