Letters to the editor

TB - Hare Krsna! Brother Ass had a flash case of diarrhea. Something his body did not like and then flushed out with a ton of water. Maybe it was an overindulgence in Salted Cashews. Dancing in Mangala is a good medicine for any disease, even the whole material disease.

Some more conversations with Dr. Samaresh. Seems the printer may have some copies of Siksa-drsya read before we go. We will have to co-ordinate rapidly while we are in Kolkata Friday to Monday, get money, arrange shipping. Harsh will be there to help us!

The books have been so useful. We have printed about 500-copies of Pratya-prajna-pradipa, Bharatiya Sanskriti and distributed only a few so far, but it has all been worth it. When we showed them to Lokeshcandra of ICCR in Delhi he was totally convinced about NIOS's bona-fides and offered that ICCR would pay to send five scholars to Peru for Art and the Sacred.

(Ooof! The Ambassador of India failed to give us the help we needed for that!)

This morning we met with Hari Dasa Swami, the 11-candidates for first and second initiation here. He is the Siksa guru, we are the Diksa-guru, and Srila Prabhupada is the Founder-Acharya. Should work! So many devotees arriving here. Will be big Gaura-purnima Festival. Last night was a cultural program with two traditional drum dances (pung cholam and dhon-dholok cholam), Manipuri folk dance, Manipuri martial arts, Bhajan, and rasa lila. Was very very nice.

We hope there can be a nice connection between Manipur and Peru! Anandamya can lose a few pounds and he and Karuna mayi can learn Manipuri and visit here with Peruvian, Andenan culture and history tour etc.

Now it is 4.15PM. Our nose is burning (ouch) from the smoke etc. Three devotees have come into offer obeisances. We had a good nap today! Ahhh! No class. Now we go to the Temple and chant on the beads for the tomorrow initiations and associate with the devotees.

Thank you.

See you here or see you there. Sankirtan is our only care!

Hare Krishna Guru Maharaj

Todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada

Acepte por favor mis reverencias

Hoy usted me preguntó acerca de mi ashram. Ahora tengo 29 años, pero mi Karma y Krishna no permiten que tenga una pareja, por esa razón prefiero seguir siendo brahmachari por unos años más o hasta que Krishna quiera un plan diferente para mí. Si me dejo llevar por mis impulsos y emociones cometeré muchos errores por eso quiero ser paciente y centrar mi mente en mi trabajo y en el estudio de los libros de Srila Prabhupada.

Muchas Gracias Gurudev por preocuparse por mi,

Hare Krishna,

Jagat Pavitram das

(LIMA-PERU)

HpS - Muy bien. En la cultura ideal, que espero estamos desarollando en ISKCON, un muchacho tiene que tomar esta decision, ser casado, ser vanaprastha o entrar directa en Sannyasa, en los 24 anyos.:https://vedabase.io/es/library/sb/1/17/38/ (Punto numero 2). Pienso vale lea esta significado. Que piensa Vd? Tenemos que adjustar cosas acuerdo de nuestra realidad actual.

Vanaprastha?

Claro prioridad numero uno es como mejorar nuestra participacion en el movimiento de Sankirtan de Srila Prabhupada, ahora, y para siempre. Que le gusta hacer, contribuir, si era posible?

Dear Maharaja and esteemed Vaisnavas,

Please accept my (aspiring to be) humble obeisances. 

All glories to Jagat Guru Srila Prabhupada. 

Near my home is a forest. When my children are at school, I sometimes take a break from writing and I go there. There are some very nice young boys that play there on occasion. 

Yesterday I went out chanting japa, looking for them, and I got distracted by my own reflection - I fell down. But I learnt a lot. 

Here’s the video to prove it. 

https://youtu.be/iYNpAasKS38

Aspiring to join Lord Krishna’s Drama Party

Dhruvananda Das

HpS - Hare Krsna! Very nice video. Very funny. Who was the camera man while you were on scene?? More! Before there was Crocodile Dundee, now there is Brown Bull Dhruva!

Hare Krishna dear Guru Maharaja ! PAMHO... AGTSP!!!

