A monthly newsletter for the spiritual family of Srila Jayapataka Swami

January 1999

Subject: Moscow JPS disciples and followers regular JSSS meeting

From Jayapataka Maharaja

Home Base: Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, Navadwip Dhama, Nadia, WB, INDIA

Current Camp: Mahaprabhu Mandir, Snanayatra Festival, Melbourne, OZ

My Dear Moscow based spiritual Daughters, Sons, Nephews, Nieces---adi-bhakta

vrinda,

Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thankyou for your letter cited below with my comments. I have noted the

contents carefully.

I am glad that you are all being encouraged by nice vaisnava exchanges in

your JSSS meetings in Moscow. Srila Prabhupada said that the Krishna

consciousness movement is for this kind of loving vaisnava exchange!

Thankyou for coming closer together for rendering devotional service to Guru

& Gauranga. I am sure Srila Prabhupada is very pleased by this kind of

enthusiasm towards devotional service.

I hope that this finds you in good health.

Your ever well wisher,

Jayapataka Swami

Subject: Criteria for accepting guru

Home Base: Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, Navadwip Dhama, Nadia, WB, INDIA

> > Of course, we had some argument on this

> > subject, but at last I was defeated and convinced that Sri Caitanya

> > Mahaprabhu's message is the only panacea for suffering humanity. I was

> > also convinced that the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was then in

> > the hands of a very expert devotee and that surely the message of Sri

> > Caitanya Mahaprabhu would spread all over the world. I could not,

> > however, immediately take up his instructions to preach, but I took his

> > words very seriously and was always thinking of how to execute his

> > order, although I was quite unfit to do so." (Caitanya Caritamrta,

* > "Concluding Words")

* > This is also another example of Prabhupada's use of the word "order"

> when referring to a "request" or "suggestion" coming from the spiritual

> master. In 1922 on his first meeting with BSST our Prabhupada says he got

> the order, although actually he was simply asked to use his English

> education for furthuring KC.

>

> Your humble servant,

> Hari-sauri dasa

Therefore it is very clear that Srila Prabhupada's desire for his disciples

to initiate disciples (and future generations) in their own right indicates

that disciples simply have to become qualified, authorized by the GBC, and

they can do so. That is "the order"---Srila Prabhupada's desire and many

statements.

In a meeting in Bombay recently the Indian GBC present with other devotees

discovered many ways in which Srila Prabhupada gave the "order" to initiate:

1) The May 28th conversation (& GBC resolution written then) combined with

July 9th letter is one order since he said he would "recommend" some who

would initiate "on his behalf" in his presence as "a formality", but who

would be "regular gurus" in his physical absence.

2) His consistent instructions, desires, intentions, orders, etc. thoughout

his books, conversations, letters, and lectures are another order.

3) Srila Prabhupada's statements that disciples can initiate when he isn't

present.

4) Srila Prabhupada's statements that sannyasi's have a right to initiate,

but shouldn't do so in the presence of their Spiritual Master.

5) Srila Prabhupada's specific instructions to certain individuals that they

can initiate: (Gaura Govinda Swami, Jayapataka Swami, Bhakti Caru Swami,

Radha Govinda Swami, etc.)

6) If it is taken that no order was given initiation is a management issue

and the GBC passed resolutions on who would initiate starting from 1978 so

that is another order to initiate...

I hope that this finds you in good health.

Your ever well wisher,

Jayapataka Swami

Subject: Saris for young girls

From: Jayapataka Swami (GBC)

Camp: Mathura-desa Nama Hattas, Arabian Gulf Area, Middle East, Arabian Sea.

My Dear Krsnendu dasa,

Please accept my best wishes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thankyou for your letter cited below with my comments. I have noted the

contents carefully.

> Dear Maharaja,

> Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

> Is it appropriate for young girls to wear saris? I know in some schools

> in India only the grown up girls, who are supposed to act like ladies, are

> allowed to wear them.

> Did Prabhupada establish any standard regarding this?

> Your servant,

> Krsnendu das

I am not sure whether Srila Prabhupada established any standard regarding

this. Probably best to ask those who were in charge of girl's Gurukula's at

the time of Srila Prabhupada. In Mayapur we had only a boy's gurukula then

so I have no personal experience and I also didn't hear anything about it.

In some orthodox hindu schools girls over a certain age wear Maxi's and over

another age wear sari's.

Yours in service, Jayapataka Swami

From: Jayapataka Swami (GBC)

Camp: ISKCON Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai & Jaganath Mandir, St. Petersburg, Russia.

I got this text from a disciple in S. India about dress codes:

> Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace.

> All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

> The tradition in South India is that young girls wear skirts/long skirts,

> when they mature they wear half-sari (the gopi dress that matajis are

> wearing now-a-days in ISKCON) and when they get married they wear sari.

> Only widows cover their head with sari. So it takes a long time for a

> traditional South Indian lady to accept our system of covering the head.

> Your servant Tarini Radha dd.

In North India unmarried girls don't cover their heads, but generally

married women do (except now in the big cities this is also being dispensed

with to a large degree, but that is modernization). The dress code in the

temples in many religions is different that other places. In Sikh religion

any visitor to a Gurudvara has to cover their head!

So in the temple room there may be one code, but outside of the temple room

could be another code as well.

More research could be done to find out what Srila Prabhupada said about

women covering their heads, etc. I know it is part of the marriage ceremony

after applying sindhur.

I hope that this finds you in good health.

Your well wisher,

Jayapataka Swami

Subject: How to reconcile

The following question was asked on Anwers To KC Questions (Jayapataka

Swami). Here HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj replies how there is no mention in

sastras that a guru can never fall and how instead the gurus are instructed

to be careful for various things.

ys, bb

From: Jayapataka Swami (GBC)

Camp: Mathura-desa Nama Hattas, Arabian Gulf Area, Middle East, Arabian Sea.

My Dear Godbrother Bhagavatamrta das,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thankyou for your letter cited below with my comments. I have noted the

contents carefully.

> AGTSP

> PAMMHO

> Dear MJ,

> How do you reconcile the idea been proposed by some of the devotees that "

> the guru should never fall down, therefore let's focus our worship into

> Srila Prabhupada as the guru for ever in Iskcon" with the guru-disciple

> relationship through the paranpara system given to us by Srila Prabhupada?

If the idea that the a Guru can never fall were supported by sastra why does

the sastra give so many warnings to Gurus about what to do and what not to

do? Sastra says not to take unlimited disciples, for instance, since it can

overload a Spiritual Master if he isn't travelling and preaching. Also Jiva

Goswami in Bhakti Sandharbha talks about when to reject a fallen guru.

Bhaktivinode Thakur in Jaiva Dharma and other writings also explains about

when to reject a Guru who has deviated. Narahari Thakur, Lord Caitanya

Mahaprabhu's dear associate, also describes that during the pastimes of Lord

Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu many Gurus had fallen down and he also gave

guidelines of what to do in case one's Spiritual Master falls down. So the

idea that a Guru can never fall down isn't supported by sastra or our

acaryas. No matter how much speculation and double talk is done it can

never serve to proof something against Srila Prabhupada's direct

instructions! Srila Prabhupada said the Gurus who followed him should be

"regular gurus" and those whom they initiate should be his "disciple's of my

disciples", ie. "grand-disciples.

> Supporting tought: How important is the physical , personal guru-disciple

> relationship in the Vaisnava tradition?

> Your Bhaggy

It is the normal relationship we can see described in the sastras and

histories of Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Isn't it said, "sadhu

sanga, sadhu sanga sarva sastra koi, lava matra sadhu sanga sarva siddhi

hoya!" --- "Even a moments association with a pure devotee can give one all

perfection in devotional service."

Yours in service, Jayapataka Swami

Subject: Global CP & NH Leaders meeting during GP Festival?

From Jayapataka Maharaja

Home Base: Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, Navadwip Dhama, Nadia, WB, INDIA

Current Camp: ISKCON Sri Mayapur--Disappearance Festival of Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasavati Thakur

My Dear Congregational Preachers,

I just got this message from Navina Nirada Prabhu about their sankirtan

leaders meeting in Europe. It inspired me to consider the possibility of

such a meeting of Global Congregational Preachers during the Gaura Purnima

Festival. I wanted to know your opinion about this and also what kind of

agenda topics might be useful for such a function.

I hope this finds all of you in great spirits and expanding your

congregational preaching in all directions and manners.

Yours in service, Jayapataka Swami

> After the leadership seminar in Germany we had a European sankirtan

> leaders meeting. Below are some of the topics that were discussed. The

> input from many experianced and mature devotees made it a fruitful

> session. A very constructive mood allowed us to deal with many essential

> and touchy topics.

