Letters to the editor

Hare Krsna dear Gurumaharaja

Please accept my humble obeisances

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

I hope you're doing fine. I have some ideas for the LA meeting, not necessarily in order:

1. I am working with Baladeva, LAD and the great support of Indira Sakti dd (nice, kind guys)
2. Sunday 4 to 6 pm CST
3. Does it seem right to call it Latin American educators meeting?
4. Summary of the North American Symposium of Sastric education (some of us will be there, the most not, because of the language barrier).
5. A few words from you, Atul Krsna prabhu, Balimardana prabhu, Baladeva prabhu.
6. Human resources and data interchange:

• Proposal for a census of educators at the regional level (create a file that record basic data and teaching skills, with a brief personal history)
• Proposal for the creation of a space in the cloud to upload educational material of unrestricted use (clases, articles, books, ppt shows, videos)

How about an online Latin American symposium for August or September with greater coverage and call? (can have the cooperation of the mentioned above, Isvari dd, Jagad Guru and others)

Waiting eagerly for your kind answer

Your servant Gandharva das

HpS - AGTSP.... Paoho... Sorry that it took so long to answer. We are struggling to survive with the work we have. Maybe you saw what a load the Houston Symposium. We just finished it this morning.

I think that your plans seem O.K. Again, it depends on the determination of the people involved. At 4.30PM we shall meet! Thank you!

"Tato jayam uddhirayet!"

Todas las Glorias a Srila Prabhupada!!!

Hare Krsna Guru Maharaja, reciba mis respetuosas reverencias, seguimos en cuarentena acá en Huancayo, a diferencia de Lima, acá la cuarentena es muy estricta, no hay movilidad para ningún lado y muchos policías.

Por otro lado acá ya comenzó el invierno y estamos teniendo temperaturas muy bajas, en las madrugadas de 4 a 8 grados bajo cero.

Por otro lado el sadhana, las 16 rondas, los 4 principios, atención a las Deidades y Salagrama Silas marcha muy bien, lectura del Nityananda Caritamrta. Estamos retomando la lectura del Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya lila, primera parte, Cap6 "La liberación de Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya", texto 26. Hace más de un mes nos conectamos al programa de Mangal artik con usted y los devotos.

Una pregunta Guru Maharaja:

¿es necesario consultar con usted para tener un Siksa Guru?

Por otro lado estoy estudiando dibujo y pintura por Internet . También con mi esposa estamos estudiando algo de astrología védica (Jyotish), nos esta enseñando un devoto por Internet. Quizá pueda servir para el sankirtan.

Bueno Guru Maharaja me despido, que Nrsimha lo proteja siempre.

Hare Krsna.

Gadai Gauranga Dasa

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Hare Krishna Gurudeva !!!

Please accept my obeisances 🙏.

We continue to resist this pandemic, 16r and 4p, in our personal situation my husband was out of a job for a while and it was somewhat difficult to overcome, but thanks to the mercy of Krishna and the Devotees we are now much better.

The children are very well because all our attention and dedication are for them and taking advantage of the stay at home we dedicate ourselves to worship the Deities completely and study the Krishna Book in a proper way.

A study initiative for children is also being given by Gopi Radha and a couple of other devotees and that works to keep them enthusiastic and eager to learn ... We have benefited a lot from having many online classes from different exponents I think this works much better than it normally did.

This pandemic has also given us a lot to think about as to what happens in our Yatra, there have been cases of abuse and now there are groups focused on exposing and pointing to the opposite sex and I am concerned that my children grow up surrounded by all this. , much violence within the society of devotees of both men and women, where is the protection and true education ?.

On the other hand we are waiting for more union between married and with child devotees to be able to do something for the future of our children within Krishna consciousness.

Sorry for my long letter but as always it takes me a while to write because I don't do much just take care of my house and my children and try to follow their programs.

Your silly maid:

Saranagati Dd

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All Glory to Srila Prabhupada !!!

Hare Krsna Guru Maharaja, receive my respectful obeisances, we are still in quarantine here in Huancayo, unlike Lima, here the quarantine is very strict, there is no mobility anywhere and many police officers.

ASA !!!

On the other hand, winter has started here and we are having very low temperatures, at dawn of 4 to 8 degrees below zero.

On the other hand, sadhana, the 16 rounds, the 4 principles, attention to the Deities and Salagram Silas are going very well, reading of the Nityananda Caritamrta. We are resuming the reading of the Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya lila, first part, Cap6 "The liberation of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya", text 26. More than a month ago we connected to the Mangal artik program with you and the devotees.

