Letters to the editor

Hare Krsna beloved Gurudeva AGTSP PAMHO:

I hope this meets You in very good health and happy

So sorry for not writing before. I AM very entangled in My material life. I will see your very goodself on March 5th. I humbly beg for your blessings for My trip

I finished the translation of my part waves of devotion. The whole document is in revision.

Besides, I humbly request to have the opportunity to talk to You

Looking forward to seeing You

Your eternal servant

CMDD

HpS - Well, we saw you on March 5th. It is now March 9th. We were very glad to hear that "Waves of Devotion" is translated. We can see to publication and distribution now. Guess we should talk to Visual Services, ArtDas about formating, including graphs etc.

We did not have much chance to talk, but a little. It is so nice to hear that your sister is successful in here professional carreer and Ulyses is about to set of on his Odyssey with a happy face.

We helped him toward a human, Vaisnava birth.

Did you meet any interesting people on your trip?

asa[e] yoga ladder, sadhana bhakti, mangla arati.

Hare Krsna Master,

HpS - AgtSP! He is our Master, I am maybe a (master).🙂

Please accept my grateful obeisances,

Morning prayers in ISKCON seems to be very generic to us, it seems to be glorification of Guru, Tulsi Mata, Narsingh Dev, etc.

We remember in BhVai classes 2.9.33 Brahmji prays every day for getting power for construction ,and they seem to be very specific prayers.

Once you talked about also in TPP (new Book) you talk about attitude building in morning program.

Can you kindly elaborate the how does one develop attitude, during morning program ?

What is the attitude is all about ? Attitude is generally about the activities we are going to do today (thats what we think )......

any example/meditation of such attitude development might help .

We are comparing our morning program to military program. So we do understand they have their basic physical training in the morning, and rest of the day they have their specific training.

This letter will definitely help us to do morning prayers, we do wake up at 345, but somehow not getting any intelligent reason to do morning prayers.

Your servant

Hayagriva Avatar Das

HpS - Sorry so slow to answer. On the road ad setting up camp for five weeks.

In the beginning Rupa Goswami et al say that there is some tendency toward impersonalism.

Our Bh. Yoga gives us relief from distress. Because we are chanting HK/HR during the Br. Muhurta, we are not dreaming of lower things and becoming condition to that perspective.

Later, after liberation, we begin to feel that it is an auspicious activity. We can begin to see, at least theoretically, that Radha and Krsna et al are there and They are slowly penetrating the fog.

As Sadhana we try to minimize the program. Chant for Hara first and then expand in terms of Her presence.

Her Dhama

Her lover.

We learned the word by world meanings of the Bhajans and then we can chant them with American feeling.

Listening to the other devotees chant. Trying to lead them with our perspective without violence, and take advantage of the leadership of their perspective, it becomes the basis of a great day. Mangala,

gives us strength.

O.K. Go to TVinterview

Thank you so much for your assocition!!

asa[e] sankirtan

If we want to communicate Gaura vani to different nations then we need to know their ethos, no?

The money, paper money, of a nation is an interesting way to look at a people.

Whose pictures are on the money? Is it people or places. The Euro is a "national" currency?

As far as we know the USA is the only country in the world with the Name of God on their money, "In God we trust". There was even a recent effort to remove it but it was rejected.

After you sort, count, handle a lot of paper money your fingers usually stink! We hear that tuberculosis is common in bank tellers who have a lot of contact with paper currency. This is interesting that the representation of Laksmmi Devi has these qualities in the modern world.

asa[e] - yoga ladder, jayananda's story books.

Sriman Jayananda Das told us that Srila Prabhupada said that if you just go on chanting 'Hare Krsna', you will see pastimes that you never read of in any of my books.

We have very, very powerful desires to see new pastimes eg. Netflix, Hulu... just chant and watch emergencies.🌴

We Tweeted the above, and here we can add, that it seems we won't see pastimes completely unrelated to the Krsna book stories, rather we will see details of those stories, or Krsna's pastimes in the events in our actual life.

We will see Krsna's pastimes in the pastimes of 'Hamlet'. We the battle of Kurukshetra in ISKCON politics.

[1/28, 12:48 PM] Basu Ghosh Das: 1. Bhakti Vikas Swami has advocated that all sides sit together at Mayapur, chant together in kirtan, and discuss the issue face to face. That hasn't happened.

2. ISKCON sannyasis aren't sannyasis strictly according to varnashram principles. Sannyas was given by Srila Prabhupada as a "preaching title", to facilitate preaching, but sure, strict standards of behavior and detachment from women were mandated. Unfortunately all sannyasis and diksha gurus were not able to strictly follow. In recent years, due to stricter regimen for screening sannyas candidates, the "fall down rate" as decreased considerably.  There are a number of "discontents" who will never stop criticizing ISKCON and its leaders. This doesn't mean that all ISKCON leaders are "perfect and pure".  It is particularly disturbing that so many are propagating gender equality and egalitarianism in ISKCON. A godbrother recently wrote to me:

 It seems that you keep up with the news in the US, so I am sure you see the similarities between what's going on in ISKCON and western society. I believe it is because we are associating too closely with mundane culture since so many devotees have moved from the temples. With a lack of sadhana we become contaminated by that association, however we still want to be devotees so we adjust our philosophy to fit western culture. You heard Garuda Prabhu say he could never agree to anything less than the "ultimate Bhakti" and he is not the only one.

