Page 10 - Patropadesa (English)

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