Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna, Siksha Guru Maharaja, dandavats; glories to Prabhupada; glories to you for your own exemplary devotional service; glories to all the devotees of Lord Chaitanya.

HpS/ASA - AgtSP! Still alive! 🐶 😺 🐦 🐺 🌴 🐖 🐖

🐒 🐒🐒 🐄...



So then, a lively conversation for Buddhists literally means talking about dharma as enunciated by the teachings of Lord Buddha. It sounds like sravanam kirtanam, or Krishna Katha as practiced by Vaishnavas.

Yls, Bbd 🙏

HpS/ASA - Real Buddhist is number one prime candidate for KC, no?! Follows four princely pals NO:> 🍺 🎲 💃 🍔

Chants on Beads.

Knows about Sukavati, Amitaba Buddha.

Loves to hear you read the Krsna book to him!

Hare Krishna, Siksha Guru Maharaja,

please kindly accept my most humble obeisances;

all glories to Srila Prabhupada;

all glories to your good self, for your many years of devotional service to Srila Prabhupada;

all glories to all the devotees of Lord Chaitanya.

I just wanted to share a question about a statement that you made in a recent Bhagavatam class : "Buddhists really like a lively conversation." I have always thought that real followers of Buddhism are keen to practicing "maunam:" silence.

I can understand that many people today who are interested in Buddhist meditation may have an appeal for lively conversation because they are out of touch with the real austerities traditionally observed in Buddhism.

Traditional Buddhism is not at all involved in worldly social interaction.

And from my own personal experience, when I drive for Uber, a passenger will notice the books on display, and the most common question that comes up is "Is this some sort of Buddhism? Is this anything to do with Buddhism?"

I guess it's more of a rhetorical question, but since you made it I felt compelled to ask it.

Yls, Bbd 🙏

ASA 🐵 🔬

"From a largely English-language standpoint, and to some extent in most of Western academia, Buddhism is separated into two groups: Theravāda (lit. 'the Teaching of the Elders' or 'the Ancient Teaching'), and Mahāyāna (lit. 'the Great Vehicle'). The most common classification among scholars is threefold: Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna.", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schools_of_Buddhism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQHNYR8xj5s

Theravadan would be solitary silence, no? Yet, Mahayana would be social concern.

Somewhere in this movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulDzLjz0wdw I also saw them illustrating this principle.

Then, Tulasi carana sevita Das, our disciple from San Jose, stayed in Thailand several times, and married a girl from there and made the same comment that the monks would wonder, accept alms, and lye under a tree in a market place and just discuss The Dharma with others.

🙂

asa[e] guru tattva; pranama mantras

Hare Krishna, Gurudev. Dandavat pranam unto your lotus feet.

AGTSP.

We almost, all your disciples belonging to Silchar and Imphal, have agreed this Gurudev pranam mantra.

So praying to our H. H. Guru Maharaj to kindly accept this Mantra so that all your disciples of this planet can use this same mantra to pray unto your lotus feet. Hope that by the grace of lord Radha Shyamasundar gurudev you are quite fit in all respect. Dandavat pranam gurudev. Your fallen servant. Krishna Swarup Das.

Srimad Hanumat Presaka Swami Pranam Mantra

nama oṁ viṣṇu pādāya

kṛṣṇa preṣṭhāya bhūtale

srimate Hanumat Preṣaka

svāmin iti nāmine

namah—obeisances; om—address; viṣṇu-pādāya—unto him who is at the feet of Viṣṇu; kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya—unto him who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa; bhūtale—on the earth; srīmate—all beautiful; hanumat-preṣaka svāmin—Hanumat Preṣaka Swami; iti—thus; nāmine—who is named.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Holiness Hanumat Presaka Swami, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.

namaḥ akiñcana mūrtaye

bālaka­neva sarala

mita bhuk vādy­a suśīlam

samāna bhāva bhāvine

namah—obeisances; akiñcana-mūrtaye—personification of material detachment; bālaka-neva—like a child; sarala—simplicity; mita bhuk—eat very less; vādy­a—musical instruments; suśīlam—expert in playing; samāna bhāva—treated equally; bhāvine—accepted.

Our obeisances are unto you, O personification of material detachment and childlike simplicity. You eat very less just to survive and expert in playing musical instruments and treated everyone equally.

