Letters to the editor

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Please accept our humble obeisances and well wishes.

Question is, can a girl get remarried?

"Actually the qualified brāhmaṇas are meant to give direction to the kings for proper administration in terms of the scriptures like the Manu-saṁhitā and Dharma-śāstras of Parāśara." [http://vedabase.com/en/sb/1/9/27]

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"Parasara Dharma Sastra - CHAPTER IV

28. When her husband is missing, or is dead, or has renounced the world, or is impotent, or has been degraded by sin, — on any of the said five calamities befalling a woman, law has ordained another husband for her. 

29. If a woman has led a continent life, after her lord 
departed this life, she wins a region of bliss after her death, 
like to the well-known male observers of a celebate life. 

30. If a woman follows her departed lord, by burning 
herself on the same funeral pile, she will 'dwell in heaven " for as many years as there are hairs on the human frame, —
which reach the number of three crores and a half. 
31. As a snake-catcher seizes a venomous serpent by 
force, and from within its hole lifts it up; so does a wife 
deliver her lord from the torments of hell, and then rejoices 
[in heaven] with him. "       [http://bhati.org/archives/nios-pds090904.pdf]

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We read another translation where is said that 1st class is to follow her departed husband in the same fire of sacrifice. If he takes Sannyasa she becomes a Sannyasini like Visnu-priya followed Lord Caitanya. This is like 30-31 in the translation above.

2nd class is like text 29. She doesn't take sannyasa or sati, but doesn't get remarried, follows Brahmacaria.

3rd class is that she gets remarried, but in the other translation it said six years.

We went through this in our life. In some ways we basically took Sannyasa. We became Hare Krsna's. Of course, our wife could have followed us more strictly and then it would have gradually adjusted, but she got remarried instead. I don't belittle her at all. She was a VERY, VERY nice person. It was just too tough for her or me to solve the problems. I never got remarried.
But she got remarried after like six years, and intuitively before I had read this it seemed correct.
 

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SB 7.11.25-27 Srila Prabhupada gives very detailed advice. Read it all! For example:
"If her husband is fallen, it is recommended that she give up his association. Giving up the association of her husband does not mean, however, that a woman should marry again and thus indulge in prostitution. If a chaste woman unfortunately marries a husband who is fallen, she should live separately from him. Similarly, a husband can separate himself from a woman who is not chaste according to the description of the śāstra. The conclusion is that a husband should be a pure Vaiṣṇava and that a woman should be a chaste wife with all the symptoms described in this regard. Then both of them will be happy and make spiritual progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness."

                  So... it is a rather robust topic. The general principle is: Follow the four principles and chant 16 nice rounds daily in the association of devotees. Then practical details of Dharma will become clear.
How can we consider our actions good if they hurt anyone. We should try to do austerities for the benefit of everyone and Krsna will give a solution to our ashrama situation.

Whatever we do we should take some time to see the situtation clearly with good advice.

If a girl separates from her husband because he is chronically lax in the regulative principles, then at least give it a year of strict brahmacarini life in association of devotees before making any other decisions about looking for a new partner, no?

Any questions, comments complaints?

Hare Krsna dear Guru Maharaja <img alt="smiley" height="23" src="http://hps-d6.monkeywarrior.com/sites/all/libraries/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.png" title="smiley" width="23" />. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!<img alt="heart" height="23" src="http://hps-d6.monkeywarrior.com/sites/all/libraries/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/heart.png" title="heart" width="23" />

Chapters 4 to the end

Wow! I am impressed greatly by the given text. Such a nice summary of KC which although a summary is very profound – having and sharing intellectual penetration and emotional depth. 

(In a way) it was an easier reading then starting chapter which was dealing with different studies of ISKCON.  Maybe because the content was more familiar.

 I could highlight all the text from these chapters. It would be a one big note of KC, about KC. It is nicely presented, I guess also scholarly (that I cannot comment as do not have much experience with academic texts). I was shaken to the bones (tears) by reading the explanation about Krsna’s love calling. This book gives a strong impetus to read, study and apply SP’s books in one’s own life. With respect I proclaim my gratitude to TKG and Garuda Prabhu for such a wonderful work.

