Letters to the editor

Querido Gurudev: Pamho. Toda Gloria a Srila Prabhupada y sus seguidores fieles.

Espero que esta carta lo encuentre bien de salud y animado con su sankirtan.

Estamos aquí en el epicentro del "corona virus" en España. Todo bien. Trabajamos en dias alternos (uno sí y uno no). Un compañero de trabajo ha sido afectado por el virus, pero no se ha muerto (cinco noches con fiebre alta y problemas respiratorios, dolores musculares, etc).

Estamos leyendo un poco mas y practicando para la próxima etapa de "jubilado" (lleno de júbilo por no trabajar). Por aquí están muriendo mas personas de lo esperado pero, curiosamente y aún despues de la advertencia de Maharaja Yudisthira, nosotros estamos pensando que a nosotros no nos va a pasar y hacemos planes para veinte años más. La muerte podría llegar hoy y lo mas positivo es que tenemos en mente volvernos buenos devotos (no es fácil). No sé si cuando me falte el aire y no pueda respirar podré seguir con ese deseo. Si no es así espero que Dios me ayude.

Suelo leer el blog de forma regular , aunque no todas las cartas, y observo su predica desde la distancia.

Sin enrollarme mas se despide

su pobre (de espíritu) sirviente

Jayanta das

HpS - ASA -- TlgaSP! Pfanrh. Una vez mientras estuvimos colgado la ropa mojado en la cuerda detras del templo y estuvimos cantando HK/HR tuvimos la experiencia que pudimos recibir la misma energia que estamos acostombrado sacar del aire o comida.

En la comenza es un poco impersonal, no relacionado con la aire del cuerpo material, pero despues relacionamos con el cuerpo de Krsna!

Despues de dejando aire tenemos que dejar espacio!!!

Virus Karuna!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to HH . Hanumat Presaka Swami Maharaj. Please accept our humble obeisances at Your sweet Lotus feet dear Guru Maharaj.

HpS - AGTSP!!

Thank you Guru Maharaj for the subtle mercy that we keep receiving. Thank you so much. Still celebrating the appearance of Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu amidst the material duties.

HH Bhakti Ananda Haridasa Gosvami Maharaj is with us and as usual we are continuing the Holi celebrations.

We have some young aspirants....all of 19 years , a young aspiring devotee with ambition to be a doctor but parents are worried that she is too involved in Srila Prabhupada books and Krishna . The mother is really worried. Can she write in the Blog here? She asks a lot of intelligent questions.

HpS - Certainly!

There is also another boy who is attending SB classes regularly....aspiring for initiation. Very soon they will be writing to you dear Guru Maharaj ....if only you allow us to do so.

HpS - We seem to be able to handle a survival level of mail here. Please have them read the Kapi Dhvaja and then include the KDPC from the current issue in the Title field.

Continuing with our Bhakti Sastri online

Your insignificant servant,

Sarada Gaurangi DD

HpS - Wonderful. We are in ISKCON Boisie, Idaho. Very much we are all adjusting to the Global Pandemic. It is amazing what a resource SB is in this effort.

In general, our instrument is getting older. Our eyes cannot handle as much computer time as before.

Traveling is always a GREAT challenge with change of diet from cook to cook. Srila Prabhupada would travel with a cook.

It is so nice to hear from you and other such devotees how they are taking the potent content of all the stories in SB and letting them enter their actual lives and societies.

The War of the Witches

Radha and Her followeres vs. Kali and Her followers!

Hare Krishna dearest Gurudeva,

Please accept my profound respects and obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada, to the guru-parampara and to you! Ananta koti vaishnava vrinda ki Jaya!

I’m grateful for having the opportunity to write to you. Praying that the Lord kindly keeps you in good health.

HpS - He is the Guru! Srila Prabhupada is our General. Who is Captain of our Unit is a natural attachment, but we have to develop a supernatural connection with all these authorities.

I moved to Houston a month ago, I consider myself very fortunate and blessed to be here, I feel total gratitude to be surrounded by dedicated devotees who are also your well wishers, after I left Mexico almost 6 years ago I hadn’t been in a community where they know you neither have god siblings around (except for Dallas, with Srinath Krsna prabhu and Sri Divya) but devotees here appreciate you and like your preaching very much, and CC prabhu reminds me of you so much!

