Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna! guru maharaja, PAMHO AGTSP!

Thank you so much for giving this to me to chew on.

One thing I appreciate so much about your association is I have felt such a healthy understanding of who Srila Prabhupada is to us, who you are to us and who the categories of other devotees are to us (obviously that clarity does grow and grow as we make some advancement, thankfully)

I feel very clear that Srila Prabhupada is our predominant Guru, we are going home because of his authority, however, I do believe that you have given me Srila Prabhupada by accepting me as a disciple and therefore without your mercy going back home isn't available for me.

HpS/ASA - Hare Krsna... One very relevant experience comes to mind: We were Treasurer etc in Berkeley and Jaya tirtha Das came to act as Temple President for some time because we had none.

We had been initiate for maybe one year.

Then he went back to L. A. and we had some other arrangement for Temple President.

Then... a letter came addressed from him from India with return address from Srila Prabhupad in India.

I called him right away and asked if I should forward it to him.

He responded [are you crazy!] open it immediately and read it to me!

I learned a lot about relations with Srila Prabhupada from his urgent emotions and response.

It was a very interesting letter but Srila Prabhupada finished it with a line that hit my heart and has remained there.

"You cannot exist without my mercy".

I reacted that it was very strong [even a little bit over bearing] but swallowed and in my own mind said, Yes, Srila Prabhupada.

Then I read the next lines and got even more floored:

"... and I cannot exist without your mercy. That mutual respect, mutual love, is Krsna Consciousness".

...and therefore without your mercy going back home isn't available for me.

I believe these both can be simultaneously true and are. With this in mind I believe I am trying to be personal and so my personal relationship with you has shown me that we promote Srila Prabhupada, I believe in this and so therefor I do, even though sometimes I am given an evil eye from others that I seem "ritviky".

To be honest guru maharaja I do sometimes wonder because I am a uncultured monkey that I don't have the respect for you that I should, and lets be honest that certainly is true because, well, I am a uncultured monkey. I would like to say my intent in this respect is that I believe you want me to behave in away that is focused on Srila Prabhupada, promoting Srila Prabhupada. Even though to some mistake on my part currently. Sometimes I am concerned about my behavior. For instance, Gaura Kishor das babaji treated Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Maharaj in so many ways but BSTM knew not to be fooled. The truth is I am just to dull to even be able to play at that level of game, to know how truly a disciple should act. In this case all I can do is tell you my honest from the heart intention and please forgive me for offenses.

So although I see others, say Guru Maharaja, I promise to address you as guru maharaja because you ask me to. I do see your intention in this differentiation and I believe I understand it. I will not offer you a dish at your Vyasa Puja that you do not want to eat.

HpS/ASA - Very interesting. .. or we could use "guru Maharaja". 😆 😆 😆

Basically I think you, me, Bhakta Tom, Bhakta Buck and even the Robot are headed for Nabadvipa with Srila Prabhupada and Nimai in our next life, what to speak of the so many wonderful devotees who participate in this Blog.

Your disciple,

Nanda-braja das

=-=-=-=

.PREVIOUS POST.

Nanda braja Das from New Kalachandji Dhama asks:

Hare Krishna! Pamho AGTSP! Guru Maharaja, I see that you are going to go for Ratha Yatra in Boise. Any updates thoughts about me joining you in Houston and traveling to Boise?

HpS/ASA - Thank you for the question.

We are old and our donkey is lame, so we only exist in practice by the impetus of others.

First, let us please comment on titles in ISKCON.

We feel that it may be impertinent for us to be addressed as "Guru Maharaja" in ISKCON. It maybe insulting to Srila Prabhupada's position, and then how to deal with this academic "Bhaktivedanta" title.

Ooof! Too much for one small monkey to handle. 🐵

First, we remember a letter from Srila Prabhupada where one disciple asked if he could address someone such as his authority Bhagavan Das or Hansadutta Das as 'Guru', and Srila Prabhupada answered, "Yes", but that we should not forget himself as his real Guru.

Hmmm. Interesting.

