Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna, Gurumaharaja 🙏🏻

Por favor acepte mis reverencias 🙏🏻

Jay Srila Prabhupada 🙏🏻

Dear Gurumaharaja, the reason for my letter is because our stay in New Vrajamandala is becoming increasingly difficult. The phrase the authorities always tell us, "THERE IS NO PLACE FOR GRIHASTRAS HERE," is becoming more and more true in our daily lives. I struggled and endured until I couldn't take it anymore. We wrote a letter to the community, formalizing what everyone in NVM knows: that we live in a space that is too small (we have to take out the mattress to open the door) and that it used to be a garbage dump. We cleaned it up.

I am the daughter of a lawyer; I explained my case and supported it. Beforehand, I asked seven brahmanas, as you once told me; I asked seven families who lived and still live here. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that it's best to leave this place.

I'm already married; I can't always live in the house of my spiritual family. Prabhupada says that the grihastras should contribute to the temple, .. my husband and I should not continue living off Iskcon.

We do not want to be a burden or a nuisance to anyone (although the letter affected several of the administrative board) I repeat: I am the daughter of a good lawyer, my father taught me to tell the truth to defend what is right.

The administration no longer has normal spaces for us to live, and we accept it. It is time to go out into the world and work.

My husband and I are grateful but it is now necessary to leave.

HOWEVER I made it very clear that our commitment to supporting the hostel service is to maintain the only source of income for NVM and my husband maintains his service taking care of the 92-year-old devotee who gave and gives everything to the NVM rural project.

In short, WE WILL NOT LEAVE THE SERVICE BUT WE WILL LOOK FOR A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE OUTSIDE OF NVM 🙏🏻

**Le envío una copia de la carta que envié a la comunidad

En medio de Troya, su discípula de tercera clase Yasoda Devi Dasi

** Espero poder volver a verlo en NVM...yo no dejo de pensar en usted siempre es mi refugio espiritual Gurumaharaja 🙏🏻

HpS/ASA - Hare Krsna. Thank you for this news. We guess you are back in NVM from India.

What you describe sounds accurate. We guess your husband is of the same mind.

We talked with the Brahmana leaders of the Houston community, Temple President and authorities, State and Federal government and now we plan to be based in Houston until Janmastami.

If things really fall apart the railroad track in one block away and we can just leave all shelter and start walking East along the track toward Braja!

Thank you!!

Hare Krishna, Siksha Gurudeva, please kindly accept my most humble obeisances; all glories to Srila Prabhupada;

all glories to your good self for your own devotion to Prabhupada and Krishna;

all glories to all the devotees of Lord Chaitanya's Sankirtana Movement!🙏

HpS - We always consider you our Siksa guru also!

I trust that all is going well for you in your devotional service: all things considered. Many things come to my mind that I would like to share with someone, but I don't want to be stopping my chanting just to ventilate my thoughts.

But be it suffice to say that I find so much shelter in my japa. There was a time in my life when I was afraid to live and afraid to die, both at the same time. That was how I first took shelter of chanting the Holy Names. Srila Prabhupada is so amazing; his character and level of compassion are so far beyond my scope of appreciation and understanding. He gave us this chanting of the Holy Names on the order of his spiritual master, just to fulfill the desire of Lord Chaitanya. In one famous purport Srila Prabhupada instructed that "our chanting Hare Krishna should be exactly like a small child crying out for its mother." When I reflect on this instruction I can appreciate that the fears and anxieties of my life are like hidden gems and blessings in disguise. I find that my chanting is most meaningful when those fears and anxieties are strong in my mind and heart.

I just had to share some of these thoughts, which come to me during my japa. How will I ever chant nicely when so much comes to my mind? And then I have some compelling need to share them with someone. Thank you, as always, for taking time out of your own spiritual life to to hear me rant on. And thank you for being such an inspiration to so many of us in our devotional service.

Yls, Bbd 🙏

HpS - Chant! Chant! ... can't can't! Rant Rant!! 😆 I had a dream of Srila Prabhupada once and his personality, presence was so, so, so personal. He was conscious, and understanding so much more deeply of everything that was happening in our situation. Like adults with children at a party.

Hare Krishna Gurumaharaja, please accept our obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! 

Thank you so much for this wonderful letter and these illustrations. The Alfred North Whitehead quote is something I want to remember everyday. So grateful to have you in our lives. And we feel very fortunate to have you approve/bless Madhavi’s name as well and to read your kind words for her in the letter. 

HpS/ASA - Tom Brown, Monkey, agtSP, does most of the handwritten letters! 🐵

The grand plan is to keep Radha Bankibhihari happy and taken care of. Make friends and good association here. Do this and do it fully until another opportunity comes on its own accord. And then someday maybe go on tour again but this time with devotees and yes bring the Lordships with us! 

