Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna Dear Guru Maharaja

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

I came back from India yesterday.

ASA - Over a week ago. Sorry for the delay.

It was a really nice trip. I visited Mayapur, Ekachakra and Vraj. Also vistited ISKCON Chennai and Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane.

ASA - Jaya!   Ekacakra!!!

              Radhika Ramana prabhu and I observed a nice and simple Vyasa puja celebration in Mayapur. Unexpectedly many devotees came and started glorifying you. Durgam prabhu was fondly remembering being with you on Vrajamandal parikrama. It was sweet. I will resend my offering in a separate post.

ASA - AGTSP!!!

I really loved Ekachakra. The people there had such spontaneous love for Nityananda Prabhu. They were raising their arms in the air and saying 'Jai Nitai!' when we were waking on the streets. It was the same in Vraja too. The Vraja vasis were so sweet. Every place we visited, they were telling the pastimes of Krishna and it was from the heart. I especially remember the Vrajavasis from Kusum Sarovar, Unchagaon and Sankeet on how eager and lovingly they were telling us about the pastimes that happened there. I realized how hard my heart was after seeing their love and spontaneity in welcoming us and sharing with us the pastimes.

The mangala arti in Krishna Balaram temple was the best. I wanted it to go on forever. I want to carry that mood back here and develop a steady FMP. It was very inspiring. I followed your instruction and attended all the mangala arti. It set the tone for the day. I was able to chant at least 32 rounds on most of the days. I did book distribution in Chennai on Vaikunta Ekadashi and New Year day along with the devotees there.

Throughout the trip, I was constantly thinking about you and your mercy, for me to have these experiences. I struggled so hard to travel to the few places I went and got very sick in Vrindavan. I was thinking about how you take very strenuous trips, travel to so many places, and preach. Thank you so much Guru Maharaja for all that you do for us.

I saw a post from Yamunesvara Prabhu asking for links to online lectures. They can be accessed from here - https://soundcloud.com/user-938973912.

Is it possible to add this link in Kapi Dhvaja so that it is easy for everyone to know about it?

HpS - We just posted it into the KDh and will distribute it. Maybe our lectures will give an example of evil for those who want to do good.

Your servant

Srinatha Krsna dasa

HpS - Let's hope that all our journeys are part of a longer journey that will take us to a place where we can be eternally situated at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada!

 Haré Krsna Gurumaharaja.!!

 Please accept our humble reverence!

 All glories to Srila Prabhupada!!

     Thank you so much Gurumaharaja for your kindly and fast  response.

       We had been waiting for it. As son as we recieve it every thing become so clear for every one...we had also commented it with some other  devotees, also in la gomera and the conclution was that we will better stay in la Palma island cause it takes lot of time and energy for moving and change house, school, neigborhood and so many other arrangement that Krsna is been doing for us, it looks like Krsna have some plan for us here., So, Gurumaharaja.. What do you think? Is our choise the good one?? 

          Hope this will find you in good spiritual éxtasis!! 

          Your aspirant servant Yasodanandana das& Ekadrsti d.d &/ Family. 

                                          Haré Krsna!

HpS - Sorry that this letter took some time to respond. Many challenges here. One is that it is now -10 degrees and we have to fight with the cold. Eighty-five percent of our mobile home is not heated, but we like it.

I don't remember the details of your choices but I suspect that if you made the choice and talked with other devotees and maybe included our ideas then the choice will be a step in the right direction!   Should we hope for more?    We are moving back to the ligh but still in the fog.

Respects to everyone!!!  Sankirtan!    Even smiling at people if you have done your Mangala arati is great Sankirtan.

nama om vishnu-padaya Krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate Hanumatpresaka Swamin iti namine

nama om vishnu-padaya Krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine

Om ajñana-timirandhasya jñanañjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

