Letters to the editor

www.jayarama.us/archives/brs/nod-2.docx

PAMHO . Guru Maharaja, link does not work.

Ys nd

ASA - Buck White - AGTSP   paoho  Thank you for your rapid and precise attencion.  We were going to upload it at the end of today's work, but we have done it just now to match your speed!             As you see the Calendar, today, Wed/11 . We are doing Area One.  It will be a Sumarry of the Course  and Introduction of David Haberman's introduction.    We will update the nod-2 with a specific study guide for the reading assignment for this first meeting.

Monkey - Yeah!

Hare Krishna maharaja,

Please accept my most humble obeisances & All glories to Srila Prabhupada~!!!!!!!!

Maharja... please forgive me for not writing for so long... There has been a lot going on for me in my life and in my mind... I have a lot I want to discuss with you. May I have your e-mail address? Sri Hari prabhu directed me on where to find it, but I couldn't find it.

How are you doing? I pray that you are always well and happy :)

your aspiring servant,

reb :)

HpS - ASA -   Jaya!  Hare Krsna.    We cannot give much specific consultation, because we don't know your good self in specific detail.  That's just natural.

In life, we have to make the effort to cultivate a circle of natural counselors, Aunts, Uncles, friends, relative,   KRSNA!        People with whom we have natural contact.              To give specific advice we have to live in the same community. Know the same people. Othewise all we can give is general advice, which is also very useful, like these ideas.

We are like flowers floating on the water of the river that is Krsna's pastimes.  Sometimes He puts them together, sometimes He separates them, sometimes He lets them make decisions.

Before this Blog we were trying to maintain, 400-500 letters a month!!!    Killing letter load.

So, use, a Psuedo-nym, like "Fairy Princess of the Yellow Potatoe" and present your ideas for our humble discussion, or in a general manner, and we can help maybe.  (Maybe not (actually we are pretty stupid)), but the basic principle is do not worry so much.  God is good.  He is your great friend.  He likes to play.  If you have got yourself into a great pickle, then get your self out and laugh at it all.

We are young.

We make lots of mistakes, but we can correct them and be good friends again with everybody and go ahead making those relations more and more deeper.

If Krsna, wants in this perspective, sure we can offer a little specific advice, but that is up to him.  We are just flowers also, and now atleast we have this Blog.

(Pretty stupid answer, but I think you can get the gist of our stupidity and maybe we can be of some help to you in your efforts to help and entire generation of people like you all!!!)                  AGTSP..

Hare KRISHNA!!!

Please accept my most humble obeisances and All glories to Srila Prabhupada!!!

Thank you maharja, I understand completely. I wasn't sure if it was too forward for me to ask for not. I have been getting feedback from the community, but I guess the most difficult thing is that I am very new to this community. I have some close relations, but no one really knows me so well yet. That more or less goes for your relationship with me, too. I don't really like to indulge in my "problems" because I don't want to be a bother to anyone. And, like you say, ultimately I just can realize that these things are all an arrangement for some reason or other and is kind of funny in different ways. 

I guess I just wanted to get some advice from you about what to do, but, again, I don't really know what my situation is exactly either. In that regard.. I hope I don't offend you when I ask you this, but what then should the role of the guru be to the disciple? 

I appreciate everything, maharaja.. you are very inspirational to me. I hope I can one day be of some service to you...

your aspiring servant,

reb :)

HpS - Jaya!    AGTSP    Balarama is the first expansion of Krsna.  Krsna is the Supreme Personallity of the the Godhead and the Balarama.  Balarama is the original Guru, so we can understand that there is no limit in understanding Guru. It is almost the same as understanding God.  So then there are many relations and we have to discover these.

The parents are the first natural Gurus.  Is natural. So you should be keeping good contact with your parents about your sitiation.  The King and his wife are natural Gurus, so you have Caru and Vaibhavi.  The paramatma is Ceta guru. Very important to follow our conscience.  Like that there are so many.   The Diksa guru, like I am doing, initiates, Baptises, according to the proper process, and we follow our vows in his associatoin.

THe principle Siksa guru, consuling guru, like this, usually becomes diksa guru also, but one can and really should have several siksa gurus, only one diksa guru.

So we can answer letters like this and as we get to very specific issues that we can answer we can discuss them more individually.  But really you have to get to know local people to get local solutions.

There is no alternative.

O.K?     Again, go ahead.  Be happy.  You have such a nice Acharya in Srila Prabhupada, he is yours, and then so many nice followers. I think nice family.  Work on how you can help Lord Caitanya!

