Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna, Dear Gurudeva!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada and All glories to you.

Please accept our humble obeisances. (PAOHO)

As of every two weeks:

* Bulletin is now upload on Facebook (English & Spanish), it is also in Google Groups (English & Spanish) as listed at: http://www.jayarama.us/hello.htm

Hare Krishna. I hope U are doing well

ASA - It's the Battle of Kuruksetra for you and me.

We are hit by Maya, and we stand up to fight,

And enter the again into the melee.

!! Boop! !

.. . ! Bop! ..**

BING

We are ok. Trying to survive in this material world. Thanks to Ur mercy, we can have hope we can be better each day.

ASA - NoI 3: Enthusiasm is more important than patience. Ie. Understand the purpose of struggle in this world. It is opportunity to undergo austerity to achieve divine life, which is eternal an ever increasing in harmony and happiness (for Gopal [Who is completely egoistic]).

We are following a sadhana everyday. Sometimes we enjoy it (16R, 5AM, 4P). Worshipping our deities. Then reading SB everyday. We are on Canto 1, Chapter 13: Dhrtarastra quits home. (pdp: "Etiquette for men and so much for ladies also, Gandhari, biographies."

some days we feel that we do it just to perform. Please forgive for that.

ASA - For us, it is becoming always relishable after some effort at purification from our falling into NoI-2. Forward!!! Return to the fight. Become a parama-hamsa soon. Next breath.

Things at school are ok. I was invited to represent the school for a conference on "Kids with Special abilities".

With my 8th grade group, We will begin to carry out social work in low-income schools

My family is ok. My niece (Aitana) is now 5 months old. My sister is doing very well teaching English for kids at school. My mom and my cousin take care of my niece while my sister is at work.

Thanks a lot for all your support.

Your aspirant servants

EDT (Patrak das & Antuanette)

HpS - Please give us feedback on the Kapi Dhvajas. Hari Bolo!!!!

Find newer and newer ways to implement BG, SB, CC etc into your teaching. Eg. have your students describe the taste of different waters.

Thank you all!!

See you soon...

asa(e) - Ontology, Yoga-ladder - Fall down from Vaikuntha.

PAMHO AGTSP!!

HK Maharaj!! how are you??

HpS - Many people ask us this question, no? Guess the best answer is, "Like Arjuna in the battle of Kurukstra". Shot full of arrows, not giving up returning the fight. Trying to accomplish Krsna's goals in the Sankirtan battle.

well here I'm writing you again, this time I'm having a doubt about Prabhupada statements which I would like to please ask you about.

Here are the verses which arose the questions:

So here I found this two statements.

Bhagavatam 3.16.26: "The conclusion is that no one falls from the spiritual world, or Vaikuṇṭha planet, for it is the eternal abode. But sometimes, as the Lord desires, devotees come into this material world as preachers or as atheists. In each case we must understand that there is a plan of the Lord. Lord Buddha, for example, was an incarnation, yet he preached atheism: “There is no God.” But actually there was a plan behind this, as explained in the Bhāgavatam."

Bhagavatam 7.1.35: "Therefore it is to be understood that when Jaya and Vijaya descended to this material world, they came because there was something to be done for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Otherwise it is a fact that no one falls from Vaikuṇṭha."

And here I found this other one which seems opposite:

Transcript of a Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavatam Class on verse 1.8.23

https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/741003sbmay/?query=fall+spiritual#bb296536

"The... We fall down, we, because we are very small, spiritual spark, and Kṛṣṇa is the whole fire. And the fire and the spiritual..., fire, sparks from the fire, their quality---the same = they can burn. As the big fire can burn, similarly, the small spark, if it falls down on your cloth, that portion, it will immediately burn. It will become back..., black. So the quality is the same. But when it falls down, its burning quality becomes extinguished. We have got practical experience. Burning quality becomes extinguished. So when we fall down from the spiritual world---we come to the material world---our spiritual quality becomes extinguished. That we have to revive. That we have to revive."

So I've heard in a class you gave here in Argentina that when a soul resides in Goloka Vrindavan and wants to forget about Krishna might descend to a less perfect loka, and you were describing, and please correct me if I'm wrong, how a soul might descend gradually from Goloka to Vaikuntha, then to the marginal position and finally to the material world.

So could you please tell how this knowledge can be combined?

Thank you very much again and please forgive if there was any offense in my letter,

Federico

HpS - AgtSP. It is a big topic, but as I understand, the basic principle is that no one has an accidental fall down from the spiritual world. Yet we always have free will, other wise we are slaves of pain or slaves of pleasure and then there us no question of giving our love to Krsna.

