a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
|
|
| Prabhupada Letters :: 1971 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
|
|
Jan 21, 2006 Thursday, January 21, 1971 Allahabad My Dear Sri Govinda, Please accept my blessings and offer the same to your good wife Sri Lekha Devi Dasi. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 31st December, 1970 and have noted the contents carefully. I am so glad to hear how you are strictly following the regulative principles of devotional service and chanting regularly 16 rounds daily, mostly before Lord Jagannatha. That is our strength in spiritual life and will make for your rapid advancement in Krishna Consciousness. There are three stages of chanting: offensively; free of offense, or in the liberated stage; and in full love of Godhead. Simply continue chanting and any offenses you may be committing, because they are not intentional, will soon vanish by the grace of Lord Jagannatha. I am glad to see that incense distribution is increasing and your method of distribution, that is with our literature prasadam, etc. is very nice. So continue it. I am especially pleased at how you are distributing our books, particularly to the schools and universities. This program is so important and should be increased more and more. We want to flood the world over with our books. So go on in this way and Krishna will surely bless you. I have studied your method for care of funds, etc. So far as filling out forms is concerned, that is too much botheration. No one should require money but simply you should see to it that the goods required are supplied. In materialistic calculation they think all these things are necessary, but in spiritual life it is not required. Things should be done as simply as possible. Presently Karandhara is seeing to keeping our books so that they meet with government standards. You can correspond with him in that regard. Please offer my blessings to the others there. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 10:13 | January 21, 1971 Allahabad My Dear Advaita, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated January 8th, 1971, and noted the contents carefully. I have immediately sent you one telegram in reply reading as follows: "YOUR LETTER JANUARY EIGHTH APPROVED--A C BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI" I hope you have received it by this time and done the needful. I am so glad the press workers have become enlivened in their work. This is required if we at all wish to be a truly worldwide organization. Worldwide means worldwide distribution of literatures. That is the business of ISKCON Press. Now you are again in charge, so please see that everything gets done with the cooperation of GBC. Everything must be done cooperatively. Your present schedule of printing is very encouraging. The chapters of Srimad-Bhagavatam are very successful. They are selling good, that's nice. One dollar the students can easily pay and if they read, immediately they will get some sense. If moving the press to New York is convenient, I have no objection. You must have all facility of work--that I want. It is good news that all the temples are expanding. So the press must be located in another place. The Brooklyn loft is nice and the rent is not much. Let us occupy at once. I have got all approval of this move. I have already ordered a third printing of KRSNA I from Dai Nippon, but the Second Canto Srimad-Bhagavatam should be done by you. You have already printed up most of the chapters, so it should be printed there, not by Dai Nippon, so you do not have to send them the layout, etc. The new printing of Isopanisad should be not sent here. They should be distributed in the U.S.A. I beg to thank your good self and all the other members of the Press Department for your sincere efforts to please your Spiritual Master and Krsna by propagation of Lord Caitanya's philosophy. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 10:11 | January 21, 1971 Allahabad My Dear Bhagavan das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 4th January, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. I am so glad to hear how things are going on so nicely in all the temples under your supervision as GBC member. I am also pleased to note that Bahulasva has taken charge of our Chicago center. He is certainly qualified and should be encouraged in every way. That you are receiving so much coverage on television is very encouraging, especially that in Cleveland your response was so good that they set up another interview. When there is repetition like that, it shows great appreciation. So far as using television coverage to present our life membership program to the public, that is first class idea. Instead of approaching the people directly, they can then approach us. So continue in this way and Krishna will give you all facility. Also I am glad to hear how the parents of one of our devotees is taking to Krishna Consciousness. Why not ask them to become our life member? I am glad to see how you are so much enthusiastic for making our plan of a daily world newspaper a success. It is a very large task. To publish a daily newspaper requires a huge establishment and the editor must be very well versed so that he can comment on all fields. So far as advertising is concerned, you should not approach people for ads, rather they should approach you. Do not spend for advertising. Let them spend to advertise us. For example the Times of India is giving us very spacious opportunity to publish our letters. One copy written by Giriraja Das Brahmacari is enclosed. In these letters our books are also mentioned. So in this way you can make advertising. I will be glad to initiate the two brahmacaris mentioned by you, but it is best if they chant strongly and wait for two months. I shall be returning to the U.S. by the end of March and shall initiate them personally. I have received no slides from you as yet. Please offer my blessings to the others. