BT SWAMIS PRINCIPLES Dear Prabhus / Matajis, Please accept our humble obeisances, All glories to Srila Prabhupada, All

glories to Sri Guru & Gauranga His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja emphasized the following 4 particular themes throughout the Festival: 1. Maharaja reminded us that the Bhagavad-gita was spoken on the battlefield, and we each have our own battlefield of Kuruksetra. So wherever we are, in every situation, we must remember that we are in a war. Whether we're in a festival, at work, home, school, in the temple, or even on the altar, Krsna is there and Maya is also there. The war is always going on to annihilate our lust, greed, and the other enemies of the mind. The battlefield is designed for defeat and for victory. No other arena is more sensitive than a battlefield in bringing out the best and the worst of people. In a war we have casualties, traitors, and spies. We also have victims, survivors, and high achievers. In war we depend on association, strategy, and mentorship. But each individual person is held responsible for certain duties, and one person's failure can often bring disaster to many. Also one person's success can often bring victory to many. 2. Take a daily personal inventory, in the morning or the evening, to see how we are being more mindful and time-conscious. Look at each day as if it could be our last. Take inventory and cry out directly to our deities, to the picture of our gurus. Let them know our heart, our mind, and beg for Their help, guidance, and chastisement. Tell Them what we have offered that day for the mission of Srila Prabhupada and the mission of our gurus. The more we are personal with sastra, sadhu, guru, and Krsna, the more we will get that kind of reciprocation. Maharaja guaranteed that if we do this, we will see our spiritual life take on a whole new shift. So many things will go on in our life - health, sickness, wealth, impoverishment, etc. - but they'll just happen

around us and we will not identify with them, because guru and Krsna are in the forefront of our consciousness. 3. Look at our lives and distinctly see if we are helping to relieve the miseries of others. Our lives as Vaisnavas have as much value as we touch the life of another. Most of our thoughts and arrangements are about what isn't working in our lives. That is not transcendental. Yes, problems will be there and many of them will stay there. But we are all bigger than our own little problems. These experiences, problems, and challenges are part of our particular battlefield that we have to deal with to meet Krsna on the other side. That's why Krsna says one who is dear to Him is unaffected by happiness and distress. They're not seeing themselves as the center. As we think, act, plan, and strategize more in that way, then we will see so many issues, problems, and stagnations in our own lives are minimized or removed. 4. "Dear Lord, whatever we need to be better servants for Srila Prabhupada's mission, let it happen or come to us. Whatever we need to have taken away to become pure in Srila Prabhupada's service, let it be taken away." Also new devotees who have vowed to follow the 4 regulative principles are also expected to honor 8 other principles which Srila Bhakti Tirtha Swami requests of all his disciples: the 4 Principles of Community Building and the 4 Principles of Balance.

Bhakti Tirtha Swamis Principles The 4 Principles of Community Building 1. Treat everyone you encounter as if the success or failure of your spiritual life depends on the quality of your interactions with them. 2. Reflect on the person you love the most, and aspire to treat everyone with that same quality of love. 3. View all conflicts as your own fault first. 4. Realize that people in your present environment might very well be the people with whom you will live out your life, and who are likely to be with you at the time of death. The 4 Principles of Balance 1. Place more emphasis on having loving Vaisnava relationships. See all interactions as a cry for love or an extension of love. 2. Go the extra mile with regards to the care and protection of women and children. The Bhagavatam mentions that when elders, brahmanas, cows, women and children are not protected, not only does the individual who doesn't do those things suffer, but the whole society or community suffers. 3. Have a healthy balance with regard to our spiritual life and our material life, but make sure the secondary supports the primary. 4. Remain chaste to Srila Prabhupada's movement, but not sectarian. We are to remain loyal to Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON, but to respect all other Vaisnavas.