Letters to the editor

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.

DEAR GURUDEVA,

PAMHO, AGTSP!, AGTHPS!!,

THIS DAYS I AM SICK LIKE A RAT, LIKE WHEN YOU LEFT LAST YEAR,
THE DEVOTEES SAY IT IS BECAUSE YOU WILL GIVE ME INICIATION THAT I
AM GETTING PURIFICATION.
I SEE MOST OF THE TIME YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SERVED AT ALL, YOU ARE SO HUMBLE...
WHEN I SEE OTHER DISCIPLES SERVE THEIR GURUS I FEEL ASHAMED THAT YOU DO NOT
RECEIVE SAME TREATMENT.

WOULD YOU BE SO KIND TO HELP ME TO SERVE YOU IN A WAY THAT IS CORRECT AND PLEASING TO YOU?
I WOULD LIKE TO BECOME HELPFUL.
YOU ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO ME, AND I FEEL TRULLY UNQUALIFIED TO DEAL WITH YOU, PLEASE KINDLY
ASSIST ME.
HARE KRSNA,
YOUR SERVANT BHAKTIN SUSANA

Esteemed Bhakta Susan.
HARE KRSNA. AGTSP.  pamho.  It is nice to see and talk with you daily and to also get the chance to write e-mail to you.
Yes, service is personal, no?   Some "Gurus" are Ksatriya natures, like to organize devotees, be involved in adminstration, others like a retired, introspective life.  So, we have to understand the mood of our Guru, devotees, people, and serve them according to their nature, no?
Honestly we are very happy with your service, solicitudes, and only hope that we can reciprocate more and more.

I've heard that one very big book distributor asked Srila Prabhupada during the Christmas Marathon, what was the most intimate service he could do for Prabhupada, and Srila Prabhupada wrote back, that to chant 16-nice rounds daily and follow the 4-principles strictly his whole life was the most intimate service.
See you in a few hours.

(We are looking for some multi-strand, synthetic, fishing line to restring out Japa bead, however, but it is not a rush.  They are strung but really loose.)
AgtSP    pamho. 

Ur servant, Hanumatpresaka Swami
 

Diary of a Travling Creature
Buck White (Piggy)

30 January 2010  -  Sunday
Radhadesa - Belgium

Hare Krsna, Dudes!    AGTSP   paoho.  How are you all?     Here we are in Radha desa, in Belgium.   It's an old castle where they filmed the first Dracula movie!
There's a devotee here named Haripada!     Spookey!        Just like, Harry Potter!!

HpSwami is doing his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu seminar for the College.  After five years it is getting really nice, really potent for getting into the universities in the history of world theater, and also for making theater with the devotees.

400 devotees here for the Kirtan Bliss Weekend.   We are mostly hiding out in our room getting this course work organized, working on Bhakti-vaibhava, NIOS, and the Kapi-Dhvaja goes out in a couple of days.

Always there is this wonderful Blog, center of all the activies in the universe, and we keep getting little contacts through SKYPE.   Today we communicated with devotees in Peru about Sattva and it's relationship with Anjana Suta Academy, Madhava acharya in Australia, and we just finished 30-minutes with Param-padam Prabhu's BG study group on internet.

Wherever you go, whomever you meet tell them about Krsna!

Books are the basis!

O.K.   See you soon.    These Blog dialogs, like with Gaurava are so useful for us.  We get the same questions 1,000,000 times, so now we can answer them for everyone!

Buck White ASA

Hare Krishna Dear Guru Maharaja!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Please accept my humbles obeisances.
We are in mayapur, in the last two weeks of the bhakti vaibhava course (mihe). Last week our teacher was Candramauli swami, and it was really inspiring.
Next week we have our final presentations, and I choose the subject: "Narada Muni as spiritual counselor", the idea of this subject is to get diferent general principles of counseling in the different appearences of Narada Muni on Srimad Bhagavatam, Cantos 1-6.
we still have sloka test, before february 15th, all the slokas of Brahma Samhita.
After that we go to Vrndavana, and on march 3 we return to Argentina.
Your eternal servant
Devaki-nandana das  

HpS - Jaya!   AGTSP    paoho.  Thank yo for the news.  We also got Skype connversation with Ambarisa Das there.  You see him much? 
We have been hoping someone would do this extract, Preaching Strategies of Narada!

Sadhana is O.K?    To be a Bhakti vaibhava you have to be strict, no?   Is very very big title!  We mustn't humiliate Srila Prabhupada!  

My dear Maharaja,
Dandavat pranams. Ram Ram.
Thank you very much for forwarding this verse.  Please allow me to explain this verse further. I hope you can read this whole email.

http://vedabase.net/cc/antya/4/193/en

This verse mentions 2 important words
1) cid-ananda-maya which means self is full of knowledge and happiness.
2) aprakrata-dehe which means self is beyond body and inert matter. It also refers to self as "SAT" which mean eternal. Inert matter is perishable whereas self is SAT or imperishable.
Due to maya, we accept self as product of inert matter and perishable. We also experience incompleteness or lack of knowledge and also, miseries in this world due to assumed identity of self with matter and body.

According to this verse, initiation means to accept the TRUTH which already exists. The truth is that self is sat chid ananda and beyond body and matter (aprakrata-deha). Devotee does bhajan of Krishna with acceptance of this truth. This  is real initiation.
I hope you agree with my understanding. We cannot deviate from truth. The shastra just expains the truth.
Your servant,
Gaurav Mittal

HpS -  Sri Sri Guru gauranga Ki Jai!    Your explanation seems very lucid to me, but then when we are becoing free from bodily identification by surrendering more and more of our prestige, things, by surrenderinng them to Krsna, we see that Krsna is manifest in five features, just at the same substance is manifest in three features as ice, water and steam.

http://vedabase.net/cc/adi/7/5/en

Then we can appreciate the position of Sita and Laksmana, that the best way to serve Rama is through them.  Just as everyone can see the moon but with a telescope we can see better.

So, everyone knows God, but by Parampara we can know Him in more, practical, detail.  Thus Rupa Goswami's first principle of Sadhana Bhakti is to take shelter of an Acharya, hear from him, become free from suffering, caused by fonication, intoxication, gambling, gluttony etc. Then we see the world as tool to practically serve Rama, like realizinng the oportunity to live in Ayodhya.  This relation is eternal.  Of course,there may be others, but they are in livinng harmony as they develop. Kunti devi knows Krsna by direct perception, through Devaki and through Arjuna.  As I would understand she feels that the best connection is through Arjuna, who has NO envia of her love for Krsna, only wants to help her!

Esteemed Members ASA,
AGTSP   paoho.  It is 9 minutes past midnight.  We have been answering letters since 9PM.  It is not so bad because we can't sleep at night because of this Jet-lag.
In the day we can't stay awake.   We are getting better.  Today we started our Bhakti-rasa-amrta-sindu Seminar.
It was super, super, super.  About 8-students.  All very nice.   After five years the course is very nice, very preactical for Sankirtana.  HpSwami even had some study questions for the first part, Professor Haberman's history of the book.
Then we gave a public class for about 40-devotees after the Arati on NOI.  This is the third.  It gets dark here about 5PM.   About 40-devotees sing for the last Arati.
We are having some chest pains.   Hmmm?         No pulses missing.

We rest now.
Little progress in setting calendar for the fall.
We worry about Natalia, Abhirama, Gopa-kumar, we got intense letter with so much news from Jagajivana, our GBC in Peru.
O.K.  we rest a little and then Japa.

Krsna consciousness is so much fun!      Let us be sure that we get service from our eternal body and not just through our temporary body!