Dear Guru Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!!

I wish that you could have made it to Toronto for the Ratha Yatra this year. Please come next year and schedule it in you itinerary well in advance. It will be great for the devotees and myself to have your association. I hope a year is enough notice for you :)

           ASA - HpS - AGTSP!!!!     We are condemned like old auto-mobile tires or discarded styrofoam dinner plates.  We could not see Rathayatra in Toronto.    When is the festival in 2014???

Regarding children I had a question. I see many devotees performing samskaras for their children for example: first grain ceremony, name giving ceremony, hair cutting ceremony, etc. I was wondering if this is necessary or required within ISKCON because I'm going to have a child of my own soon!!!

         ASA - I think the three mentioned Samskaras are nice.  Of course, the essence of all these is Hari-nama Sankirtana.

Will this be beneficial for the soul's Krishna consciousness? Just wondering.

            As far as I know these three are nice.  It is like taking measles vaccination or something.

As for my sadhana I have been following 4 regulative principles, chanting minimum 16 rounds, and trying to read. Although during my early weeks of my pregnancy I was having difficulty with my japa. I was nauseous sometimes all day and could not chant all my rounds although I did chant the left over the following day. Was this alright?

           ASA - Being nauseous?   Seems you didn't have much choice in the matter.   Ha!   Ha!   Hare...           We always try to surpass the bodies changes, try our best chant when tired, sick...  but with some patience and realize that maybe need more rest sometimes.  Utlimately we have to chant when we are dead also..

your aspiring servant,

Rasa-mandali dd

             ASA - HpS - Try and chant.  Ha!!            Re!                          Krs....   na!                Ha!    Re!    Krs...   na!!!  .....      It is good practice for a Yogini.    You want to develop mistical powers for Krsna and stimulate your child with Maha-mantra as much as possible.         How is the rest of your family?   ????                 Date for Toronto Rathayatra?    Hope the Kapi Dhvaja is good.  We put a lot of our news there!!!