Hare Krsna.
We could get really depressed really easy. We face the same challenges as you all. It is 7.00PM. It is almost dark outside. Definitely dark in our cave. Good thing is our little air-conditioner is working enough to keep it cool enough to write. 95* outside this room.
NGD is the center of our real Vaisnava association here, and we have been immersed in ritual festivals the last two days and this evening he is drowing with rounds to catch up so we are alone in this Big, Impersonal, World. (Boo Huu Huu!).
Actually a lot of it is that it is dark, our stomach is not pumping energy and we are alone.
After this letter we will go to Wal-Mart and look for a jar. There will be light and many people there and we can look at over 1-million Gismos and chant our last six rounds. With the hope of developing our eternal relations with all of our Sankirtan partners today, tommorrow and during the next year.
Janmastami was the best we ever had. Of course, previous ones have individual events that were also perfect, but this one was the best. We did hard, hard, hard physical labor for 3-hours planting a pear tree and a rose bush. That kept our senses fully active. (We hit a big hard root and had to remove it). Then the evening program was very nice with 20-minutes Kirtan, 20-minutes Reading and 20-minutes Japa for about two hours. After that more devotees and guests came and so we had to accomodate their attention with more culturally oriented programs. Also, we gave the Hawaii Janmastami SB class. There is very elevated peer association there.
On Janmastami we take a little milk at midnight, stash as much Maha-prasadam as we can get, and then take it after Mangala-arati. The sun hasn't risen so the fast for Srila Prabhupada hasn't started then. There was way, way, way too much chili in the offerings for us and we were suffering a lot from that, but made some adjustment with milk and cookies for Srila Prabhupada's feast.
We would have liked for people to chanted differently etc. but we expect that maybe until we get to Goloka we may still find imperfections in the Kirtan's etc as far as we are concerned.
We can smile. We can laugh at the Witch. We are doing practical work for Krsna.
Don't become depressed and try to drown your sorrows in Burfee or Mango-nectar.
I don't think we will answer anymore mail tonight. It is mostly practical and nothing practical can be done after 8PM. O.K. Chanting Japa, going out the the Bright City Lights.
Krsna book.
See you tommorrow!
Best of wishes for your Gaura-Sankirtan work!