By your grace I’ve been attending mangal-aratik at the temple 98,99% of the times, chanting 18 rounds everyday- on this note- I’ve been reading and memorizing the Japa Affirmations from the pocket book by Mahatma prabhu, it’s helping me to chant with the proper mindset and mood [most of the times] to approach the Holy Names as something sacred and dear to me. I registered to take the japa retreat with HH Romapada Swami in two weeks, you and the pure exalted vaishnavas from our tradition emphasize and praise the chanting of the Holy Name, you always instruct me to “chant, chant, chant” so I think, if this is the essence of all our practice, if the Holy Names are going to stay with me at the very end of my physical life and They’ll go with me even beyond that...then I better make it my priority, I have a desire to improve my chanting and to connect with Krsna through ‘Hare Krsna’. I’m also following the 4 regs. Waking up my home and traveling deities, Sri Sri Nitai Mayapur Candra every day and offering them water and whatever I cook, when I do so. Leading Gaura aratik on Mondays and Fridays for the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha Nila Madhava. I also make chandan for the deities on Fridays. And I attend to Conscious Houston on Wednesdays, an outreach program. Learning vaishnava songs, to enter the mood of Gaura Purnima, I chose Parama Karuna and Arunodaya Kirtan as for these couple of weeks. I finished reading Twirl Your Beads, there were many insights and poems that you wrote that I like. Thank you once again for the sincerity in your service gurumaharaja. I’m currently reading How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, I’ve heard it’s a good one to improve communication with children, be more effective with them and supportive of oneself, make the relationships less stressful and more rewarding, it gives practical advices, promotes skills and the book even has exercises.

Work wise, I’m about to start my 4th week at the Goswami Academy, I’m a teacher assistant for PreK 2 and 3 (they are the little ones at the school) and I’m also the after school teacher, I teach Spanish to the children in PreK 4 and 1st & 3rd grade on Wednesdays, my work hours are Mon-Fri 10am-6pm. I’m excited and really looking forward to learn from Vaikuntha Priya Mataji [Vaikuntha Lakmi?] and Rama Giridhari prabhu, who will be with us this week. I signed the contract with the school until the middle of July, we’ll see how Krsna wants us to serve him after that...! (?) I’m praying to be given the intelligence to see (maybe understand?) and follow His plan.

I’m praying to Krsna to let me see you and serve you when you come back to this dham in June. Please keep me in mind for any services that you may need for the symposium or anything like that.

I was carefully looking at your itinerary in the calendar and it says “June-August— based in the Boro?” Is there a possibility for you to stay in Houston after the symposium instead of going back to Tennessee? And what about the month of September? It might be a good option for you to take a break from traveling and give some nice rest to your body.

I’ve been wanting to study Bhagavatam systematically, (I haven’t passed from the 3rd canto, and it’s been a long time since then). My reflection is that in order to love Krsna, to know how He is, what does He like, who is His family, friends, and devotees, to develope a genuine relationship with Him and also to keep nourishing my faith I need to read more Prabhupada’s books, Srimad Bhagavatam. So I would like to ask you for guidance here, do you know of any programs or anything that you could recommend me for this?

I keep in contact with my family, parents, sister, grandma and doggie who at the moment are living in Mexico. Thanks Krsna over all they are well. Hopefully if is Krsna’s will, one day we’ll be all serving together.

To end this letter, I would like to request you to please send me a hard copy and also a digital copy of your Diary of a Traveling Creature if available and possible. My temporary address is 1407 W 34th 1/2 St, Houston, Texas, 77018.

Thank you very very much Gurudeva for your service, love, kindness, truthfulness and compassion, for settling and leading with your example. As I have said it before, your life is a sublime offering to the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and the whole disciplic succession.

Jaya Jaya Radhe Jaya Jaya Syam Jaya Jaya Sri Vrndavana Dham!!!