Prabhupādasyā­nucara

rūpavāni prachāriṇe

sarvato gatvā tene ca

atma jñāna prakāśine

Prabhupādasyā—of Srila Prabhupada; anucara—follower; rūpa—Srila Rupa Goswami; vāni—instructions; prachāriṇe—preaching; sarvato—everywhere; gatvā—traveling; tene—imparted; ca—also; ātmajñāna—knowledge of the self; prakāśine—enlightened.

You are the servant of Srila Prabhupada engaged in preaching the teachings of Srila Rupa Gosvami. You traveled everywhere imparting the knowledge of the self to everyone.

HpS - ASA --- AgtSP!!! Paoho. We always want more and more of your association and the wonderful Silchar, Manipura et al devotees. Just thinking about those places and the Sankirtan we are in ecstacy.

Now we are in ISKCON Houston, Texas, southern part of USA.

Is little warm here but so far is fine.

Krsna personally guarantees this place will not be perfect.

This topic of Guru-puja is very nice, no?

One of the Pancha-tattva.

"In this verse [Nectar of Instruction 5] Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī advises the devotee to be intelligent enough to distinguish between the kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, madhyama-adhikārī and uttama-adhikārī. The devotee should also know his own position and should not try to imitate a devotee situated on a higher platform.", https://vedabase.io/en/library/noi/5/#bb5954

Honestly looking at our level of renunciation and determination we can see that maybe we qualify as Sannyasi, Goswami, uttama-adhikkari, in some perspectives, by His Divine Grace, help of everyone, but we do not see our selves as perfectly, strongly on the platform of Bhava.

Developing.

We must all have lotus feet in our Siddha Svarupa but now we don't feel that we have them.

Devotees offering different Sanskrit verses to glorify us for events like Vyasa-puja or other informal moments seems fine. Then we can directly comment on each one.

The first Mantra seems fine.

The second seems to be beyond our range in some ways.

We do not feel that we are the form of renunciation.

. . . Real renunciation of going out door to door each day. 🙂

Many devotees like myself are struggling to not eat too much. Some success. Some failure. No meat fish or eggs. No grains cooked by Karmis!

Third Mantra seems too general. It is pretty much included in the first and general description of any Goswami, American Goswami, member of ISKCON, no?

So, first Mantra, especially as appreciation of what Srila Prabhupada is making us, seems enough, no?

We are like you.

We like to be "glorified" if it is glorification of Krsna and Guru!!

How is the Sankirtan in Silchar?

Your Ashrama, Family?

asa[e] Bhaktivedanta Library; M'bharata & R'mayan

https://vyas-mahabharat.com/

https://www.valmikiramayan.net/

[5/28/2025 9:33 AM] Srinivasa Das:

Hare Krishna Maharaja

PAMHO AGTSP

I need to know how I can control my sexual drive so that I can remain in my vow of celibacy.

Thank you.

Ramai pandit Das

HpS//ASA - AgtSP. paoho. All of these questions are very individual, no? That is the special thing about this movement. We simultaneously are complete dependent upon our community and Krsna, but inconcievably fully independent.

Of course, this is very practical. Unless we give our full effort to developing our own character and transcendental skills, then we have nothing to contribute to the community.

Yet, we see that it is with our relationship with KRSNA and Vaisnava that we can develop these.

So, a broad answer is that one very important thing is to go on reading all of the Bhaktivedanta Library. The Srimad Bhagavatam and it's natural commentary, Caitanya Caritamrta, is full, FULL, F U L L, of stories and lessons of success, failures, recoveries with, in, from, sexual abstinence.

Of course, reality is that sex desire is Adi-rasa. The essence of all other Rasas, so we have no desire to refrain from it. We want to cultivate it.

We want to learn to assist, Radha, Krsna, Gopis, Laksmis, in Their every expanding delightful, shy, modest, intense conjugal relationships.

As we experience that higher taste, then attraction for the perverted taste in the material perspective will become insignificant, in proper proportion and a very funny, funny, binding force for the recalcitrant children who have dressed up as Radha and Krsna, and are trying to imitate them in Material Consciousness.

"Gṛhastha devotees, however, are generally engaged in material activities, and therefore if they do not take to Deity worship, their falling down is positively assured. Deity worship means following the rules and regulations precisely. That will keep one steady in devotional service."

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/7/5/23-24/#bb45382

So, if you are not in Brahmacari ashrama and can follow a Sannyasi physically to preach but are staying at home in the house of the Spiritual Master as a B'cari then you should engage in Deity worship.

Have your deities.

Serve Them with love by:

• Cleanliness,
• Punctuality,
• Offering Arati and Bhoga and other rituals according to your means.

O.K.? Is this some help? It is a progressive path.

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?