a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1971 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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Jul 8, 2006 Thursday, 8 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Kaliya Krishna Das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your kind letter dated 5th July, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. Yes, I am so glad to accept you as my duly initiated disciple, as you were recommended highly by Sriman Bhagavan dasa Prabhu. I have given you the spiritual name Kaliya Krishna Das Brahmacari. Kaliya Krishna was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya. Similarly you become a great devotee of Lord Caitanya and help Him to push on this movement to every nook and corner of the globe. Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu will be very much pleased upon you and your life will know success. Actually Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, or Krishna, doesn't need our service. He is completely self sufficient. What service we can do for him? But if we are sincerely trying to render some service, it is to our benefit, and He becomes pleased with us also. Just like the father, when he receives some service from the son. What service he requires from the such very young boy? Yet, still because it is done out of natural affection, the father is so much appreciative. So that is our position. We should never think that oh, my service is so much valuable to Krishna; I am performing such nice service. No. But we must take our service seriously because it will be to our benefit and Krishna will be pleased. That's all. So go on as acting treasurer in Detroit center and see to it that the temple remains financially fit and in all cases depend on Krishna. Chant your 16 rounds of beads without fail and always think of Krishna. Then surely you will be blessed by Krishna in all respects. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 07:09 | 8 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Batua Gopala, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 5th July, 1971 and have gladly accepted you as my duly initiated disciple. Please find your beads enclosed herewith and chanted on by me. I have given you the spiritual name Batua Gopala Das Brahmacari. Batua Gopala was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya. I am so glad to see that Krishna is giving you good intelligence in the matter of executing your duties, previously in Chicago as sankirtana leader, temple commander and treasurer, and now in Detroit as temple commander. Krishna says like that; that simply if you are endeavoring to serve Him sincerely, then He will give you all facility and intelligence for engaging in His service more and more. So continue with enthusiasm and Krishna will surely bless you and give you all facility for pushing on this movement. I am so glad to note that you are planning a Hare Krishna festival in Detroit, on the order of the ones we held in India (Bombay and Calcutta). We had a very large tent, displayed our literatures, had kirtanas and arati ceremony for Radha and Krishna, spoke some on Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, and distributed prasadam sumptuously, and not less than 20,000 and as many as 40,000 came daily to participate; it was so successful. And our magic was simply this chanting and dancing; that's all. So you can do likewise in Detroit as far as possible and it will be a great event. Perhaps soon we can such big festivals in all the big cities in your country also. So far your marriage is concerned, I have no objection, but you must agree that you will never separate but work cooperatively throughout your lives in Krishna Consciousness. This marriage ceremony is serious business and not to be taken lightly. You must remain strong in Krishna's service, then household life is very nice; otherwise to be cast adrift by maya's influence is a piteous thing. So stay strong in Krishna's service by chanting your 16 rounds of beads without fail, reading our literatures, going for street sankirtana, etc. In this way be engaged fully in Krishna's service and you will be happy in life and in the end go back home, back to Godhead. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 07:08 | 8 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Sukhasagari Devi Dasi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your very kind letter dated 5th July, 1971 and requesting initiation; you will be glad to know that I have gladly accepted you as my duly initiated disciple and have given you the spiritual name Sukhasagari Devi Dasi. Sukhasagari means the ocean of happiness. So always remain in Krishna's transcendental loving service and you will always remain immersed in such ocean. I am so glad to note that you are strictly following the regulative principles of devotional life and regularly chanting 16 rounds of beads daily. Continue faithfully, because such chanting of Hare Krishna Mantra is our very strength in spiritual life and will keep you always in touch with Krishna. And soon you will be getting yourself married with Batua Gopala Prabhu (Ed), so it is your duty as his wife to help him advance in Krishna Consciousness in every respect. So if you will keep yourself 24 hours engaged in Krishna's service, then surely he will follow suit. Make Krishna the very center of your household life and work cooperatively to serve Him to the very best of your capacity. Then you will be happy and your lives will know perfection. Yes, to please Lord Jagannatha means to go on serving Him to the best of your ability. That love is there, dormant, for Lord Jagannatha. Simply we have to revive it. Not that it is something new. Simply we have to remember. And the process is to engage whole-heartedly in His service. Then by serving, serving, that dormant love will be re-awakened and then one day Jagannatha will reveal Himself to you, "I am like this." And that will be perfection in Krishna Consciousness. So work for it enthusiastically. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 07:08 | 8 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Laksmi Narayana, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 6th July, 1971 and have noted the contents. I am so pleased to know that you have been recommended by Sriman Bhagavan das Prabhu for gayatri mantra initiation. Actually that is what I am trying to do in your country is to establish a brahminical society. So when I see that these young American boys are becoming eligible by qualification to take second initiation and become qualified Brahmins, I become very much pleased and my Guru Maharaja becomes pleased also. So you must live up to the rules and regulations of brahminical life. First and foremost is cleanliness. In your country they have so many filthy habits. For example, they don't wash after eating. A brahmana does not do like that. If he did so in India, he would be highly criticized. So even if you eat a little, still you must wash immediately. And the place that you eat at must be washed off immediately also. In this way. A brahmana's name is suci, or one who is clean. In the toilet room wash with water and wash your hands with soap. Then wash feet, face and mouth. Your cloth must be washed daily, especially any cloth used to sleep in. In the kitchen also, things should be kept spotless and cooking should only be done by brahmanas; others may assist. That is the same procedure followed with Deity worship. So these are some of the points to note in Brahminical life. Keep yourself clean outside by bathing, etc. and clean inside by chanting Hare Krishna Mantra. Go on in this way and your rapid advancement in Krishna Consciousness will be certain. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. This letter for cleanliness may be explained to other Brahmanas ACBS/adb letters | 07:07 | 8 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Jagadisa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your letter dated 3d July, 1971 and have noted the contents. I am so glad to hear that things are going on nicely in Toronto and that there are so many devotees there and that many of them are qualified for initiation. When I go to N.Y. which should be by the middle of this month, I shall try to visit Toronto also. I shall let you know of this later on when my program becomes fixed up. In the mean time try and take care of all those devotees. You are one of the important members in our society and you have got a good talent to serve Krishna also. So utilize your talents and try and increase the number of devotees as far as possible. If you find some time, you can come and see me in L.A. and we shall talk of our future programs. I will be here positively up until the 15th July. 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 | 07:06 | 8 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Gopala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 3d July, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. I have not heard from you since a very long time. When I was in India, I met your father several times and your mother also. They used to come by the temple in Bombay. Your father is pleased that you are working here. Your mother is anxious to see you. I have assured her that her son would come when needed. They are happy. I have received your check for $60.00 as well as the very nice ball point pen. Thank you very much. I am also glad to hear that you are improving your position. So do your duty nicely, taking it as Krishna's mercy, and try to serve Krishna as far as possible. Live peacefully with your wife also. She is very nice girl. Please offer her my blessings. And if you like, and you think it is possible, then surely you can open a center in Connecticut State. So do it together, husband and wife, and organize it nicely. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 07:04 | Jul 7, 2006 Wednesday, 7 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Bhagavan das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 6th July, 1971 along with ten pairs beads for chanting as well as daksina presentation by check, $305.00. Thank you very much. You will be glad to know that I have gladly consented to initiate all those boys and girls recommended by you and their beads are enclosed herewith, duly chanted on, as well as their letters. Also enclosed, please find five gayatri mantras and four sacred threads also duly chanted. So all these beads (six of the seven pair enclosed) as well as sacred threads, may be presented by fire yajna, and you should oversee the ceremony as priest. The two marriages recommended by you may be performed at that time as well, but only after having sufficiently counselled the respective devotees. This marriage business should not be taken as a farce, but is a very serious matter. Recently so many couples have been cast adrift by the waves of maya's influence. That is hard to check, but still the devotees must realize the responsibilities of household life. And there is no question of separation. Too much this has been happening and I am very much displeased. So if they are promising not to