Letters to the editor

All Glories to Sri Krishna Caytania!

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

P.A.M.H.O.

Dear Hanumat Presaka Swami,

In first of all I would like to thank very much for your response in my last letter, i really apreciate the time you took to review my letter. I hope you are feeling better now... I'm keeping my principles and enthusiastic chanting my rounds, these days even sooner, since now I'm being able to wake up before 6:30 am. If you don't mind I would like to ask a few questions, I hope it's ok for you sir.

1- In his comment to Sri Sri Siksastaka, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, says that "the perfect chanting of japa is possible only in ones mind", and then says that "the imperfect chanting of the name Krsna is incapable of causing de greatness and perfect change in the living entities. In fact that imperfect chanting will make then doubt of the kirtana potency."So my question is, how can we improve our japa rounds and he kirtana so it becomes stronger for us and for people who are hearing us?

    ASA - We don't know the details of your present quality of chanting so we can't make detailed suggestions how to advance, but of  course, follow the four principles strictly is essential for good Kirtana. Then Prabhupada, NOI, morning program!

2- When does one can start preaching for other people? The nectar of devotion speaks about 3 classes of devotees, explaining the different characteristics of ash one, and it says that only the 1st class devotee can preach perfectly, but if we read Prabhupada's books and use his arguments and logic without changing it are we able to preach to our friends and other people?

    ASA - Yes.... !

I won't bother you with more questions, at least not in this letter… Thank you Maharaja one more time for taking your time for at least reading my letter, and I hope to see you in a few days! I'm adding a picture of me so you can see that I'm a little different than you imagine! 

Your well wisher and servant aspiring,

Rafael Nitay,

São Paulo - Brasil

        HpS - Jaya!   We just said good by to you one hour ago!!!    I hope your visit to Santiago and the Rathyatra was good.   It was very nice to meet you!!!!!!!!     More, more!

Sea Toda Gloria al Movimiento de Sankirtana del Señor Caitanya!!!

Sea Toda a Sri Sri Gaura Nitay!!!

Sea Toda Gloria a Srila Prabhupada!!!

Sea Toda Gloria a Usted Gurudeva!!!

Por favor acepte mis reverencias.

 Comenzando por el reporte de mi sadhana y siendo completamente sincera... está muy débil, sigo cantando 16 rondas y sigo con los 4 principios estrictos, pero no siento estar fuerte en la práctica. He logrado tomar consciencia de lo difícil que me resulta fijar mi mente en el canto, soy una especuladora importante!!!...pero al menos soy consciente de eso!!!! Me gusta cantar, eso ya lo he dicho, pero al no poder cantar todas mis rondas seguidas e incluso muchas veces una ronda entera sin interrupciones, mi mente vuela por el mismisimo universo....pfffffff....

 Tulsi a vuelto a mi humilde hogar, alquilo una habitación en un viejo hotel de esta bendita ciudad, Buenos Aires, y mi servicio a Sus Señorías Nitay Gaura Sundar sigue fijo tal como le conté en mi carta anterior. Ellos son muy misericordiosos conmigo siempre.

 Me encuentro un poco mas optimista que en mi carta anterior porque  he realizado cual es el motivo de mi negatividad...debo aceptar mi karma tal como es!!!! Hoy cumplo 38 años y estoy soltera!!!!!...y a veces la soledad pesa!!!...y no puedo negar mi deseo de vivir una vida en companía de un devoto...pero por motivos que desconozco, es evidente que Krsna no quiere eso para mi, al menos por ahora. Por otro lado tengo una familia completamente separada y me veo muchas veces muy frustrada por el pésimo relacionamiento que veo y vivo entre devotxs (por favor disculpe mi sinceridad). En relidad eso me pone muy triste.

Pero por otro lado se han hecho constantes varios programas (Kirtan 3 horas seguidas por ejemplo y prasadam) en distintas casas de devotos donde nos permite vernos y aceptarnos de una manera mas humana y donde lo único que importa es el canto del Santo Nombre y el verdadero Sadhu Sanga. Le ofrezco mis reverencias a los organizadores de los programas que realmente son muy nectáreos.

 Sigue en pie mi servicio en el templo los domingos. Por mi parte estoy leyendo el Srimad Bhagavatam  (canto 2) cada día (cuando puedo voy a las clases del templo, vivo a 5 calles de distancia) dos o tres texos por día y he comenzado el Caitanya Caritamrta los domingos (también varios textos por Domigo) y por la tarde Bhagavad Gita una vez mas (es mi voto por Damodara)!!!!...me mantengo fija!!!.. al menos por ahora... y por la noche por lo menos una hoja del Krsna book...termino mi día realmente agotada porque dos o tres veces a la semana también estoy saliendo a distribuir libros...solo dos o tres horas después de cumplir con mi trabajo en la boutique del templo, los devotos del BBT estan guardando los datos de mis compras para poder enviarle, a fin de año, un reporte de mi humlde distribución de libros.

