a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1972 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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11 January 2007 Tuesday, 11 January, 1972 Bombay My Dear Sucandra, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of December 25, 1971, and I am very pleased to note that you have got a nice place in the central part of Munich city and that a good response has been found by you there. When we become fully engaged in serving Krishna by preaching His message, especially by opening centers in places where there is not much previous knowledge about Krishna Consciousness, then our all anxieties disappear and we feel ourselves really happy. This is the highest type of devotional activity, this preaching work. So I am very glad that you are working in this way, and I think that you will find no impediments to advancing yourself very rapidly in spiritual life. Since you are now leader, therefore Krishna is forcing you to become very responsible and advanced devotee. This is Krishna's special favor upon you. So now you must see that all boys and girls who come to the temple are given all facility to perfect their lives in KC, and you must give them good advice and instruction. You must be the perfect example of KC devotee. How is that? Follow the regulative principles very diligently, maintain the highest level of standard in routine work such as rising early, cleansing, chanting, temple worship, street sankirtana, etc., always keep the devotees satisfied, like that. If your preaching work is strong, automatically management will be easy. And preaching work is strong if our routine work is strong. Never neglect our regular program and that will be your success. Now I want that our books and magazines in German language be printed profusely and distributed all over Germany, so if you cooperate with Hamsaduta and Krishna das to do this very nicely, I think that will be your great credit. If these books are introduced among the student class they will have powerful effect. So become yourself very convinced of our Krishna philosophy and introduce it into the schools and colleges, as I think the German people are very much fond of philosophy. Somehow or other, because I have got some good assistants like yourself, this Hare Krishna Movement is having a little success all over the world. Thank you very much for helping me in this way. I hope this will meet you in good health. I shall be glad to name your child when it is born. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: management, printing, regulative principles letters | 20:23 |11 January, 1972 Bombay My Dear Bhagavan, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 31, 1971, and I am very much pleased to hear from you all the good news. Yes, I am especially in cheerful mood to hear that our books and literatures are being now widely increased, but I don't think you will be able to approach near to the large amount of books being distributed by our California centers, especially in San Francisco. But if you can, then I shall certainly come there in Detroit and live there and translate there. I want to go and stay wherever they are selling the most books! But I do not think that anyone will become better than San Francisco. If you like, you may now order from our devotees stationed in Jaipur one pair of gorgeous Radha-Krishna deities for Detroit center. They are settled in Jaipur now especially for this purpose of sending very best murtis to all our ISKCON temples who request them, including dresses, ornaments, jewels, etc. So I think such nice deities can be ordered by you, and you can give them very first-class home and give them all comforts and luxuries, either in that place or if you get a better place. Already they have sent very excellent black Krishna to Nairobi and New York of 48" height. I am especially pleased by your proposal of producing many small leaflets and pamphlets to distribute widely to the public. Karandhara has initiated this program, and his small pamphlets are very very nice and to the standard, so you may also do like that. I was just writing to our European centers that for so many years they have been there and nothing has been printed in European languages. This is not a very good sign. How can there be preaching without books? So I am glad that you are taking steps to organize printing of our foreign books. Please take this matter very seriously and print such books immediately. I can appreciate very much that you are a sincere and intelligent boy, so I am certain that you are having no difficulty in managing nicely Krishna's affairs and making advancement yourself in Krishna Consciousness. Now I am trusting you all elderly leaders to do everything very responsibly and to the standards we have set, so that I may very soon begin translating fulltime. Thank you very much. I hope this will meet you and all of the nice boys and girls at Detroit center in good health and lively spirits. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: book distribution, deities, printing letters | 20:22 |10 January 2007 Monday, 10 January, 1972 Bombay My Dear Sons and Daughters, Please accept my blessings. Upon the recommendation of Makhanlal I have gladly consented to accept all of you as my duly initiated disciples. Your beads have been duly chanted by me and they are sent under separate post. I have given you the spiritual names as follows: Von Paul Read/SMARANANANDA DAS Barbara Read/SAMSARAMOCHAN DASI Bob Quirk/BHUBHRTA DAS Jeffrey Spicher/PAVANA DAS Royal Frank Affrisco/DEVADEVA DAS Anthony Burt Alves/DAIVATA DAS Laurel Alves/PARAYANA DASI I am so glad to learn that all of you have been such a great help to Makhanlal there in our Seattle center. I can understand that all of you are very sincere boys and girls and are very eligible candidates for going back to Home, back to Godhead. And the process is simple. Follow the regulative principles, chant at least 16 rounds of beads daily, read our literatures, go for street Sankirtana, etc. In this way keep yourselves engaged in Krishna's business 24 hours and you will be really happy in this life and in the end reach the Supreme destination. Hoping this will meet all of you in good health and determined spirits. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: initiation letters | 09:08 |10 January, 1972 Bombay My Dear Aniruddha, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of 12/10/71, and I am very much pleased that you are enthusiastic to instruct our KC children at ISAVASYA SCHOOL. I have heard from Satsvarupa that we have not got that big building we were trying for. Never mind, the important thing is that we continue our work nicely for educating children, and Krishna will give us all facility. I have read that you are screening very carefully the children who want to come there. That is not a very good proposal. All children of devotees should be welcome. Even they have developed some unfavorable qualities, they are only young children, how do you expect them to behave in the best way? You have to make them very nice behavior by training them and simply giving discipline. So let everyone come to our school. That is our policy, not to discriminate. The children should be trained in early rising, attending mangal arati, some elementary education: arithmetic, alphabet, some of our books, like that. They should go to bed by 8 p.m. and rise by 4 a.m. for mangal arati, getting 8 hours sleep. If they take 8 hours sleep, they will not fall asleep during arati. When they get up they should wash with a little warm water, at least three times wash face. They may sleep one hour in the afternoon and there is no harm. Encourage them to chant as much japa as possible, but there is no question of force or punishment. If there is need you may shake your finger at them but never physical punishment is allowed. Try as far as possible to discipline them with love and affection, so that they develop a taste for austerity of life and think it great fun to serve Krishna in many ways. Rising early and mangal arati, this is enough austerity. Besides that, let them learn something, chant, dance, eat as much prasadam as they like, and do not mind if they have playful nature--let them also play and run, that is natural. It is nice if they eat often--if children overeat it doesn't matter, that is no mistake. Boys and girls should be educated separately. Please keep me informed your progress there, and if you have any further questions. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: gurukula letters | 09:07 |10 January, 1972 Bombay My dear Krishna das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 17, 1971. I am very much pleased that you are now in Germany and that everything is going very nicely there. You stay there in Hamburg with Hamsaduta for some time and make that center very strong, then you may both return as it was, and Hamsaduta may go to his zone of Mediterranean countries and Near East, and you as husband and wife can conduct everything there. Mataji Himavati can train your wife or someone how to worship the deities nicely, and you both stay there for the time being. You are both men of experience so work together combinedly to make Germany zone very strong. Distributing literatures in German language is the most important task ahead, and it is very good your proposal to print locally--but why it was not done before? Anything local available is better, if the supply is regular. If you can arrange for that, then do it. I do not know why in Europe nothing has been done to print books. So many years you have been there, and still there is no literature in European languages. Why is it that you cannot find out some formula for printing nicely, I think there is no shortage of translators. Better if you turn your attention to this project immediately. So far a list of all the festivals and how to celebrate them, that I shall send you very soon, within a month. You have offered to send me any articles, but I do not want to overburden you at this point. Better you organize like Los Angeles, then I shall go there and open your center. But now we are purchasing a large land outside of Bombay city in Juhu for building up an International Hotel for people from around the world to come and get some spiritual life and at the same time enjoy a foreign country. Very soon we shall begin constructing the Temple there, and our devotees from all over India will come there to live in tents and build and collect money. For this collecting money, we shall require that some of our men go every day into Bombay some distance away for seeing rich men and persuading them to give something. And I think for this purpose a suitable van or bus from Germany would be very nice. If you like, you may purchase there and drive here in that van as soon as possible and then go back. Syamasundara has written to Karandhara that he may assist you in