Letters to the editor

Vasu gosh Das writes:

Learn Sanskrit The Easy Way: Sandhi Prakaranam (Module 1) Online Course | Commencing from 04 April 2023 | Register Now! 

Course Registration Link - https://forms.gle/FRYAQjQWorUcnSJ28

View Course Details - https://bit.ly/3KNqPpg

Course Description : An interactive course that provides introduction to learn sandhi and covers the 7 types of Svara sandhis. Attracts you with invigorating exercises, informative images and exciting games. It offers a step-by-step explanation of rules and exceptions. Extremely useful for beginners to grasp the powerful concepts of svara sandhi and their importance in Sanskrit language.

Learn Sanskrit The Easy Way: Sandhi Prakaranam (Module 1) Online Course | Commencing from 04 April 2023 | Register Now! 

Course Registration Link - https://forms.gle/FRYAQjQWorUcnSJ28

View Course Details - https://bit.ly/3KNqPpg

Course Description : An interactive course that provides introduction to learn sandhi and covers the 7 types of Svara sandhis. Attracts you with invigorating exercises, informative images and exciting games. It offers a step-by-step explanation of rules and exceptions. Extremely useful for beginners to grasp the powerful concepts of svara sandhi and their importance in Sanskrit language.

HpS/ASA - Thank you so much. Considering our situation it seems a little to advanced and technical, but may be perfect for some of our ASA friends and members, so posting it to our Blog.

What we would like to see is a course integrated with the Bh. Sastri, Bh. Vai. etc diplomas and the daily SB and BG classes.

Eg. Learn to recognize, write, the first word of the day's SB verse in Devanagari.

Thank you. Hari bolo!

Hare Krsna. 

AgtSP Paoho 

We arrived in Mexico, village near Monterrey, after 7-hours strong travel.

Devotees coming from all over Mexico and South America. 

Be here for one month.

Then, back to Houston and April 11th in

💥MURFREESBORO💥

Reading the posts. Chanting for hospitalized family.

Hope to join on line.

PAMHO AGTSP!

All glories to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga!

HK Maharaj! How r u? In reply to your last letter, yes I’m chanting the 16 rounds and thanks to Krishna and the devotees following the 4 principles. I always thought this situation would come in a couple of years, and now I see how much I still have to learn, Maharaj please tell me, how can we treat every person equally?

ASA - By helping them in their service to Krsna or seeing what service they can do and trying to engage them.

How can we be free from bad mood?

HpSwami - By purification. Get more and good mood as we continue process. Second initiation means happy, basically.

Even now, chant enthusiastically and happy

How can we be more steady in our service?

HPSWAMI - By doing service as much as you can when you can.

thank you again for being there for us,

hope you are well,

your servant

Federico

ASA - 🦍🦍🦍

Hare Krishna Maharaja, please kindly accept my most humble obeisances; all glories to Srila Prabhupada, our founder acharya; and all glories to your own good self, for giving so much shelter to fools like myself, on behalf of Srila Prabhupada.

I found myself thinking just recently about Krishna's first instructions of how we are not this body, but eternal spirit souls. I understand the principle, and I accept it wholeheartedly, without doubt, because it gives me hope, in spite of my shortcomings as an eternal spirit soul. But sadly, I lack the realizations needed to be peaceful, and as Krishna says in the 2nd chapter of Bhagavad gita "How can there be any happiness without peace?" I reflect on the verse in Srimad Bhagavatam that say "with each rising and setting of the sun, death comes closer to everyone: except one who spends his life constantly chanting the holy names of the Lord." I have to confess that my chanting is not at all proper to qualify for the grace that is offered in this verse from Srimad Bhagavatam, and yet I have no choice but to keep on chanting, regardless of my failures to chant nicely.

I find myself wondering what it must have been like in so many previous lifetimes to exist in old age, struggling with disease, and to ponder the impending finality of death. Did I even believe in a next life? What was I thinking? How was I thinking? Was I confident of a better next life? Or perhaps I was even so brazen and so bold as to think that I wouldn't need to worry about my next life, because there wouldn"t be one on account of my devotional service. One thing I can say for certain, "I am not thinking like that now." I am not sure just how I am thinking. Sometimes I am nervous, and at other times I feel the confidence of Krishna's assurance of His protection for one engaged in His devotional service. How many times I must have gone through these same feelings, over and over and over, again and again and again, lifetime after lifetime after lifetime: perhaps even ad infinitum! And here I am once again, wondering about my past misdeeds and the impending future after death.

A very real part of me is afraid because I know I have so many misdeeds in this life. And yet another part of me is not intelligent to acknowledge such fear, as if there is some denial. It sounds a lot like Krishna's instructions in the 18th chapter on what is to be feared and what is not to be feared. I want with all of my heart to have unflinching faith, and something inside of me says that I do have it. And yet, I hesitate to act on such faith. This is odd, as it sounds like some mode of oxymoron in concept and in practice. I am obliged to confess that at the heart of my dilemma is this lack of true surrender. I want to surrender, I truly do with all my heart: and at the same time I want to surrender on my own terms.

