Letters to the editor

asa[e] iskcon

Hare Krishna, Dear Gurudeva,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Dear Gurudeva,

Thank you so much for your association! The mere possibility of our Sunday sanga makes ISKCON worthwhile, even if everything else in the organization were wrong. Just this possibility alone makes it worth being in ISKCON.

Regarding the Panihati festival we discussed one Sunday, we saw one of the principles taught in this pastime: we can do nothing without the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Raghunath Das Goswami could not get rid of his family ties without the mercy of Lord Chaitanya. This brings to mind, and we wanted to take the opportunity to comment on the class, and also on the letter from Balabhadra Prabhu in Boise, Idaho, who was upset with his congregation and wanted to move somewhere else. https://monkeywarrior.com/detail/15617/

We don't know the details, but in a sense, it might be okay for him to go to another congregation, although we would like to share a bit of our personal experience, because we have also had the same feelings.

We remember when you also expressed your feelings about your congregation. We recall you saying that you disagreed with the politics of the temples and didn't want to get involved, and that you were determined to sleep on a park bench and freeze to death chanting Hare Krishna. Then your invitation to go to Peru arrived, and there your perspective changed.

HpS - It was not exactly the Congregation. They were a little irrelevant to the issue. It was the administrators who demanded that if we were going to domicile under their Temple roof that then we should use our preaching position to support their political agendas. Oooof! Other Sannyasis in ISKCON report the same pressure. Think Sannyasis in any religion will report the same thing. It is natural.

The other side is that Sannyasis should!! cooperate with the administration. Respect there role. Several times with Srngi and Parasurama it is pointed out that in certain aspects killing the king is worse than killing a Brahmana.

When we got the invitation from Peru it did not change our attitude, it just allowed us to go on in ISKCON institution, because we encountered a President who didn't want political subservience from us.

Thank you.

Our realization is that when we felt frustrated with the congregation, it was due to one of two reasons: the first, due to "overdelivery," meaning, overexerting ourself. When you do more than you can, you expect more than you should. If we make an artificial renunciation and push ourselves more than we are able, naturally, our expectation is greater.

HpS/ASA - NoI 2 ? Niyama agraha.

The other factor is that we want to control things somehow. Sometimes we believe we know or understand what is best for the congregation, to be the "best friend."

However, sometimes, by the mercy of Krishna and even Prabhupada, everything is under the supervision of the internal potency. The analogy you give, that Maya is like swimming in the ocean, is very clear. Sometimes the waves knock us down and carry us away, and sometimes they bring us closer to the shore. We have noticed the same in our own spiritual life. Sometimes we swim very hard, but then we rest and realize that only the Lord's mercy can help us. Then, one stops swimming, lets go, but then the waves of Maya start dragging us away again. It's a balance between controlling and exerting ourselves, and then allowing Krishna's mercy to act.

When one finds this point of balance—which we could also call humility—we understand our position, what our contribution is, what the devotees need, and how we can best serve the mission. When the congregation gives us something back that is uncomfortable, the response must be to look inward and see if we are not incurring these faults: doing more than we can (with an incorrect expectation) or controlling too much.

HpS - Same in the marriage and family community, no?

We have noticed that when devotees leave due to this pattern, their Krishna consciousness does not improve. We cannot kill our soul. Bhagavad Gita 5.15 is very clear in this regard. (And the Supreme Lord does not assume responsibility for anyone's sinful or pious activities. However, the embodied beings are bewildered because of the ignorance covering their true knowledge). We believe that ISKCON is one of the best hospitals for the soul, to get rid of our material consciousness and enter into our spiritual consciousness.

We felt like we were in a tsunami, wallowing in suffering, until we met Srila Prabhupada. The synthesis of his message is: chant Hare Krishna as much as you can, never stop chanting. That is like a boat with oars that will take you in the right direction.

Our recommendation, both for ourself and for the devotee in Idaho, is that when we feel hostility from our congregation, we can withdraw, dance, share a kirtan and prasadam with the devotees. In that way, it is very easy to enter into the internal potency. Afterwards, we can simply withdraw and do our personal service at home, relating to the congregation in that way.

This is better than wanting to cut ties with the congregation, because this is the world of duality: the congregation is not all good or all bad, it's a mix of both. We have to learn to take the good and tolerate the bad for our own purification. And if we purify ourselves, the congregation will too.