TLGSP! 

Hare KRISHNA!  Cómo se encuentra Maharaj? Yo ? en maya <img alt="cheeky" src="http://hps.monkeywarrior.com/sites/all/libraries/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/tounge_smile.gif" title="cheeky" />
Camila R, 19 años, Trabajo Social, Chile. 

Le mando las otras  preguntas que faltaban y agregaré una si me lo permite jeje 

- En el 7mo canto del Srimad Bhagavatam como está escrito en el Upadesamrita dice que "los devotos del Señor nunca caen" ...entonces después dice que cuando ocurre una "caída" no hay ni pérdida ni disminución en el servicio devocional, mi pregunta es ¿Qué se entiende por "caer en el servicio Devocional? ¿si "caemos" seguimos siendo devotos de Krishna? y si pasa ¿por qué ocurre eso?

Esas son mis preguntas respecto del Texto 3 del Upadesamrta, disculpe mi ignorancia, me gustaría mucho que pudiese ayudarme a entender mejor a Krishna y todas las enseñanzas que dejó Srila Prabhupada.

HpS - ASA -  TlgaSP    pfanrh.   Regresando del Finca y internet...   Busca en BG, "api cet suduracaro..."       Un "ananya bhak", devoto fi fi fijado puede caer en actividades "suduracaro", no solamente mal, pero abominables!     Por ejemplo Ajamila.      Pero eso es un caida del caracter bueno. No caida del servicio devocional.  Aun se convierta a un animal como M. Bharata, aun mantiene inerior su conneccion con Krsna y conoce porque pasa estas cosas.   A veces es una educacion  mandato para Krsna, como podemos pasar por la experiencia una vez y

                              NUNCA

Haz la misma estupidez otra vez!

-Cómo puedo llegar a ser aspirante formal de usted? 

HpS - Por la misericordia de Srila Prabhupada, y nuestra esfuerza personal.   Formalmente tiene que cantar 16-rondas entusiastas cada dia y seguir los cuatros principios estrictos, mantener buen sadhana por la manan (mangala arati 1-1/2  hora antes de levanta el sol, SB), occupase de manner saludable en el Sankirtana de ISKCON para seis meces, pasar el examen dado por el Presidente del Templo y obtener una carta de recomendacion de ellos.   Entonces es un Aspiranta Formal!

Misma para seis meces mas puede tomar primero iniciacion, depues segund, tercero... Jaya!

Por favor acepten mis reverencias nuevamente! Muchas gracias por todo! Espero que se encuentre bien de Salud, que Sri Nrisimhadeva lo proteja y cuide.
 

HARIBOOOOOOOOOOOOL<img alt="" src="http://hps.monkeywarrior.com/sites/all/libraries/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/40.gif" title="" />

HpS - ASA --   Whoof!     Whoof!               Oink!             Oink!              Hari bolo!!!!!!

Hare Krishna.

Todas las glorias sean a Srila Prabhupada.

Por favor acepte mis humildes reverencias.

Maharaja, quisiera hacer dos preguntas.

1. Sobre Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Al parecer en las imágenes el no ocupa upavita ¿No ocupaba cordón brahmínico?

ASA -  TlgaSP.   Tengo como 8-fotos de el.   En la mayoria tiene camisa.   Uno no camisa, pero es persona viejo.  En esta edad pienso tomo iniciacion Babaji de Gaura kishora das.  Entonces, si, ellos adoptan la posicion de Paramahamsa. No hace nada realacionado con Varna y Ashrama, condon sagrado indica doble nacido en varna ashrama.  Solamente occupand en bhajan.  El otro, trato apegar, el es sin camisa y aparece tiene algo de un cordon, pero es al lado incorecto, pero posible el foto fueron invertido izuierda al derecho.   No mas....    ? .....

1. Sobre Srimati Radharani. En imágenes de deidades, no se ven marcas de Tilaka en su frente. ¿Srimati Radhika no lleva tilaka?

ASA - aveces la "bindi" marca de chica casado es todo que utilizan las chicas en la frente. Es tilak que muestra su "Senor".       Realment no entiendo mas...   Si encuentra mejor comprehension, nos explica!

Espero este bien.

Hare Krsna Hanumatpresaka Maharaja,
please accept my respectful oveisances!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

My name Kadamba Kanana das I'm Sri Radhe devi dasi's husband.
I'm happy to hear You feel better!

