Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna Hanumat Presaka Swami! Please accept my humble oblences!
All gloreies to Srila Prabhupada!
I'm very happy today! In university 3 friends and I have done Kirtan on the grass! It was fantastic! hahaha SOme days ago I sent theem this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbSIZmdhr-I 
They really liked them, and one of that friends has started to listen maha mantra on his own. So on the grass he asked me  ¿can you chant some mantras?, and i just had kartals with me (i bring them today just in case hahaha) so we chant all together like in that video, and that guy danced so crazy  hahaha! Then we sang in the elevator with our drawing teacher, and during the class a little too. A girl told me: oh I really like that carol with your bells
 Very funny!! I didn't  imagine that they will be chant with so much good vibes and so much desire. Maybe next week i can bring little harmonium hahaha 
I have to do a group work for class in which I want to relate concepts from a classical painting of mythology to what is maya, the choice between sensory enjoyment and true love for Krishna, and how it is reflected in society.
I'm happy because seems like Krishna is approaching me, because I can chant His names, and talk about Him almost in university where i pass much time.
Sometimes I think about monastic life.. It seems very funny life. Chiara di Asis inspires me a lot, when I read about her passtimes i get very excited. Do you know why they cut their hair in the iniciation? Is something about energies from hair, like to start a new life,..or is because hair is relationed with beauty?

HpS - AGTSP    I think it is partly cleanliness and partly because the hair gives a lot of material energy, so we reduce that so we can learn to depend on spiritual energy.  Girls don't cut their hair because it is a danger of making them so weak they will get sick. These are the general things I have heard but never read in Prabhupada's books.

 But I'm not sure I would be able to make that kind of sacrifice now. Maybe grihastha ashram can prepare me. But in that case, i would like like live that stage of life in the most possible correct way. Because I see marriages of devotees now, most of them don't  follow the regulations of that ashram. And  is 'normal'  ¿? i don't think that is good for spiritual life...

HpS - Spiritual life is very individual. Just succeed or fail as you can do it personally. Take personal education from the example and experience of others. 99.999% of the time if married people are engaged in illicit sex they will not make any spiritual progress and die and become animals in their next lives. Have to conquer this problem. Marriage and sex is O.K. have a few nice kids and the passion diminishes.

Thanks you very much for your time and for being! I'm happy and i would like to write to you maharaj! Hare Krishna Hare Rama!!

In photo it's me with Transatlantic made from tree bark

HpS - Hare Krsna!  More news in a few weeks!!

Dear Guru Maharaj,

PAMHO AGTSP,

Even though I'm not the best at showing it, I'm so grateful to have you in my life. I've been working hard to lay the foundation for the service I hope to perform in the near future, and I appreciate that in the meantime you've shown endless patience with me, and trusted me to make my way forward in life as best I can.

I appreciate that you go out of your way to be personal with your disciples, that each one of us can feel confident to go to you with our joy and our difficulties and feel accepted and encouraged and empowered to go on and become the best versions of ourselves we can be. Because you are truly caring, you are the best result of all of Srila Prabhupada's endeavor. Because of Prabhupada, my generation has access to personalities like you, who are the greatest asset to the human race in these dark times. People who are wise, and humble, and kind, and gentle, and honest.

Things are changing rapidly for me lately and growing more complex, just as I desired. So it's been difficult to know where to begin writing. Lately I've been thinking deeply about my relationships and feeling many things which are difficult to express.

It's been over a year now since I formally became your disciple and since I resumed my career as a working artist. Since then, a great deal has taken place, but I'll just recap a few main points:

 •Built up a new body of work in a new medium, consisting of over 1000 artworks in various genres, sizes, and styles.

•Created an online sales funnel with social media, website, blog, email list, and crowd funding profile.

•Conceptualized my creative process with artist statement, biography, and numerous letters and essays. I documented my work in physical and digital portfolios which I plan to self-publish as a collectible introduction to my life, work, and ideas.

•Experimented with network marketing and learned some valuable skills, although I went into debt to protect my customers assets when the business went under.

•Worked as an intern at a print/frame shop and paid off my debt while learning a new trade related to my profession.

•Assisted Baradraj prabhu in laying the foundation for a transcendental artist colony, and became acquainted with gold leafing techniques from him.

•Curated my first group exhibition, participated in dozens of other exhibitions at notable galleries and live events, and found a lucrative online market for prints of my artwork.

•Served the devotees with illustrations for books, albums, publications, and with transportation and storage.

I've been in a long distance relationship with a likeminded devotee girl in Dallas who is also a freelancer and an artist. We have compatible astrology and we get along well so I'm planning to move to Dallas soon to get married. She is a tutor and a ghostwriter for masters students so we look forward to delving into some research projects together soon.