> BOOK DISTRIBUTION MINISTRY

> - update BDM mission statement

> - define goals of the BDM

> - increase BD

> - please Srila Prabhupada

> - ongoing education of everyone engaged in book distribution

> - facilitation and representation

> - liason to the BBT, assist book production

> - guidelines for sustainable BD, set standards

> - maintain priority of BD in ISKCON

> - representation to GBC and BBT

> - monitoring BD

> - protection of BDers

> - welfare of BDers while they are engaged in BD and also

> later on when they are engaged in different other services

> - produce publications (literature, magazines, tapes)

> - provide inspiration

> - regular visits to main ISKCON centers

> - maintain international solidarity

> - create team spirit, facilitate cooperation, encourage local teamwork

> - produce Audio visuals / role-plays / videos / movies

> - put books in bookstores/libraries, explore new venues of BD

SANKIRTAN FOR A LIFETIME / DEVOTEE WELFARE

> - SK for a lifetime, what does it mean?

> - Is there a life beyond BD?

> - ongoing educational programs

> - career counselling

> - facilitation that the service (BD) can go on

> - teach proper understanding of the yuga dharma (including BD

> as a part of it)

> - good association from the very beginning

> - the older you get in KC, the easier it becomes to distribute books

> - adaption to the lifestyle of travelling SK

> - help and assistance for younger devotees

> - healthy preaching about BD

> - open up new possibilities for combined forms of SK

> - encourage those who don't distribute anymore to keep up the sankirtana

> spirit and support it

> - give full support to all devotees engaged in BD

> - tell new devotees from the beginning what there abilities are and

> be honest with them (reasess them after some time) clear expectations

> - personal decision making wether they want to continue BD or not

> - show different service possibilities besides BD or a combination

> - lifetime of SK means everything which is supporting the mission

> - teach a variety of styles of BD

> - regular training in other fields after 1 or 2 years of full time SK

> (cooking, puja, music etc)

> - healthy competitive spirit (otherwise counterproductive)

> - focus on improving interpersonal relationships

> - looking out for the needs of the individual

> - introduce counselling-system

> - retirement plans for BD veterans

> TRUE RECREATION

true recreation will keep you balanced

> - you can do recreation inside of KC

> - encourage regular recreation and holidays

> - go to the mountains or sea together

> - do recreation in the mode of goodness

> - be more aware of national cultures and their implications

> (e.g. South America, Germany and soccer)

> - do not only do things you have to do but also do things which you like

> - summer camp with all the SKers, just have some fun

> - load and clean vans on Saturday, no stress on Sunday

> - doing sports, exercise and yoga reguarly is good

> FINANCES

> - fair book pricing

> - financial security for all BDers (put laksmi aside)

> - privatize the SK-departement

> - materially independant but spiritually dependant SK-devotees

> - enable grhastas to get the books for the BBT-price plus shipping

> - give devotees the facility to buy their own SK-van

Subject: "Always embraced by Krsna" and "Empowered to preach"

Dear devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and his

followers in ISKCON.

HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja brought out this point, which I have put in

writing below after gathering further points from Kaunteya Prabhu and

others.

Some of the pro-ritviks show us the following purport in an attempt to make

us believe that only an "uttama-adhikari" "maha-bhagavata" "totally beyond

material desires" can be a guru:

CC Madhya 25.9, purport:

> "In Dvapara-yuga, devotees of Lord Visnu and Krsna rendered devotional

> service according to the principles of pancaratrika. in this age of Kali,

> the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped simply by the chanting of

> His holy names.', Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura then comments:

> "Without being empowered by the direct potency of Lord Krsna to fulfill

> His desire and without being specifically favored by the Lord, no human

> being can become the spiritual master of the whole world. He certainly

> cannot succeed by mental concoction, which is not meant for devotees or

> religious people. Only an empowered personality can distribute the holy

> name of the Lord and enjoin all fallen souls to worship Krsna. By

> distributing the holy name of the Lord, he cleanses the hearts of the most

> fallen people; therefore he extinguishes the blazing fire of the material

> world. Not only that, he broadcasts the shining brightness of Krsna's

> effulgence throughout the world. Such an acarya, or spiritual master,

> should be considered nondifferent from Krsna--that is, he should be

> considered the incarnation of Lord Krsna's potency. Such a personality is

> krsnalingita-vigraha--that is, he is always embraced by the Supreme

> Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Such a person is above the considerations

> of the varnasrama institution. He is the guru or spiritual master for the

> entire world, a devotee on the topmost platform, the maha-bhagavata stage,

> and a paramahamsa-thakura, a spiritual form only fit to be addressed as

> paramahamsa or thakura."

> Nonetheless, there are many people who are just like owls but never open

> their eyes to see the sunshine. These owlish personalities are inferior to

> the Mayavadi sannyasis who cannot see the brilliance of Krsna's favor.

> They are prepared to criticize the person engaged in distributing the holy

> name all over the world and following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya

> Mahaprabhu, who wanted Krsna consciousness preached in every town and

> city."

The pro-ritviks show us this part (only):

> Such a personality is

> krsnalingita-vigraha--that is, he is always embraced by the Supreme

> Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Such a person is above the considerations

> of the varnasrama institution. He is the guru or spiritual master for the

> entire world, a devotee on the topmost platform, the maha-bhagavata stage,

> and a paramahamsa-thakura, a spiritual form only fit to be addressed as

> paramahamsa or thakura."

And they claim, "See, this PROVES that ONLY a person who is on the topmost

platform, the maha-bhagavata stage, a paramahamsa-thakura, who is always

embraced by Krsna, ONLY such a person can be a guru. No one else can be a

guru."

In response to that, we can simply examine the purport more closely to see

what the above statement of Prabhupada means.

Who is this personality who is "always embraced by... Krsna"? What does he

do? See the whole purport above. You will find the following about this

personality:

1. He is engaged in "distributing the holy name of the Lord".

2. "By distributing the holy name of the Lord, he cleanses the hearts of the

most fallen people".

3. Therefore "he extinguishes the blazing fire of the material world".

4. "Not only that, he broadcasts the shining brightness of Krsna's

effulgence throughout the world."

Then Prabhupada says about such a person who preaches the holy name

throughout the world, "such an acarya, or spiritual master, should be

considered nondifferent from Krsna--that is, he should be considered the

incarnation of Lord Krsna's potency."

So such a preacher of the holy name should be considered to be an acarya and

nondifferent from Krsna. "He should be considered the incarnation of Lord

Krsna's potency". Please note the usage of the term "should be considered".

Then Prabhupada continues: "SUCH A PERSONALITY is krsnalingita-vigraha--that

is, he is always embraced by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna... HE

is the guru or spiritual master for the entire world, a devotee on the

topmost platform, the maha-bhagavata stage, and a paramahamsa-thakura..."

(emphasis mine)

So Prabhupada's point is that a such a preacher of the holy name is "always

embraced by... Krsna" and that such a preacher of the holy name is the guru

"for the whole world". It does not state anywhere in this purport that a

person who is "embraced by Krsna" in his svarUpa has to be accepted as a

guru. (How would you know that anyway?)

The purport in consideration simply states that a personality who is

preaching the holy name and delivering the conditioned souls by the potency

of Lord Krsna's name "should be considered" "the incarnation of Lord Krsna's

potency".

Now someone may think, "Yes, but the purport also says that such a

personality is 'empowered' to preach. So only an 'empowered' maha-bhagavata

preacher can be accepted as a guru and not just any unempowered

non-maha-bhagavata Vaishnava!"

Yes, it is true that only one who is empowered by Krsna can do any of the

things that Prabhupada had described in the purport such as:

1. "Distributing the holy name of the Lord".

2. Cleansing the hearts "of the most fallen people".

3. Extinguishing "the blazing fire of the material world".

4. Broadcasting "the shining brightness of Krsna's effulgence throughout the

world."

So the next natural question that arises in the mind is, 'who is empowered

to preach and deliver the fallen souls'? And how does a preacher get

empowered? How does it work?

Let us examine the following quotes from Prabhupada and try to understand.

CC Madhya-lila 7.101 purport:

> In order to become an empowered preacher, one must be favored by Lord Sri

> Caitanya Mahaprabhu or His devotee, the spiritual master. One must also

> request everyone to chant the maha-mantra. In this way, such a person can

> convert others to Vaisnavism, showing them how to become pure devotees of

> the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In order to become an empowered preacher, one must be favored by Lord

Caitanya or the spiritual master, His devotee. And one must also preach

about the chanting to everyone. Thus the preacher gains power to "convert

others to Vaisnavism, showing them how to become pure devotees".