ASA - !!!!!

A question for Guru Maharaja:

Is it necessary to consult with you to have a Siksa Guru?

HpS - ??? No, yes, sometimes. If we are acting as Diksa guru, then you have to consult with us or just our instructions (Param-para) to be sure that the Siksa guru is properly aligned with the Diksa instructions. If Siksa guru says that you should follow Ramanuja achary and not Lord Caitanya and chant another mantra, then you have to reject him. In general our instruction, Srila P'pada, L. Caityan is 'trnad api..' get as many Siksa gurus as you can at every moment.

On the other hand I am studying drawing and painting on the Internet. Also with my wife we ​​are studying some Vedic astrology (Jyotish), a devotee is teaching us online. Maybe it can be used for sankirtan.

HpS - Vedic palm reading is very useful.

Well Guru Maharaja I say goodbye, may Nrsimha protect him always.

Hare Krsna.

Gadai Gauranga Dasa

HpS - Are you growing your garden? Cannot visit neighboring farmers?

Hare Krsna dear Gurudeva

Please accept our humble obeisances

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!!!

I hope you feel much better about the seasonal allergies that have been bothering you. I wrote you an email asking you a question. At the moment, we have 7 Bhakti Sastri groups fully operational (4 in Peru, 2 in Ecuador and 1 in Bolivia), all of them aligned to BoEx requirements. Our previous Examiner applicant (CMDD) has had to withdraw due to the workload.

We have 2 alternative possibilities, we just wait for your approval. In particular, I consider that it would be very opportune to appoint examiners from Bolivia or Ecuador, since the administrator and the authorized center are from Peru (me and ISKCON Chosica). In that case, conversing with different devotees, I propose Karunya Nitay from Guayaquil (a devotee for many years and a high-quality educator, possibly you know him) and the other alternative is Nayana Manjari dd from Bolivia (I spoke with parabhu Mathuresh about it and she's able and fully qualified), who can be supported by Yugala Kisora ​​dd.

HpS - That sounds great. I know K. Nitai!!! Super-dude!!

Please consider one possibility or perhaps another that you propose in order to find a solution.

HpS - No, this is fine!

I am looking forward to your response.

Your servant / Gandharva das

HpS - If there are problems or delays we can always give our local diplomas eg. ASA Golden Banana of the Sasrtic Mind.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

My obeisances dear Gurudeva

I tell you about Srimad Bhagavatam classes for children. First, I was invited to participate with some online classes on the ISKCON Mexico facebook page. It was a very fun experience and it helped me a lot to have practice in the interaction with the virtual audience. The class format was simple, just selected some stories from the Bhagavatam, like Matsya Avatara, The Butter Thief… I complement the class with power point presentations with illustrations and photos alluding to the story. During the story I ask questions and the children, with the help of their parents, answer through chat.

HpS - SUper!

During the pedagogy career I learned to organize classes, face-to-face and online. I have a certain inclination for face-to-face classes, but now I realize that there are so many possibilities in virtual teaching and learning environments. All study modalities have advantages and disadvantages and today teachers have to adapt to the needs of students and present knowledge in an attractive way.

HpS - When preaching to dogs one must include a lot of dancing.

Some devotees and people who had seen the recorded classes on the ISKCON Mexico page asked if we could continue with more classes; so, I decided to join with more devotees Priya Sakhi from Chile, Dayalini Sita from Cuerámaro and Nikunja Nivasini who currently lives in Mayapur and is a teacher at the Mayapur SMIS International School. For now we start with a one-month program of Srimad Bhagavatam classes on Sunday mornings, supported by Mother Aruddha's book. The transmissions are made through the zoom platform and we have a WhatsApp group, we are already more than 35 families. We also activated the Anjana Suta Academy Kids Facebook page and from there we publish the classes and share educational content.

My idea is that more devotees know Mother Aruddha's books and can buy them, although, in Mexico it is somewhat difficult due to the change of currency from Mexican pesos to dollars. In reality, the Mexican peso is not worth much compared to the dollar and that makes it much more expensive for us to buy Mother Aruddha's books. Govinda Pramodini from Monterrey is working on the Spanish translation of the first book, but it still takes some time to get it printed.

HpS - Yes, and she will certainly give permission to print cheaper copies for Mexico.