Around 15 years ago they tried to cancel me in Prabhupada VIllage, NC because I pointed out that there were two kinds of people in the world, men and women, and they had different roles to play in a Krsna centered culture. Didn't Srila Prabhupada say we should not try to become Sukadeva Goswami without attaining his level of consciousness?

[1/28, 12:51 PM] Basu Ghosh Das: 3. ISKCON India and its bureaucracy and influences.

Well, in India ISKCON has no women in managerial positions. No TPs, GBCs, etc. Bur sure, I am a grihasta, and there are a number of other grihastas in the management. In fact, sannyasis ideally should just preach, and not manage - but the reality is that some of them are in the management. Some of them won't retire from management duties, even if they are physically unfit to perform them!

[1/28, 12:54 PM] Basu Ghosh Das: Yes, in my article I did not deal with the honorific significance of "Mataji".  That would be a good subject to highlight in an essay, for sure. I will seriously consider writing on that topic at the earliest!

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[1/28, 2:19 PM] HPSwami - ProfHHR: I was living as a Vanaprastha, B'cari, when I joined the Temple in San Francisco.

After ten years Hansadutta Das pushed several of us to take Sannyasa. I explained that I thought it was a kind of oxymoron because rather than being renounced of name and fame, you had to accept more.

He pushed and I accepted.

Then he fell down and GBC said that anyone who had taken Sannyasa from him in his big rush could continue with it if they accepted an ISKCON Guru as their Sannyasa guru.

I accepted that I could just return to the rather obscure position of B'cari ashrama, but Trikrama Swami, B. S. Damodara Swami, Ramesvara Swami, Tripurari Swami and Atreya Rsi Das all said, "No!

You've taken the vows. You stick with it!"

O.K.

Got 'reinitiated' into Sannyasa by H. H. B. S. Damodara Swami, my esteemed Sannyasa Guru.

Then... I experienced Kuti chaka, Bahudak, Parivrajak etc.

It came naturally.

First, I was living in one small loft room in a warehouse rented by the Temple and preaching and attending Temple programs and taking Prasadam and waking Deities and doing Mangala arati, but the Temple President still put pressure on me to use my Sannyasa status to support his political agendas since I was 'living' in his Temple.

So, I started staying with different devotees around the S.F. Bay Area, then Northern Califorinia, even passing nights under the bushes by the side of the road if that was not easily available.

Then I could still feel I was expectied to pull the Zonal line if I was getting shelter from people in the specific GBC's Zone.

So, with some fear I took off on a ride offered by Krsna to Seattle and Vancouver and did local preaching and worked to develop the visit of our Manipuri Troupe.

It was amazing.

Krsna seemed to be arranging transporation, accomodation and Sankirtan.

Came back thorugh the Bay Area but now as a new Parivrajakacharya preacher. Who had some seriouis conviction that Krsna really is guiding us and really does want the Kali yuga version of Sannyasa.

Other steps fit right into this Vedic pattern until I finally went all the way to Peru, out of the USA, with only $10 in my pocket, but with an experience that made me feel that it was exactly an arrangement of Krsna to show me that I should not waste "my mind and intelligence" thinking about this bodily maintenence. That was His job. I should focus on just traveling and peaching and realizing His guidance of Paramatma.

Seems that some people have taken Sannyasa vows, or think that their B'cari life is the same as a full Sannyasa, but are still taking subtle shelter, freedom from fear of being alone, of husband and wife, or mother, to be free of the political control/shelter of ISKCON.

Giving up these things they can really give unbiased advice.

Then they really become the essential shelter that Ksatriyas and Vaishyas need for subtle sense control. Stronger than the Ks. and Vaishya.

My hallucinations.

Thank you for your association.

Hope to hear more from you soon.

asa(e) - vad, death rituals.

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Hare Krishna maharaj

Please accept my humble obeisances

My dear friend's Kamal Prabhu is brahmchari in ISKCON Kolkata. Yesterday night his mother suddenly left her body due to cardiac arrest.

I heartily request you to offer prayer for her. Wherever she is destined to go may she get the association devotees and opportunity to practice Krishna Consciousness 

Your aspiring servant

Ranal

ASA - Seems to us that having left the 1st world, bhu mandala, the departed soul may sometimes, often (?), be hanging around in the the second world, bhuvah mandala, the world of thoughts, dreams, plans, memories, which is the cause of our perception in the 1st world.

To help them, generate Krsna conscious thoughts by chanting Hari Nama in front of a picture of them, offer them carana amrta, maha-prasad et al.

🦧