a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1971 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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Aug 26, 2006 Thursday, 26 August, 1971 London My Dear Nityananda and Kanya Kumari Devi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated 23d and 15th August, 1971 respectively and have noted the contents. I am so glad to hear that your program is going on so nicely there in New Orleans and especially that Sankirtana and BTG distribution are so successful. That is very encouraging. This Sankirtana and BTG distribution is our main business and you should give as much energy in this direction as possible. Also your travelling Sankirtana party to various universities in the Southern cities is wholly approved by me. So do it nicely and in conjunction with Satsvarupa Prabhu. He is guiding you all. So be serious in following the rules and regulations and chant 16 rounds. These things will give you constant strength and spirit and I am sure that wherever you go in your preaching program you will be successful. Please offer my blessings to your good wife Kanya Kumari (and thank her for her very kind letter) and also to Bhagavata, Subrata, Debra, and Michael. Hoping this will meet you all in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 15:24 | 26 August, 1971 London My Dear Karandhara, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your two letters dated 23 August, 1971 and undated respectively and have noted the contents. At your recommendation I have consented to accept Philip Murphy and Freda Tepler as my duly initiated disciples and their letters and beads are enclosed herewith. Also enclosed please find two sacred threads duly chanted by me for Ramesvara and Dhruvananda as per your recommendation. So hold a yajna and get these threads on their bodies. The $10.00 check enclosed was also duly received, as well as the very gorgeous slides of Radha Krishna Deities newly installed in L.A. Enclosed also you will find one letter from Jagatguru Das Brahmacari from ISKCON Salt Lake City. He has asked to receive Brahmin initiation. Why is he so much anxious to take second initiation? He was just very recently initiated with Hare Krishna mantra. So I have not agreed. Out of the nine responses you got from GBC members for your proposal to reduce the price of BTG to the temples to 10 cents, there are seven in favor. Therefore I say yes. By this system of taking a majority vote on any given proposal and then submitting the final decision to me for approval there is no necessity for holding a GBC meeting. So much money will be spent unnecessarily for travel and big big plans will be made only. So what is the use? Simply go on as you have done in this case and that will be best. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 15:24 | 26th August, 1971 London My Dear Smita Krishna Das (Filip Asteman), Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your kind letter dated 24th August*, 1971 and have gladly consented to accept you as my duly initiated disciple. Your spiritual name is Smita Krishna Das Brahmachary. Smita Krishna means Krsna who is smiling. Your beads are also duly chanted on by me and they are enclosed herewith. I can understand from your letter that you are a very sincere boy and are hankering to make advancement in Krishna Consciousness. These are first class qualifications and if you will continue in this way with enthusiasm and determination your rapid advancement in Krishna Consciousness will be certain. Follow the regulative principles strictly, chant your 16 rounds of beads faithfully, read and study our literatures and go for street San Kirtan as far as possible. In this way engage yourself in Krishna’s business 24 hours and your life will become perfect. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami *along with 10 DM daksina ACBS/adb c/o ISKCON Hamburg letters | 12:54 | Aug 25, 2006 Wednesday, 25 August, 1971 London My Dear Sivananda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 21st August, 1971 and have noted the contents. About taking jobs I have already sent one letter to Hamsaduta in this connection. But if there is no other way then temporarily you may take some job and help, but that is not a permanent business. Our main business is to distribute BTG and Sankirtana and whatever little income we get from that we should be satisfied. It is not our business to take jobs and live luxuriously. So far I have heard Sankirtana party and distribution of BTG in Hamburg is increasing. Maybe they can improve their condition without help from your center. So use your discretion. Now in Hrsikesa the Narayana temple is there but the people are not very advanced. More or less they have become temple priests, and not so much interested in spiritual advancement of knowledge. So there is no need of going there. We have got enough engagement here for preaching in the Western countries and we have got sufficient stock of knowledge in our books. But if there is opportunity and if and when you go to India you can visit this place but it is not very important. So far worshipping Ganesa is concerned, that is not necessary. Not that it should be done on a regular basis. If you like you can pray to Ganapati for removing all impediments on the path of Krishna Consciousness. That you can do if you like. Please offer my blessings to your good wife Vrindadevi. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 15:23 | 25 August, 1971 London My Dear Sri Sharmaji, Please accept my greetings. I am in due receipt of your Hindi letter dated 12th August, 1971 and have noted the contents. You will be interested to know that we have got 62 branches all over the world and can open one branch there in your place but you have to invite us, a party of ten men, and arrange for tickets there and back as well as accommodations for at least one month. Then we can go in a party. And we can defy any opposing elements, not to mention the arya samaj. The arya samaj movement started in India but now it is dead and gone. A few people are there only. Similarly if we open our temple at Paramatibo, Surinam certainly any opposing elements will be driven away. We are preaching on the basis of Bhagavad-gita, the most exalted vedic literature. The atheistic arya samaj does not believe in Bhagavad-gita. Therefore they are not strictly speaking followers of the Vedic varnasrama dharma. So if you are serious you have to arrange to receive us in a ten man party and pay all expenditures and travelling expenses, etc. for one month. In the future please be kind enough to make correspondence in English because we do not know Hindi. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 15:22 | 25 August, 1971 London My Dear Amogha and Hanuman, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letters dated 20th August, 1971 and have noted the contents. I am so glad to hear now nicely your travelling and preaching program is going on so you continue with it as far as possible in that area. This touring program will create an atmosphere of Krishna Consciousness everywhere, so go on. And introduce these classes wherever possible. The response is so good. I am also glad to note that you have received $1000.00 for magazines. If you want you can keep it for your touring program expenses but if possible you can send it to Karandhara in L.A. or to me for Dai Nippon. We just paid them $20,000. for back BTG debts and we still owe them $27,000. more. So if you can send it for that purpose it will be nice unless you require it for your travelling expenses. Yes, even the Buddhists will come forward gradually and inquire into this Krishna Consciousness. Everyone is sophisticated by their so called religion but chanting Hare Krishna Mantra will attract everyone all over the world. The temple plan enclosed is approved by me, but we must have full control over the temple, otherwise we are not going to take charge. We cannot make any compromise on this point. Unless we have full charge we are not interested. It must be a branch of our ISKCON and run by us. We cannot take responsibility if others are controlling the temple, otherwise we are not going to take charge. That is not possible. We have got our own principles and they must be followed as they are in all our branches all over the world. We cannot make any change in Kuala Lumpur. You can tell Kamala Devi that in the first week of October I will be in Madras because we are arranging to hold a Hare Krishna festival there in a pandal at least for ten days and maybe we will open one center there. From Madras I shall go to Calcutta. Upon your recommendation I have gladly accepted Neo Che Wee as my duly initiated disciple and his letter and beads are enclosed herewith. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well, wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 15:21 | 25 August, 1971 London My Dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 16th August, 1971 and have noted the contents. Also I have received your tape recording and have listened to the marriage institution very nicely. So far your questions: In the vedic ceremony the paraphernalia required for the sacrificial ceremony includes five kinds of powder, five kinds of leaves, five kinds of cow products, five kinds of grains and five kinds of jewels. So these are required for offering to the sacrifice: Five items of five kinds. So because we cannot collect all these things conveniently, we simply are satisfied with five kinds of powders. In the vedic system also when eatables are offered to somebody, five varieties of dishes are offered. Another significance of the vedic system is that arbitration is also made of five men. So this five is mentioned in many places. Just like in devotional service. Narada has written also five kinds of literatures; They are called Narada pancaratra. So it is traditional vedic system. What for they were made in routine in terms of ``five'' that is very difficult to find out but traditionally it is followed by vedic disciples as far as possible. The criss-cross pattern is simply decoration. After mopping the floor nicely, this kind of painting with colored rice powder is still prevailing in Hindu families of S. India. It is called alipna, or in other words after cleansing the rooms and floors such kind of auspicious paintings are done every morning or in every ceremony. In Bhagavad-gita is is said that they are part and parcel of religious life. In most cases these engagements are meant for the women. Women must be engaged otherwise they will be inclined to think