My medium-term project is to do a distance school. It seems difficult, but it really is not. My children study at home and are enrolled in a Catholic school at a distance, have more than 500 students enrolled and only offer basic education curriculum to be implemented by each family at home. So, I am researching and studying various options, talking to interested devotees and analyzing what would be the best way for us.

Gurudeva, about the Sastrica Education Symposium in Houston. How could Mexico participate in these events?

HpS - Tomorrow night we can talk about this!

In June or July we will move to Tepoztlán, a very beautiful and warm place; so, I hope that soon we can offer you a space so that you can visit us in the middle of mountains, many trees and flowers, maybe, a beautiful cow.

Sorry for this long letter. I hope you are fine. Thank you very much for your time, dear Gurudeva.

Your servant Gopi Radha DD

HpS - Very excelellent news!!!!! FOr the White Witch... not for the BLack Witch. See you tomorrow night!

Hare Krsna dear Gurumaharaja

Please accept my humble obeisances

All glories to Srila Prabhupada !

I apologize in advance, because this message will not be short. I have already sent my proposal for the BhVai questionnaire in Chapter 3 of the 2nd Canto to your e-mail. I hope it agree with what you have in mind. Please allow me to make the necessary corrections otherwise.

HpS - We hope that MOnkey and Piggy get to it and we can help! You class was wonderful. We sent the link to Atul, Yadu Swam et al. SO was Isvari's. We can help with ed. dev. in ISKCON at the highest of its levels.

If you are satisfied with the questions, I would ask you to allow me to continue with another chapter. Honestly I have learned many things from this experience and I have had a good time doing something that I really like which is research.

*************** 

On the other hand, and with regard to the education landscape in Peru and the region, I would like to share some ideas with you, as well as some doubts with the purpose of knowing your point of view.

Bhakti sastri :

• At the moment things are moving to the rhythm of their possibilities. Only a few online programs maintain their activities. I just had a conversation with Deva Deva Vyasa prabhu who starts a Bhakti Sastri course this weekend with 71 enrolled! ( wow ! if most of them finish the course, they will generate irreparable brain damage to our examiner!) The good thing about all this is that the devotee is willing to collaborate with the MOE and we periodically have conversations on Skype to clarify the doubts he may have. Their intentions are to continue with institutional policies and offer an official course. LAD and I continue with our program separately and everything is presented without further inconvenients. Both courses will be ending before the middle of next year.
• CMDD BS examiner record was rejected as she lacks training in Teacher Training Education courses 1, 2 and 3. Bhaktarupa prabhu asked me to at least she must take the TTC3 course. Her extensive teaching career is recognized, but BoEx devotees have raised the bar , with which I fully agree. Param Padam prabhu offers teachers recommended by the MOE 50% discount on any of their courses, so in the coming weeks LAD, CMDD, me, Rupa Gosai and Deva Deva from Bolivia will acquire this training. After obtaining the certificate, I will resubmit the file of our future examiner.
• Last minute news! Guayaquil is starting two BS courses next week (one line / classroom) with Rupa Gosai prabhu, I have just had a kind conversation with Guru Mangala prabhu who has shared with us their needs , expectations and concerns on education. He sends you greetings and his best wishes for your sankirtan program.
• The educational tide is pervading and nurturing each corner of this land of God, by the grace of Sri Sri Radha Madana Vihari. All glories to his Lordships! I'm so, so, so happy.

Pada Padma ( BhVai )

• LAD has formed a small but enthusiastic group of students that I am pleased to be part of. We started as a larger group but little by little we were reducing. The level of discussion is interesting and the commitment of the participants is serious. It may be necessary to work on the study material which seems to me, it does not have the level of the material developed for BS yet, but the effort is being made. This first official experience is meeting the expectations of the temple and the students.

Introduction to Bhakti- yoga

• Isvari Radha devi dasi is finishing the annual course with a small but highly motivated group with a strong inquisitive profile. Hopefully by the second half of this year we can start another group online. Very comprehensive study guides have been developed. The first five topics of the course were developed by me and the second five, by madre Isvari . The material is organized in the form of synoptic charts and diagrams and is serving as a model for the study guides I am developing for my Bhakti Sastri course . Later, we can put it all together in a database. The important thing is that this material is in Spanish entirely. My intention is to make it interactive and include hyperlinks that allow less linear and more dimensional access. Little by little I am working on this idea.

