Letters to the editor

Hace un tiempo atrás más de un año Ud. tuvo conocimiento y también le comenté mi servicio en el CPO aquí en el Perú le llaman CPT PERU. Siempre velando contra el abuso y negligencia con los niños de este Yatra. Para mi es una experiencia muy enriquecedora pero también llena de retos y muchas incomprensiones quizá algunas veces por tener que instruir constantemente a devotos que no tienen el mínimo de conocimiento legal y por otro por defender la verdad a toda costa, recuerdo que Ud. me dijo que apoye a los devotos y devotas y colabore con el conocimiento legal y es lo que vengo haciendo hasta ahora. Pero le juro que a veces me dan ganas de saltar del barco, pero recuerdo que Ud. me dijo que no lo haga. Lo que incomoda en esta labor es que se viene confundiendo problemas políticos de la administración con venganzas personales a través de algunas denuncias al CPT PERU que en realidad son inconsistentes y que se disipan como si fuese el humo después de analizarlas concienzudamente. Nunca pensé esta actitud de algunos devotos y que solo veía en el mundo karmatico abogadil y donde trabajo, situaciones de venganzas, ataques, denuncias y golpes bajos. Realmente Gurudeva estoy asombrados de esto. Los casos son reservados, pero puedo decir que a veces las denuncias que revisamos no tiene el mas mínimo sustento aparecen en una coyuntura de guerra. Es la razón por la que me atrevo a escribirle preguntando entre otras cosas ¿Frente a seudodenuncias debo hacer prevalecer la Verdad? ¿Que hacer frente al riesgo de actuar con autonomía y luego ser visto como parte de la administración? Sé que este servicio es conflictivo lo puedo hacer, pero existe incomprensión tanto de denunciantes como de denunciados es tan similar a la justicia ordinaria del hombre, ¿Que más debo hacer? CPT Perú no tiene poder coercitivo y quienes tienen que hacer cumplir las resoluciones son los Presidentes de Templo y a veces no lo hacen generando inefectividad en el proceso, que quita prestigio a ISKCON en el mundo. Esta carta la estoy haciendo publica porque considero que muchos devotos deben ser orientados e instruidos en menesteres que no conocen, pero como le dije mi Gurudeva ya uno viene cansándose de ver estas situaciones incorrectas e injustas y me refiero a mala conducta de devotos y devotas tanto en las denuncias como en el trato como padres de familia en general. Recuerdo que Ud. Me dijo permanece un año o dos y luego evalúa. En efecto esta situación quiere afectar mi vida espiritual pues es como recoger los desperdicios que dejan los bakty yoguis. Quizá estoy escribiendo muy duramente, pero es una realidad detrás de la cortina y de un escenario que muchos desconocen. Pido su perdón por mis ofensas y por escribir de este modo pero me agradaría su respuesta.

Su Sirviente

VISALA DAS

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Some time ago, more than a year ago, you found out and I also told you about my service in the CPO here in Peru, they call it CPT PERU.

Always watching out against abuse and neglect with the children of this Yatra. For me it is a very enriching experience but also full of challenges and many misunderstandings, perhaps sometimes due to having to constantly instruct devotees who do not have the minimum of legal knowledge and on the other hand, for defending the truth at all costs, I remember that you told me that I support the devotees and collaborate with legal knowledge and that is what I have been doing up to now. But I swear to you, sometimes I feel like jumping off the boat, but I remember you told me not to. What makes this work uncomfortable is that political problems of the administration are being confused with personal vendettas through some complaints to the CPT PERU that are actually inconsistent and that dissipate like smoke after thorough analysis.

I never thought of this attitude of some devotees and that I only saw in the karmatic world of lawyers and where I work, situations of revenge, attacks, complaints and low blows.

Really Gurudeva I am amazed at this. The cases are reserved, but I can say that sometimes the complaints that we review do not have the slightest support appear in a situation of war. It is the reason why I dare to write to you asking, among other things, in the face of pseudo-denunciations, should I make the Truth prevail?

What to do against the risk of acting autonomously and then being seen as part of the administration?

I know that this service is conflictive, I can do it, but there is a lack of understanding of both the complainants and the accused, it is so similar to ordinary human justice, what else should I do?

