Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna, Dear Hanumat Presaka Maharaj, please, accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

A year ago, I have heard about you and your preaching, but not so much. So I decided to write to you and if possible to speak. My name is Akshaya Krishna das, based in Lithuania, in connection with movement since 1989.

HpS - AGTSP! A honor to meet you. I just looked at the history of Lithuania in the Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/place/Lithuania. It is amazing. Was so powerful at one time. It is amazing how so many places have been powerful empires at one moment and then the gone. Britannica does not mention famous Bishops, poets or literati.

In the beginning we try to become pure devotees, but later we realize we need to undergo quiet many social things in order to balance all sides of our life. So I have few questions about it. If possible let our conversation be private.

With best wishes

AKdas

HpS - Oooof! We really like to talk with nice people. They are very interesting, but. . .

. . . before this Blog we were getting like 500-letters a month. Impossible, so we started this Blog.

1. We cannot give detailed advice without prolonged detailed knowledge of the situation. So first advice is to follow Canakhya Pandita's advice that success comes from good advice and good advice comes from many counselors. So our advice is to cultivate relations with people who know your private life well and then follow that advice.
2. Present your challenges in a general fashion and we gave general advice, here in the Blog. That satisfies about 80% of the enquiery. If more is needed then we can start to talk more confidentially but already having gone over the general principles.
3. Use a pseudonym. Eg. Captain Midnight.

Hare Krishna Maharaj, please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I am happy to write to you about my sadhana after several months.

Now, I am waking up between 4 and 4:30 am to attend your FMP sessions and then join the chanting call with Sugopi.

My rounds are becoming more and more enthusiastic ever since.

However, on some days, I fail in my morning Sadhana and then lose confidence. But I try to remember your instruction from other letters - fall down, get up, fall down, get up, make progress.

I am still trying to arrange my morning schedule to include mangala aarti every day. I am also offering incense and flower to the Lord daily. I am regularly attending your Srimad Bhagavatam lectures and Srinivas Prabhu's classes every week. I am reading Srila Prabhupada's books regularly, even if it is just a few lines on days when I have too much school work.

I am also helping Kamagayatri Mataji in the Sunday school by doing Srimad Bhagavatam related activities and verse recitation with kids.

HpS - This is such an intense program that it would seem you could make light bulbs in the grocery store glow just by looking at them. Very nice. You are good disciple of Srila Prabhupada.

In your reply to my previous letter, you had asked about my family, community, and work. My parents live in Bangalore, Karnataka, and even I grew up and studied there. I introduced them to Krishna consciousness, and my mother has been enthusiastically chanting 16 rounds for almost a year now and preaching to other family members. My father is still chanting 4 rounds, but we are motivating him to increase the count. At school, I work part-time as a math tutor, teaching assistant, and research assistant.

For the past one and half years, I have been chanting 16 rounds regularly, following 4 regulative principles strictly, and eating only prasadam. I request you to please initiate me. I beg for your mercy and blessings to be able to keep up my sadhana and make it stronger.

Your aspiring servant waiting for your mercy

Chithkala

HpS - Seems that all you need is letter of recommendation from Temple Authorities and complete the Disciple Course. You already did that, no?

1st initiation, 2nd initiation, 3rd initiation . . . . 143 initiation. . . . .

Hare Krsna Gurudeva

Por favor acepte mis rendidas reverencias.

Todas las Glorias a Srila Prabhupada, quien es una manifestación personificada de la misericordia de Sri Krsna.

Y todas las Glorias a usted, su fiel seguidor.

Oramos para que su salud se encuentre bien. ¿Cómo es el invierno en su localidad? ¿Le permite continuar con sus caminatas regulares?

Yo me encuentro sufriendo a causa de mi propia estupidez, estoy tratando de aprender de eso.

Sigo tratando de entender un poco sobre la misericordia: La iglesia católica menciona “7 obras espirituales de misericordia”: Enseñar al que no sabe, corregir al que se equivoca, Dar un buen consejo al que lo necesita, Perdonar injurias, Consolar al triste, Sufrir con paciencia los defectos del prójimo, Orar por los vivos y los muertos...

Mientras leo y escribo esto, pienso en múltiples ejemplos de Srila Prabhupada, de Usted y otros fieles seguidores de Prabhupada practicando cada uno de estas "obras"… ¡Si los devotos no poseyeran esta cualidad, con seguridad estaríamos perdidos!  Entonces, parece ser que de cierta forma, ¿Todos los seguidores de Srila Prabhupada deberíamos desarrollar esta cualidad?

