Letters to the editor

asa[e], yoga ladder, karma vs. jnana

Hare Krsna dear Gurudeva

Please accept our humble obeisances

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

I hope you're in good health.

ASA(TB/BW) - There is no KDPC right now. The mail is not overwhelming our poor HpSwami.

Please, I would like to ask you a question for which I have not yet found an answer.

Srila Prabhupada mentions in many sections of the Srimad Bhagavatam about the fate of Karmis (heavenly planets) and Jñanis (merging into the Brahman effulgence). The fate of Karmi that pursues enjoyment is easy to understand because of a great desire, a proportional reward. What I cannot understand is how knowledge, logical deduction and philosophical speculation leads the jñani to his spiritual identity nullification. In what way can knowledge result in emptiness, being seemingly substantial and capable of neutralizing the illegitimate desire of the karmi?

Can the gross desire of karmis be understood to be opposed to the mental speculator's lust for control, or are they basically different expressions of a similar consciousness?

Your servant

Gandharva das

ASA - To quote our Siksa guru, Jayananda Das, "I don't know, but it seems to me that...".

NOI 10 gives some basic perspective!

Then we have to distinguish between Karma-yogis, Jnana-yogis. Bh. V. Th. defined Bhakti as commitment to honesty. So, Socrates and his recent follower Anthony Flew (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Flew), were Jnanis, but they were honest. Flew shocked the entire world, and maybe drove many atheists to the pub, when he announced he believed in God. For years he had been a POWERFUL debater and proponent of Atheism.

When he announced his change he explained that at the beginning of his career and association with others at Oxford he had adopted Socrate's basic idea, that we shall use logic and argument (jnana) to consider the problem and then we shall accept wherever the process takes us without personal consideration.

So, Flew said that after considering the situation for so long he had come to the conclusion that there must be a God as Aristotle describes.

So, in a certain way he as a jnana-yogi.

Prabhupada said that Socrates we a good boy, just didn't have a Guru.

By jnana we can only come to realize brahman (there is a reality) and paramatma (reality has eternal forms and there is "the hand of God" in things).

To realize a personal, Bhagavan, relationship with God you need His divine grace.

O.K.?

A Karmi is not progressive. He demands only potatoes for his sacrifice, and does not want to develop wisdom (jnana).

A jnani is not progressive. He is not a jnana-yogi. He demands impersonal wisdom for his sacrifice.

We see phrases like, "When you go for revenge, better to did two graves first", from Confucius, which detaches you from Karma but leaves you in a void.

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Can we say that the most prominent Jnana community in the modern world are the Mathematicians?

Of course, science is termed as Rational Empiricism, or can we say Mathematical Empiricism. By taking Mathematics to pragmatic empirical level it surely results in sense gratification, smart phones, Hulu, latest Tom Cruise movie.

Look at Mathematics. How fundament is Euclid's Elements [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid%27s_Elements] to Mathematics? There seem to be "higher" mathematics after that, but many are still based upon his fundamental axiom, postulate, in which we must place blind faith, the definition of The Point.

It seems that in Higher Mathematics they go outside of this and we get into another kind of Jnana, but is it still determined to be atheistic or is it like Socrates? I have heard that Srila Bhakti-siddhanta Sarasvati gave a demonstration of Bhagavata philosophy from Mathematics. I mean there are "transcendental numbers" in Mathematics. 😎

Coming back to the point which is that basis of so much of our modern jnana, you know that it is described as that which has no extension: no width, no depth, no weight, no mother, no cellular, no... no... no... In Sanskrit you know this philosophy? Neti neti. No this, not this. So that leads us to impersonalism. Some rare Mathematicians might follow this to its conclusion and enter the Brahmajyoti.

Are these some useful ideas, or have we completely missed the point of your question, or do you have more details?

asa[e], ifd

We were born into a Christian family and our Mother taught us to recite The Lord's Prayer each night before going to sleep.

Then our neighbor's dog died when we were about four years old, and we were very depressed because we realized that we were little and could die just like Suzy, the neighbor's dog. We became nauseous and could not each much. We didn't discuss it with our parents because we knew they could not help, but then we began to think very seriously about the prayers we were reciting nightly and decided that the authorities who believed in Jesus must have a reasonable understanding of him, so we decided he could save us from death.

Other experiences happened but when we came in contact with Srila Prabhupada and Gaudiya Vaisnavism we were very attracted but we were wondering about seemingly replacing Christ with someone elese.

Then we heard Srila Prabhupada speaking while he was in Berkeley Temple in 1975, and he said with such respect, depth and practical realization, that Lord Jesus Christ had done such wonderful preaching work in the West, and then we were conviced that we had never met a better Chiristian than Srila Prabhupada, and if we really wanted to serve Christ then Srila Prabhupada was the best via media for that.

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Three Kings come from the East with gifts for baby Jesus. Bh. V. Th., Bh. S. S. and Srila Prabhupada?

Songs, Diamond Sharp Argument, Big Mrdanga?

Hare Krsna Gurudeva.

Agt SP!!!!

Agt Guru y Gauranga!!!!

Gurudeva, I have ear about ASA Pedia, but I don´t know anything about.

Is one of your official works for integrated devotees, or is possible participate any devotee?

HpS - ASA Encyclopedia is project we are trying to start with Harsh, but is still not born. Watch for news.

Thanks you very much for all.

Hari bolo Maharaja!

Have nice day!

HARE KRSNA!!!

Hare Krsna Gurudeva, please accept my humble obeisances

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

All glories to you Guru dev

Here we are, still alive. Now more than ever it is a relief to know that Krsna says that any progress one makes on the path of bhakti is not lost.