All of these thoughts have been going through my mind lately, and so I thought that I needed to say them to someone: so why not you? I wish I had the courage, the good intelligence and the good faith to come forward and surrender. You have been so kind as to accept my meager, nonsensical efforts of devotional service, knowing full well that I am a fool. And it is for that reason alone that I have felt any sense of shelter and hope in my life as a devotee.

Your lowly servant,

Balabhadra dasa

HpSwami- Thank you. We remember Jayananda Das said that as long as we are chanting we are advancing.

So, you have made progress in this life.

All we can do is surrender to chant Holy Names, SB, instructions of SB, Bg.

THE MAGIC WILL BE DONE BY KRSNA.

🙂

It is better to chant than worry, no?

All Glories to Sri Sri Gaura-Nitay!!!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!!!

All glories and my most respectful obeisances to you Gurudeva!!!

Hare Krishna dear Gurudeva I hope you are in very good health and in your preaching, the temple in Houston looks so wonderful and the deities are so beautiful, very happy to have your gotomeeting association again.

Thank you very much Gurudeva for your response to my previous letter, your instructions are a treasure for me, I will strive to educate myself and be a good guide.

Gurudeva, thanks to Krishna, I already have my ticket ready for Mexico City, I will go with Diana and Guru Govinda, we will arrive on March 23, so we will be helping to prepare everything for your arrival together with the devotees from Mexico.

My little report 16 daily rounds and 4 regulative principles, service in the kitchen of the deity on Thursdays, service in the administration, I am also in a service that I really like, which is to fix and clean the temple.

We had some intense days of service together with Subhangi Devi Dasi, we were fixing the room to receive the spiritual masters and older devotees who visit us in the temple, since it was neglected during the pandemic, the room was very good and we received help and donations from the devotees, Sruti Priya and Estefania helped with many donations of bedding, desk chair, lamps, carpet, etc. and Prabhu Lalita also helped fixing the bathroom and some details, it was very exciting to receive Maharaja Bhakti Gauravani Goswami was our first guest after so many years, Maharaja approved the room and pointed out the things that were missing.

We had a very successful second Saturday Sanga with Maharaja, there were about 45 devotees in the class and a kitchen team is already being formed of which my husband and I are part. In March we will have a visit from a sankirtan devotee who gives wonderful classes Prabhu Navina Nirada Das. The devotees are very happy and inspired by this program and that is the most important thing. There are many things to do but we are going little by little. The family is very well Krishna is always taking care of us, everyone is very happy that I can go to see him in Mexico and they encouraged me to make this trip.

I finished the first module of Bhakti Sastri with Maharaja Yadunandana Swami now I am waiting for the results to see how it went in the exams and then continue with module 2 of Bhagavad-gita chapters 7 to 12.

Thank you very much for everything Gurudeva, for his constant inspiration, see you very soon in Mexico. He is so missed in Chile that while he was arranging the room for Maharaja Bhakti Gauravani he thought how wonderful it would be for you to come, he would meet so many new faces enthusiastic about learning Krishna Consciousness.

Your aspiring disciple says goodbye

Alankrti Devi Dasi

Have a wonderful Gaura Purnima with the devotees of Monterrey!!!!

HpSwami - Thank you. We are packing now. It would be nice to be able to stay at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada together doing Sankirtana forever.

Dear Maharaj,

PAMHO AGTSP!

Maharaj, I noticed how you really appreciate the academic credits of your disciples. This makes me wonder if I should put more effort into developing academic credentials, scholarly affiliation, degrees, awards/honors, etc too. Please advise 🙏.

Also you said once that second generation should make movies. I feel very inspired in this connection. I keep thinking about plots and networking. What might be a good starting point in your esteeemed understanding? I have so much time and energy and enthusiasm. Trying to figure out where I fit in the bigger picture of service. But there are a lot of questions still. Due to your mercy and instruction to choreograph Jay Radha Madhava, I experienced so many deep feelings just contemplating how Radha and Madhava might have looked walking along the backs of the Yamuna 🤯!

Please guide 🙏

Your servant,

Subhadra Mayi DD

HpS/ASA -- AgtSP!! Paoho... Thank you for your letter and association.

A. The diplomas are mostly like Lord Caitanya taking Sannyasa in a Mayavadi Sampradaya.

We need titles, dress, language appropriate to the audience we are trying to reach.

If it is appropriate you might later work on a doctorate in dance, but some awards from academic sources might be enough.

I think the movie making is very good.

There, some introduction to film making from good teacher might be nice.

Take a course with a friend and communicate our Bhava to the teacher.

Do you have a title from your ten years of Odisi Dance study?

B. Sorry we had such exhausting head ache yesterday. Would liked to have talked more with the A. G. Das.

C. We are starting to work on the travel. Talked with Ranchoor K. D. Looks fine. He says arrive 2-1/2 hours before departure.

Thank you.