HpS - Super! Prabhupada recommended Gaura Nitai for traveling.

Anadi will be home schooling Yamuna and Madhavi with Mother Arudha’s books and her personal guidance. 

HpS - Super. If it happens, a nice step is Collective Home Schooling, where up to five families work together to have one or people be full time teachers.

I’ve been asked to take over the temple president role here and have been talking with Radhika Ramana Prabhu quite a bit. Not a huge change because Anadi and I have essentially been sharing that responsibility for a few years now but still it feels like a big weight and a great challenge. I’ve been laughing with Krishna about it and have had some arguments too. I just never could imagine that I would have a responsibility like this. 

HpS/ASA - Get everything written down by the principal participants. Fix it for a certain time eg. six months, one year, then review the contract after that time? Hare Krsna, Hare Rama.

Going to have our second movie night at the temple in March. Going to show Brother Sun Sister Moon a movie about Saint Francis. Then we will start showing the Diary of A Traveling Creature movies each month starting in April. 

HpS/ASA - What night? Friday night?

I would like to visit you in Houston in the Spring. Is that okay?

HpS - Our plan is to get ready to board the airplane to Vaikuntha (hell) with notice of one breath. 78-year old body!!! but general consensus is that is practical to plan being based in Houston ISKCON until Janmasatami = August.

11-18 March = Nashville. Especially talking about visiting again around Janmastami time for a big North American festival in Nashville ISKCON.

Always happy to have your corporal association.

Been listening to the SB classes in Houston almost everyday and corresponding with Jaya Hari Prabhu so I’ve been receiving lots of mercy in that regard and it’s been empowering projects here in Boise. I eagerly await your classes each week and they inspire our Krishna Lounge talks and everything else. 

Thank you, Gurumaharaja! Oh and thank you for the donation🙏🏻

Your aspiring servant, 

Nitisara Das 

P.S. here is an animation/puppet show that someone made for a song of mine. The song is about Love in separation with God. He wants to keep working with me so as I develop my own Sankirtan I can engage him in more krishna consciousness subject matter.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2OcZTmB2zwI&pp=ygULbmljayBkZWxmZnM%3D

HpS - We will look at it a little later!!!

Now... 4.10PM... and packing up to go to the Temple by 4.30PM to be available for and Sadhu sanga, then 6-6.40PM make the Sunday Love Feast lecture presentation.

As usual, www.youtube.com (ISKCON Houston).

Thank you!!!

Respects to everyone!!

Krsna has a career plan for all of us, no?

Maybe over several lifetimes!

Who might you be in the Mahabharata in you next life???

PAMHO AGTSP! All glories to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga!!

HK Maharaj how are you!?

hps - asa - apparently, more blind and deaf each week.

heart is o. k.

dementia is not too bad.

self realization is going nicely. more and more chance to directly purify our self, atma, by japa, vaidhi bhakti.

Where are you? how’s your health doing? I’m sorry to ask this, I haven’t been reading any news about you lately.

hps - are posting here on the blog, twitter, gotomeeting.com, youtube.com [iskcon-houston].

maybe asa-carnaval?

i think you may be the third biggest fool in the universe, no? 😆😆😆😆😆

Here I’ve been experiencing certain difficulties in my spiritual life,

hps/asa - same here. same for radharani. 👍

having trouble with the 4 principles, and well my health hasn’t been going all that well, I’m getting this feeling of like pre nausea regularly. It’s more of an emotional thing caused by this situation with my daughter I’m dealing with. My ex partner blocked all communications with my family so we couldn’t talked to my daughter in months, and now it’s going to be 4 months since I don’t see her. I’m so sad some times.

hps - try nicely, not dog hard, then take it as KRSNA's arrangement and be assured that He is a better friend and criminal court judge than us.

I’m kind of tired of feeling this way. At least I’ve kept my rounds almost alive, couldn’t continue chanting the 16 because of my health condition, but at least I chant a minimum of 6.

I trying to do my best in other areas of my life, such as in playing sports or workout, I kept doing Hatha Yoga almost every day and started freestyle roller skating, which is helping me on losing weight.

I’m now in Buenos Aires, here I began attending to an English conversation club, where I can talk to English native speakers regularly and locals as well, and I’ve done some friends there, which I find to be a great thing.

I would really love to get my life back to normal, or better than normal.

Could you please give me any advice on this?

hps//asa - above... smile...

we put the japa as priority. KRSNA never punishes us for the time it takes for 16 sincere rounds.

Well thank you Maharaj for being there for me!

HK!