As all this said let me share some points and questions:

• Paribhasa sutra of SB not only controls all other SB texts but also other Puranas (Does it for other Vedic texts?).
  HpS - ASA - I would guess so. All the Vedas are looking for God and of all the incarnations the best one to find is Nanda nandanan!
• Seva is said (by whom?) to be the meaning of bhaj, bhakti’s root.
  I don't know. The Nirukti and Amara kosa are two dictionarys that Srila Prabhupada quotes.
• TKG:”Srila Prabhupada, how many are there pure devotees in the world?”. SP: ”75 (which was number of ISKCON members [initiated or not] at the time)”.
• Followed the texts of two footnotes:
  1. SP lecture :”Spiritual aesthetics”, where SP depreciates the need for musical expertise and knowledge of Sanskrit pronunciation to chant HK and kirtan,
  and
  2. Kesava Bharati Goswami’s story of his mother taking to bhakti yoga on the end of her life after a life of disapproval.
• Question: What is SP's final order about association with his godbrothers and their organizations ? Can ISKCON devotees get inspiration from them or will  get confused?
  Of course, even in the NoI there is the comment that he was surrounded by neophyte Godbrothers who nothing about spreading Krsna consciousness and rather tried to pull the preachers down to their level. Besides that I don't remember anything very specific in his books that Prabhupada said. I think there is the general discrimination of identitfying people in any tradition according to their advancement, NOI 4-6, and then associating according to that principle, no?

I am going to recommend this book heartily to everyone (who is ready to deal with academic wordings).

Thank you Guru Maharaja.

Your servant Namacarya das

HpS - ASA - We are about half way through the book. It is hard for us to read because of the small type, but we also find it very delightful. I think the earlier parts are more stimulating to us becuase we lived through the cult-contoversy era and have personal experience of the academic things he cites. The thing that has been the most stimulating to us to far has been in the section on Pramana, evidential sources, where TKG lists all the specific books that Prabhupada was using to write his purports. Also, we are impressed with the volume of reading that he has done. Knowing Maharaja as I did a little bit I think that he may have had many research assitants reading and reporting for him also.
The book does seem essential to our academic preaching, establishing Prabhupada as a Theologian, not just a clever hippy cult leader.

All Glories to Sri Sri Radha Syamasundara
All Glories to Sri Sri Gaura Nitay
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

Please Dear Gurudev, accept my humble obeisances
First of all, this report with questions about the congress ends huge. I know that is no the idea, but, i'm sure that with your always essential answers we can do a service much better and we don't bother you too much after this.

·After your last reply we have had two god brothers meetings and the followers news came from it.

· The devotees here are very enthusiastic with the idea to manage this symposia. So, according with our talking with Param Padam and you, the final date for the “I Latin American Congress on Education in ISKCON” is Friday 30th January to Sunday 1st ,ie, your last weekend in Chile.

The updates now:

1) Name and Generals Points

Just for the time I thought quickly in a slogan to accompany the title, and even put the slogan larger than the original title, namely, I Latin American Congress on Education in ISKCON, and is:

“Experiencias y Propuestas en el arte de cultivar el espíritu.”

We thought that this slogan may help to give a general guideline due is the first congress, so in that way we can at least, guide this international meeting, first of all, to the details about what`s really happening right now on the education in ISKCON in this far region of the world, sharing experiences and according these experiences; what is the general proposal for improve, and everything and always in a unity spirit.

But, now I think that it could be a little ambiguous, not too much tangible. So, what do you think about the slogan idea?, Maybe you can propose other one.

HpS - ASA --- AGTSP! O.K. Date is on our Calendar. What about ISKCON and Education: The Oldest Educational System in the World, Meets the Newest Educational Challenges in America.

2) Financial Issues:

Due the enthusiasm of devotees like Priyasakhi, Sri Pati, Raga Sindhu and others, arise different good ideas to get money for bring here the suitable exhibitors and lecturers. For examples, music concert, festival, prasadam, and even, caps and t-shirts. Actually, Raga Sindhu did a budget already with the tickets of the speakers, is more or less USD 3000.

On the other hand, i'm curious with one sentence of your last reply to me: “We can even get outside participation and sponsors because Education in ISKCON is a Premier Program for Global Perspectives in Education..” With outside participation you are referring to other devotees communities or to non-devotees institutions, like enterprises and foundations???? Premier Program for Global perspectives in Education... “in the world”, you say? Excuse me gurudev, I did'n understand that part. But, I agree with the idea to get sponsors.

HpS - ASA - I am not sure exactly what I meant, but as we develop we could ask people like the GBC to suggest sponsors for some of the expenses. In Texas we charged $50 for each participant and gave Becas, Scholarships for poor people.

Finally, in relation with this point. We could see the fees in the North American Symoposio (NAS) were $51, so, our question is: We should reply this system; to ask fees and give a CD with all conferences?. May be $40 here. My other question: Is the same price to the tele-conference participants, international visitors and local devotees? The prasada were included?