of sex only. They are called kamini. Unless there is sufficient engagement their only thoughts will be concentrated on sex. As men are engaged in devotional service, similarly women are engaged in ritualistic engagements so that household life becomes very auspicious. These things are at the present moment impossible to perform regularly. Lord Caitanya therefore recommended Harer nama iva kevalam. Practically also we see our students being engaged in chanting Hare Krishna Mantra keeping free of all contamination. The vedic system takes especially care of women from illicit sex life. Illicit sex life is so dangerous that it produces unwanted children who create hellish life as described in Bhagavad-gita. In this age, all over the world, the sex indulgence is being unrestricted and religious principles are not being followed. The population is increasing with unwanted children like hippies. So these systems are very scientific but it is very [PAGE MISSING] letters | 15:19 | Aug 24, 2006 Tuesday, 24 August, 1971 London My Dear Dr. Bali, Please accept my blessings, and offer the same to your good wife Vijantimala. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 18th August, 1971 and have noted the contents. So far going to Madras is concerned, the first thing is that we are now short of man power. Whatever men we have got in India are engaged in Calcutta, Bombay and Delhi. Still I am willing to go to South India provided you arrange for Azmaidan meeting. Regarding purchasing your house, from your description it appears very nice house and the price offered by you may be acceptable, but we are collecting money locally for the local expenditures. So do you think if I go and attend the pandal festival Rs. 5 lacs can be raised? I do not know the price of the house, neither I know what funds will be raised in my presence but I can promise that whatever funds can be raised on that occasion I shall pay to you for your house and we can immediately start a center there. If you think it is feasible then I shall cancel my other programs in Africa and other parts of the world, then I shall go directly to India by the end of September or the first week of October as described by you. Thanking you once more for your letter. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 09:30 | 24 August, 1971 London My Dear Madhudvisa Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 18th August, 1971 and have noted the contents. You should not close any deal about the house of Dr. Bali without seeing it. Actually there is no need of seeing the house at this time. If I go to Madras, then at that time I shall see it and we shall purchase it by local contribution. See the copy of the letter I have sent to Dr. Bali, enclosed, in this connection. So if Dr. Bali agrees to this proposal, then I can go there immediately. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 09:29 | 24 August, 1971 London My Dear Vamanadeva, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 19th August, 1971 and have noted the contents. The beads enclosed have been chanted and are enclosed herewith along with one letter for Sravaniya Devi Dasi. If you leave, who will look after St. Louis? You are a householder with wife and children. You can't move very often. Better you stick to one place and develop it nicely. Whenever you move you have to take so much trouble to move your whole family. I do not know what is the situation there in St. Louis but in every center there is potential to improve more and more. My opinion is that you stick to St. Louis and develop it more opulently. Of course I am in favor of opening new centers but not at the cost of taking from our already established centers. So you are an advanced student. Krishna is giving you intelligence. So use your discretion. But your wife is pregnant, so it is best not to move at the present. Just like this girl Sravaniya Dasi, so many neophytes are coming. So guide them all and help them to become Krishna Conscious devotees. That is the greatest service to humanity. Krishna is very much pleased upon such devotees who try like this. 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 | 09:28 | 24 August, 1971 London My Dear Danavir, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 17th August, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. I was very much shocked on hearing of the accidental death of Professor Dosa. I am sending herewith one letter for his wife which please hand over to her and give her all solace. Everything is under Krishna's control. Krishna is the supreme controller. Maya is only an instrumental agent. The example is given generally that in the rainy season the rain falls down equally everywhere but on the ground different seasonal plants and vegetables grow. Similarly when the material world is created it is set in motion by the Supreme Lord through the instrumental agency of maya. But according to different fruitive actions of different living entities different phases of happiness and distress appear exactly as after the rainfall there are varieties of vegetables. So everything takes place according to one's past individual karma but those who are in Krishna Consciousness their resultant action of karma becomes summarized. Professor Dosa took initiation, or shelter of Krishna. He