Hare Krsna Dear Gurudev,
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
All glories to Guru parampara.
Gurudev, we have sent you an URGENT mail for to seek your advise and comment.
Thank you so much Gurudev.
your fallen servant,
Girivaradhari-Gopal Das
HpS - We answered it. Thank you!!
Hare Krisna por favor Acepte mis humildes reverencias Todas las Glorias a Srla Prabhupada.
Espero que se encuentre bien de salud, como sabe estoy en Madre Tierra intentando desarrollar el proyecto pero me encuentro con muchas incertidumbres o dudas sobre lo que debo hacer ya no por el proyecto en si si no tambien por los devotos.
Aspirando a ser su humilde sirviente Jagamohan Das.
HpS - Hare Krsna. Ya volviendo de India, Australia, todo!!! Si, como you entiendo algo de confusion el proyect. Primero por buen Sadhana y associacion tiene que clarificar un poco cuales son sus responsilibidades y naturaliza en servicio decocional, ISKCON of Srila Prabhupada.
2-puede buscar otros personal quien ha resolvado paso una arribe un poco.
Quien soy yo? Quien somos nostros?
3- Un plan desarrollar Sankirtan juntos.
4- Parafernalia: Autos, herramientos, casa, ternos...
Adelante. Preguntas?
All Glories to A.C. Prabhupada, Sripada Maharaja
All Glories to Gouranga Mahaprabhu and Goura Bhakta Vrnda Ki Jay!
Guru Maharaja! Dandavat Pranam,
Please accept my humble obeisances unto Guruji Maharaja's padmacharan that I am continuing the reading of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu 2:2:70. The sangskrit words used here, the meaning and the translation into English are very tough and difficult to graps the idea. For example “ Raga, Raganuga-Bhakti, Ragatmika-Bhakti, Vaidhi-Bhakti etc.” In Gita 2.56 the word Raga is translated as attachment and in Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu and other related books it is the process of thinking in the spiritual life. The Ragatmika is related only the inhabitants of Vraja. Please explain the differences between Bhakti and Vaidhi Bhakti, Seva and Bhakti.
Guruji, please explain in a simpler way or form of expression the above sangskrit words.
The regular Sunday Bhagavatam Patha is also continuing and as a part of it I will narrate the portion of 9:10.4 and will continu further.
In the meantime, we are planning for the Guruji’s Manipur visit programme from 1-4 Nov. 2017. We will finalise the exact number of Prasadam and books required for the function with Banamali Prabhu, Ekanatha Prabhu and Sadhubhusan Das shortly in Imphal and the amounts to be deposited.
How the Astrali tour is going on?
Yours fallen sarvent
Yamunesvara Das
Submitted by mukta singh on Fri, 11/10/2017 - 05:57
All Glories to A.C. Prabhupada, Sripada Maharajam,
All Glories to Gouranga Mahaprabhu and Goura Bhakta Vrnda Ki Jay!
Guru Maharaja, Dandavat Pranam!
Please accept my humble obeisances unto Guruji Maharaja's padmacharan that after Guruji's reply I have more courage for reading more and more books. The meaning of Guruji's sankirtan is reading and chanting more.
Haridasa Swami informed me that the Navadwip parikrama will start from the 18th Feb. 2018 by registration so we are planning to reach Mayapur on the 17th Feb. 2018 by evening. If Guruji’s India programme is fixed it will be a golden change for us to see and served Guruji during Navadwip parikrama. We are trying to join in the English speaking team (group).
In the Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu 1:2:295 - Following after the inhabitants of Vraja, one should perform service in one's physical body and in one's siddha body, with a desire for a particular bhava.
Sadhaka-rupa refers to the physical body of the practitioner. Siddhaka-rupa refers to the body which is suitable for one's desired service, and which has been developed by internal meditation.
The siddha-rupa is given by a guru on the path of raga-bhakti when he sees the qualification for raganuga-bhakti and a particular inclination in a partiular disciple. However, forms of manjaris, assistants to the Sakhis of Radha, seem to be the most prminent forms given.
From my little knowledge I think that Sakhis are the helpers of the outer parts and manjaris are the helpers of the inner part and Sadhaka is upto Nabadwip and Siddhaka is for Brndavan. Correct me if mistaken.
HpS - Hare Krsna!! The citations above are from where? It is a translation of Bhakti-rasa-amrta-sindhu? The translations we have are Srila Prabhupada's Nectar of Devotion, which Dhanurdhara Swami expands greatly in Waves of Devotion and also Prof. David Haberman's translation and Introduction and Bhanu Swami's translation and commentary.
As we understand "Sadhana-rupa" means the form we do Sadhana-bhakti with. This can be done with bother the Gross and Subtle body. This involves following the rules and regulations of Bhakti presented by the Acharya eg. 16-rounds on beads and three Gayatri chanting in the mind.
Siddha-rupa refers to the eternal form of the living entity when it is again awake, "upadesamrta: "nitya siddha krsna prema..."". Now it is sleeping, compressed by subtle and gross material body, but its spiritual nature is what gives life to the material body. Like we are sleeping but we are alive and that animates our gross breathing.
Sakhis are Gopis over 12-years old, past puberty. Manjaris are Gopis pre-puberty. Of course this is TOTALLY spiritual. They are all in Krsna lila in Vraja. Nabadvipa lila in Lord Caitanya and the Goswamis in external lila and as we understand there is a corresponding part in Braja where Krsna with the help of Lalita and Visakha tries to understand Srimati Radharani's ecstacy by talking about it and immitating it.
O.K?