HpS - ASA - Aaaah!  We are thinking the same way. Prasadam and accomodations were separate, so teleconference and gross presence were the same fees.

3) Speakers:

[Suggestions withheld until they are contacted]

In relation to speakers we have some proposals and questions:

• The titles and topics of their conferences should be suggest by us or is their decision?

• Is possible to have for this Congress some of the speakers from the last NAS in Houston? With Ambarish we talked that there is a special interest in Urmila, and his [her] experience with school children. Is possible that she can visit Chile in that time?. Or Sesa Prabhu or Prana das?

• Also, i'm starting a contact with IES (Iskcon Educational Services ies.iskcon.org) from London to other teleconference if is possible. They have a experience in formal education but, maybe the devotees from Canada also can.

• What is your opinion, considering that the topics will cover all educational level, pre-school, et al, to Invite some leader in Education from the Adventist church, famous here for their vegetarianism and to win the chorus contests and other arts. In just one presentation we can know more deeply their success experience (www.educacionadventista.cl) and some of the legal issues to install a school here.

1. Other Points

• In relation with your question: Also, so many people can attend if it is done well by tele-conferencing. Are you familiar with that in Santiago? Honestly, we are not familiar with tele-conference system here. Just webex thank Param Padam and you, Starmeeting thank you, and the new and improved hangouts from Google, and a little ustream. Is just that.

• I designed two ads. One of them is for webs, lika a banner to put in iskcondesiretree webpage, and other local ISKCON websides. The other one is bigger and include the faces of some speakers. (I'm sending the last one poster to your mail now because like I told you, we don't want post publicly the names and either pictures of the speakers yet. Also, I will send in that mail a tentative general program).

• Mainly the publicity of this event will be on internet but we are thinking other methods like to send physical invitations to the congregations from other temples in the region.

• Excuse us guru maharaj for our over dependence of you, clearly we are a third class of disciple :'( .

Finally, and on complete other hand: in relation with the external programs (between 26-29 january). It will be two, and our dear and kind Rodrigo is responsible. We had a good interchange of ideas and information in the last meeting, the last sunday. But we will notify you about that after this Congress issues.

Thank you very much for your patience, time and attention.

My eternal reverences to you dear gurudev,

Jagad Guru Das

                      HpS - AGTSP paoho. How is the Brother/Godbrother. San Carlos????
From our Experience in doing this with BSDamodara Swami, BI et al.

1. Make a formal Organizing Committee. I nominate you as the Working Chairman and local GBC as Honorary Chairman.

2. Get a responsible Communications Secretary that you can work with.

3. Get a Treasurer.

4. Get and Advisory Board. I recommend us, Param-padam and anyone else who agrees to help.

5. I would focus on the theme of a) Identifying who "we" are and "what are our personal passions in education", b) How we can communicate effectively eg. letters, blogs, web-page, periodicals, meetings and c) make a calendar for planning a better meeting next year.

We only have a little time for this first event, so we should only try to do a little: Meet each other, make ways to effectively communicate. Plan the next meeting with more details.

Friday evening - Reception. Get to know each other.

Saturday morning - lectures

Saturday Afternoon- Workshops

Saturday Evening - Entertainment

Sunday morning - Closure.   This is one model.

We can present "Philosophy of Education: Basic Goals and Methods".

Have summary of local, regional and international education realities in ISKCON.

If outside people want to come or are needed then O.K. Other wise, next time.

Next time Thurday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday.

Is O.K?
In Peru Laksmana agraja Das is President of NIMSAR and Candramukhi Devi Dasi is very active. Patraka Das can get you in touch with both of them.

You need three major presenters and three workshop leaders and many people who can make short, 5-minute presentations and ask questions. Record it well. Edit it a little bit, get it out and start planning next year.

hare krisna gurudev!!

please accept my humble obeisances,

all glories to Srila Prabhupada!!

if it is possible i want a copy of tpp cb 8

now i have a new postal adress which is cordoba 3412 mar del plata, buenos aires argentina, zip code 7600.

i moved sama our health center, now a new challenge, ayurvedic style sankirtan.

i think that this tpp cbs are pure nectar, as you said the backbone of ASA. esoteric reading from an esoteric branch.

we already made three copies to local devotees and are sending two copies to peru next week.

we are asking devotees who receive the copies if it is possible to them to make two copies each to distribute.

we would like also to know who has tpp cb 1,2,3,4 and 7 so we get the whole collection.

your words heal. Mistic magic, supersoul. i'm keeping the pace with my rounds, UTSAHA!!

