Letters to the editor

asa[e] free will. cutting tree; deity worship, practical standard

Hare Krishna Guru Maharaj,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

We just came back from India last week.

HpS/ASA - AgtSP! Paoho. We were contemplating your travels and your return. Of course, we had some news.

The birthday celebrations of both children - Dhaasharathi and Chandranana went really well. (HPS Blog). The ayushomam ceremony also went well with around 200 - 300 friends and relatives attending.

One of our friends gifted us a baby Radha Rani. We already have a Gopal deity (Vishaka's from before our wedding, worshipped as Radha Raman) which we were worshipping. Now we are worshipping them together. We are doing daily abishek with water and dressing them. We are also doing full morning program. We also have Paramananda Gaura Nitai (You named them Guru Maharaj). Is this enough or do we have to do something more for the Radha Krishna deities Guru Maharaj? Please guide us on what to do.

HpS - Sounds great to us. We remember a very ancient deity worship workshop that jananivasa das or panchanghri das did in mayapura with about 10 or us. he said that mother yasoda is taking care of most of the deity worship. we are helping.

he said that these are the prioritie:

1. love
2. cleanliness
3. punctuality
4. rituals and paraphernalia

From what we have heard from Prabhupada, bathing the deity can be very simple: two hands and one mouth. ring the bell with one hand, chant, govinda jaya jaya, and hare krsna with the mouth and pour the water with your other hand.

incense, lamp, flower, fragrnce/oil, bhoga!!

😃

We are reading the 10th canto during our FMP and are currently in chapter 41. I had a question from chapter 37, Guru Maharaj. In this chapter, Narada Muni lists all the things that are going to happen in the future including the Mahabharata war. How can Narada muni know whats going to happen in the future? Does this mean the people engaged in these predictions dont have free will? How can we understand this, Guru Maharaj?

HpS - A man is walking down the road and he sees a simple fellow sitting on a dead branch of a tall tree cutting off the branch for fire wood. unfortunately the cutter is about 15 feet up and sitting with the cutting work going on the part of the branch between him and the tree.

the man on the ground says, "Hey, be careful, you are going to fall down and hurt youself!". The cutter says leave me alone, go to MacDonalds and throughs some wood at him". The passer by says, "O.K. do what you want to do!". and walks off.

the cutter continues and the branch breaks {picture attached}, falls down cracks his head, comes back to consciousness five minutes later with a big headaches and says, "That man was a great mystic. he could see the future!"

some times we can see that things are very fixed.

other times we can see that they at 50% fixed.

O.K.??? 🙂

We are planning to visit Murfreesboro while you are visiting Guru Maharaj. We will probably come for Radhastami since that is on a Sunday. We are also visiting ISV from September 12th to 21st for the Vyasa Puja of HG Vaisesika Maharaj. Vishaka has taken shelter from Maharaj and is awaiting initiation. Please bless her Guru Maharaj to serve Prabhupada's mission to the best of her abilities.

HPS - Hare Krsna! Please stay in touch to coordinate your visit!!! I took first initiation in the same letter from Srila Prabhupada as Vaisesika Das took second.

Many years of friendship and common work.

I think Srinath told you about this Guru Maharaj, but we are currently working on building the ASA Archive/Encyclopedia website and it's coming along nicely. We will update you and give you a demo once its a bit further along Guru Maharaj.

HpS/ASA - Tom Brown's encyclopedia view of life.

Your humble servant

Sri Rama Krishna Das

HpS - Our full respects to family and Yatra. Thank you always for the cellular.

Hare Krsna, Dandavat Pranam HpS Guru Maharaj.

Please accept my humble obeisance unto Guruji's padmacharan that I am trying to answer the question of the difference between Gayatri Mantra and Kama Gayatri.

There is no difference between Gayatri Mantra and Kama Gayatri but omitted kling in the Gayatri Mantra.

We should chant Kama Gayatri Mantra before chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra. There is no difference among mantras, names, rupa, guna, Murti and Swarupa.