 La verdad es que soy muy afortunada porque he realizado también que cada día se refuerzan mas mis amistades, relamente no era una persona con muchos amigos, pero la misericordia sin causa de Srila Prabhupada ha hecho que se crucen en mi vida devotxs realmente sinceros y fieles a La Verdad Absoluta. Como agradecer semejante misericordia????

 Los programas de harinama los viernes y la Fiesta de Srila Prabhupada en el templo siguen fijos en el  templo y en el restaurante Naturaleza Divina se han agregado varias mesas en el patio exterior e incluso en la vereda (sidewalk in inglish???)...esperamos recibir mucha mas gente este verano!!!!!

 Por favor envíeme sus bendiciones para que pueda seguir viendo siempre lo positivo de la vida, realmente tengo el deseo profundo de cambiar cada día y créame estoy trabajando en eso.

 Espero que usted se encuentre bien Querido Gurudeva, espero que pueda visitarnos el próximo año. 

Con el profundo deseo de servirlo, Jahnava devi dasi, su sirvienta.

Hare Krsna!

                         HpS - ASA -  TlgaSP.    pfarnh.  seis dias retrasado en cartas!         FUERTE  trabajo con viaje, Rathaytras,   mil personas con quien hablamos.  et.   Muy bien.  Kali yuga es el infierno.   O.K.   No  ataido a placeres celestialses ni tampoco de Rsi loca.  Vamos a vivir una vida con Guru y Krishna como nuestras solo Amigos (y los devotos buenos).           24-horas cada dia serviend a Radha y Krishna.  Pronoto yo pienso viene a su Templo!!!

Vamos juntos a los otros cartas!!!!

Hare Krsna Respected Guru Maharaj,
    Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
    All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
    All glories to Guru parampara.

    Guru Dev, as you know there is new temple opening ceremony on 23 & 24 Feb 2013 in Pune. We all
    were & are waiting of this moment for last 7-8 years. Every one has made efforts as per their
    capability for building this temple.

    Name of new Temple is Shri Shri Radha Vrindavanchandra Mandir, Pune. Gaura-Nitay, Shri Shri
    Radha Vrindavanchandra & Lord Jaganatha will be there. This will be first big temple in Pune.

    I know, you would have been invited by our Temple President H G Radhyashyam Prabhu, Pune.

    There will be many devotees from all part of the world for this occasion.

    Past 3-4 days, I was in a dilemma; I was continuously thinking, where I should be - in Pune or in
    Kolkata. because your schedule in india and new temple opening ceremony date are not matching.

    But again, I know, Guru is ultimate & Guru is more important then Lord. So I thought to write and
    seek your opinion.

your fallen servant,
Girivaradhari-Gopal Das

           HpS - Jaya!   AGTSP   paoho.    We will also be back in India after the Australia visit.  The suggested calendar is there at www.jayarama.us/kd/cal.txt

We could visit then also.

Be sincere and Krsna will tell you what to do, like Mother Yasoda and Damodara lila!

PAMHO AGTSP

      ASA - Jaya!   AGTSP!!!!   We had a dream last night with you in it!  Can't remember the content!

Dear GM Thank you for your reply. I do not have much to say about myself that is new or interesting or worthwhile for this blog audience to hear about. My sadhana is not as strong as it probably should be and I'm not fully up to the iskcon standard, but that does not mean I am not Krishna consciousness. Of course, I am still wrapped up in body consciousness to a degree. This seems to go with household life to some extent. I do some reading and listening to lectures most every day. I am currently reading the nectar of devotion.

ASA -  Do you have Waves of Devotion by Dhanurdhara Swami?   Availbable on internet.  He gives fantastic expalation of the Sanskrita words tat Prabhupada is translating so quickly.  Puts in grafic charts they show what Prabhupada roughly describes.  The NOD is an EXTREMELY analytical book.  Without Waves of Devotion I think only an advanced Paramatma realized person could get a lot a benefit from the whole book!

I listen to your lectures and some from a few of the other devotees in iskcon. I have been watching the memories of Srila Prabhupada on YouTube recently. The issue for me over the years have been to develop the intelligence to have proper faith. It is a very large world out there and there are many things which test our faith. So sravanam and kirtanam are important and I am hoping will develop more steady smaranam. I haven't any association to speak of here so I rely on lectures through the Internet and reading. Although I'm not a fan of speaking about myself (I am self-absorbed enough as it is), please feel free to ask me any other questions. I have a few questions: Is there a good site for accessing your more recent lectures over the last few years? Is it correct that there is not a reply button on this blog site and that in order to reply or respond to a letter or comment, I have to post a new letter? What is your current email address? By the way, if my English seems rather colloquial that is because I'm using Siri. YHS tcsd

            HpS - Jaya!     Yeah, I think the way it's set up you have to post a new letter.          We don't answer letters besides the Blog currently, except for specific things, like Itenarary, Bhakti vedanta College, etc.   If you'd like to write about a more confidential topic then you could write to Monkey's Mail Bag at [email protected] we usually get all the mail from him after he "chews it over".     He is a very tight lipped guy.

