Dear Maharaj,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to You!! :)
Hare Krishna. I am still in good old Toronto...
ASA - HpS - Hare Krsna. It is very nice to hear from you. We are moving all the time. It is killing us rapidly, but we feel we are able to contribute a little to ISKCON!
The winter season is starting soon here. And I hear that you will soon be travelling to India!!!!
ASA - HpS - Yes, next Moon Day we go to Europe!
Jiva Goswami das from Houston told me he will also be travelling with you. How ecstatic- my day to visit the holy land will come soon.
ASA - HpS - Haw! Haw! Haw Ray! Where ever we do Sankirtan is certainly the most Holy Land!
So my sadhana: 4 regulative principles, mangal arti- I keep waking up late though (I tend to keep taking my naps during Japa), and I increased one round to 17 In the last three-ish weeks. Sankirtan is the most difficult. I like it but it's still scary. I just wish that there were more matajis living in the temple to go out on sankirtana with every day. I still go with Mangal Arti once a week.
ASA - HpS - Yes, scary. We've heard that even Lord Nityananda and Hari Dasa Thakura ran away from Jagai and Madhai the first time they met them!
Getting up early is a super challenge, but the result is super Sankirtana! If you work hard from 2-10AM your day is finished. The mode of passion and ignorance will all be play!
I also have a question from Bhagavatam 1st canto chapter 3 verse ?
ASA - HpS - We've always liked Verse ?
Prabhupada was speaking about how all living entities are engaged in devotional service directly or indirectly, indefinnitely. We were wondering how can someone be engaged in devotional service inderectly- so I guess that includes plants, animals, karmis, etc. We tried to solve this conundrum, but alas, our brains are too fallen!
ASA - HpS - Guess Duryodhana is a great example, no? Krsna's mission of incarnation was to eliminate all the unnecessary Ksatriyas who were burden to Bhumi devi. So the person who helped him the most seems to be Duryodhana. He got them all in one place at one time and had them all fight with each other. Booop! Mission complete. So he was serving Krsna but not directly, indirectly, not with a conscious intention to please Krsna. Gueo G
OK, so I wrote to you about this in my very first e-mail... about initiation. I feel like I don't deserve it but in order to advance in spiritual life, one must have a spiritual master in order to obtain his mercy so that we may go back to Godhead. Ahhh, if you so kindly have some mercy upon my insignificant self, I would like to take shelter from you on behalf of Srila Prabhupada. I'm chanting my rounds every day, I have my regular services in the temple, I also help with the preaching centre on Mondays and Tuesdays, and like I mentioned earlier Sankirtan at least once a week. I also have a desire to go on the altar one day. Dressing Gaura Nitai would melt my heart!
ASA - HpS - They have nice pajamas.
I already have ideas! Anyways, I just hope that, with Krishna's blessings as well as Prabhupada's blessings, I can become your disciple.
Thank you very much.
Your aspiring servant,
Bhaktin Rashmin
ASA - HpS Of course, why not! The way you describe things, the only austerity that you have to get more fixed is getting up early and staying up. You have to get a letter of recomendation from your Temple President. Who is that???
What was your career decision? You were going to wait on your dental career and just do Temple service?
WhaOf course, the wayO