SB 2.5.17 Purport

> One must therefore be voluntarily willing to render service unto the Lord,

> and thus the Lord will empower the doer in proportion to his surrender

> unto the lotus feet of the Lord.

The Lord will empower one "in proportion to his surrender unto the lotus

feet of the Lord."

Message of Godhead, Chapter Two: Karma-yoga

> The Personality of Godhead always does good for one and all, by empowering

> His devotees to preach and propagate the transcendental process of

> devotional service to Godhead everywhere in accord with the specific time,

> place, and audience.

Lord propagates devotional service everywhere by empowering His devotees to

preach.

CC Antya-lila, 3.221 PURPORT

> Not only the yavanas and khasadayah but even those born in still

> lower families can be purified (sudhyanti) by the grace of a devotee of

> Lord Krsna, for Krsna empowers such devotees to perform this purification.

Krsna empowers His devotees to perform this purification of yavanas and

khasadayah and even those bron in still lower families. Prabhupada uses the

term devotees in plural here to indicate that MANY devotees are empowered by

Krsna.

Below we find Prabhupada introducing the topic of empowerment and concluding

that one receives the power to preach by becoming full-fledged servants of

one's spiritual master:

Prabhupada's Lectures: Caitanya-caritamrta 1976 (760711CC.NY)

> So He is empowering Sanatana Gosvami to take this task and

> spread Krsna consciousness. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission. There

> is... You'll find in the Caitanya- caritamrta the verse krsna- sakti vina

> nahe nama pracarana. Without being empowered by Krsna nobody can preach

> the holy name of the Lord. Krsna sakti vina nahe nama pracarana. So

> without getting the power of attorney... Just like even one is qualified

> lawyer, he must get the power of attorney from his client, and then he can

> speak. That is the law. Similarly, without being endowed with the power of

> attorney from Krsna, it is not possible to preach. So our business is...

> Because we are preparing ourselves to preach Krsna consciousness, we must

> be qualified to get the power of attorney. Sometimes we speak that "I'll

> preach." What you will preach? First of all get the power of attorney;

> then preach. Preaching is not so easy that anyone and any one can preach

> without... Krsna-sakti vina nahe nama pracarana.

> So to get that power of attorney one has to qualify himself, not that the

> power of attorney is hanging in the tree and you can take it. No. So how

> this power of attorney can be achieved? That is stated in the

> Srimad-Bhagavatam. You are singing daily day, daily guru... Especially we

> should understand what is the power of attorney. Anyone can recite this

> verse, sri guru carana? [Note from VGD--this is followed by a long

discussion on the song Sri Guru Carana Padma.]

Letter to Hamsaduta: 70-03-12

> Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura entrusted the responsibility to my Guru

> Maharaja, and He also in His turn empowered us to do the work. Similarly,

> I am requesting you, all my European and American students, to spread this

> movement city to city and village to village and make all people of the

> world happy.

In the above quote, we see that Prabhupada uses the term "He also" meaning

that Srila Bhaktivinoda's entrusting the responsibility to Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta is the same as empowering him to do the work. Then he uses

the terms "similarly" and "requesting" thus further confirming that that

this empowerment is a request from the spiritual master to take up the

responsibility to "spread this movement... and make all people of the world

happy."

Still, one may think that there is no empowered preacher within ISKCON. But

look at this letter that he wrote to his two disciples:

> Letter to Vaikunthanatha and Saradia: 71-04-0>

> Unless one is sufficiently empowered, one cannot preach Krishna

> Consciousness. So the fact that you are preaching so nicely is proof that

> you are already benedicted by Krishna.

Prabhupada explicitly tells his two disciples Vaikunthanatha and Saradia

that they "are already benedicted by Krishna" because of "the fact that you

are preaching so nicely". The word "already" proves that the benediction

from Krishna that they got from Krishna is the same as the empowerment that

Prabhupada talks about in the first sentence.

So, in conclusion, the point is that one who serves the spiritual master in

the disciplic succession sincerely and pleases him receives the request to

preach. By requesting his disciples to preach, the spiritual master entrusts

the responsibility to preach. Thus the disciples become empowered by the

spiritual master and remain empowered as long as they strictly follow the

instructions of the spiritual master and continue to preach, thereby

pleasing the spiritual master, the previous acaryas and Lord Caitanya.

Prabhupada did exactly that to his disciples and the gurus have done that to

their disciples. Thus the process of empowerment continues through the

disciplic succession and anyone who wants to be empowered by the Lord can

take the "power of attorney" to preach from his/her spiritual master and do

all of the following:

1. "Distributing the holy name of the Lord".

2. Cleansing the hearts "of the most fallen people".

3. Extinguishing "the blazing fire of the material world".

4. Broadcasting "the shining brightness of Krsna's effulgence throughout the

world."

Thus, by being empowered by the spiritual master and Prabhupada and the

disciplic succession to preach the message of Lord Caitanya, everyone may

become Krsnalingita-vigraha, "always embraced by Krsna".

Now, isn't there even one soul within ISKCON who is "distributing the holy

name of the Lord" and cleansing the hearts "of the most fallen people"? So

how can one say that there is none of Prabhupada's devotees and followers

are embraced by the Lord and empowered to preach?

The last section of the purport quoted above says that those who do NOT

properly recognize the value of such empowered Vaishnava preachers who carry

out the above four functions are "are inferior to the Mayavadi sannyasis...

They are prepared to criticize the person engaged in distributing the holy

name all over the world and following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu, who wanted Krsna consciousness preached in every town and city."

Your humble servant,

Vidvan Gauranga das

Subject: "go-run-ga meditation"

Yesterday when I was out on books I met one young guy who like many

of todays youth are completely disinterested in being part of a

materialistic "society"; but haven't yet been introduced to the alternative

that Srila Prabhupada has so mercifully provided to it. I put a copy of

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1 in his hand and began explaining the authenticity of

it by pointing out the original sanskrit and word-for-word translation. He

immediately became very enlivened and began to tell me about his own

sadhana. He explained how he was into Ti-Chi, Hatha Yoga, and a few other

practices that I wasn't familiar with. Then he said that his new yoga

teacher was teaching him something called "go-run-ga meditation" and that he

especially found it good for keeping his mind from getting scattered. I was

quite suprised to hear something like that so I asked him to repeat it for

me. With a slight air of mysticism he replied, "Goooo-Ruun-Gaaa". Needless

to say the transaction got really sweet after that. For a while he was

trying to convince me that I should try it myself. I asked him what this

meditation involved and he explained that he was taught to chant the word

"Go-run-ga" over and over again and try to fix his mind on the sound

vibration. I asked him if he knew what Gourunga meant and he was slightly

shy to admit that he didn't. What nectar it was to flip the pages of the

book he was holding to a bright shinin' picture of Mahaprabhu and let him

hear the good news. Upon seeing Lord Chaitanya's picture his face lit up as

if he had just seen a long forgotten friend. He then asked what other books

I had so I showed him a Light of the Bhagavat which he was more than happy

to fork over a rather hefty $12 for. I got his phone # and told him that I'd

give him a ring when Subhada Maharaja comes next week. Then I watched him

walk away with a look on his face that revealed that he knew he had just

purchased something very significant for his life. Nectar!, eh?

Subject: Their local Hare Krishna Monk, by Bh Edward AUZ

Camp Poland, Leadership Seminar

Dear Maharajas and Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Just got the following interesting text from Australia:

"I had a very inspiring experience one night when Rupa Ragunath and I went

door to door in upmarket North Adelaide. We had split up to cover opposite

ends of the street when I came upon the door of a stately property. As I

spoke on the intercom, I fully expected to be rebuked by its "high brow"

occupants, but the door opened after I had said that I was their local Hare

Krsna Monk, and that we were out meeting the intellectual community to

discuss spirituality.

Astonished by my tilak and robes, a woman and her young daughter greeted

me in and explained that they had never seen a Hare Krsna before. It was the

young girl that had initially opened the door but her mum seemed happy to

have me there and invited me in. Jane introduced me to the rest of her

family. Her husband was still at work. I presented the Bhagavad-Gita and

three other books that I had at the time. They all seemed happy as they

picked up the books and looked through them while I did my best to speak

about our Krsna conscious philosophy. Jane was very receptive and announced

that she would take all the books. I was ecstatic and when she asked if they

were all the books I had, I knew this to be Krsna's mercy. I didn't have any

more books to give her but I suggested that she could have the Swami and

devotees make a visit as we were also doing home programs but she replied

that her husband would be very much against the idea. She thanked me for the

books and I left her with a schedule to our evening "Loft Preaching"

workshops.