CPT Peru does not have coercive power and those who have to enforce the resolutions are the Presidents of the Temple and sometimes they do not do so, generating ineffectiveness in the process, which detracts from ISKCON's prestige in the world.

I am making this letter public because I believe that many devotees should be oriented and instructed in tasks they do not know, but as my Gurudeva told you, one is already getting tired of seeing these incorrect and unfair situations and I am referring to the misconduct of both male and female devotees.

both in complaints and in treatment as parents in general.

I remember that you told me stay a year or two and then evaluate.

In fact, this situation wants to affect my spiritual life because it is like picking up the rubbish left by the bakty yogis.

Perhaps I am writing very harshly, but it is a reality behind the curtain and on a stage that many are unaware of. I ask your forgiveness for my offenses and for writing in this way, but I would appreciate your response.

Your Servant

VISA DAS

HpS - AgtSP! Paoho. Thank you for your efforts to execute professional devotional service. Srila Prabhupada calls this "vrtti". He says that it is introduced in Chapter Three in BG.

Like you say, by acting according to our VAD nature in the service of Krsna, we can advance very nicely. This is what Krsna is recommending to Arjuna: Do your Ksatriya dharma for me. Of course, is telling him to do it also with deep love, not just dovetailing, but if we can only do it as Karma in Bhakti Yoga, not Prema in Bhakti yoga that is also great.

Karma-misra bhakti yoga will lead us to Jnana-misra-bhakti yoga. That will lead us to Dhyana-misra-bhakti-yoga. Then to pure Bhakti yoga.

This Blog publication is great.

Maybe it will circulate to help ISKCON progress as an institution.

Work along professional development lines for ISKCON, but the basis is not Karma Yoga for Kali-yuga but Bhakti-yoga. So..... how is your Bhakti yoga progressing? Do you know the verse, adau sraddha...? It is cited in BG 4.10 purport.

That is best summary of the stages of progress.

How is your institutional service, helping you develop friendship with devotees.

How is it developing your personal connection with Prabhupada?

Hare Krsna Guru Maharaja.

Por favor acepte mis respetuosas reverencias.

¡Todas las glorias sean para Srila Prabhupada!

Guru Maharaja, espero que se encuentre muy bien.

Disculpe por no escribir antes.

Seguimos dictando Bhakti Sastri (Néctar de la Devoción). Tenemos 17 estudiantes 😊

Vamos a dar otro curso para discípulos a fines del mes de mayo.

Seguimos ayudando con programas para los niños para los festivales grandes. Clase, actividad (decorar corona del Señor Nrsimha, Pinta caritas y Prasadam). Envío algunas fotografías.

Seguimos estudiando BVB. Vamos en el canto 3 capítulo 28.

Seguimos impartiendo clases del SB 6 días a la semana, organizado por el Comité de Educación (Yo reemplazo al orador (a) cuando no puede dar la clase).

Me doy cuenta que además de los cursos, dar clases de SB o BG es un servicio muy bueno, porque me conecta mucho más con la prédica. Entonces, a veces doy clases.

Tengo mucho servicio pendiente y no logro abarcar todo.

¿Si no hay prédica significa que no hay pureza? Me refiero a predicar a otras personas, que no tienen CK aún.

La madre de un compañero de curso de Indira, se hizo devota. Ella está sufriendo mucho en su vida matrimonial. Casada con un "demonio". CK la hace feliz. Está cantando japa y dejando el cigarrillo. Ya es vegetariana y está esforzándose mucho.

Bueno GM, no tengo mucho más que contar.

Muchas gracias 👏

Su sirviente

Priyasakhi DD

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Hare Krsna, Guru Maharaja.

Please accept my respectful obeisances.

All glories be to Srila Prabhupada!

Guru Maharaja, I hope you are well.

ASA - AGTSP paoho. Ha! Ha! Hare! This body does not get diseases, this body is a disease.

Our health is like your health. Right now fighting with fever, sore throat, choked respiration from allergy, etc, but happy that we can associate with devotees for Sankirtan.

Here or in Goloka, Sankirtan.

Sorry for not writing earlier.

We continue to dictate Bhakti Sastri (Nectar of Devotion). We have 17 students 😊

ASA - Super! What chapter? Where is report from Gandharava Das on Waves of Devotion translation.

We are going to give another course for disciples at the end of the month of May.

