Letters to the editor

HpS - Thank you sir. What has happened to the family? Are you still in Texas. Hare Krsna.

GM: My dear Maharaja,

Dandavat Pranams. Jai Vaishnava!

I will drop Anjana to College Station tomorrow. She will start freshmen year majoring in Statistics in Texas A&M.

Sriram is completing internship at Amazon. He is doing Computer Science at A&M and he is starting senior year. Most probably he will get job offer from Amazon. He is very strong work ethic.

I am planning for Vanaprastha ashram as kids will leave in August and I will be alone. My goal is to meditate for at least 4 hours a day. I use word meditate instead of jap as jap can be inattentive.

For me, true japa is sitting straight, keeping back erect, eyes closed and mind fully focused on Bhagavan Ram.

Therefore, I am using word meditate. I hope I can spend 4 or more hours meditating with focused mind. I feel then my life will be successful.

Regards,

Gaurav Mittal

HpS - Hare Krsna!!! BG 4.34.

Hare Krsna.

80% successful today. Krsna's grace.

Lot's of work.

FMP!

SB class. calls, Japa, Walking. We tried our new $9, 108 inch long, hammock. It was GREAT. Chanted for all the cars passing by on Medical Center Parkway.

Offered and honored Mrs. Desai Raja Bhoga.

Was very nice in all aspects.

Now it is late.

Blog mail not done.

Reading Jung's lectures NOT done,

but best to rest, get up early and start again!

Thank you.

!! 🐵

🐷

🙂

Hare Krishna, Maharaja, please kindly accept my most humble obeisances;

all glories to his divine grace, Srila Prabhupada;

all glories to you for your untiring devotional service.

I would like to first mention that there is no measure to how much we all appreciated your most recent and final visit to Boise.

HpS - Same for us! We are still digesting the results, and hope for so much more involvement in the future!

I worry about how this community will continue in the future, now that you will no longer be visiting us.

How and where will we find the inspiration from older, senior disciples and leading grand disciples of Srila Prabhupada if no one comes here to uplift our community with their association?

HpS - We are small dudes, but the general principle is there: I think a good perspective starts here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/4/28/47/

I haven't spoken of these concerns with anyone other than my wife, but I know that they must all be thinking this same way in one way or another, at one time or another.

But what I really wanted to share was something that came to my mind during my japa this morning. I was thinking about "What if I could speak to Ananta Rupa prabhu, and just be upfront and straightforward with him, telling him that the best thing he could for this community is to make me the temple president."

I realize that this is a rather far-fetched idea, more like a dream or wishful thinking. It would certainly be rather bold and brazen on my part as well to attempt such thing. But I couldn't shake this idea from my mind, and there is this ever so small measure of hope within me that just refuses to die. I can't help but feel that this idea is do-able; that it is not as unreal as it may appear to be.

HpS - NoI 3. Enthusiasm is should lead patience, but without patience it becomes passion and goes to a bad conclusion. I think discussing the idea is great and then see what the results are, then re-evaluate.

For the past so many years I have been thinking why should I leave Boise; where can I go where there won't be problems; probably the exact same problems as I am dealing with here, plus unforseen problems of another nature.

I am too old to be running away from my realities, in search of some hopefully better situation. More recently I have been thinking that maybe I am here because Krishna wants me to be here, that Krishna wants me to stay here: but that is just my wild speculation and nothing more.

I have no tangible reason to believe that Krishna has some special plan for me, either here in Boise or anywhere else for that matter, just because of my being an older devotee.

HpS - Hmmm. Old not just in years but also, old in having been in the oven for a long time. The bread gets backed.

As I foolishly tried to share with you during our lunch together without sounding so conceited, I have the desire, the experience and the training to turn things around for this community. The only thing missing really is the passion: but if Ananta Rupa could favor my approach and suggestion, then the Temple Council could and would be willing to help in that matter.

It is because of this lack of passion that I don't just go out and duplicate what Ananta Rupa has already accomplished. I am a complete failure in that regard,

HpS - Again.... hmmm. We all have different natures. Jayananda Das didn't try to do what others had done in terms of pioneering a new Temple.

... but I am confident that if I were to get the blessings and approval of your good self and Ananta Rupa, then everything would be different. I am confident of this.

HpS - In management we always advise: 1. Get advice from many people, 2.Put the plans down on paper with everyone signing. 3. Don't make them forever, but for a practical length of time.

