Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna, dear ISKCON committee. I have suffered greatly due to the ill treatment from one of your fellow Pujari/devotee. I have suffered severely, both mentally and emotionally. This is all because of that one devotee. She is working as a Pujari in Iskcon Rio de Janeiro.

My name is Milan. I have been an ISKCON devotee for 2 years, although I am not initiated. I diligently follow all four principles. I hail from Puri, Odisha, the sacred land of shree Jagannath. I am a disciple of Tukaram Prabhu from ISKCON Kolkata. I am 26 years old.

I was approached by a devotee from the temple. She is a divorced woman, 36 years old, and a disciple of H.H. Hanumant Preksha Swami Maharaj. She is originally from Peru.

I am a virgin man, and my family intended to arrange my marriage this year. She promised to marry me, and because of that, I declined other marriage proposals. We were planning to get married in February 2024. I explained everything to my parents, and they made all the necessary preparations for our marriage in advance. To introduce her to my family, I invited her to visit India. She agreed and recently arrived in India.

However, after arriving here, she went off with some other devotee and subsequently blocked me on all platforms. I was strictly adhering to the four principles and preparing for initiation this year. Regrettably, this woman coerced me into engaging in sexual activities with her (multiple times). I succumbed to her pressure and made a grave mistake. My preparation for being initiated devotee got hampered. I trusted her because she was affiliated with ISKCON, and I believed she would never deceive me. Unfortunately, she lied and betrayed me, using both me and another man named Pitambar Keshava Das from Delhi for her own sexual gratification. She even engaged in the consumption of alcohol, despite being a second-initiated devotee.

India is a land of culture, customs, and sacrifices, and it is a place where promises are highly valued. I gave her my word for marriage and, as a result, I rejected other marriage proposals from women. She also gave me her word of marriage. However, now she has rejected the idea of marrying me and has blocked me. I am at a loss for how to explain this to my parents. I made significant compromises within my family, as it was quite challenging to convince them to accept a divorced woman. I went against their wishes and managed to make them understand and agree to accept this female devotee. Now, I find myself in a dilemma, not knowing what to tell them. The burden of guilt weighs heavily on me.

I wish to convey this message to Maharaj Ji and all the senior members of the community so that right actions can be taken against this fake devotee. If left unchecked, she may continue to exploit more male devotees for her own satisfaction. Also for that devotee, people who faced similar complications like me may start blaming every other female devotee from Peru which can definitely become a matter of shame for our community.

HpS / ASA - AgtSP. Paoho. Esteemed Milan. Thank you for the news.

From Srila Prabhupada's presentation of Veda and our own personal experience such problems as you describe can be very painful, yet constant chanting of the Holy Names under the shelter of Srila Prabhupada certainly gives us good intelligence how to go ahead for everyone's benefit.

Krsna did not give Arjuna a secret weapon.

He gave him good intelligence.

Then he was able to act very expertly for everyone's benefit.

Personally I do not know of any of our disciples in ISKCON Rio de Janeiro.

The very, very, very clear contract that we make on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON at the time of Initiation is that the candidate must chant 16-enthusiastic rounds daily and follow the 4-principles strictly.

You know, this, no?

Then, as you describe the woman, she is not our initiated disciple.

If she wants to apologize and take us as Pathpradarsika Guru, then we can try to accept her as a candidate for Diksa and try to serve her as a Siksa guru and try to help her to come back to the path.

Is O.K.?

Hanumatpresaka Swami



HARE KRISHNA!!

Querido Guru Maharah

Por favor acepte mis más humildes referencias

Todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada

Todas las glorias a Usted

Estos días tuve la misericordia de sus señorías en poder participar en el vestido de flores con mucho entusiasmo para Jamastami, logre asistir a Mangala-arti, Srimati Radharani nos brindó un poco de su misericordia para llevar a cabo el servicio.

Seguimos cantando 16 entusiastas rondas diarias, en ocasiones nos extendemos otro poco. Seguimos leyendo y llevamos un pequeño programa matutino en casa. Participamos en el templo con servicio de guirnaldas además de servir ( o intentamos ) en la boutique Radha Krishna del templo.

Gracias a krishna una pierna rota no ha sido impedimento para ofrecer reverencias y seguir cumpliendo con los servicios.