Cuando leí por primera vez el Bhagavad-Gita, hubo un verso que me dio mucho miedo:

“A aquellos que son envidiosos y malvados, que son los hombres más bajos de todos, Yo los lanzo perpetuamente al océano de la existencia material, en varias especies de vida demoníaca” BG 16.19

Me asustó porque pensé - Entonces ¿Nunca tendré la oportunidad de salir de este pantano? – Pensé que estaba perpetuamente condenada - ... Ahora, poco a poco parece que estoy entendiendo (a profundidad) que SOLO la misericordia del Maestro espiritual – y de los Vaisnavas- puede salvarme.

"Sin la misericordia del maestro espiritual uno no puede hacer ningún avance"

Por ahora, solo me queda rezar para obtener la misericordia de aquellos a quienes he lastimado. Ahora puedo ver que mis errores me han lastimado más a mí misma, que a las personas contra quienes los cometí… (Me siento avergonzada y arrepentida de eso) Así que creo, que debido a que soy muy tonta, solo esa cualidad de los Vaisnavas (La misericordia) puede salvarme. He cometido y sigo cometiendo muchos errores, pero estoy tratando de aprender de ellos, porque no quiero abusar de vosotros. 

Gurudeva, usted me otorga su misericordia constantemente de distintas formas, Por favor, perdóneme por no ser capaz de aprovecharla. Estoy tratando de aprender desde mi limitada posición. Gracias por ser un ejemplo e inspiración constante.

Su aspirante a sirviente

Karuna- Sakti DD

Posdata: Gurudeva, ¿Existe alguna categoría en el blog, en la que deberíamos colocar las ofrendas de Vyasa Puja? (Quizá eso le facilite identificarlas de las cartas regulares)

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Hare Krsna Gurudeva. Please accept my bowed obeisances.

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada, who is a personified manifestation of Sri Krsna's mercy.

And all glories to you, your faithful follower.

We pray that your health is fine. What is winter like in your area? Do you allow him to continue his regular walks?

HpS - For our age we are in the top 15% of good health, but teeth, eyes, ears, memory are all dimishing. That is good. Pushes us on to the intellectual, Buddi, wisdom platform.

Still walk every night.

Some snow here but nice when the sun comes out. Enough rain.

Thank you for asking.

I find myself suffering because of my own stupidity, I am trying to learn from that.

ASA - It seems Socrates said that also et al.

I keep trying to understand a little about mercy: The Catholic Church mentions "7 spiritual works of mercy": Teach those who do not know, correct those who make mistakes, Give good advice to those who need it, Forgive injuries, Comfort the sad, Patiently suffer the defects of others, Pray for the living and the dead.

HpS - There seems to be some redundancy in the list??

As I read and write this, I think of multiple examples of Srila Prabhupada, You and other faithful followers of Prabhupada practicing each of these "works" ... If the devotees did not possess this quality, surely we would be lost! So, it seems that in a way, all of Srila Prabhupada's followers should develop this quality?

HpS - Prayers by the Vedas Personified: Krsna's greatest quality is mercy, not justice based just on truth, so servant of Krsna is like that.

King says to criminal that he has heard all the evidence and if he acted just according the law then the he should kill the man, the criminal, but he says that and then says, "but I can see that things were very difficult for you, so this time I am going to be merciful, now get out of my court and I don't expect to see you back here ever again".

Criminal: Yes, Sir! Yes, Sir! Thank you, Sir, thank you Sir. Never again."

When I first read the Bhagavad-Gita, there was a verse that scared me very much:

"Those who are envious and evil, who are the lowest men of all, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, in various species of demonic life" BG 16.19

It scared me because I thought - So I'll never get a chance to get out of this swamp? - I thought I was perpetually doomed - ... Now, little by little it seems that I am understanding (in depth) that ONLY the mercy of the spiritual Master - and the Vaisnavas - can save me.

HpS - Perpetually means, God's time. The king puts his son in the prison. The decision is eternally in force, but the king can finish it in one day or as long as he wants. Until we change our personal relationship with the king we are damned to hell.

"Without the mercy of the spiritual master one cannot make any progress"

For now, I can only pray for the mercy of those I have hurt. Now I can see that my mistakes have hurt myself more than the people I committed them against ... (I feel ashamed and sorry about that).

ASA - Us too. It is very embarrassing, but there is no mistake you can make that you cannot correct!

So I think, because I'm very dumb, just that quality of Vaisnavas (Mercy) can save me. I have made and continue to make many mistakes, but I am trying to learn from them, because I don't want to abuse you.

Gurudeva, you constantly bestow your mercy on me in various ways. Please forgive me for not being able to take advantage of it. I am trying to learn from my limited position. Thank you for being a constant example and inspiration.

Your would-be servant

Karuna- Sakti DD

Postscript: Gurudeva, is there a category on the Blog, in which we should place the offerings of Vyasa Puja? (Maybe that makes it easier for you to identify them from regular cards).