Aspiring to be your eternal servant,

Aindavi devi dasi

HpS - ASA --- AgtSP.... paoho.... We heard about you from Rukmini Devi Das also! Subhra Devi Dasi... Of course, with the rapid spread of the Karuna Virus all travel plans are changing quickly. It is so simple, just calm down and listen and Krsna is there? We may be asking, "Which car should I bay???", and if we really listen He may be saying, "Buy a horse, don't by a car".

We have to be ready to hear things that require surrender of our prestige, fame, comfortable self image.

In the end its only a reflection of ourselves in a projection.

Who are we?

Just get out as quick as possible, unless Krsna wants us to play a role here.

HpS - This letter was exactly the same as the other.

For us your work is so essential. There is so much content in Srila Prabhupada's books to fuel the work of any academically minded person. Such people can give specific plans to more action oriented folks. Can you please send your Whatsapp address here? I will see it but not post it.

I know several people who were attached to self-medication, smoking. Chanting all the time you are smoking is of course the best cure. One cases the person began to give up smoking very quickly but them realized that there were very deep reasons why he was smoking and that he had to deal with those before he could handle the superficial manifestation. Another was able to quit on one cigarette! HK/HR.

Hari Bol! Dear Maharaja, please accept my humblest obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada !!

I hope you are well in all aspects, it has been 3 months since I last wrote and 4 months since we were at the Complutense University.

A few weeks ago I had a meeting with the director of the Institute of Religious Sciences to continue advancing in the relationship between this institute and the NIOS Institute. We talked about the possibility of formalizing a collaboration agreement, the point is that the Complutense University only establishes agreements with other Universities so that the way to make the agreement would be through the University with which NIOS has an agreement in Peru.

On the other hand, I talked about the program “Art and the Sacred” and they agree to make a conference on the subject when you return to Madrid.

In relation to the contact with the Royal Superior School of Dramatic Art, I am investigating the departments in which it is structured, the study program and the subjects to find the contact that may be more useful, such as theater history or classical theater (Greece etc ). When I make the first contact I will tell you the possibilities.

On a personal level, in relation to my spiritual practice, I tell you that since the last time I saw you I continued singing a minimum of 16 rounds a day in the early morning, and I spent 1 hour reading every day. In these months I have finished reading the Bhagavad Gita and the book of Krishna, and I am currently reading the Bhagavatam and the Nectar of Devotion. When I sing the Mahamantra I am aware of how tight the knot of ignorance is in my heart but I have faith that the practice will allow me to progressively purify.

I am currently complying with 3 of the 4 regulatory principles, I have not yet managed to stop smoking intoxicated, although I am reducing it and I would like to stop before a month has passed to meet the necessary requirements for initiation.

I collaborate with Jivatatva Prabhu in the development of the “Madre Tierra” rural community project, and in these months I have been to the Madrid temple on some occasions, my intention is to go more frequently to seek more association with devotees.

Thank you very much for your patience and attention, please accept my humblest obeisances. Hare Krishna!

HpS - AgtSP! Paoho.... We continue to struggle here. Following strict control of senses at any level eg. taking a vow of no cigarettes before noon, or only eating one grain of rice for each Maha-mantra we chant, so much depends on association. Of course, these exchanges of letters are such good association.

We will look at your more recent letter and make more humble comments to your spectacular news there!

todas las glorias a Goura Nitay

todas las gloria a Srila Prabhupada

Hare krishna Guru.M comienzo mi reporte contándole que sigo con mis servicios fijos en cocina 2 días a la semana,

leyendo a diario,

preparandome para comenzar el curso del primer y segundo canto del Bhagavatam con p Lakshman

además de seguir con mi rutina matutina de rondas

el fin de semana en el templo haciendo servicio.

le cuento que arreglamos con un grupo de devotas el espacio de la fachada del templo para hacer un jardín nos quedo lindo y ahora cuidando para que crezca.

por último le cuento que seguiremos trabajando para restaurar el templo hacer más jardines dentro del templo, [Super!]

pintar etc...se despide su humilde sirvienta Raman Reti devi dasi

HpS - Small gardens are wonderful. The touch of the sun for warmth, the song of a bird for mirth, you are more at home in a garden, than any place else on earth! Sit with Krsna and the Gopis and Gopis in the natural gardens on the bank of the Yamuna and play games and make plans.