Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja,

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

I hope you receive this in good health and spirit.

HpS - Only by Guru krpa! Other wise we should have died at about 65.

I've read in your updates about your physical struggles, and since my body is also giving me trouble with ageing, i can appreciate it more. I admire your strength in maintaining your purpose. Please find below a general update.

Tom Brown - Please find attached a photo of General Ape.

We are still a family, two daughters 8 and 5, doing relatively well. Surroundings are below average, kids education and development above average. Physically going through challenges. No strength of determination to chant 16 but i do 5 or 8. Listen to classes and audio SB or CC, read with children (Hanuman / Ramayana, Krishna Book for Children, right now Dr Edith Best's Learning English books with spiritual stories, and with the eldest we always read the "Golden Book" Srimad Bhagavatam First Canto for children before sleeping.) We listen to devotional music at home, but not all the time. Plus the children are half Russian, so that also gets attention.

TB - Top half? Bottom half?

I have devotee friends with whom i meet regularly and others with whom i call. We visit home programs, and we organise kirtan events occasionally, also in connection with ISKCON Amsterdam. Occasionally a book goes out (i carry them with me on walks). So it's still going steady, but at the same time i don't meet my vows with chanting. Some days i don't have the time or the mental (+ spiritual) energy, and some days i just relax.

My favourite days are when i have insomnia and get down to chant in the middle of the night, because the rounds are usually the best, but sometimes it is too much and i just have insomnia and no strength to chant. To chant while undergoing mental or physical challenges is really next level chanting. I never quite managed to pull that off.

HpS - Just lie on your back with your eyes half open and your beads in your hand and chant: Haw!

Ray!

Krish!

Na! .... Realizing that EVERYTHING in the three worlds will the maximum benefit from yhou sacrifice.

As for internal matters, i experience progress in seeing Krishna in everything and everything in Krishna.

TB - !

That's basically my life in a nutshell. Basically i do believe that Sri Sri Radha Gopinath or Sri Sri Karuna Nitai Gaurachandra still accept me because i do feel connected, but finding myself a wayward disciple because of the above, i don't feel very much part of our monkeywarrior yatra. I seek your blessings in finding a siksa guru with whom i can physically associate.

HpS - Me too! Krsna is so, so, so, so kind, no? https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/3/2/23/

Before i forget it, you mentioned Journey to the West, and i've read Monkey (the Arthur Waley Edition), and it was such a fabulous story!! A good reason to burn incense.

ASA - And be celibate, and only drink monastic wine, and be vegetarian, and try to get an as you like it cudgel. Then you could become the Duke of Amsterdam and set things in more order.

Still with mixed feelings of dedication and fear of rejection,

Your aspiring servant,

Raghava Pandit das

HpS - Hey, could be a L O T worse. You seem to be on the right path. As you get older and your daughters marry young men just like you, you will get a lot of impetous for Sannyasa life. You wife will be pleased with that and your daughters will fight over with whom see stays.

Work on getting more energy. How to honor Prasadam better. Does your donkey need more Pasta?

Start your own business.

Don't work for others.

Hare Krishna dear Guru maharaj, Please accept my dandavat pranams, All glories to Srila Prabhupad. Thank you very much maharaj for giving me the opportunity. Here is the transcription from 10:00 to 15:00 . Thank you also to Sugopi mataji for her help in parts of transcription

you servant

NC Das

HpS - ASA/MOE = Thank you so much. As we said in the DTC today, this was such a nice team effort. We hope to have the 'Viplavah' out soon so that we can all see how nice this is.

Why don't you write? Interview people. Make comments on modern world? Krsna will give you opportunities.

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HPSwami(10:00): For participating in being book distributors, the full morning and evening program is kind of like enough? What do you do,what is your program like reading and studying that integrates with book distribution?

Vaisesika Prabhu(10:10): Well ofcourse, Prabhupad said different things at different times and there is recording for Prabhupads enthusiastically saying Read 2 or 3 hours a day. Well depends on what the morning and evening class is like also, Some classes by the time,end up, somebody finishes singing Jaya Radha madhava and reads the verse, you get like 5 minutes of discussion, personally I need a lot more than that and when I had that experience in SanFrancisco, When Prabhupad personally said you must read my books, I felt that he was so emphatic that, I took the liberty to do that, Through out my book distribution career and continue to do so. I read at least 41 pages of Bagavatham every day and because that means that I finish the whole bagavatham in 1 year and every year, following in the footsteps of His Holiness Hanumat Preshak Maharaj , who is my mentor for reading Prabhupad books and I also take a month, at least a month, 5 weeks in Govardhan every year. This is first year, I have missed in 20 years because of the pandemic, where we sit down for 5 hours a day and hear Bagavatham every single day of kartik and I try to have longer classes here in our community, because I feel that devotees need to hear Prabhupads voice and they need to be really familiar with Bagavatham in order to have lifelong commitment to devotional service. So, I personally need more, myself to engage my mind. I just impose that upon others who come around me in the community.