sending money to purchase, so you may consult Karandhara. Mandali Bhadra should be encouraged to translate as much as possible. I think that you are now very serious to resume working very hard for spreading the light of Lord Caitanya's mission in the European countries, so I am very much encouraged and relieved. Thank you very much. I hope this will meet you and your good wife and child in good health and cheerful mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: book distribution, deities, publishing letters | 09:06 |10 January, 1972 Bombay My dear Sri Govinda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 12, 1971. I am very much pleased by the enclosed pictures of your new Cleveland, Ohio, center. It is most respectable-looking and elegant, and I am very very glad to see that you have got such a nice place to conduct Krishna's business and to keep Radha and Krishna very excellently by providing them fully with nice prasadam, flowers, ornaments, etc. I think that if you order nice deities from our devotees in Jaipur that They will very much enjoy to live there, and then you can give Them all good attention befitting such nice house. I am very encouraged that all aspects of your KC program are increasing under your supervision, and I have especially appreciate prominent Indian gentleman as examples of our propaganda work. Just go on printing such leaflets, as Karandhara is also doing in Los Angeles, and everyone will take one and get some solid information about Krishna. You may print small essays also in this way. I am pleased that your distribution of literatures is also increasing. Go on giving this matter your full attention. The more books we sell, the more we ourselves advance in Krishna Consciousness. Regarding your proposal to open one store, that is not a very good proposal. Our devotees cannot work in that way. Better they are preaching and selling books door-to-door. That man simply wants to take our men for nothing, create some trouble, then drive us away. This has been our experience. If the man wants to open such store and without us working give us some profit, that is all right. I think I shall be very comfortable in your Cleveland center when I shall come there very soon. I hope this will meet you in good health and cheerful mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: book distribution, deities letters | 09:05 |10 January, 1972 Bombay My Dear Makhanlal, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 29th November, 1971, and I have noted the content with great pleasure. Below find one letter for initiates, please. Because you have recommended, I am happy to accept them as my duly initiated disciples. Seven beads, two copies of Gayatri mantra and two sacred threads, duly chanted on by me, have been sent under separate post. Hold a fire yajna and give Gayatri mantra to Tulasi Manjari and Rukma. I think you have got a tape of me reciting Gayatri mantra. One thing is that the tape should be heard through earphones into the right ear. So the fire yajna can be held for all nine devotees. These are all very nice boys and girls, that I can understand, so now you take charge of giving them all good guidance and help on the path back to Home, back to Godhead. Practically the leadership of this Krishna Consciousness Society is now in the hands of you my older disciples and I am very pleased that you are taking such huge responsibility very seriously. In this way remain very sober and cool-headed and always think of Krishna somehow or other, and there is no doubt this Movement will one day conquer all over the world. One thing is, that I want that the highest standards of devotional service be maintained. Our routine work--rising early, cleansing, chanting, temple worship, sankirtana, study--these things must go on very nicely, and if they become improved more and more, and are not neglected or in any way decreased, then now become very convinced of our Krishna philosophy and very enthusiastically and soberly maintain temple routine standards, increase book distribution, satisfy the devotees, and in every way become the perfect KC example of angel. I am very encouraged that so many new boys and girls are coming forward to join our Hare Krishna Movement. That is a good sign that you are advancing very nicely in Krishna's service. In this way go on. Krishna life is the very highest type of activity of the living entity, the topmost development of consciousness. So I am very much appreciating that you are becoming yourself Krishna Consciousness and that you are helping me in this way. Thank you very much. I hope this will meet you in good health and cheerful mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: initiation, management letters | 09:04 |10 January, 1972 Bombay My dear Kulasekhara, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 27, 1971, and I am very much pleased to hear from you that you are feeling the wonderful result of this preaching movement by yourself opening a nice center in Cardiff, Wales, and I am encouraged that there is such nice response by those people there. Our business is simply to plant the seed of devotional service wherever we go and to give everyone a taste of this transcendentally relishable activity of life. If we are very much convinced ourselves of Krishna philosophy, then we shall be able to inject this seed of devotional service into the hearts of persons, and they should be given all encouragement and facility to hear from Srimad-Bhagavatam and chant Hare Krishna, and in this way the seed will come out and the creeper will come out by such watering process. So now you have taken great responsibility to plant the seed of Krishna Consciousness in Cardiff, Wales, so I think that if you take the matter very seriously and remain cool-headed, that you will attract the attention of Krishna who will give you all opportunity. In this way, because you are responsible leader, Krishna will force you to advance in Krishna Consciousness. So you may know it that you are very much favored by Krishna. One thing: You must be attentive that our routine work--such as rising early, cleansing, chanting, temple worship, reading, sankirtana, etc.