Your fallen servant,

Yamunesvara Das

HpS - AgtSP! To our understanding, what is commonly called the Gayatri Mantra is, "om bhur bhuvah....". Many groups chant it. Some as Kirtan, although we only do it as Gayatri and men with the sacred thread.

Look at: https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/8/138/

Srila Prabhupada gives Himalaya mountain explanation of all these things following Krsna Das Kaviraja!

O.K.?

We chant all the Gayatri Mantras on our sacred thread at dawn, noon, and dusk, daily. No formal relation to when we chant the Mahamantra eg. chanting before we do Maha mantra Japa.

Thank you!

Hare Krishna Gurumaharaja, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Barry departed this morning. Stage 4 cancer, pneumonia, blood cancer..helped him get to his next body. It was a complicated and long process. He was ready to go.

Maharaja, can you wish him well on his journey? We are praying that he can stay connected to devotees and devotional service somehow.

We chanted and sang Maha Mantra. Put Krishna’s garland on him, sprinkled Ganga water and then put offered tulsi leaf on his tongue right after the soul left the body.

He donated many plants to the temple over the years. Took lots of Prasadam. Listened to his daughter sing kirtan. Solid, down to earth kind of guy. Pantheist.

After he passed a “spirtual advisor” came to talk to all of us. A Christian man but had so many questions about what we were chanting and the significance of the garland and the tulsi leaf. Very nice interfaith dialogue and sincerity. I was thinking…maybe he will become a devotee someday and he was probably thinking…(then I remembered your story, Maharaja)

•••••Hallelujah•••••

🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘

•••••Hare Krsna••••

your aspiring servants,

Nitisara das and Anadi

HpS/ASA - AgtSP!!!! I did not know him! I did not know he was close to death. We feel cheated. 🙂.

Seems he got excellent departure.

Did he leave his body, buddy, in Boise???

Please send a picture asap so we can chant a few rounds with our mind focused on him.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada and U!!!!!

Hare Krsna Dear Gurudeva

Please accept our humble obeisances

Yes... It's been a long time since my last letter. I apologize for not writing as often as I should.

These past few months have been very interesting and educational for me.

HpS/ASA - 🐵

At home, we already have an established and fixed standard for the worship of deities. The whole family is part of this activity.

We are chanting the rounds at all times. Prabhu Caturatma inspires us greatly, as whenever we see him, he always has his japa in hand. He is a great example for us.

I am still waiting for two minor surgeries before I can be placed on the waiting list for a new transplant.

Meanwhile, my nutritionist has given me a diet to maintain my weight. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible for me to follow a 100% vegetarian diet. So I have had to add eggs to my diet, as I am low in protein. It seems that this diet is helping me to avoid dialysis treatment.

HpS/ASA - Awk!! Must be some better food for protein than chicken ovum. They include all kinds of unecesary elements necessary for the chicken baby to grow! Keep looking!!! Beans? Bhima burgers??

The chickens of the world will thank you.

Things at school are going very well. This August, we will begin social work with visually impaired students. My students and I will give some classes for them.

Well, that's all for now. I hope to be more attentive and write to you more often, telling you how things are going.

Your servant

Patraka Das

HpS/ASA - Thank you!!!

Struggle to be a paramahamsa! Become President of Peru if necessary. Little thing. So much respect to Your family.

Hare Krishna Querido Gurudev. Acepte mis humildes reverencias TLGASP.

En mis ultimas cartas le escribí que estaba haciendo ropa para la deidades de amigos y escribo para compartir fotografías como usted me comento que le gustaría ver.

Además menciono que quería ver una foto de mi altar, así que también dejare un registro. Mi asociado Nitaipada me ayudo a conseguir una deidad de Señor Dhamesvara, mucho tiempo solo tuve cuadro de Radharkrishna y de las deidades del templo de Santiago GauraNitai.