 Dear and esteemed Gurudev,
 ‎please accept muy humble obeisances,
 ‎all glories to Srila Prabhupada,
 ‎Another year in the ISKCON family. Yes!!
 ‎Thank you for all the austerities you make to set the example. Preaching, sadhana,travelling so much,etc.
 ‎Thank you for pushing ISKCON into another level. Your generation, made it very good, although the bad times, you kept the institution afloat. No matter all the troubles you had.
 ‎You gave us a huge legacy, expanding, translating, Srila Prabhupada's and previous Acharyas instructions to the most fallen souls like myself.
 ‎What is the main purpose of our generation? What should we do with ISKCON? Which should be the focus? Education, administration, devotee care?
 ‎What will happen when your generation is gone? All the glorious Srila Prabhupada disciples. Are we ready for the task? I have fear!! I feel myself more a burden than a helpful tool.
 ‎The only thing I can do is keep trying. And i will, until I succeed. Don't know when.
 ‎You showed me by your living example that everything in Srila Prabhupada's books is true.
 ‎I always remember what you said once. Fifty percent of the people in ISKCON are insane. But outside ISKCON eighty percent of the people are insane. So where do you want to stay?
 ‎So despite all the things we have to improve, ISKCON is a great place to be.
 ‎In SB 6.7.23 Brahma tells Indra:
 ‎O Indra, your enemies, the demons, were extremely weak because of their disrespect toward Śukrācārya, but since they have now worshiped Śukrācārya with great devotion, they have again become powerful. By their devotion to Śukrācārya, they have increased their strength so much that now they are even able to easily seize my abode from me.
 ‎By your mercy Gurudev everything is possible.
 ‎
 ‎mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ
paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande
śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam

(Madhya 17.80)

By the mercy of the guru, even a dumb man can become the greatest orator, and even a lame man can cross mountains.

Wherever you are, I want to be,
One of your worse disciples,
Nikunja bihari das.

HpS - Thank you. We are full of selfish motives, but Srila Prabhupada is using us.  We say that you only have to be 50% sane, madhyama, to live in ISKCON, not that 50% of the devotees are insane, but it is a fact that in the hospital you expect to find people in various degrees of illness. Go ahead. Smile a lot!!!!!

 ‎

Querido Gurudev: Pamho. Hemos entrado en un año nuevo y nos acercamos mas y mas al cambio de cuerpo. Estamos tratando de mejorar e ir contra la corriente de kali-yuga. Se necesita gran esfuerzo para contrarestar la influencia de la energia material. Estamos luchando y  me he propuesto escribir en el blog una vez al mes. (a ver si lo consigo).

HpS - ASA - Jaya!!

Así que le contesto a las preguntas que me hace:

1)- La familia está bien, aunque nos gustaría que Nimai sintiera mas atracción por las actividades devocionales (cantar, leer, etc). Entiendo que tanto Purnamasi como yo tenemos que darle un buen ejemplo y despues él hara lo que quiera. Podemos llevar al burro  al abrevadero pero no podemos obligarlo a beber agua.

2)- Los programas en casa van muy bien. Nos solemos juntar entre diez y venticinco (adultos y niños). Los devotos estan felices con el programa y lo estamos haciendo de forma regular.

3)- En cuanto al Yatra español creo tendriamos que hacer dos cosas muy importantes:

- La primera es desarrollar un sentimiento de "hermandad" entre todos los devotos (incluso vaisnavas de otras escuelas). Se pueden hacer festivales especificos de hermandad, sin reuniones administrativas, y con mucho canto, filosofía, prasadam,etc. Tratando de mostrar agradecimiento a todos los devotos por  su aportación al movimiento de sankirtan  o mostrarles agradecimiento simplemente porque son vaisnavas.

- La segunda es ocupar a los devotos segun su naturaleza. Principalmente, cuando la modalidad de la bondad sea muy resaltante, ocupar al devoto en funciones de predica y ayudarle a evitar los asuntos administrativos. Y cuando la modalidad de la pasión sea resaltante ( y tambien haya buena dosis de bondad) entonces tenemos que animar a esos devotos para que ocupen o ayuden en servicios administrativos. Cooperación entre los dos grupos. Los brahmanas dicen que se puede hacer y los ksatriyas como se puede hacer.

Esperando se encuentre bien de salud se despide

su sirviente

Jayanta das

HpS - Jaya!    Muchas gracias sus noticias. Vale The New York Times.

Estuvimos hablando de Yadunandana Swami para 1.25 horas semana pasado. Esperamos visitar a Espanya en otnyo posible.