HpS -  Jaya!!!!!      AGTSP   Pamho.   Soooo nice to meet you!   So, nice!
 

I'd like to say thank You for Your blog,  You give us a lot of useful informations via it.

The other purpose of my message is the letter from my wife, see below.
There are a few question, and my main question is the following:
how we can understand this situation and how we can apply in the path of become humble and tolerant?

Thank You everything,
your servant:
Kadamba Kanana das

Sri Radhe's letter ((Plese don't publish it just the questions.) )

HpS - AGTSP   O.K.   If it is letters from girls, if we read we publish.  But this is nice etiquette that lady communicates confidential things with association of husband!

Dear Hanumatpresaka Swami,

Please accept my respectful obeisances,
All glories to Srila Prabupada!

    ...

Is there creativity in the spiritual world? Or there are just an authoritive system? And we are just like soldiers? Is it necessary to over-emphasize the authoritive system?

 . . . 

Your insignificant servant,
Sri Radhe dd.

HpS - AGTSP    paoho.   We are in Mexico City.  We have had six days of very intense programs with Higher Education etc.  in 45-minutes we leave for Cueramara, desert, for week with 25 Sankirtana devotees from all of South America.

Our energy is 90% recovered from intense month of May in Europe and India.  We learned our lesson. Almost by dying. Now we are 64-years old. We have to be Informal Educational Resouce Agency. Not Active Soldier or Lawyer.

Your right.  There is no need to talk of the personal details here. The general principle is correct.

I have argued this point with many devotees in ISKCON.   Our understanding is that in the material world there is also free will. You can look at the final verses in first canto where Narado Muni just finishes preaching to Vyasadeva. It says he leaves free to travel everywhere and as I remember Prabhupada says that there is free will in both the spiritual and material world.

In ignorance we are FORCED to act like a tree or animal.  We are learning by force. In passion there is choice but the desires are so strong that it is hard to control them.  In goodness we have real choices.  We can steal the money or not.  Of course we don't know about spiritual choices, but we have material choices, and that is how we create new Karma.  No choices, no responsibility for Karma.

Then Krsna gives us spiritual life.

The Gopis are full of unpredictable states of conscousness.  They have free will. They come up with fun things to do that even Krsna couldn't predict! Krsna was amazed at the demons, Aghasura, that Mayadevi made.  External energy.

Krsna, Krsna's devotee, and devotional service come together and dance and no can quite undrstand who is in charge.  There is novelty, creativity, freedom of whether to make samosas or pasta for Radha and Krsna's lunch.  All with the desire to please Krsna.  Sometimes Krsna dictates, "I want!".  Sometimes He says, "What do you want for Me."

So much fun and new things.

O.K.  There is free choice (for Krsna) in the spiritual world.

This brings up an interesting point about free will in ISKCON.  I and I guess many people have been through this thing, "I am the Temple President/GBC/Head Cook/Man of the Family. You cannot serve Prabhupada except through me." There was a letter to Jayatirtha Das that came to Berkeley when I was there and Jayatirtha Prabhu was in Los Angeles so he told me to open it and read it. It was about the Gurukula and many things. It finished with Prabhupada saying, "You cannot exist without my mercy".  I was spontaneously shocked.  Prabhupada so forceful, but then my intelligence reacted, "Yes, whatever Prabhupada wants".  But then I read the next the whole sentence...   "You cannot exist without my mercy, and I cannot exist without your mercy. This mutual love, this mutual respect is Krsna consciousness".

[A few tears might be appropriate at this point]

So that is it. Krsna is the boss. Temple President is the (Administrative) Boss.   Sannyasi is th (Spiritual) boss.  Husband, Mama....    BECAUSE they are tryin in all sincerity to be our servant.  Yeah.   In Los Angeles the devotees are more Sudras and in San Francisco they are more intellectuals (some say) so the GBC, Temple Presidents deal with things differently.

In LA no Narayana Maharaja devotees preach in the Temple.  In San Francisco, GBC and Gurus go to programs organized by Prabhupada's Godbrother, Govinda Maharaja.

So these are a few thoughts.

There is free will.

If ISKCON authorities are suffering from temporary insanity of thinking they have become God (Haw!  Ha!  Haw!)  and we are the only sane people in the Yatra (Haw!  Haw!  Haw!  Haw!  Haw!  Haw! ) then we can follow the example of Prahlada Maharaja, and preach the truth during lunch.   Or the example of Vibhisana.