Hare Krsna, Gurumaharaja
Please, accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
We are doing well, working to simplify our lives, to find the common thread that allows us to carry out our service in the best way, smoothly and balanced.
HpS - Wow! That sounds like going beyond Karma-misra-bhakti to Dhyana-misra-bhakti, heading toward Raganuga Bhakti.
This balance is delicate, unstable, volatile, but we are making some progress.
HpS - It is unstable for the inexperienced chemist like walking is unstable for the baby who is just trying to do it, but now, how many times an hour do you fall on your butt when walking? Ahh, it will become second nature!
I have already finished reading the Chaitanya Caritamrta. What a beautiful adventure! I tried to enjoy the huge variety of emotions which stimulates this great poem. Different feelings were provoked: laughter, tenderness, anger, doubt and love; I think that, thanks to the book, my heart softened
a little more and is very good to know it. I found a set of lessons on certain chapters written by HG Gauranga dasa. I am translating them into spanish, in order to make some lectures and seminars on the teachings of Chaitanya Caritamrta for begginers.
HpS - Super! If it is the same one, he is a very famous devotee in India. Even big international preacher.
Last Sunday NIMSAR organized a meeting with Prabhu Baladeva and interesting ideas emerged. In summary, I'll colaborate with Prabhu Jiva Sakti in developing short seminars on various topics for basic, intermediate and advanced levels. It would be great that these short seminars could be given online, as well as to bhakti vrksa groups (one is starting in Chosica), exposed during Bhagavatam classes or to take them to different cities. The idea is to apply modern pedagogy that allows the assimilation of background ideas supported by workbooks and audiovisual materials. I love this service, the development of educational content is really my thing.
HpS - This modular education is very nice. Actually many people say that the BA and BS degrees are disappearing. Everyone wants short seminars on specific practical topics, but, it is important to integrate them into a general whole.
What is the goal of education? What is your Mission Statement for Education with ISKCON Peru?
I have already presented the communications plan to the board and has been accepted. As you suggested, I will dedicate the most resources to recover communication channels among devotees. It is a challenge, Gurudeva. Trust is something badly damaged in the Yatra. It abounds mistrust, backbiting and gossip, but we are devotees and that is the key to heal. We all have the same desire to serve Srila Prabhupada and this special motivation is almost impossible to find in other enviroments.
For now, I am organizing communication spaces for different sangas:pujaris, educators, kirtaniyas and senior devotees to start with. Everyone has something to say, and sometimes the authorities are unwilling to listen as it should. Later, we will have the collaboration of a specialist in group psychology. At the moment we have received a Baladeva Prabhu good training through the ISKCON course for alternative conflict resolution, organized by NIMSAR last week. I hope these efforts are directed properly for the welfare of this wonderful community.
HpS - O.K! You saw our answer to M. Isvari's last NIMSAR report and that includes some ideas we have that we would like to see presented to the National Council also.
Indira Sakti and I are fine, we miss you while doing very clumsy efforts to follow your instruction. Thanks for giving us so many things and stimulate in us the daily desire to become your servants.
Your servant
Gandharva dasa
HpS - ASA!! Hare Krsna! Thank you for such a nice letter. It seems that you need to develop a more defined strategy to organize many different work projects, but priority to 16-good rounds, no?? If we can teach people to love basic Sadhana practices and use those as the basis for everything else, we have become first class educators, no?
