Letters to the editor

Dear Maharaja,

pamho agtsp

Apologies for not replying earlier to your last reply. We received immediately and took note of the contents, but have been slow to reply. I declined the speaking invitation on your behalf. No issues there at all. We look forward to doing what we can to assist once your calendar is set.

HpS - Any attention from you all is wonderful.    We are waiting until 20th August for Bhag bazaar Gaudiya Matha to make any final decision on the symposium at the end of November, but really looks like it will not happen.  Then we are thinking of coming to India from 15 January to 30 March. O.K.??

We have had a challenging few weeks. My better half, Dhanesvari DD, has spent time in hospital and has been on a lot of antibiotics for a mother related health issue. Thank Krishna we have reached stability again now and her health has improved.

HpS - All this is education from Krsna. If we are 16/4 then Krsna can arrange everything!  Hope she benefited very well.

I am currently working on several essays for university. Oh, I didn’t tell you yet.  I transferred into a philosophy/theology degree. There are two main reasons for this. The first being that the amount of austerity required to complete the computer science degree I was enrolled in (too much general IT stuff) was not justifiable considering the role I have in the sankirtan movement and in career also (which to me is the same thing), the role as an educator.

ASA - That sure seems O.K. to us!

The second, and more deeply rooted reason, being somehow I have cursed myself to approach Krishna through jnana-mishra-bhakti. This is obviously a result of my impersonalism towards Krishna. Anyway, one essay I am currently working on is challenging John Paul Sartre’s 'Nothingness’ that is consciousness, which his whole materialistic existentialism is built upon and which he denies, without good argument, has any non-material foundation or any links to God. I will point out that it’s still a dualism and calling something ‘nothing’ simply shows you don’t understand it. I will present this in a concealed, detached and “academic” way of course. Another essay I am working on is an investigation into Socrates’ relationship with his daemon, his inner voice, his conscience or even possibly the paramatma, who was his guide in his decision making and without whom, according to Plato, Socrates would not have become Socrates.

ASA - Wow!

Although the aforementioned writing tasks are taking my attention, my wife and I are still enthusitaicglly working on the Sacred Art of Indigenous Australians article for Solaris and the presentation for October. We will forward the article to Sriman Abhirama Prabhu on completion. I will most certainly incorporate the Bhagavatam verse you kindly forwarded. https://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/8/5/33

Hope this meets you in good health.

We are chanting Hare Krishna and meditation on how to serve better.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Dhruvananda D

Dhanesvari DD

HpS - And the kids and mothers and fathers and....    !       We are working to assemble Solaris so an article by the end of this month for the magazine is great. Not the finished presentation. Just a presentation of your results so far and where your investigation is taking youi.

Hare Krishna, dear gurudev, Pamho, AGTSP!

The title and first paragraph were like talking to myself, trying to draw attention to an issue that I considere real. At least for the people like me, kanistha adikari. After my rounds and readings, the thought was the same, the feeling was the same. Discourage, desapointment, frustrations is an issue that is real in ISKCON andino. 

Of course, I will never leave ISKCON. I was just quoting what you said not long ago. That you were about to leave ISKCON, not Srila Prabhupada, two times. May be I miss understood. The point is that it is very difficult to do my service here. Many problems. So I stopped trying. I don't see how can It changes. 15 years experiencing the same. 

So I´m focunsing in my personal development.

I understand very clear what you said about living in ISKCON and I follow all of that. No problem in that department. No 100% percent, but a decent amount.

So, I don´t have much else to say.

Please forgive my lack of intelligence.

your usseles servant,

the LAD

(I hope I can talk to you soon. There are another details, more personal. Thank you very much)

HpS - ASA - Yes, let us talk by Skype etc some time.

We may take charge of the institution if it is too corrupted and work to reform it for the welfare of all. We felt the GBC body was too corrupted to times. Many people felt that, so we went to Srila Prabhupada directly, but in the end the institutional problems were resolved. We could and are making the same mistakes.

Good luck in serving Srila Prabhupada and his expansions. Strangely I received idential letter from Cusco the same day, and here in Houston the night before. I don't think it is necessarily an Andean problem only. It is the nature of things in the material world. Peru has its style..

Ain't that funny that www.liveuamap.com was full of traffic accidents.  You know, in new wars, attack could come from any side, terrorist (rogue) or anti-terror so called things of any nation, like Russia, #NATO#BERKUT#FAD#Maidan#euro MAIDAN akasha-plane.org #mtfs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca-C3voZwpM

HpS - ASA - UG ---   Thank you. Such nice post!   We glanced at liveu... It is interesting. What you say is so true.  Back in the 1960s we came in contact with Prof. Marshall McLuhan. He has remained one of our central intellectual pillars. He was a historian of Media etc.  Get, "The Media is the Massage" by him and Quinten Fiore. It is incredible graphic experience. It is a booKartoOn-manual.... 

He said, the third world war will be a media war and there will be no distinction between civilians and military.

Hare Krishna Gurudev,

Please accept my humble obeisances,

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada,

Here goes a few questions,

In SB 2.10.36 purport, SP says that sometimes Brahma is Visnu himself. This statement confuses me a little bit cause i thought Brahma is a demigod a jiva tattva. Can you explain please?

