Letters to the editor

asa[e] vad; female guru ... guru-tattva; female guru

ASA - Sriman Basu Gosh Das, thank you for the letter:

One point that really grounds us in the discussions of racism, feminism, nationalism in ISKCON is that first we want to distinguish who is Kanistha, Madhyama or Uttama Adhikari in the discussion. If we are talking with/about an Indian, black, woman devotee then we want to know if s(he)it is Kanistha, Madhyama or Uttama Adhikari.

Other point is that Diksa is for us a very [Daivi] Varna-ashrama Dharma position, so if a woman is doing it, then it must be under the protection of her father, husband, grown up son.

Especially for such a role, the Guru must be proper example of an initiated devotee.

When a we think of her in a public relation, it must be obvious to us who is her protector.

For example, Mother Urmilla Devi Dasi, Mother Narayani Devi Dasi, Mother Rukmini Devi Das, are all Gurus to us.

Yet it is not obvious to us under whose protection they are acting in our institution. As a Sannyasi we would really only want to communicate with them under the glance of their protectors. ... Mother Uttama Devi Dasi of the Grhasta Vision team is so much under the protection of my friend, her husband, Partha Das, that I feel communicating with one is communicating with the other... Make any sense?

asa[e] sankirtan; jung

From professor Hayagriva:

Hare Krishna Maharaja, Dandavat Pranam. 🙏🏾Thought you might find this interesting…

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/carl-jung-pillars-life-happiness/678009/

asa[e] - guru-tattva, hpswami . vaidhi bhakti, mind control

Hare Krsna Gurudeva,

We were hoping that we would get answer of reports.

HpS - 😟 Yes! We have been struggling with our own laziness and limited ability, and seem to be making some progress to toward that goal. That is why we deny having lotus feet. We hope to be one of many avenues to our Guru, ISKCON Founder Acharya Srila Prabhupada.

We pray that you are getting his association through his books, disciples, the Lord in the Heart, and by using us, even though a limited tool.

Even though we know that you are on the journey towards spontaneous bhakti, though maybe not manifest. Its better to assume as you wrote in Guru-Tattva.txt

We will just summarize, we are sticking to four rules strictly, and some manage to chant.

we also did not want to write because their nothing is inspiring to reads, same problem, same issue, even more aggravating.

HpS - "Contributing or distributing the holy name of the Lord is a sublime example of contributing or giving charity (the dadāti principle)." https://vedabase.io/en/library/noi/4/#bb5907

You can always post the maha-mantra. you can even use different colors etc.

Monkey and Piggy will read it to our ASA Deitys!

our mind rambling is of no help. however on 25 March 2024, the way you checked our chanting,

ASA - Was what? ❓ Impertinent, useful, confussing? Did your mind wander from the rest of the sentence?

..our four rules are intact, Japa has dwindled over 4 months especially in quality, we are maintaing four rules by subtle enjoymets [enjoyments], of history, interviews etc.

ASA - 🐵 send us some of the nice links. We can, must, see KRSNA in our passions. Eg. Krsna says that He is the ability in man, among men he is the monarch. so reading Ramayana is perfect but reading about great historical figures has its utility. Merit. for us fallen 🐶.

we some how implement the idea that communicating with you very essential.

we our getting bogged down, on thought of our VAD situation, basic prasad, sudden crying, adrenaline rush etc.

ASA - Tell us about it! We are still at about C+ in honoring Prasadam. Yet, this is Kaliyuga, so maybe all we can hope for is B+.

Some days we get A scores.

we now prominsing to chant one breath one mantra, for at least 24 minutes. and then chant 16 rounds somehow.

HpS/ASA - I think that may cause hyper-ventilation. Try as many Mantras as you can on one breath. Maybe even a few after your lungs are empty.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/3/28/9/#bb26345

we dont know how to maintain even out [our] body....... somehow we think that your Holiness has seen something that he has given inti[ti]ation.

HpS - You passed the test. 🙂 For 1st initiation.

on the other hand we have got introduced to Saint whom we have been hearing , who focuses on Nama-Japa. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CNldKCGK80&t=29s

We are finding him more helpful than IKSCON [ISKCON?] execpt [except] you.

HpS/ASA - He speaks in a "funny" language!!! Does he say the Name of Krsna?

Yeah, IKSCON, is kind of a perverted form of ISKCON. Then there are not perverted, but just neophyte forms of ISKCON eg. ISKCON Life Membership Programs.

They can be nice. They can be neophyte pure devotees, but they are not required to follow the standard of Srila Prabhupada's initiated disciples.

I don't know if I will disappoint you.

HpS - I am constantly disappointing our Guru, Srila Prabhupada, but he does praise us for some things we do.

What percentage of people in our social/psychological group of Indians follow the four principles?

Chant any Japa, under the authority of Saint like Srila Prabhupada?

We recommend readers to Hear : Self Love worskhops my H. G. Mahatama Prabhu other workshop https://mahatmadas.com/workshops-courses-devotees/

we are determined not to disappoint you.

trying to [be] Hayagriva Avatar Das

HpS - We have been friends for many years. Hope we continue forever. Going to your next letter.