The following week I called to see how she was going and she explained

that her family commitments did not permit her to come to our evening

workshops and she wanted to know if there was any way that she could see the

Swami during the day. With that, a meeting was arranged at the temple and

Jane drove up in her shiny Mercedes the very next day. I introduced her to

Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja and Rupa and we all had a nectarine afternoon. Jane

enjoyed over three hours of transcendental enlightenment comprised of

preaching, prasadam, and kirtan. She thought the temple was beautiful and

said that she could feel something special about the Deities (Radha

Shyamsundara). Maharaja taught her how to chant japa and recommended two

rounds a day. Indeed Jane is a special soul. She was a lawyer, unsatisfied

with material life, brought up in an atheistic family, but in the last two

years had begun to question everything. Her husband is a prominent

Australian businessman and she herself ranks amongst the three most

wealthiest women in Adelaide yet neither of them are happy. Jane revealed

her heart to us as we sat in the Swami's room and learned how she could add

Krsna to her life without dropping all her material affairs. She was late to

pick up her children from school that day and she had left the temple

smiling ear to ear with her own bead bag, japa beads, and a photo of the

dieties. From this example we clearly see that even if one has everything

materially, the real value lies in Krsna. All glories to Srila Praphupada.

Where material opulence is usually a hindrance to spiritual life we find

here that Jane is utilizing her facilities to carry on from where she left

off in a previous life and start on the path back to her real home."

Bhakta Edward

Subject: Brainstorm Session on Guru-tattva in ISKCON Mayapur

Dear Prabhus and Matajis:

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

The following is the result of a brainstorm session facilitated by HH

Jayapataka Maharaja on the evening of October 26, 1998 in Sri Mayapur

Chandrodaya Mandir. The devotees present were divided into 17 groups and

group discussions were held the following ten topics.

Brainstorm Session on Guru-tattva in ISKCON Mayapur

Total no. of devotees participated: 252 (Men: 203; Women: 49)

1. Guru Puja: Srila Prabhupada said that for spiritual development, it is

essential to perform dail y Guru Puja. Otherwise, the disciple will fall

down. If the Guru Puja is not done, who will take responsibility for the

disciples' fall down?

Agreed: Unanimous

2. Vyasa Puja: Performance of Vyasa Puja is a feature of the Guru Parampara.

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself performed Vyasa Puja. If we don't do Vyasa

Puja, can we be considered to be a part of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's

Parampara?

Agreed: Unanimous

3. Caste consciousness: Gurus should not be selected based on caste

consciousness (jati-buddhi) such as an Indian Guru or a born-brahmana Guru,

etc. because discrimination against certain Vaishnavas based on caste

consciousness will lead to hell.

Agreed: Unanimous

4. Free choice: Anyone have free choice to choose any Guru from any place in

ISKCON and take initiation from him.

Agreed: 251, Disagreed: 1

5. System of Guru Parampara: It is always important to follow the Guru

Parampara system. Otherwise, performance of Bhakti-yoga will be destroyed.

Agreed: Unanimous

6. Number of disciples: If we want to expand the sankirtana movement of Lord

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, we have to increase the number of disciples.

Agreed: 1, Disagreed: 251

7. Founder-acharya: Srila Prabhupada should be respected as the

Founder-acharya by all members of ISKCON.

Agreed: Unanimous

8. Relationship with Gurus: It is important to enhance the relationship

between the Guru and the disciples through various ways.

Agreed: Unanimous

9. Siksha-guru: It is essential to have siksha-gurus in our movement.

Agreed: 251, Disagreed: 1

10. More Gurus: We need more qualified Gurus in our movement.

Agreed: 248, Disagreed: 4

The following proposals came from the groups which were accepted (as

unanimous or majority vote) by the plenary body of devotees.

1. We reject Ritvik-vada in toto. We want to serve our personal spiritual

master through vani-seva and vapuh-seva and serve the Lord under the lotus

feet of our spiritual master in Guru Parampara as taught by Srila

Prabhupada, the previous acharyas and the sastras. (Unanimous)

2. In addition to individual Vyasa Pujas for individual Gurus, there should

be a special festival where all Gurus are worshipped together on one day.

(Unanimous)

3. During Vyasa Pujas, the Guru's Godbrothers/sisters should also be

honored. (Majority)

4. We need more Gurus so that the whole world can be saved. This is to

increase Lord Chaitanya's sankirtan movement. Otherwise, Kali will expand

his influence. (Majority)

5. Gurus should scrutinizingly make sure that they do not accept unqualified

disciples. (Unanimous)

6. Gurus can entrust senior disciples to take care of junior disciples. Have

some sort of counselling system to take care of them. (Unanimous)

7. Disciples have to become properly trained to become better in sadhana and

in understanding philosophy. Thus he can understand his relationship with

his guru better, as a spiritual relationship and not a mundane one.

Disciples should understand their position as humble servants of the Guru

and follow the orders of the Guru with simplicity. (Majority)

8. Female disciples should be restricted from rendering vapuh-seva to Gurus.

(Unanimous)

9. The Gurus should either personally or through representatives know about

the spiritual progress of each and every disciple. (Unanimous)

10. At the time of initiation, the Guru should make the prospective disciple

understand Srila Prabhupada's position as the foundational siksha-guru for

every ISKCON Member. (Unanimous)

11. In the main/large temples, worship of Srila Prabhupada should be made

grander. (Unanimous)

12. There should be a pranama-mantra for Srila Prabhupada which clearly says

that he is the founder-acharya of this Society and the foundational

siksha-guru of every member of his Society. (Unanimous)

13. Sastra teaches that the Parama-guru (Guru's Guru) should be offered at

least twice the level of worship/respect than what is offered to one's Guru.

We can take that as a policy for respecting Srila Prabhupada, who is

ISKCON's founder-acharya vis-a-vis respecting one's Guru. Srila Prabhupada

should be offered at least twice the amount of respect than what is offered

to one's Guru. Eg. His picture twice bigger than Guru's, etc. (Majority)

14. There should be clear understanding of the relationship between one's

Guru, Srila Prabhupada (the Founder-acharya) and the disciples. (Unanimous)

15. Even if a senior devotee does not want to be a diksha-guru, he should at

least be recognized as a siksha-guru by GBC. (Majority)

16. Everyone should have the right to accept siksha from senior devotees if

he has the permission of his diksha-guru. (Unanimous)

17. There should be more Gurus; however they have to be very qualified. (

Majority)

18. New Gurus should be selected by GBC Body. (Unanimous)

19. Gurus should not be selected or promoted based on where the Guru is

born, etc. Anyone who is Krsna-tattva-vetta should be recognized as Guru.

(Unanimous)

20. Gurus should not refuse to perform their duties such as accepting Vyasa

Pujas and hearing glorification from disciples. He should perform these

duties for the sake of his self-purification. (Unanimous)

21. No one should preach against someone taking initiation from a Guru in

good standing. (Unanimous)

Two Extra Proposals:

1. Since Srila Prabhupada stated Guru should not be addressed as Swamiji, or

other familiar terms, but as Vishnupada, Gurudeva, Acharyadeva, (in the

First Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam) and since Hari-bhakti-vilasa states

that the Gurus' personal name is not to be stated without great respect and

preceded by Om Vishnupada, may it be resolved that ISKCON should continue to

allow non-public use between Gurus and disciples of normally authorizing

honorifics like Vishnupada, Acharyadeva, Gurupada, Srila Jayapataka Swami, Guru

Maharaja, etc. Banning these is against guru-sadhu-sastra and the teachings

of Srila Prabhupada.

2. That whatever worship or respect is offered to a Guru is done as he is a

representative of the Guru Parampara and is not necessarily a statement of

his level of realization. If this is not clear, then the GBC Body may kindly

institute the system of announcing before reception and the Guru-pujas that

it is being offered to the Guru as he is a representative of the disciplic

succession.

These results and proposals were tabulated by Vamsidhari Govinda das and

Vidvan Gauranga das.

Letters by Vidvan Gauranga das

Subject: An incident told to me by Dayaram Prabhu

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I remembered something that Dayaram pr had told me:

"In our house in Maharashtra, we had a calf and a cow in our family. My

grand-father was also there. When I was small, I noticed that every day my

father used to first feed the calf before he took his breakfast. That was

how it was done."

