AGTSP
Paoho
Here is the registration link to the spectacular Avant Premier of the second of our four-part movie series: Diary of a Traveling Creature, The Ultimate Trip (USA), this Friday. Please join and invite others.
us. https://bit.ly/dtc2ap
cont. from here : https://monkeywarrior.com/detail/13964/
ND: My words for this time are written down in italics dark blue.
Dear Guru Maharaja, Hare Krishna.
PAMHO AGTSP
In my regular reading, i.e. I was not searching for a quote on the topic, I read this:
The executive head must always be alert to the safety of the prajās, both man and animal, and inquire whether a particular living being is harassed at any place by another living being. The harassing living being must at once be caught and put to death, as shown by Mahārāja Parīkṣit. >>> SB 1.17.10-11, from the purport
---
[Not advocating death sentence here, and not against it, according to time, place and circumstances.]
Food for thought. Replace ‘executive head’ for ‘GBC’ / leader, and ‘prajas’ for ‘all devotees serving under GBC / leader’.
In my arrogant understanding, harassment is one of the easy-to-detect symptom of a materially conditioned consciousness, personally and socially.
There is harassment everywhere, however as, a hopefully progressive, bhakti yoga sadhakas, the idea is to curb it down, personally and socially.
It fascinates me how Srila Prabhupada is uncompromising, direct and strict about how to deal with a person who is harassing someone else.
Any leader who has “prajas” should carefully attend to and be aware that there is no harassment in his community, or if there is, act accordingly / firmly.
More could be said, there are different aspects.
Your servant Namacarya Das
HpS/ASA - Thank you for this comment. Sorry took us almost two weeks to answer. Kapi Dhvaja, Blog posts, ASA Carnival on Face book etc, hope give some idea of the intense programs and travel last few weeks!
ND: I feel grateful and uplifted by being in the possibility to have an email/blog exchange with you. In my mind, I am still in a "snail" mail era - letters travel a few weeks over the globe to reach the destination. So, usually, I do not mind if there is no 'fast' reply or comment to what I write. Also, it gives me time to digest the content. Moreover, I try not to burden you with much of my thoughts, comments and general letters.
Am hoping it will get lighter when we get back to Nashville, but thinking that it may not. Now we have to learn to be continually absorbed in the association of devotees.
That is Vaikuntha, no? The ground, trees, everything is Krsna's devotees.
Jaya Jaya Harinama.
I think that replacing King for GBC is stimulating. I do it, but also we must see that the protection that a Brahmana gives is different than the protection that a Ksatriya gives, no?
ND: Strictly speaking, do the brahmanas give protection? It could be said, YES, by words (advice).
GBC is Ksatriya spirited Brahmanas?
ND: Uhh, yes, maybe. In Kali yuga things are messed up. I am worried we (ISKCON, gaudiya devotees, etc) shy from protection of those who cannot protect themselves. All in the name of "I am not a ksatriya", or "it is your karma" 'understanding'.
Also, kind of harassment ... Kali was cutting of the legs of the bull and beating them. Emotional abuse may require a different punishment than death, no?
ND: Yes. That is my understanding.
SP in the given purport does not make any distinction. I suppose he made a general statement.
That is a challenge - SP often/sometimes writes generally with a strong direction so devotees use his words to coerce others in the direction of a written word. It is fine to use Acarya's words as a personal inspiration and it is another thing to coerce the surroundings into that.
Another point - I do not mean to offend. Following this discussion, what if we consider SP authority/"king" at the time when he was present, and how he dealt with harassing persons (i.e. those who were harassing others) and situations (verbal, emotional, physical harassment)? Did he emphasize the protection as he said in the purport? Yes? No? If not, why? If yes, how?
Namacarya Das
HpS 2023 04 17 ---- https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/9/30/, Nice perspective, no? One story seems nice. Guru-krpa Swami who was notorious for strong dealings with sub-ordinants et al, told us that one time in Hawaii Srila Prabhupada called him into his room like 9PM at night and then began to question him about his service, GBC work, organzing book distibution etc and chastising him in strong worlds.
He said that it was so intense that he began to tremble to hold back his tears
Then Srila Prabhupada looked at him and smiled, and said, "So now you know what it feels like to be on the other end of the stick". He said it was like a warm glow of sunshine in his heart. His harsh dealings in administration was so changed by the one experience, and he felt nothing but gratefulness for Srila Prabhupada banging on his head for some time.
So many stories of how Srila Prabhupada applied "protection". For me, the fundamental way he gave us protection was to give us knowledge of Hari kirtan as protection. Like Prahlada when harrassed by the agents of Mr. Kasipu.
