Dear Guru Maharaj,

Please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada! 

I have heard you've been doing quite a bit of traveling. Is it true that you will be reducing your travel before long and staying in India?

It's been very busy around here with Rathayatra going on, so it's been difficult for me to really do much else. Then, I was maybe a little too excited to get back to normal over here and I woke up with a killer toothache. I couldn't eat or sleep and I've been going all over town trying to sort it out and just this morning someone finally yanked out my wisdom tooth. I feel a little more wise now about this material world. Maybe next time I won't neglect to write Lord Jagannath a get well card.

ASA - We are all sinners in the hands of an angry God!

About your proposal I would be thrilled and honored to contribute to your project. I actually went through art therapy for about a year with one psychologist who studied Carl Jung, it really changed my life because I could tell she really cared about me. She told me nothing could help unless I found spiritual meaning in life. At the end of our time together she told me "I don't usually say this to patients but actually there's nothing wrong with you. It's everybody else that's crazy." Then she retired and went back to teaching art to kids.

ASA - Wow!!

Maybe we can discuss the details of my involvement when I come in the fall. In the meantime, there's a great opportunity to get the community in LA fired up for preaching and cultivation projects.

There is one group trying to bring the Gurukulis together, there's another group interested in art, another group restarted a weekly meeting for young people, there's a few interested in doing home programs or Bhakti Vrksha and there's one new sannyasi (H.H. B.R. Sagara Maharaj) who has ambitious plans for a huge interfaith festival here. So I'm involved in all of these things on some level, so I'm trying to organize some kind of grassroots co-op to bring all these devotees together so that we have a team in place to collate all these different kinds of outreach. So far local management seems agreeable so long as we don't make extra work for them.

Right now I'm trying to be as productive as possible while working over the phone to curate this group exhibition I have planned on the east coast in November. I'm going to try selling art in a few flea markets to buy time and make money until I can get in with local galleries. The temple is making me a great offer on a fully outfitted sankirtan van they're not using so I want to buy it ASAP and use it as my urban cottage on wheels. That will be of great use for transporting work, engaging in different areas etc etc etc. I'm just going to stay here, but it will be great to have my own space so I can put all my time and energy into making some real progress on these projects.

If you could pass along any more info about your project I would be excited to see it. Hare Krishna!

your servant,

Ekāśma Dās

HpS - We are always doing updates in the DTC and other notes. Look at the DTC today with something just for you!!