"One day my father had gone for breakfast without feeding the calf. When my

grand-father found out about that, he came and chastised my father severely

while he was taking his breakfast, 'You shameless fool! How dare you sit to

eat without having fed the calf? How can you behave in such a low-class

way?' and so on. My father got up in the middle of eating and offered

apologies and went to feed the calf. Then he came back and resumed his

breakfast."

"Now my mother had seen my father being chastised by grand-father. She was

so heart-broken to see her husband being chastised that she went inside and

was weeping. My grand-father also felt that it was improper to have done

that in the presence of his daughter-in-law and went and apologized/

consoled her."

We can see that she didn't like her husband to be chastised or suffer. I

thought that might be inspiring.

Subject: What does "submissive" (wife) mean?

Dear devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I wanted to start a discussion to explore what being submissive means. What

did Srila Prabhupada mean when he said that when the woman is unsubmissive,

divorce happens?

I shall give my own thoughts and wait for your comments. First of all, there

was a nice old text from Ameyatma Pr on this topic (I will not repeat those

points) but since somehow some devotees (men and women) seem to think that

being submissive means to become some sort of mindless moron 'submissive' to

the husband, I wanted to say some words on this.

It is an 'open secret' amongst Indian families that the wife (kula-vadhu) is

the strongest voice and in fact the in-house manager (you might even say

"controller") in the family. Yet she remains submissive to her husband. How

is that? It is simply etiquette. As Srila Prabhupada had said, it is the

man's mentality (ego) that he wants the woman to be subordinate to him.

"Then he is willing to take charge." This is simple psychology. Subordinate

doesn't mean to become a mindless slave but it is to take a humbler and

gentler role. Then the man's mind is naturally influenced by the wife. (Of

course men have to be trained to be sensitive to the wife too.)

A non-devotee but submissive wife is a very great obstacle to a Vaishnava

husband. Raghunatha das Goswami's father said that if Raghunatha's wife

could not 'bind' up Raghunatha, then what can take Raghunatha's mind away

from the service and association of Lord Chaitanya? We must keep in mind

that 500 years back, 'wife' meant 'submissive'. Of course she was also

apsaraa-sama or as beautiful as an apsaraa and that was certainly maya but

definitely being a part of the culture she must have been naturally very

submissive too.

As Srila Prabhupada quoted, naari-ruupam paati-vratam. The beauty of a woman

lies in her being "submissive" to her husband.

Your humble servant,

Vidvan Gauranga das

Subject: Srila Bhaktivinoda on Vaishnavis' class (with some observations)

DESCRIPTION OF A VAISHNAVIS' CLASS BY SRILA BHAKTIVINODA

========================================================

We found a detailed description of the setup that was used in

Vaishnavis' sastra classes only in the "Fifth Ray" of Prema

Pradipa, a novel by Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

> Just after sending one letter, one Vaishnava came and invited everyone for

> a festival at Prema-kunja [a place in Vrindavan]. Anand Babu, Babaji,

> Mallik Mahasaya, and Naren Babu [visitors from Calcutta] all promised to

> attend.

> At ten o' clock in the morning after finishing puja, prayers, and the

> reading of sastra, they all went to Prema-kunja. Prema-kunja is a most

> sanctified place, surrounded by a wall and beautified by many madhavi

> creepers. The Deities of Lord Gauranga and Nityananda Prabhu were situated

> in front of a broad courtyard. Many Vaisnavas were performing kirtan

> there.

> Visiting Vaisnavas were gradually coming. They all sat in the courtyard

> and discussed various topics.

> Within the kunja there was a room for the Vaishnavis. One Vaishnavi named

> Prema-bhavini was reading [and speaking on] Chaitanya- charitamrita there.

> Even though the Vaishnavis' room was separate, still male Vaishnavas were

> not forbidden to visit...

> After gradually moving forward, Naren Babu and Anand Babu arrived at the

> women's room. They saw all the female servants of Krishna sitting in the

> dust. Prema-bhavini was sitting on a small asana and reciting shastra. She

> was wearing plain white cloth. Her forehead was marked with long tilaka,

> and her neck was decorated with tulasi beads. Her limbs were marked with

> the holy name of Hari. Near her was an achamana cup. The Vaishnavis

> sitting around her were wearing the same dress and holding japa-mala in

> their hands. They were all looking at Prema-havini's face like cataka

> birds. She was sweetly reciting from Caitanya-caritamrita (Madhya

> 23.9-13)...

> One of the listeners, a young lady named Rasa-bhavini, asked, "Sakhii,

what

is rati?" Hearing that question, Prema-bhavini replied, "Rati is the

> seedling of prema." Rasa-bhavini slightly smiled and again inquired,

> "Where does rati reside, and unto whom should it be reposed?"

> Prema-bhavini was an experienced Vaishnavi. She had many times already

> discussed all these topics and understood the conculsions. Hearing

> Rasa-bhavini's question, Prema-bhavini's heart melted in ecstatic love and

> incessant tears began to flow from her eyes. She began to speak.

> "Sakhii, don't harbor worldly consciousness in spiritual subject matters.

> This is not the rati that you hear about in the debauchee's perverted

> sensual activities. The rati in the material body is burnt in the

> crematorium along with the body. It does not permanently remain with you.

> The rati experienced in the dealings between men and women in this world

> that is very insignificant, because the pleasure of the body is finished

> with the body. The living entity is spirit soul, she has an eternal body.

> In that eternal body, every living entity is strii or enjoyed and Sri

> Krishnachandra is the only purusha, or enjoyer. The demands of the

> material body should be reduced and those of the eternal body should be

> increased. As a woman's rati, or affection, rushes severely towards a man,

> the transcendental rati of the eternal strii's body rushes towards Sri

> Krishna. The heart's lust for sense objects is called rati. But the

> spiritual body's natural lust for Krishna is the living entity's eternal

> rati. Sakhii, if that rati is not manifest, then why will you give up

> honor and respect to live in Vraja? Rati is a natural propensity. It is

> causeless. On seeing the sense objects it becomes agitated. As I said

> previously, rati is the seed of prema. This seed should be sprouted by the

> watering process of hearing and chanting."

> As Prema-bhavini spoke, feelings of ecstacy arose in her. She became

> restless and fell, while exclaiming, "O Lord of my heart, where are You?"

> Everyone became anxious and chanted harinama to her.

> Naren Babu said to Anand Babu, "See, here's an example of pure love..."

>

[Then they took prasada in the courtyard. After they finished taking

> prasada,] All the Vaishnavas chanted "Haribol!" as they returned to their

> own places. One old Vaishnavi... affectionately took Anand Babu, Naren

> Babu, and Mallik Mahasaya to the women's room and had them sit down. They

> were all pleased, being enchanted by her motherly affection... [Then they

> spoke with Prema-bhavini for some time. Naren Babu recognizes

> Prema-bhavini to be his maternal aunt.]

> At that time, Yogi Babaji called them. Mallik Mahasaya, Naren Babu, and

> Anand Babu offered obeisances to the old Vaishnavi and Prema-bhavini and

> went to the outer room...

Here are some observations on this episode:

* The visitors were very respectful in their dealings with

the Vaishnavis.

* The Vaishnavis displayed strong sastric knowledge. The

speaker also strongly spoke on developing detachment

concerning "dealings of men and women in this world". She did

not devalue detachment, vairagya. This indicates that,

they were talented and trained in sastra-study.

* As per the traditional Vaishnava culture of the Vaishnavas,

the Vaishnavis had their own class SEPARATE from the men's class.

* The Vaishnavis' class was in a separate room, not in the

kirtan hall (the courtyard near the Gaura-Nitai Deities).

* The men's class was, however, in the kirtan hall (the courtyard

near the Gaura-Nitai Deities).

* Male Vaishnavas were not forbidden to attend the separately

conducted Vaishnavis' class (nor were they forced to attend the

Vaishnavis' class by having the Vaishnavis' class conducted

in the kirtan hall :-)).

* There are other Vairagi (brahmachari/ vanaprastha/ sannyasi/

babaji) characters in this novel but there is no mention here that

they were attending the Vaishnavis' class (nor were there any

complaints that they weren't attending :-)).

---

I beg to remain Your humble servant,

Vidvan Gauranga das

Subject: "We are not the bodies"

[This is based on an old text that I had written with slight editing.]

Dear devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Somebody told me this:

> We are not the body. This means that men and women can do devotional

> service in the same way, if they are capable. There should be no

> restrictions for women to perform any service just like men because

> they are also spirit souls. Ignorance of this "first lesson" reveals

> a gross bodily concept of life. Those who advocate prohibitions for

> women are certainly in such a lowly state of consciousness.

I will attempt to controvert this reasoning.

