a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1972 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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26 January 2007 Tuesday, 25 January, 1972 Nairobi Dear Atreya Rsi Das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated Jan. 10, 1972 and have studied the contents carefully. It is my wish that you work more and more closely with the ISKCON management. You have good intelligence and this should be engaged cent per cent in propogation of this movement of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So you please go on increasing your involvement with the administration. You speak of impersonalism. We welcome all impersonalists to come because if they are real impersonalists they will see that our Society is perfect and complete. Ramanujacarya is considered to be very stalwart acharya simply because he completely defeated the impersonalism of Sankaracarya. And even to this day in India, especially in the south, the followers of Ramanujacarya and Sankaracarya engage in talks and always the Sankarites are defeated. But most of the so-called impersonalists of today are rogues. You may adopt this principle, that whatever conditions increases your facility to preach this Krishna Consciousness Movement should be accepted. If we accept this all of these discouragements etc. will disappear. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: impersonalists, management, preachers letters | 11:25 |25 January 2007 25 January, 1972 Nairobi My dear Sivananda Das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 12/1/72 and have carefully noted the contents. For the time being you may suspend the program for taking sannyasa. You may remain with your wife until she recovers and then you may travel together and open branches. I very much appreciate your attitude in saying "It is not sannyasa so much that I am interested in, its Krishna Consciousness and working to please my Spiritual Master." This is the correct understanding of devotional service, to be engaged one hundred percent in the Service of Krishna, never mind what position you are occupying. Please continue in this way and try to live peacefully with your wife. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami MS/jdb letters | 11:25 | 25 January, 1972 Nairobi Dear Karandhara das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated Jan. 12, 1972 and have noted the contents carefully. I am answering your letter from an air ship going to Nairobi, Kenya. Where I will speak from Jan. 26 - Jan 30 to the Africans and Asians alike. I do not know how and why these transparencies were sent to India but Tamala Krishna Das has received your cable and is doing the needful. Your proposal to move Tokyo Temple back to the center of Tokyo is very good. This was my Guru Maharaja's policy that we should remain in the big cities in order that the maximum amount of people could take advantage of our preaching. In all printing matter I am completely in agreement with you, therefore you can determine when and if ISKCON press can do BTGs. The reports of increased book sales all over the world gives me so much pleasure. I thank you very much for your very determined efforts to push on this movement of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami MS/jdb letters | 11:24 | 25 January, 1972 Nairobi Dear Ravindra Svarupa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated January 12, 1972 and have noted the contents carefully. Krishna book distribution is our greatest propaganda for spreading Krishna Consciousness. You must secure one letter from Temple University stating that our Nectar of Devotion is being used as a text. This will be very helpful in introducing our literature in all the big Universities all over the country. This is very important, so you may do it immediately. Regarding householders living in the temple; in India no woman is allowed to stay in the temple at night. But for our preaching work I have permitted women to stay in the temple. But, in the temple, husband and wife should live separately. There are many young brahmacaris and Sannyasis in the temple and men and women living together is simply a source of agitation, so therefore this is my order. Ideally the husband and wife can live separately in the temple. If this is not possible they should live together close to the temple and attend temple arati etc., and if this is not possible the last alternative is to live away from the Temple and conduct your own deity worship etc. It is best to do the most ideal thing but whatever mode of living you chose the most important thing is to always remain one hundred percent in service of Radha-Krishna. The initiation of Michael Stein is approved and beads are being sent in separate cover. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami MS/jdb Labels: book distribution, brahmacaris, grhasthas, initiation, wife letters | 11:23 |21 January 2007 Friday, 21 January, 1972 Jaipur My dear Upendra, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of January 2, 1972. With pleasure I have noted that you are desiring to be personally present with me again, and I also am looking forward to seeing you all nice boys and girls in Australia again. Yes, you may be my cook when we shall meet at that time. Tomorrow I am flying to Africa for a few days to attend Brahmananda's festival in Nairobi, and I may even stay there for some time if our Mayapur program is cancelled due to government restrictions against foreigners in Nadia district. But I am sure to come there to Australia by springtime. The Los Angeles temple is our ISKCON standard, so as far as possible you may build in that way. I have had many requests from many students for a list of holidays and festival days. Now we have got Panjika ___, so I shall be compiling such list very soon and I shall send you a copy. I have received one very nice letter from your good wife, Citralekha, and I hear that she has now joined you there, so I may thank her here for serving me so nicely in India. She has learned a lot about deity worship I think, so she may train up the others there in Australia centers. I hope this will meet you both in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: Australasia, wife letters | 08:20 |21 January, 1972 Bombay My Dear Chaturbhus, Please accept my blessings. I am happy to receive your nice letter of January 10, 1972, and I am pleased to note that you are asking very intelligent questions. That is natural position for the neophyte devotee who is sincerely seeking to understand what is the Absolute Truth. So I am very much engladdened to hear that you are very intelligent boy, like your father, and that your whole family is advancing in Krishna Consciousness. May Krishna give you all blessings. Lord Caitanya met Moulana in Sara, U.P., not at Allahabad. His process was to take a quotation from the Koran and convince the Moulana that Krishna Consciousness or pure love of Godhead in mood of selfless devotional service is the ultimate goal of life. As for the difference between mental speculation and philosophical speculation, we take it that everything is known by the psychological