Letters to the editor

Hare Krishna Gurudeva, please accept my humble obeisances.

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada !! All the Glories to Hanumatpresaka Swami !!

I am making this report on a 108% Auspicious day as it is the Glorious and Transcendental appearance of Sri Krishna. HAPPY JANMASTAMI TO ALL !!

I have tried, through Saday Nimay Nitay, to concretize the AGREEMENT OF COMMITMENT for the event ART AND SACRED 2018, but, on the one hand, Walter was on vacation in Europe (we talked, he is very enthusiastic about the Event and has accepted to be co-director of the Organizing Committee). Ramón is participating in the celebration of the 400 years of the departure of Santa Rosa de Lima. We have invitations to attend your conference at the Municipal Theater in Lima on Wednesday, August 23, we are going to go with Walter and Luis Torino. And finally, Oscar has been promoted to receive the NATIONAL CULTURE PRIZE in the creative category, on August 25, the process is finished, this is the most important recognition given to an artist in Peru, so I humbly apologize for the delay of this email, I wanted to write you with more successful results, but, from experience, I can say that these will be seen starting of the first days of September.

ADVANCES:

We have defined the main contents of the event:

1) SACRED IMAGES: Exhibition of pieces of art. At this point Ramon has proposed (Oscar, Walter and I agree) that it is a sample rather than quantity of pieces, a sample of few pieces, but well representative of the sacred art of Peru, India, China, Japan and Egypt. It's okay?
HpS = ASA -- Yes!

2) SACRED SCENIC ARTS: The INTEGRO GROUP will carry out an interdisciplinary staging. At this point, we are evaluating the literary basis of this activity.

HH Hanumatpresaka Swami to suggested DON QUIJOTE DE LA MANCHA by Miguel de Cervantes.

Héctor Béjar, THE MOTIVES OF THE WOLF by Rubén Darío

Oscar Naters, THE SACRED BOOK OF THE ANDES Translated by José María Arguedas.

Ramón Mujica told me that this Friday 18 was going to give his proposal

Duration: between 40 - 50 min.

3) SACRED SOUNDS AND DANCES

4) SPECIAL EDITION OF SOLARIS No. 3.

5) INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM THE ART AND THE SACRED

As for the film, Oscar told me to inform him that due to the contest, from next week he will devote himself fully to the pre production, talking with him and Ramón we saw that a key point are the questions of the Dialogues, perhaps the blog is the best way for all to contribute to define, what are the key questions to present ART AND THE SACRED, for example: How to encourage everyone to start or develop their spiritual life? The next 15 days we hope to receive your suggestions, thank you very much.

To finish, we just uploaded the video of last year's event, here the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2IDfcJPg_M

ASA - Thank you so, so much for this upload, we can really use it.

I will try to report every 15 days to maintain a more fluid and constant communication by this means.

Hare Krishna Gurudeva, his useless servant, Abhiram Thakur das.

EL ARTE Y LO SAGRADO, PRIMER REPORTE

Hare Krishna Gurudeva, por favor acepte mis humildes reverencias.

¡Todas las Glorias a Srila Prabhupada!! ¡Todas las Glorias a Hanumatpresaka Swami!!

Estoy haciendo este informe en un día 108% Auspicioso como es la Gloriosa y Trascendental aparición de Sri Krishna. FELIZ JANMASTAMI A TODOS!!

He tratado, Saday Nimay Nitay mediante, de concretar el ACUERDO DE COMPROMISO para el evento EL ARTE Y LO SAGRADO 2018, pero, por un lado, Walter se encontraba de vacaciones en Europa (acaba de llegar, ya hablamos, está muy entusiasmado con el evento y ha aceptado ser co-director del Comité Organizador). Ramón está participando en la celebración de los 400 años de la partida de Santa Rosa de Lima. Tenemos invitaciones para asistir a su conferencia en el Teatro Municipal de Lima el miércoles 23 de agosto, vamos a ir con Walter y Luis Torino. Y por último, Oscar ha sido promovido a recibir el PREMIO NACIONAL DE CULTURA en el rubro Creatividad, el 25 de agosto acaba el proceso, este es el reconocimiento más importante que se le da a un artista en el Perú, así que humildemente le pido mil disculpas por la demora de este correo, quería escribirle con resultados más logrados, pero, por experiencia, puedo decir que estos se verán recien a partir de los primeros días de setiembre.