Ansewering your questions in the letter I sent to you yesterday https://monkeywarrior.com/detail/10035/

I forgot to told you that they made a Sraddha ceremony on sunday February 17, I did not participate because I was in another city. But I know family is so grateful with devotees and they were amazed with the perspective about the death that the Hare Krishna people have. I read a message that Catalina sent to the devotees and Arjuna sent to me and said the family is feeling better after that day.

HpS - Jaya!! Is good for Rodrigo also. He is not dead and he needs help from everyone here also!

Changing the subject, I really want to receive diksha by you... and I want to receive any thing you want to give to me. I'm doing things good, but I just need to be permanent in doing things right. I just want to be able to please you and I know, and I feel, that I will do that being a good boy... my main problem in life is that I am messy and undisciplined, crazy mind. But now I'm bracing myself.

HpS - Yes. It is like attending classes in the university without being registered.

In a letter you reply to Jagad GD about his feelings about Rodrigo's departure... in your answer you said "I meet Carlos's Guru in Vrindavan..." XD what do you meant ? I think was a very crazy vrajabhasi monkey you saw! XD

HpS - I don't remember exactly, but I think I met one devotee while I was in Vrndavana who came up to me and was very animated to tell me that he had met you while you were in India. You make an impression on people.

I read your letter about marriage... very interesting for me to know some details about your previous life before divorce and before you took sanyasa. I also think that a good advice comes from many advisors, I always ask advices to my trusted people, because I think I can use their orientation to get my victory. But I think that is pretty good, even better, to receive your point of view, because your vision is too much better than mine. I always live in a kind of inner contradiction, because I want to get married but, at the same time, I want to stay single and bracing myself to be a vaishnava monk in the future, when my daughter get married, for example... west paradigm is very very crazy about it. Anyway, I'm not single right now... Krishna sent to me a very nice woman, very connected with Him.

HpS - Prabhupada says that a regulated householder is a married Brahmacari. I've seen that in many cased the lady also appreciates the culture.

Thank you very much, because you are so good with me, I think about you every day in many different moments of each day... and it feels so pretty good, it's kind of like I feel safe just because you exist. I feel safe just thinking about you, it's a very beutiful feeling... All glories to Srila Prabhupada !!

What about FMP?

HpS - We do it wherever we are. Sometimes better, sometimes worse. Then we try each Saturday to join the online workshop and communicate our results and hear those of others. Now in Manipura we are reading from CC Adi about Lord Chaitanya's Appearance.

Your aspiring disciple and servant,

Carlos Rold

Hare Krishna, dear Gurumaharaja, Pamho, AGTSP!

"Nobody is a prophet in his own land".

My friend Om Purnam made this comment when I published an article on Facebook that told how well I did on my tour of Cuzco. Then followed Cochabamba and La Paz. It was a tour of the south that lasted 25 days. 15 programs in 25 days; between classes, workshops, seminars, etc. Fairly good. More preparation or reprinting of several ppts, readings, etc to prepare me, were quite a few hours of work. But, I felt happy, loved, useful. It's not that I'm too worried about success and fame. Actually I have always been between fame and infamy all my life. I worked several institutions, so I know how is like. In summary it was a successful tour.

And I returned to my reality. Once again I realized, again, that I am not the savior of Chosica, of Peru. I have been in limbo for several weeks.

The point is that I want to preach inside and outside of ISKCON, and in Peru the doors are closed. I have applied to various institutions and nothing has happened. Then, the phrase that I started with took on a new meaning. By the signs, it seems that destiny is sending me to other places.

Some friends recommended me to go somewhere else and I think they are right. They do not need me here anymore. In education there are enough people to develop it in ISKCON Peru. In addition there is not much demand, but outside, in society, there are many people who are looking for alternatives. After my experience in the university and some talks outside, it seems to me that work in the cultivation of the human spirit is a good preaching work.

It occurred to me to talk to P. Mathures (he invited me to Bolivia), that apart from being my authority I consider him my friend and I asked him to see if there are opportunities outside, in Bolivia or anywhere required. A place where I can serve the devotees and do some work, preaching, outside. I do not want temple life again, I already went through that experience and it's beautiful, but I feel that outside there are many people who are waiting for something.