HpS - AgtSP! I think Personal Sadhana is the best, but with declaration of a Vyasa puja Offering in the Subject field. 🙄

Querido Gurumaharaja

Por favor acepte nuestras respetuosas reverencias.

¡Todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada! 

Enviamos el reporte de la página ASA trasmisiones en vivo. 

Estamos muy agradecidos con usted por permitirnos participar de su trascendental Sankirtana al servicio de Srila Prabhupada, trataremos de dar respuesta a sus comentarios sobre vuestro proyecto (presentado en esta carta https://monkeywarrior.com/detail/11848/)

1) Recibimos con agrado el nombre propuesto para este servicio (“ASA Carnaval) y realizamos un pequeño sondeo para analizar la posible reacción del público ante este nombre; descubrimos que para algunas regiones la palabra “carnaval” es sinónimo de una fiesta desenfrenada y grotesca, mientras que para otros se relaciona con la cuaresma. Todos lograron entender el sentido del nombre después de explicarlo. Por lo que creemos que quizá sería mejor adaptar el nombre para que el público capte el significado sin necesidad de mucha explicación y al mismo tiempo mantenga el significado de “incluir muchos tipos de cosas en un ambiente como un Carnaval”

Si a usted le parece bien, creemos que “ASA FESTIVAL” podría ser una buena opción, tal como un festival cultural que incluye, música, danza, filosofía, teatro, Cocina, Arte, etc…. ¿Qué le parece Gurumaharaja? 

2) Peligros detectados

Respecto a los peligros resaltados (“demasiadas cosas que a menudo son redundantes, o no son de buena calidad y no están organizadas”) Estamos trabajando en la elaboración de un glosario, para que los usuarios puedan consultar con mayor facilidad y rapidez el tema según su interés o necesidad. Por nuestra propia experiencia de consulta de las clases, estamos convencidos de que cada clase es valiosa para sus discípulos, aún cuando puedan tratar el mismo verso o tema, siempre hay puntos clave que enriquecen cada sesión y amplían nuestra perspectiva. (Además contamos con que, por su parte, ASA Audiovisual brindará a los miembros de ASA una oferta selecta para quienes no deseen navegar entre tanta información)

Sin duda, la calidad puede ser uno de nuestros mayores retos, debido a que la mayoría de las grabaciones antiguas, son deficientes pero muy valiosas. Para mitigarlo, tal vez podríamos alertar al usuario cuando la calidad sea mala. Así el usuario decidirá si acepta la austeridad en pro del contenido. 

Y en relación al mayor riesgo “La gente puede ir y venir sin lograr la meta, que es leer los libros de Srila Prabhupada” Mantendremos esta meta como el eje principal de este servicio, nos esforzaremos por establecer estrategias que ayuden a los usuarios y a nosotros mismos a no olvidarlo. 

Tuvimos una buena reunión con prabhu Ambarisa, en otra carta detallaremos los acuerdos. 

Muchas gracias por su misericordiosa atención. 

Sus servidores

Isvari Radha dd

Karuna Sakti dd

Asta Sakhi dd

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Dear Gurumaharaja

Please accept our respectful obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

We sent the report to the ASA page live broadcasts.

We are very grateful to you for allowing us to participate in your transcendental Sankirtana in the service of Srila Prabhupada, we will try to respond to your comments on your project (presented in this letter https://monkeywarrior.com/detail/11848/)

1) We welcome the name proposed for this service (“ASA Carnaval) and we conducted a small survey to analyze the possible reaction of the public to this name; We discovered that for some regions the word "carnival" is synonymous with a wild and grotesque party, while for others it is related to Lent. Everyone managed to understand the meaning of the name after explaining it. So we believe that perhaps it would be better to adapt the name so that the public grasps the meaning without much explanation and at the same time maintains the meaning of "including many types of things in an environment like a Carnival"

If that's okay with you, we believe that “ASA FESTIVAL” could be a good option, such as a cultural festival that includes music, dance, philosophy, theater, Cuisine, Art, etc…. How about Gurumaharaja?

ASA - Seems nice. In English the primary schools have "carnivals" for the children but we can immediately understand that it is different in Brazil.

What about "ASA Circus" or ASA Treasure Hunt ". Sita is the Treasure. ?? /?

2) Dangers detected

Regarding the highlighted dangers (“too many things that are often redundant, or are not of good quality and are not organized”) We are working on the development of a glossary, so that users can more easily and quickly consult the subject according to your interest or need. From our own experience of consulting the classes, we are convinced that each class is valuable for its disciples, even when they can deal with the same verse or topic, there are always key points that enrich each session and broaden our perspective. (We also have that, for its part, ASA Audiovisual will offer ASA members a select offer for those who do not wish to navigate among so much information)

Without a doubt, quality can be one of our biggest challenges, since most of the old recordings are poor but very valuable. To mitigate it, maybe we could alert the user when the quality is poor. Thus the user will decide whether to accept austerity in favor of the content.