Gurudev, these are our reflections. I would like to hear your comment and your opinion on the matter. Do you think they are correct, or are they just our own speculations?

Your foolish servant,

Nikunja Bihari das.

HpS - Seems like 90% what we would say, and I think 90% of what Bala bhadra Das would agree, and I think that you me and he all kind of smile and say that it is easier to understand the basic philosophy than to apply it sometimes. 😃

Also, of course, there are details. You know that First Aid is great, but being trained as a full Medical Doctor allows you to relate to so many strange combinations of the diseases.

Thank you!

More of this later!!!!!

Hare Krishna, Amado Gurudeva,

Por favor, acepte nuestras humildes reverencias.

Todas las glorias a Srila Prabhupada.

Querido Gurudeva,

Muchas Gracias por su Asociación!! El solo hecho de tener la posibilidad de este sanga los domingos ya hace que ISKCON valga la pena, aun si todo lo demás en la organización estuviera mal. Solo con esta posibilidad, vale la pena estar en ISKCON.

En referencia al festival de Panihati que discutimos un domingo, vimos uno de los principios que se enseñan en este pasatiempo: no podemos hacer nada sin la misericordia de la suprema personalidad de la divinidad. Ragunath Das Goswami no pudo deshacerse de sus lazos familiares sin la misericordia del Señor Chaitanya. Esto me trae a la mente y quería aprovechar a comentar sobre la clase, y también sobre la carta de Balabhadra Prabhu en Boise, Idaho, que estaba enojado con su congregación y quería irse a otro lugar. https://monkeywarrior.com/detail/15617/

No conozco los detalles, pero en un sentido, puede que esté bien que se vaya a otra congregación, aunque me gustaría compartir un poco mi experiencia personal, porque yo también he tenido los mismos sentimientos.

Recordé cuando usted también manifestó su sentir respecto a su congregación. Recuerdo que usted decía que no estaba de acuerdo con la política de los templos y no quería comprometerse, y que estaba decidido a dormir en el banco de una plaza y morir congelado cantando Hare Krishna. Luego llegó su invitación para ir a Perú, y ahí su perspectiva cambió.

Mi realización es que cuando me sentí frustrado con la congregación, se debió a una de estas dos razones: la primera, por un "overdelivery", es decir, por esforzarme de más. Cuando uno hace más de lo que puede, espera más de lo que debe. Si hacemos una renuncia artificial y nos esforzamos más de lo que podemos, naturalmente, nuestra expectativa es mayor. El otro factor es que queremos controlar de alguna manera. A veces creemos que sabemos o entendemos qué es lo mejor para la congregación. Ser el “mejor amigo”.

Sin embargo, a veces, por la misericordia de Krishna e incluso de Prabhupada, todo está bajo la supervisión de la potencia interna. La analogía que usted da, de que Maya es como estar nadando en el océano, es muy clara. A veces las olas nos tumban, nos llevan, y a veces nos acercan más a la orilla. He notado lo mismo en mi propia vida espiritual. A veces nado muy fuerte, pero luego descanso y me doy cuenta de que solo la misericordia del Señor puede ayudarme. Entonces, uno deja de nadar, se suelta, pero luego las olas de Maya lo empiezan a arrastrar de nuevo. Es un balance entre controlarnos y esforzarnos, y después permitir que la misericordia de Krishna actúe.

Cuando uno encuentra este punto de equilibrio —que también podríamos llamar humildad—, entiende su posición, cuál es su aporte, qué necesitan los devotos y cómo puede servir mejor a la misión. Cuando la congregación me devuelve algo que es incómodo, la respuesta es mirar hacia adentro y observar si yo no estoy incurriendo en estas faltas: hacer más de lo que puedo (con una expectativa incorrecta) o controlar demasiado.

He notado que cuando los devotos se alejan por este patrón, su conciencia de Krishna no mejora. No podemos matar nuestra alma. El Bhagavad Gita 5.15 es muy claro en este sentido. ( Y el Señor Supremo tampoco asume la responsabilidad de las actividades pecaminosas o piadosas de nadie. Sin embargo, los seres encarnados están confundidos a causa de la ignorancia que cubre su verdadero conocimiento). Creo que ISKCON es uno de los mejores hospitales para el alma, para deshacernos de nuestra conciencia material y entrar en nuestra conciencia espiritual.