AVANCES:

Hemos definido los principales contenidos del evento:

1)IMÁGENES SAGRADAS: Exhibición de piezas de arte. En este punto Ramón ha propuesto (Oscar, Walter y yo estamos de acuerdo) que sea una muestra más que de cantidad de piezas, una muestra de pocas piezas, pero bien representativas del arte sagrado de Perú, India, China, Japón y Egipto. ¿Está bien?

2)ARTES ESCENICAS SAGRADAS: El GRUPO INTEGRO realizara una puesta en escena interdisciplinaria. En este punto, estamos evaluando la base literaria de esta actividad.

SS Hanumatpresaka Swami ha sugerido DON QUIJOTE DE LA MANCHA de Miguel de Cervantes.

Héctor Béjar, LOS MOTIVOS DEL LOBO de Rubén Darío

Oscar Naters, EL LIBRO SAGRADO DE LOS ANDES traducido por José María Arguedas.

Ramón Mujica me dijo que este viernes 18 iba a dar su propuesta

Duración: entre 40 - 50 min.

3) SONIDOS Y DANZAS SAGRADAS.

4)EDICION ESPECIAL DE SOLARIS No. 3.

5)SIMPOSIO INTERNACIONAL EL ARTE Y LO SAGRADO

En cuanto a la película, Oscar me dijo que le informara que, debido al concurso, a partir de la próxima semana se va a dedicar de lleno a la pre producción, hablando con él y Ramón veíamos que un punto clave son las preguntas de los diálogos, tal vez el blog sea el mejor medio para que todos contribuyan a definir, cuales son las preguntas claves para presentar EL ARTE Y LO SAGRADO, por ejemplo: Como animar a todo el mundo a iniciar o desarrollar su vida espiritual?, Durante los próximos 15 días esperamos recibir sus sugerencias, muchas gracias.

Para finalizar dos puntos más: 1.- Acabamos de subir el video del evento del año pasado, aquí el link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2IDfcJPg_M 

Voy a tratar de reportar cada 15 días para mantener una comunicación más fluida y constante por este medio.

Hare Krishna Gurudeva, su inútil sirviente, Abhiram Thakur das

HpS -ASA -  Muchismas gracias sus esfuerzas. From our viewpoint unless we have the dialogs every two weeks the project will not go ahead. I am 100% focused on the movie, Art and the Sacred - A Pilgrim's Progress. We sent a detailed letter to Dr. Kalyankumar Chakravarty. Our next step depends very much on how he responds, if he can take up the work of developing the IDEA for the movie.

We are still thinking of basically a trip from Peru to New York, London (Spain), Delhi and meeting importan people along the way for their ideas of how we can enhance the production of Art within this world that will define, animate and satisfy our Spiritual aspects.

Of course we are thinking of this in a lot of depth and cannot exist without inspired input from others such as you, Oscar, Anandamaya, Jagat pavitram, Nitai-gaurasundara Das ......

Again, thank you for your really great sacrifices for all these projects. This has been the result of the sacrifice of many people and Krsna knows to heart of each of us.

The fotos are wonderful. We hope we can download them and use them!

Anjana-suta-academy
American Bhagavata Curriculum
[ASA – ABC]

Saturday Morning Workshop

AGTSP!  Paoho.
Prabhus, Maharajas, Matajis et al,

Starting 26^th August, next Saturday, we will be meeting at www.startmeeting.com or telephone at +1 701 801 1220, [Meeting # 992 055 489], at:

• 9AM Nashville time,
• 8AM Boise time,
• 7AM San Jose time.

This is an experiment to make the class late enough so that San Jose devotees can finish their Japa etc.

On the 26^th we will do:

1. A general overview of Sastric Studies in ISKCON;
2. Pada-padma, Cantos 1-2; and
3. Inaugurate our ASA, Bhakti-vedanta Curriculum Development Program.

We are trying our very best to accommodate everyone with these schedules and contents. The program will be recorded and available on line and there will also be a review for European devotees, in English, at 1.30PM Monday’s, Nashville time.

Please adjust your service to join us for the benefit of Srila Prabhupada’s whole Sankirtan movement.

