Dear Maharaja
PAMHO AGTSP
Transmission from down-under. You are currently down-under-and-over in Chile. We have been watching some live streams. Of course we are regularly drinking the nectar of your soundcloud lectures also. We will make a serious effort to join your startmeeting live lectures when they recommence.
HpS/ASA - 'are Krsna, Dhruva' Das et al! Is so nice to hear from you. We really feel separation from all the friends and Yatra in Oz. We were listening to Atul-Krsna Das in the MOE meeting a few days ago and it was shocking how much you and he sound alike and also your fully gentlemanly comportment.
Dhanesvari DD is doing well. Her heath is improving. But still our new child Sarasvati is not letting her sleep much in the night. We support her as best we can by taking baby for Japa walks during the day to give mother opportunity to rest.
ASA - Super. These children are potential, giant light-houses in the Kali-yuga if they are given good protection to grow up properly. All respects to the Mother.
Our eldest daughter Suryani loves gurukula preschool and is developing nicely in life.
We gave interactive Bhagavad Gita class at ISKCON New Govardhan last week entitled “Science, The Psyche and Yoga”. The verse was BG 5.4 and after a short discussion on Karma-yoga we argued that modern science has become predominantly atheistic due to its lacking the finer elements of Sankhya-yoga within its scope i.e. mind, intelligence, false ego, atma and paramatma. If matter is all we look for, then matter is all we will see.
ASA - And in this case only gross matter, not even much subtle matter! and even then third class gross matter, visual data, not even tactile or acoustical concern!
Why is it customary to call non-devotees “Karmis” if Prabhupada and previous archaryas translate karma-yoga as “devotional service”? Is a karmi a fruitive worker without the “yoga” required to link to the supreme or is it a made-up-devotee’s-superiority term?
HpS - I see a great analysis of people in NOI 10, "karmibhya...". Then most people are Vi-karmas. They are fruitive workers who do not follow any Vedic Acharya even like Jesus, Mohamad, Confucius... Karmas are actually nice people. Krsna likes them. They follow the rules of some scripture.
Yogis are above Karms or Jnanis. They are linking to Krsna. It maybe by connecting their Karma (Karma yoga eg. want to enjoy food, but connect that pleasure with some process of religion, yoga), Jnana yoga (this is Jnana yoga we doing right now, no?). When we are working directly on why we are doing intelligent things it is Bhakti-yoga. How to change our motive. So Karmis and Karma-yogis are different groups. The Karmis do it for themselves. The Karma-yogis do it for Krsna (maybe without much logical understanding of what is going on, Jnana-yoga).
We are scheduled to give a Sunday feast class in a few weeks at ISKCON NG. We have inspiration to present “Dance with Destiny” in which we will attempt to interactively present the relationship between free will and determinism from the perspective of the glorious Bhagavata philosophy and practice.
We have also inspiration to design a workshop entitled “Slaying the Dragons of Doubt”. In this workshop we will invite participants to bring a list of their biggest doubts, past or present, or the biggest challenges they have come across towards the existence of God or towards the establishment of Krishna as the supreme. If they have somehow overcome these doubts already they are invited to share how they achieved it and if they have not we will be working on them together. We believe that we can shed light on each other’s dark patches. We also believe, through experience, that great power comes from honestly addressing doubts.
Some example challenges might be;
- The problem of Evil
- Criticisms of religion as “Other world” theories and the lack of care placed in “this world”
- Interpretations of Vedic cosmology and Hare Krishna hell!!!
- Fall of the Jiva
- Why did God create us only to serve Him?
God knows what other interesting topics might come up.
HpS - Super, but some interesting publication as a result for this Blog!! Broader community.
A devotee friend of ours who owns a vegan café in Byron Bay has invited us to do some presentations at the café. Bryon Bay is a beautiful and popular beach town approximately 45min from our location. We are very enthusiastic for this service opportunity. We take great inspiration from you Maharaja, your kindness upon us. We are even developing taste for PowerPoint shows.
HpS - ASA - You are like Lord Siva. You see people's bad qualities as good qualities.
Maharaja, specifically I am writing to request some seva, some association. My good wife has given permission for me to travel. Can I possibly assist you with something this year in USA maybe or anywhere else you see fit. I see you will attend MOE in Alachua late June or maybe even the Nashville annual festival? I could wash and fold cloth, sweep floors, carry bags, anything at all.
ASA - None of these two programs are too developed yet, but nice program for the whole family, or you as the family camera man, might be "Art and the Sacred", end of October in Peru. You could start to organize that work in Peru and then come as a representative(s) of "Art from the Land Down Under Over".
Prostrated at your feet
Dhruvananda Das
ASA - Proscribed at your feet. We could start working on getting a formal invitation for you from Peru and then getting formal links with government, universities in Australia.