Thank you!!!!

asa[e] ISKCON, three levels.

Dear Guru Maharaja, Hare Krsna!

Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I watched more than a few of your talks in Houston. Not all, as there were many of them, and were not listed by name. So between all the other lectures by different devotees, I tried to find yours and listen. Thank you and all the devotees who made the lectures available online.

If you allow, I would like to comment and ask about what you wrote here:

https://monkeywarrior.com/detail/14793/

Somebody said: “Thank you so much for mentioning the three levels of Iskcon, I'm interested to know about that!😃

You answered: HpS/ASA - Look for "Gopis Attracted by the Sound of the Flute" chapter title in the KRSNA book. Tell us what you find there.

——————

I read the chapter.

My observations follow…

Different gopis talk about Krsna and Balarama and Their connection to different personalities (cows, peacocks, birds(sages), clouds, Giriraja, deer, Yamuna, etc.). Each gopi shares something about Krsna. 

There are aborigine women in Vraja. It looks (from my memory of hearing elsewhere) like they are not from Krsna’s village. Interesting is that one meaning of aborigine is original inhabitants. 

Gopis talk about Krsna and what they remember, i.e. they had a direct experience of Krsna as seeing Him. In other words, they did not need to hear and then talk about what they heard but experienced Him face to face. 

Whoever heard the sound of Krsna’s flute was captivated. The flute’s sound extended to all corners of the universe. Does it mean that around 5000 years ago, everybody present in the world heard the flute? If yes, why in another sentence is said that sages took the form of birds in Vrindavana to be able to hear the flute?

HpS - What, agtSP, comes to our mind is that we are always existing in Bhur Bhuvah and Svar. It is like being in the movie theater. We have our immediate sensual environment, but it is limited to what we are seeing and hearing on the screen. We are not conscious of who is sitting next to us.

So, the sound of Krsna's flute is really available to everyone at all three levels, but some are absorbed in the Bhumandala so they need to focus, take birth, in hearing it there.

Calve’s mouth got stuck to the cow's nipples and could not suck milk and tears were coming from their eyes. They knew how to embrace Krsna heart to heart!

Please, could you share the three levels of ISKCON and how they connect to this beautiful and magical chapter?

HpS/ASA - I think I answered this in another letter, but cannot find it. So, this time I am tagging it Category B.

1st level is that the Gopis are good citizens of Nanda Maharaja's village. They milk cows, bargain over the price of their milk products, pay their taxes, voice their opinions about the management etc.

Of course, this is all done with service attitude.

So, we should all have the same relationship to ISKCON as an institution and of course at this level management structure, GBC, is prominent.

We should do our jobs and expect the GBC to do theirs.

2nd level of ISKCON is that it is a group of friends. Gopis heard the sound of Krsna's flute, and externally continued with their institutional, household activities, but began to start having confidential words about the situation, sound of the flute... with their friends.

So, we may have a very close friend who is GBC, Sannyasi, PhD etc but we are Temple cleaners. We act with each other in our Institutional perspective but have confidential relationship.

3rd Level is that each one remembered her direct experience of her relationship with KRSNA. Eg. "Oh, Krsna, composed that song to make me laugh when we were alone last night as arranged by Srimati Radha making garlands for next Surya puja."

When she remembers that she cannot even be completely coherent in your friendly relations, level two.

So, we all have to have a direct, personal relationship with Srila Prabhupada. It may be through so many media, such as his books, other devotees, within our heart, but it is there. It informs us about how to execute levels one and two.

I remember that I had read KRSNA book for one year. Then came to Temple and maybe visited for another year, and then moved in.

At one point I was walking to my outside work up a hill trying to sort out all the chaos of living in the Temple etc.

Then I had this realization that it did not matter if everyone else was crazy, I was going to serve Srila Prabhupada, and I knew enough about what he exactly wanted me to do.

He wanted me to chant 16-good rounds.

He wanted me to make my best contribution to his Sankirtan.

He wanted me to support his institution, make compensations for shortcomings of my superiors etc.

I felt that Prabhupada was aware of my determination and accepted it.

Stopping to meditate on Srila Prabhupada's murti, picture, stimulates this perspective. It also makes me humble in appreciating the superior connection that other disciples have with my Guru and how he is happy when I take advantage of that to approach him.

O.K.?

Thank you very much!

Your servant Namacarya Das

asa[e] - Tava Pache Pache, Appendix, Vyasapuja Offering from NoI.

¡Hare Krsna! Dear Guru Maharaja, please accept my humble oveisances!

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada and his faithful followers!

After his reply to my previous letter, by his causeless mercy, we almost mystically managed to find the Vyasa-Puja offering to Srila Prabhupada that mentions in the TPP.

Of course, i may be wrong, so please let us know if this is the offering he is referring to. 🙏

I Share it below

Always at your service.

