Letters to the editor

Hare Krsna Maharaj,

  Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.

  All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

  All glories to Guru parampara.

  This is Jibesh Das from Malda, am writing with the help of HG Girivaradhari-Gopal Das.

  Hope you are good in health and doing well.

  Sorry for posting letter late, actually doing book distribution village-to-village so 

  less contact with connectivity so could not able to reach Girivaradhari-Gopal Das.

  while, will try to write as much as possible.

  Maharaj, following 4x16 for many years. i was working as goldsmith for many years and 

  left this job around 2 and half years back after that doing book distribution in 

  villages of bengal.

  am 35 years old and elder son. we are 4 members in our family. Mother, 

  younger brother, sister-in-law and me. we have our home in Malda city ( near ISKCON

  temple ). Mother is also follower of ISKCON.

  Leading a bachelor life and will continue so.

  Please accept me in your shelter for to serve Srila Prabhupada.

your aspiring servant,

Jibesh Das

HpS - Very nice to hear from you! AGTSP. paoho. Your service is great inspiration to us. Sorry we are slow answering! Also going village to village.

What about taking Diksa from more local ISKCON guru and let us be a Siksa guru with his approval? In any case we just want to be of service to you.

Hare Krsna Maharaj, PAMHO, AGTSP

previous report on node: 10327

i am writing to you because I was suppose to write you in two weeks. Hence I am writing.

i can see your austerity in preaching, traveling, meeting devotees, taking classes, consultation, organizing, etc....

i will be frank with you, we are tired and see any point in continuing Krsna consciousness the way its going, its just ritualistic. It seems the city life , city mindset and city job is sucking our energy. roughly 9 hours of work is a big problem it seems especially in Univ ambience and esp with the academic literature we have to study. We dont like to study that literature. We see futility of our existence devoting 9 hours to it.

HpS - You are intelligent guy. So you are probably right. It is futile, but is there a FRUITFUL existence. We got back to Tennessee. It was so nice to be 'home'. We had problems immediately. Back window was blasted out of the Mercedes. Had twenty five unanswered letters. One was from Social Security demanding a personal interview in June and then a cancellation of our old age benefits. Then the State cancelled our medical benefits because of that, but we are in our home so much easier to work on the problems. One day for Social Security. Benefits quickly reestablished and they say Tennessee Medical will follow auto matically. Then next day back window. Six hours of work but go it done.

So, we are facing problems too. Biggest problem was just like yours.

The second day back we were exhausted. Weak. Could only chant a few rounds, but next day some energy returned, and we chant when we can. It is work, but the result is so much interior strength, intelligence. Some times we have to chant slowly just moving our lips and tongue. Ooof, but if we put 16-rounds before any other priority all the rest will fall in place.

we live like a zombie, no one to talk to about devotional service directly.. Our violence with wife has not gone away. It erupts every now and then though frequency has decreased. Somehow can not tolerate her criticism and can not even forget dreadful past we had along with devotional activities. Wife was chanting but left it due to our mis behaviour. fought in front of kids, neighbors, parents etc

may be are trying to be too much of devotee in todays age and in our circumstances ( no example to look upon, no associate to reveal, non-offered diet, very little support from family).. may be just focus on getting mind control. thats it.

home responsibilities / no support / in-congruent academic literature is eating us. our body has broken many times, though strangely tummy size has increased. but feel very tired , demotivated mostly.

sangat-sanjyate kama

some days we can get our rounds and morning program done before breakfast. but other days thing are just dancing on fire/ fire fighting. tired body and mind. we agree we are living value incongruent life may be due to want of money.

we figure if want to live properly in our circumstances, need to wake up at 230, get 8 rounds and arti done before wife and kid wake up. then do little pranayam, exercise, reading, planning, misc activities, then study empirical or demoniac literature, then 9 hours office, back to home. we get tured a lot in betwee. office people can not afford/tolerate us resting in Office hours. by night we are dead. eat and sleep if fortunate and alarm working, get up at 230 again, otherwise just wake up before family todo mangal arti. but then chanting is missed.

we do think we can not continue to breathe this way, either of family/job/ rituals/body/mind has to change.

i know as sannyasi , you are not suppose to talk regarding this matter. but most of grhasthas have given up our case it seems. or we dont know the one till now, may be we are not sincere enough to get the one.

dont know even if we are making sense.

regards,

horse

HpS - I remember one time Sridhara Swami, Srila Prabhupada's esteemed Godbrother said that in all case we just have to go on. If the soul is really an eternal servant of Krsna, then it will react a certain way. We may doubt it and try to find success in material life. Cheap and become rich and satisfy family, but if it really is servant of Krsna, then all these things will be unsatisfying, though we may try to lie to others and our selves, but we just have to regroup our army, and go back after the problem

1. Get an Acharya eg. Jesus Christ or A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
2. Ask from him how to wake up.
3. Formally matriculate (eg. Prabhupada 16-rounds, 4-principles)