Aun trabajando como 'mailman', no?   Cuanto mas tiempo para su jubilo?  Entonces mas oportunidad predicar!!!!

Jaya Sri Krsna!

Esteemed Dr. Chakravarty,

We hope this meets you the best of spirits in your war on evil and ignorance in this dark age of Kali.

We have refrained from writing to you because we do not want to tax your valuable time, but now we can report some clear progress.

Specifically, we were able to transfer the interview we made with your good self in Delhi to our team in Peru, South America. All of these steps have been challenges. We had to learn how to use WeTransfer to send the big file, get it off of our cellular etc.

Then Oscar Natars, our film director looked at the clip. He won Director of the Year award for Latin America in 2017 and then was lauded with the highest cultural award from the nation of Peru.

They all had a very hard time following the audio because the microphone was a little distance and then because of the English dialect difference. We looked, looked, looked for a good translator, partially hard because you ideas and expression of them is of a very high level of English.

Finally we got a qualified person and when he turned in the translation and Alejandro tried to pay him, he said that no, this one is for free. It has been an honor to translate this work!

Oscar understood the content and was enthused, "I agree with him". Hector, general for Che Guevara, member of United Nations committee against poverty, who we hope to now present commentaries on your ideas, was enthused. (I thought he would be!).

So, they are moving to the stage of picking images to go with your words, interviewing Prof. Hector Bejar to compare and contrast with your ideas, and then we want to toss in just a few more ideas from Prof. Ravi Gupta whom you met some time ago with us and Beverly Zabrisky, co-founder of the Jungian Society in New York and art critic for the New York Times, and by the Grace of God we will have a 24-minutes movie that will be BBC, National Geographic quality and we will put it to use.

We go to South America March 5th - 30 April and the first even will be a preview of this Art and the Sacred in a co-sponsored conference with the Jesuit University in Lima.

That is all for now.

Of course, we are always at your service in whatever way we can accomplish anything.

With best regards from everyone.

Hanumatpresaka Swami
Prof. H. H. Robinson
NIOS

P.S. Attach last letters from Oscar if you like to see them:______________________________________________

On Friday, January 12, 2018, 12:09:45 PM CST, oscar naters <[email protected]> wrote:

Hare Krsna, 

I have sent already to Hector Bejar the transcription and translation of Dr,Kaylan interview. Now I am waiting for his answer, comments and some questions he can suggest for the rest of meetings you will have in USA. Also I ask to let me know with a few days before when can we do and film the interview with him. We are ready to do it.

It will be ready in march for sure.

When are you planning to do the other interviews?

It was easer also for me Dr. Kaylan s translated text. I liked it very much and I agree with his ideas.

Than you.

Oscar

_____________________

Hanumatpresaka Swami wrote: 2018 January 16

Hare Krsna, Oscar,
I am about to explode, die. <img alt="Emoji" height="16" src="https://s.yimg.com/nq/yemoji_assets/latest/yemoji_assets/1f600.png" title="Emoji" width="16" />   We are under so much stress. I guess it is the same for you. These sane, determined letters from you keep us straight. We want so very much to contribute a little relief to this crazy modern, materialistic world and if efforts like this interview with Dr. Cakravarty have proved a failure then we would be hit like a blow in the chest.   <img alt="Emoji" height="16" src="https://s.yimg.com/nq/yemoji_assets/latest/yemoji_assets/1f611.png" title="Emoji" width="16" />  Of course, we would have to get back up and try again. We have a Captain, Srila Prabhupada, we can't leave the battle.

As soon as we have the ideas for questions from Hector we can get interviews with Radhika and Beverley.

Are we in the range of looking at a budget now?

We have to plan for the meetings in March with Jesuits, Solaris, and September-October in Lima.

With this first interview we can expect to get more support and funding.

Thank you,  then we are waiting for the questions from Hector.

Hare Krishna Maharaja
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to Sri Sri Goura Nitay
All the glories to you

HpS - AGTSP!

Maharaja, I am Ma. Soledad de Chile, wife of Abhimanyu, do you remember me?

HpS - Yes!!

