Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna, Maharaja & Dear Devotees;

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

All glories to Guru & Gauranga.

As per your instruction I am writing following message.

On June 3, 2023, Saturday morning class, we are going to start reading onwards from Adi Lila -- 11.30 verse. Thank you for your valuable association.

YS

Upendra dasa

ASA - AgtSP! Paoho. So sorry that we did not post this timely. If you can, please remind us on Whatsapp that you posted it.

What is the topic for 10th?

Thank you.

Querido gurudev: Pamho. TgSP y sus seguidores fieles.

Espero que se encuentre animado cuando reciba este mensaje. He tardado un poco mas de lo habitual, porque estaba esperando a tener el TPP en español publicado por el BBT Latino. Ya lo tenemos y ha quedado bien. La verdad es que ha tardado bastante el proceso: El 29 de diciembre por fín pudimos pasarle todos los archivos necesarios..... y después (maratón de Navidad en el BBT, enfermedad de uno, enfermedad de otro, etc, etc,). El precio en España es el siguiente:

6,40 euros para Templos o sankirtan

9,30 euros PVP (público en general)

5,00 euros para el autor (HPS).

Si en algún pais como Mejico, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, etc desean imprimir el libro y saber los precios pueden contactar con el BBT latino. Aquí hemos imprimido 50 ejemplares para ver que tal salen y los precios no me parecen mal, sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que la inversión ha sido de cero euros.

Por lo demás seguimos como siempre, con nuestra rutina.

HPS/ASA - Eso es, tlgaSP, pfanrh, muy bien. Estamos comenzando manyana noche en seminario en NoI con Partha sarathi Foundation, dirigido por Hari lila Das. Yo presento una Martes y Sri Natha Krsna Das presenta el otro.

Claro, incluir TPP.

Si no cantando SKC/PN, HK/HR debemos leer los libros de Srila Prabhupada y esperamos TPP es ayuda en esta esfuerza!!!

En relación a nuestro programa de Sat Sanga, empezó hace unos nueve años.

Purnamasi tenía Gurukula semanal con niños en nuestra casa y los adultos nos subiamos a conversar en el piso de arriba; a las dos semanas pensamos que en vez de conversar podiamos hacer un programa simple (Bhajan-Clase BG-Kirtan y Prasadam) y aquí seguimos nueve años mas tarde.

Lo de los niños ya no se hace pero los adultos seguimos.

A veces somos menos (cuatro o cinco) y a veces somos más (venticinco). Es algo muy simple: Quedas un dia fijo con los devotos que viven cerca (un radio de unos veinte kilometros) y a veces vienen tambien devotos de mas lejos (por ejemplo de Madrid).

Lo hacemos de forma regular en calendario escolar (de septiembre a Junio) y en verano quedamos en el rio o bosque de forma esporadica).

HpS - Es un programa simple but... how many programs like yours are going on under the impetus of Srila Prabhupada??? Of course, if all the persons like your and Mataji were brought together in one room it would be thousands?

So, these home programs are changing the world.

We should just go on with them and always improve them. We should adjust them to pandemic, wars, floods, fame, wealth.

Ahora llevo algún tiempo estudiando SB bajo la guia de Yadunandana Swami. Es algo muy practico porque además de agradable te compromete a estudiar.

HpS - For the first time after our visit to Spain [!!!] I called Yadu Maharaja and we talked for about one hour. Very nice. Maybe we stay here until we leave this body. Maybe we go back to New Braja-mandala.

Eso es todo por ahora.

Su sirviente

Jayanta das

ASA - Back Home Back to Godhead! NVM is a boat!

Dear Guru Maharaja, please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Yamuna was born on Friday at 6:38am right after we sang all of the morning prayers.

Prabhupada was chanting japa on the speakers pretty much the entire time during labor. So much pain!!

Purification and motivation to not keep coming back to experience these miseries.

We deeply want to bring her back to GODHEAD. Her chart says that she was a Brahman in her previous life and that she will be very good for my spiritual life starting at age 5.

Maharaja, we would be very happy and honored if you could give her a middle name. Our new pujari here did a reading for her and says that these are the preferred beginning letters:

Ta

Ma (long a)

Me

Mu

La (long a)

Ch

Na 

He

Ha

Da

but we would be happy with any name you could give.

All glories to you and your service and we deeply appreciate your guidance and mercy. Thinking of you at least three times a day and keeping my vows to you as a badge of honor.