A principios de este año me encontré la necesidad de salir de casa de mis padres por lo que renté en casa de una señora mayor, lo que me da impresión de que se pueda interpretar como si yo llegara a romper algún principio, esto nunca sucedió hemos tenido una convicción firme en el proceso provocando llevar a lo largo de mi corta vida mis 16 principios muy estrictamente. Me sentí en la necesidad de comentarlo espero no esté de más.

Actualmente vivo con mi padre Hari Bhakti Das, mi abuela, mi tío abuelo y mis hermanos. Temporalmente mi mamá se encuentra prestando servicio en el yatra de Nueva Vrindavan en Virginia Estados Unidos de América.

Nos disculpamos por esta carta tan extensa.

Ofrezco mis más humildes sugerencias a sus pies de loto.

Esperando algún día ser su sirviente, Manjari

-0-0-0-

HARE KRISHNA!!

Dear Guru Maharaja

Please accept my most humble references

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

All glories to you

These days I had the mercy of your Lordships to be able to participate in the flower dress with great enthusiasm for Jamastami, I managed to attend Mangala-arti, Srimati Radharani gave us a little of his mercy to carry out the service.

We continue singing 16 enthusiastic rounds a day, sometimes we extend a little further. We continue reading and have a little morning show at home. We participated in the temple garland service as well as serving (or attempted to) at the temple's Radha Krishna boutique.

Thanks to Krishna, a broken leg has not been an impediment to offering obeisances and continuing to perform services.

At the beginning of this year I found myself needing to leave my parents' house so I rented at an older woman's house, which gives me the impression that it could be interpreted as if I were breaking some principle, this has never happened, we have I had a firm conviction in the process causing me to carry my 16 principles very strictly throughout my short life. I felt the need to comment on it, I hope it doesn't hurt.

I currently live with my father Hari Bhakti Das, my grandmother, my great-uncle and my brothers. Temporarily my mother is serving in the New Vrindavan yatra in Virginia, United States of America.

We apologize for this long letter.

I offer my most humble suggestions to her lotus feet.

Hoping to one day be her Manjari's servant

HpS - It is not a long letter. It is very nice. You just have to communicate this all to The Temple President 🦁

He has always impressed us as a very nice person.

Seems Asta sakhi Devi Dasi can also help.

Hare Krishna, AGTSSGN AGTSP PAMHO!

Dear Gurudev, I hope your body and mind don't cause you too much anxiety and Radha & Krishna always protect your consciousness always fixed on His and Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet.

It was difficult to write before, a week ago we buried my father, I've felt very tired and a little erratic.

The first thing that I Want to say is thank you for the instructions you gave me, I communicated it to my family and we tried to fulfill it as best as possible.

My mother was very accompanied by friends and family, I feel that life has been very cruel to her, she lost her mother, her daughter, her father and now her husband, even so she has remained faithful to her faith in God and feeling that he was merciful to my father by not making him suffer and that he could go away in the dream due to heart failure and not cause of the cancer that afflicted him.

In my case, I had days of deep atheism, of feeling resentment for Krishna and of gratitude for some devotees whom I could trust and who helped and supported me in this difficult time.

Mother Manjuali D D helped me to get remnants of S S G N, Mother Mahanandini and her children offered me their house to honor my father and cook for JBS and share prasadam, Priyasakhi equally as an elder sister with her words of support. Also Kamalaksi Subhadra D D, Kalini Radha DD, SSJPS disciples who are like my family, accompanied us all the time.

Sri Bhakti and his wife Indira Jahnava similarly arranged to send a photograph of my father to Vrindavan Dham. For all of them I ask for their blessings for being there for me.

Since before the trip to Madrid I knew about this situation, at that time the diagnosis wasn't yet conclusive, every day I asked Nrisimha Deva for my father's health, after returning from Mexico, everything began to get complicated, until a day there was nothing else to do.

My father was not a very religious person but he was a believer, he was a normal person, but he never had any problems with me practicing KC, he often donated to be able to cook for festivals, he paid half of the institutional plaque that we put outside the temple, he accepted prasadam and he read some SP books and in those moments when I was not emotionally well he preached to me telling me that I have been devotee for too many years and that this should be my strength in difficult times, he told other people about my religion and that I gave him that spiritual part that was sometimes missing.

HpS/AS - He is, agtSP, going up. He is in the army.

I only hope that Krishna is merciful and allows him to be released soon, because I think that if I could forgive any of his faults, Krishna must also do so.

Sincerely I don't know how I will deal with your departure, it's something that worries me, it's the risks of sharing so much time with the people we love.