Federico

hps - send some pictures [of your self]



Todas las glorias para Srila Prabhupada

Por favor acepte nuestras humildes reverencias

Querido Guru Maharaj este año no escribí mi reporte anual pero todo está muy bien en mi sadhana👍. prabhu Hari Cakra está viviendo en Monterrey y el domingo pasado nos visitó prabhu Deena Bandhu la sala de predica del Restaurante contó historias muy lindas sobre Vrndavan, buena audiencia y convivencia. También ese día mi hijo mayor Jay salió muy entusiasta a sankirtan con Gadadhar fue un buen resultado.

Quería preguntarle si es apto para los principios (no intoxicación) el consumo de CBD cannabidiol pure oil (cannabis sativa) en casos de tratamiento médico como en mi caso la epilepsia estoy buscando opciones naturales de tratar mi caso neurológico.

Nueva Govardhan se encuentra bien Nandita se encuentra muy bien cuidada🐄

, también recibimos a una devota mayor para vivir a una casa de nuestro hogar entonces tenemos vecinos devotos jeje todos los días la madre Krishna tattva lee Krishna book con mi hijo mayor Jay Govinda, es una buena vida en el campo en conciencia de Krishna.

No deseo quitarle mas su valioso tiempo así que me despido su sirviente Anandamaya Devi dasi

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All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Please accept our humble obeisances

Dear Guru Maharaj, this year I did not write my annual report, but everything is going very well in my sadhana👍. Prabhu Hari Cakra is living in Monterrey and last Sunday Prabhu Deena Bandhu visited us in the preaching room of the Restaurant and told very nice stories about Vrndavan, good audience and conviviality. Also that day my eldest son Jay went out very enthusiastically to sankirtan with Gadadhar, it was a good result.

I wanted to ask you if it is suitable for the principles (not intoxication) to consume CBD cannabidiol pure oil (cannabis sativa) in cases of medical treatment such as epilepsy in my case. I am looking for natural options to treat my neurological case.

HpS - I don't know. will ask raman reti devi dasi if she has any information about this.

your sankirtan sounds great. material happiness and distress is flicker and superficial. sankirtan is the reawakening of the particular abilities of the individual soul. eg i am a cow... mooo.

New Govardhan is doing well Nandita is very well taken care of🐄, we also received an older devotee to live one house away from our home so we have devotee neighbors hehe every day mother Krishna tattva reads Krishna book with my eldest son Jay Govinda, it is a good life in the countryside in Krishna consciousness.

I do not wish to take up any more of your valuable time so I say goodbye your servant Anandamaya Devi dasi

hps - thank you. you make our heart happy.

Hare Krishna, Dear Siksha Guru Maharaja,

please kindly accept my most humble obeisances;

all glories to his divine grace, Srila Prabhupada;

all glories to your good self, for your selfless devotion to Srila Prabhupada;

hps - we have selfish desires.

all glories to all the devotees of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

!

There is so much I would like to share; so many realizations that have come into my mind which I haven't always been able to write down, as they come to me particularly during my japa period. Sometimes I reflect on my life: the names of the places and faces I once knew so long ago. What was the meaning of it all? What have I done with my life that was so meaningful? What will be my fate? My life is lived, and now all that remains is preparing myself for the next and final chapter of my life. Thoughts like these constantly come and go in my mind, instead of my attentively crying out to Krishna to mercifully engage me in His devotional service: such nonsense japa I have.

I have been reading "VASIHNAVA KE?" by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. It is very powerful poetry, which I confess scares the hell out me, because it forces me to look very deeply into my own character and behavior. My false ego really takes a beating by reading this book. My mind tries to defend itself with excuses of why I choose to distance myself from the local community of devotees. I want to be honest with myself, and yet this book only seems to show me where I am failing. I just want to be peaceful in my daily practice of devotional service.

asa = mukti?

I needed to share these things, and there is no one close enough for me to share them with.

In the interest of brevity I am obliged to end here. Please kindly forgive me for disturbing you with my foolishness. I wish I could be a better example of a Vaishnava. I want with all my heart to be a better example, but there is so much sinful karma in my life that obstructs me from being exemplary. The last verse of the Sri Isopanishad tells the story of my plight in struggling to be a sincere devotee.

My japa is steady, and it is my greatest saving grace through all of my challenges and calamities. My reading is helpful in spite of my failing brain. My wife is incredibly supportive, in spite of my failures. No books are going out at present until I can resume with my other worldly affairs. And with this much having been said, I will close here, hoping for your special kindness and causeless mercy. If I am at all fortunate, I may yet come to a place where I can surrender in a way that is proper and fitting.

Your lowly, servant,

Balabhadra dasa

HpS - how, hare krsna, is your surgery recovering??