We continue to help with children's programs for the big festivals. Class, activity (decorating Lord Nrsimha's crown, Face painting and Prasadam). I send some photos.

ASA - 2 x Super.

We continue to study BVB. Let's go in song 3 chapter 28.

ASA - Sx3 - Devahuti!

We continue to teach SB classes 6 days a week, organized by the Education Committee (I replace the speaker when he can't give the class).

ASA - Sx4 - What part of SB.

I realize that in addition to the courses, giving SB or BG classes is a very good service, because it connects me much more with preaching. So sometimes I teach.

I have a lot of service pending and I can't cover everything.

HpS - Vaidhi bhakti means learning how to prioritize our service. Occupy others.

If there is no preaching, does it mean that there is no purity? I mean preaching to other people, who don't have CK yet.

HpS - Yes, the more pure we are, the more force we have, but we should also see what we are actually doine. We may not be Rupa Goswami, but we are working, trying to contact with innocent people. As long as we are chanting HK we are advancing!

The mother of a classmate of Indira's, became a devotee. She is suffering a lot in her married life. She married a "demon".

HpS - Everyone in the material world is a demon unless you are an Avatara or Paramahamsa, no? 😁 Some of us a married to big demons. Others to little demons. Of course, some of us are demons taking our medicine.

CK makes her happy. She is chanting japa and putting down the cigarette. She is already a vegetarian and is trying very hard.

HpS - It will influence here family!

Well GM, I don't have much more to tell.

Thank you very much 👏

your servant

Priyasakhi DD

HpS - Thank you. Such enlivening news for everyone. We we will look at other mail! Let's go together.

Dear Maharaj,

PAMHO AGTSP!

I requested my husband for maintenance as you advised but he refused. I found he’s researching how to get visa processed based on abuse report. I wanted to peacefully pass time, not make first attack move, but I also don’t want to put myself in dangerous place in terms of my legal records. Should I file a report to the police now? Or should I wait for further attack from him?

YAS,

Yajnaseni DD

HpS/ASA - Hare Krsna. This is the same point as before. No one can give specific advice without specific knowledge. We do not know the details of the immigration laws. We do not know the details of the Indian marriage laws. We do not know the reliability of the sources about your esteemed husbands legal actions. He said, she said, they said.

You may be stepping into the situation of attacking someone and starting a conflict when they in reality had not done anything.

For us to acquire detailed knowledge of this situation would requiere hours of work, and probably even traveling to different places and interviewing different people.

We did this for the Peru gurukula, GBC Regional Body for complaints about corruption by the local officers.

Took hours and hours of work.

So, again, develop practical team of localized people to use for localized advice.

"Victory comes from good advice, and good advice comes from many counselors", Chanakya Pandita.

Do your best. Krsna will do the rest.

Don't spend too much time on these topics, but keep your Sankirtan as your main focus.

O.K.?

Tom Brown: We received a following important communication from devotee in one ISKCON community. We have edited it for practical use in this here Blog!

"Hare Krsna beloved Gurudeva,

AGTSP

PAMHO

Thanks for your letter to the Regional GBC. You are right. During the former investigation that you worked so much to organize, in the end, nobody presented a formal complaint against ABC Das.

Nevertheless, there is something much more deeper here. We do not understand why some GBC authorities support him in the way the way they do.

(Personally I am really sorry to bother You with all these things.)

So for the sake of ISKCON Xyz we will continue with the investigations.

At this point we do not know if our Zonal GBC will meet with us.

I do not know if I can act as friends as with ABC Prabhu and his friends as you suggested.

I trust My Friends and at the end of the day I do not trust them.

Many devotees are expressing themhselves in social media and they erase those comments.

Why do they not want to answer the requests or doubts of the community of devotees? What are they hiding? Anyway..

So sorry for bothering You. We Will continue until we see what Krsna wants

JAYA SRI RAMA 

In service

DEF Das

Tom Brown, Buck White et al.

Hare Krsna, Prabhu! AgtSP. Paoho. Yes, if you smell a rat you should definitely investigate, but remember the sagely advice of Mulla Nasreddin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasreddin) whom Srila Prabhupada also cited:

"One should not engage in an argument with a fool, because people may have a hard time distinguishing which one of you is the fool!"

