Letters to the editor

Hare Krsna, Maharaja! Please accept my sincere and respectful obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Sri Caintanya sankirtan!

Nice to greet you, Maharaja. I hope your allergy has improved and that you are in good health. Ah! I wish you could get the files back from your computer.

HpS - Our allergy is eternal aspect of Pitta body, fiery body! It is O.K.!! Gopinatha Das should be able to get the files.... but .... really.... the only files we need is one that says, "Chant Hare Krsna!".

Maharaja, I have not written to you in a long time, I am sorry ... I have been with a lot of work. Now I can sit down and write to you, if you let me.

HpS - Let us see what you write!!! "Everyone should be allowed to talk to themselves, as long as they prove to be amusing, " Rene Chardan.

About my sadhana: participating in the FMP everyday, following the 4 principles without problems and chanting 16+ rounds daily, trying to get them to be enthusiastic.

HpS - Super Girl!

Listening to your classes live if possible, or later I listen to them from the facebook page.

HpS - Oooof! Other people's classes? SP's Krsna book dictations at Prabhupadavan.org?

With Dhatri, we continue on our morning Japa program on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Many enthusiastic people chanting the holy names and feeling the love of Krsna through Their Names. Hare Hare!

Singing more and more attentively, each of the people who participate feels more interested in knowing about philosophy and bhakti.

It is so inspiring to see how Krsna and His names stir everyone's heart, Maharaja.

HpS - Start reading the KRSNA book together?

From September we will start with the Japa program every day. Vishvanath CT and Gita, allowed me to guide on Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays. Very grateful and looking forward to doing a good service to Srila Prabhupada's mission.

I am still in the Gita, Bhagavatam and Krsna Book reading club that is directed by the Department of Education of ISCKON Chile. It has been beautiful to be able to study the scriptures and not just read them. Very enriching to hear the perceptions and concerns of other people who are in the same way as me. Dina Dayal Das guides the meetings.

HpS - Awwww!!! Super!!! KRSNA BOOK!!! If everyone reads the KRSNA book your whole city will become Vaikuntha. There will be no more anxieties.

Regarding the study, Maharaja, I had some doubts about the "function" of Paramatma:

1. When a soul frees itself from material entanglement and returns to Krsna, does it do so accompanied by Paramatma? Paramatma is always with the jiva even when it is liberated?

HpS - ASA - No. There are two paramatmas: Garbhoka and Ksirodaka. G... is the soul of this universe. like there is a soul in this body. K... is the one who is in every atom, hear etc. They are partial representations of Krsna, Maha-visnu, like a light filtered of certain colors. You cannot have a Rasa with K. Visnu. He is like Sat and Cit. When we leave the material world we leave the projection. Like when we go to the projection booth we can leave the movie on the screen. It is there in its original form. Maha-visnu reciprocates Santa Rasa. That is Sat Cit and Ananda. Read on . It will become more clear, practical.

1. In that case, how does the "fall" of the spiritual world happen? Having free will, we decided to descend of our own free will and once we arrived in the material world, Paramatma accompanied us as a witness in the heart?

HpS - Yep! Yes. That is how I understand it.

Thank you very much for everything you do for us, Maharaja. All your effort, determination and enthusiasm inspires me to try harder to do better service in honor of Srila Prabhupada and you.

Please accept my eternal obeisances.

With sincerity and love, aspiring servant,

Nicole Silva

HpS - AgtSP! Paoho. More news later.... next letter now!

Dear Gurudeva:

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

How are you?

Summer holidays are almost done. The first of September, I will be back to work. Due to the COVID-19, this new school year is going to start under a lot of confusing information. As far as I know, I will be wearing white clothes and special shoes, like a nurse, while teaching kids.

ASA - Funny! AgtSP.. Like a Nurse or an Angel.

This summer, I have had the opportunity to associate, in person, with devotees, after the lockdown. I was missing this kind of association. It has also been an opportunity to attend, when it was posible, your GoToMeeting classes: Thank you so much for this great chance.

I am in the same group of Bhagavad Gita Study than [as] my husband. It is being very helpful and enriching, and, again, a great opportunity to associate with devotees around the world.

From September, I will restart the activities with children and youth devotees who live around here. This time, another devotee is going to help me. We are going to follow the book “Becoming your devotee”.

HpS - What is this book? Great news! How is the Madrid, Spain, Yatra???????? Look for an incredible program with the kids at school!!!

Thank you so much for being always here. Please, take care of yourself.

HpS - "Yourself" ... Some where in the KRSNA book. We could not find it, there is an analysis of what is the Self. The conclusion is that the Self of the Soul is the Super Self!! So we all need to take care of our "Self"!!! Thank you.

Your ignorant servant,

Purnamasi devi dasi

HpS - Hope you are in touch with Subra Devi Dasi and the Goswami Academy. Maybe your and her students could become "Pen Pals". Write to each other.

Dr. Amita Singh - Hare Krishna, Maharaj. I think you could hold off on getting tested for now!

HpS - ASA - O.K.

AGTSP.... Paoho.... Start a dialog with our Primary Health Provider, Dr. Amit Singh. He was Gurukuli when I was visiting Vancouver, Canada, and his father is initiated devotee. Extremely nice devotee:

-0-0-0-

You know that NgD went for Karuna Virus testing, as he has some fever, no?

Now, we are getting pushing to go to local testing center, but we are quite hesitant.

1. We got conjuntivitis in a 1st class medical center.

2. We have no symptoms and never had any but outside safe distance association with Prabhuji.

3. We are doing voluntary quarantine. Only going for solitary walk around the block until...

4. On Wednesday NgD gets results and if it is not positive then less reason to go for testing, and even if we do test positive there is not much that we can do, no?

