Hare Krishna Maharaj,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
It's only thanks to the mercy of Lord Caitanya that I met you this month in Nueva Vraja Mandala and after one week I asked you for shelter.
In answer to your request, here I'll summarize my spiritual biography.
HpS - ASA -- It was also very nice to meet you. Excuse us for being a little slow, two weeks, to answer this letter. We have been in little tumolt after trip to Spain.
In 2006, I started practicing Hatha Yoga and meditation. In 2009 I met in Granada (Spain) Swami Purohit from Delhi (http://www.swamipurohit.com/), and I started a trainning with him, consisting in a course of one day and a half every month, that year I become vegetarian. The porpouse of his training is to purify you consciousness and connect you with your soul, to arrive to enlightment. Each month he gave us a sadhana that we should do every day, consisting in meditation, japa (Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya), and differents raja yoga and kriya yoga exercices, to open each chakra, and to purify our physical and subtle body, it took about 2 hours per day, what I did every single day without interruption.
In 2013, I did my first trip to India, to Arunachala (Thiruvannamalay) for sadhana in an ashram (Ramana Maharishi) with Swami Purohit, in which I had my first spiritual experience. I started feeling the energy in the right part of the chest moving around and from the base of the spine to the crown, and I saw light within, I experienced deep joy, peace, and love. When I told it to Swami Purohit asking him what did it means, he explained me that it was the begining of enlightment, what is called the spiritual heart (paramatma). Of course this is nothing, once you have experienced the ocean of Love and Mercy of Lord Caitanya. I only tell you this to let you know that I am so fallen that only after 5 years of practicing austerities, thanks to the unlimited mercy of Lord Caitanya, the path to Krishna Consciousness was opened for me.
In july 2014 I completed de Advanced yoga and meditation course, level II. When I did the second trip to India, in 2014, I went first to Anandamayi maa ashram (the saintly woman of Bengala, daugther of vaisnavas), and the chief of the International center for foreiners, a devotee of Lord Krishna, recommended me and my spiritual brother and sister to go to Vrindaban and he gave us blessings to go there. And we did. I was a strong experience that I have when I arrived to Radha Ramana and Radha Damodara temple.
In 2015, thanks to a devotee, I went to the “kindness festival” for 2 weeks, organized by Audaria Dhama das (Oleg Torsunov), and there I met wonderful devotees and a sannyasi (Valmiki das) that inspired me to start chanting Maha Mantra read Bhagavad Gita, 3 times without comments and later with Srila Prabhupada comments, what I did. A devotee gifted me with maha prasadam of Bhakti Vijnana Goswami Maharaja, and that nigth I had a mystical experience during my night meditation after going to bed.
In 2016, one year later of meeting in Moscow a devotee (Lalana is her nick name) of ISKCON before the festival, she told me I should write a book for women, so I wrote a book called “Conocimiento Vedico para mujeres y no solo para mujeres”, self editing, 90 copies sold. It was my first service.
In January 2017, I met Ekadrsti and Yasoda in Alicante, who made me engage more in Krishna Consciousness. Then last august I went to Vrindaban again, and at that time I started changing 16 rounds every day, without interruption. I did 4 times parikrama arround Vrindavan, one arround Govardhan, Radha and Syama kunda, and visited Gokul, Ramanreti, Varsana, Raval, Mathura, and other sacred places touched by the lotus feet of the Lord.
The first day doing parikrama around Vrindaban, I had a very strong spiritual experience in Caitanya Baitaka, the resting place of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, when Maharaja Parijatak put on my neck the garland that was in the body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhú (Maha Maha Prasad), inmediatly I stared to cry like a baby, and while he was telling me the story of Gaurary Mukta, I couldn’t stop crying, I felt so much pure love coming from him that I, without thinking, fell at his feet, but he said, no no, it’s not me, is the mercy of Lord Caitanya. Few days later, I asked him for advice to Maharaja Parijatak, what to do in order to prepare myself for future inication. He answered that first I should purify my existence, and in order to do it, I should sing 32 rounds every day during 40 days, starting 12 october (or 16th) and also read every day Bhagavad Gita, and I did it, but I failed 3 days. I have also read Mahabharata, Ramayana, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Drama of Lord Jagannatha, Nectar of Insctruction, Fisrt Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam and part of the Second.
Later I did Introduction to Bhakti Yoga with Nityananda prabhú, and this 2 weeks before I met You, I did the course for disciples with Yadunandana Swami, who suggested me to come back in april in order to meet you. From the first day I meet you, I started to think about asking you for taking shalter, and after talk with Yadunandana Swami I did. Now I pray to the Lord to let me see you as soon as possible, to be able to serve you.
Although I am a fallen soul, you accepted me only because you are full of mercy.I commit myself to keep on following the four principles with determination and enthusiasm.
Please accept my humble obeisances.
Bhaktin Maria
Note: Please excuse me if I made any mistake telling you some things that are not relevant. And sorry for a so long letter.
HpS - ASA == Wow! After reading this I feel that maybe I should ask you for shelter. Of course, we are most likely doing these things for several life times. One does not become a fixed Yogini like this at just the drop of a hat, but in any case, ISKCON, Gaudiya Vaisnavism, is a wonderful tradition. We might really look at it as the pinnacle of yoga and religious experience. Of course, that means that it is greedy to take any benefit that is offered by and serve any other yoga tradition.
Welcome to this Blog. It is a great community.
How can we serve you? Of course, you already have so many counselors and friends in ISKCON, especially Yadu Swami, but if we can serve formally as Diksa Guru, we would try to do that.
Have you read our description of our understanding of Diksa guru at http://www.jayarama.us/peru/archivos/guru-tattva-es.txt?
Any questions or comments about this?
Please write every now and then with your yoga news and the news of the other yogis in Spain etc!
Thank you . . .