We are running to the airport now!        I have to aske Srinivasa Das if he has more current lectures.  Right now we are working on a serious book for San Marcos University....  See you in Chile!

Hare krisna!!
Pamho, agtSP,

Dear gurudeva, your intelligence is far far beyond our comprehension, connected to paramatma, pure, so i feell little aukward giving you this advice.
i read in your last Kdh that poison ivy is gone but now you have allergic reaction, all of this seeems to have same origin.  Ama in bowels increasing pitta in body.
My advice is take only raw food as breakfast, take prasadam in a strict schedule everyday at the same time, avoiding to skip meals or changing times (uff, with your travelling schedule this seems almost impossible, so drink lot of water if it is time for a meal and you can not have it), and drink plenty of  fresh water along the day between meals. Of course diminishing traveling would be good but i think that is a matter far beyond body affairs.

One question what is the meaning of this entry in your calendar?

I will be there then.
Aspiring to become your servant,
Bhakta Nicasio.
 

HpS - Jaya!    Rupanuga Das has given us practically speaking the same analysis with a diet including aloevar and perihil and ghee massage and regular sleeping schedule.    We are 70% pitta, at least.  This means that unless we have fire in the body it doesn't exist.  O.K.  but the problem is that fire has to flow.  If it accumulates, in the skin for example, then the skin burns up.  So th answer is not to reduce the fire in the body too much unless you want to die, rather to keep it down, but to keep it flowing, like you both suggest.  Thing is that Ayurvedic people seem to not contemplate chanting and dancing as part of the regulation.  it;s a fact, no?   Dancing in love of God will keep the fire moving in the right direction, right throught the skin also, no!   SMILE!     Smile!   smILE!

                       This body does not get diseases, this body is a disease.

                        No more disease  ....  !!!   no more body  !!!              Your body is NOT your Buddy!        See you this Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hare Krsna Maharaja Pamho, AGTSP,

We are writing to you because you talk in terms in which we understand. We again feel sorry to distrub you with a non-sankirtana perspective. we need your help to be a sane human being, and moreover we think our question may help some body. 

1.In reply to one letter[1815] you wrote " The Temple is for b'cari training.  We should get a little bit of religious training, how to pray effectively, and how to live a simple civilized life - celibate, single or with children and wife.      But after that training unless we are Brahmanas we move out and serve in the community"

Maharaj you mentioned four things [1] religious training [2] how to live simple civilized life with wife and children [3] how to pray effectively  [4] serve the community.

Our concern now how to learn these 4 things when we are not in temple, esp in our condition...we are having big probelm with live with wife and children,( other three are also required)...
we attended some training sessions in Chowpatty, and they were talking of emotions, respect, care etc....

Maharaj can you cognitvely/sankhya explain/define of these words [emotions/respect/care] to us. We are getting hampered by this a lot we think in making relation with atleast devotees..---unfrotunately we grew up as loner worked as a loner so we are more of impersonalist---but i think which is not for householder life. now we need to work on our subtle body.. which section of scripture we should read more to work on our abilities....
 

We contacted mother Umila on Facebook. and got guidance from her she recommended two books [1] man of steel and velvet [2] men are mars and women are from venus..

we never knew that we would be non-sastric books... but seems there is no other alteranitve---we dont exepct u to solve our household life , but as sannyasi we expect that u will ahve better knowlege,realization and application of scripture...
we will keep it short -- we will try to make everything we ahve krsna sambanhe under ur guidance --NOI 3.

regards,
caballo tryint to be human

            HpS - ASA -   Hmmf!      AGTSP    paoho.      We had the same problem.  In the 1st level, 1st grade, report to our parents the teacher said, "Huber can accomplish huge quantities of work when he works alone".    Hmmm.  It's always been that way.   We have heavy Sannyasa karma.   It was stooooooooooopid for us to get married, but there was no option within the parameters of this Western industrialized life. Now we see B'cari and Sannyasa life can also be a part of culture.  Have you read "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus"?  As I remember it is very, very nice.  It is the ideas of SB but in modern perspective, easier to apply.
          Report on the book but I think you and your good wife, family, will have to put up with a son, husband, who by nature is a civil deadman. Of course, the good aspect of this is that such people don't become adulterers.