Punishing devotees, Brahmanas is a very fine service! Yet, it is something someone who takes the power of GBC must do.
More.. !!
HpS - Thank you. More Chanting, More SB, More Knowledge. How is your Pa, Pa, Pa, Wife/Nirkula Devi Dasi, etal.
Hare Krishna Dear Guru Maharaja,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada
The blog is our home for a lot of us. Some of us have been travelling a lot in the last months, far from home, but still, we use our consciousness to find our safe place, which is here.
Now, I'm coming back with my new service as Temple President of Santiago Mandir and the Head of ISKCON Chile.
I have sent to you (attached by other means that allow it) the official recommendation letters for the second initiation to Sripati das, and to the first initiation to Diana Sanchez and Estafania Colella.
We take more time to send this letter because we are just arriving at this service, and we have created now a committee dedicated exclusively to checking every one of the applications to initiation. Actually, the letters are signed also by one of the representatives of that group, Manjuali devi dasi.
Please, keep me as one of your apprentices.
Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja.
HpS - Thank you! We got the hard copies from Asta sakhi Devi Dasi and it was an excellent ceremony. I think Krsna is telling us, "No more Hari-nama Diksa". Time to retire as Diksa guru. We wrote about it in the current Kapi Dhvaja. Talk with you soon.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Our web server is out so temporary copy of this K Dh is here,
Kapi Dhvaja
2023 April 5
Visnu-Purnima (5.2)
● Sankirtan Babble of the Anjana Suta Academy (ASA), www.JayaRama.US, a pioneering branch of ISKCON, Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
● GBC Zonal Secretary – H. G. Virabahu Das.
● Editors - Tom Brown, Buck White et al.
● Branch Head - H. H. Hanumatpresaka Swami.
● Published - Each New and Full-moon day.
The Sun is at 5.36PM,
Nila-madhava Dhama,
Houston, Texas, USA
2023, April 6th, Thursday.
AgtSP (paoho)!
This last fortnight started with us still camping at New Govardhana near Monterrey, Mexico.
H. G. Gadadhara-gosai Das and family et all still hosting us, with so many devotees eg. Aristasena Das, Asta-sakhi and Subhadra-mayu Devi Dasis, Karuna-shakti Devi Dasi, Dhruva, Dhanesvari and girls, Arya-strestha and Saccinananda Das’ and so many others working on the ASA Sankirtan!
We continued with the Friday night Caitanya Cinema Circles watching Oscar’s Universal Form and then summary extract of Brother Son, Sister Moon.
For last four nights we moved to Gadhay-gauranga’s restaurant and guest house in Monterrey. Simple but great. Continuous rush of backpackers reserving rooms. We also had huge Harinama to the Lion’s Garden around the corner where they have given use of their ancient garden for Sunday and other festivals.
In general, Hari-lila Das, Mataji, Kuvera et al appreciated that there are fantastic preaching opportunities in Mexico. People seem to be simple, warm-hearted (but also can become angry like children sometimes too).
In Monterrey we did big cultural program at one of the oldest and most prestigious language schools. Bhakta Guillermo was the Master of Ceremonies, contact. Harilila Das did Intro to Sanskrita Language and HpS did Hamlet and Arjuna.
· Everyday Mangala arati and Gaura arati. Local bhaktas coming for classes
· Accommodations rough like campinggg.
· Complicated packing and travel to Mexico City. Shuffling luggage, wrong Terminal, Guest Lounge…
MEXICO CITY
Arrived. First class apartment with Janardana and Arya Srestha as roommates. Formal arrival lunch with 10,000 devotees, tamales and frijoles!
Evening meeting with Diksa candidates (All in Spanish!). Gaura arti…. Rest….
Rama-navami
· 11.30AM – Diksa with Bh. Sundara Goswami
· 2-4.30PM – National Congress and Assembly of Deputies, Commission on Cultural Relations, Session on Relations of Mexico and India with Ambassador of India (ICCR), Minister of Culture and five more top rank Mexican Dignitaries, television, first class Indian Dance (Subhadramayi DD et al), Abhirama Thakura (Hector Behara).
Nios was certified by the Indian participants, Hari-lila Das, Ranchor, as being first class representative of India, and by the Mexican participants, symphony direct Ricardo, Govinda-pramodini Devi Dasi et al as being first class representatives of Mexico, Latin America.
Ambassador said that NIOS had organized in three weeks what he had been trying to do over 15-months. So many practical and spiritual questions from the heart for HpSwami.
1. First, they will laugh at you,
2. Then, they will try to kill you,
3. Then, they will expect solid example and knowledge to follow.
We have come to the third phase. Now so many challenges to be grown up institutionally.