will always be protected. In the next life he will get birth in a very good devotee's house so that from the very beginning of life he will get chance to devote himself to Krishna Consciousness. This is the observation from the sastra angle of vision. So no one should be agitated for sudden death of Professor Dosa. He is always blessed. Now he will get a very good chance for advancing in Krishna Consciousness. Be sure. I am very much pleased to learn that you have got a nice house for organizing our center there. Please do it nicely and be in contact with Karandhara. He is guiding you all. Of course to organize a temple in our society is not so difficult. Simply be serious in following the rules and regulations and chant 16 rounds. These things will constantly give you strength and spirit and I am sure that wherever you go in your preaching program there you will be successful. Your incense distribution scheme sounds all right. That will leave you more time for our main business--to distribute BTG. We are debtor to Dai Nippon by a large amount. Recently on the request of Karandhara I sent them $20,000. Still we owe $27,000. So try to collect money for BTG as far as possible to keep our credit with Dai Nippon. They are our good friends so if we keep our relationship healthy that will be good for our society's propaganda work. I am so glad to note also that you have sent $200 to the Mayapur temple fund. So continue to do it. Where is the money being sent? 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 | 09:27 | 24 August, 1971 London My Dear Gargamuni Swami, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 17th August, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. I can understand that you are in the midst of unfavorable circumstances as much as you were when you were in Pakistan. So Krishna is desiring that you deliver these persons who are in very awkward circumstances within this material world. Lord Caitanya is known as Patita Pavana or one who delivers the fallen. He purposely delivered the two fallen souls Jagai and Madhai. So as you have gone to Kathmandu, you try to stay there somehow or other and simply by your personal example of chanting Hare Krishna Mantra 24 hours, you sit down at any place and perform kirtana. Chant with mrdanga and karatalas or just on your beads; whatever is possible. If one or two men come to you that is sufficient for the present. In this way when you have gathered at least one or two local sympathizers then you can try and chant on the street. Maybe they are too much fools to understand the philosophy but if you chant Hare Krishna Mantra they will like it. So there is no need of making very gorgeous propaganda for the moment. Do everything humbly and in small scale and when Krishna desires it will increase. Don't be agitated in unfavorable circumstances. Chant gravely and peacefully. I hope this instruction will be useful for your purposes and don't be very much agitated. Krishna will help you. After all they are all human beings and as foretold by Lord Caitanya the Hare Krishna Mantra will be vibrated in every corner. So try to introduce it in this country where things are not very favorable. As we got several letters from Nepal in favor of our movement, certainly there are men there who will like this movement. Gradually you will find them out. So don't be impatient. Go on chanting Hare Krishna mantra peacefully. Brahmananda is doing very nicely there in Kenya. There is good field for preaching work there. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 09:27 | 24 August, 1971 London My Dear Hamsaduta, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 21st August, 1971 and have noted the contents. If I was misinformed, forget this incident and go on with your duty. Stress on Sankirtana performance and distribution of BTG. Our program is simple. You are a senior member of our society. So if you strictly follow our rules and regulations, chanting regularly 16 rounds, going for Sankirtana on the street and distributing prasadam automatically our movement will advance. So far work is concerned, when it is absolutely necessary it can be done. But as far as possible we should work in our own field and on the basis of our principles. You are always saved and I am always pleased with your work but it is my duty to point out if there is any discrepancies. I have received the German magazine and it appears very nice. Of course I could not read a single letter, but that doesn't matter. It was looking very nice. Please offer my blessings to Himavati and the others there. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 09:26 | 24 August, 1971 London My Dear Jayapataka Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated 17th August, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. There will be many discrepancies in the trial balance if books are not kept properly. Trial balance means to test how the accounts are kept scientifically. So if the accounts are not kept properly but haphazardly there will never be a correct trial balance. To present a correct trial balance means to correct the whole past accounting system. One letter has just come from Giriraja in which it is said, "As for accounts, at least the trial balance sheet has shown great discrepancies. For example I have collected Rs 70,000/- from the Maidan advertisers, but only Rs. 55,000/- has been recorded, and after being informed I was able to account for a possible Rs 5600/- of the difference, but still Rs 9,400/- is unaccounted for. "Also a profit of Rs. 15,000/- was supposed to have been made due to the maidan program, and that profit was to have paid off a previous Calcutta debt to the building fund, but now that Rs 15,000/- has been spent for maintenance, and an additional Rs 8000/- of membership money collected since the program has also been spent, so the Calcutta debit is now Rs. 23,000/- and is increasing." Now who will be responsible to account for this Rs 23,000/-? Please let me know. And who has been appointed treasurer and secretary? The president, secretary and treasurer elected by the members of the center cannot be changed at least for one year; better to continue it for three years. All combined together should be responsible for keeping correct accounts. Giriraja is reponsible and he should be made the treasurer. You should remain as president and Acyutananda Swami as secretary. So make arrangements in that way. Yes, we are prepared to purchase the land at a rate of not more than Rs 1500/- per bigha. They are under the impression that Americans will purchase at any price so don't be taken in. We can purchase any neighboring land at the above price. You can negotiate and consult with D.C. Sarkar in this connection. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. I wrote two letters to Acyutananda at Mayapur address, but I have received no reply. ACBS/adb letters | 09:22 | Aug 23, 2006 23 August, 1971 London My Dear Tamala and Gurudasa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letters dated 19th and 17th August, 1971 respectively as well as Yamuna's letter dated the 15th August. Regarding Indira Gandhi there is no hope. The high commissioner has informed. So it is Krishna's desire that she should not lay down the foundation stone. The program will be executed by some good Vaisnava which I am thinking of. Otherwise I shall personally do it. On the whole it is Lord Caitanya's desire that a Vaisnava shall lay down the cornerstone instead of asking some material man or woman to perform the holy work. So don't try for Indira Gandhi any more. Do your business and try to establish Delhi center solidly and secure members for financing the Mayapura scheme. I have received one letter from Brahmananda Swami in Africa and he is doing very well there. There is good prospect for establishing a center there and most probably I may go there on my way back to India. Regarding the Bengali translation by S. Ganguli, it is almost perfect; 90%. But 10% incorrect is not his fault. He is a new man. Therefore there are little discrepancies with our thoughts. Besides that there are some mistakes in spelling as Sanskrit verses. On the whole we can immediately start the Bengali paper but there is not one qualified man who can check over the correctness of the papers. Even it is 99% all right, still that 1% must be corrected. So far I am concerned, I cannot give my time to this. The best thing would have been if this Mr. Ganguli would come and be our student and learn our philosophy carefully and then he would be most suitable man for becoming editor of our Bengali paper. Do you think that Amrtananda will be able to check as the second Bengali man? Ask him if he is able to check the papers. Then jointly with the endeavor of Amrtananda and Ganguli you can start the Bengali paper as well as publish books. Dr. Bali has been making a program since a very long time but what is the exact program in S. India? Formerly it was settled before Vijantimalla and Dr. Bali that we shall hold a similar pandal festival in Madras in October. Unless 20 or 25 men perform this function it will not be successful. But at present if we haven't got sufficient men how we can take up this program? Men will be going there to India gradually. We are making a very gorgeous plan at Mayapur and if you altogether can give shape to this plan, it will be unique if not in the whole world then at least in all of India. I am giving instruction to all the workers here and they are doing nicely, I think when Bhavananda and Nara Narayana go to India they will carry the plans with them. This membership program is so nice that you can make members all over the world. So this temple should be subscribed by money raised all over the world and it must be very unique. The aim is to make it an international institute for taking perfect spiritual order of life; we shall give titles like bachelor of divinity, master of divinity, doctor of divinity. Besides that as I have already told you all several times in India, respectable gentlemen want to educate their children through the English medium. If we can organize such an institution such as St. Xavier's college in Calcutta and Bombay and we can give them instruction through the English medium and raise them in a Krishna Conscious culture we shall get unlimited number of students from respectable families of India. Such institution will be very much welcome especially in Bombay and Delhi. So think over this matter how best to organize such an institution as St. Xavier's college. Our mission is solid. Our philosophy is not utopian. Our