Letters to the editor

All Glories to Radhe Krishna.

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada and all his beloved disciples.

Most honorable Hanumatpresaka Swami Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances.

I have being watching your wonderfull lectures and hearing about your glories, pastimes and devotional service at NIOS.

Please allow me to introduce myself, this is Guillermo (Guimo), servant of your servants: Govinda, Lalita, Anandamaya, Gadadhar and their sweet associates from the Bhakti Yoga community in Monterrey, México. I am currently helping them with university programs accordingly with your instructions.

All my life, I have being hankering and wandering for “Something Else”, trying my best, but sometimes behaving like a crazy monkey.

I feel embraced in religious environments, from a to z. But I am vastly and profoundley moved by the movement for the Krishna Conciousness since late 2020.

I started counting on Tulsi beads two years ago, and this year I am finally steadily doing sixteen rounds, daily.

I am reading Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam regularly. After many months of the most wonderful soul journey trough time and space, I am currently reading tenth Canto...

On the academic fields, I have studied Western Literature at UdeM, and earned the Summa Cum Laude award; also post graduate studies on Sociology of Eating, and some courses on Plant Based Nutrition.

I like fruits, ants, the so called master plants, and have recurring dreams with all kinds of tortoises.

Enthusiasm bewilders me day by day as I feel blessed to have Monterrey and Montemorelos devotees association in El Retiro Trascendental ASA. This is the ultimate refugee for the soul!

I would like to continue serving.

Thank you Maharaja!

Sincerely: Your developing servant.

Guillermo Sepúlveda.

HpS - AgtSP! Of course, we have been in contact physically here the least few days in New Govardhana.

We talked about your good self with Adhoksaja Das and others, and on his comments, Gadadhara's and Guru-prasada Swami's approval we are looking forward to your initiation on Sunday.

Hari Bolo!

Hari Bolo!

We were very enlivened by your symposium on spiritual diet. It confirmed some of our experiences and gave us some new understanding.

We always tended toward eating big bowls of fruit, Prasadam, but felt tht maybe that was greedy, but now we see it is natural.

Hope you can keep regular Japa and get a study partner for regular study of Srila Prabhupada's books.

Hare Krsna beloved Gurudeva AGTSP PAMHO:

I hope this meets You in very good health and happy

So sorry for not writing before. I AM very entangled in My material life. I will see your very goodself on March 5th. I humbly beg for your blessings for My trip

I finished the translation of my part waves of devotion. The whole document is in revision.

Besides, I humbly request to have the opportunity to talk to You

Looking forward to seeing You

Your eternal servant

CMDD

HpS - Well, we saw you on March 5th. It is now March 9th. We were very glad to hear that "Waves of Devotion" is translated. We can see to publication and distribution now. Guess we should talk to Visual Services, ArtDas about formating, including graphs etc.

We did not have much chance to talk, but a little. It is so nice to hear that your sister is successful in here professional carreer and Ulyses is about to set of on his Odyssey with a happy face.

We helped him toward a human, Vaisnava birth.

Did you meet any interesting people on your trip?

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, his surrendered disciple and beacon of hope for fools like myself.

HpS - AgtSP!!!

Hare Krsna!!!!!!!!

This year marks 40 years of brahminical engagement, when I first became a full time pujari, after years of sweeping and mopping Krishna's floors and washing Krishna's pots and pans. Finally I had some visibly respectable status. Back in those days as a brand new pujari there were times when I would have as much as half of my rounds done by 4:30. And on some rare mornings, I was even finished with all my rounds before Mangala arotika. I was really on fire back then, and I thought to myself "This is the story of the rest of my life!"

Little did I know then how just wrong I would be on this score. Whilst my sadhana does still exist and sustain me, it is far removed from the standard that I had so enthusiastically embraced in those younger years.

ASA - "No fanatic like a convert", Mormon phrase. 🙂🙂🙂

Still, I am most grateful for those early years of enthusiasm, as ephemeral as they may have been. I can honestly say that I would be totally lost today without those early years of devotional service.

And yet the spirit of true humility has managed to escape me, in spite of my years of service and reflections as a devotee. Even whilst I am constantly being smashed by the material energy, my sense of false pride and envy prevails in my daily living. I struggle with trying to understand just "What is there in me that obliges me to be so proud and so envious? What can I possibly stand to gain by such behavior?"