Eg. Balabhadra Das will be President of ISKCON Boise for one year. After six months there will be a review and he may resign or a majority opinion of the Board will ask him to give up the post, but if things are reasonably well then he will continue with sincere help of everyone until the end of one year and then we will take a new look at everything.

The more my mind focused on this concept the more I realized that I need your feedback, your blessings, approval and guidance on this idea, even before I speak of these things to anyone else. I realize that this whole thing sounds rather narcissistic and egotistic on my part: thinking that I could be of some valuable service as the temple president in this community. But I can't help but feel that the proposal of approaching Ananta Rupa, either in person or in a letter, with the suggestion of appointing me the temple president is sound in principle.

After all, from what I am seeing nothing else within the current administration has worked, and my staying away and keeping a safe distance from the internal affairs of this community isn't helping either. And so many potentially nice devotees will eventually stop coming to the temple and leave if things don't improve.

So, I feel it best to put the suggestion before you. If you have any doubts or reservations about this idea then I will probably take it as a no.

If you express any hope on the idea, then I will probably take it as a confirmation and consider how to approach Ananta Rupa: although I feel the safest route is through a letter. That way he can listen to my proposals without my imposing on him verbally and physically, and we don't get into some offensive shouting match as a result.

I know that I am leaving out so many points of concern on this issue, but in the interest of brevity I will stop here: Hare Krishna.

Your lowly servant,

Balabhadra dasa

HpS - Thank you for writing! My observation is that so many senior devotees in Boise feel the same way as you do from their perspectives. They feel that they have to get approval of others and then take more personal commitment in the growth of Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON Boise. Look and see if that is true! They may not want to be a CEO, but they may be determined to take up some other aspect.

Our analysis is above.

Hare Krsna!!!

Hare Krishna, Gurudeva. PAMHO

ALL GLORIES TO SRILA PRABHUPADA !!

All Glories to Hanumatpresaka Swami !!

ASA - AGT all the assembled Vaisnavas!

Gurudeva today at 6 pm our coordinating team met to analyze and finally decide on his stay here in Peru, we also invited Prabhu Janardana and Prabhu Anandamaya to participate.

The Zoom meeting was attended by:

m Palika

p Caturatma

m Candra mukhi

p Janardana

p Anandamaya

m Nitya Kisori

p Ramanada Roy and I

At the beginning of the meeting we mentioned that everyone's desire was to serve him in the best way, therefore, by his mercy there was a good devotional and friendly atmosphere. To decide, it was taken into account that the main use of the place is to use it as a film studio and to serve the guests well.

HpS - To serve film makers well!! 🙂

Then the issue of the rains from January to March was discussed and how to act as the case may be. In the end, the entire coordinating team took the floor and ratified their agreement to rent the house in Santa Eulalia. Janardana prabhu also agreed that St. Eulalia's house is more suitable as a movie studio and is more comfortable for guests.

In turn, Prabhu Anandamaya, although he emphasized the issue of the rains and the dangers of the streams that are near the place, did not oppose us renting the house in Santa Eulalia and asked that precautions be taken to attend to all the inconveniences. So by the mercy of you and Nitay-Gaura this issue is definitely resolved.

HpS - AgtSP and his ISKCON.

On Tuesday the 7th we will go with Raúl to see what environments and scenarios can be made and based on that, what lights and other artifacts he would bring and leave for the filming. María is also going to start the implementation of the organic garden.

Hare Krishna, Gurudeva, a thousand apologies for our blunders, his insignificant servant Abhiram Thakur das.

HpS - Yes, so much work packing here and arranging there. We can see in these big movies like Lord of the Rings, there are hundreds of names at the end of the movie and the work just feed everyone is like feeding and army!

With approval from NIOS President, Abhiseka Singh et al we ordered the camera that Raul suggested.

Books are the basis.

Where can we go to find Sita?

Where will we need to build a bridge to return Her to Rama?

asa-e; vad; grhasta; divorce

We have been participating in discussions of grhastha ashrama and divorce. We remember that we made some recommendations in: https://monkeywarrior.com/detail/12644/

Here are some responses to our very humble, small, ideas:

Dear Maharaj, please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

My understanding of your advice is, that Tara Dasi and I can get separated legally, to allow me to legally accept a new wife.

HpS - We are suggesting it as a second class solution. Improving the relationship with her to make a functional marriage is first class.

In such a case the divorce would only be a formality to satisfy civil laws but all legal arrangements would be made so that the real substance of the situation is insured and clear.