Strategies:

• I suggest to change certain paradigms regarding educational administration. The ISKCON Chosica temple can be the point of origin for these transformations that can then be replicated (as necessary) in the rest of the region. The administrators of some centers have a somewhat rural idea of ​​what ISKCON development can represent, locally and globally. For decades, educational services have facilitated administrative issues, such as initiations, which generate labor for the practical services of the temple, which is what matters most to these sectors. The education of two or three devotees (no more) to teach the weekend classes is also part of their interests but without the intention of facilitating a platform for collective and personal growth for the majority of the members, according to their service. and position in the VAD. Therefore, since education becomes an instrument of political exploitation, they have no greater interest in understanding the possibilities of sustained growth for their communities.
• The old culture of the temple education officer appointed by the authorities is still very much in force. The temples have remained isolated from each other and the temple educator ran the universe for his congregation , and (literally) was unaware of what was going on in other spaces . There are devotees who have a hard time coordinating, I think it is important to meet to find ways to understand the purposes of the MOE. Only in this way, education in Peru and the region can be articulated with the ISKCON pedagogical current worldwide trend.
• The administration of the sastric courses (BS, Pada Padma - BhVai , Introduction to Bhakti Yoga (IBY) and Disciples Course) should be more orderly, locally speaking. BS has two teachers, an administrator and an examiner, I propose to replicate the model in the others. IBY also: administrator, examiner and one or two teachers, depending on demand. Pada Padma will conform to a similar scheme when we can access BhVai accreditation and the Disciples Course is examined by the same teachers but I also propose an administrator. The administrator should be responsible for overseeing compliance with course standards, providing content, and serving as a link between examiners and teachers. 
• In this way, I strongly beleive a specialization should be developed in each course. Teachers must specialize in one course (or two at most, as it is done in the universities). Multi task teacher who gives 3 or 4 courses corresponds to an educational system of a smaller scale and of little scope. It seems to me that we must turn each course into a program, supervised by the MOE and the national education officer. This is what is being done globally.
• It may be necessary to give teachers more tools, although the TTC courses are not a panacea, they serve to organize a language and didactic and pedagogical standard. Param Padam prabhu wants to collaborate with the MOE, I will take him at his word.
• I do not know if it is possible to develop an online seminar program with MOE's accreditation, something like diplomas on various topics, given by devotees in two, three or four 2-hour sessions. These certificates can allow devotees to access specialized services in temples or abroad. I haven't fully developed the idea but I think it can be interesting. Would a MOE-certified program be possible? I'm presenting in short a project to you an TMd for its discussion, if you allow me, Gurudeva.
• It is necessary for devotees interested in children's education to hone their skills. For this I think that a network of early childhood education training can be developed that formally links educators in the region with educators in Dallas or Houston (or elsewhere) , that way they get enthused and can apply that knowledge in their own jobs (many of them work as teachers or education assistants in schools).
• What about the Sastra Mela in june? Which are the details or where can I look at them? It's an open invitation for all the regional teachers?

I regret the length of this message. I am looking forward to your opinions and recommendations, Gurumaharaja . May Lord Nrsimhadeva take care of your sankirtan .

Your servant

Gandharva das

OOOh!! Sri Sri Gaura Nityananda have given us their infinite mercy by allowing us to worship them at home, these two beautiful deities have come to light up our lives due to the generous heart of our beloved sister Nitya Kisori devi dasi, the Lord bless her always!!. Nitai Gaura Haribol !!!!

 HpS - Gaura nitai Ki Jai!! We had to start scanning the letter and could not read everything. It is far to technically advanced for us. I don't see the institution being able to handle such a complicated system. Hmmm! It depends on how you can develop relations. I have a nice but simple relation with the BOEX now. I don't know how it will develop or disappear. Our ideas may be lost. ISKCON may fade away after 100-years and Krsna come again and start another. He will never give up.

1. Who am I? Two Mantras are enough, first. Then on that BASIS how do other books fit in.
2. SB class on some day. NOI evening on the other days. Is working well.
3. Bonk.. We ge tired... Hare Krsna Hare Krsna!! Priorities. Personal relations then building systems that people THOSE people will maintain. Moltke, "No plan of battle survives after the first thirty minutes of serious contact with the enemy".

Thank you for this letter!!! Any close friends in these projects?

Hare Krishna Gurudev,

Please accept my humble obeisances,

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada,

Can you please provide an email address where I can send you the Gurukula file?

Thank you,

At your service,

Nikunja Bihari das.

ASA [email protected]. Confirm that we get it, please.