We feel that maybe we can be addressed as guru maharaja very much in the perspective of ISKCON Diksa guru, and sannyasi and Shiksa, Sankirtan leader, guru in the perspective that we are 🐖

🐖 🐖 pigs become people, PRABHUS [???], by the great personal sacrifice of His Divine Grace, Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder/Acharya of ISKCON and author of book KRSNA - SPOG.

Is O.K., no?

We can't even begin to to take a so called Ritvik Guru philosophy seriously because we do not find it discussed in even one Bhaktivedanta Purport, what to speak of detailed and repeated discussion in several Purports.

Wow! 🚓

O.K. Next - 💪

💪

🐵

Prabhupada directly instructed in a letter that he wanted his disciples to become ISKCON, Vedic, scholars and earn this title Bhaktivedanta as a hereditary title.

Also, Lord Caitanya says: amar anjay guru haya, on my order, you become guru.

Vaisesika Das, ISKCON Minister of Sankirtan, said we should earn these titles and use them. Show the world our quality of education.

We feel His Holiness H. P. Bhaktivedanta Swami is quite pretentious, for us. Maybe some other devotees in ISKCON merit it?

We feel like we can survive, do practical service, with H. H. Hanumat presaka Swami [Bh. Ved].

What do you think?

Hare Krishna Gurudev,

Please accept my humble obeisances,

All glories to Srila Prabhupada,

This is an answer to Namacarya prabhu's question in his letter https://monkeywarrior.com/detail/15502/ about the letter's statement about the pH requirements of starches and proteins. I am going to relate this to the Ayurvedic concepts of Rasa, Virya and Vipaka.

The key to relating these two perspectives is to understand that Ayurveda and modern biochemistry use different frames of reference to describe the same phenomenon: the difficulty the body experiences when trying to digest certain food combinations.

• The letter Framework (Biochemistry):
• The letter's statement ("starches require an alkaline environment, proteins require an acidic environment, enzymes are neutralized") describes a possible explanation of the digestive mechanism at the molecular level (enzymes and pH). It is based on the observation that certain digestive enzymes (such as amylase for starches in the mouth and small intestine, alkaline environment, and pepsin for proteins in the stomach, acidic environment) function optimally at different levels of acidity or alkalinity. The letter suggests that by combining foods that require these opposite conditions, the digestive system is challenged, leading to inefficient digestion. This is called Viruddha Ahara, incompatible combinations,in Ayurveda.

• The Ayurvedic Framework (Rasa, Virya, Vipaka, Gunas, Agni, Ama):

• Ayurveda describes digestion in terms of the strength of the Agni (digestive fire) and how qualities (gunas), the Rasa (flavor), the Virya (power) and the Vipaka (post-digestive effect) of foods interact with each other and with the Agni and the Doshas.
• Ayurveda does not talk about enzymes or pH. Instead, note that foods with Gunas opposite or very different, or with Virya or Vipaka incompatible, or that they are simply very heavy (Guru), impose an excessive burden on Agni.
• Let's consider complex starches (like grains) and proteins (like dairy or legumes). Both are often considered heavy (Guru) in Ayurveda. Combine two or more foods heavy in a single meal requires very strong Agni to process them completely. If Agni is weak, digestion will be slow and incomplete.
• Furthermore, by their Vipaka they can be different (Madhura for starches and some proteins, but Katu for legumes). Agni has to simultaneously process substances that will end up having different end in metabolic effects, which can also be a challenge for the system.

The Relationship:

The relationship is that both frameworks describe a situation that leads to suboptimal digestion when certain types of foods are combined:

• The letter (biochemical framework) says: Combining starches and proteins can be difficult because the enzymes require different pHs, which can cause "enzymatic conflict" and poor digestion.
• The Ayurveda framework ( R/V/V, Gunas, Agni) says: Combining starches and proteins (especially if they are heavy) can be difficult because their qualities (Gunas) and its transformation processes (Vipaka) are different or impose a heavy burden on the Agni, leading to incomplete digestion.