Thank you so very much,
HpS - ASA

ASA-Encyclopedia; Epistemology; Blind Faith
In BG 4.34 Srila Prabhupada says that blind faith and absurd enquirer are condemned. Krsna always gives us enough information to act. Whether we chose to act on what we know or don’t know, that is being faithful or unfaithful.
We have had experience of Srila Prabhupada through many media. Especially we have applied his instructions, world-view, many times and it is always true. We especially remember one time we were in a Kirtan after the Sunday Feast in the San Francisco Temple. We were guests, visiting from Sacramento and not yet initiated or even knowing much of anything,but we had purchased a pair of Kartals, hand cymbals, from the Gift Store and were trying to play then, 1,2,3 and; 1,2,3 and… and dance and chant along with the Brahmacaris. It was taking all of our attention: Spatial orientation, Temporal Discrimination, Tonal Discriminatin, Meaning; and then suddenly we realized that our mind and senses were completely under control. We could see that we were not our body or mind. We saw ourselves as master as it says in SB 1.2.

Then our mind asked, “If we are not this body, or mind, then who are we?” We were standing in front of Radha Gokulananda, Their Dieties, and we spontaneously could see Them as people, though in a statue form, and we responded that we are Your servants. Then our mind asked, “How can we learn to serve you, more”? The answer was that you have made progress by this process, ISKCON Yoga, so if you continue you will gradually understand everything just you have understood this.
Reminds us of the verse where Rama says “sakrd eva prapananam…”, if even once in clear consciousness we say that we are surrendered to you please save me, I give that person all protection to come to Me, this is my eternal vow.
So that was essentially my Diksa, initiation, by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada’s process.
Thus we have faith in what he says, trying to understand it properly, because if his process can put us beyond the body and mind then he and his activities and words must also be beyond them. He is not bewildered by his mind with blind spots and personal grievances against this person or that person. He is criticizing them out of the anger of love.
 

ASA-Encyclopedia; Immortality; Marginal Existence.
When we were at the University of California, Davis, we took several courses on theater, improvisational theater. We recommend them for everyone. Our yoga is Gandharva Veda, no -- Music, dance, drama?
One day our teacher was teaching us how to use our bodies. How to walk. Then told us, “Let your body tilt to the side until you are just about to fall down and then step to the side to catch it from falling. Then keep it off balance and falling to the left and keep stepping to keep it from falling.”
We always remember that. You can always dance on the edge.As long as you can breath you can chant.
H A R E !   K R S N A!
If your voice is inflamed so you can hardly talk, investigate. How much sound can you actually produce without unhealthy strain on your goal cords, throat?
Once you find out, then chant with what you have on the margin of real speech and experiment with the variety of chanting you can do.
“There are no small parts in the drama, just small actors”, Constantin Stanislavsky
Maybe you are not a major actor in the political situation. What can you do to make a change for the better? Investigate your Marginal Existence. Become very active within your limits.
“If you don’t think your one little voice can have any influence in the global politics, then you obviously have not passed one night with a mosquito”, One Black Lady.
At the time of death, during nine months in the womb, in your imbecilic infancy, can we still Dance on the Margin?
Hare Krsna/Hare Rama.
 

Gurudeva, please accept my humble obeisances. Your message did not come through. Could you kindly resend it?

Today, Srinivasa Prabhu and I read 6.10.9. It was a short class, but very nice. We discussed how every religion has the Golden Rule, para duhkha duhkhi, but everyone has a different definition of what para,  or other, means . Srila Prabhupada defines para in the broadest sense to include all living entities. Impersonalism means that we deny the status of para to other living entities.

We also discussed how it is a subtle form of sense gratification to feel anger towards others or pity towards oneself.

ASA - We went to a non-violence rally last night in the Boro. Protest Charlottesville massacre. We were thinking vidya-vinaya... Not kill our black and white brothers but do kill our for legged brothers.

 Yes, vaco vegam. It is such sense verification to be a victim and enjoy revenge our pity. Every year new revenge movies, no? The teacher who finally gets the chance for revenge on his students!

 There is nothing sweeter than the blood of my enemy!

We have been working on an ASA-Encyclopedia. We will post it in the Archives. We just added the following article:

ISKCON

Improvements

(rev. 2017 Aug 10)

There is a collection of Śatakas (One hundred verses) by Prabodhananda Sarasvati, Uncle of Gopal Bhatta Goswami, wherein he describes the glories of Śrī Vṛṇdavana Dhama. It is Sri Vrndavana Dhama Mahimamrta. It is one of our most favorite books.

It is very curious to change each reference to Vrndavana in the song to ISKCON and then meditate on ISKCON. For example:

15 May the land of ISKCON where Subala and the other wonderful cowherd boys, who are all dear friends of Sri Krsna, play, where Lalita and the other splendidly beautiful young gopis, who are all filled with love for Srimati Radharani, enjoy transcendental bliss, and where Sri Sri Radha-Krsna thirst to enjoy wonderful transcendental amorous pastimes day and night, become manifest in my heart.