My only thoughts are that it is due to my envy of Krishna being the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

As I undersgtand it, this is the 'original sin' so to speak that landed each of us in this material world in the first place. It is no wonder that Krishna demands that we surrender. This mood of surrender is a very humbling experience by its very nature, and it is not a popular term in today's world, as it imples defeat, failure, loser. How can I submit myself to such thoughts? How can there be any humility in the heart of an envious rascal? And here I am, trying to make a show of being some kind of a devotee with years of devotional service under my belt.

It's a perfect recipe for requiring another birth.

I can understand better now how important this mood of humility is for our chanting of the holy names, for taking shelter of devotees and particularly for taking shelter of the spiritual master. We accept these principles wholeheartedly in principle because we want to believe that such ideals are real, that they are absolutely necessary, and that they can be had by any and all sincere devotees. But to realize them for their true worth and value, and then to exemplify them in our character is another matter entirely.

I need to close here, so as not to embarrass myself further. Please kindly bless our household so that we may continue with our devotional service, meager as they may be.

Your lowly servant,

Bbd

HpS - Hare Krsna. We are in New Govardhana, couple miles from Allende, Mexico.

Many devotees here. Krsna is here.

Have to surrender our pride of our material abilities, then we have to surrender our pride of respectability and join an out right thief! Butter, clothes etc!

He is always looking for mischief.

Jayananda Das said that humility means not acting artificially big OR artificially small.

Humility means to access our potency and do something within our means!

Next letter.

Hare Krishna, dear guru maharaj.

Please accept my humble obeisances

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!!

I hope your health is good. I stayed in cantabria for some days and now im in ireland, i came here 3 days ago, i came here with the intention to work for some time, i was working in the same place last year and they call me this year too, i had the idea of cooking some prasadam to share with my work colleagues, i know they like sweet things so i thought about making some nice preparations to share with them every sunday.

I have a few questions that I wanted to ask. 

How moving out of the temple could affect my path for taking initiation and what can I do to keep on the right path?

HpS - It is just details, like working in Madrid or London.

You have to have a personal relation with some ISKCON GBC or Temple President. If you try to do that Krsna will help and then you can be initiated.

Should I do a morning program here or it would be ok if I do it by following some programs through the different temples website?

HpS - Both are good. Maybe even mix. SOme days one, some days other.

Aswell i wanted to know how can I follow your classes. Is there any place in particular where I could watch them or participate??

ASA - ASA Carnival - Face book.

and how can i keep the discipline in my sadhana? is going to be a bit difficult without the association of the devotees every day, please bless me with some clarity for giving the next steps.

HpS - Yes dificult so must do it by telecommunication. Get correspondence partners.

i will attach some pictures of the deities in cantabria

Your aspiring servant,

agustina abalos

Thank you! Two minutes to Arati.

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Hare Krishna Gurudeva todas las Glorias sean a Srila Prabhupada, acepte por favor mis humildes reverencias., espero que su salud este bien, en mi caso estoy muy entusiasmada por el viaje a méxico. Le quería contar he podido participar de diferentes servicios en el templo de chile. En el festival de Nityananda Trayodasi pude estar en la recepción de los invitados entregando prasadam dulce para entregar a los asistentes. También pude hacer unas decoraciones y estoy trabajando en más decoraciones para el Festival de Gaura Purmina. Además continuo con mi servicio los días sábados por la mañana en la cocina de la deidad y adoración asistiendo a la madre Gurú Govinda. Desde la última vez que le escribí mis rondas van mucho mejor cantando las 16 y como usted dijo logrando eso todo funciona mucho mejor. Quería preguntarle si hay alguna lectura que le gustaría que realizara.

Le compartos fotos de nuestro querido servicio .

Hariboool!!

0v0

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Hare Krishna, Gurudeva, all glories be to Srila Prabhupada, please accept my humble obeisances. I hope his health is fine, in my case I am very excited about the trip to Mexico. I wanted to tell you that I have been able to participate in different services in the Chile temple. At the Nityananda Trayodasi festival I was able to be at the reception of the guests handing out sweet prasadam to deliver to the attendees. I was also able to make some decorations and I am working on more decorations for the Gaura Purmina Festival. In addition, I continue with my service on Saturday mornings in the kitchen of the deity and worship assisting mother Guru Govinda.

Since the last time I wrote to you, my rounds are going much better, singing all 16, and as you said, once you achieve that, everything works much better. I wanted to ask if there's any reading you'd like me to do.

HpS - Thank you. AgtSP!!! I would say that it seems to us that it is more important with whom you read than what you read.

If you get teacher, study partner, students and read with them, discuss, it is very nice.