HpS - ASA - AGTSP paoho. Japa, Japa, Japa!  Get up early and get your rounds done.
As soon as we finish this little mail we will go for printing Tpp-Cb8 and make a copy for MDP, Lokanatha Das and anyone else we see in the few more recent letters.

CB1-7 are in folders just across he room. We can talk with Uncle Piggy about making copies and sending to the New Govardhana, Ayurvedic Ashrama.

At your lotus feet,

Nikunja Bihari das.

Your Holiness,

                         Please accept my prostrated obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I desired to write articles on the interface of science and spirituality and you were very kind to me to recommend that I write to you on this website. I do apologize again for my delay and also thank you for giving me a second chance.  With your consent, I will now proceed to render some service.

I  pay my prostrated obeisances to Maharaja again. Then I pay my prostrated obeisances to Srila Prabhupada. Then I pay my obeisances to all the spiritual masters in the line of disciplic succession.  Finally I pay my obeisances to Vraja Kishore and Vraja Kishori. With the dust of the lotus feet of all of them on my head, I try to render some service, however meager may it be.

HpS - ASA - AGTSP paoho. This is a little bit esoteric Blog for our ASA members. At www.jayarama.us you can get more description of ASA. You are in Chicago Temple? We talked with Nityananda-pran Das about visiting there.

Richard Dawkins has written many books. I must accept that I do not know how much of an impact he has had on the people of the world. Srila Prabhupada wanted his disciples to defeat atheists and their arguments against the existence of God.  From the little I have seen on the internet and in my interaction with people, Mr Dawkins is considered a prominent atheist. Thus I have decided to study his book, “the God Delusion” and present before people his arguments and how they could be misleading. So I propose to submit some articles with the aforesaid goal in mind. The first article is given below.

HpS - Have you read the "Dawkin's Delusion"?  Alister McGrath was the Head Theologian at Oxford, no?

The Dawkins Delusion

Reference taken from:

Book: The God Delusion

Publisher: Black Swan, paperback edition

Page number:138

"However statistically improbable the entity you seek to explain by invoking a designer, the designer himself has got to be at least as improbable." The above quotation is found in the book "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins, page no: 138.This is the first and foremost argument that Richard Dawkins gives us in chapter four entitled “why there is almost certainly no God”. His argument is (I am just rephrasing) as follows:

It is very improbable that life evolved, unassisted by God. Thus, the existence of God, must be at least as improbable as the evolution of life because life happens to be designed by God Himself. Thus the existence of God is very improbable. Thus there is almost certainly no God.

This argument has impressed a lot of people all over the world and is one of Dawkins’ most amazing arguments, going by how he has ‘freed’ people from the God ‘delusion’ with this masterstroke. However much as I would like to agree with Dawkins, (because free sex and meat become easy to enjoy…, or so it seems…) I have to raise my hand and ask a meek question.

This form of reasoning seems flawed for the following reasons:

If God is allowed to exist then it is He who is causing life to evolve the way it has (if there was any evolution).  If you see a watch and know that  the watchmaker (who can see) exists, then what is the probability that the watch was designed by the watchmaker ? At least very high. Then we do not worry about the various permutations and combinations involved in the construction of the watch.  We know with great certainty that the watch was constructed by the watchmaker and there is little doubt about it.

If God is not allowed to exist then life has evolved due to a blind, random process. If you see a watch this time and know that there exists no watchmaker it is only then that you wonder about the permuatations and combinations of the various arrangements in the watch and wonder how the watch came into existence, unassisted by a watchmaker. It is only then that you wonder how the watch came into existence from clay and mud etc. It is only then that you calculate the probability of the watch coming into existence.

You cannot say there is God, yet He has nothing to do with the evolution of life, and that because life evolved by a blind process, whose probability is very low, the probability of God’s existence is also low.

Either life evolved due to the will of God or due to a blind process.  It is difficult to see, how both have simulateously taken place.

Let's say you see a building. What is the probability that the building came about as a result of a hurricane during which matter got amalgamated to produce the building ?. Very Low. What is the probability that the building was built by an engineer? Very high. Now will you say that because it is very improbable that the building was assembled during a hurricane, that the poor enginner who built the building has a similar low probability of existing?  Compare this example to an analogous setting where you can replace the engineer with God, the building, with life and the hurricane with evolution, and you will understand the point I am trying to make. 