My girlfriend Reivin lives next to the temple and her landlord is a devotee, so we will have very low rent, and between the two of us we will barely ever have to work to pay bills. My plan is to use online resources to learn as many instruments and languages as possible, to review all my basic academic knowledge through the ACT, to take free online uni courses on topics related to my art; to provide incisive social commentary which details how all societal problems stem from a deeper existential crisis, and visionary audio/visual explorations of utopian and dystopian scenarios that I intend to write, animate, and score myself with selected artist collaborations.

I'm currently revamping my online presence and designing an art series and product line around a new crowdfunding concept I'm super excited about. I look forward to being able to donate more towards your preaching efforts and collaborating more with other devotees.

I've got a long way to go but I feel healthy and happy, like I'm exactly where I need to be. I know that Krishna sees my true desire to serve and I fully trust Him to protect me in all circumstances. I feel blessed to be surrounded by so many saintly people, and I hope that I can contribute something of value to the devotional community. Thank you, Maharaj, for accepting the austerity of leadership. I hope I can serve you better as time goes on.

Your servant,

Ekāśma Dās

HpS -AGTSP . paoho. I could not read all this but scanned a lot. Of course, "get up early and get your rounds done" is the the enzyme that makes everything else work. Write again when this Vyasapuja mountain of mail shrinks.

Por favor acepte nuestras respetuosas reverencias.
Todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada!
El día de hoy martes 19, celebramos el Vyasa-Puja en México, estos días estuvimos esperando  ansiosamente  la respuesta a mi carta y por alguna razón hace un rato recién llegó la notificación, llegamos a pensar seriamente que somos seres de las más obscuras tinieblas al olvido.

 Le ruego disculpe cualquier inconveniente por favor. 
Leimos que mañana miércoles 20 tiene conexión con Perú en la tarde.

Usamos la instrucción que le dio a Ananda Maya de Monterrey y ofrecimos pizza. 

Vimos un vídeo con audio español de nuestro hermano Raktak Prabhu editado por karuna sakti y colaboradores, todos estaban muy emocionados viéndolo como una ofrenda para ud. Espero que puedan enviarle. 

Su Santidad Guruprasad Swami se encuentra en México, misericordiosamente nos acompañó por un rato. 
Maharaja dijo : espero que en este día de Su Vyasa-Puja, Krsna, Sri Sri Radha Madana Gopal, Mahaprabhu y Srila Prabhupada le den la bendición de tener buena salud y vivir por muchos años y muchos Vyasa-Pujas más para poder presentar la conciencia de Krsna de esa forma excelente a los devotos, al público y al mundo. 

Le ruego perdone  nuestras ofensas por favor.

Tomamos unas fotos para Usted pero no son de buena calidad, disculpe. 

Vuestra aspirante a sirviente
Asta Sakhi dd.

HpS - ASA - Jaya!  Si no hay "URGENTE" en area del Sujeto no responde para tre dias y aveces poco mas. Muy bien oir de el evento!!!   Muy feliz oir de Vds, la proxima generacion de gurus. Mas!      Super fotos!   Nos vemos 5 Marzo!

Porfavor gurudev aacepté mis humildes reverencias, todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada y guru Parampara.

Gurudev jamas recivi de Iskcom una queja sobre mi caso con la devota, solo recibi una sancion por 1 año y medio de las autoridades de Lima sin que me pregunten oh tenga una cita formal para escuchar mi version de lo sucedido. Esa clase de falta de sentido comun q tenemos en nuestro yatra hace q. Muchos devotos no esten inspirados y molestos con las autoridades de Peru. Yo estoy bien.porque vivo otra realidad ocupado en mi trabajo, servicio y relacion con los devotos amigos.

Disculpe mis ofensas mis reverencias a Ud.

HpS - TlgaSP. Pfanrh. La sancion es verbal o escrita?

Hare

Krsna

AGTSP

Dead tired Monkey here. Had the usual emotional shocks and intellectual challenges that make a regular day in hell. On the other hand, things have been pretty good also. We have been writing, rewriting a piece of Juvenille fiction for four days now. Maybe we are coming to the point were it is worth publishing.

We offered, steamed, carrots,potato,broccoli to Lord and shredded oranges with almonds and walnuts and raisins. For grains we offered six cups of popcorn.

Hare Krsna.

It is cold. It is dark. It is like living in a factory district.

The called from Mercedes Benz 45-minutes away and said they will send a new car to replace the loner that I have because they have sold the one I have.  Bizzare. They have not come so far. Expecting some Vyasapuja calls here at some time.