action of the mind, so that philosophical speculation is the same as mental speculation if it is merely the random or haphazard activity of the brain to understand everything and making theories, "if's" and "maybe's." But if philosophical speculation is directed by Sastra and Guru, and if the goal of such philosophical attempts is to achieve Visnu, then that philosophical speculation is not mental speculation. It is just like this: Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that "I am the taste of water." Philosophical speculation in the accepted sense then means to try to understand, under the direction of Sastra and Guru, just how Krishna is the taste of water. The points of Bhagavad-gita, though they are simple and complete, can be understood from unlimited angles of vision. So our philosophy is not dry, like mental speculation. The proper function of the brain or psychological activity is to understand everything through Krishna's perspective or point-of-view, and so there is no limit to that understanding because Krishna is unlimited, and even though it can be said that the devotee who knows Krishna, he knows everything (15th Chapter), still, the philosophical process never stops and the devotee continues to increase his knowledge even though he knows everything. Try to understand this point, it is a very good question. Lord Caitanya may have long hair in his early grhastha life, but that does not mean that we should imitate Lord Caitanya. Caitanya also had shaven head and sikha. The important thing is that we follow the regulative guidelines as laid down by great saints and acaryas in our line, and so it is recommended that we wear clean-shaven heads. But there is no hard and fast rule in this respect. If it is practical to grow hairs out, that can be done. But it is not that we may imitate Lord Caitanya by growing big hairs. Your father is serving nicely in Delhi by printing our books and magazines in Hindi language, and I am very much pleased with him also. Now you protect your good mother and brothers and sisters, help them to advance more and more in Krishna Consciousness by holding chanting in your house regularly daily and by having altar. If you become very serious to have the ultimate satisfaction of life, then I think that you will practice this KC process very enthusiastically and be successful in all respects. Hoping this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: questions letters | 08:02 |21 January, 1972 Jaipur My dear Sudama, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated December 23, 1971. I am pleased to hear that everything is going on nicely there in Tokyo center. Japan is now one of the world leaders, so I calculate it as one of our most important fields, therefore I feel some relief to know that you are a very intelligent and capable American boy in charge of such important affairs. You are setting the example of determination which others may see and follow. In this way, go on increasing and such sincerity is noticed by Krishna and He is helping you to approach nearer and nearer to His Lotus Feet. The tapes which you have sent have been duly received, but I think we shall require many more before leaving India, so if you can provide in the same way as before, please do it. You may send marked clearly "Gift Parcel, No Commercial Value" to Bombay address. Each small packet may be marked "Value less than $2." So far I know, Bhanu is awaiting some money clearance matters to be completed from the Reserve Bank of India and then he will be departing here very soon. I am happy to hear that Karatieya Maharaja has returned to our camp. Now you give him all good counsel and friendship, and if he somehow develops some enthusiasm by becoming artfully engaged, he is very good boy and will be a great preacher. He always has my blessings. I think that by now Karandhara is there, so he may write me his report, one copy to Bombay address, one copy to Nairobi. I hope this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda letters | 08:01 | 21 January, 1972 Jaipur My dear Vamanadeva, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 1-3-72. I am pleased to note that you are happy to be engaged in working on the new ISKCON school in Dallas as maintenance man and carpenter, I have no objection if GBC men have approved your closing of Oklahoma City center and moving to Dallas. Actually, I have appointed them to act on my behalf, so it is their responsibility now to sanction such matters and make decisions of management. I hope this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: gurukula letters | 08:00 |21 January, 1972 Jaipur My Dear Jayapataka, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter undated, and I have noted the contents carefully. So far the printing of Gitar Gan for which you have sent quotation, you may take other quotations also, and I am flying to Africa tomorrow but I shall return first week in February, so when I return I shall send you the manuscript which I think is now finished by Mr. Cakravarti in Bombay. Of the paper samples, the heavier stock of map litho at 80 grams per square meter is preferred by me, and the cover paper is all right. We have estimated 100 pages, so I suppose the price will be proportionately lesser or greater if we have more or less pages? Regarding Mayapur festival, if we cannot do anything there, then because there is very good prospect in Africa I may remain there and not return to India. I especially wanted to stay in India for this Mayapur celebration, but if there is no scope, or if our men are not able to do anything, then I can return via Africa. But why not it is held? Nobody will check us if we simply go there as ordinary pilgrims. But you try for permission for all our men. One form has been sent to all our men outside of Calcutta to apply for the permission. I understand that all Calcutta men they are already applying directly from there. These forms will be sent to you immediately by our men, and you can push seriously with every possible effort to get permission for all. Such festival should be held very grandly. Gurudasa has gone to Delhi, so he can take further permission from there. There is good chance the ban may be lifted by the 15th, so as soon as five men can go, they should go there immediately to make preparations for a grand festival. I do not think there will be difficulty if we just go there like the ordinary pilgrims and set up our camp there for kirtana continuously. Anyone will see we are only serious devotees of Lord Caitanya and not Pakistani spies. So I think you should plan that we shall definitely be coming to Mayapur and hold a grand festival there for Lord Caitanya's Appearance Day celebrating. You may collect advertisements for Mayapur on this basis that somehow or other we shall go there. One more thing, those One-Rupee Coupons, they may be given one book of Gitar Gan also, and 50% will go to Book Fund, 50% to Building Fund. In this way 10,000 books will be distributed very easily. Hoping this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: festivals, India, Mayapur, printing letters | 07:58 | |
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