(I don't know what the story is about the father going by boat to China, could you comment on it or tell me where to find it?)

HpS - We don't remember where but we heard Prabhupada us that analogy.

It is like 1902 in Santiago. One man has very good opportunity to go to China for his engineering company. He will be gone for three years until a big dam project is finished. At shipside his father and mother, wife, children, brother and nephews are all there.

There are many last good byes. Many tears.

Mother and wife are straightening his tie etc.

Then good bye waving from ship.

Everyone knows that he is not going to cease to exist.

There will be letters that will arrive three weeks after they were written.

There will be very crude telephone calls once every few months, but he will come back.

It is like Krsna enters Dvaraka.

The citizens were just like little children. They were so excited when Krsna returned that they could barely speak properly.

His wife and parents are there. His Uncle, no, he passed away while he was gone.

His children are so dressed up and waiting with flowers and gifts.

He has some gifts to give them directly.

Hand carved panda bear.

So, it is like that.

Person who was your father is not dead.

Is very natural to feel separation but does not mean that there cannot be meetings in dreams.

That we won't meet again when the physical separation caused by being fixed in a material body is finished.

Krsna is your father's best friend, just like He is your best friend.

Krsna is more concerned for his well being at every moment than you and I are.

Hare Krsna.

Preach this to others.

Your Sankirtan gives him enormous benefit.

Greatful for your time, your eternal servant Parasurama Avatar Das, Santiago - Chile.

HK Maharaj! PAMHO AGSTP!

All glories to Sri Sri Guru And Gauranga!

how are you? How’s your health been? Do you feel better of those headaches you have had?

HpS - AgtSP. Almost no head ache now. But as we write last letter we are getting headache. 😁

Eyes burn a lot even though the pollen level is low. Maybe is the electric heater. It is old.

Well, body has small rashes growing everywhere. That is old age.

Body falling apart to become part of a new body.

Well here everything’s going alright and good, keeping my sadhana, waking up for mangala arati almost every day, I’ve found out that doing some physical exercise at least some days a week I can keep my continuity of waking up early, and it’s another way to cope with stress.

HpS - So much to learn!

The other day I was reading in SB regarding sense gratification, which Prabhupada compares it with salt and says that we need not too much nor too few, but in the right amount it serves the Krishna conciousness process, and that illuminated me, sometimes I was being to hard with myself, pushing me too much toward “success” in the spiritual path, now I’m learning that for instance having a tastier meal a week, or two, softens my heart, always trying to make it healthy.

HpS - Yes. Not to much, but also not to little.

I’m reading some self-help books, like Atomic Habits, that one is really worth it, I’m learning a lot about how to keep growing as a person, developing good habits, leaving the bad ones behind, plus de author is really inspiring.

I’m learning also about how to raise my daughter without or with minimum electronic screens exposure, got myself a book about that and it’s really interesting.

HpS - We remember a Vastu man said, have one plant for every electronic device in the house.

Maharaj I’m having a great time listening to your classes and remembering them :)

We have a playlist of them at a YouTube channel called Comunidad Vaishnava, and well there are tons of your preachings there.

HpS - Hope they lead people to 1,000 tons of Srila Prabhupada's classes!

I have a little question for you,

I’m reading about Brahma in the 3rd canto,

Prabhupada says he’s tri-kala-jña,

and I remember you said that he can tell the future more because of his intelligence than of his spiritual knowledge,

and I was wondering if the same logic applies to the present and past time knowledge.

HpS - This is our understanding from reading about him. As we remember, Srila Prabhupada said that he is almost like the super soul.

I don't know how much is because of his Buddhi, intelligence, or because of his inspiration from the Paramatma, Ksirodakazayi visnu.

Must be different for the purity of different Brahmas.

Well more than 6 months already elapsed since I’m chanting 16 rounds a day and following the 4 regulative principles, so you said I could formally ask you for spiritual shelter, so that’s what I’m humbly requesting you :)

Well, hope you are well Maharaj :))

your servant,

Federico

HpS - I hope I said that you could ask an ISKCON guru for Diksa. 😃

We are just too old to do the service of Diksa any more.

It is very stressful for us.

Yet there are so many "young people" doing it now.

Of course, Yadu nandana Swami in Spain is wonderful even for Sannyasa guru.

So many.

I have my individual ideas about Diksa and everything.

We are all eternal individuals.

Siksa guru we can hope to be.

What do you think?