So, fix four rounds/day until your next letter and do them. O.K.?

hare krsna maharaj,

PAMHO, AGTSP

dont know what to write or report. but still as committed to write fortnightly report. We could see your problems you are facing travel with 72 years old over worked donkey. dealing with fools like us (preaching in western/western oriented world is very very difficult). Salute to your resolute purpose.

some question you asked in previous letter

1. Learning to cook for Krsna. Do you have a fixed number of rounds/day that you will do until the next report?

now our family is staying with us in bodh gaya. so we are not cooking. may be it is a mistake. we dont know much to cook. can cook only rice based dishes or dishes which can be fried. one maid comes in morning cooks for afternoon and morning, and then wife cooks for evening.

our target is 16 rounds a day. but this week we fizzled out. fighting with body is tough.

2 How long will you stay at your present location?...

minimum one month.we have given multiple job interview, lets see if they materialize.

maximum, we dont know...

little hopeless for ourself (may be we are not trying that hard) ... good to see you that there devotees are there to encourage and take care of you, whatever way they can...

in nutshell i think we degraded from last report, may be not able to fix family in daily schedule.

tired of shooting in smog, need some breath/food.

horse

Previous report at node 10282

HpS - AGTSP paoho. It is just a benefit for us that you write with you news and effort. Now we will look at report number five. Then a few more letters and DTC for you et al. Obeiscance to the Parikshit and Mataji.

Dear Guru Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Let me tell you about my (or as you like to say „our” which I also like and feel appropriate) last wanderings and some thoughts.

In Serbia for the last 15 years there is summer Hare Krsna camp. I was never able to go there because I always work during summer „day in and day out” every day. This year my sister joined our rental business and in the calendar I saw a „hole”, a possibility to go to the camp. It is 800km away from Pula, it meant 10 hours drive in one way. And I could go for only four days. That is, one day going there, be there for the whole two days, and go back to Pula on fourth day. So, we went. Met friends after 15 years, their children grew up in fresh, tall, youthful bodies. It was nice. Spent a lot of time catching up with friends. There is something when meeting devotees after 15 years and reflection that „we are still here”. We had fun, wisdom, kirtanas, scrubbing big pots and oven casseroles after night pizzas together, one toilet and bathroom per 10 persons, and it was all - sweet. Kindness is an impression of those days with devotees.

There was an idea of meeting with Indradyumna das, as he has a home 20 km from that camp. But he is working in Germany and could not make it to come.

Moreover, we had people going with us in the car up and down. Found them on the website where car rides can be offered and shared. At the end of the ride, they offered an appreciation of our yogic perspective on life.

HpS - Wow! AgtSP. Paoho. Sorry so slow to answer. You can see we have heavy travel schedule. On the road we meet many people every day, so there is no time for letters!!

How did you know these devotees from before? I only know that you visited Spain and Croatia?

Back in Pula, activities go as usual with apartments, tourists, challenges, headaches, etc. It is so busy in the summer. Because not only tourists come to Croatia for a swim in the Adriatic Sea, but also our friends come to visit us. So, we have many things going on.

I do not have many things to write as I do not travel often. Of course, I travel a lot on the chariot of the mind in the hope that these travels would bring me closer to the charioteer of Arjuna.

Your servant Namacarya das

PS: what would be a proper way to write “das” ? Is it “Das” or “das” ?

HpS - I don't know. I this Das is better. It is like a title, Nama-charya, PhD.

PS 2: when writing a title for this letter I understood that my last letter was precisely one month before this one.

HpS - There is a God and His Name is Urukrama! Please write again. Look for the preaching opportunities that Krsna is sending. The rest will follow like your shadow.

Hare Krishna Maharsh. La presente carta es para rectificarme en cuanto a un mal entendido con mi autoridad de Isckon Lima pues Prabhu Yamuneshvara nunca me ha obligado ha asumir el cargo de Presidente de la Junta Legal por el contrario se tratade una falta de comunicacion de mi parte con mi autoridad administrativa debido a mis labores y ocupaciones y considero superado todo mal entendido con mi autoridad de Isckon Lima y atendiendo a su atenta respuesta anterior prosigo con mi servicio, su seguro eterno servidor. Visala Das.

HpS - Jaya! Pero puede ayudar en la administracion. TlgaSP. Esperamos mas noticias de Vd. a veces!! La conciencia de Krsna es llena de sorpresas.

O.K. Hablaré con Param Dham (Pte de Templo) y con Bhakta Gino para ver si puede encontrar alguna entrevista el lunes.

Hablo con Mónica para ver si les va bien un programa en la UCM. La otra vez fallamos. Hablé con ella pensando en unas fechas y luego tuve que anularlo.

ss

Jayanta das

HpS - Muy bien! TlgaSP. Pfanrh. Vamos a escribir mas como puede utilizar lo para acercarse con buena gente!! Gracias.