Letters to the editor

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.

Funding Letter Draft 170810

<img height="137" src="file:///C:\Users\HHHANU~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.png" width="117" />NIOS

North American Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies

2129 Stratford Rd; Murfreesboro, TN 37129; USA

Esteemed Members, Directors, Officers,

XXX Foundation

We, NIOS, are looking for a partner in spirit for a substantial and potent project. Since our formation in 2004 we have been blessed to have realized such projects in co-operation with the National Museum of India, National Library of Peru, San Marcos University, Peru (the second oldest university in the Western Hemisphere) and many other excellent institutions.

Considering our strengths, weaknesses, finances and community, our next selected focus is a Symposium on Art and the Sacred, October 2018. The venue is already set, Centro Cultural Ricardo Palma, Lima, Peru. The exhibition halls guarantee 40,000 visitors, international tourists, a week. The center-piece would be an excellent movie, ART AND THE SACRED: A Pilgrim’s Progress.

One of our advisors, Prof. Hector Behar, one of the most prominent players in the history of human rights in South America, and currently member of the United Nation’s Committee on World Poverty (???), commented that the United Nation’s estimate is that 1-million people commit suicide each year. This is more than all the deaths in all the armed conflicts combined.

We can define the real enemy as our own minds, our lack of cultural assets. We propose a documentary that will systematically and dramatically interview profound scholars, art historians, poets, artists, Jungians, Jesuits, from Peru to New York, London, Madrid, Delhi and Kolkata that will demonstrate and communicate a practical pathway to a world culture of Art and the Sacred.

In the world there are enough resources for everyman’s needs, but not enough for one man’s greed – Mohandas Gandhi

We are asking for a budget of $125,000. Our Director will be a longtime co-worker, Oscar Natars Burger (Iber-Americano Association for Arts and Letters, Director of the Year 2017). Of course, the premier for the film will be Lima, Peru but already it has presentation sites in Chile, India, USA and will be aired for use by such agencies as the BBC, National Geographic et al.

Join us? Money, men, brains, heart?

We have already invested $2,000 in the concept development work. If you are seriously interested we can send more details. Partial funding for even specific aspects of the project would be greatly appreciated.

Prof. H. H. Robinson

(Hanumatpresaka Swami)

Resource Research Office

Namacharya Das asks:

 Is there difference between
 refugees and aspirants? In the online list there is
 "refugees" and here in this scan you write
 "aspirants".
*** HpS - AS Jayapataka Swami explained it to us, and it was set ups for/by him, you can be an Aspirant almost immediately. This was to give a sense of belonging to people who would otherwise be "initiated" by other Gaudiya Vaisnava groups outside of ISKCON before they were following any principles. Then you are a Refugee after six months of following everything. So, technically they are all Refugees. We don't do anything formally for Aspirants usually. When Prabhupada was manifest he wrote and the standard was that anyone who followed the principles and lived in the Temple for six months could take first initiation, but for second initation there had to be more care taken.