separate under any circumstances, but to work cooperatively in the service of the Lord, then my sanction is there for their marriage, and my blessings as well. Otherwise not. I am glad to hear that you may be able to distribute our books to libraries through some large library distributer. That will be very nice, so try for it. Similarly to book stores. The book distribution policy should be like this: Cash only. All books are to be sold cash on delivery (C.O.D.). Books can be returned for exchange of other books only for a period of up to one year. Householders can sell books and get 15% commission on the net income. The retail discount schedule will be as follows: 1-2 books, 33%; 3-24 books, 40%; 25-99 books, 42%; and 100 books and over, 50% (wholesale rate). Yes, the government officials should come forward from the practical side, that we are creating young men, devotees of God, with character. They are getting married and leading nice family lives. They are very clean in their habits and take bath twice and thrice. And they are so hopeful of their future life--so much so that people call them bright-faced. So apart from God consciousness, there are these practical results and others. They have given up intoxication, etc. So all these government officials and congressmen should be thoroughly convinced of these practical factors. They are devoid of illicit sex also. So many nice things we are training. So let them come forward. Let us have schools and buildings to train the children from the very beginning in Krishna Consciousness. Just see how they are bowing down before superiors, how they are dancing and chanting. So let them help us. We will change the present degraded, confused state amongst the younger section. Let us start centers from town to town and give our members facility to travel freely from center to center. Let them distribute our books in all government schools, libraries, etc. Then just see the result. We can send our men to all schools and colleges for lecturing. So let us cooperate. America, by the grace of God, is got everything sufficiently and if they are trained in this Krishna Consciousness, they will be first-class country in the world with all riches, beauty, rich philosophy, so many things. So why the government is callous to our movement? There is no good reason. So let them come forward and cooperate with us. The restaurant proposal is very nice. It should be very neat and clean and in the center column there should be Guru Gauranga altar. Everything prepared should be offered and kept on a table and the customer or guest should come and take prasadam on a plate to his full satisfaction. He can sit at table with chair. The items of prasadam you already know; kachori, Luglu, Samosa, sweet balls, simply wonderful, vegetables, chutneys, puspana, halava, etc; The ingredients are easily available. As other things are available, you can increase your menu. And any party who pays more than $5.00 can be presented with a small book like Easy Journey, or Krishna, the Reservoir of Pleasure, and a copy of our magazine. And if possible, continually tapes should be played of kirtanas and songs and record albums also. Very soon I am going to N.Y. and there is good chance that on the way I may stay in Detroit for a few days. I shall let you know when my program is fixed up. The three beads for the Chicago devotees I am keeping and I will dispatch them just as soon as Bahulasva sends me their names, as I have just today requested him. 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 | 07:04 | Jul 6, 2006 6 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Hrdayananda, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 3d July, 1971 and have noted the contents. All these initiation beads should be kept very carefully and protected. It is not a question of changing beads, but this carelessness, of losing beads, is not very good. You are very intelligent boy, so you should be careful and instruct others also. So keep your beads in a bag and keep the bag around your neck. Then you won't lose. It was not necessary to send me $10.00 for the beads but since you have so kindly sent, I shall gladly add this sum to my book fund. Thank you very much. Also, I hope you have received my previous letter by now, dated yesterday, in regards to that university lecture. Yes, it is all right that you address me as Spiritual Father. As I have several times explained, when initiation is given, the Spiritual Master becomes the spiritual father and the gayatri mantra becomes the spiritual mother and thus second birth takes place. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 07:03 | Jul 5, 2006 Monday, 5 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Radhaballaba Das, Please accept my blessings. At the request of Sriman Hrdayananda Prabhu, I have gladly consented to accept you as my duly initiated disciple. Your beads are chanted and they are enclosed herewith. I have given you the spiritual name Radhaballaba Das Brahmacari. Radhaballaba means Krishna, who pleases Radharani. Only Krishna can please Srimati Radharani, so He is known as Radhaballaba. I am so glad to hear that you are working cooperatively with Hrdayananda Prabhu in our Gainesville center to push on this Krishna Consciousness movement. It is surely Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy that such sincere boys as you are helping me to fulfill the order of my Spiritual Master. I am doing the work of my Spiritual Master and similarly you also help me and we will all be benefited in Krishna Consciousness. So stay strong in Krishna's service by strictly following the regulative principles of devotional life, chant at least 16 rounds daily, read all our books, and if there are any questions you can refer them to Hrdayananda Prabhu. He is very intelligent boy. So together you work cooperatively to make our Gainesville center a grand success and I will be very pleased. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 07:59 | 5 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Hrdayananda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your letter dated 2nd July, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. You will be glad to know that I have consented to initiate your good wife, Elaine, as well as Bill S., and have given them spiritual names Anangamanjari Devi and Radhaballaba Das, respectively; their beads and letters are enclosed herewith. So far as Radhaballaba getting himself married, you must first discuss with him that this marriage business is not a farce, but it must be taken very seriously. There is no question of divorce, and if he will promise not to separate from his wife, then my sanction for the marriage is there; otherwise not. Recently too many couples have been drifting into maya's waters, and it is very discouraging. So if he will agree on these points, then you can perform the marriage with my blessings. Regarding lecturing at the university of Florida, if they will pay plane fare for two men there and back in addition to the sum they have agreed to give, then it will be my pleasure to go there. I require one assistant with me, so fare for two men, round trip, must be there; then I can go. By the middle of this month I am going to N.Y. so you can make plans accordingly. Yes, I am very pleased that you are inclined to read and study our books with such seriousness. Thank you very much. And your conclusion is very nice. So continue it whole-heartedly. We want good preachers also. Preaching shouldn't depend on me only. My disciples should become all good preachers, and that depends on studying the books nicely so that you can arrive at the right conclusion. From your letter I can tell that you are doing very nicely in this regards and Krishna will help you in your endeavor more and more. I have received also the $30.00 for beads and daksina. Thank you very much. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 07:01 | 5 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Anangamanjari Devi Dasi, Please accept my blessings. I have just recently received one letter from your good husband Hrdayananda Prabhu and he has recommended you highly for initiation. So I have gladly consented to accept you as my duly initiated disciple and have given you the spiritual name Anangamanjari Devi Dasi. Anangamanjari was one of the gopis and younger sister of Srimati Radharani. Also I have chanted on your beads and they are enclosed herewith. I am so glad to hear how you are strictly following the regulative principles, chanting at least 16 rounds of beads daily, and associating with devotees exclusively for the past year. That is our very strength in spiritual life, and if you continue to do so, then your rapid advancement in Krishna Consciousness is certain. Read our books, attend classes and go for street Sankirtana and in this way engage yourself in Krishna's business 24 hours. That is my request. Then you will be happy and your life will be a success. And you have got such an intelligent and enthusiastic husband. He is a good boy, I know. So give him all encouragement and assistance to execute Krishna Consciousness nicely there in Gainesville, Florida. That is your duty as wife, the better half of the husband. So do it nicely. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 07:00 | 5 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Tilaka Devi Dasi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your kind letter dated 11th June, 1971 asking for initiation and you will be glad to know that I have accepted you as my duly initiated disciple. Your beads have been chanted on and are enclosed herewith. Your spiritual name is Tilaka Devi Dasi. Tilaka means victory personified. So now you have taken to Krishna Consciousness wholeheartedly and I am so pleased to hear how enthusiastic you are for serving the Spiritual Master and for serving your husband also. That is your duty. You are your husband's better half and as such it is your duty to assist him in every way possible so that he can nicely execute Krishna Consciousness. Especially Makhanlal has taken charge of our Seattle temple and that is a big responsibility, so you must give him all assistance and all encouragement. And at the same time you must keep yourself fit in Krishna Consciousness. The process is very simple: Chant at least 16 rounds of beads daily; follow all the regulative principles strictly; read our books; attend aratis and classes, as well as street Sankirtana. In this way engage yourself in Krishna's business 24 hours and you will become a pillar of spiritual strength for your husband. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 06:58 | Jul 4, 2006 Sunday, 4 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Tribhuvanatha, Please accept my blessings and offer the same to all the boys and girls there who have worked so hard to make Rathayatra festival in London, scheduled for today, a grand success. Please let me know how things have worked out, and how many people attended the function. Presently I am still in L.A. and by the middle of this month I should be going to N.Y. From there, you will be glad to know, I will be going directly to London. Here in L.A. things are going on very nicely and just this week 40 new devotees were initiated. So the stock of japa beads I brought with me has been depleted. Malati Prabhu was supposed to have brought some beads with her from India, and so I would like that those beads be sent immediately to N.Y. center by air. I have instructed Tamala Krishna in Calcutta and he soon will be sending more beads to London, for distribution in Europe. So take care of this matter right away so that the beads will be there upon my arrival in N.Y. 