HpS - Srila Prabhupada, the Acharyas, make this point several places. When there is no one qualified to be Brahma, then Krsna takes the job Himself. When there is no one capable of protecting the Brahmanas, children, old men and women in Kali yuga, then Krsna does the job Himself.

Then i remember you said that there is a mistake in a book ( NOD or NOI) where it says raganuga but it should say ragatmika. Where is that mistake? Do you remember?

ASA - We just looked it up. It is Chapter 15 - NOD. It has been changed in the English but not the Spanish!

The last one is about the lectures at our chapel. We are finishing second canto, and because you always quote 2.2.12 I suggested to begin again with the first canto. I´m in charge of organizing lectures. But a senior devotee said that we should continue with the third canto because that will enthuse devotees. So shall I insist in beginning again with first canto or i continue with third canto and i study pada padma at home?

Thank you Gurudev,

At your service,

Nikunja Bihari das.

HpS - Hmmm?     I would say it is nice to go over the first two cantos regularly. For example, Saturday morning might be dedicated to Cantos and Two when the public can be invited, but other days can deal with more advanced Cantos. Many times the devotees are following principles so they can appreciate more advanced topics. If there are a few people in the audience who are not then maybe Krsna helps them not be damaged by the advance topics.

We saw that when Srila Prabhupada gave lectures on parts of the SB that were advanced in public he would not deal with the topic in his lecture but go straight to BG topics eg. Paramatma, importance of liberation etc.

Make some local decision. Seems fine to go ahead, but to even take the study in modules and discuss the study in summary.

Eg. Story of Gajendra's liberation, SB 8.2-4.

Hare Krsna Dear Gurudev,
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.

HpS - ASA -- Human Feet. AgtSP!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
All glories to Guru parampara.

Gurudev, Your all DTC and comments (on blog) contain secret spiritual messages as teachings for us. We try to understand them by
reading again and again.

Your heart sings when you chant!! when we will have that Guru Maharaj. Still need to learn lots of things,
we know Druapadi was not happy, nor Kunti maharani, nor Radharani.

You say "First priority, always love Krsna, smaranam. First daily priority, chant 16-enthusiastic rounds."
so we trying so that we can chase your test which reflect in your words.

You say "Our beads are our worshipable Deity."
You say "Bead bag and Book! Then we can preach"
You say "The only "tool" that works in Kali-yuga is the Maha-mantra. It is so merciful that it will direct us how to use our situation for
serving Krsna."
You say "We become humble as we become self realized. It does not mean to become artificially small or big.
         We have to investigate our position and then we automatically respect everyone because everyone has been
         created for a unique reason by Krsna."

You say "....Chanting 16-rounds is not a product of Karma. It is a relation with Krsna and He will personally make it hard, easy etc."
You say "...Whatever austerity you do is going to have an eternal result..."
You say "...Mangala arati is the best Deity worship..."
You say "...Sadhana bhakta means to understand what are the priorities. It is a great art."
You say "Bh. Vinode Thakura said that if you can do your service your whole life with no concern that anybody notices it, that is
pure devotional service."

There are so many....we have from you. Which make us focused on path. You each word for us will be fulfilled without failure if we
just keep following as you say Gurudev. Your words are very precious for us, your words can not fail.

Thank you so much Gurudev.

your fallen servant,
Girivaradhari-Gopal Das

HpS - ASA ---  It is long time since we hear from you!   Now we think of old Pune Temple.   Where are you?  You left your IBM job, no?   What are you doing now?   Your service?

Dear Guru Maharaja

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

I went through the files recorded in startmeeting and downloaded the NOI reading files. There were complete reading files for Preface, Text 1 through Text 5 and Text 7. Only part of Text 6 (Until "he falls from the platform of paramahaṁsa"), Text 8 (Until "regarding the cultivation of devotional service.") and Text 9 (Until "eternal loving affairs between Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī (rati-vilāsa).") were there.

I couldn't find the files for Text 10 and 11. I was also not able to find the Education Symposium files of Mother Urmila you told me about.

I also think some of the recordings with wonderful presentations like the one you gave couple of months back summarizing Srimad Bhagavatam can be uploaded in the ASA youtube channel.

Guru Maharaja, please guide me on how I should proceed further. It would be great if we can talk for a few minutes about this.

We have 431 tracks so far with a few more that will be uploaded this week. We have had 2301 plays so far and about 35 plays on an average per week. People from more that 50 countries including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have listened to the lectures.

I have also changed the soundcloud url to make it easier to remember. The link is now - https://soundcloud.com/hpswami. Can you please add this in the kapi dhvaja?

From my previous letter, you asked me about my younger brother. His name is Sriram and he is doing his Masters in Computer Engineering in Connecticut.

Your servant

Srinatha Krsna dasa

HpS - Hare Krsna...  AGTSP   paoho...   We will try to remember to post the address to the Kapi Dhvaja.  Yes, let us talk. We downloaded and transcribed the NOI files. I have about 41 files in that directory.

I just spent about 10-minutes reseaching Mother Urmilla's and Radhika etc's presentation for the first symposium in Houston. My records indicate that it was June-Aug 2014. The record of the files shows up but it says they were deleted.  I never remember doing that.   Maybe there is a time limit on how long the records are kept.

O.K. Let us talk.

Sound cloud address to KDh.   Please text us, Call us.