Dear Guru Maharaja:

All the glories to Sri Sri Radha Krishna

All the glories to Srila Prabhupada

All glories to you

Please accept my humble obeisances

In the last letter I asked you the next question:

“I have a question: If I feel that someone as close as a friend is a bad association, what should I do?”

HpS - Of course, the general answer is to try to help them, but the situations are full of details. That is why we have 18,000 verses in the SB and then other books. What should I do if a friend is sick? Answer that question and you have the answer to your question.
Send us this question and then you thoughts.

These are my thoughts:

In the first instance it is necessary to observe to know what the disease is, there are different types of diseases, physical, psychological, spiritual.

When a friend has the flu, we can make a soup, a tea, give them kleenex , the disease runs its course and we know that it will be cured with the proper treatment, the doctor will give an antibiotic, maybe something else.

When the illness is psychological, we can give them emotional support, make them feel comfortable, safe. A therapist has more adequate tools to treat it.

We try to help but we aren´t doctors, we are imbued with the material nature, which is the source of all our illnesses, especially the great illness that is not remembering Lord Krsna and our relationship with him.

Once in a dream I asked Srila Prabhupada how to throw off from our anarthas and he answered me: having a firm faith in the chanting of the holy names. I am sure that Srila Prabhupada himself was who answered me because I do not have the intelligence to generate such a response. That is the cure for our disease, we are all in treatment, we can help each other and be patient.

Being sincere I think that the association of this devotee can worsen my condition, my illness, I feel that I have to get away for my own good. And it is very sad.

HpS - We are just one little devotee. We feel that you are our Guru is the happy light of Krsna and Srila Prabhpupada. We act as Diksa-guru in ISKCON as a service. We hope we can be of some use to you with advice and we advice that you take advantage of so many Siksa gurus besides us. Tell us about the good guidance that you find in other ISKCON devotees, other Vaisnavas, even in nature.

Your advice is treasure for me.

I have some siksas and the fortune of saying that besides siksas are my friends, they have taught me with love and patience a lot of things, from how to offer bhoga, vaishnava etiquette, how to make a puja, to more confidential topics such as the love affairs between Radha and Krsna When I have any doubts, or ask for their opinions about something specific, some situation, they listen to me attentively, they talk to me about their own experiences, and they always clarify that they advise me from their perspective, that they do not have the last word, because different types of people can see each one from a different angle. They are enthusiastic, determined, humble, and inspire me with their example. When one sees that a devotee is always well disposed to the service is encouraging, I can say that it is contagious, even when they are tired from the long hours of service they do not lose enthusiasm.

I can say that experience makes a difference, all those years of service make their hearts shine, and I can see that this process of Krsna consciousness is actually effective.

Now I'm going to talk about my mom, from her I learned to be patient because not everything comes at the time we want, strong because sometimes the only thing left to do is resist, and how to be sweet. And above all things I inherited her faith and love for God. She remembers the Lord every day and thanks him for everything she has. She always has a notepad, where she writes addresses, telephone numbers, etc., and in the middle she also writes her prayers to God. A few weeks ago she told me: “I believe in Krsna, I know that your god is the same as mine, but I am still not ready to do everything you do for him”. Imagine my happiness.

I want to express my desire to take initiation when you come to Buenos Aires, I am in a very special moment in which I feel that I must take a more important step in my spiritual life and be able to serve you in a more formal way, I would like to take that commitment. I have the blessings of the devotees, I am about to give the initiation exam and follow the whole protocol of Iskcon in order to be initiated. I would like to know if you can give me your blessings to continue with this process of the exam and everything that implies the possibility of taking initiation.

HpS - Yes. Not only our blessings but our plea that it is all successful. We need EVERY soldier we can get a this point, every member of the choir that we can get.

I know that initiation is only beginning, my purpose in this life is to feel the love felt by the gopis for Sri Krsna.

HpS - Srila Prabhupada says that that is a very, very big aspiration, but..... by the mercy of Gaura Nitai, so much is possible.

Yours in Srila Prabhupada's service

Bhaktin Carol