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 | 06:57 | 4 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Nayana Bhirama, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your letter dated 1st July, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. I am so glad to hear how nicely you performed Rathayatra festival. Next year you can perform the regular ceremony with a cart, as we are doing in San Francisco and London. That will be very nice. It doesn't matter if you construct a small cart, but you can hold such a festival. So far your leaving Philadelphia center, that is not advisable at the present moment. Better to wait until Philadelphia temple is very firmly established and then if you wish you can go to Morocco to open a center. Whatever center you open, it must be well organized. There is no use to open a center if the management is not proper. So far as learning the film industry, that is out of the question. Krishna industry is good engagement for us. Very soon, by the middle of this month, I will be going to N.Y., and if you like, then you can come and see me at that time and we can discuss further on these points. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 06:57 | 4 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Sri Govinda, Srilekha, Bob, Leon, Will, Woody and Mike Prabhus, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your kind letter. You will be glad to know that very soon I am coming to N.Y., perhaps by the middle of this month. So perhaps it will be possible for you to come and see me there. Or else, shortly thereafter I may visit Pittsburgh and New Vrindaban, so that may be more convenient for you; whatever is permitted by Krishna. Thank you so much for your eagerness to see me. I am doing the work of my Guru Maharaja and similarly you also help me and we will be all benefited in Krishna Consciousness. Hoping this will meet you all in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 06:57 | Jul 3, 2006 Saturday, 3 July, 1971 Los Angeles Andre de Wet P.O. Box no. 1143 Cape Town, South Africa Please accept my greetings. I am due receipt of your very kind letter dated 12th June, 1971 and have noted the contents. I am so glad to hear that you would like if we could open one branch of our International Society for Krishna Consciousness there in Cape Town, South Africa. That would be very nice. So if you can arrange for our reception, we may go there immediately, and even I may go on my way back from India, and we can establish one center. Undoubtedly this movement is very sublime and anyone who takes to it becomes happy. There are so many spiritual groups; that is all right. But actually their method cannot help us to make real spiritual progress. This Krishna Consciousness movement is completely different and completely sublime at the same time, and very easy to take to also. Anyone who takes to it seriously, their life will become perfect. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Yours sincerely, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami A.C.B.S./adb letters | 17:18 | 3 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Damodara and Abhirama, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your letter dated 27th June, 1971 and have noted the contents. Yes, it will be a great event if you can arrange a meeting with President Nixon. If Mr. Nixon keeps a cool head and tries to understand our movement, it will be good for us and the whole world also. Actually the whole world is suffering for want of Krishna Consciousness, that is a fact. So there is great turmoil everywhere. If Nixon will help us a little, we can do the work with great enthusiasm and facility. Unfortunately the politicians do not want to see people in higher consciousness. They want to keep the people in darkness and exploit their sentiment for personal aggrandizement. They pose to be the friend of the people, but they are actually not. The real friend is Krishna. Still, if you can make arrangements to meet with Nixon, it will be a great event, so try for it very seriously. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. c. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 17:17 | 3 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Phyllis Zakheim: Please accept my greetings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 16th June, 1971 and have noted the contents. Please know it that Nara Narayana is a spirit soul, and not the physical body. That physical body was given by you, so it is very good that you take care of the physical side. So far I am concerned, I am giving him spiritual enlightenment, and I am taking care of that. So if you will take care of the physical side, that will compromise the situation. Thanking you for your concern, I beg to remain Yours sincerely, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 17:16 | 3 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Advaita, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your letter dated 30th June, 1971, along with second canto book, chapters VII & VIII. It was very nicely done and the cover is very attractive, but one thing is that my picture has come out very black. There are so many pictures, and if that one was so black, you should not have chosen it. But other than that it was very nice. You will be very glad to know that very soon, within a fortnight, I will be coming to N.Y., and to visit the press also. 