HpS - It is "index" not "glossary". no?

And in relation to the greater risk "People can come and go without achieving the goal, which is to read Srila Prabhupada's books." We will keep this goal as the main axis of this service, we will strive to establish strategies that help users and ourselves. themselves not to forget it.

We had a good meeting with Prabhu Ambarisa, in another letter we will detail the agreements.

HpS - We can all go and visit him and live in their forest for 3-years.

Thank you very much for your merciful attention.

Your servers

Isvari Radha dd

Karuna Sakti dd

Asta Sakhi dd

HpS ! ------ Sounds very nice.... Srila Prabhupada warned us that we should focus on improving on what we have rather than adding different things. That is good idea of how to work. Just trying to make four verses comprehensible to different kinds of people: https://vedabase.io/es/library/sb/2/9/33/ & 34, 35, 36.

Hare Krishna Dear Gurudeva!!!!!!!!!!!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

All glories to YOU.

Please accept our humble obeisances. PAMHO

Bulletin is now upload on Facebook (English & Spanish), this is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/166681160058275/

We are ok. Enjoy holidays... We are learning how to play piano and flute. Playing an instrument helps a lot to teach in our pedagogy.

I could see some of my students before the end of classes.

Thanks a lot

EDT (Patrak das & Antuanette )

HpS - So nice. Thank you. AgtSP!!! How you translate "Urad Dahl" into Spanish? Is it available in Peru??? So, so much can be learned from songs and then acting out the songs!

Puppet shows.

Cartoon shows.

PPTX ...... Become famous. Make a little recording studio in your house. Live in a village of 200 people and never go out except to the fields!

Hare Krsna... die and wake up in Goloka!!

Todas las glorias a Goura Nitay

Todas las gloria a Srila Prabhupada

Hare krishna Gurudev, comienzo mi reporte un poco atrasada, en estas semanas he estado ocupada haciendo exámenes de salud glicemia, minerales, anemia, hígado etc..... (salieron muy bien) recolectando mi historial médico, medicamentos, recetas para llevar a Perú. le cuento que continuó mi programa diario con p. LAD mañana y tarde inspirador para el día . Estoy llendo al templo a limpiar y organizar el servicio de limpieza y jardín para que siga funcionando a pesar de que no esté presente. me comunicaré con las devotas a diario por que es el mismo grupo al que le leo los libros de Srila Prabhupada, lo seguiré haciendo desde donde esté, las chicas estan muy felicen dicen que aprenden y les gusta como pongo énfasis en la lectura, terminé la biografía de Srila Prabhupada ahora continúo con biografía de El señor Caitanya a las demás estoy con krishna book, luz del Bhagavata y Néctar de la Instrucción después de la lectura hago la explicación de conceptos o alguna idea, para su comprensión según lo que dice Srila Prabhupada en otros libros del tema.Para terminar mi trabajo lo conservare seguiré con Hermán y dos niños más a la distancia. ya queda poco para viajar así que organizando... 😅. Trato de siempre mejorar en todo lo que hago, cada día un hermoso servicio para krishna con la inspiración de Srila Prabhupada y usted podré lograrlo.

se despide su humilde sirviente Raman Reti devi dasi

pd las fotos del jardín y las chicas de lectura en el reporte anual

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All glories to Goura Nitay

All Glory to Srila Prabhupada

Hare Krishna Gurudev, I start my report a little late, in these weeks I have been busy doing health exams blood glucose, minerals, anemia, liver etc ..... (they went very well) collecting my medical history, medications, prescriptions to take Peru. I tell him that he continued my daily program with p. Inspiring morning and afternoon for the day. I am going to the temple to clean and organize the cleaning and garden service so that it continues to function even though I am not present. I will communicate with the devotees daily because it is the same group that I read Srila Prabhupada's books to, I will continue to do so from wherever I am, the girls are very happy they say they learn and they like how I emphasize reading, I finished the biography of Srila Prabhupada now I continue with biography of Lord Caitanya to the others I am with krishna book, light of the Bhagavata and Nectar of Instruction after reading I do the explanation of concepts or some idea, for your understanding according to what Srila Prabhupada says in other books on the subject. To finish my work I will keep it I will continue with Hermán and two other children at a distance. there is little left to travel so organizing ... 😅. I always try to improve in everything I do, every day a beautiful service for Krishna with the inspiration of Srila Prabhupada and you will be able to achieve it.

his humble servant Raman Reti devi dasi says goodbye

ps the photos of the garden and the reading girls in the annual report

HpS - ASA --- Very nice!!! We make an "Urgent" reply also! Write a cookbook with Laksmana agraja Das. Stories and philsophy also.