Letters to the editor

EVALUATION OF ISKCON SASTRIC STUDIES

(rev. 2019 January 13)

With years of dialog and practical experience, among many members of ISKCON in various positions, we are making the following suggestions for standards and techniques of evaluation of candidates for the Bhakti-vaibhava and other ISKCON diplomas. We feel that this may be a step in the right direction but it is a continuous program of adjustment and improvement.

1.    Our eternal relationship with God can be revived in the human form of life, and that should be the goal of education. Indeed, that is the perfection of life and the perfection of education. https://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/7/6/2

2.    The BOEX, Ministry of Education, should be able to certify the character development by at least 20% and maybe 100% if its members have the chance to associate deeply with the candidates. Otherwise the Board will have to develop practical techniques for acquiring information from others such as Temple Presidents and senior devotees.

To this end we should obtain the standards and techniques used by the Ministry of Sannyasa Services in evaluating candidates since Srila Prabhupada indicated the Bhakti-vaibhava (BhV) diploma as being for Sannyasis.

3.    Students might graduate Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude or Magnum Cum Laude, and optional lines should be developed by Varna Ashrama situation eg. Ladies, Gents, Brahmanas, Ksatriyas. Some may be good at Slokas others at essays and others at songs.

4.    In the matter of direct Sastric knowledge we would suggest that:

a.    Evaluation should be done by globally standard semester divisions eg. BhV might be grouped into four years or eight semesters. The students would have to be registered with the BOEX at the start of each Semester with their name, e-mail contact, and local contact person. Passing the Semester evaluation would then be centrally recorded and if they complete all eight Semesters within (?) 8-years then they receive the glorious diploma!!

b.    All related ISKCON BhV centers et al should develop and continually improve a common Question Bank of several hundred good, interesting, short-answer, questions on Cantos One – Six. Of course, these would be grouped by Semester and could be weighted from 1-5 points in terms of their importance. Semester tests could be selected from this Bank and anyone who can answer the questions without taking a BhV registered course would be quite a Venerable Dude.

c.    Three Open Book Short Essay Questions from maybe seven alternatives could be presented and the candidate could use all personal notes, indices etc. with full access to all of Srila Prabhupada’s literature. Of course this would be a timed evaluation of maybe 30-minute.

d.    Essays written at the candidates leisure but then presented in a discussion forum where they would have to defend or enhance their presentation.

e.    Sloka Memorization should include texts used by the Acharyas from the first six cantos of the Bhagavatam, but should also include relevant texts cited in the purports even if not in the text of the Bhagavatam itself eg. Candidates for Bhakti-sastri should know nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām even though it is not mentioned in the texts of the BhS syllabus.

The total number of Slokas may not be so high.

The candidates for BhV should be re-evaluated on verses from the BhSastri syllabus. This of course would be related to training the students how to develop techniques to refresh and deepen their memorization of relevant texts.

Daily and Annual songs and prayers can be included in the evaluation eg. For first initiation one should be able to follow the full morning program. For second initiation and BhS one should be able to lead it from memory and for BhVai one should know the word for word meanings to good extent. Testing could be offered for festival material such as Dasa-avatara-stotra, Radha-stava and Mangala-arcana.

Candidates should select some texts for their own memorization and then be tested eg. One may like to memorize the prayers by Queen Kunti in Canto One and another by Hanuman in the Fifth Canto.

f.     Relevant texts can be included eg. Nectar of Devotion Southern Division, Waves of Devotion, Surrender Unto Me.

Thank you for your attention and consideration and please contact us with comments, complaints, questions and donations.

Hanumatpresaka Swami

Anjana Suta Academy

 Www.JayaRama.Us

On ‎Saturday‎, ‎January‎ ‎12‎, ‎2019‎ ‎11‎:‎10‎:‎50‎ ‎PM‎ ‎CST, Huber Robinson's Sister, Brenda Robinson, wrote:

Hi Hube, its been a while since we heard from you. How are you doing and where are you now? In the states or around the world?

😊HAPPY BIRTHDAY😊

Hope you had a good day and when you have a chance bring us up to date on your travels, teachings, etc.

Love, sis

HpS (HHR) - Thank you for your letter. We try to send news but I guess some of it gets lost?! Please send our regards to Ernest Larry Robinson et al. Did he ever find out what our Austrian family name was?

We always post our news each two weeks at our web page: http://www.jayarama.us

Basically we are still based in Nashville but travel through South America twice a year and India Spain once a year.

We had an incredible symposium on Art and the Sacred with the National Library of Peru in November with artists and scholars from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Australia etc. This is our third year with them and next year we will be going to Education and the Sacred.

Our body, burro, is great for 71 years old. Our eyes, ears, teeth, memory, right knee joint are all headed out. We expect to go to our reward about October 2024.

How are you all???

Esteemed Patricia, Please forgive our little slowness in writing this letter. Part of it is that we are very busy with some deadlines before this trip to India. The other is our own laziness which we are fighting with great heroism to conquer. 🦍🐘🐘🐘🐷

First, thank you for the conversation. Then let us reiterate that NIOS, our North American Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, has developed over the term of its existence a good record of practical accomplishments in integrating historical and geographical cultural assets from around the world. I hope you can agree with this after being one of the most principal participants in our last effort: Art and the Sacred, in Lima.