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 10:08 | January 21, 1971 Allahabad My Dear Bhavananda, Please accept my blessings and offer the same to your good wife Palika Dasi. I am in due receipt of your very kind letter dated 4th January, 1971 as well as the maintenance check for $105.00 and I thank you very much. Also I have received the nine letters asking for initiation. In this regards, let them chant strongly for two months and by the end of March I shall go there and initiate them personally. That will be better. But if they are so much anxious then their beads can be sent or else $5.00 per set of tulasi beads can be sent and that will cover the cost of shipping also. But it is better if they wait. Please thank all nine devotees for their very sincere letters. So far as touching the Deity is concerned, that can be done only by the priest. Only on very special occasions are others allowed to touch the Deity. Touch means to place tulasi mixed with sandalwood at Krishna's Lotus Feet. Your winter schedule is very nice. I am so glad to hear that temple worship is going on nicely and that you have made program for discussing all our books. Such group discussion of transcendental topics is so much potent and all should participate. So far as Bhaktijana getting himself married, I have written him separately about this. The child Chibiabos Ananda can keep this name until he is old enough to be initiated. Please offer my blessings to the others there. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 10:06 | January 21, 1971 Allahabad My Dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings and offer the same to your good wife Jadurani. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 7th January, 1971 along with the enclosed articles, as well as the ISKCON Press newsletter dated 5th January, 1971. I beg to thank you very much for the magazine interview. You have so rightly said, "It's a hellish life without Krsna." These words of yours have pleased me so much. Actually it is a fact and one who has become so disgusted with material life is actually advanced in Krsna Consciousness. This is first class propaganda and it will be a hammer-blow to the proponents of materialism and atheism. I am so glad that you are feeling and speaking like this and I thank you very much. The article appears to be in a nice magazine, so if you can get further articles and interviews published in the magazines, that will be a great boon to our Movement. It is nice to hear that the sannyasi staying there is sacrificing his Mayavadi philosophy and willing to accept the regulative principles of devotional service. I have received his letter and will reply it separately. So far as ISKCON Press moving to N.Y. is concerned, if Advaita feels it will benefit the press, then why not? From your description it appears that Advaita has found a better place and if he is taking on the responsibility of expanding the Press, then he should definitely go there. For technical matters, let Advaita go on working independently. He is certainly competent. So far as decision making regarding contents of publications, etc., that can be done conjointly. It appears from the press report that progress is going on with Gita and 2nd Canto, but slowly. It will be nice if you please accelerate it. In answer to the artists questions: 1) Simply paint the Visnu Murti in the heart. You can make the individual soul a very small spark, or spark-like. 2) Visnu has more than thousands of arms but for this picture of the tortoise avatara. where Visnu is sitting on top of the hill, he should be shown with four hands only. We should only paint four-handed Visnus and not consult Kalayana-Kalpataru, which is not always authorized. 3) Yes, if you would like to send the painting of my Guru Maharaja here to India, why not. 4) Yes, Krishna can be shown seated next to Arjuna on the chariot when universal form is displayed. [PAGE MISSING] letters | 10:04 | January 21, 1971 Allahabad My Dear Gopala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 31st December, 1970. Also I very much appreciate the new edition of French Back To Godhead enclosed, printed by our ISKCON Press. Overall the magazine was very nicely produced and I am pleased. Some improvements in the format of the magazine can be made though. For our English edition I have instructed Satsvarupa that there should only be one article by myself no more than four pages in length and that the remainder of the magazine should be made up of articles by our students. Also, so far as the order of presentation, first my Guru Maharaja or senior acaryas, then myself, then our sannyasis, and then other students. In this way you can present our French BTG and that will be very nice. I am very glad to learn that you are trying to distribute our books. Please continue with this program as it is so very important. Especially try to place our books in the schools and libraries. Our literatures are for the intelligent class also. I have also received from you one very interesting article interviewing one Dr. Wilfred G. Bigelow, a heart surgeon at Toronto General Hospital. I have commented on his points in one letter, a copy of which is enclosed herewith. Perhaps you could encourage the doctor by presenting our literatures to him and inviting him to our temple there. Please offer my blessings to the others there. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. When I was at Bombay Airport, your mother, father and sister came to see me. They talked with me for a long time. Your mother is anxious to see you with your wife. ACBS/adb letters | 10:02 | Jan 20, 2006 Wednesday, January 20, 1971 Allahabad Dr. Wilfred G. Bigelow Cardio-Vascular Surgery Unit Toronto General Hospital Toronto, Ontario; Canada My Dear Dr. Bigelow: Please accept my greetings. Recently I have read one article in the Gazette by Rae Corelli entitled "Heart surgeon wants to know what a soul is" and it was very interesting. Your comments show great insight and so I thought to write you on this matter. Perhaps you may know that I am the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. I've got several temples in Canada; Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Hamilton. This Krishna Consciousness Movement is specifically meant to give every soul his original spiritual position. Undoubtedly the soul is present in the heart of the living entity, and it is the source of all the energies for maintaining the body. The energy of the soul is spread all over the body and this is known as consciousness. On account of this consciousness spreading of energy of the soul all over the body, you can feel pains and pleasures in any part of the body. The soul is individual and he is transmigrating from one body to another, just as a person transmigrates from babyhood to childhood, from childhood to boyhood, from boyhood to youthhood and then to advanced old age. Then the change called death takes place when we change to a new body just as we change our old dress to a new dress. This is called transmigration of the soul. When a soul wants to enjoy this material world, forgetting his real home in the spiritual world, he takes this life of hard struggle for existence. This unnatural life of repeated birth, death, disease and old age can be stopped when his consciousness is dovetailed with the Supreme consciousness of God. That is the basic principle of our Krishna Consciousness Movement. So far as heart transplant is concerned, there is no question of success unless the soul is there in the heart. So it has to be accepted. Just like in sexual intercourse, if there is no soul there is no conception, no pregnancy. Contraception means to make the womb deteriorated so that it no longer is a good place for the soul. That is against the order of God. By the order of God a soul is sent to a particular womb and by this contraceptive, he is denied that womb and has to be placed in another. That is disobedience of the Supreme. Just as a man who is supposed to live in a particular apartment. If the situation there is so disturbed that he cannot enter the apartment then he is put at a great disadvantage. That is illegal interference and is punishable. The undertaking of "soul research" would certainly mark the advancement of science. But advancement of science will not be able to find out the soul. It can simply be accepted on circumstantial understanding. You will find in the Vedic literature that the dimension of the soul is one ten-thousandth times smaller than the point. The material scientist cannot measure the length and breadth of a point. Therefore it is not possible for the material scientist to capture the soul. You can simply accept the soul's existence by taking it from authority. What the greatest scientists are finding we've explained long ago. As soon as one understands the existence of the soul, he can immediately understand the existence of God. The difference between God and the soul is that God is a very great soul and the living entity is a very small soul, but qualitatively they are equal. Therefore God is all-pervading and the living entity is localized. The nature and quality is the same. The central question you say is "where is the soul and where does it come from?" That is not difficult to understand. We've already discussed how the soul is residing in the heart of the living entity and that it takes shelter after death in another body. Originally the soul comes from God. Just like a spark comes from fire, and when the spark falls down it appears to be extinguished. The spark soul originally comes from the spiritual world to the material world. In the material world he falls down into three different conditions which are called the modes of nature. Just like the spark of fire when it falls on dry grass and the fire quality continues. When the spark falls on the ground it cannot display its fiery manifestation unless the ground is favorably situated. Similarly when the spark falls on water it becomes extinguished. As such we find three kinds of living conditions. One is completely forgetful of his spiritual nature. One is almost forgetful but still there is an instinct of spiritual nature, and one is completely in search of spiritual perfection. There is a bona fide method for the achieving spiritual perfection by the spiritual spark soul and if he is properly guided then he is very easily sent back to home, back to Godhead where from originally he fell down. It will be a great contribution to human society if this authorized information from the Vedic literature is presented to the modern world on the basis of modern scientific understanding. The fact is already there. It simply has to be presented for modern understanding. If you desire, I shall give you more information in this connection and you can present it in scientific words. If you so desire, you can publish this letter in the paper also. Hoping to hear from you soon. Yours sincerely, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 08:45 | January 20, 1971 Allahabad Manager Central Bank of India Ballygunge Branch Calcutta Dear Sir: Re: My Savings Account No. 11407 with you. I am sending one check enclosed herewith, please find. Please credit my above savings account with the amount of Rs. 3948.90 and send me the voucher care of the above Bombay address. Thanking you, I am, Yours faithfully, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 08:44 | Jan 18, 2006 January 18, 1971 Allahabad My Dear Gargamuni Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I hope everything is going on well with your preaching activities in Florida state. I have not heard from you in a few weeks, but through Brahmananda Maharaja I learn that you are moving to different cities and preaching