Yo me sentía en un tsunami, revolcándome en el sufrimiento, hasta que conocí a Srila Prabhupada. La síntesis de su mensaje es: canta Hare Krishna todo el tiempo que puedas, nunca dejes de cantar. Eso es como un bote con remos que te llevará en la dirección correcta.

Mi recomendación, tanto para mí como para el devoto de Idaho, es que cuando sintamos hostilidad por parte de nuestra congregación, podemos retirarnos, bailar, compartir un kirtan y prasadam con los devotos. De esa manera, es muy fácil entrar en la potencia interna. Después, simplemente podemos retirarnos y hacer nuestro servicio personal en casa, relacionándonos con la congregación de esa manera.

Esto es mejor que querer cortar con la congregación, porque este es el mundo de la dualidad: la congregación no es toda buena ni toda mala, es una mezcla de las dos. Tenemos que aprender a tomar lo bueno y tolerar lo malo para nuestra propia purificación. Y si nosotros nos purificamos, la congregación también lo hará.

Gurudev, estas son mis reflexiones. Me gustaría escuchar su comentario y su opinión al respecto. ¿Le parecen correctas o son solo especulaciones mías?

Su tonto sirviente,

Nikunja Bihari das.

asa[e] tlc study guide

get a study partner or some plan for students.

even with a study partner have a plan for student.

wisdom will not work.

this is the last age, the iron age and wisdom does not work.

learn to teach not beach.

the book is divided into like five parts:

teachings to rupa and sanatana goswamis,

talks with sarva bhauma, prakashananda sarasvati and ramanand roy.

how many of the five were devotees before the classes or conversation? What was the philosophical position of the others before?

what was the result of each conversation or class? Eg. change in social status, wrote which books?

get the hardbound copy. it is like a sensuous companion. you can curl up with it on the couch and read it every day to escape from the world of business and administration. it will fit into your briefcase or purse.

is it a good substitute, extract, essence of the caitanya caritamrta?

do you love it?

is it in your top ten of your personal attachments to the BBT library?

do you you recommend it to others? who? why?

under what circumstances and in what frame of mind did Lord Caitanya meet the above five personalities?

How are His Preaching Strategies demonstrated in the meetings with the above five? How do, can, you use these strategies?

asa[e] london trash 250811

ISKCON WARP WORLD NINE

Jack Bentels banged the door on his aging husbunder's carriage door and climbed up into the pilot's seat to make the last hop to his waiting cargo ship.

he had been loading on earth for a run to Betelguese Five and the only money (monkey (hah, hah!)) that he had was about 250 Solar Credits.

He'd used up everything else to buy a few cases of the BBT, 'Teachings of Lord Caitanya'.

his rat, Milikan, ran around the control panel, seemingly satisfied with the buss link, and with a yellow light they we off to the jump point, and with a green light they blasted off earth, and ploughed into a flight path for the 'Bulley Begone', his freighter.

it was not much of a freighter, but it basically ran well and had structural integrity. his concern was yoga and for that he needed some anonymity, solitude and a little steady income.

buy cheap, sell high.

he didn't have much business savey, but that motto and a few others kept him upright and making a small profit margin.

he could repair the 'begone' but had no need to save for a new vessel, because he figured he'd be dead about the same time she was ready for recycling.

and he strictly followed the American Motto, 'In God we trust, all others pay cash'.

-=-=-

cargo-hold secure.

milikin in place, and jack smashed the hyper-drive button and off they went.

there was the initiation g-force acceleration to five parsecs per fortnight. then the shuddering bump to the Steady Level and they were in motion.

he undid he harness, set miliken free and headed for a little breakfast. it had been about 18-hours since he had had a full meal and he was hungry.

rye and barley soup with acorn squash.

chopped up celery and almonds.

hare krsna.

hare krsna.

offering everything to his Ista devata, lord Narayana, and milikan stopped spinning abound the deck to stand up for the offering while the bells rang.. 'nama om visnu padaya, krsna presthaya...'.

besides milikan, who was the immediate guidance and life support technician, there was Randolf the bull who looked after the main thrusters.

they were cruising at about warp 2 and it would be at least six days before they got to the Betelguese system.

jack had promised a promotional flyer to go with 'the teachings of lord caitanya' so he got into that even while he was taking his breakfast.

asa[e] jack trash by date.

note: jack london said that one had to write 10,000 words of trash before he could produce anything worth publishing, so start writing trash.

piggy commented that in monkey's case it might be 100,000 words.