Le comento que continuo ayudando en la cocina de la fiesta de Viernes de Srila Prabhupada, es un lindo servicio. Mis rondas van estables, aunque a veces tengo dificultades y las pospongo durante el día, sin embargo intento esforzarme para poder cumplir.

Estoy leyendo el libro de Carl Jung Psicología y religión para poder hacer una reseña para Nios.

Le dejo aquí algunos registros del Prasadam De la fiesta de viernes.

Espero que el señor Narasimha siempre lo proteja 🌺

🐒

🌹

Muchas gracias por todo lo que nos entrega!

-0-0-0-

Hare Krishna, Dear Gurudev. Please accept my humble obeisances. TLGASP.

HpS/ASA - Paoho.. AgtSP.. Thank you for this letter and your association.

In my last letters, I wrote to you that I was making clothing for friends' deities, and I'm writing to share photographs, as you mentioned, that you'd like to see.

ASA - 🐵

❗

❗

I also mentioned that I wanted to see a photo of my altar, so I'll leave a note for that as well. My associate Nitaipada helped me get a deity of Lord Dhamesvara. For a long time, I only had a painting of Radharkrishna and the deities from the Santiago GauraNitai temple.

I'd like to tell you that I continue to help in the kitchen for Srila Prabhupada's Friday feast; it's a beautiful service. My rounds are going steadily, although sometimes I have difficulties and put them off during the day. However, I try my best to be able to keep up.

I'm reading Carl Jung's book, Psychology and Religion, so I can write a review for Nios.

Here are some records of the Prasadam from Friday's feast.

I hope Lord Narasimha always protects you 🌺

🐒

🌹

Thank you so much for everything you give us!

HpS - If we do not finish our rounds, we must keep an accounting and later complete them, no?

It is a vow we make to Krsna in a transcendental status from our free choice. Avasya raksibe krsna. Krsna has given me this service so surely He will give me all necessities to complete it!

Jaya!

Nice pictures. Nice Dieties!!

Respects to Nitai pada, Ji!

What books of Jung are you reading? What do you think of them?

Hare Krishna, remembered Guru Maharaja! Please accept my respectful obeisances at Your kind lotus feet!

HpS - AgtSP

I hope you are always happy in the company of our beloved Govinda❤️

I wanted to ask you: Lord Balarama meets with Krishna's gopis to teach them how to dance. And I've also heard that He has His own gopis. Are both statements true?

HpS - I remember reading a commentary on the Caitanya Bhagavata by Srila Bhakti siddhanta while I was in the B'cari ashrama in Spain where he said that Lord Balarama never dances with Gopis in the mood of an enjoyer, husband. He always acts in the mood of Guru, dance teacher.

So, some gopis He may be showing for the first time what it is like to dance with Krsna. Some may progress to join the Rasa lila with Krsna, and some may stay in that mood of students, admirers and group forever.

Regarding reading the 3rd cantos of Srimad Bhagavatam onward, I have no one other than Gopal and Franco when they want to join me. I don't have a connection, only WhatsApp, and if I do sometimes, it's very limited and doesn't last long. I only associate with them, and in the mornings I go out to make sales and talk to people. That's all my in-person association. So, can I read with them sometimes and sometimes alone?

HpS - Yes.

I was thinking of writing my songs for Govinda here while I find time to record. I read that you said we have to pay to play them.

HpS - I don't remember saying that! Maybe Monkey or Piggy said it. You can post for free.

How should I pay? And also, please tell me an account number where I can deposit a small dakshina from me to you. I can send it to you via Western Union. Can you give me your ID and I'll send it to you.

HpS - Ask Abhirama Thakura Das. Otherwise it may be too expensive.

Thank you so much for inspiring us, beloved Gurudeva.

Trying to please his adorable heart that melts with the beautiful name of Krsna:

Japa Prati Jalpa Radha Devi Dasi

HpS - Thank you. Going with Gopinatha Das to Lowe's hardware store to buy a lock for our video equipment.