All glories to Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet. All glories to you dear Gurudeva Hare Krishna, please accept my humble obeisances to your exalted personality.
ASA - We hope we can lose some fat! Started putting on weight as soon as we entered Jupiter.
Congratulations Gurudeva for your Vyasa Puja, I hope you have been very happy.
HpS - Ha!! Ha! HAre! Some thoughts in the other letters today. Have you read them? We feel happy sometimes, but mostly we just feel selfish or duty. Duty is like Santa or Dasya-rasa. We don't want to feel happy. We want to know Krsna with Prabhupada and see what He needs and arrange it and then feel happy when we see it was useful. Thank you for the question, wish!
Here in Mumbai, the family makes a small celebration trying to glorify his person, read some of his writings, and remember some pastimes that we have lived or heard about you. It was very emotional and filled with a lot of inspiration and it also we fell ashamed to see that we making nothing to compared with everything you have done and continue to do for Prabhupada's mission, his service is so perfect that it motivates us more and more .
Then 2017, was a year with many stories, extraordinary moments and others with hards distractions. For the month of February it was 9 months of a home school where my daughters developed many skills and knowledge, developing attraction in Krishna consciousness, studying together the Srimad Bhagavatam, different classes, with many expert advice, good time to sing the rounds and wake up early, was very well. But, in another hand, also I was one year like married woman, and yes, we had some problems in the marriage, disagreements, but finally, thanks to a good devotees association and advice, the difficulties are overcome :)
In March we traveled to Moscow, Russia for 2 months, to meet my husband's family, because of the compromises, trips and new things that can must learned, the home school and the Sadhana paused and then stopped doing . I had a depression time, maybe because of the cold, or I don't know why, I didn't have much energy, it was a very complicated time. So, I pray much more to Krishna and Srila Prabhupada, that if we were already so close to India, that please he permit to live there with my family for a while, and that's how it happened, after that, the year improved for me and my family.
Already for May we arrived in Mumbai and it was absolutly better, everything else, it's easier to wake up early in India, maybe by the heat, or the pious energy, I'm not sure, So, I'm worship the deity, chanting the rounds, reading books is something that I could not achieve very well, very little, I want to improve that. My daughters enter to a school, to learn English, seems that everything is going well. We adapt very well to living in India, even with its austerities such as pollution and traffic.
In September, for the first time, we were able to visit Sri Vrindavan dham, Gurudeva is true that as you once told us, Vrindavan is not India, Vrindavan is the embassy of the spiritual world, nothing is equal to what is felt, heard or seen before, Well, I probably forgot it and I remember it again, even though we could only visit a week, It felt like a year, we tried to take advantage of every second of that trip, visit as many temples as possible, absorb ourselves in hearing the holy name and observe the beautiful form of Radha and Krishna. My favorite time and place was to visit Radha Damodar temple, upon entering Srila Prabhupada's room, I felt as if i was state in the center of the universe, where ISKCON began, remembered his biography and the time he lived there. so emotional, Sorry I am so sentimentalist that although I still don't understand a drop of the ocean that is the holy dham. Every day I remember it, want to return to one day to Vrindavan dham, I thank you very much for giving me your blessings, your protection and a family to accompany me on this journey to back to God, I felt really protected.
The last blessing of that year was his visit to India, melancholy of don't see see you in Vrindavan, and then my heart stopped when I saw that you was in the city where we live, Navi Mumbai. My husband and I want to thank you very much for the invaluable time you allowed us to accompany you, the words are insuficient over and it is now with facts with which we must respond to so much mercy. Thinking a lot about past, it gives affliction, thinking a lot about the future, gives anxiety, right?. Gurudeva, how would be the proper way in which a devotee plan for the future without anxiety.
We promise put more effort, at least try be not so stupid and slow, and put ourselves entirely to service to you for Srila Prabhupada and to finish our rounds every day. Please consider us if we can serve Gurudeva in something one day. please forgive my offenses.
Hare Krishna
Your aspiring servant, Satyabhama devi dasi
HpS - We remember meeting you in Navi Mumbai in Rama-giri-dhari Das' building.
Plans [memories] are another way we look at our present moment. Make plans are to improve your Bhava, attitude toward the present moment. We are living the future, plan, right now. Hare Krsna. Say this I remember. Everyone can see my 'secret' thoughts and actions if Krsna wants them too. When you stop being absorbed in the movie you can see what everyone around you is wearing.
First priority, always love Krsna, smaranam. First daily priority, chant 16-enthusiastic rounds.
Such nice pictures!
Good rounds, good moring program, good Sankirtan.