So rather wait until Wednesday before any testing and risk infection in the Clinic.

What is your first opinion?

Socrates viewed his death as a blessing. Mrs. Socrates viewed it as a curse.

Hare Krsna Dear Guru Maharaj,

  Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.

HpS - Level Feet! AGTSP.

  All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

  All glories to Guru parampara.

ASA - !!!

  Gurudev, Everyday is Vrndavan and Battle of Kurukshetra.

ASA - Hare Krsna! Sounds like Rasa-vibhatsa. Improper mixture of mellows, but..... and expert can do it!

  When in Japa there is vrndavan. Then onboard on office chariot is Kurukshetra.

HpS: Jaya!

  You teach very clearly - get up early and done your rounds early. which helped a 

  lot to understand between these two.

  There are many teachings from you. Currently focused on below two:

1. Get up early and done your rounds early.

2. mam anusmarai yudhaya ca - 'Think of Me and fight.'

 HpS - Very nice!!!!!

  am able to balance & drive with above two on both front, gives me satisfaction.

  Japa is Vrndavan. we know how you see Krsna - in person everyday, can understand 

  Very tiny now. Then thoughts come in mind how bigger and consistent you see. It 

  increases deeper respect for you.

  Thank you so much Gurudev.

your fallen servant,

Girivaradhari-Gopal Das

HpS - What projects are you doing at work? How is your family??? Temple??? Use KDPC!! Thank you. Your association is so nice.

Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja!

Please accept my danvadat pranams at your feet.

HpS - Hmmm! That may be rather exaggerated!! 🙂 All glories to Srila Prabhupada! We are maybe 75% his servants and 25% beasts.

My last entry to the blog detailed some less than ideal news about the state of my sadhana & if you asked the Lord to help me, i was helped in a very surprising way.

HpS - ASA -- My goodness, how exciting!!! What will he say, "Next!". This is a fun letter.

Cecilia and I had a home invasion robbery in the middle of May. Thankfully everything such as my car, all my tools, and the higher value electronics were all insured, so aside from the car the claim process went without a hitch. We replaced our doorbell with a ‘ring’ doorbell that a has a feature where you can view crime or attempted crime footage captured by neighbors within a 2-3mi radius & there is footage being shared from our neighborhood every day, every night. One detail i found most surprising about the robbery- ive over-collected a lot of music equipment, and somehow, there was not one thing taken that i had any real attachment to whatsoever! 😮

HpS - Isn't amazing!! We really usually only need very simple tools to do our service.... Then we integrate with other craftsmen and their ability to get the whole job done. Achintya bheda abheda tatttva. Very exciting. Hope you are better adapted to dealing with thieves, though!!!!

I know with no doubt that I love the Lord & wish to follow and walk with those who seek him, but as outlined in my message to you last year, I could fall so far below the standard i vowed to keep that i could hardly expect that i was paying forward enough of the blessings and mercy bestowed on me to please my benefactors or inspire others significantly. Since 2008 i have been consistently swinging back and forth like a pendulum, from making a great effort towards spiritual life and when i reach the point of diminishing returns, and creating problems without simple solutions, slide back down into pointless short term sense gratification. Id use drinking and smoking as a placebo to simply forget or postpone dealing with issues that i could not find a simple way to solve & like someone with shattered passenger window, cover it with plastic and tape, or catching a flat tire, keep rolling forward now on the spare tire, than rather use discipline and intelligence to look more honestly at my own part in how these problems come upon me.

I believe the Lord wishes for something better for me than a beer before bhakti shastri or a smoke after a stressful & hectic day. Once again id find myself to the back wall of that dead-end again.. i give up the nonsense for some time, trying to clear my conscience with the Lord but knowing in the back of my mind its only a matter of time til ill be finding myself running the wrong way again.

HpS - Yeah, but https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/2/40/!!! We go up and down day to day, week to week, but in the long run whatever we can do for Krsna makes our long term trajectory upward.

One significant way that i hope this time is different... Is after being issued my firearm safety certificate- i know that at this point an error in judgement can have serious consequences for myself and those around me. Up until we had a repeat violent felon with no regard for rights, safety, or lives of others enter our home looking to victimize us, I always though that having a firearm safety certificate was more of a liability than a necessity.

I am very very grateful to the Lord’s mercy in delivering a wake-up call to me by someone else’s negligent behavior rather than face the consequences of my own (although i would never physically harm anyone who was not gravely threatening myself or others).

They say people never change, but i also believe in miracles, because on more than one occasion the Lord and/or his servants have cared enough to turn a great loss into a complete restoration in my life. When things get tough now i dont feel like i have any business turning back because as mentioned the certificate that i have can have terrible consequences unless used safely and responsibly by someone who is not impaired with tendencies toward an error of judgement.

I also signed a lease to my own place in oakland again. The altar i have at home now is in our bedroom and so i cant really worship there before 7-8am & so now that will change. And im hoping to be able to take part in the morning program at the Berkeley temple more often.

Please let me know if i may be able to help with some minor repairs or other service in Murfreesboro soon or after travel is safer. Very open to suggestions on how i could become more fixed up/better devotee. In need of training and guidance. Since the robbery Always completing my rounds and for a while now, doing good with my regs aside from a caffeine drink or tea here and there.

thanks very much for your guidance and mercy,

Hare Krishna

your hopefully less troubling disciple,

Loka Bandhu Rama Dasa

HpS - Hare Krsna. Thank you for the letter. Why not set short term goals for Sadhana, Japa, put them here and then report the result. What is Cecilia doing? Got a Nunchuka certificate?