Hare Hare Hare Krsna!!!

O.K. Lets read a little and the go for a walk with NGD. Left right, Left right.  Sankirtan!!!

Dear Gurudeva,
Please accept my humble obeissances, All glories to Srila Prabhupada

I am working in my small business, dealing with mi family, and my own self. I am taking care of two beautiful Tulsi plants, one of them got a parasite called red spider. I take care of it every day so its seems controlled, but not 100% perfect yet. 

I would like to ask you how can I deal with some philosofical interrogants. First, being materially contaminated by the desire of sense gratification, our idea of perfection may be very subjective and capricious. Of course things don't work as we expect and we feel pain, disapointment and insatisfaction. Although becoming devotees, and starting to understand better our position, still it is very had to stop feeling the same way all the time. How can we deal with our own ignorance and lack of spiritual realization, in order to tolerate our own limited existance.

HpS - Would say that the best way is to just cry, "Hare Krsna!"  "Hare Rama!" Do it a few times and you should have some clearer intelligence how to proceed. Has worked for us in very dificult situation. Have some patience but chant with enthusiasm and look for the answer.

And my other question would be, how to deal with the desire to understand the reasons behind our own specific karma and life situation. We have to go through an specific situation conditioned in so many ways, a situation that is not pleasurable for our sense and mind, and one would like to know the reasons behind, to understand better what are the kind of mistakes or offenses that putted us in a certain situation, but there is no knowledge, we can only wonder. How should we as devotees in KC deal with that?

HpS - Maharaja Bharata really knew why he was in the body of a deer.  If Krsna wants us to know then he can let us know. Even Buddha said, There are so many causes of our present situation. In Kali-yuga it can be very complicated. See if you can get R. D. Laing's book "Knots". Krsna tells Arjuna to not try to understand it. The history is so complicated. It might be like trying to explain Krsna consciousness to your grandmother with both of you on LSD.

I went to a therapy called family constellations, is it ok?

HpS - From what I know it might help. Like taking Vitamin D for some problem.

It is a lot about that subtle mess that is behind our problems and it aims to put some order to it so we can deal better with subjects that are painful in our lifes. I liked, I think it is serious as tecnique. But still I trust much more KC because the aim is not to live better here, but to transcend and go back to our service. I was thinking that any way this place is a place of entanglement, and things won't be perfect for too long. And in this age things are hardly anything close to perfect. How can I connect with a real solution for all this that is so humiliating and difficult. Trying to make this life good/pleasurable or understand how karma works is for someone like me more than pretentious. But there must be a way Krsna allows me to make my life succesful. I would like to surrender, but it's hard. I don't want to become 'confortable' and let life go through, it don't seem posible even if I try. I would like to be more disciplined, it is one of my most difficult challenges. but also deepness in order to give some meaning to a discipline. And I love my family, it not a bad place to live for a material standar, but I loose focus, and become more relaxed, or focused on material things, it can take all my time. 

I am sorry for the length!! I really needed to communicate with you and ask guidance and instruction. My brother Franco is comming for Chritmas holidays, one month. He is in his first year of masters. My mom and dad are fine, they work very hard, more tired and old. They are good people doing their duties at their best, but they are very tired and they have to continue for a while. As daughter I feel sorry they are not more fulfilled and happy, but I guess it is the way it is. I guess I cannot do anything else than trying to become devotee, right? In constellations they say that children shouldn't try to become parents of its own parents, it is unnatural, and give bad results. Parents should take care of their own issues, it is not the position of children to try to fix their problems. I may be a bit too attached to my parents, and my desire for them to be happy... I may be taking many unconscious decisions that are harmfull for my own development and even my KC in order to try to please them and make them happy in a material way.

Otherwise I am assisting Indira Sakti in her pujari service on saturday evening, twice a month in Wilson. I am doing sweets and decorating the cakes for festivals in Wilson along with Indira. And we are meeting with Juan, Lourdes, Tarangaksi, Rukmini, mother Isvari, Gandharva and Indira at least once a month. I am always happy to cooperate in all I am able. If not being a very good disciple at least always thinking and remembering that KC is the most precious think ever I have. Wishing sincerely to learn from you,

your servant, Nitya Kisori dd

*picture of our last cake for Srila Prabhupada's Disapearance day

HpS - Wow!  Long letter.  Nice.     Your analysis of the situation seems correct. All I can say is that you seem to be on the right path. Look at the letter to Subal-sakha today. He had same question and we answered as best we can. You are on the right path, just try little ways to speed up quickly, but be a little patient.

Cake also looks like the designer was on LSD!! Beautiful.