I am a bit shocked at how the world has changed in a short time due to the pandemic (the social situation). I realize that for me the Kali Yuga advance existed as an idea. I also realized that I still have "faith" in the material world as a refuge ... I see things differently now, although sometimes it is a bit depressing.

HpS - Only depressing if you don't accept that you and Radharani (Hara! Hare!) are not going to let Krsna's birth day party stop. O.K. Radha, I have an idea for the menu. Is it good?

Reading prayers of Queen Kunti attentively helped me a lot. Thank you and the devotees who invite me to give a lectures about this topic.

HpS - Thank you!

Hari Vamsi is very well. As you mentioned in the previous letter: Yes, helping him teaches me to understand my mind. For me, the experience of motherhood is an opportunity to improve my character, develop humility and patience very fast… Although many times I feel that lack of tools to help him.

He is going to a Montessori kinder garden, he is happy and now he asks us to teach letters because he wants to read and write. His curiosity is intense, and so is his energy.

He likes Kirtan, he is enthusiastic about offering a wick to Damodar (maybe 50% attraction to fire- 50% bhakti). He likes to listen Krsna's pastimes and he has quite a few questions about demons and details. He is also have atraction for the Monster Trucks, dinosaurs, speed and power.

HpS - He can fly on Garuda some times.

I have improved the rounds, but I still cannot go back to the standard of 16. Many times I feel helpless in the face of laziness, poor time management and lack of focus ...

HpS - Srila Prabhupada says in one letter, that that is O.K. but don't stop trying, and, yes, eventually you will succeed. Then .... next challenge!

About my work, I am working as a freelance for clients in the USA, retouching and cleaning their photographs.

Also in our house and in the garden. Some days ago four cows and two calves came to our garden and ate some things, but most of them survived (They left some compost in return). Hari helps me and already recognizes the plants, insects and removes the leaves that have fungi.

HpS - Wow! Should have collected some of their milk as a tax also.

You also asked me about my father, Ekachacra Nitai Candra das. He is very well, he attends the FMP every day and he is happy with it. He and two of my brothers live in the north of Argentina. I hope we can meet this summer.

HpS - Ahhhh! That is Ek Ch. Nitai! I was thinking it was maybe our disciple from Peru!! Big administrative progress today.

About ASA Audivisual. We download almost all the Twitter links that you posted, some are lost because our internet service is sometimes suspended and the links are only available for a few days. But we can recover those recordings from the recordings that devotees broadcast on Facebook.

I'm really happy with the service, but unhappy with me because I perform the service with interruptions. I really hope I can improve and be of useful to your Sankirtan. 

HpS - See! This is exactly what we heard from conversation with Prabhupada. As our 16/4 is steady, then our other services are just as steady. So, put effort into the better rounds because (also telling myself this) then being:

1. Mother
2. Wife
3. Citizen
4. Cook
5. Gardener
6. Photo artist
7. Channel Manager
8. Sankirtan Devotee

will all improve in the fastest and most efficient way.

I think of the channel (asa audiovisual) as a library of your classes, to keep them in an orderly manner and to be able to share with whoever is interested. We have invited more devotees to the work in a team, to translate, upload or edit more classes. Still no one joined, probably due to our faults.

HpS - Hector et al say. Ask six times and then you will get practical results.

We are working on the missing classes and the illustrated FMP. Time management is the challenge.

Please let me know what we can improve and how to be really useful.

Thank you very much Gurudev for your inspiration and constant care. Your effort in maintaining the FMP, classes, and programs. Your loving way of always finding a way to engage us in service.

your aspirant to servant

Vrsabhanu Nandini dd

These are the links of the last videos uploaded

Cosmologia Védica

https://youtu.be/tR8YIz6WHTM

Festival por la aparición de Srila Prabhupada

https://youtu.be/MYhMXPBAWT0

SB 2.7.8

https://youtu.be/JqI33mflZm0

Radhastami

https://youtu.be/LPmd5lf6mEM

Desaparición Haridas Takura

https://youtu.be/oCDg5DV2-wU

SB 2.7.7 (by Sugopi Radha)

https://youtu.be/dmVxg91nuAg

SB 2.1.5

https://youtu.be/vy3pcKdEjgQ

SB 3.2 Uddhava Siksa

https://youtu.be/w0R_Ob21Nyw

Hare Krishna Gurudev,

PAMHO. AGTSP.

Here the playlist of your seminars on GBC-College Latam:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmEzpAHxy_wcE-igofwx33QmY61uRZeh3

Your servant.

Devaki-nandana das.

HpS - ASA -- Thank you. AgtSP!

Ambarisa/Vrsabhanu-nandinid Devi Das' - Can these be referenced, included in our Youtube, ASA-Audio Visual Channel. We were trying to consolidate our final knowledge on ISKCON management in these presentations.

We liked them.

Harsh - They could be posted in the ASA-enc under VAD, Ksatriya, Management in ISKCON, no?

"Managing in ISKCON is like herding cats", Bh. Vatsala Das, big medical industry manager.

A possible essay topic (PET) for the ASA-Encyclopedia is - The History of Music.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=history+of+music

Srila Prabhupada wrote and we made a note, that the devotee can write articles and poetry for Krsna. We can research different communities and then write articles that will bridge the gap between their community and Lord Caitanya's community.

You can write for the ASA-Enc. Edit article.

Put it online? Look out Wikipedia here comes The Bhaktivedanta Monkey Pedia!!