Hp Swami( 11:48): I remember another letter that Prabhupad wrote, he said “are all your pujaris I think he said chant your Gayatri? Do they all have 1 hour a day to read my books and Temple president or somebody said, Prabhupad they are very busy. No, An intelligent man will not be satisfied, unless he has 1 hour atleast a day to read. So, like you are saying, Different diets, Some people very Shakti oriented, they are are just happy that other people are buying, everything else. Other people they really got to have very intellectual work so that, before they can preach

HpSwami (12:27): Number 3. What are the different modes of distribution, eg., Bhaktivedanta Institute, rock concerts…

Vaisesika Prabhu (12:36): Oh, well, Rockefeller distinguished himself as an entrepreneur because he took the production of oil to a new level, to say the least. He got thousands and thousands of uses out of one substance – oil – and that is how he made his money. So, as many devotees as there are, there are techniques and avenues for book distribution. As an example, during the pandemic we are finding ways that we had never seen before, online, using the telephone to contact people and talk to them. Bhaktivedanta Institute? Absolutely. Rock concerts? Absolutely. There is… as many places as there are people, there is ways to distribute books. So, we recommend that people start book distribution in their communities for what it makes of them to engage in it. And, when devotees have an opportunity to go out and do book distribution at least once a month, on a weekend, even if it is for a short amount of time, then they get this kind of oxygen from going out into the great unknown and doing the right thing and going out of their comfort zone. So, like right now, we just discovered, there is little free libraries that people put outside of their homes. It is actually a network, there is 42,000 of them in North America, and we are now working on a network to put Prabhupada’s books in each one of the 42,000 little libraries that go outside people’s homes. We are also putting them in hospitals and hotels, we are meeting people on the streets, we are selling books online, and the list goes on and on.

HpSwami (14:43): So, on our evening walk, we go walking every evening with Nitai Gaurasundara Dasa, and our group here, and we walk right by. One of our neighbors has one of those little places there. And what I was thinking, wow, you know, it is like we need so many kinds of books. A lot of children’s books are in there. And that’s the whole thing too, like you are saying, is that I heard Prabhupada say “every salesman has his own technique.” And you can steal ideas about how to sell from other salesmen, but in the end, you have to develop your technique.

HpSwami (15:15): Okay, number 4. Are there webpages, books, others, who our readers can contact in terms of how to develop book distribution?

AGTSP

paoho

H. H. Guru-prasad Swami being enthused by H. G. Aravinda Das has sent us an e-mail asking us to enthuse our disciples to buy many books for the Krist Mas Marathon!

We are not sure what 'disciple' means in this context. It could mean the devotees who sent in their Annual Reports and were following Srila Prabhupada's standard for initiated disciples last year.

However, I guess the most practical definition would be the readers of this Blog who are not reporting their scores to another ISKCON Temple etc.

Buy a case of BBT books yourself, or write here that you will share a case with others, and how they can contact you.

Then, become a wise man from the East, giving gifts (books) all year, 2021, to the followers of Baby Jesus, wherever you go, however you meet them.

We buy cases of Light of the Bhagavata, Nectar of Instruction and Teachings of Lord Caitanya (hardbound) regularly.

On Friday, December 11, 2020, 07:09:11 AM CST, Baladeva das wrote:

Dear Hanumat Presaka swami.

Please accept my humble obeisances 

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hoping you are well and Happy

I am Baladeva das from Argentina.

With the Global Communications team we are looking for scholastics who appreciate Srila Prabhupada in order to plan conferences around the world (especially in our case in South America) to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada's appearance next year.. That is why I am in contact with you for any suggestions you have. 

It would even be important to know if there are any academic women who can give a speech about it. Sure it's better, but it's not limited to her being from South America.

Thank you very much Maharaja a joy for me, to be in contact with you.

ys bd

P.S. Did you finish writing the book on Indian architecture with that phd who met you at Radha Govinda temple in Vrindaban?

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HpS/ASA (Anjana Suta Academy)

So very nice to hear from you! We want to get your association many times, so this is very nice. We have done a lot of academic preaching is Hispanomerica. Check with Abhirama Thakura Das in Peru, Arjuna and Jagat guru Das in Santiago and Ambarissa Das and Rati-manjair Devi Das (Wife of Temple President) in BsAs.

O.K.?

We got an academic Journal: http://www.jayarama.us/archives/solaris2020.pdf

Of course, many of these scholars are just coming in contact with Srila Prabhupada so we would have to explain your goals to them gradually.

Thank you!

Tom Brown/Buck White wrote to:

https://bearnibbles.us/

Hello, Hare Krishna,

We are the 'Anjana Suta Academy' [www.JayaRama.US].

We want to buy a lot of your fruit leathers but...

. . . will they fit into envelopes for mailing ie. are they less that 1/4" thick?