Jack Trash 250728 5.42 ante meridian

agtSP - brown and white here.

my maternal uncle, bill birch, was a "he govinda/he gopal" birch tree bark stretcher in Warp World Nine.

he smoked stretched birch tree skins and then sold them to artists who painted scenes of Krsna and the Brajabasis on the the Yamuna: kaliya.. nanda maharaja returning from mathura after paying the tax...NM being kidnapped by the A-Gents of Lord Varuna...

he did not like monkeys in top-hats but thought they were alright as observers of the Rasa lila... if they stayed pretty quiet... and watched from the trees (on the branches) with their arms over each other's shoulders.

he was kind of tolerant that way.

• one day
• he got an
• order
• for one hundred birch bark panes from the folk in dvaraka.

he was Hari-Fied!

"go to dvaraka... from mathura?", he thought.

"Harry Bowl! Harry Bowl!"

(there was a Bowling Alley near his home in Mathura and he would go there when his mind was distressed and Bowl and chant, ".... KRSNA KRSNA, HARE HARE... KRSNAKRSNA HAREHARE"

... and escape from all angziety.

.

the owner of the place was Harry Murari.

so, it was called "The Harry Bowl"!

😖

uncle bill was not a coward... so he said good bye to his wife and family and other in laws who came to his little hut and palleted the panels on his back and made his way down through the dusty street to Awkmad's Camel Place and haggled for a rope lift to Dvaraka.

When it came through, he just had a harrowing moment to catch on and then the dust devil was off.

they roared an ripped over vast expanses of arid Savannah and Desert and eventually arrived with an unceremonious plop down in front of Sri Krsna coming out of one of the Palaces of one of His darling Princesses.

Sri Krsna looked a little worried like a man on the way to the laundromat with a complicated task begged by his wife.

and uncle bill was stumbling to pick up the birch panels, put his hat back in place and get outofsite-as-fast-as-possible:>... but it was not possible and Sri Krsna immediately stepped over and began to help him and then asked, "where are you going"?

Uh

OH

Ah

ooof!

"I'm looking for the art shop of Jhari-walla Rksa", squelched my Uncle,

and Sri Krsna said that He was headed that way and He would like the company on the walk and insisted on carrying some of the panels.

My Uncle expleted, "but you are God".

and SRI KRSNA responded, "So, what!

I'm God and you are Bill... What was it??"

"Birch"

"Yeahhh, 'Bill Birch'.

"I'm God and you are Bill Birch"

"but dvaraka is a much nicer place than the /islameo/judeo/christian heaven, no?

"yes", said my Uncle Bill, going into uh kind-uh auto pilot mindless slow motion panic!

"ooo OOO O O O AWkk!"

but Krsna just carried on talking about his domestic bliss. the visit of His mother-in-law and the seven challenges of Hercules.

by the time Uncle Bill reached the Art shop he was smiling a kind of iron smile and Jhari-walla Rksa kind of wrapped him around the shoulder and pulled in.

saluting Sri Krsna as He continued on toward the Eleven Days All Spices store.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

250730 3.06am

uncle birch sat in a tree that overlooked the nearby sea.

he'd helped Rksa Saab repair his fob, and categorize the art board.

now the sun rose of the scene

the monkeys all began to scheme

and chatter in the jungle.

forest.

it was early morning in dvaraka dhama.

the housewives made their song.

as they began to roll chapati-flour.

after leaving RS's shop, he'd in a little parkside stopped and bartered for bananas.

bunch he'd bought and slowly walked amidst the traffic clutter.

then finally the outskirts of Dvaraka city reached, and in this pleasant jungle beached.

ocean was about 1/2 mile away and he could hear the surf and smell the salty air.

the cawing sea gulls all the fish did scare.

caaaw caaaaw caaama lobha crodha.

the jungle animals made no fright.

they would come and sit quietly beneath his tree. share a few grunts and growls and then break free.

there seemed to be no hunger or thirst here unless KRSNA wanted.

-0-0-0-

time to put this JL Trash into a bottle and see who has to read this twaddle.

SELF PUBLISHING.

(Another kind of Self Publishing is to put the Twaddle/Trash into a fire)

asa[e] guru-tattva

One of our initiated disciples has been approached by local co-gbc secretary of his country and region to take on the role of a Diksa guru in ISKCON.

We have been asked to approve of this.

We have had some very productive discussion with the GBC man and the disciple and committed to writing this document.