We become afraid of that, BG 4.10, because it is an absolute responsibility, but it is also a fantastic gift. We can actually give Krsna our free love!

This is one of the most compelling purports that I know: https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/5/8/26/

We cannot have an accidental falldown from Vaikuntha or even Bhava, but we can use our free will and be offensive, not sinful, and fall down. The question, "Why did we do it?' has no meaning. "Why" means what caused us to do it. We have free will even though small, of the same character as Krsna (frightening), so when we chose to do it. It happens.

Same idea is right there in NOI: https://vedabase.io/en/library/noi/6/#bb5968

Yet the good news is that even though we put ourselves under the jurisdiction of the merciless but just judge, maya, the merciful Mother, Radha, is always looking for some way to get us out of this mess even though we don't want to.

Yet, we should help Her, no? Helps?

Hare Krishna Dear GuruMaharaja!

Please accept my humble obeisances,

All glories to you!

All glorious glories to Srila Prabhupada!

So I just wanted to write you a quick note to say that I have started reciting the translation to Gurvastaka daily. I don't have it memorized yet, but I'm reading it a lot!

Today was my last official day for Tulasi service, so I was able to share all I know with the new people how we serve Her in the greenhouse.

They were very patient with me, I think a lot of them already knew how to do the service, one person has a Manjari tattooed on her arm.

So I think with quality people like this, who are already possibly more experienced, that Srimati Tulasi Devi will be taken care of very nicely.

When we got back to the pujari room, Mother Chandravali was engaging some of the devotees in Krishna House to polish Radha Kalachandji's paraphernalia. So we got to see Their pure silver Ekadasi crowns!!!

Plus the copy I ordered of Kamala Subramanium's Mahabharata came in the mail, and I'm very excited to read it! I heard it is so detailed and gripping! Then I can figure out how to use that book, plus NOI, LOB, and TLC to preach.

Oh plus I'm excited to see the new DTC-UT!

And after Houston, I was wondering if I could stop by the Boro to see you?

See you in Houston!

Thank you for everything!

Your aspiring servant,

Jaya Hari Das

HpS - All great news. Of course, we are meeting already in Houston, but this letter gives us such great perspective on who we are seeing through our gross conception of life. See you in Gauranga Hall in a few minutes.

Hare Krishna Dear Guru Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

The blog is our home for a lot of us. Some of us have been travelling a lot in the last months, far from home, but still, we use our consciousness to find our safe place, which is here.

Now, I'm coming back with my new service as Temple President of Santiago Mandir and the Head of ISKCON Chile.

I have sent to you (attached by other means that allow it) the official recommendation letters for the second initiation to Sripati das, and to the first initiation to Diana Sanchez and Estafania Colella.

We take more time to send this letter because we are just arriving at this service, and we have created now a committee dedicated exclusively to checking every one of the applications to initiation. Actually, the letters are signed also by one of the representatives of that group, Manjuali devi dasi.

Please, keep me as one of your apprentices.

Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja.

HpS - Thank you! We got the hard copies from Asta sakhi Devi Dasi and it was an excellent ceremony. I think Krsna is telling us, "No more Hari-nama Diksa". Time to retire as Diksa guru. We wrote about it in the current Kapi Dhvaja. Talk with you soon.

Dear Guru Maharaja, Hare Krishna.

PAMHO AGTSP

In my regular reading, i.e. I was not searching for a quote on the topic, I read this:

The executive head must always be alert to the safety of the prajās, both man and animal, and inquire whether a particular living being is harassed at any place by another living being. The harassing living being must at once be caught and put to death, as shown by Mahārāja Parīkṣit. >>> SB 1.17.10-11, from the purport

---

[Not advocating death sentence here, and not against it, according to time, place and circumstances.]

Food for thought. Replace ‘executive head’ for ‘GBC’ / leader, and ‘prajas’ for ‘all devotees serving under GBC / leader’.

In my arrogant understanding, harassment is one of the easy-to-detect symptom of a materially conditioned consciousness, personally and socially.

There is harassment everywhere, however as, a hopefully progressive, bhakti yoga sadhakas, the idea is to curb it down, personally and socially.

It fascinates me how Srila Prabhupada is uncompromising, direct and strict about how to deal with a person who is harassing someone else.

Any leader who has “prajas” should carefully attend to and be aware that there is no harassment in his community, or if there is, act accordingly / firmly.

More could be said, there are different aspects.