Please pray that we can be good house holders and that we can continue and increase our devotional services. For now Yamuna is our deity and devotee we have that great privilege of serving. Only by your mercy:)

Hare krishna, Om Tat Sat, hallelujah!

your aspiring servants,

-Nitisara das, Anadi Radha, Aja and Yamuna

ASA - Taraggita? https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/translate?search=Tarangi&dir=au

AgtSP!!

Paoho... Many devotees have asked us about doing systematic study of Srimad Bhagavatam etc. Of course, the basis is association. Find teachers, study-partners and students.

You can do focused seminars. Eg. One week on Rupa-siksa, CC 2.19.

You can do Srila Prabhupada's four diplomas, Bhakti Sastri etc.

If we look at our Nila-madhava Dhama, (ISKCON Hugh's Town) several of them have finished their Bhakti Vaibahva diploma and want to do Bhakti Vedanta. In response we would suggest the individual Brahmanas have a little coordination with the administration to promote a Bhakti Vedanta Study Group (BVSG), and even broadcast this to their broader audience outside of Houston eg. College Station etc.

Then, individually, those devotees can formally register with an online program like Gauranga Darshana Das Vidya pitha (Govardhana Ecovillage) or the Bhagavata Maha-vidyalaya near Govardhana.

These institutions can take care of the bureaucracy and infrastructure while the Nila-madhava devotees can have informal physical association eg. sit together and watch and discuss recorded classes, submit examinations at the same time.

Later if the Nila-madhava yatra has more demand they can develop the classes themselves.

Please give your ideas on this program.

• Bhagavata Maha-vidyalaya: https://www.ibmedu.org/
• GEV Vidyapitha: https://www.vidyapitha.in/p/contact-us

URGENTE

Hare Krishna, Guru Majaraja

Please Receive My humble Obeisances

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

Guru Majaraja, since I came back to Cusco I feel very well, I'm overcoming my fear.

I feel in Cusco as I'm part of this place like an element in a puzzle.

• the weather
• the ambiance and
• the energy here

is very nice, there are many possibilities to preach.

First question :

1._My brother and me had taken un appartment in the neightborhood of San Blas one of the most touristicals in Cusco with the objetive of receiving tourists it will be un Rb&b., so I have the idea to offer japa meditación, teach yoga, and spiritual visitings in Cusco.

I studied yoga to teach, I have a good Knowledge to teach japa meditación, and I can planifie touristical circuits including yoga and meditación, and prasada as snakcs.

Please could you give me more suggestions and ideas?

HpS - Seems fine. Try it and then adjust your strategy based on the results. Ask local devotees for their opinions. Cusco, tourist center of the universe

2._I will rent another appartment to live miself, I have the idea to invite 2 matajis to live with me who would like to be part of un artistic preaching program, doing puppets and kirtan, to present in local cultural centers.

My concern is how we will finance the rent and our maintenance in a economical level.

I have the idea to give puppets lessons, or to do sankirtan, or distribute prasad or give yoga clases.

I want to do an offer, to two matajis that would like to participate in this program.

Please GM could you give me advise or more suggestions? How can this proyect can become real?

HpS - "Inch inch, it's always a cinch", Vaisesika Das. Go ahead with whatever means you have and see how Krsna directs you.

3._I been thinking as well that we could get devotees cooks who would like to give cuisine lessons, we can do it at Rb&b kitchen space.

what else we could do to have a auto susteinable program???

HpS/ASA - You could plan on selling bullet proof vests to school children in the USA. There are a million plans. I know. My mind makes them every day, but then I remember that the best plan is to chant Hare Krsna, then automatically, in the association of the Holy Names, all the ideas and experiences fall into the right proportions.

Thank you very much Guru Majaraja for your response.

ASA - Mostly written by BW 🐽 HpSwami an TB are erecting an elevator to the moon for going to do Sankirtan there. That is good. Enthusiasm is more important than patience.

YOUR servant

Divya Dristi DD.

HpS - ASA --- 🙇 Let us hear the results.

Hare Krishna, Maharaja,

Please kindly accept my most humble obeisances;

All glories to his divine grace, Srila Prabhupada, our Founder Acharya;

All glories to your good self, for giving shelter to such fools and rascals as myself.

I had been wanting to write sooner, but I wasn't certain about what to say, or how to share.

ASA/TB - Dear General Update. It is a great honor to hear from you. What military force do you belong to? Is it the same as General Store? We have heard his name mentioned often.

Please write about your Sankirtan or work to develop your Sankirtan, even if it is only pushing one grain of sand forward 🐜

My wife and I are still somehow or other maintaining our sadhana as best as possible, with our:

• daily japa,
• daily readings from Srila Prabhupada's books,
• daily Deity worship.