16 To drink: the freely flowing streams are filled with clear sweet water as nectar. To eat: the dried leaves from the trees are foods as palatable as one could desire. The warm breezes are just as one would have them. To reside: there are clean mountain caves and other suitable residences. Alas! Alas! How unfortunate I would be if I wished to leave ISKCON!

17 ISKCON is like the incomparable essence of the ocean of pure love of Krsna, or it is like the sweetest island-bracelet decorating that ocean of love. I pray this land of ISKCON, which the great sages experience sweet as nectar, give me shelter until the moment I leave this body.

18 I meditate on wonderful ISKCON, where there are millions of lakes, ponds, and wells, all filled with water as sweet as transcendental nectar, where there are many gardens filled with blossoming transcendental flowers and fruits and unlimited wonderful trees and vines, where there are numberless transcendental deers and other animals who move here and there, and where there are many beautiful transcendental groves.

19 Whose heart would not be enchanted by ISKCON where Sri Radhika-Madanamohana enjoy many pastimes, where there are many trees and flowering vines, where the ground is paved with jewels, and where the birds, deer and other animals are all maddened with transcendental bliss?

So, there is that ISKCON, no? Srila Prabhupada is its Founder and Acharya and it is perfect in every way. Let us aspire to be eternal members of Srila Prabhupada’s eternal Sankirtan party.

There are some things, however, that we think should be changed in the earthly ISKCON. These are our opinions and our first opinion is that many of our opinions aren’t perfect. Look at the revision date to this article.

Mangala-arati song in Vrndavana, Krsna-Balarama Temple - We were sitting in Prabhupada’s Samadhi while the Mangala Arati was going on in the main Temple and Dhananjaya Das was there. He had been Temple President there in the association of Srila Prabhupada and had a dynamic relationship with Prabhupada. It seemed we had a similar opinion. The Temple Mangala-arati song was changed when the Samadhi for Srila Prabhupada was established and a separate Mangala-arati performed there. In our opinion the Gurvastakam, “Samsara davanala…”, should have been kept for the Main Temple and gone on just as it had when Srila Prabhupada was in his manifest presence. Then with the addition of Samadhi service another song should have been added, such as, “Oh he vaisnava thakura…” etc. Dhanjaya Das pointed out that the Temple song, “Vibhavari sesa…”, was an Arunadaya kirtan, a sunrise Bhajana, as the song itself directly says, and Mangala-arati is never done at sunrise.

GBC Lifelong Position – As far as we know there is only one letter where Srila Prabhupada says that the GBC position should be for life. See the article on Epistemology, Letters from Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada may have said “Why change GBC position each year? They can serve for as long as they have life” and the secretary wrote “for life”. In one place Srila Prabhupada says that the life in this body is finished at 50-years old, maybe you can push it to fifty-five. So our opinion is that GBC Secretary should usually be no older than 50-years. Then younger, more energetic man can move in and the retired devotee can then be source of good advice as a Sannyasi or Vanaprastha.

Nrsmha-pranams in Spanish countries is sung, “Prahlada ahlada da dayine”. There is no second, “da” before “dayine”.

Temple President post has been terrible minimized with exaggeration of diksa-guru and over centralization of power in GBC.

Sannyasis in ISKCON are the supreme spiritual authorities (see SB 1.17 near the end) and GBC is the ultimate managing authority. Sannyasis, Brahmanas, need to be honest and brave to have their important influence in ISKCON.

Vaisnavi is a term that we never hear Prabhupada use in the Prema-dhvani after the Aratis. In his books it usually means Maya-devi. If that is what you mean, “All glories to the assembled Maya-devis” then O.K. Other references are for the prostitute who tried to corrupt Hari-dasa Thakura and for Diti who tried to kill her sister’s babies. Prabhupada uses it for the wife of Siki-mahiti who was one of the most intimate associates of the Lord and for his sister also. We think it should not be emphasized because it puts a bodily stress on the Vaisnava like saying “Atmi”. I wonder why Jayapataka Swami uses it so much? We have had really transcendental experiences with him.

Peach colored cloth for B’caris - If you are not married don’t wear white. It lets everyone one know if you are a B’cari or a G’hasta. Then we have a clear culture in our dealings with the opposite sex etc and make it hard for The Witch to get us. If you are not following B’cari ashrama strictly then dress in civil clothes.