In essence, the letter's claim about enzymes and pH, offers a possible modern biochemical explanation of why the combination of starches and proteins can challenge the digestive system. Ayurveda describes this same difficulty based on the inherent qualities of food (your Rasa, Virya, Vipaka and Gunas) and their impact on the life force of digestion, the Agni, resulting in the formation of Ama (the undigested material that the letter might, from your perspective, describe as "toxins").

It is not that the Rasa, Virya and Vipaka cause directly the need for a specific pH, but these Ayurvedic properties tell us how the food will affect Agni and the body, which, from a modern perspective, involves a cascade of enzymatic reactions and pH adjustments that can be compromised by incompatible combinations.

They are two different languages ​​describing the same observable truth: the combination of certain foods, such as starches and proteins (especially if they are heavy or have very opposite qualities), can make digestion difficult and generate toxic waste (Ama).

I hope this explanation helps Namacarya prabhu see the connection point between both approaches. If you have any more questions, please let me know.

At your service,

Nikunja Bihari das.

ASA 🐵

- Nikunja Bihari Das is regular Western M. D. and Ayurvedic savant and successful practitioner for many years in Argentina. He has/had a nice dog and wife and children and rural and municipal estates.

We will send this link to Sripad Anantesvara Das who is very experienced Ayurvedic Doctor here in Nila madhava Dhama.

Hare Krishna Gurudev,

Por favor acepte mis humildes reverencias,

Todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada,

Esta es una respuesta a la pregunta de Namacarya prabhu en su carta https://monkeywarrior.com/detail/15502/ acerca de la afirmación de la carta sobre los requerimientos de pH de los almidones y las proteínas. Voy a relacionar esto con los conceptos Ayurvédicos de Rasa, Virya y Vipaka.

La clave para relacionar estas dos perspectivas está en comprender que el Ayurveda y la bioquímica moderna utilizan marcos de referencia diferentes para describir el mismo fenómeno: la dificultad que el cuerpo experimenta al intentar digerir ciertas combinaciones de alimentos.

• El Marco de la Carta (Bioquímica):
• La afirmación de la carta ("los almidones requieren un ambiente alcalino, las proteínas requieren un ambiente ácido, las enzimas se neutralizan") describe una posible explicación del mecanismo digestivo a nivel molecular (enzimas y pH). Se basa en la observación de que ciertas enzimas digestivas (como la amilasa para almidones en la boca y el intestino delgado, ambiente alcalino y la pepsina para proteínas en el estómago, ambiente ácido) funcionan óptimamente en diferentes niveles de acidez o alcalinidad. La carta sugiere que al combinar alimentos que requieren estas condiciones opuestas, el sistema digestivo se ve desafiado, lo que lleva a una digestión ineficiente. Esto se llama Viruddha Ahara, combinaciones incompatibles.
• El Marco Ayurvédico (Rasa, Virya, Vipaka, Gunas, Agni, Ama):

• El Ayurveda describe la digestión en términos de la fuerza del Agni (fuego digestivo) y cómo las cualidades (Gunas), el Rasa (sabor), el Virya (potencia) y el Vipaka (efecto post-digestivo) de los alimentos interactúan entre sí y con el Agni y los Doshas.
• Ayurveda no habla de enzimas o pH. En cambio, observa que alimentos con Gunas opuestas o muy diferentes, o con Virya o Vipaka incompatibles, o que simplemente son muy pesados (Guru), imponen una carga excesiva al Agni.
• Consideremos los almidones complejos (como cereales) y las proteínas (como lácteos o legumbres). Ambos son a menudo considerados pesados (Guru) en Ayurveda. Combinar dos o más alimentos pesados en una sola comida requiere un Agni muy fuerte para procesarlos completamente. Si el Agni es débil, la digestión será lenta e incompleta.
• Además, sus Vipaka pueden ser diferentes (Madhura para almidones y algunas proteínas, pero Katu para legumbres). El Agni tiene que procesar simultáneamente sustancias que terminarán teniendo efectos metabólicos finales distintos, lo que también puede ser un desafío para el sistema.