Actually this philosophy is a mental concoction not approved in the Vedic

scriptures or the teachings of Srila Prabhupada and the previous Vaishnava

Acharyas.

First of all, why does the Lord teach the "first lesson"?

According to the Vaishnava acharyas, the reason why Lord Krishna explains

the first lesson that we are not the body is that without discriminating

between the body and soul (aatma-anaatma-viveka), it is not possible for one

to render nishkaama-karma, dispassionate, obligatory fulfillment of one's

prescribed Vedic duties for the sake of the Lord.

In other words, if one does not know that he is not the body, he will not be

able to perform one's specific duties in a dispassionate manner for the

Lord. He will want to act in accordance with his mental concoction. Only one

who knows that he is not the mind or body can eventually transcend both by

engaging the mind and body in activities that are prescribed specific to the

kind of mind and body.

Now one may justifiably ask, Why should one render nishkaama-karma?

The answer is given by the Lord in the Gita: niyatam kuru karma tvam karma

jyayo hy akarmanah/ sarira-yatrapi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmanah. "Perform

your prescribed duty, for doing so is better than not working. One cannot

even maintain one's physical body without work."

Bhakti is purely the function of the soul proper. But at the present moment,

we are conditioned by the body and the mind. And as long as we are

conditioned by the body and the mind, we have to address the needs of the

body and the mind. By rendering one's duty as prescribed by the Lord in

Vedic culture (which has been created by Him) and which has been established

by previous great Vaishnava acharyas, we can make it easy for ourselves to

render devotional service to the maximum.

When we surrender to the Lord, we have to accept Vedic religious principles

(dharma) which are the same as prescribed Vedic duties which are favorable

to devotional service to the Lord. The same point is succintly expressed by

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura thus:

yatra dharmaaya karma viraagaaya dharmas chid-rasaaya viraaagas tatra

gauna-ruupena karmaivaabhidhiiyate (Amnaya-sutra 53)

When (Vedic prescribed) duties are performed for the sake of dharma, and

when dharma is performed in order to become detached (from the material

realm), and when we become detached (from the material realm) in order to

attain spiritual mellows (chid-rasa), then (Vedic prescribed) duties

are accepted as secondary means (to attain the goal of life).

In his comment to this sutra, Srila Bhaktivinoda quotes Srila

Ramanujaachaarya thus:

upaaya-buddhyaa karmaani maa kurudhvam mahaatmakaah/

karmanaam eva kainkarye praapte bhagavatah matih//

"O Mahaatmas! Don't perform (Vedic prescribed) karmas in order to attain the

fruit of punya. With your mind fixed on the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

please perform those (Vedic prescribed) karmas which bring pleasure to Him

as devotional service." (This translation is based on Srila Bhaktivinoda's

Bengali translation of this Sanskrit verse.)

So we do not reject recommendations for behavior in the Vedas or in

Vaishnava culture when we take up devotional service. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

Sarasvati Thakura quote from the Vishnu-dharmottara (6.31), where Lord

Narayana Himself declares:

shrutih smritih mamaivaajnaa yas taam ullanghya vartate/

aajnaa-cchedii mama drohii mad-bhakto 'pi na vaishnavah//

"The Shruti and Smriti scriptures are factually My orders. One who breaks

these orders is a traitor unto Me. Even if He is My devotee, he is not a

Vaishnava."

It is very important to note that the Lord claims that the Shruti and Smriti

are His orders. It is not that we only care about the Bhagavad Gita. We care

for the Shruti and Smriti also. These words are spoken by the Lord, the

Supreme Father and Well-wisher in a mood of loving chastisement to His

devotees as a warning so that we may not think that because we are

Vaishnavas we are automatically above the Shruti and Smriti "orders" of the

Lord.

So we should not think that because we are not the body, men and women can

do the same thing in the same setting. Srila Prabhupada expected us to

follow these conventions which have been respected and followed by exalted

Vaishnava acharyas since time immemorial. Actually these are all part of the

Varnashrama-dharma, which Srila Prabhupada said was the fifty percent that

he didn't complete.

Srila Prabhupada also writes in his Gita purports that the Lord wants Arjuna

to act as a Kshatriya but for His pleasure. He does NOT tell Arjuna to

simply abandon his Kshatriya duties and act as a Brahmana.

NOR DOES THE LORD TELL ARJUNA TO NOT ACT AS A MAN. In the beginning of the

Gita, the Lord chides Arjuna that he should not become impotent. He then

encourages Arjuna in so many places to act as a man should (in Vedic

culture) by using terms like purusharshabha ("best among men"),

purusha-vyaghra ("tiger amongst human beings"). In Vedic culture, there are

prescribed duties for men and women respectively. The Lord expects Arjuna to

behave as a man should in the context of Vedic culture which is based on the

Vedic scriptures. (Tasmaac chaastram pramaanam te

kaaryaakaarya-vyavasthitau.)

"We are not the body" is the philosophy and accompanying that philosophy is

the religion of varnashrama-dharma by which we can come to realize that we

are not the body. Srila Prabhupada says that philosophy without religion is

mental speculation and religion without philosophy is sentiment, or

sometimes fanaticism.

In Vedic and Vaishnava culture, there are certain things that women do NOT

do. For instance, when Lord Chaitanya displayed His maha-prakasha at the

house of Srivasa, there was an abhisheka of the Lord's transcendental form.

The women did not come to do abhisheka.

In Vaishnava culture, great painstaking care is taken to ensure that men and

women follow their respective sva-dharmas (karmas). Vaishnavas and

Vaishnavis also follow their sva-dharma as can be seen in Vaishnava

communities which have been established by the Vaishnava acharyas. In

Vaishnava families throughout India, at least among those who still value

their culture, you can still find the women serving the men food and

eating later (a simple varnashrama rule which is also followed by the

smaarta-brahmanas). This is how it has been established by the Vaishnava

acharyas who were certainly not sexists but rather liberated souls.

Bengali-born Srila Subhaga Swami Maharaja once mentioned that Srila

Prabhupada gave him the following instruction: "Don't think that because you

have now come to ISKCON you can give up your culture which has been taught

to you by your parents. I am giving you Krishna consciousness but that

doesn't mean you have to give up your culture. You should not give up your

culture."

Therefore, Srila Ramanujacharya says that the message of the Vedic

literatures is this: "After having obtained factual knowledge of the nature

of the living entity and the Supreme, while carrying out one's duties

according to varnaashrama, by meditating, worshipping, offering obeisances

etc. to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one becomes very blissful and

finally attains Him." Please note that carrying out one's duties according

to varnashrama as taught by Vaishnava acharyas leads one to the Lord.

So, in Vedic culture, there are specific roles and duties for the men and

for the women. But it is not that if the men aren't doing their job, the

women can do the men's job. Of course, Srila Prabhupada allowed many things

in the West (I have posted a separate text on this) but the reason why he

allowed is different and not because "we are not the bodies" and therefore

men and women can do anything. That reasoning is just humbug.

yhs vgd

Subject: Eternal culture reflected from the eternal pastimes of the Lord

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Just as the entire material world is a reflection of the spiritual world,

the culture that Krishna presents to the conditioned souls to follow is also

a reflection of the culture that the Lord and His associates accept for the

pleasure of the Lord. There is, needless to say, a great difference between

the two: the latter is solely due to the pleasure of the Lord and it is

considered a pastime, while the former forms a part of the process to come

back to the eternal pastimes.

We observe that in public Srimati Radharani covers Her hair (and also covers

Her face with a veil); the ladies there also eat after the menfolk eat. When

Nanda Baba calls for a village meeting and discuss decision making, it is

the men who do that. The women are busy with women's works. Of course, these

are all part of the Lord's pastimes. But that is the point: it is pleasing

to the Lord.

You do not hear that in Dvaraka the queens of the Lord are also sitting

in the Raja-darbar and making political decisions. No. (It is not that they

are not as intelligent as Maharaja Ugrasena and/or others.) And please note

that in Dvaraka everything is purely spiritual. But even in the spiritual

realm, things are done differently to please the Lord.

The same is reflected, by the Lord's arrangement, in the material world in

His Vedic culture where men and women have different prescribed duties

in the material and spiritual fields, in spite of them being equally

qualified in the material or spiritual sense.

Someone might say:

> But what about equal benefit? Assuming that it is indeed a part of the

> eternal Vedic culture, why is it not considering that women should also

> not partake of equal spiritual benefit? Why the benefit only for

> male-bodied souls?