Your servant Namacarya Das

HpS/ASA - Thank you for this comment. Sorry took us almost two weeks to answer. Kapi Dhvaja, Blog posts, ASA Carnival on Face book etc, hope give some idea of the intense programs and travel last few weeks!

Am hoping it will get lighter when we get back to Nashville, but thinking that it may not. Now we have to learn to be continually absorbed in the association of devotees.

That is Vaikuntha, no? The ground, trees, everything is Krsna's devotees.

Jaya Jaya Harinama.

I think that replacing King for GBC is stimulating. I do it, but also we must see that the protection that a Brahmana gives is different than the protection that a Ksatriya gives, no?

GBC is Ksatriya spirited Brahmanas?

Also, kind of harassment ... Kali was cutting of the legs of the bull and beating them. Emotional abuse may require a different punishment than death, no?

Punishing devotees, Brahmanas is a very fine service! Yet, it is something someone who takes the power of GBC must do.

More.. !!

Dear Guru Maharaja, AGTSSGN AGTSP PAMHO!!

Hare Krishna! I hope you are well, recovering energy from the very intense days of preaching you had in Mexico.

HpS - AgtSP. Paoho. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta said that unless you like constantly talking with people who want to hear about Krsna only, you won't be happy in the spiritual world.

We have to learn to swim in the waves of Sankirtan!!

I already in the north of Chile back to work and material responsibilities.

This report is very different from others, for several reasons. First, I wanted to thank you for your so pleasant and uplifting company, it has been very important for me to share these last few weeks with you; to Lalita Radha, Saranagati and Laghu Bhagavatamrta for their friendship and all the support they gave me, they really made my stay unforgettable, also to Govinda Pramodini for her way of working and helping to expand the reach of NIOS there, I was able to learn a lot from all of them. Going out to Harinama and distributing books it’s something that I don’t usually do, at least not like these days with you, thank you for this.

I always have conflicts for not going unnoticed, unfortunately to meet certain goals or do what is needed, it is necessary to be noticed. I took many of the things that you emphasized in the classes as direct instructions, a clear example is Confusio and Revenge, I would have to dig several graves to take that path, there were plenty of reasons, too much disrespect at all levels , at one point I felt sick for holding my temper in the face of unfair situations, but at the end of the day I think I gained much more than I lost. Furthermore, taking responsibility for the second initiation should serve me to develop more aspects of my spiritual life and my role in the Iskcon community.

I wanted to apologize, if at any point, I committed an offense or did something that wasn’t to your liking, sometimes it is inevitable to disturb others just with our presence, but it’s something elective at the same time to take this things personally, even if it’s directly our name that is used to hurting others.

I realized everything that can be done with you there, if we were able to carry out the program with martial artists, we would reach another audience that plays an important social role, they aren’t just athletes, it is the Ksatrya segment of the community that seeks to contribute and if we provide spiritual and philosophical reinforcement to these people, surely we can improve the environment. So I await your instructions to present the project and set up meetings to shape it and define dates. If so, I would travel to present with you, I hope this materializes (we have 4 months to prepare something really good), I’ll be in contact with Govinda Pramodini to give it a follow-up, her experience and insurance contacts will help, I have also thought about graphically supporting your NIOS department there, sometimes we aren’t prophets in our own land.

We lived days of very intense service and I can only say that my heart is full of love for you, that you are and will always be an inspiration to me and the most sincere way to relate to Srila Prabhupada through the example of a Vaisnava that you are.

See you soon, if Krishna wants.

Your eternal servant. Parasurama Avatar Das. Santiago - Chile.

HpS - AgtSP. Thanks to your for your maturing and developing service.

Once Sriman Hansadutta Das created a big mess in Germany and suggested to Srila Prabhupada that he should resign from active preaching, but Srila Prabhupada told him, no, that he should go on, that he was like an elephant, he did big, big, work but passed big, big stool, excrement, so please go on with your service but minimize the stool passing business because he, Srila Prabhupada, has to clean it up!

🙂

I guess you can apply the principle.

We cannot do much to organize programs or plans now. We need to get back to our Base Camp in Nashville for some time and see how the basic situation is, but don't let that stop you developing your Sankirtan.

Let us stay in touch in a heart to heart communication.

Guess the basic instruction is the same for all of us. We were hearing it in the SB class this morning: Interaction between men and women is the most fundamental skill we have to develop.

Of course as Dvija, twice born, there is the art of living in strict social relation in this area.

It is a challenge for us. We are learning how to control the subtle social relations more and more each dya.