If you feel that devotees, Jiva souls, are infected with material consciousness, greed, lust, anger, pride, then try to help them, but don't get involved beyond your strength.

Don't get too close, but don't get too far.

The people you save today may be the people who save you tomorrow.

Thank you!!!

More news!

"Hare Krishna, Gurudeva, accept. my obeisances. I am meditating hard on everything I learned during your visit. honestly during this new goverdan event it was very instructive and i am very grateful to the devotees, but i have my personal reservations and i want to serve sankirtan but i feel very ignorant. develop good communication with Dhruva Prabhu and his Family. , . we want to do sankirtan and start a preaching movement. here in Latin America as a new Goverdan base. MONTEMORELOS."

HpS - ASA -- TlgaSP!.... Thank you. I think 50% of your effort is now finished, you followed up on the visit!

Many times we organize and event. That is 50% of the effort. The other 50% is to continue.

1. It depends on our effort and Krsna's effort. Try to understand Krsna's plan from goof Japa, Srila Prabhupada's books, advice from nice devotess and people - one, two, three. Krsna wants Kirtan, hearing and chanting, in Kali-yuga, so if New Govardhana is amined at that then it is proper.
2. Judge by the results. See how things are developing and then adjust accordingly. You have already done that in terms of your Sankirtan and got good results.
3. Purity is the force. Four principles and 16-nice rounds (Mangala arati etc). Anything you want to accomplishin Sankirtan or with your family will only improve as you stick to these things.
4. Keep posting results, news, here in the Blog. Let us see if the devotees respond.

Thank you, Hare Krsna!!

asa[e] - VAD, Sannyasa Dharma, Advisor

Dear Maharaj,

PAMHO AGTSP!

I wanted to write to you to ask your guidance on where to go from here. Next year I can pursue college as you expressed. Until then I can pursue martial arts as you guided. But before I start martial arts, I need to wrap up previous projects. I wanted to ask your guidance on an alternative place to stay? People where my parents stay ask awkward questions to which we don’t have answers to yet.

YAS,

YS

HpS/ASA - AgtSP! paoho.... We are relating to the physical and mental world through a 75-year old California body. At 30-years old the physical energy in the body starts to diminish. At fifty the mental. We can only relate to specific planning, mental plans, by writing stuff down. We can write this kind of letter because we can write and re-write it. Focus on one "local" plan.

Very funny, very fascinating.

Same will happen to you, everyone.

As your body doesn't jump and hop, mind the same, you begin to realize that you are not body or mind.

Then, "Who am I"? Because we have spiritual resources we can, and are gratefully pushed, to realize our intellectual (Buddhi) nature.

Hmmm. How is my intelligence? What is my attitude to life? Bhava? Most people never really ask this question. They just accept the attitude to life that their culture, Disney, Netfixs, gives them.

If we get the Bhava, perspective, that BG gives us, then we can reawaken our spiritual nature and go to dance in Goloka.

Cha! Cha! Cha! ....

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So, often people ask us for specific advise. We can give general suggestions and focus on a few specific situations, but without knowing the specific details, we cannot give detailed advice, Eg. In which city to live, what career to take.

It just bewilders us.

We feel like a buffalo looking at a person sitting in front of us on a motorized lawn mower, honking their horn and waving at us to move.

""Hu????"

We wrote about this topic two days ago: https://monkeywarrior.com/detail/14018/, please read that post, it should help.

We get this question often and try to explain our limits. As Mangala-ananda Das told us, "After seven or so years as your disciple, I have figured out that you are my guru, not my psychologist".

We feel bad because we would like to study every situation and help, but it is just not possible. We are not the supreme enjoyer, proprietor or FRIEND. The last mistake got Maharaja Bharata and Adam, husband of Eve.

We were pushed into Sannyasa by many intelligent people. O.K. Then we realized that it meant going beyond Kuticaka, living in a Temple cave near the Temple and just taking food from that Temple and giving advice. The administrators had some expectation that you would give advice that would be comfortable to their administrative ambitions. Oooof!

So, we took to Parivrajacacary.

We had stayed in Kolkatta helping our esteemed Sannyasa guru and Sankirtan leader, H. H. B. S. Damodara Swami, develop the Second World Congress for a Synthesis of Science and Religion for over a year. It had been my first summer in India and the hottest one in Kolkatta in 35-years. We lost 20-pounds, were so weak we had to be careful walking that we did not fall down. Yet, we still went out on Indian buses to do Sankirtan! Jay!!