La Relación:

La relación es que ambos marcos describen una situación que lleva a una digestión subóptima cuando se combinan ciertos tipos de alimentos:

• La carta (marco bioquímico) dice: La combinación de almidones y proteínas puede ser difícil porque las enzimas requieren pH diferentes, lo que puede causar un "conflicto enzimático" y mala digestión.
• El marco Ayurveda ( R/V/V, Gunas, Agni) dice: La combinación de almidones y proteínas (especialmente si son pesados) puede ser difícil porque sus cualidades (Gunas) y sus procesos de transformación (Vipaka) son diferentes o imponen una carga pesada al Agni, llevando a una digestión incompleta.

En esencia, la afirmación de la carta sobre las enzimas y el pH ofrece una posible explicación bioquímica moderna de por qué la combinación de almidones y proteínas puede desafiar el sistema digestivo. El Ayurveda describe esta misma dificultad basándose en las cualidades inherentes de los alimentos (su Rasa, Virya, Vipaka y Gunas) y su impacto en la fuerza vital de la digestión, el Agni, lo que resulta en la formación de Ama (el material no digerido que la carta podría, desde su perspectiva, describir como "toxinas").

No es que el Rasa, Virya y Vipaka causen directamente la necesidad de un pH específico, sino que estas propiedades Ayurvédicas nos indican cómo el alimento afectará el Agni y el cuerpo, lo cual, desde una perspectiva moderna, involucra una cascada de reacciones enzimáticas y ajustes de pH que pueden verse comprometidos por combinaciones incompatibles.

Son dos lenguajes diferentes describiendo la misma verdad observable: la combinación de ciertos alimentos, como almidones y proteínas (especialmente si son pesados o tienen cualidades muy opuestas), puede dificultar la digestión y generar residuos tóxicos (Ama).

Espero que esta explicación ayude a Namacarya prabhu ver el punto de conexión entre ambos enfoques. Si tienen más preguntas, por favor, háganmelo saber.

A su servicio,

Nikunja Bihari das.

Dear Guru Maharaja, 

please accept my humble obeisances on your lotus feet.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to write to you on the auspicious day of your appearance.

first of all you entered my life and heart. 

In your enlightening association is hope for everyone and with all your travelling you bestow the ultimate benefit upon people in general.

Thank you for your austere and sacrificial life,

Thank you for your dedication to follow your spiritual masters footsteps

we need you now more than ever

in this confusing times

your servant

Murari Dasa

HpS//ASA - Wonderful! We, agtSP, are so fortunate that we have no attraction for material life.

So much distress. Then we can see that spiritual life is transcendental.

A life boat may not be very big or even comfortable, but it is enough.

Hare Krsna Gurudeva, pamho agtSP.

As, there are tricks to play Mrdnga.

What are the tricks to play Brhad Mrdnga?

HpS/ASA - Prabhupada calls them spiritual though material tricks.

For example, if you ask a question in such a way that the answer is naturally yes, eg. "you like to eat grass, right", then keep your mouth shut and smile and nod your head up and down, there is tremendous pressure for the other person to answer yes.

Of course you ask, "So you'd like to take a book, right".

Then if it takes one, two minutes, you don't say anything. You just keep the "iron smile" on your face and keep nodding your head up and down encouragingly.

There are others.

They are just regular stuff that salesmen use.

Devotees can learn some. They become habit, but the real book distribution potency is purity of purpose eg. compassion, realization by intelligent deliberation and personal austerity that these books will benefit the person!!

Thank you.

Hope you become a Sankirtan man on the level of Narada Muni.

"Every salesman develops his own technique", SP.

Hare krishna Querido Gurudeva, Todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada !

Este año para mí no ha sido tan fácil en términos de salud, eso me ha traído como consecuencia que mis servicios en el templo de Santiago han sido intermitentes, pero he intentado mantenerme activa dentro de mis posibilidades. He leído, cantar mis rondas, mejorar en el kirtan, aun no logro cantar, sin embargo estoy tocando algunos instrumentos, además junto a mi asociado estamos en la distribución de libros hacia la región de Antofagasta que se encuentra hacia el norte de Chile. Otro nuevo servicio que he podido explorar es hacer ropa para deidades, es algo que me hace sentir muy feliz, de niña hacia ropa para mis muñecas y ahora hacerlo para el señor es algo increíble. Espero siempre poder ir mejorando para lograr en algún momento ser una buena discípula, sé que estoy recién comenzando, pero siempre oro para que mi bhakti siga incrementando aunque existan dificultades. Estoy consciente que debo mejorar muchas cosas y por sobre todo mis rondas, espero algún día poder decir que canto 16 buenas rondas. Muchas gracias Gurudeva siempre por todo su apoyo y paciencia.

Havihsara Devi Dasi. 🌺

🐒

-0-0-0-

Hare Krishna, Dear Gurudeva, All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

This year hasn't been so easy for me in terms of health. This has meant that my services at the Santiago temple have been intermittent, but I've tried to stay active as much as possible. I've read, chanted my rounds, and improved my kirtan. I still can't sing, but I'm playing some instruments. My associate and I are also distributing books to the Antofagasta region, located in northern Chile. Another new service I've been able to explore is making clothing for deities. It's something that makes me feel very happy. As a child, I made clothes for my dolls, and now doing it for the Lord is incredible. I always hope to keep improving so that at some point I can become a good disciple. I know I'm just starting, but I always pray that my bhakti continues to increase even if there are difficulties. I'm aware that I need to improve many things, especially my rounds. I hope one day to be able to say that I've chanted 16 good rounds. Thank you so much, Gurudeva, for all your support and patience.

Havihsara Devi Dasi. 🌺

🐒

HpS/ASA - Thank you, agtSP, for this precise, concise, report, news.

What is the name of our personal associate?

Hope to see some pictures of the deity dresses.

Also of your home altar!

Does your Associate do wood working?

We apologize to you and everyone that we have been slow in reading the Annual Reports and Vyasapuja Offerings.

Our hearing is at least 70% gone and the same for our eyes, balance, stamina, mental function.

😆

Yet, our intellect and spiritual alertness is increasing at an excellent pace!!

This Yoga works.!

We thank you for your quick note to our WhatsApp address alerting us to the Blog post.

Part of the delay was that I did not recognize your secular name, Stephanie! Maybe start a new account here with your ecclesiastic name!!!!

Havi (Ghee) Sara (Essence) Devi Dasi.

Hope your book distribution develops into making book distributors and if Krsna desires He will do the magic!!

Sankirtan!

Gauranga!

O.K. to your next letter!

ASA - Submitted several weeks, months, ago!! Hare Krsna.

Hare Krsna, Guru Maharaj,

Please accept our most humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

We are very excited to have your darshan at the morning program in Houston on your Vyasapuja. It is so nice to chant with you Guru Maharaj. You have and continue to be our reason to be inspired in Krsna Consciousness. Currently we are watching the Vyasa Puja on YouTube.

We wanted to present a small offering. It is a compilation of your poetry and illustrated manuscripts. There are 30 posts from the last four months on the blog: https://poetry-anthology-by-hp-swami.tumblr.com/ . If we have your blessings, we hope to keep looking through twitter and the blog from the last ten years to create an anthology of your poetry.

HpS/ASA - Amazing! ! ! AgtSP!!!!!! . . . . We looked at the first one third. It seems to be like Moon Beams from a Larger Madness.

Little birds and bees that ornament the forest trees of Srila Prabhupada's cogent symphony.

Read a few a day:\?

We asked Srinath prabhu a few months ago if it was possible to print an anthology that could be up to 300 to 400 pages. We are thinking that it may be that long Gurudev because of how prolific your writing has been through the years and how important it is to preserve your writing that means so much to your disciples and everyone in the Vaishnava community who appreciate your art. Srinath said it is possible to publish this many pages and is happy to help with the process. It would be an irreplaceable gift to the devotees and disciples, as well as every human and of course non-human that could hear near and far.

ASA - Kindle? Printable format like Word and PDF that people can publish as they like.