As we understand reality a man cannot divorce a chaste wife. He must take proper care of the first and then may try again. It is like one not liking his first child. He cannot abandon the first, must give it all love, even in the form of chastisement, and then try to get another.

Hare Krsna! 😊

These things are automatic if our spiritual life is healthy, no?

I need to ensure I give her a comfortable amount of money, to sustain peacefully and live a reasonable middle class life. I also need to ensure that she is emotionally doing well under her parents/brother's care, until/if she remarries.

I wanted to raise my concerns regarding taking care of her emotional needs after divorce. Firstly, I haven't been able to adequately take care of them, even when married, as I never fully understood them and also found them to be too demanding.

HpS - If a child, wife is mad, then we can only try to satisfy their physical, psychological and spiritual needs, but we must offer the help, and learn how to do the job better. Reasonable healthy life.

All the more, after divorce, it would be very detrimental to second marriage, and I was planning to discontinue all communication with Tara Dasi after marriage, to enable a more peaceful second marriage.

HpS - As we understand, this is the big illusion that developed in this modern, industrialized, world, that real marriage is a superficial arrangement, like buying a car, but that is what our perspective in this situation denies. Getting married really, not just having a business arrangement with the opposite sex for immediate purposes, is a long time commitment, just like having a child. We can sell our car and buy a new one, but it is difficult to separate ourselves from a wife, child, parent.

Again this is reading Vedic wisdom from a self realized soul, and our own depth experience of the situation for over fifty years.

The second (or we see third, fourth, fifth!) wife is going to be quite conscious of the fact that the husband divorced a previous wife: If I give myself to him in marriage, will he really take care of me?

By the mercy of the continuous chanting of the Holy Names all these things can be practically resolved.

Requesting you to please allow to discontinue all communication and contact with Tara Dasi post separation, to allow both of us to move on emotionally and connect better with the future new partners.

HpS - My Lord, we are not the authority to "allow" these things. As we have mentioned, we only want to be a friend and counselor to everyone involved and give more general expression to these dialogs so that they can have some broader benefit.

Of course, there are so many details. Srila Prabhupada recommends Parasara Muni's Dharma Sastra [https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/9/27/#bb15336] to get guidance on how to deal with our marriage, automobile ownership/maintenance, and I think we have enough energy to discuss these things from our perspective in general for a couple of more years.

Then we will die (😉), but from now on I think we can only handle them in letters posted here in the Blog, preferable by all the parties involved ie. Let us send a summary of our situation to The Wizard of Monkey Warrior, and get his opinion.

O.K? Any comments here? 🐘

Your servant,

Yogananda

All glories to Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Please accept my respectful obeisances.

I hope you are well and happy in Krishna consciousness. Best wishes that Guru and Gauranga are always in your thoughts.

Santiago de Chile, spring coming little by little, but even with the temple it remains closed until everything is in order for the new generation of Brahmanas to attend the worship of the deities. Conflicts between devotees to keep the temple open or closed, but thanks to the effort of the administration and the congregation, festivals have been held to achieve Sadhu Sanga that we so much need.

Living somewhat far from the center of Santiago, with my wife and my two children (Radheya 4 years old and Subal 3 years old), trying to introduce the constant example to have a krsna consciousness environment for them.

Following 4 principles and 16 rounds. Mainly I have been involved in providing bhoga and supplies for the deity worship that is taking place in the devotee house.

In particular, it is around second emergency initiations so that the re-opening of the temple is re-established as soon as possible. Personally, I have taken the second initiation test and they are only coordinating what day the Yajña will take place. Gurumaharaja, what would be the procedure to coordinate with you the delivery of the Gayatri mantra. Is it possible that it was done before the fire or maybe after the fire? Excuse this sudden request, but the GBC is pushing for the temple to be opened soon. Maybe the Yajña will be this Sunday, September 5 at 11:30 Chilean time. Otherwise, it is most likely that it will be next Sunday, September 12, same time, everything depends on your availability and what would be your regulations for the delivery of the gayatri mantra to this humble servant.

With you on the mission to Srila Prabhupada and I want you to be well physically and spiritually

RSD

HpS - AgtSP! Pamho.... Narayana Maharaja was supporting Srila Prabhupada giving initiation by tape recorder, saying that Param-gurudeva, Srila Bh. Siddhanta Sarasvati, gave second initiation to devotees in Malaysia by telephone one time.

After the Yajna (we would like to attend by television) have the sheet with the mantras and we can speak them to you and Mataji.

Take Gaura and Nitai to the park for festivals??

Thank you all.

Send kid's art here!