Severe austerities for the B.I.

We had promised to stay for three months.

We did.

Maharaja asked to stay another three months.

.. . . . ... We DID.

Then he asked for another three months and

. . . . We D I D ! !

Then... yes, he asked again (each time by phone), please stay just a little longer. 'Don't always run away'!

Oooof!!!

We stayed and worked.

Then Maharaja, my Sankirtan leader, came to India, and the Congress was scheduled to start etc.

He was critical of how many contacts that we had been able make etc. etc.

We were very hurt. Whine. Whine. Whine. We had gone way beyond what he had asked. We had tried our, agree limited, best, and then he was criticizing us.

Ooof.

After about one-hour he came out of his room smiling and said, "Come here". I went into his room and he showed me some documents in his suitcase that he was unpacking. From the Kolkatta weather they had gotten so damp, they were sticking together, and one Brahmacari was very carefully pulling them apart so that they were not destroyed.

He laughed and said that he had to make a very serious apology to me, that he had forgotten (he was a graduate student in Kolkatta for many years) what it was like in Kolkata.

I was happy.

Often ISKCON leaders would be overly critical of us and never apologize. Between myself and Maharaja I feel a very intimate friendship. We hope to see him soon!

Yet, he is not God. He made mistakes. He could not give perfect advice.

If you want perfect career advice, you must talk with God. Srila Prabhupada, and They may say, that even they don't know.

The Jiva's have free will, and because of that they can do delightful never before dreamed of things that charm Radha and Krsna. We are all special. Unique, of inestimable value.

I could go on with this theme.

It describes how we scrounged a ticket back to USA. To leave Kolkata we had to duck under Maharaja's radar as more and more and more people were coming to organize this Congress etc. We arrived in New York in the middle of Winter and two feet of snow. No place to stay but on the street.

We just would not compromise with any of the Temples we knew to get a place to stay in exchange for being an "accommodating" Sanyasis.

We called Shankar Shastri and he was happy for us to stay for a few days, but beyond that it would interrupt his life style.

In the end we were determined, as must be you, and anyone seeking to become a Goswami and then a pure devotee, that we would rather die than lie to people about the truth.

Eg. "Prabhu, I know that you are Temple President, GBC Secretary, rich man, but I have to say that on this point you are wrong. You are being to arrogant with the devotees in this situation".

So, I was thinking that I would just go and sit behind a tennis back-board in a school athletic yard and freeze to death with honor and be found in the Spring thaw.

Then, little by little, Krsna revealed a plan for preaching and traveling for the next three months.

O.K. That's all we had, but that's enough.

!!!! Chant good rounds. Read Prabhupada's books. Talk with six good devotees who know you and then see if Krsna wants you here or in Goloka. If He wants you here, maybe the best he can do is give you a plan that will take you up: O.K. He has not given me an ultimate plan, but He has given me a career move that will have some immediate results and put me in a better position to take advantage of opportunities in the future. !!

You see we have taken a lot of time to answer your question.

Before this Blog we would have had to write this letter seven times each year!

Now we feel that we have done the best for many other devotees, because we can answer your excellent question, but for many other also!

O.K.???

We are facing exactly the same challenges as you right now.

We are trying to clarify what is going to happen with NIOS etc.

We are doing our work. We visited all of our work stations for six months. Now we are back in Kishkindha and we are trying to understand Krsna's next plan of work. Really, it is very possible that Krsna wants us to abandon this body and mind and go to work in another planet.

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As we understand many devotees, including us, had the same question wen Tamal Krsna Swami died in the car accident, "Oh, Prabhupada, how could you let this happen"?

"I need him for other work here. I let him stay with you for as long as possible. If you did not take advantage of him that is your fault, not mine".

Unless we accept that Sankirtan may kill us, Maya will always have us under her control.

Visnu priya was just as good a Goswami as Lord Caitanya.

Tell us the opinion of others about your situation, the insights from your chanting. Citations from your readings of SP's books that related to your decision making.

O.K. We look at a few more letters.

The go rake leaves!

Thank you!!

Expect to hear great results from your war on Maya!

JHpS - ASA