I finished my master's degree, but I am missing the thesis and that can be completed at any time, and resources are needed that I do not have at the moment. Nothing really tie me up here. Here I feel useless, I know that I have a lot to give and I need to go to a place where I can do it.

Well, Gurudev, thanks for listening. I did not write before because I know you are busy and also I did not have things clear. Well, in reality the only thing clear is that there is nothing here for me. I hope that when you return to the USA you will have some time to talk and help me clarify my ideas.

Because of your mercy, my sadhana continues to be good and that keeps me alert and without being carried away by frustration. I could have thought ... I gave ISKCON many years, I stopped working outside to help the gurukula, then the ashram and the temple, I did not worry about my future, nor my maintenance, now I'm old and they do not want me anywhere anymore because They don't accept older people, who have not worked lately. I have no bank account, no opportunities, I live in my mother's house. It would have been simple to have these ideas, in fact many people have left ISKCON with this feeling or are simply full of resentment. Neither do I want nor am I ready to accept sannyasi's order. It would be ridiculous. Prabhupada speaks of those who take the order out of frustration. I want to be useful in the world, to help people from their realities. Cultivation of the human spirit.

Anyway, I know that behind everything there is a Krishna´s plan. Please, help me to figure it out.

ss LAD

HpS - Hare Krsna. Thank you for your letter. AGTSP. Paoho. We are just little Monkeys collecting little fried peas from off of the rocks at his feet. When he calls us and wraps a scarf with a message around our neck and says, "Lalita, Lalita!", or "Subala, Subala!", we hop up and down and chant, "Krsna, Krsna!" and take off running, swinging.

Krsna is such a greedy person that He always has so many ideas about how Krsna can enjoy some new adventure that we are naturally engaged night and day. Chant, chant, chant. Vidya-vadu-jivanam. Krsna will give you the intelligence how to carry out his mission and where to carry it out!

Send us more news.

Hare Krsna. 3.05PM. Little allergy pain. Weather nice. Prasadam mangeable but some problem digesting the 8-different preparations offered daily! Our Big Project Today was recording our MOE pptx with the Jungian friends in mind. The final show was 30-minutes and took three attempts to get it straight. Still needs more work but our audience has to do their work too! Sent it by We Transfer (Sadhu Das has got good internet for us here) to Ambo (Ambarisa Das) and Patricia Llosa with goals of editing it a little and putting it up on the You Tube and forwarding it to Shonu Shyamdasani.

Answering mail. Letters from Chile, Vaisnava Protection Team, situation.

MOE requesting summary of our show! Same one we just sent off.

SUMMARY

A Philosophy of Education

Hanumatpresaka Swami

Hoping to address and even suggest fundamental principles of education for ISKCON we start with a broad perspective of looking at the Philosophy of Education from the Encyclopedia Britannica. This is very fruitful, leading us to suggest that Western tradition has reject mere acquisition of facts, information, as education, the standard of the Karmi, and has gone on to declare that one should learn speculative tools such as grammar, mathematics, reasoning, the standard of the Jnana. Beyond this, the standard of the Dhyani, contemplation, meditation, intuition, imagination is not so much addressed in Western education but we go on to show that it is quite systematized in the Western theater education tradition. Actors learn to change their Persona.

Beyond even this (which is very useful in developing our techniques in Bhakti yoga) is Bhakti yoga itself. We have learned this in seed form from Srila Prabhupada's lips and this leads to studying his books, especially NOI, which leads us to a simple Mission Statement for Education in ISKCON and steps in development from Sraddha to Prema, through and for Sankirtan, with a little background education in Varna-ashrama-dharma eg. the Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening. Finally, we introduce our own very specific example of this with our intriguing work with the Jungian community, much appreciated by Srila Prabhupada.

3.10PM our NOI seminar starts in 50-minutes. Have to prepare. Is good work. today Texts 9-10-11. Being recorded in English and Manipuri. Then at 6PM a cultural program. About 100-devotees have already arrived from half a dozen different exotic nations eg. Meghalaya, Assam. May want to talk with us ... difficult.

O.K. Back to the mail.