I hope your health goes well within what you can and that illuminates the souls of everyone with whom you associate. I did not write to him months ago because I'm not having a good time.

HpS - Especially you should write if you are having a bad time, no???

Materially everything is happening in the best way for me in relation to the labor and the economy, unfortunately my spiritual life is in decline. Maharaja, I am writing to you because I need your instruction, of any word you can give me to get out of this I am falling into, I will be sincere with you, as I believe it is the only way in which I can move forward. I have only talked to a Mataji, and I need to be honest and reveal my mind to those who do not judge me, as this is very painful for me.

A few months ago I began to question myself a lot about the dynamics of the devotees, until one day I woke up completely discouraged, without mood of singing my japa (I was doing very well for many months, singing with enthusiasm) until that day I did not sing, and so I take a couple of months, without chanting Hare Krishna (I'm afraid to post this here, because unfortunately Maharaja there are devotees who will read it and they will criticize me and speak ill of me,

HpS - In the material world EVERYONE is criticized!    It is compared to a cricket that makes noise and keeps us awake at night, but search and search and you can't find it (SB Canto Five, Forest of Material Enjoyment). You must learn to avoid the demoniac attachments in of the members of this Blog and take advantage of the friendly aspects. NOI-4 & 5!

...I still do not know how to fight in my mind against that) , little by little I began to lose enthusiasm for doing service, I stopped having enthusiasm for going to the temple and for being surrounded by some people. My guru instructed me not to stop going to Prabhupada's house, and I failed him, for a long time I felt that I was practicing tolerance and mental obeisances towards those whom I see harming other devotees, but I think I did bad, since it would not be as bad as it is now. I feel that I have a crisis Maharaja, I know it is Maya, I know that it is because I have not understood the instructions and teachings of the scriptures, I know that it is because I have not determined to take my spiritual life seriously, but I need a guide that can help me. to say what to do in these moments in which I feel disappointed and with pain inside of me because of what is happening to me. Sometimes I find it hard to understand how being Krishna Consciousness pure love, there are people who do so much harm to others, defacing and offending them, what position should we take to be spectators of those situations? How is it done to maintain enthusiasm? Who advises me to read about spiritual practice being grihastas? I know it will not come from heaven, I know I must have discipline, but Maharaja sometimes I feel that I can not and suffer.

Please forgive me for needing your instruction, for not being able to tell you something positive. With Abhimanyu we are coordinating Food For Life, the only service that I have in charge, and every time I execute it, I offer it to Srila Prabhupada, to you and to Maharaja Dhanvantari. The only thing that I have clear is that the realizations that I had I will never lose, all the time I was fixed I felt spiritual pleasure, I lived intensely, I felt love for the devotees that surrounded me, I still want my environment to be Conscious of Krishna, I preach in my work, wherever I go I carry Krishna in my heart, trusting firmly that only He is the controller, and I strongly ask every day for strength to understand what is happening to me and find solutions, I do not want to fall anymore Deep in the claws of the Mayan witch, I do not want to sleep in the illusion of this material world, I want to go back to Krishna.

Waiting for you to be very well Your humble well-wisher, Ma. Soledad Oyarce.

HpS - Well, again, you should have been writing to us, our someone like us, earlier. Getting free from The Evil One is not easy. Prabhupada says it is declaration of war on the material nature!   In contrast we have a very nice person to help us fight with the Black Witch!   She is the White Witch. Photo attached below.

Just call Her name, Radhe!   Hare!  Until you get connected.

We have 18,000 verses in SB and all its following books, like CC, because there are so many varieties of attachment, envy, in spiritual life. Aditi trying to kill her sister's children in the Fifth Canto. She was  very advanced devotee, but she wanted to serve Krsna, the ways SHE WANTED TO SERVE HIM and she was so angry at how her sister was serving Him, picking clothes for feast for Janmastima etc. that she wanted to eliminate her sisters children from the "Temple".

So that is a little idea.

1. ISKCON as and institution.

2. ISKCON as your friends

3. ISKCON as you and Srila Prabhupada.

Can you live in all three?

Srila Prabhupada wants you to chant Hare Krsna. You. Personally. He will hear it.

O.K. for first round of ideas?