Then automatically you will begin to see which of Srila Prabhupada's books you should read.

Of course, Upadesamrta and Krsna book are always our Gurus.

Following and commenting on daily Yatra SB classes is also very primary!!

I share photos of our beloved service.

Haribollll ! ! !

HpS - Thank you! Hare Krsna!!!!!! Thank you!

Please accept my sincere obeisance’s, All glories to the Vaishnavas!

HpS - ASA - Hare Krsna! We noticed this Post but hacve not been able to get to it until now.

You know how busy things can be in Houston.

You can see from th DTC post here that we made it to Mexico.

Still alive!

ECCLETIC EXPERIMENTAL ELUCITATION



Kindly allow this humble offering to appease the lack of humble offerings; the goals of periodically written supplications have been blatantly restrained by this over-active brain, regardless of the pain, here we go… a noteworthy showing for the vastly growing “Monkey Warrior’s.”

HELLO AGAIN

Oops, a month’s gone by, and am only in the second paragraph. Please excuse my offenses... so much for a timely presentation, best to make up for it with some self-realization!

STILL HERE NOW

Now, what to write for making up for what I didn’t write, while writing to make it right? Reflecting on the magnitude and attitude of the participants in the Monkey Warrior blog, I best do something to complement the caliber of my Godbrothers and Sisters. Shouldn’t meander in mannerism,

Levity doesn't need excess longevity, causes a wandering storyline... smash the mind. We may learn education & entertainment are not always cheered, though they should be if they’re clear.

GETTING CLOSER

In our journey with you, Maharaja, in Bharata Varsa, some questions came to me, in the rightful pace of Govardhana parikrama, those inquiries were spaced. Now attempting to reflect and respect the queries, though, for the life of me, my mind is not dreary, just satisfied with your good association. Of course, a puzzling brain will not submit to sincerity, instead, we have whimsical wanderings. Still, my points are splayed in this epist-fool play.

MAKING & TAKING

Need to reach for spontaneous proclivities, one of the most invigorating practices of devotional service, yet it may be the most frustratational on the material platform. We have expectations, desire for specific results that interrupt the spontaneity swing, mysterious thing... this impromptu fling.

The minuscule percentage of personal control we have of this world is better when we know the remaining 8.3 billion in command of this “planet of demand”, our best intentions are consumed with time. That marvelous 8.3 billion is complete with the Divine, this is an inspirational source for the sublime, let’s cross that invisible line that borders eternal time.

ASA - Oink! Oink! Whoop! Whoop!

🐷 🐷 🦧🦧

It is 8.3-million (species of life) not billion, no?

HOW NEAR IS FAR

Vani & Vapu (Distant & Close), the crux of intimate relations, is based on reverse gestation. Our ongoing journey to self-realization is one of vibration, a trip of negations and embracing correlations, part of the “Acintya Bheda-Bheda Tattva” Spiritual sensation.

As aspiring Vaisnavas and based on the degrees of surrender, the art of spontaneity is rendered, though only if the protocol is naturally tendered. In essence: faithful japa, 4 principles, calm perseverance and desires of yukta-vairagya can surmise pure, spontaneous devotional service, not some speculative appearance.

NOW STILL HERE

Concluding this minute excerpt of self-realization, the only usurpation may be is in thinking we’re creating the narration, not keeping our Gurus as the guiding entity for this ecstatic proclivity. Take the reins to your mind with the Soul divine and intelligence will not be maligned. This is the beginning reflection of Bhava and its connections. The next levels are even more purifying and satisfying, though one needs to relish it, not embellish it.

GRATITUDE

Thank you all for your valuable time, and hope my bent mind didn’t combine improper guidelines, we do not want to malign any devotees’ personal confines. The stirrings of “rasa-bhasa” are not our place, respect people’s space, and then we may share the transcendental grace beyond blood and race. 

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

HpS-ASA -- 🙂 🦧 🐷 🤖

Jaya, Hare Krsna.

To our perception, your poetry it getting better and better.

We could follow all of the dance, except for the "Million or Billion" reseach glance.

I think translating to Spanish would require Mother Sarasvati herself.

I think that Full Morning Service, then we can be pretty sure our spontaneous service is propery.

We are Brahmanas and can trust our insights.

Planning on keeping some notes for you all while we are here and then sending by Post Man when back in Houston.

Maybe??? we can even meet in Nashville.

Otherwise, just Saci x Lord Caitanya meetings while He was in Puri!!