We have a lot of questions about how you would like to organize it Gurudev. We would also like to find other Vaishnava poets in the ISKCON movement or beyond to help with a preface.

We can ask Radhika Raman Prabhu and others about possibilities. Also in blog form we could make changes and edits and can send the login info to you also to make edits. We can send this in a separate message.

ASA - You can see that even though we wanted very, very much to answer your post, looking at it and others often, we just do not have the strength.

After months in Houston we are getting some kind of working schedule.

Not planning on changing our Camp site before August 15th, Janmastami.

How is the Army!

Spaniards, Cowboy American Kids, Missy's, Potato People?

We also have questions for publicizing such as: Should we have just one poem per page or is two ok if it is under 8 lines? What kind of Titles for each poem would you like? For now we put Date above the poems and if there were more than one publication the time was also included.

We also noticed how special the picture icons are with the accompanying poems. When we transferred from twitter on the computer to word the pictures became very big. If we copied from the phone though they stayed the same. Would you like the pictures with the poems Gurudev? We included some with and some without. We are curious if emojis could be published.

On another note, we felt like Idaho city home got transformed being able to honor you Gurudev for Vyasapuja. We made a veggie pot pie dish and made holiday cookies. Also you requested from my husband pictures. Jahnavi wanted to draw the Syamataka Jewel and was very happy to hear that it was a pastime you are also fond of. Sita wanted to draw Radha Krsna "getting married" and said she really wanted to see them get married. She said it was not in the Krsna book but said it did happen in the forest and wanted to share it with you.

Here is a poem:

Dear Guru Maharaj

The snow falls

The suffering

the hurt continues

like a Robert Frost poem

people are getting lost in thinking...

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,  

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

We know another road less taken

Where Krsna plays

Gets lost in the woods

with his best friend

holding each other through the storm

and frolicking thereafter

All of the devotees wanted to believe Krsna is theirs only

And when the trees fell down and demigods came up

the rumors spread

Krsna is extra Ordinarily special

Still

they couldn't stop believing that Krsna is our family member, best well wisher

Our life force now and forever

Guru Maharaj we want the same

You gave us a glimpse of

Being our utmost friend, well wisher

We sometimes forget like Krsna's friends and family

Your position

Because we are so happy to be with you

And get this attention we never feel worthy of

From Krsna's special friend

Its other worldly

and we never want it to end

Missing your association means we miss

going to the watery source

We want to draw/leap/forget what is painful with you

and just serve

You gave us a family

Your oasis source of Srila Prabhupada

The spiritual world that's opened up to us like a tent in the middle of Kansas

escorted us to join the circus of our childhood dreams

Thankyou 🙏

You said a few years ago

With a jovial laugh

"Your old enough now to be a grandma"

We are sad to see jealousy, remorse, sadness, lamentation

Not leave us even with the gravity of age

What an exhausted sigh and opening monkey warrior

we get steadfastness to Srila Prabhupada's process

every prose or excerpt is a passage

on how to step into the spiritual world

where every step is a dance

seamless, easy, simple and natural

to just slow...... down

with japa; studying service and gandarva prance

Make it our main skip line and Dandavats

At your and Srila Prabupada's lotus feet

Every waking and evening prayer

We beg to transform dry limerence and notoriety

into being a servant of the ants in the temple or the worm tiller of the rosemary outside

who serves the herbs that find its way to Krsna's plate

In the woods we wait 🙏

We miss you Gurudev. Please let us know when we can see you again. We could take turns going to Houston. Happy Vyasa Puja!

Your servant,

Kamagayatri dd, Murari, Aja, Jahnavi, Sita and Arjun

HpS - Wow! As soon as we ask a question you answer it.

I hope our Blog Posts, Twittttttter and no anveSaka have been able to keep you informed about us.

Poetry is great.

You are putting something very, very substantial on the plate!!!

Don't wait.

Don't hesitate.

Distribute in bite size pieces wherever you go, whomever you meet.

Those who will take to distribute also, to whomever they meet, dump a bagful at there feet.