For us Guru-tattva is an unlimited, ever fresh topic. Lord Nityananda, Balarama, can be taken as the original Gurus (although we have read Srila Prabhupada commenting that Lord Caitanya is the spiritual master of all spiritual masters).

Lord Balarama is unlimited and ever fresh.

So, for us Guru-tattva is a very pragmatic reality. It is not a matter of sentimental speculation nor imaginative ecstasy, rather practical activity in the foreground of spiritual life.

We follow Srila Prabhupada as Diksa Guru by chanting 16-enthusiastic rounds daily and following the 4-principals strictly; taking formal initiation from him according to the process of probational time period, GBC standards, fire sacrifice, beads, name etc; and anyone following us following Srila Prabhupada is a qualified ISKCON Diksa Guru.

To be Diksa guru for Harinama, Gayatri and Sannyasa Diksa, you must have received the Mantras properly and be practicing those ashramas yourself.

You will be the only Diksa guru for the disciple. Srila Prabhupada is Founder-Acharya for everyone in ISKCON. If you are not an Uttama adikari then the people you are initiating must have personally accepted Srila Prabhupada as an Uttama adhikari guru. Disciple may and most naturally will have many Siksa gurus, but of course they cannot conflict with your relationship with disciples as Diksa guru. Usually the principal Siksa guru becomes Diksa guru, though as in the case of Dhruva and his Mother Suniti, this could not become the case because she was a woman and his mother. So, as Diksa guru you will most likely be a principal siksa guru, but maybe not.

From very practical experience of doing the job for many years, talking with and seeing others do the job, and now seeing younger men take up the job, we can now see and suggest within the perspective of the Bhaktivedanta Library and Purports a few things.

Of course, we do not think we are perfect and want to hear the suggestions of others.

Again it is a deep, every fresh topic.

1. It is a formality, though not a meaningless formality. Anyone who does any ritual sacrifice for another eg. marriage, funeral, diksa takes Karma. Are you ready, young enough, strong enough, healthy enough to do this?
2. We really think it is a job to be performed between like 40 and fifty years old.
3. Ideally one should have their Bhakti vaibhava diploma for giving Harinama diksa, and their Bhakti vedanta Diploma for Gayatri diksa.
4. Advanced grhastha couple should take vanaprastha.
5. Wife should be fully enlightened and agreeable to the role.
6. One should should contemplate accepting Guru daksina and Vyasapuja worship. In our experience Srila Prabhupada even approved of pious householders washing the feet of Brahman ISKCON devotee guests if the devotees accepted this honor, and had the strength to take that responsibility for their hosts, but make your ideas and application of these formal honors public.
7. If you are proposed for this job, talk with at least six other senior devotees for their opinion and approval. Look at your Yatra and make up a list of people whom you feel are as good as or better qualified to do the service to ISKCON than you.
8. Become a qualified Siksa guru, even taking the diplomas established by Srila Prabhupada, then you can accept Shiksa disciples, even giving them advice about who, and how, to accept and reject as Diksa guru. We see this as a much more natural position and formality for ladies than Diksa guru, though ladies becoming Diksa gurus is not forbidden in our tradition, as is Sannyasa or wearing a sacred thread.

Thank you.

Hope this is useful for Srila Prabhupada and his ISKCON.

asa[e] - yoga ladder

"How do we become gopi-jana? The approach, methods please be guided."

HpS/ASA - AgtSP! Paoho.... All of these answers are in the Nectar of Instruction, no? It is first steps for us neophyte devotees. Then it gives references for further reading from Gita, SB, CC, NoD, etc.

From NoI we have "nitya siddha krsna prema sadya kabu naya...", love of Krsna is not something that we get from some outside. When we engage in 'sravana adi', hearing, chanting etc. it naturally awakens.

So, maybe you are already a Rama bhakta, like Hanuman, or Murari Gupta in Gaura lila.

Maybe you are a flower on a garland of Krsna in Goloka Dhama.

Maybe your position is Braja-jana but not Gopi-jana, a flower in Goloka, santa rasa, or a cowherd boy like Raktaka or Patraka.

Even if we are Gopi-jana, then the process of waking up to our original position is so nicely described in Srila Prabhupada's Nectar of Instruction, Texts Seven and Eight.

This is translated into Manipuri, no?

Do you have a copy?

Several copies?

Please read carefully and tell us your experience!!!!

Thank you.