How much does each flat packet weigh?  We tried 'Stretch Island Fruit Leathers'. They were pretty good, 1/2oz. but seems we might be able to work with you-all a little better. 

ASA is about 400-direct members, but the broader Hare Krsna community, ISKCON, is about 1-million.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/rkd/2/12/#bb1581004 

Thank you,

Hanumatpreska Swami 

HpS - ASA -- Hare Krsna! Gandharva Das [et al]. Our extended conversation was very nice yesterday. We suggest erasing some things and editing others. I think the letter can go to edited letter can go to Paramatma Das and Mathuresa Das as Secretary and Chairman of the LA RBGC. If you accept the changes we have made.

O.K.?

Hare Krsna dear Gurudeva

PAOHO AGTSP

I'm sending you the RGBC report. The spanish and english versions were sent to your email. I'm waiting for your comments and suggestions. Hope you're doing great and we are very happy that your health is getting better.

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Hare Kṛṣṇa dear RGBC authorities

Please accept my humble and respectful obeisances

All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda

My name is Gandharva das (HpS), in charge of the Regional Representation service on behalf of the ISKCON Ministry of Education in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. By the initiative of HH Hanumatpresaka Swami Maharaja, I am writing this letter with the intention of greeting you, humbly requesting your blessings and presenting the activities report that I have carried out during the last two years.

• I was born in Lima, Peru, in 1967 (53 years old) and studied Arts at the National School of Painting, Sculpture and Engraving of Mexico City, between 1989 and 1996. For 25 years I have been teaching and researching in different universities and colleges in my country, having taught theoretical and practical courses in faculties of Architecture (12 years), Plastic Arts (16 years), Design and Visual Communication (10 years) and Photography (13 years). I am married to Indira Sakti dd. and we both received initiation from Maharaja Hanumatpresaka Swami. Currently, we are both serving as pujaris for HH Radha Madana Vihari in the ISKCON Chosica temple in Peru.
• In March 2019 I was suggested by HH Hanumatpresaka Swami and appointed by the National Board as Regional Representative of the ISKCON Ministry of Education for Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, with the permission of HG Mathuresh prabhu (representative of the GBC Zonal Secretary for Peru and Bolivia) and Divya Priya dd. (representative of the GBC secretary for Ecuador). My position is under the authority in consultation with H. H. Hanumatpresaka Swami (member of the board Executive Committee the Ministry) and S. G. Tapana Misra prabhu (Executive Secretary).
• During the first year of service, I made the necessary contacts with authorities and educators from temples and preaching centers to find out their needs, interests and concerns regarding the educational development of their respective communities. For this, two face-to-face meetings were organized with different educators from Peru and several teleconferences with teachers from Ecuador and Bolivia. During 2019 I traveled to Bolivia, in order to establish contact with local educators. A trip to Ecuador was also planned at the beginning of this year, which was frustrated by the health situation.
• The year 2020 has been very fruitful for educational development. The confinement situation has given the opportunity to many teachers to provide their services on online platforms and thanks to this, six Bhakti Sastri courses are currently being taught since March 2020 with 170 students, approximately, in the three countries of the region. In addition a Bhakti Vaibhava course is taking place in Lima with 5 enthusiastic students.
• We are applying, Yugala Kisora dd, and myself as examiner and administrator of for the Bhakti Sastri course at with the Board of Examiners of the Ministry of Education (BoEx). The accredited temple will be ISKCON Chosica and the procedures are advancing, so we await the official appointment for during the first months of 2021.
• In order to increase the capacity skills of the teachers, the TTC2 and TTC3 courses are being taken, having achieved an alliance with Bhakti Culture School, which offers us facilities so that teachers can improve themselves at through the different courses that this platform offers online.
• We have been actively collaborating with the Executive Secretary of the Ministry in the search and recruitment of devotees who can perform a similar service of Regional Representation in different areas of Latin America: Zone 1 (Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador), Zone 2 (Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), Zone 3 (Brazil), Zone 4 (Colombia, Venezuela and Panama), Zone 5 (Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana), Zone 6 (Mexico and Guatemala) and Zone 7 (Central America and the Caribbean Islands). At the moment, the applications of Adikarta das (Colombia) and Param Padam das - Nara Narayana Rsi (Argentina), from zones 2 and 4, respectively, have been accepted by the Ministry. I have heard from H. H. Hanumatpresaka Swami that Tapan Misra Das has suggested to you that someone act as a Latin American Regional coordinator for the reporting and communicating with the Ministries Zonal Representatives in these seven areas, the Ministry and your good selves. I think I could do this service for a year while things are developing, but after that it may require more energy than I am capable of.
• Finally, we have had conversations with devotees from Arequipa (Peru), who are very interested in the development of a pedagogical program for children and pre-adolescents. At the beginning of 2021, we will put them in contact with devotees with experience in this field and we will provide them with the translated teaching material, available on the Ministry website.

I say goodbye to you,

Your servant, Gandharva das