If Mr Dawkins feels that the Darwinian evolution has a very low probability of happening, then he should maybe question his own understanding that life had to evolve that way, rather than catch hold of a theists collar and insist that the theist’s Creator has a very small probability of existing. Rather it is the theist who can point out to Mr Dawkins that since it is very unlikely that life evolved, maybe it just didn’t happen.

HpS - ASA - The wiki-pedia gives a nice list of refutations, comments on Dawkin's book, no?

The argument that you listed above seems very very strange. "Very little chance that a watch was created by chance, therefore very little chance that God was created by chance." O.K. then then natural conclusion is that neither God nor the watch was created by Chance. That seems very simple, natural way to investigate.

Bertram Russel commented (we hear) that the most important concept in the 20th century is the concept of chance, because no one has the slightest idea what it means.

A chance or random event is an event the outcome of which cannot be predicted.

Doe such an event exist???? Who has demostrated this.

We look up the etymology of "Chance" and it just means the dice fell out of the cup. Seems again to be a very strange idea on which to base you investigation. The same as Vedic, "neti neti", no? Not this, not this, but some people do NOT want to know. They prefer ignorance in the hope of "free sex and hot meat". Guess they are headed to become amoeba. The amoeba can enjoy these two with his whole body, not just his tongue, no?

Thank you!

Hare Krsna dear Guru Maharaja <img alt="smiley" height="23" src="http://hps-d6.monkeywarrior.com/sites/all/libraries/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.png" title="smiley" width="23" />. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!<img alt="heart" height="23" src="http://hps-d6.monkeywarrior.com/sites/all/libraries/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/heart.png" title="heart" width="23" />

By your causeless mercy I got to put my hands and eyes, and hopefully reason, and most hopefully heart into this nice book by TKG and Garuda Prabhu. Is not an easy read with all the english words that I do not see often, so had to read with dictionary, but also not an very heavy read. 

Please find down my foolish notes of the reading.

HpS - AgtSP. We also have to use a dictionary. He is using the technical language of Theologians.

~*~

Until now (Friday, July 18, 2014) I read the Introduction and chapters 1 to 3.

Maybe is one of first time I read such an academic work. Book which is made according to academia. I do not feel and have need now to comment on the book itself, just will share points that I find interesting. Actually, these are not all points that struck me, but for the reason of time I will present few.

• In connection to different studies of ISKCON – never imagined that so many studies have been done about ISKCON, albeit with discrepancies. Funny to see how a person made study of devotees by making the study of a community that is known as not up to the ISKCON standard. Also, to note that even though a person may have some talent as an academic, still that does not make him professional and fully to the point. That may be seen by many studies that had wrong approach. It reminds me of a point that whatever talent a person have, that should be used in service of Krsna, if not, it almost seems useless. I say that even though it sounds fanatical <img alt="angel" height="23" src="http://hps-d6.monkeywarrior.com/sites/all/libraries/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/angel_smile.png" title="angel" width="23" />
• There are nice histories of Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and Srila Prabhupada. Incredible how a manjari comes into material world in a family of a sakta worshipers, does not approach the Vedas, all to up some point and then does an incredible work in preaching and writing.
• There is nice description of what books SP used for doing his work of writing books. The summaries of SB chapters are by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. SP starts using them from the end of 4th Canto.
• Sweet revelation by Garuda Prabhu of word ‘gauda’ and its connection to the essence of Gaudiya vaisnavism
• Description of paribhasa sutra of SB given by Jiva Goswami. What is paribhasa sutra and which verse it is.
• Nice historical account of ISKCON, and how others see/saw ISKCON
• The point how a selective out-of-context readings of topics of SP books is wrong and brings to wrong conclusion
• There is mention of Bhaktivonoda’s   Dasa-mula-tattva which are then dividedinto sambhanada , abhideya and prayojana setting
• In chapter 3 (collage setting) there is  astonishing expression of  situation where SP describes his faith as “practically lost” due to bad association!
• Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati introduced bhakti-sastri in 1919, and there was also some kind of study called acarya

Basically, up to now, we were exploring the past of Srila Prabhupada. Now we are ready to hear about his two mahavakyas.  Can’t wait to dive into the nectarean ocean.

~*~

Thank you.

Your servant Namacarya das 

HpS - ASA - We read a lot of it several years ago, but we are going through more seriously now. We are still on the Introduction.

One of our very important notes is the citation on Page Four Julius Lipner. As far as I understand he is one of the top authorities in Indological studies and to be able to cite his evaluation of the book would have great weight in Indological circles. Other scholars cited are known as devotees within academic community or I don't know their social standing.

We go on, running in the dust of your progress.