our Krsna consciousness in each place. I have just written one letter to Brahmananda Maharaja informing him of our very good reception here in India and how our devotees and Sankirtana are being appreciated by all communities here because of the high standard of their pure devotional service. Many persons are simply surprised that this Sankirtana Movement of Lord Caitanya has been so nicely accepted all over the world with such good results. It is actually revolutionary. I am very eager to see that Caitanya Mahaprabhu's desire is fulfilled as far as possible to make this Movement international even to the towns and villages. People sometimes inquire if we have gone to Pakistan. And I am thinking--why not? Both India and Pakistan are in great distress because of this false partition and I am sure the whole matter can be put to rights by proper application of our principles of Krsna Consciousness. I know there is already good acceptance of our Krsna consciousness philosophy because there is one preacher already in East Pakistan for some years and the Muslims are giving him all help. But we want to present the pure thing as we are taught by Caitanya Mahaprabhu and that will bring in a real change. If this program in Pakistan is successful, the whole world will have to see the transcendental potency of pure Sankirtana Movement and it will be to your credit. I have made Sannyasis for this purpose to spread up Krsna consciousness all over the world and I am confident of your ability to do it. You have now learned the life of a Sannyasi by practical touring and preaching, now it is my desire that you apply for some concrete results in this new field. If you do it, it will be a very great service to the Movement and humanity at large and I will be very pleased with this work. You can immediately make arrangements to go there to East Pakistan and Brahmananda Maharaja to West Pakistan, each assisted by one brahmacari. It will be easier for you to go direct from U.S.A. because your country is on friendly terms with Pakistan. I think you will have no difficulty in introducing Krsna consciousness as a cultural movement. Further hints I can give later on. Now you will have to ply your good intelligence for serving Krsna very diligently and soberly in foreign land. Please let me know how you are arranging things in this connection. If you cannot raise funds for travelling there, I shall personally do the needful. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 08:39 | Jan 17, 2006 January 17, 1971 Allahabad My Dear Karandhara, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your three letters dated 12.21.70, 1.1.71 and 1.7.71, along with four sets of beads and one letter from the Indian boy who is now in Boston. I have replied his letter separately. I have gladly initiated all the four new boys and girls as recommended by you and I am sending them each a letter and their beads together by separate post. Please go ahead and print Bhagavad-gita as soon as possible. I am very pleased that you are regularly sending Dai Nippon for my "Bhaktivedanta Book Fund Deposit." Thank you very much for this good work. According to our account based upon Dai Nippon Credit Notes the total deposit up to and including the latest (No. 26) is $35,995. This is $500 more than your figure. The same discrepancy was noted to you some time back perhaps by Devananda. I have asked Dai Nippon for a complete statement of account to clear the matter. The money from Sai's group and the maintenance fund collection should be deposited for some solid work. We have to maintain ourselves from other sources. You can deposit the amount in my Bank of America Checking Account No. 3082-80075. In the meantime I have ordered the third printing of KRSNA Volume I, so I am confident of our distribution program's success if you all work on diligently. I am so pleased with your humble and sincere efforts in all these matters. You are praying for Krsna's guidance and yes, Krsna will always guide you. You are always so sincerely working. He is inside you and He will guide you. Simply we have to keep ourselves always pure. You say that Krsna book is selling singularly well. That is solid sale because the book is new, when it is popular the distributers will take it. Your propose to print Krsna book in the 10,000,000/millions. That is nice proposal, but I think it is still insufficient. I am glad you have launched your membership program. That is nice. We are doing that very nicely in India. Your Sunday Prasadam feast program is now successful. At the feast you can canvass everyone to become our member. Everyone is Krsna's son, so if one is mislead it is our duty to reclaim him for Krsna and one who is engaged in such work is soon recognized by Krsna. I expect to return very soon via New York, Boston, etc.. Yes, you may perform the ceremony for second initiation for Tulsi das, Krsnakanti, Locana das, Nitai das, Jayatirtha, Karuna Sindhu, Sarola devi, and Maithili devi. The ceremony should be held as usual. Before the ceremony the chief Brahmana chants Gayatri silently. The tape should be played through a set of earphones so that only the initiate hears the mantra. They should hear once only repeating the mantras word by word with the tape record. Devananda says the instructions are there on xerox in a file labelled Prayers, Ceremonies, etc. The file is in the top drawer of the file cabinet in his small office, so you can get it out and follow the instructions given there. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds Please send the RED nickel-cadmium battery charging cable for the UHER and an earphone also. They must be purchased and sent as soon as possible. letters | 08:33 | Jan 16, 2006 Saturday, January 16, 1971 Allahabad My Dear John H. Morgan, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 28th December, 1970 and have noted the contents carefully. You write to say that you have become frustrated with so many dualities of the material world and that sometimes you are engaged in sense gratification and sometimes renouncing. This is called bhoga-tyaga, or alternating between sense gratification and renunciation. A living entity cannot remain steady in one or the other because changes are going on. That is the nature of the material world. Just like the businessman who works so hard the whole week long and then on the weekend takes rest and tries to forget his business. But bhakti, or devotional service, does not change. It does not even finish with the end of the body, but it continues eternally. And it is joyfully performed. At first, though, there may be some inconveniences, but we must tolerate them and we shall realize the goal. Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that such rules and regulations in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end are like nectar and they awaken one to self-realization. (B.G. 18/37). So strictly follow all the regulative principles, chant Hare Krishna Mantra regularly, 16 rounds daily, and your rapid advancement in Krishna Consciousness will be certain. I have received Sriman Jagadisa's recommendation for your initiation and I am glad to accept you as my disciple. You can send your beads here or if you would like tulasi wood beads then send $5.00 to cover cost and shipping charges and I shall send the beads to you after having duly chanted on them. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 02:56 | January 16, 1971 Allahabad My Dear Nandarani, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your very kind letter dated 10th December, 1970. I am so glad to hear from you. I am always thinking of you and your husband Dayananda and have not heard from either of you in such a long time. You can ask Dayananda Prabhu to write me also. You write to say that it is your constant prayer that even in household life to always be engaged in Krishna's service. That will be the success of my mission when you do that. I went to your country to create exemplary families. So I am confident that you and your husband shall be one of them. With this end I train you all in Krishna Consciousness. Train your daughters in the same light. You also write to say please take this body as a tool and utilize it to spread this holy mission. Your body is already sold to Krishna. Therefore you should be engaged to pick up some service and render it to Krishna. We are all sold to Krishna and we have no other business but His service. That should be our determination. I am so much obliged to you for your nice sentiments. Krishna will bless you. Both husband and wife and Karandhara husband and wife, improve temple management more and more. Most probably very soon I shall return to the U.S.A. Offer my blessings to all. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb P.S.I have duly received the __ __ ACB letters | 02:05 | January 16, 1971 Allahabad My Dear Jagadisa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letters dated 10th, 20th, 25th and 29th December, 1970, and have noted the contents carefully. Also I have received the conchshell necklace made by Laksmimoni. It is very nice. Please thank her. It is always so much encouraging to me to hear how nicely you are distributing our books, especially to the schools and universities. Please continue in this way and let your fine example be incentive for all the other centers to follow. I have received the pictures enclosed by you of the very nice altar in your old temple at Beverly St. It attracts; that is its qualification. So make your new altar at Gerrard St. just as attractive. So far as the devotees at our Montreal center working at regular jobs during the winter months, that is not very good, but if there is no other way what can be done? If they can pull on without work, then they can chant Hare Krishna day and night inside. For a Vaisnava to work for a karmi is not very good. The report from both Hamilton and Vancouver centers is very encouraging. Now that Hamilton has established their temple, they should begin distributing our books and try to match the quota set by Vancouver. So encourage them in this way. Brahminical initiations can be given when you feel that the devotees are qualified. First you can inform me and then proceed by the method of tape recording. So far as taking disciples, their beads can be sent here and I will duly initiate them. From the picture you sent, they are looking very much qualified. That there is a scarcity of money certainly means mismanagement. I have seen it myself that sometimes they sell books and do not send back the money. Why is that? This situation must be rectified. An accurate account of all dealings must be kept by those involved. How else things will be managed? So far as initiations are concerned, you can send their beads here and I shall duly initiate those who have been recommended by you. If you want that we should send tulasi beads from here then you can send $5.00 per set to cover cost and shipping and I shall send after having chanted on them. Please offer my blessings to the others there. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 02:03 | January 16, 1971 Bombay My Dear Bali-mardana, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 24th December, 1970, and noted the contents gladly. I am very happy to know that everything is going on well in Sydney Yatra, as well as in Hong Kong and Singapore. I am very eager for you to develop your area and so far there is good promise of our successful preaching work there. I have already notified other centers to send immediately literatures to you, and I am now printing again third edition KRSNA book, so how many you will need (KRSNA Volume I)? It is easier to ship from Tokyo direct to Singapore. Please keep me regularly informed of your activities. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 02:00 | |
|
|