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 | 17:15 | 3 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Jayadvaita, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 30th June, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. Your report on the progress of Srimad-Bhagavatam, first four cantos, is very much encouraging, so continue this work very seriously. I have again begun translating work and have so far sent Satsvarupa Prabhu three tapes from 4th Canto, 8th chapter, and will be sending many more. So far your question, the synonyms are as follows: sattvam--the mode of goodness rajas--the mode of passion tamas--the mode of darkness iti--thus tisrah--trio sura--demigod nr--human being narakah--those who are suffering the hellish condition of life TRANSLATION: According to the different modes of material nature, the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of darkness, there are different living creatures known as the demigod, the human being, and the hellish living entity. Very soon I am coming to N.Y. and if there are any other points, we can discuss them at that time. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 17:14 | 3 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Jadurani, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 30th June, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. I have not gone to London, and so have not received your letter. But I have asked that London forward all my mail here. If I don't receive it, then we can discuss personally when I go there. I will be going to N.Y. very soon. So far your questions: Narayana appeared as a four-handed full-grown youth before Devaki and Vasudeva; during the prayers offered by Queen Kunti, Krishna's chariot was waiting in the background, Pariksit Maharaja was baby but Krishna appeared full grown but reduced to scale, yes, the paintings may be signed ISKCON PRESS; no drawings should be made. Simply you paint the important verses, and less important verses may be avoided. But drawings are not good. Nobody is free from anxiety. The soul is suffering and that is expressed through the manifested body. Not that the body is suffering separately. Just like, face is the index of the mind. Nobody can see the mind, but by the face it is understood that the person is in good mental condition. So the body suffering is the reflection of the soul suffering. So the king in your painting is not really happy, but rather full of anxieties. That is to be shown. Another example is that when my garments are dirty, I, the living entity, am not taking care of my dress. So from my dress, it appears how I am taking care. Similarly the condition of the soul is expressed through the body. When water is hot, that you cannot show by painting. You cannot paint the heat; you must touch the water. So by seeing the expression of the bodily features, one can understand whether the soul is happy or not. Lord Caitanya was not holding Sudarsana cakra; simply he was calling; Narada came out of Brahma's heart very little and then grew like a child; Narada entered the body of Narayana. That you have to show yourself. Now can I instruct you? He can enter through any part of the body. Just like so many universes are coming out from all parts of the body of Maha Visnu, so where is the difficulty to understand that the entire creation can re-enter from any part of the body?; Narayana appeared and disappeared to Narada's vision like lightning. So you can show Him almost invisible and speaking. [PAGE MISSING] letters | 17:13 | 3 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings. Enclosed please find tape no. 3. Kindly acknowledge receipt, and date of receipt also. After finishing with these tapes, they should be sent directly to Pradyumna in N.Y. for sanskrit, along with a copy of the finished transcript. He can forward the tapes to me. Also please find a poem presented to me in Bombay by one French boy, Darsha. If you like, you can publish it in Back to Godhead. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 17:12 | 3 July, 1971 Los Angeles My Dear Tamala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. The books in India should not be sent to U.S.A. The contract for distributing our books was a pseudo contract, so it was cancelled. So the books must be distributed in India. There is no use in sending the books back here. So you must distribute these books, and so life membership distribution program must be vigorously done. In L.A. they have not yet received the 24" brass Deities. How is that? Jayapataka Swami told me that they were taken to the shipping godown, but what happened next? Please clear up this matter immediately. As of yet, I have not heard from you concerning our Mayapur program. Is the fence being constructed? What news of Indira Gandhi? Please let me know. I am very anxious to hear from you in this connection. One more thing is that you can immediately dispatch 100 more sets of the beads gotten in Mayapur, and send them to London immediately. Just now in L.A. I have initiated 40 new devotees and so the beads are going quickly. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 17:11 | |
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