… After the intense program in Assembly Room Seven (El Chuachasumach), they took us right into the Main Hall with 500 national Deputies, debating laws and referendum, walked us down through swirling mass of Delegates, standing and meeting in the aisles, greeting our sponsor until we were all sitting in the first row. Then our sponsor (tall as a regal tree) passed a note to the Directoress of the Assembly (twenty feet above the Assembly Fooor) and she smiled and gave us “The most warm welcome for the NIOS/International Delegates from India just coming from the workshop on India/Mexico Cultural Relations, with sincere wishes for all success in our work! Hare Krsna!”
(Now saying “Hare Krsna” is like saying “Salam alekham” to some Muslim friend.)
The building was an example of the greatest architecture in the world with six story vaulting ceiling.
Marched out, back to our Ashrama while talking with Ricardo about his symphony conduction in Carnegie Hall and our contacts with Havi Das, (Ilan Chester) and Symphony of the Soul.
· Quick evening Prasadam and run to the temple (fighting chest pains) for the Rama-navami evening program with 600-devotees.
Ayee de mi! Caramba! Chihuahua!
Every day was like that in Mexico City. Can look at Monkey’s Diary of a Traveling Creature. Big picnic in the park, premier of Spanish subtitled DTC-UT-Peru. Screaming, complicated rush to airport (fighting chest pains), dumped into the USA at Customs.
“Welcome home”
“Oh, my God, thank you. God bless America”.
Now we are just putting our feet on the ground. Adjusting things in the Big H(ouston) and well head back to our Base Camp in Nashville (Murfeesboro).
“Where are you going after this???”
We don’t know. We need to sit down in our Base Camp at 903 Hillcrest, TN 37129, considering things with Abhiseka and Nitai-gaura-sundara Das and then plan for the Final Months.
If developing a NIOS Campus is progressive, then we can see never leaving Nashville again. Otherwise, sort the few boxes of stuff there and maybe go to Houston and Mexico.
Very unlikely we’ll go out for another Mexico, Richmond, Boise tour.
We need to settle down for our last days.
Brother Ass go back to India, Yamuna bath, in a clay canister. (Haw! Haw! Haw!)
O.K.
The Sun is as 6.43PM. We had to review Monkey’s DTC, collect the notes for its Preface and then write this (with little chest pain, and eye strain).
Now, lettuce (let us) dress up and go down the lane from the Sannyasi Place to Nila-madhava’s Alter for Gaura-arati and three last rounds.
Will we come back and finish this???
http://www.jayarama.us/kd/cal.htm (revised 2022 July 13).
Now Sripad Surya-narayana is at 2.18Am, 23-04-07. As usual, after FES we could not do anything practical. Had fruit and nuts for a late night supper. {Arrrgh!} Now we have zero-rounds done from today, but finished three we had left from yesterday. L
Lettuce, TB/BW, finish this KDh quickly and post it.
· 11th about noon we SWA to Nashville, (BNA), then we skedaddle to The Boro, 902-Hillcrest.Then we work to get out Base Camp in order.
· Tonight Srinivasa Das, Mother Guru-bhakti Devi Dasi, Jaya-hari Das, Abhaya-joshi Das et al are arranging a sneak preview of DTC-US (USA) {Tada, Tada, Tada!!} in The Gauranga Hall.
· Next Kapi-Dhvaja would be April 19th
April
8th = Katy with Devendra-krsna Das with Mataji and family.
9th = Sunday Festival.
10th = SB class.
11th = Hou to BNA.
Again, plan to settle in our Base Camp and look at everything with NgD/AsD et al and plan our next move.
In Goloka, every step is a dance, every word a song, and the sound of Krsna’s flute in the dear-most companion.
There has not been too much activity. We closed our ASA accounts from 1 January to 7 March but we see we did not summarize them. We will make a note [ttd] to do that and post it in the Blog. The mad USB robot is subdued but [ttd] must work on this more when we get back to The Boro.
· Full Morning & Evening Service (FM & ES), Sankirtan Classes etc, we are trying to share through www.gotomeeting.com (737-859-341). Watch for news at Twitter and ASA Blog.
· Tava Pache Pache (The book) - Is available at https://www.amazon.com/Tava-P%C4%81che-Instruction-C-Bhaktivedanta/dp/0984861149/ref=sr_1_1?crid=C815I1W1M0J0&keywords=tava+pache+pache&qid=1656835432&s=books&sprefix=tava+pache+pache%2Cstripbooks%2C77&sr=1-1. We are presenting it as we travel and ArtDas brought 20-copies in Spanish from Peru!