Actually the Veda is one of our mothers and She is a manifestation of

Srimati Radharani Herself. She is the Vidyaa-potency of the Lord. It is

said, sahasra-maataa-pitrbhyo sneha-taraa hi srutih. The Veda is more

affectionate to the conditioned souls (both male- and female-bodied) than

thousands of mothers and fathers. So She (Mother Veda) knows what is best

for us. We may not like what She prescribes like spoilt children but if we

follow Her prescription, it is best for us. Just as a mother does not want

her child to make mistakes and suffer and instead, in order to prevent her

child from suffering, chastises or threatens even the child for the child's

future safety, the Veda also gives specific directions for conditioned souls

in male-bodies and female-bodies.

But actually upon closer examination, we find that both the men and women

get equal spiritual benefit. Manu-samhita says that if a wife cleans her

household (which is supposed to be dedicated to God) with devotion, she gets

the same result as a man gets by him serving the guru personally in the

gurukula. So in this way, they get the same benefit.

But the Veda is not blind to the social mishaps that might occur if we "take

the law in our own hands" and disregard its teachings. Therefore, mahaajano

yena gatah sa panthaa. We have to follow the standard Mahajanas, the

Vaishnava acharyas who have understood and instituted the teachings of the

Vedas in timeless Vedic culture.

yhs vgd

Jayapataka Maharaja Tape Ministry:

Subject: CD ROM

So now we have possible pledges of 15 units per month. We need 25 more for

the program to be economically feasible.

Your Servant, Jitakrodha das

Subject: donation letter

By Jitakrodha das.. JPS Tape Ministry.

Dear Disciples and Well wishers

Please accept my humble obeisances All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All

glories to Srila Jayapataka Swami!

I am writing to all of you in regard to the electronic (tape) ministry of

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami, Srila Jayapataka Swami. We are in some economic

difficulty and so I am needing to ask for your help.

Brief history

In 1992 My wife and I accepted the service to edit video tape and later on

to edit audio, both English and Spanish and also to make videos for Europe

in the PAL format. In this startup time we had no equipment or support so

bank loans were taken out to purchase the equipment and supplies. My

thinking was that support would follow in the form of many retail sales of

the products.

In 1995 with no support or sales my family was unable to continue to make

the monthly payments on the bank loans. A formula was created to resolve the

problem if disciples would purchase a combined 200 tapes per month at

retail. Srila Jayapataka Swami agreed to purchase 200 tapes per month at wholesale

cost for several months until the disciples and local JSSS groups could take

over at the retail level. The several months turned into two years with the

many tapes being stockpiled (undistributed in Atlanta).

In 1997 it was clear that selling so many tapes to Srila Jayapataka Swami at

wholesale was only paying the interest on the loans and there was still a

major problem with the distribution of the stockpiles tapes. In October 1997

the sale of tapes to Srila Jayapataka Swami was discontinued and a major campaign

was started to pay the entire $50,000 (USD) debt to do away with the $1400

monthly interest payments. Over the next half year we received donations to

pay $25,000 of the debt and to reduce the interest payments from $1400 to

$700.

My wife and the JSSS in Kuala Lumpur were paying the monthly payment but now

due to some economic difficulty we are left with only the KL JSSS donation.

So monthly we are slipping into debt about $500 more for the interest

payment.

Again the key disciples are making an effort that we should pay off the last

$25,000 in debt and thus do away with the monthly payments for interest.

So I am on behalf of the ministry asking for the disciples and well wishers

to give some assistance to help us clear up this economic debt and have the

ministry on sound financial feet.

To pay off the debt completely in three months (December, January, February)

we need to raise $8719 (USD) each month to pay the interest and principle.

Already for the month of December we have pledges of approximately $5000

combined from Florida and the Arabian Gulf so with additional support from

the disciples in other areas of the world we can realize our goal to have

the ministry debt free!

Please consider if you are able to make a pledge for donation or if you can

canvas other disciples or well wishers of Srila Jayapataka Swami to give us your

kind assistance. Donations should be collected and transferred into USD bank

draft or money order and sent to:

Jayapataka Swami Ministry

159 Penil Court

Decherd, Tennessee 37324

USA

Email jpsem@com.bbt.se

Phone 9319678967

Thank you

Your Servant, Jitakrodha das

Subject: JPSEM report Dec 98

JPSEM Debt Donation & Distribution Report

November 21- December 20 1998

(If you are reading this report prior to the 20 of the current month it

means this is an interim report. Final report for the month will be made on

or after the 20 of each month.)

JPSEM Debt & Donation Report

Opening debt balance $24657

Amounts applied to debt $7371

Increase to debt $375

(interest and minimum payments)

Ending debt balance $17661

Detailed Donation Report

$4601 Vijaya venugopala das & family with Mathura desh Yatra; $400 JSSS

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ; $40 Prahlad Nrsimha das, Manorupa dasi & family;

$50 Janmasiddha das & Sarva Sakti dasi; $1780 Vijaya venugopala das & family

with Mathura desh Yatra; $500 Bangalore congregation

Our goal is to in December 98, January, February, 99 to collect $8719 each

month to completely pay the debt.

Our deepest thanks to all who have, are presently, or are planning to assist

with donations for the ministry.

Our goal is to have worldwide distribution of 200 retail/subscription items

per month with the ministry being supported through sales. The first phase

is to establish 40 monthly subscriptions to pay for new audio and video

productions.

JPSEM Distribution Report

Distribution: Monthly Subscription (40 required)

Pledges to date 16 units

Actual Distribution for Standing Order:

Audio 4 tape sets (1 unit each): 0

CD Audio 4 CD sets (2 unit each): 0

Video (1 unit each): 0

CDROM (every other month) (2 unit each): 0

Total units for the reporting period: 0

Actual Distribution for Retail sales:

Audio 4 tape sets: 0

CD Audio 4 CD sets: 0

Video: 0

CDROM: 0

Total units for the reporting period: 0

Actual Distribution: Wholesale

Total units for the reporting period: 0

Actual Distribution: Licensed Copies

Total units for the reporting period: 0

Your Servant, Jitakrodha das

Subject: Re: Re: JPSEM distribution

Dear Bhadra Jagannath Prabhu

Please accept my humble obeisances All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All

glories to Srila Jayapataka Swami!

Thank you for your inquiry about the JPSEM Monthly Standing Order

(previously called tape of the month)

Once we meet our goal of 40 monthly units the ministry will be producing

monthly:

Audio Tape Set (4 new lectures) $16 per month

Audio CD Set (4 new CDs same as the tapes) $32 per month

Video production (lecture video one month, action video the next) $16 per

month

CDROM production 2 CDROM set for Windows 95, NT, 98 (the latest action video

plus an extra video from the archives, 4 new audio lectures (as above) and 4

from the archives. $32 Every Other Month

Payments are required in advance each month. Payments by the 20 of each

month guarantees delivery the first of the month. For those who want to

purchase a 3 month 6 month or larger block can simply multiply the amounts

by the months desired.

Devotees can by the 20 of the month give notice to switch from one of the

services to another (audio to video etc)

Prices include the product, packaging, airmail delivery (small packet), and

Laxmi for utility and mastering cost.

Your Servant, Jitakrodha das

Subject: JPSEM news update

Hopefully everyone on the JPSEM and JSSS conference are thinking of ways to

boost the monthly distribution of audio and video tapes.

Yesterday His Grace Nanda Kumar Prabhu had a chance to visit the JPSEM

studio and among other things we discussed ways to improve the audio and

video recordings and productions.

Along with enthusiasm and discussions Nanda Kumar Prabhu brought some 5,000

digital photographs from October and November! I will be taking the best

shots and matching them with Nanda Kumar's diary entries for posting to the

JPSEM web site.

Over the past half year the web site has become a bit splayed out as new

sections were added so now for the month of December I will be doing some

web page redesign to clean up the site and get everything in order. Look for

the new pictures and new design by December 25.

So this month there are no new audio or video productions. We have about 9

of the 40 distribution units pledged and we have to be at the 40 unit mark

in order to again have new productions.

In regard to the debt of the ministry we have received $4601 of the monthly

goal of $8719 (each for three months) now we still need $4118 to meet the

December goal.

Any suggestions, assistance, prayers, letters, will be appreciated.

Your Servant, Jitakrodha das

Subject: Some Y2K news

ALTHOUGH THIS WAS NOT WRITTEN BY SOMEONE IN ISKCON, IT IS OF RELAVANCE TO

ALL.

If you have been a member of the Sankirtan Movement for any length of time

you have surely wondered how much longer the atheistic (demoniac)

technological civilization can go on? According to our holy scriptures like

Srimad Bhagavatam cow killing alone causes enough 'bad karma' to bring the

roof down on society - what to speak of such sinful activities as abortion.