Karuna-Sakti Devi Dasi 🙇🌻

________________

nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine

namas te saraswate deve gaura-vani-pracarine

nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine

tatropanīta-balayo raver dīpam ivādṛtāḥ

ātmārāmaṁ pūrṇa-kāmaṁ nija-lābhena nityadā

prīty-utphulla-mukhāḥ procur harṣa-gadgadayā girā

pitaraṁ sarva-suhṛdam avitāram ivārbhakāḥ

“The citizens arrived before the Lord with their respective presentations, offering them to the fully satisfied and self-sufficient one, who, by His own potency, incessantly supplies others. These presentations were like the offering of a lamp to the sun. Yet the citizens began to speak in ecstatic language to receive the Lord, just as wards welcome their guardian and father.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.11.4–5)

One young Brijavasi respectfully entered the ISKCON temple in Vrndavana. He was curious, but he was also a little intimidated. There was so much opulence. After wandering around for some time with the other yatris, he came to the Samadhi-mandira of the ISKCON Guru, Srila Prabhupada. He saw a sign which translated as “His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.” He wondered what that meant, exactly, but he walked as near as he could to the beautiful, enormous brass murti of Swami Prabhupada, and with folded hands attempted to look at his feet, wanting to offer his pranamas.

However, he was baffled in his determination and looked with a little amazement, because what was blocking his view of Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet was a very beautiful volume of Srimad-Bhagavatam. It was sitting in a bookstand in front of Guruji. The Brijavasi was amazed because he suddenly had the very strong impression that this was the way to Swami Prabhupada’s feet: not through darsana with the eyes, but rather darsana with the ears.

“Hmmmph.” He and a few rupees would have to part. He walked back over to the mataji who he had seen selling books. She convinced him that Srila Rupa Goswami’s Upadesamrta, with commentaries by Swami Prabhupada, was the book for him.

Sitting under a tree, he began to look through it. Again, before he could even open the cover, he saw the words “His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.”

“So, this is Guruji’s position,” he thought. Then he began to thumb through the little book, asking himself, “How does Swamiji describe his Society?” He read . . .

When we mix with a few friends, we immediately begin unnecessary talking, sounding just like croaking toads. If we must talk, we should talk about the Krsna consciousness movement. . .

Association with those engaged in a similar line of business is very conducive to advancement in that business. . . Similarly, we have established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to give people an opportunity to associate with those who have not forgotten Krsna. This spiritual association offered by our ISKCON movement is increasing day by day. Many people from different parts of the world are joining this Society to awaken their dormant Krsna consciousness. . .

This Krsna consciousness movement offers a spiritual community that can bring about a peaceful condition in the world. Every intelligent man should purify his consciousness and rid himself of the above-mentioned six hindrances to devotional service by taking wholehearted shelter of this Krsna consciousness movement. . .

These activities must be executed with patience. One should not be impatient in Krsna consciousness. Indeed, this Krsna consciousness movement was started single-handedly, and in the beginning there was no response, but because we continued to execute our devotional activities with patience, people gradually began to understand the importance of this movement, and now they are eagerly participating. . .

If one lives in the association of devotees, there is little chance of associating with non-devotees. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is opening many centers just to invite people to live in the company of devotees and practice the regulative principles of spiritual life. . .

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has been established to facilitate these six kinds of loving exchanges between devotees. This Society was started single-handedly, but because people are coming forward and dealing with the give-and-take policy, the Society is now expanding all over the world. We are glad that people are donating very liberally to the development of the Society’s activities, and people are also eagerly accepting whatever humble contribution we are giving them in the shape of books and magazines dealing strictly with the subject matter of Krsna consciousness. . .In this way our Society is successfully spreading all over the world, and the intelligentsia of all countries is gradually appreciating our Krsna conscious activities. The life of the Krsna conscious society is nourished by these six types of loving exchange among the members; therefore people must be given the chance to associate with the devotees of ISKCON because simply by reciprocating in the six ways mentioned above an ordinary man can fully revive his dormant Krsna consciousness. . .

The members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness invite the Society’s members and supporters to dine with them when they hold love feasts in all their branches every Sunday. Many interested people come to honor prasada, and whenever possible they invite members of the Society to their homes and feed them sumptuously with prasada. In this way both the members of the Society and the general public are benefited. People should give up the company of so-called yogis, jnanis, karmis and philanthropists because their association can benefit no one. If one really wants to attain the goal of human life, he should associate with devotees of the Krsna consciousness movement because it is the only movement that teaches one how to develop love of God. . .

The Krsna consciousness movement is especially meant for creating an atmosphere in which people can take to the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra. . . . One must begin with faith, and when this faith is increased by chanting, a person can become a member of the Society. [The Nectar of Instruction 2, 3, 4, 7 Purports]

“Fundamentally, it sounds very nice, very social, very practical. I should talk more with these devotees.”

Hanumatpresaka Swami

2011

HpS - ASA - That seems, agtSP, to be the one. Of course, I would like to rewrite it a little bit, but one French poet said, "No one every finished writing a poem, they just stop working on it". I guess the same in true for V.P. offerings!

Yes, it seems like it should go into the Appendix of the TPP.

Seems like it should go into an ASA Encyclopedia.😎

Agtyou, aglSP!!!

[2/20, 9:28 AM] Sri Rama Krsna Das: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaj. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Verses Cited in the Nectar of instruction https://a.co/d/7XLybi1