[As a sidenote: she is scheduled for surgery in mid June due to some tumors.]

ASA - We know one devotee who is scheduled for nose removal due to some tumor.

During mangala artoka this morning I was thinking just how much we are dependent on having the Deities of Sri Sri Radha Govinda, Gaura Nitai, and Jagannatha in our home.

To be very honest, I think that we would be completely lost without Deity worship in our home.

ASA/TB - Yep! "Gṛhastha devotees, however, are generally engaged in material activities, and therefore if they do not take to Deity worship, their falling down is positively assured." https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/7/5/23-24/#bb45382

Sannyasis must at least worship Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krsna within the core of their heart (End of NoI 1, purrrport)

We are not pure enough to simply chant and do nothing else. And reading is nice, but eventually we have to rest our eyes, put the books down, move on to whatever next project needs to be done: and before we know it-our minds are somewhere else.

TB// - https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/15/108/#bb1100508 🐒

But there's something about having an altar in one's home that has special mercy. To actually be able to see Krishna face to face in the form of the Deity seems so surreal. I am not sure I really know how to explain it, even after 40 years of Deity service. There is simultaneously a feeling of mystery and comfort in the life of a pujari, even if one is simply struggling to maintain some simple Deity service in one's own home. Maybe I'm just being sentimental, or maybe I'm just wildly imagining things. I only know that this process of devotional service is my very life, and without it there is no life.

HpS - Every imagine if you came home some day to find that thieves had broken into your house and stolen your Deities? You would just cease to exist, no? Yet, we sometimes hear from devotees like your self that they are not making any advancement. 😆 😆. . . 😆

As odd as it may sound, in spite of our continued practice of bhakti in our home, not much has improved in my relationship with the local community of devotees. I feel as lonely and as left out as ever.

HpS - From reports that I get, most American devotees feel the same. Once a crocodile, a crocodile until death.

I've had to let go of my service in the temple and distance myself even more: although I still attend the Sunday programs, and all the special festivals. But I feel all alone even when I'm there. Yes, the devotees are still polite, courteous and smile when we greet each other. But I don't feel any connection to them. I try to keep in mind that it is important to somehow or other stay connected to Srila Prabhupada and to Lord Chaitanya's movement, even if it hurts. When the thought of moving comes to mind, I find myself too old, tired and lazy to make the effort. I rationalize why and how my purification would be any easier if I was to leave, only to find the same problems somewhere else.

So, when all is said and done my only concern is to somehow or other maintain my sadhana, using it as a sort of yardstick to gage my status as a devotee of Krishna, and accept whatever purification is in front of me here, where I'm at now.

My only fear is offending the devotees: a fault that I easily fall victim to. I used to hear "if you are envious of someone, the best way to be free from such envy is to serve that person."

Ironically, the nature of envy is such that it doesn't allow one to serve the target of one's envy. So how am I going to serve if I am envious? There is no logic.

ASA - It is advice for those who have envious mentality but in their intelligence want to free their mind from that contamination.

Therefore, the next best course of action is to protect myself by keeping a safe distance. The past has shown me more than once that getting too close in a situation like this is not healthy for my Krishna consciousness.

HpS - We are all different. People above us, people below us. Your strategy seems cool, but keep enthusiasm to help the Yatra, temple worship etc. Honestly, even though you may not think it is true, from what I hear of your Yatra, your deity worship has a real impact on the consciousness of others.

I get some opportunity to preach to a passenger and distribute a book or two when driving for Uber, but nothing sensational to be excited about.

There is a new routine for Bhagavatam classes at the temple. Class is now at 7:45, but I will still be reading during the usual time of 8:30. At present I am reading from the 8th Canto, as that is where I have come to in my own daily readings during Bhagavatam classes.

I think I will close here, in hopes that I have not said too much, or spoken out of line.

HpS // ASA --- No, seems to be just the right amount. You are becoming a Goswami. You are getting in touch with the Super soul, "jitatmana prasantasya, paramatma samahitam", B.G.

My last thought is to always remember how kind you have always been to us: Coming to our home, acceping our foolish service, and tolerating our foolish attitudes. There is no measure of gratitude that I am able offer in return.

🐵 - We have always been happy to have your association. Seems that you are reaching a milestone in trek up the Himalaya mountains of Bhakti Yoga.

Your lowly servant,

Balabhadra dasa

(Oh! You are not General Update!) (We will answer one more letter then go for Wall King with Dr. Desai). 🚶 🚶🚶

Respects to Mataji et al! She's going back to Godhead one piece at a time. Our two lower front teeth have gone.