Hare Krishna Gurudev!!
Please accept my humble obeisances,
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada,
Tomorrow more letters with july visit to argentina, questions and news. Struggling to improve this bhakti yoga practice. Gaura Purnima, HH Bhakti Sundar Goswami´s visit, med school, uff.
As you said we are trying to base our community in SB.
I want your advice in this issue.
Our program from Monday to Friday is as follows:
4:30 mangala aratik+kirtan+nrisimha
5 to 5:20 am tulasi puja, nod, siksastakam, 10 offenses
5:20 -6:40 japa (until 7 during weekends)
6:40-7:10 SB class (7 to 8 during weekends)
7:10 to 7:30 govinda, guru puja+kirtan (8 to 8:30 during weekends)
7:30 off to work
I noticed that most devotees attend to the first part of the program until japa and then leave. Then very few devotees attend SB class.
I understand that the main program is MAngala aratik+kitan+nrisimha+japa+SB. Then as you quote from NOI 3, anything else is nice but less important.
So i will propose to avoid the secondary programs and stick to the main during the week days.
I´m thinking in this for the week days:
Option 1:
4:30 to 5 am mangala aratik+kirtan+nrisimha
5 to 6:30 am japa
6:30 to 7 am SB class
7 am Govinda
7:10 off to work
Option 2:
4:30 to 5 am mangala aratik+kirtan+nrisimha
5 to 5:30 am SB class
5:30 to 7 am japa
7 am Govinda
7:10 off to work
Which option is better for you? What is your advice?
Devotees supporting option 1 they say that Srila Prabhupada said that japa is more important than Reading, and is better to chant japa after the aratik for the meditation.
Devotees supporting option 2 they say that giving SB class right after the aratik will make that all devotees attend the class.
Thank you for the inspiration Gurudev,
At your service,
Nikunja Bihari das.
HpS - Thank you. Very nice. Depends on local circumstance, but what we do is: Some Japa and CC before Mangala arati. Can even be couple minutes of reading, but steady.
Then do some reading right after Mangala arati. Again it can be a few minutes. We did CC after Mangala arati in San Jose where everyone had to go to work by 6.30AM and with 15-minute classes evderyone was enthusiastic and in such a short time we finished the hole book. Then do some class later, after Govinda, in terms of who can join. Everyhone can read the same stuff, eg. weekly assignment, and then discuss it on Saturday.