For all of us, and especially for me, the integration of the work and perspective of Carl Jung and the traditional intelligence of classical Indian philosophy is central to this work. Our very serious enquiry would be if Prof. Shonu Shyamdasani and the Philemon Foundation are familiar with the heritage of Sri Krishna Caitanya, Srila Rupa Goswami et al who have been most prominently advanced in modern times by Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami and his Bhaktivedanta Book Trust eg. www.VedaBase.com. Of course, other regular academic scholars and investigators such as Prof. David Haberman from Indian University and many others are making these resources available.

We love Jung, we love A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, we love Journey to the West and we are sure they love each other. We are hankering with some deep resolution and passion, for our own sake and many, many others to participation in this integration of these vital and relevant cultures.

Then ...… ...... can you present these enquiries to Dr. Shyamdasani and other members of the Philemon Foundation and inform us of the link to the symposium in Santa Barbara in April that you mentioned. It sounds wonderful and we will be returning from this two months in India on the 27th of March so we would have to fix it into our calendar as soon as possible. 🙂🙂🙏🦓 🐻     🦍

Thank you!!! So much. AGTSP. We think it is more your mercy in overlooking our bad qualities that makes us of any use. We will post this in our Blog. Can you please write there some time with your Sankirtan experiences!!

HpS

On ‎Tuesday‎, ‎January‎ ‎8‎, ‎2019‎ ‎04‎:‎59‎:‎15‎ ‎PM‎ ‎CST, Sangeetha Balam <[email protected]> wrote:

Hare Krishna Maharaj,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. And all glories to you.

As nothing pleases you more than the regularity of devotional service, I would begin with that. I have been chanting 16 rounds and following four regulative principles throughout 2018 by the mercy of Lord Chaitanya and Guru Parampara.

A good teacher teaches by example and you teach all of us by your wonderful example. Your compassion for people in general, your love and respect for the devotees, your desire to elevate our consciousness with absolutely no desire for gain for yourself are so inspiring.

Your methods and research of sastric education are exemplary. Your goal is to always help your disciples in their service and sadhana. You go the extra mile to make all your disciples feel protected and loved. Your detachment for accumulating followers is evident. You are equally enthusiastic whether it’s one person sitting in the class or a 100. You endure so much austerity but are never hard on your disciples.

You never accept material luxuries even if they are provided. You do not sleep on nice beds (You sleep in the sofa in the sannyasi quarters of Houston even if a nice bed is provided), you do not dress luxuriously( you do not even sew the ends of your dhotis, it is just a simple cloth) and you do not eat luxuriously ( You have your small lunch box, and whatever fits in it is your lunch). You are a perfect follower of Lord Chaitanya’s principles for sannyasis.

tapyante loka-tāpena

sādhavaḥ prāyaśo janāḥ

paramārādhanaṁ tad dhi

puruṣasyākhilātmanaḥ (SB 8.7.44)

It is said that great personalities almost always accept voluntary suffering because of the suffering of people in general. This is considered the highest method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present in everyone’s heart.

You follow this principle perfectly and you can see the Supersoul in everyone’s heart and act on that platform.

On this day I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your association. A moment of your association can change the perspective of everything that’s happening around us and gives the perspective of Krishna Consciousness to it.

On this auspicious day, I pray to Srimati Radharani that serving your lotus feet may be my eternal occupation. My faith and service to you may never be disturbed. My eagerness to hear from you may never slacken. If somehow or other I can please you I would consider my life a success.

Your servant,

Sundari Radhika dd.

Dear Guru Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I write to you to honour your appearance day. May it be filled with much spiritual enjoyment and enlightenment.

As the day approached I kept meditating on it, on what a spiritual master means to me. Some thoughts that came: he is a guide through spiritual life, he is a teacher who gives unconditional love and instruction to his student.

I feel that I might have taken that second point for granted over the last few years. You are always wiling to be there for us, your students, for me. We might become too caught up in our material dealings and just for a moment forget you and Krsna. But that connection that was made between you and us remains there always, in such a subtle way. We can't forget about it and when we remember, it brings back those transcendental memories that gave us such joy and ecstasy. I remember the day I took my vows and my enthusiasm to keep them. I offer to you that enthusiasm once more.

Your humble servant,

Rasa-mandali dasi

HpS - Thank you!!!

Hare Krsna!

AGTSP. Paoho. Today was typical.

Up at 2AM - Ja Ja Paw!!

Full morning program online and with Tandavika Das here in Giriraja Ashrama in Franklin, Tennesse. The long phone conference with Dr. Samaresh to do the second draft of the letters from NIOS and Rector of San Marcos University to the Governor of West Bengal et al.

Then SB class with Srinivasa, Sundara-radhika, Sugopi-radha, Isvari, Jiyada, Mitravinda et al! Copy to Upendra and Twitter. Bali Maharaja goes to Sutala.

Then 24-minutes rest and 2-1/2 hours of discussion with Mathuresa Das about property management of ISKCON Peru, GBC College etc.

Breakfast.

Some rest, rest, rest and now sending the letters and this DTC.... Jaya! Now we will go for a walk in the Mall with Tandavika Das. Hare Krsna!!!