Anyone to act as Diksa and also a Siksa guru all under the shelter of your Sampradaya Acharya and intimate friend, Srila Prabhupada?

Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to you Guru Maharaja.

Guru Maharaja, I am Manjuali Devi Dasi from Kaptanpur, Silchar, your disciple.

HpS - Thank you for writing. I hope our Blog posts, Twitter, Kapi Dhvaja have been reaching you and you know our working and limits.

It is so nice to finally be able to read this letter.

Since quite a long time ago I have not been communicating with you. Please kindly forgive me for that. I will be writing to you regularly from this time onwards. Thank you very much for your kind visit to my house and purifying our Kaptanpur village at Silchar with your holy presence in January this year.

We are praying to Sri Sri Radha Govindaji for your good health and visit to our village again and again.

We are eagerly waiting for your coming back to our village again in the near future. I have purchased a small house at Radhakund near Sripad Maharaja’s Samadhi Mandir. If you are coming to India and planning to stay at Radhakund, please kindly use that house. It’s a new house and one-story building (ground floor + first floor). Please kindly accept this humble offering of mine, Guru Maharaja.

HpS - We have been staying with Krsna svarupa Das from Assam, in his similar house in Par Colony, just 8-minutes from The Kunda.

Now for long time we are back in the West.

We hope to stay at Radha kunda or wherever we can have service under Srila Prabhupada's feet.

Guru Maharaja, please kindly forgive me for whatever offences I have committed to you and am going to commit in the future also because of my foolishness, considering me a stupid and lowly servant of yours.

I am not married yet and staying alone. And I have a small government job. Most percentage of the salary I get every month from my job (even if it’s a meagre amount), I spend it for serving the Vaisnavas.

Some part of the salary I save it in the form of insurance.

Guru Maharaja, I have no devotion to Guru and Krishna.

Please guide me so that in this lifetime I be able to go back home, back to Godhead.

HpS - You already have gone back to Godhead. Writing and reading these letters is the only Godhead, Godhood. You just have to increase, perfect this service, and the others related to it.

Guru Maharaja, what kind of sadhana and services I should do to please you most? What services a devotee should render to please Guru and Vaisnavas most? And how should I carry out my day-to-day activities to please you, Guru Maharaja? Please kindly guide me on these points.

HpS - With what devotees you have association? In your village?

What books of Srila Prabhupada do you like to read?

Even a little bit some times.

One paragraph. Then some more later.

Gradually finish one paragraph.

Tell other people (at work) about the story. Tell them it is the story of one person you know.

Because of my foolishness and stupidity, if I am offending you again and again, then please forgive me again and again Guru Maharaja. I am always seeking the dust of your lotus feet. I will be eagerly waiting for your reply. Hope to see you soon Guru Maharaja.

Hare Krishna.

Your humble servant

Manjuali Devi Dasi

Kaptanpur, Silchar, Assam, India

Whatsapp/Mobile No. - +91-8136078925

HpS - Basically chant 16-nice rounds daily and follow the 4-principles strictly and success is guaranteed. Radha and Krsn and all the Gopis will be able to remind you what important service you were created to do.

Hare Krsna, AGTSP

please accept my humble obeisances.

Narottama reporting from the principal base.

And yes, Krsna is our

•Friend

•counselor

•general

•And more or not?

HpS - To we demons He is death personified!

It's a really good idea what you propose and my daily schedule is:

wake op to 5 am then bath dressing and go to mangal arati.

Then canting one round (most of it aprox 13 every morning) then guru vandhana.

Then take the breakfast and chant the few that left, around the rest of the day.

Then study whith devaki or mitravinda (10 am to 1 pm) an then come the lunch after that we have an hour to rest an the we have work in the fields (mostly just put some water in some plants, others times the work is harder but i like it) then we take a bath and go to study (4:30 to 6 pm) an the eat for last time.

And then we rest until the next day.

HpS - Wow. AgtSP. When I hear this schedule I think of the poor black people in Africa, who have to sneak to the well to get water each day and try to avoid being raped by enemy soldiers. We are so fortunate.

Is a very good one, I hope to keep many things as they are for the rest of my life, what do you think about this?

HpS - Of course, it is great, yet don't forget that we are trying 'kirtaniya sada harih', chanting Mantra, songs, discussing Krsna with as many people as we can.

Yoga is hot Yoga until you give it away!

You will advance.

You will become great Saint like Visnupriya, Lord Caitanya, by the mercy of Lord Nityananda and the previous Acharya.