men are being trained for exemplary character. So we shall have a unique position all over the world provided we stick to the principles, namely unflinching faith in Spiritual Master and Krishna, chanting not less than 16 rounds regularly and following the regulative principles. Then our men will conquer all over the world. Hoping this will meet you all in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S.: While posting this letter, one letter came from Calcutta in which it is said "As for accounts, at least the trial balance sheet has shown great discrepancies. For example, I have collected Rs. 70,000/- from the Maidan advertisers, but only Rs. 55,000/- has been recorded, and after being informed I was able to account for a possible Rs. 5,600/- of the difference, but still Rs 9,400/- is unaccounted for. "Also a profit of Rs. 15,000/- was supposed to have been made due to the Maidan program, and that profit was to have paid off a previous Calcutta debt to the building fund, but now that Rs 15,000/- has been spent for maintenance, and an additional Rs 8,000/- of membership money collected since the program has also been spent, so the Calcutta debit is now Rs 23,000/- and is increasing." Now who will be responsible for this Rs 23,000/-? Jayapataka - Please give account for the Rs. 9,400.00 ACBS/adb letters | 09:21 | Aug 22, 2006 Sunday, 22 August, 1971 London My Dear Amogha, Hanuman, etc. Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your telegram telling of $50.00 donation sent to L.A. But that sum has now been sent to London instead and I have duly received it here. Thank you very much for the same. I understand from Bali Mardan that there in Kuala Lumpur Kamal Devi is making so many demands and is not willing to construct the temple there according to our standard. So if the situation is not good there then you can have a touring program of preaching and distributing our literatures. That will be very nice. Of course in the big cities a big temple is required but if that is not possible then continue with your preaching program with full enthusiasm and determination. Hoping this will meet you all in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 09:21 | 22 August, 1971 London My Dear Kirtanananda Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 16th August, 1971 as well as your kind contribution of $100.00 check and I thank you very much for the same. I am so glad to hear how Janmastami and Vyasa Puja were celebrated so successfully there in New Vrindaban and devotees were coming from all the centers. We had a nice program here in London also and many outsiders were coming. I understand that during the festival Hayagriva Prabhu was not there. How is that? Where he is now? The index of Bhagavad Gita is very much delayed. Kindly ask him to send the complete index immediately for which the complete work is suffering. I was sick for four or five days; now I am a little better but the disease is prolonging in a different way. I cannot sleep at night more than 2 hours and during the day sometimes I am feeling some dizziness. Otherwise everything is all right. I am chanting Hare Krishna as usual and writing my books regularly. You have asked for some song translations and one is enclosed below. Others may be gotten from Dinesh who is presently in Israel. Please offer my blessings to the others there. Hoping this will meet you all in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb GAYA GAURACANDA MADHURSVARE Lord Gauracanda is singing in sweet voice, singing very sweetly the Maha Mantra . . . He is asking every one, whether householder or in renounced order of life to chant always the Mahamantra . . . Either in distress or happiness never forget chanting this Mahamantra. Make this practice how to continue this chanting always. Gradually we are losing the duration of our life and if we don't take the opportunity of worshiping the Lord of the senses, Krishna, then we are simply wasting our time. Now we are fully conscious. Let us now chant loudly with the holy names of Radha Madhava. Being entrapped in the network of illusory maya, we are simply engaged in false duties. Therefore it is the good advice of Bhaktivinode Thakura that everyone should become mad after chanting the Mahamantra He is requesting everyone to do so. letters | 09:20 | 22 August, 1971 London My Dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 19th August, 1971 and have noted the contents. So far the tracts or booklets are concerned, that is a nice idea, Jayadvaita has already asked about this and I have agreed. But these small works may be done on our own press. Dai Nippon should be given the big jobs. Otherwise it will be too costly. So far the marriage proposed for 29th August, I have no objection provided they are firmly in agreement never to separate and are willing to sign such a statement. This was done recently by Rupanuga Prabhu and you can get the wording from him. Please offer my blessings to the others there. Hoping this will meet you all in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb P.S. Enclosed please find poetry for possible publication. I don't think there is need of immediate meeting of all GBC members at N.Y. letters | 09:19 | Aug 21, 2006 Saturday, 21 August, 1971 London My Dear Giriraja, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 21st August, 1971 and have noted the contents. This is a very serious discrepancy that in four months Rs 23,000/- has been spent without any proper account. I have asked both Jayapataka and Tamala to explain about this and I am still awaiting their reply. Upon receipt of their letters I shall adjust things and let you know what is to be done. One thing is that I have asked Jayapataka Swami to make you treasurer so that you can look after things and see to it that such unnecessary expenditure is not made in the future. All big donations, like B.M. Birla's, should be immediately deposited in the building fund. Not a farthing should be expended from such donations. That should be the policy. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 22:14 | 21 August, 1971 London My Dear Bhagavan das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 11th August, 1971 and have noted the contents. Also I have seen the article enclosed and it is very nice indeed. So it appears that things are going on nicely there in Detroit. So we have to work very hard and with intelligence and sincerity for this movement. It is a great movement undoubtedly but it takes a little time to convince the higher section of the society. Still that is one of our businesses because unless the higher section understands this movement, it will make progress slowly. If the higher section says yes, it is a nice movement, it will progress very quickly. Our mission is undoubtedly the highest welfare activity to the human society. Everyone has forgotten his real constitutional position. Therefore all of them are hovering in the air without any concrete knowledge of the goal of life. Actually we are in the position to teach everyone, never mind however great a philosopher or scientist he may be, but everyone must learn from us about spiritual activities. All the universities and educational institutions are in darkness and still they are very much proud of advancement of knowledge. This we shall challenge everywhere and come out victorious. Please offer my blessings to the other boys and girls there in Detroit. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 22:12 | Aug 20, 2006 Friday, 20 August, 1971 London My Dear Atreya Rsi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 17th August, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. Krishna Consciousness factually makes progress on the willingness of the individual living entity. It is said by Rupa Goswami that one who is with strong inclination to serve the Lord by his life, work, mind and words, such a person immediately becomes liberated never mind in whatever position he is situated in this lifetime. In Srimad-Bhagavatam also the same thing is confirmed that liberation means to be situated in one's own constitutional position. Our constitutional position is to render service to somebody else. Everyone in this material world is rendering service to somebody else. Sometimes merchantile firms advertise "service is our business." So that is the constitutional position of every living entity but in the material condition of life they have forgotten where to render service or they do not know where this service attitude can be fulfilled properly. As such in Krishna Consciousness a person becomes perfect because he renders service to the right person, Krishna and thus he is satisfied fully. So your desire to serve Krishna is very much appreciated. This very desire will enlighten you more and more about Krishna and the more you advance the more you will like to serve and because you are a very sincere soul Krishna is giving you good opportunity to render service to Him in the Mayapur scheme. So you can open a separate account "ISKCON Mayapur Scheme" in consultation with Rupanuga Prabhu and do the needful. The business community you can impress upon them that throughout the whole world there is no institution to impart education in the matter of spiritual understanding. So we are going to open a big center in Mayapur where this education will be internationally imparted. Students from all parts of the world will go there to take education in this important subject. Modern civilization is running on the bodily concept of life. Such a civilization is nothing but polished animalistic civilization. They can never bring the right knowledge to the human society. So our Krishna Consciousness Movement is especially meant for enlivening men in this novel educational system. We have published about 10 big big books of 400 to 1000 pages each. Further books are being published. You can show them the books so that they can understand the importance of this movement and if sufficient cooperation is available we can increase our branch opening activity and surely we can contribute the best knowledge to the human society. So with our books, workers, and sincere activities we must come out successful in this attempt. Very soon I shall send you all detailed blueprints of our Mayapur layout (building plans, etc.) for your propaganda work. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 14:26 | 20 August, 1971 London My Dear Bali-mardana, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 10th August, 1971, and have noted the contents. I am so glad to note that book distribution is going on nicely. Also there are many Krsna Books in L.A., so if you want to, you can ask Karandhara to send some. That will be nice. Rahul is a good boy, coming from a good family and very qualified. So keep him very affectionately. Treat him as a younger brother or son, and so nicely that he will never want to go away. Whatever foodstuffs he wants may be given to him. Always he should be kept engaged translating and it should be checked by Ramananda and Ksirodakasayi because you don't know Hindi. There is so much new information in our books and the Hindi reading public will appreciate it, because our subject matter is new to everyone. God has always been a vague idea. So most people are impersonalists or voidists. Perhaps for the first time in the world we are giving the people a clear idea of what is God. Although God, or Krsna, was existing in the world, but demons like Kamsa wanted to kill Him. Therefore people have no clear idea. So this is the first time we are placing Krsna in tangible form with a clear idea of His name, fame, qualities, pastimes, etc. That Madison Square program was simply speculation. Syamasundara had some vague idea about it, but it has proved not at all substantial for our purposes. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 14:24 | 20 August, 1971 London My Dear Jagadisa, Please accept my blessings. You happen to be a member of the GBC. So whatever you want to do or whatever ideas you want to introduce in the management of our society, please write in a letter and distribute the copies to all the GBC members along with one copy to me also. Then collect the opinions of each and every GBC member and if the majority supports the idea then it should be taken as a fact for being carried out in our society. The majority vote and my opinion should be taken. When the majority opinion is present, my opinion will be yes or no. In most cases it will be yes unless it is grievously against our principles. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. I have just now received your letter dated 17th August and have noted the contents. I am so glad to hear how nicely things are going on there and that new temples are being proposed also. Very good. Do it enthusiastically and with determination and Krishna will give you all facility. Soon I may be returning to N.Y. but it hasn't been fixed up yet. If I do, then certainly I will visit Toronto. ACBS/adb letters | 14:23 | 20 August, 1971 London My Dear Tamala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated Janmastami day and have noted the contents carefully. Renovation means for old buildings donated to the society. Such buildings can be renovated from the building fund but not to maintain already purchased or rented buildings. That is to be done as individual expenditure of the temple concerned. Delhi is the most important city in India because the capital is established there. Mostly the population is educated. Many foreigners are there also and embassies of different countries. So from the cultural point of view Delhi is the most important city. Many cultural centers are there also, many libraries, many schools, colleges, varieties of merchantile offices and different presses. So if you can influence them it will be a great propoganda center. I think in Delhi also you should hold one festival pandal meeting like in Calcutta and Bombay. There is a big ground open near Connaught place. Yes, you can get all your paper from Bengal Paper Mills. That is a good opportunity. So take all paper from there for our Hindi publications. Ksirodakasayi will go there by the middle of September. So Rahul, Ramananda, and Ksirodakasayi may completely see to the publication and translation of Hindi work. If you will send the quotation for BTG I will send you a check. Ksirodakasayi has already arranged with a press in Agra and it is said that is the best place for printing BTG. All books and material already there may be published. It will be difficult to open three pandals simultaneously because there are no sufficient men. Otherwise there is no difficulty. But if you can manage that will be a great credit but a great strain also. I think you can hold one meeting in Delhi. Everything depends on expert management and men and strength. In his last letter Giriraja has informed me that he was sick but since then I have not heard from him. How is he? I am anxious to know. His health should be taken good care of. He is an important worker and a good soul. So far the quality of paper, that depends on the Indian market. But so far our society is concerned, we are maintaining first class literature produced but if there is difficulty what can I say? But you can make a cheaper edition for the general people. That is all right. I have seen your financial statement for July but the same thing is going on. The collection was Rs 21,000/ but the deposit Rs 15,000/. Therefore Rs 6,000/ was eaten up or otherwise. So how things can be managed? This is going on since the beginning. Some practical proposal must be there. If 25% of the collection is spent up in this way then I do not know how to manage things. Please give me your practical solution how things can be changed. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 14:21 | |
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