Page 10 - Patropadesa (English)
P. 10

viii                                              PREFACE


           As can be seen from some of the earlier entries in Patropadeça,
           previously I often composed extensive replies to philosophical,
           polemic, and practical queries. But nowadays I prefer to respond
           verbally whenever lengthy answers are warranted. Modern
           technology makes for easy dissemination of such replies.

           The perspectives and advice contained in this volume were
           offered to different individuals under varied circumstances
           and hence should not necessarily be considered universally
           applicable to all my disciples. Moreover, usually what I state in
           letters is unlikely to represent the whole gamut of my outlook on
           any given topic. Another important point is that my views and
           directions on some issues have changed since originally having
           been written. Most significantly, while still acknowledging the
           principle of respecting authority within ISKCON, nowadays I am
           more likely than previously to advise devotees to be cautious in
           dealing with ISKCON authorities in general, and particularly with
           certain devotees holding position within the institution.

           The letters in this book are generally presented largely as they
           were written, although in many cases only excerpts are given.
           Formalities (such as “Dear So-and-so,” and “Yours sincerely”)
           have been elided, spelling errors corrected, abbreviations
           expanded,  and  footnotes  provided  to clarify  certain  points.
           Variant spelling styles have not been standardized, and diacritical
           marks are largely absent.

           Sometimes, to make it easier to understand the context of my
           replies, the letter (or a portion thereof) to which I was replying is
           placed contiguously with my answer. And (as is common in email
           correspondence) often my replies include quoted text from the
           letter to which I am replying; such quoted text is featured in gray
           type.

           In most cases, names of recipients of the letters have been
           withheld, and other names (of persons or places) have been
           substituted by a series of asterisks (***), a series of plus signs
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