All Glories to Sri Sri Radha Syamasundara
All Glories to Sri Sri Gaura Nitai
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada,
Hare Krishna Dear Guru Maharaja,
Please, accept my try of rendiring humble obeisances unto you.
I'm writing you because in my daily reading of Srimad Bhagavatam I faced this sloka a few day ago:
satyaṁ puṣpa-phalaṁ vidyād
ātma-vṛkṣasya gīyate
vṛkṣe ’jīvati tan na syād
anṛtaṁ mūlam ātmanaḥ
The Vedas enjoin that the factual result of the tree of the body is the good fruits and flowers derived from it. But if the bodily tree does not exist, there is no possibility of factual fruits and flowers. Even if the body is based on untruth, there cannot be factual fruits and flowers without the help of the bodily tree.
(Source: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 8, Text 39.)
That sloka caught my attention, particularly regarding the value of this body. Srila Prabhupada provides insightful comments about it, but one stood out to me, and especially relevant during times of international tension and the threat war on this planet.
"Even if for the sake of argument the material world is accepted as untruth, the living entity entangled in the illusory energy cannot come out of it without the help of the body. Without the help of the body, one cannot follow a system of religion, nor can one speculate on philosophical perfection. Therefore, the flower and fruit (puṣpa-phalam) have to be obtained as a result of the body. Without the help of the body, that fruit cannot be gained. The Vaiṣṇava philosophy therefore recommends yukta-vairāgya. It is not that all attention should be diverted for the maintenance of the body, but at the same time one’s bodily maintenance should not be neglected."
That Prabhupada instruction reminds me of one of the conversations that Srila Prabhupada had with Brahma Tirtha prabhu, registered in the famous in "Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers" book.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: So long as you are in the material world, you cannot neglect physical laws. Suppose you go to a jungle and there is a tiger. It is known that it will attack you, so why should you voluntarily go and be attacked? It is not that a devotee should take unnecessary physical risks. He shouldn’t think, “Now that I have become a devotee, I challenge everything.”
Source: "Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers", Chapter SIX, The Perfect Devotee.
Why am I sharing these quotes with you now? So, first is important read the context surrounding.
Context > Good destination south of the south
A couple of hours ago, the United States bombed Iran, and China and Russia aren't "happy" with this. It is well known that. On the other hand, Iran, in its national TV broadcast, a presenter on state television stated that "now every American citizen or military personnel constitutes a legitimate target".
Then, a few days I watched this video of 1:08 length from a specialised Instagram account focused on data about geopolitics.
https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZ2enu5ZacIM11d8nO8EB9kxv2sUCXeJ2CmX
Interestingly, they have almost 80.000 followers with only 108 publications at the moment of this post 😄
. (Screenshots attached) The Economic Times from India Times confirmed it: - https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/latest-updates/10-safest-countries-to-seek-refuge-if-world-war-3-breaks-out/chile/slideshow/115623826.cms
So, our proposal and invitation, Guru Maharaj, is that you change you residence to Chile, instead of USA. At least in these crazy moments.
Chile, the country
So, Guru Maharaja, Chile is one of the countries with the most socio-economic stability in South America. Maybe Uruguay, too. But there is no temple there.
Santiago leads Latin America in the recent Global Cities Index 2025 ranking by Oxford Economics (source index.goodcountry.org). This indicator evaluates the global performance of cities, focusing on the economy, human capital, quality of life, environment, and governance.
Specifically, the capital of Chile was chosen as the best city in Latin America, ranking above Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Monterrey, and Lima.
Santiago’s strong performance is largely due to its 33rd place in the Human Capital category, which reflects the quality of its educational infrastructure and the concentration of universities and corporate headquarters that attract talent," stated Oxford Economics’ senior economist, Anthony Bernard-Sasges.
- Chile is the safest country for investment in Latin America (Source: The Economist, Intelligence Unit 2021)
- Two universities in the TOP 5 of the best universities of Latin America now in 2023, and one of them has been number one for a lot of years in a row (Source: topuniversities)
- Chile ranks as Latin America’s most innovative economy in 2022 (Source: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO))
- Chile’s homicide rate remains among the least violent nations in Latin America. (Source:NGO Insight Crime)
Chile, the yatra
We have four programs every week in the temple: Philosophical Monday, Wednesday of Kirtan, Prabhupada's Night every Friday, and the Sunday Feast starting with lunch.
There are 6 different nama hattas, and 2 monthly programs of public programs with municipalities/yoga studios, and also regular visits from schools and different universities to the temple.
Pictures here of the last week:
Universidad Diego Portales: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YOxAiUOz4Bablmju6I4x6UwVQKQ_W8GP?usp=sharing
Universidad de Chile:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YRP7h0uwIt8XTRFxtNvXcrCN5uwdoEbd?usp=sharing
From this last visit this Monday, I received this WhatsApp after two days of the visit asking for the lectures of the Bhagavad Gita on Monday (screenshot attached too).
As a temple president, I can tell you too that more than 50 devotees are donating as members of the "Membresía Trascendental" every month, and the whole temple is working financially because of those devotees. And another 30 devotees are willing to join without too much advertising. Just one official Bank Account of ISKCON Chile, and a monthly transparent report.
Krishna West in Chile, led by Pancali devi dasi, HDG disciple and your disciple Madhu Mangala, and Pandu prabhu and his wife Madri devi dasi, has more than 60 people chanting japa and with Bhagavatam Classes every day.
If we talk about the preaching programs in the rest of the country, the utsahan expands.
Chile had 4 Ratha Yatras in the last year for the first time (Punta Arenas, Coyaique, Santiago and Viña del Mar).
There is more positive information that I can share privately with you about the yatra here. But now I can tell you
Conclusion
We have different places available here to invite you to stay in this country without any cost, in the countryside, in the city, different neighbourhoods, and of course, the temple itself, suitable for the spring and summer.
So, your presence here could help us to be sure that your physical body is safer for a while, at least until things get more relaxed and less turbulent there in the countries of the north. So Chile is a real possibility.
Thank you, Guru Maharaja, for your time to read to us.
Your servant,
Jagad Guru Das.
HpS ASA 🐒🦍🦍🦍
Hare Krishna.
Most fundamental for us is that we have always felt that Peru is our home, Chile is our Sankirtan spot and we need an office, but we are so old and incompetent that at this moment, 6.26pm, we cannot even walk nine mahamantras to our village temple.
Oooof!
Seems we will be camped here until Janmastami, then we just bought tickets for three weeks in Nashville.
After that who knows?
Hare Krishna.
Many surprises in store for you all in Iskcon Chile.