· Diary of a Traveling Creature (The Movie) – Is available at: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/dtc1/708063883 . That’s the first movie. The second, USA, is also done. Jaya!!!! We are still working with Jagat-guru Das on sending the link in the Blog and by Twitter.
· Waves of Devotion (Spanish Translation), has no more news.
· Tweeting our Vedabase.io TLC, Ramayan, and Kindle Carl Jung readings!
· Solaris (NIOS periodical) editing of the Award Ceremony article from Asiatic Society has gone from Govinda and Subhadra Devi Dasi’s to ArtD. We only wait for news from them now.
Wherever you go, whomever you meet, chant Maha-mantra for their hearing and let It preach
LOB, NOI, TLC etc.
No Blog reports this fortnight but personal discussion with Smt. Karuna-krsna Dasi about ASA Carnival, Srinivasa Das, Govinda/Ranchor, et al about NIOS.
www.jayarama.us/kd/guru-tattva.txt
HpS is getting 16/4 done daily but struggling to not eat too much at improper times. Watch the Blog for the list of recently initiated devotees from Asta-sakhi Devi Dasi.
https://jayarama.us/kd/lte.htm
· Blog (www.monkeywarrior.com) is caught up. We look at it daily, usually in the afternoon.
Category A is stuff for this current Kapi Dhvaja Twitter (huber_robinson):
Where is Sita?
. . . . Here is the Ring!
. . . Back to Rama, Back to Rama!
Hare Krsna. Hare Krsna. 2.42AM.
(No chest pains, little eye-strain, breathing little smothered, HK, HK!)
We feel that Krsna is instructing us that basically this is the last time we will do initiations. From what we know, Radha-krsna Das in Houston, Swami Yadunandana in Spain, are acting very nicely as ISKCON Diksa gurus, and very compatible with out ASA efforts.
Lord nRSMhadeva will go back to the Boro, but Lord jagannAtha will stay in Srinivasa Das, Su-gopi, Sundara-radhika Devi Dasi’ AzrAma.
This may be the last Kapi Dhvaja. We find ourselves more and more riding a Donkey3 (Half-dead, Half-deaf, Half-demented) or maybe we are making spiritual progress.
Yet, this morning, for the first time, we got the feeling that we might stay until 84-years old, but just as a Hari-nama San-Kirtan leader.
(Unless Putin and Nato toss a few tactical nukes at each other in the Ukraine, and then we will be publishing Kapi Dhavjas in Goloka. Jaya!)
Hari Bolo.
Srila Prabhupada Singing Maha-mantra (as Bhajana),
Simple form at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smz7zghQLaY),
Graphic enhanced form is at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6uCAGiWT8A&list=PLrhs0W1X0ThVs2ISR__ZFVSLSAx2g_8f0&index=12&t=905s
We listen to it every day when we take our morning bath etc. We can check our consciousness, Bhava, attitude, against the absolute standard of love of God!
Hare Krishna Gurudeva
Please accept my obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I ask you please not to publish the content of this letter. It deals with a topic that only you should know.
ASA SAUC - AgtSP!! Then you should not send it here, rather ask how we can discuss it confidentially with only one or more other devotees who are practically concerned.
We have extreme doubts about "Topics that only we should know", because we know that we are 99% fools.
Yet, we will look at it and if necessary confidentially share it with appropriate devotees.
Thank you, so much.
I wish you are well, I have followed you on social networks, but... ... Thank you very much Gurudeva
Your Servant
Piyari Mohan das
HpS - Was very nice letter, but really nothing that needs to be confidential. You are doing what every real devotee does.
Can you just look at it, maybe edit it a little bit and then send again. Then we can comment. We would like to comment. Is good report.
Thank you.
Hare Krsna Maharaja please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada!!!!
Sorry for my late response, I have gone through many material things, entrance to the school of the Narottam brothers, an emergency operation of the appendix. uff!!!
With respect to your questions in the previous letter, here I answer.
Narotam has successfully completed the disciples and bhaktas course and the test stipulated by H. H. Jayapataka Swami. Both mother Alankriti and prabhu Parasuram have successfully passed the test for 2nd initiation created by HH Jayapataka Swami and both are taking the online bhakti sastri course. These 3 candidates are with all the times of service, courses and tests accepted.
I heartily appreciate all Maharaja, I will always be in your debt. Your humble servant, always attentive to serve you, Maha Anandini Radha dd.
HpS - Thank you!!! We were dying for this.
We need letters from the Temple President or his or GBC authorized agencies. Thank you. Hope your donkey, body, is teaching you good lessons to finish your material attachment very soon and wake up to your full self.