--should always maintained at the highest level of Krishna Conscious standard, as the smallest neglect or inattention to these matters of routine practices will cause all our other programs to fail. These things are the backbone of spiritual life. So it is natural that in these things like chanting regularly 16 rounds and holding daily arati and kirtana are observed faithfully, then people will be attracted and our preaching will have effect and the management of temple affairs will become very easy matter. I am glad to hear that you are distributing nicely books and magazines. The more we sell books, the more we advance in KC, and the more we help others to have solid information how they may take advantage of their human form of life and achieve the supreme perfection. So I want that you should now increase very greatly this selling of books and literatures. I have heard that in San Francisco they are selling daily not less than 75 Krsna Books. So I am very much encouraged to hear this. Now take this spirit of transcendental rivalry and consult with Dayananda and the others there in England to be the first-rate book-sellers. Your songs and poems are very much liked by me. Syamasundara informs me your proposal for travelling party for roving all over England and Wales, just like Kirtanananda is doing in America. I think this is a good proposal, and you may compose many such nice songs for attracting the young people from villages and towns. I very much approve of such travelling SKP program. And if you are able to infiltrate into schools and colleges for introducing Krishna Consciousness and selling our books, that is also very nice. In this way, keep yourself always 24 hours engaged in Krishna service, and very quickly you will advance to the highest platform of life. Somehow or other, Krishna has sent me sincere souls like yourself and others to assist me, therefore there has been a little progress. Thank you very much for helping me to spread Lord Caitanya's movement. I hope this will meet you in good health and cheerful mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: book distribution, japa, preachers, regulative principles letters | 09:03 |10 January, 1972 Bombay My dear Hamsaduta, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge your letter of December 18, 1971, and I am very much pleased that now both of you and Krishna das are working there very nicely together. Now you both couples just remain together for some time and build up Germany centers very strong, especially Hamburg, and then you may return at a suitable time to your zone of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. I think that Brahmananda is doing very nicely in Africa, so for the time being there is no need to go there or interfere. I am always wondering why after so many years nothing can be done to print profusely my books and literatures in European languages. Translators are there, all facilities of German first-class printing machines are there--simply we are not serious to do it. Now you and Krishna das work combinedly to arrange for printing of so many books in Germany, French, and other languages. That will be a great help to me. I have given Krishna das suggestion to purchase one van there and drive it to India. What do you think? I am going to Nairobi for a few days from the 25th January, returning by 1st February. Then we shall hold our programs in Ahmedabad, Madras, Mayapur.* Hoping this will meet you and your good wife, Mataji, in strong health and lively mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami *Please know it always that I think of you and your wife as very sincere devotees and whenever you think, you can ask me everything about your difficulties. ACBS/sda Labels: itinerary, publishing letters | 09:03 |9 January 2007 9 January, 1972 Bombay My dear Bhavananda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated January 4, 1973, along with the check for airplane fares to Calcutta. When he has booked the flight, Syamasundara will inform you when we are arriving. So far the marriage proposal between Madhavananda and Kausalya, enclosed please find a copy of one letter I have sent to GBC men in that connection. Henceforward these matters of marriage between the devotees must be decided upon by the GBC men and other senior members by their mutual consultation. So in this case you consider with other GBC and senior men. These things should be decided by our elderly members, not I should be involved so much with matters of husband and wife. You may send the report what programs you have arranged for me in Calcutta. Hoping this meets you in good health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda letters | 09:02 | |
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