Raganuga Bhakti is not something that is imposed. This is a mistake that it generated from the deivant Siddha-pranali sect that has been centered in Radha-kunda. Again, "nitya siddha krsna prema.." NOI. We have a spiritual situaion we are Manjaris, Monkeys, Milk, Millers, Vaikuntha-vasis, Ayodhya-vasis and we are just trying by Sadhana bhakti and then Raganuaga bhakti to wake up our spiritual form, ourselves. The spiritual master guides you in acting according to your Siddha-rupa when you, it, is a little awake by guiding you in activities that will especially wake up your eternal service relation with Krsna.
Eg. you can play the piano music from the paper, but it is very mechanica, but when your teacher says, 'I'll play it on the violin, you play on the piano". Then, in his associaton you can play with Raga, feeling, and of course, that stimulates your eternal Raga.
O.K?
Yours fallen servant
Yamunesvara Das
Hare Krishna Guru Maharaj
Todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada
Acepte por favor mir reverencias
Disculpeme por no escribir antes. Ahora estoy de vacaciones y tengo mas tiempo para estudiar y realizar mas servicios. Madre Prema padmini llegó a Lima hace unas semanas atrás y me dio el servicio de llevar adelante el programa Bhakti vriksha en Lima, yo lo acepté con mucha alegría ya que fue mi fuente de inspiración hace 10 años atrás.
Estoy siguiendo adelante con mis servicios en el templo, como educador y pujari, y ahora voy hacer lo posible para que el programa Bhakti vriksha vuelve a ser la fuente de inspiración para muchos devotos del yatra
Gracias Gurudev por su inspiración y dedicación
Hare Krishna
Jagat Pavitram das
(LIMA-PERÚ)
HpS - ASA -- Mooo! Mooo! Moo y Bien! Como esta su familia y trabajo?? Espero que noticias en el Blog son util para Vd. eg. GBC College in Campina Grande.
From: Bhaktarupa (das) ACBSP (Puri - IN) <>
To: Srivasa Pandit Das <>
Cc: HpS (HHR) <>; Vaisesika Prabhu <>
Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2017 2:19 AM
Subject: Re: Bhakti Vaibhava certificates
As per the standards there are four areas of assessment, not just one question paper per semester. Since the kind of procedure that you used was never anticipated by the Board members, they will need to be convinced that it was satisfactory. Please prepare a full presentation of what procedures were followed in this regard for all the assessment areas, addressed to the Board.
Your servant, Bhaktarupa Das
___________________________________________________
HpS - Hare Krsna. Prabhu, BOEX
AGTSP Paoho
You asked "Who prepared the exams" and it seems Srivasa pt. Das answered that question. The exams were done Semester by Semester, which I think is pretty common. This included a total of 200 short answer questions over eight Semesters as required and then the one-hundred pages of essays as required. The essays were written more or less as we did each chapter and then collected and edited into one document which is with Srivasa pt. Das.
The Semester Exams also included the testing on the relevant Slokas cited in each Chapter and also those cited within Purports eg. "parasya shaktir vividaiva sruyate svabhavika jnana bala kriya ca".
1. Short Answer
2. Slokas
3. Essays
Personal Presentations: Then, our structure, for four years, was roughly doing one chapter a week. Everyone would use the Chapter Study Guides we had developed and then meet with their Study Partner each week on line - usually 1.5 hours. Then there was a general meeting on-line every Saturday. One member was the Presenter and another the Chief Guest. These presentations were about 50-minutes with Power Point shows and the Chief Guest would come in if there was some confusion during the presentation and everyone would make their individual questions and comments after that. Again that was about 1.5 hours. The next week the Chief Guest was the Presenter.
There were one week for Module Reviews and one week for Semester Reviews.
In rotation each Semester one pair of partners were Curriculum Development Team and they also would set the test questions from the Semester Review Questions, like the Question Study Bank for the Mayapura Institute. The class was about nine devotees: Two PhD, four Bachelor, our selves, Vaisesika Das etc.
There are two more groups now in progress in San Jose.
The Semester Review Questions (Source of Exams) was reviewed by everybody and edited, and many or most cases Radhika-rama Das saw the question sheets and said that they were very nice.
The very last Semester the Temple President in Boise was Anantarupa Das and he had some strong criticisms of the entire world wide program and local application that have been very useful.
So, and the students presented about every two months over 48-months.
Anything else?
In general, as Member of the Executive Committee of the Ministry etc we see, as Yadunandana Swami said, higher education in ISKCON is in diapers.
We've watched the program in Mayapura, Govardhana Eco-village, San Jose, Houston, Washington D. C., Vrndavana, Melbourne, Brazil etc and the Board of Examiners and there is a LOT of work we all have to do to bring this up to a good standard, but the diplomas that Harvard gives now cannot be compared to the diplomas they gave in 1636!
My opinion and I hear from others in those programs that all the Sastri Studies Institutions have serious defects and we need to have more communication and cooperation, accept that people will have half a brain in their heads and understand that this is a start up program and we are rewarding students as much for their pioneering spirit as well as for their memorizing facts and concepts.
I think Srivasa pt. Das also explained how Vaiseka Das is already finishing his last Master's Class. These are great and we can include them as part of the curriculum in the future for all BhVai programs if the want.
As far as I can see San Jose followed the proposed system which was approved by the BOEX and it is the basically the same system that is being used by most everyone with adjustment for residential and on-line facilities etc. I don't see how it is something that was never done before????
Also, the students in San Jose in the current groups have physical meetings on a weekly basis now and we have been having a week of physical meetings with all the students in Boise each year.
Hare Krsna!