During the 60's and 70's devotees preached very heavily up and down the

streets of the world - warning of the outcome of developing a Godless

civilization but ironically nothing seemed to happen.

Many devotees even entered the 'main stream' not eating meat at least but

nonetheless becoming dependent on the technological wonders and easy life

in the age of science. Indeed the Sankirtan Movement spread but so did

demoniac civilization - abortion and cow killing are presently at an all

time high throughout the world. What did the devotees do then? Possibly you

have even 'prayed' for Krishna to do something in a big way to bring modern

civilization to its knees - something to humble the Godless mentality which

pervades society. If so your 'prayers' might be answered very shortly - Y2

Karma (Y2K) is just around the corner!

The world has a problem! You have a problem - the devotees have a problem!

It may be the biggest problem that the modern world has ever faced. Many

people think it is. At 12 midnight on January 1, 2000 (a Saturday morning),

most of the world's mainframe computers will either shut down or begin

spewing out bad data. Most of the world's desktop computers will also start

spewing out bad data (Swamis go offline). Tens of millions - possibly

hundreds of millions - of preprogrammed computer chips will begin to shut

down the systems they automatically control. This will create a nightmare

for every area of life, in every region of the industrialized world (even

for devotees - especially if they are unprepared).

This is not a 'Jean Dickson' prediction or something your local

'astrologer' is predicting - this is just an 'old fashion mundane reality'

getting ready to cut loose! Its called the year 2000 problem, Y2K. Suddenly

it dawned on me - 'K' stands for karma. I know that none of you devotees

are 'fanatical' about such things but just imagine if Krishna was behind

the Y2K scenario and indeed it was the year 2000 karma coming down! - what

might be the potential or implications? If so things could get interesting

and before I go another step further I would like to humbly suggest that we

(the devotees) get ready for Y2K. First chant Hare Krishna and second- for

the sake of those you care about (the Vaishnavas and your kids) stock up on

'a little' extra prasadam. Haribol!

Think of what happens if the following areas go down and stay down for

months or even years: banks, railroads, public utilities, petroleum

industry (no gas), telephone lines (the internet), military communications,

and financial markets (say good-by to your Gold Card!). What about Social

Security, Medicare, Food Stamps and Welfare Checks (look out ISKCON

Alachua, Florida)? If Welfare, Social Security and Medicare go down, it

will affect millions of people, even devotees, even you.

Who is going to leave his money in his bank if he thinks his bank's

computer is not reliable? A worldwide run on the banks will create havoc in

the investment markets. People who have placed their retirement hopes in

stocks and mutual funds will see their dreams vanish. How reliable will

stocks and mutual funds be if the banking system has closed down? Will

people continue to trust in 'paper money' or will they demand silver and

gold for their goods, labor etc.? How will you even get paid if you have a

job or get your temple allowance from the Temple President? How will you be

able to go to the temple store to buy a coloring book for your little kid?

You are looking at 384 days or less until melt down! At which time your

Krishna consciousness will be the only real 'reality' that you can take

shelter of. No more movies, Super Bowl, or Basken and Robins Ice Cream. The

chances that nothing happens on Y2K day and the world just goes on as

though nothing happened is zero. Thas right ZERO.

My brother is a commander of a Nucular Destroyer in the US Navy and I know

it through the family grape vine that all divisions of the US Military will

be on alert for Y2K. Preparation for Y2K is daily going on in Congress, the

Senate, British Parliament, the United Nations and so on. They are

expecting total social breakdown in places like England and Martial Law

will go into effect within 24 hours after Y2K hits! The United States is no

exception - plans are also in place by the USA government to implement

Martial Law, especially in the inner cities like; L.A. New York, Atlanta,

Chicago, etc.. But how would you (the simple devotees of Krishna) know

these things? You never read the main stream news - that's Maya - you only

read VNN or Chakra! Now is the time to broaden your scope of things before

you are kicking yourself in the rear and saying, "Why didn't I listen when

I had a chance?"

By the way, no government tax collection agency above the county level is

Year 2000-compliant today. People will know in 2000 that the government

cannot trace them. Will they continue to pay, especially if the huge

government welfare programs for the elderly (and the devotees) have shut

down? Kiss it good-by.

Everything is tied together by computers. If the computers go down or can

no longer be trusted, everything falls apart. And it matters not to the

computers whether we accept this fact or not. They do what they've been

programmed to do. They've been programmed to recognize 2000 as 1900.

Uncorrected PC architecture DOS and Windows-based desktop computers will

revert back either to 1980 or 1984. They can be corrected briefly, but as

soon as a PC is turned off, the correction dies. I've been saying all along

that ISKCON devotees should get smart and get on the Mac system - we Mac

users do not have that problem - at least with our laptops. But how will we

power them? Anybody got an extra solar panel?

The first response of most karmis when they hear this news is denial - the

response of most devotees initially is the same, denial! Most people (but

hopefully not all devotees) will stay in denial, especially those who will

suffer financial losses by admitting the problem. This is why the problem

will not be fixed. Everyone in authority will deny that time has run out to

get this fixed, right up until December 31, 1999. They are paid to deny

this or they are too stupid to understand the problem.

It's over. Right now. It cannot be fixed. Whatever it does, the Y2Kscenario is going to do -its going to bite the world big time in the seat

of the pants! How hard? There the debate begins but why should you (the

devotees) be unprepared. This is a great opportunity for devotees to pull

together around the world and get their communities together. (Even the Red

Cross says there is a problem.) "United we stand - divided we fall."

"United we preach - divided we go hungry." (When you get in to this Y2K

issue and you finally stumble across what the Mormans are doing to prepare

for Y2K you are going to be shocked! Just to give you a clue - every Morman

family is being required by their church to stock a minimum of one years

supply of food. What is your temple president doing? - planning a meeting

on the Ritvik debate or a committee to deal with the women Guru issue? No

offense intended Prabhus but the fact is that the devotees of Krishna are

way behind the curve on Y2K. I have heard that out of the total ISKCON

population only Dasaratha Prabhu in Arizona is ahead of the curve. As for

the other communities of devotees outside ISKCON - well they are totally in

the dark about Y2Karma) If you and your community prepare intelligently for

Y2Karma then you have nothing to loose - if you don't - don't say we didn't

tell you.

For the last two years articles on the internet and other places have

appeared concerning Y2K but these early starters were mainly from the 'Born

Again Christians' and other extreme 'Right Wing' groups. Now however the

serious talk on Y2K goes 'Mainstream America.' Keep an eye on the front

page of your local newspaper and watch for the coverage on Y2K. By

mid-summer 1999 the Y2K issue is going to dominate the Media - by then its

going to be very difficult to prepare yourselves. How will you buy some

extra wheat (especially a couple of hundred pounds) from your local health

food store when every Tom, Dick, and Harry in Los Angles (or where ever you

are) is standing in line to do the same things? Or the store just ain't

open because there just ain't no stock! Think about it, fast.

The links given below will help you to evaluate your own personal

vulnerability and the seriousness of Y2Karma (Y2K). Do us all a favor -

check it out. Whatever you do don't get caught without an extra case or two

of Bhagavad Gitas stored in your basement (order now from BBT or whoever).

Your neighbor might be looking to the sky soon crying, "Oh God why me, why

me!" At that time you can approach him and give him a Bhagavad Gita and

say, "Here is the book that says it all" - provided that is that you

yourself are not looking in the sky crying, "Oh Krishna, Oh Krishna, please

save us!"

Lets get ready Prabhus. If any of you are interested in practical ideas

about what you can do (spiritual and economic) to be prepared for Y2Karma

then I will be happy to share some ideas with you

Links on Y2K and Related Topics from:

http://www.garynorth.com/

Welfare Payments:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Welfare_Payments

Health Care:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Health_Care

Government:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Government

Taxation:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Taxation

Military:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Military

Martial Law in USA and Elsewhere:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Martial_Law

Banking:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Banking

Stock Market (get out today):

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Stock_Market

Telecommunications:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Telecommunications

Personal Computers:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Personal_Computers

Domino Effect (no one is safe):

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Domino_Effect

Power Grid:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Power_Grid

No Big Problem:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/No_Big_Problem

No Silver Bullet:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/No_Silver_Bullet

Noncompliant Chips:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Noncompliant_Chips

Programmers Views:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Programmers'_Views

Imported Data:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Imported_Data

Shipping & Transportation:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Shipping_and_Transportation

Too Late Now!:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Too_Late

Testing:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Testing

Compliance:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Compliance

Litigation:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Litigation

Count Down Clock:

http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/results_.cfm/Countdown_Clock