Hare Krishna, dear Gurudeva. Pamho, AGTSP!
I hope you had a good day on your Vyasa puja.
HpS - It was very intense being the object of so much attention!
I honored you that day by going to the temple to Mangalartik; chantig many rounds; reading more about Srila Prabhupada; preparing my class on Thursday 26; giving a guru tattva-ASA class. Then I went to my house and made an exquisite Peruvian preparation that I shared with my niece (almost daughter) Destiny and with my mother.
HpS - Jaya! What was the preparation???
I have already sent you my personal report and now I send you the summary of my ideas about my participation in education at ISKCON by 2020. Points that we have been discussing with you and those in charge of education.
BHAKTI SASTRI
I have been teaching BS for 10 years. I have been developing the ASA program with some improvements. I would say that I am quite familiar with ASA ideas. I have been listening to you since 2001 when I met you just the day of your VP in January of that year.
So, I will give a final BS of one year, ten months, from March to December 2020. I will put all my effort to renew it once again and offer the best of myself and what I have learned from you. For example, each student will give a short class about each book with power point. Students will take oral exams of the verses, etc.
At the beginning of March I will take the exam to the group that is finishing 2019 and I will summon the students of two groups that could not take the exam.
I will also summon students who could not complete the course to join 2020 with the possibility of validating the parts they managed to develop in the past so that they can take the exam at the end of 2020.
I will also give the opportunity to older devotees to take the March or December 2020 exam prior to some training and delivering of their summaries and essays.
I hope that the administrative aspect is a help and not an obstacle to do all of the above. M. Candra Mukhi would be the examiner.
2021 will begin another era with a new BS program.
BHAKTI VAIBHAVA
I want to be actively involved in the improvement of the course. I agree with your ideas and based on that I will give my suggestions. I hope to be part of a more specific working group.
HpS - We are very, very weak. We are trying to develope the Bh. Vai. program in relation with the online course from Govardhana Ecovillage.
The suggestion of examination by Canto seems great to me. I plan to start teaching a new group in March. When the time for the exam comes I will give my previous students the opportunity to take the exam (They are like 15). Previous training. Again, I hope the administration will help meet these goals.
HpS - Me too! They are struggling just like us.
We also have to clarify the subject of essays and other requirements so that the old students, starting with me, will catch up with the new requirements. This administrative issue is a problem. My students are eager to study and have their certification. It would be a shame if the administration does not help this task.
HpS - If there are problems with the GBC administration we can always do something just among friends to evaluate ourselves and even give certificates, eg. the ASA Golden Banana of Everlasting Knowledge Award.
From 2021 I will only dedicate myself to BVB and my personal educational project.
DISCIPLES COURSE
In 2020 we will give a face-to-face course for those who wish to co-facilitate to be official ISKCON teachers. I will also join others I guess.
There are devotees who ask me for the online course, so we will give one last online course as well. Then those who have trained will be in charge.
We have also innovated that course since the time of NIMSAR. Something important was to include Ravindra Svarup prabhu's book among other things that I implemented later. It seems to me that some elements are still missing. For example, something basic is an analysis of Gurvastakam, etc.
OTHER COURSES: FACILITATION, COMMUNICATIONS, LEADERSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION, CONFLICT RESOLUTION.
I think it's time to have our own facilitators of those courses. It is very cumbersome and expensive to bring devotees from abroad. I think there are local devotees who would do very well.
Which leads to the issue of facilitator certification. So far it is requested that they have to co-facilitate to teach the course. I think this may be for devotees who are vocation educators and not professors it self.
There are devotees who are educators by profession and it would be enough to take the course to teach it. This situation has generated a kind of monopoly of some foreign facilitators that has prevented us from continuing to grow. This must end very soon.
HpS - Write to the Blog with your specific ideas for each small step. Inch by inch it is always a cinch!
I also have developed several workshops that I have directed in Arequipa, Cuzco, La Paz and Cochabamba (Bolivia). I'm good at it.
In ISKCON-Education Peru (Since they have killed personal and group initiatives, which I think is terrible because it has resulted in slowness and incomplete vision, etc.) we must create a curriculum that includes other things that we ,educators, have developed these years with local certification or something. If we are allow, because I really do not see the capacity for dialogue and convocation.
HpS - How about working with the Gandharva and the Karuna Krsna Das?
In any case, I will continue to help in whatever I can and in whatever they allow me.
I think there must also be other types of initiatives supported by ISKCON. If not, each one will look for ways to develop their own educational dreams. I've already started.
Thank you for your patience.
Your servant,
Laksmana-agraja
HpS - Go ahead with your own programs 100% and see how that inspires you to try to work with the institution. If you find that there is no one in the institution but Srila Prabhupada who understands you, it is normal in one sense, but if you have a relationship with Srila Prabhupada you will be like him. He was ready to teach and learn from anyone.
