a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1972 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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1 June 2007 Thursday, 1 June, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Subala das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 22nd May, 1972, from Patna informing me that your health is strong and that you are carrying on with determination this preaching work. I have heard from others that you are doing very nicely, and that you are making life members also. That is very good news to me. I am making many Sannyasis here in America, and I am convinced that our movement must run on this extensive traveling and preaching system. So you work cooperatively with Giriraja, Bhavananda, Guru das, and all of the others there in India, how to perform this valuable service in the best way by utilizing all our men and time very wisely. Push on vigorously, especially in the matter of distributing our literatures widely throughout India and showing always a good example of real Krishna Consciousness way of life. Hoping this will meet you in the best of health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: book distribution, Calcutta, preachers letters | 11:53 |1 June, 1972 Los Angeles My dear Bhavananda, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 23, 1972 and I have noted the contents with great encouragement. I am glad to see that everything is going very nicely there in Calcutta and Mayapur, and that you are gradually paying back the book fund debt more and more. Regarding Mayapur building work, try to finish as quickly as possible and our living accommodations problem will be solved and I shall be very happy to stay there if it is completed when I return there in the autumn. I have received the drawing of the completed building, and it is very nice. So if you all think, Jayapataka, Tamala Krishna, and the others, my approval is there. Whatever you all decide in future in these matters, that's all right, but the structure appears to be nice. So you do not have to bother yourself by sending too many details of your progressive Mayapur construction work, simply give me simple report from time to time how the things are going on, and how ever you do it, that is to be decided among yourselves. Go on buying the necessary land. But I think it is better to buy the land of Rohin Shaik without crop for Rs. 1500/- a bigha. Hoping this will find you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: building, Calcutta, land, Mayapur letters | 11:53 |31 May 2007 Wednesday, May 31, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Vasudeva, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter undated and I have noted the contents carefully. I am very much engladdened to hear from you that all the programs there in Berlin center are going on very nicely under your expert guidance. Nevermind what has past, whatever is done, is done. Now push on with full enthusiasm to save the fallen humanity from the most degraded and wretched conditions of material life. This Krsna Consciousness Movement is the only thing that will save them. So you yourself become very convinced of this fact and be very bold in preaching Krsna Consciousness there in Berlin. I enjoyed very much your artistic work, so you can combine your presidential duties with sometimes painting, but the main thing is to always remain engaged fully in the enthusiastic service of the Supreme Lord, nevermind this activity or that activity, so long as the mind is fully absorbed at Krsna's Lotus Feet. So I am very glad to hear that you are a capable manager, you are a very very intelligent boy and gifted by Krsna in many ways, so now Krsna has given you the opportunity to make advancement by becoming also very responsible. So kindly take this responsibility to heart and be always jolly and determined. Now you must be the perfect example for others to follow. Yes, if you can get a new and larger place that will be very nice. Also, I am coming to London this summer for Ratha-yatra Festival and if all of the European devotees come there I shall be very glad to see you all again. Yes, you may name your new son Caitanya dasa. So now be happy and chant Hare Krsna and take Krsna Prasadam, and in this way you shall find your life becoming more and more perfect and you will meet Krsna face to face very soon, rest assured. Hoping this meets you and your good wife and son in best of health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami My sincere blessings for your nice son. Labels: art, Berlin, management, Ratha Yatra letters | 16:19 |28 May 2007 Sunday, 28 May, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Sons and Daughters, Please accept my blessings. Upon the recommendation of Tulasi dasa I am very glad to consent to accept all of you as my duly initiated disciples. I am giving him your beads duly chanted by me. I have given you the spiritual names as follows: Mike Stitch/Maitreya dasa Brahmacari Mark Jahre/Mahasakti dasa Brahmacari Allen Bigil/Arijit dasa Brahmacari Marsha Arslansky/Mitravinda devi dasi Nancy Bailey/Nandita Gokula devi dasi I am so glad to learn that you are such good assistants for Tulasi dasa there in our Denver center. And I can understand that you are all very eligible candidates for going back to Home, back to Godhead. And the process is simple. Simply follow the regulative principles with determination, and you will become free from all attachment to maya, by Krishna's Grace. The example is when the sun is in the sky, there is no question of darkness. Similarly, when Hare Krishna Mantra is vibrating on your tongue and you are hearing attentively, then your consciousness becomes clear or Krishna Consciousness, and there is no question of maya or hazy consciousness. Just as when the light and the darkness come together, the darkness cannot stand before the light, so maya cannot remain in the presence of Krishna. Always remember therefore to chant Hare Krishna, and that will save you in all circumstances without any doubt. Hoping this will meet you all in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACB/sda Labels: Denver, initiation letters | 16:16 |28 May, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Jyotirmayi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 22nd, 1972. I am very glad to hear that you are assisting your good husband in the translating of our French literatures. After discussing the matter thoroughly, it will be the best plan if our foreign literatures such as French language literatures will be translated, composed, layed out and printed locally. This printing of foreign books so far from their country of distribution has not proved to be very practical. Harivilasa is complaining that the French people do not so much like our Back to Godhead as it is not suitable to the French taste. So I have appointed Bhagavan dasa adhikari to be the GBC representative for France zone and Mediterranean zone, so he shall be going there sometime this summer for taking charge of things, and I hope that you and your good husband will also go there to Paris and take charge of this French literature. If you cooperate with our French devotees in producing our French literatures very profusely, that will be the best plan. So far our question is concerned there are two possibilities. You may say that Krishna is God the Supreme Personality and that He is God the Supreme Person. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: GBC, Paris, publishing, translating letters | 16:16 |28 May, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Balavanta, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 25th, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. Yes, that is a good policy, that you shall run for public office of state representative for Georgia state. That will be a good platform for preaching. Your speeches must be very effective because you will be always in the public eye and your behavior and words will reflect our whole society. But one thing is, because it is political election, you can criticize openly. When there is election you can severly criticize, and in that way it is nice proposal. At least this will give our movement good publicity and you will be able to enlighten in general by pointing out the bad state of affairs of present day society. At present moment, our leaders are simply misleading people, and the people in general are innocently following them to their ruin. So it is very much our duty to come to their aide and point out exactly how this sinful living, namely, slaughtering animals, intoxication, illicit sex life, and gambling, how these sinful activities are so much degrading to the human kind and how they are only producing hippies, wars, and endless suffering as a result. So we want to give the citizens the positive value of Krishna consciousness way of life, so for that activity we must always be preaching very strongly in the public. Therefore I approve your plan to run for public office, now you do it with full confidence and conviction, never mind there may be some opposition, that is to be expected. If you want to devote fully time for this political campaign, I have no objection if you turn over your office of president to someone else. Your plan for bringing Lord Jagannatha to Atlanta is also approved by me, provided there are sufficient Brahmans and other suitable arrangements. Upon your recommendation I am enclosing one sacred thread and two copies of Gayatri Mantra for Surendra and his wife Kali, duly chanted by me. Now you hold a fire yajna and give second initiation to them. I think by now you are familiar with the process of playing the tape through earphones through the right ear, etc. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Atlanta, politicians, preachers, regulative principles letters | 16:15 |28 May, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Gargamuni, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May the 20th, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. So far your travelling party is concerned it will only work if Indians go out with you. The problem is that as soon as you go out of the city no one will speak English. If you simply chant and do not speak then that would be all right, but there must be some speaking. Because if there is no speaking everyone will say that we are just like Devanand's film. So to be very respectable, we must speak our philosophy, and that would be impossible for you in Hindi and other languages. So I do not think it is a very good plan for travelling outside of the big cities like Bombay. Concentrate yourself in Bombay. Take many men and go in the suburbs. You can travel up to 100 miles from Bombay to places like Thana, Poona, Ahmedabad, like that. Just purchase a monthly ticket on the train and travel in the Bombay area very extensively. Just like Ville Parle is a big city, so there are so many suburbs like that in Bombay. First you organize this program for widespread distribution in Bombay. In Bombay, the people have money but in the villages no one has got any money, so what is the use of going there for collecting for our Juhu project? Besides, our books are in English, and they can neither read them or purchase them. The money is in __. So organize your travelling party to go all around Bombay __ distributing and collecting, and that will be the best ___ Tamala Krishna how he is doing in East India. Bhagavan dasa in Detroit is trying for some cars __. Also , Hamsaduta has got some very nice buses in Germany __ has written to me that he can purchase one for sending to __ there is need. but I do not think it is possible to drive __ India by crossing over Pakistan, because the border has been __ Anyway, in the near future we shall be dispatching some vehicle __ India, but meanwhile you should concentrate on this plan of distributing books and magazines very extensively in Bombay area. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Bombay, book distribution, sankirtan letters | 16:14 |28 May, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Giriraja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 23, 1972, and I have noted the contents with great care. I am glad to hear your explanation how the men are being engaged there in Bombay. That will be the test of your management, how well the men are satisfied by their engagements. I am very glad to hear that Nara Narayana is doing so much work and that Puranjana has decided to remain there. He has decided rightly. The new Deity house should be paid for by Mr. Chhabria must be first-class. So far Mr. Vasist, we want that kind of man to live with us. So when you canvass for tenants for our skyscraper building, try to find out many such men as Mr. Vasist. Regarding a pilgrimage to Vrndavana yes, that is a good proposal, everyone can go in a group to Vrandavan for a few days and then altogether return. But the program in Bombay should not be hampered by everyone leaving. So you can plan accordingly, but the program in Bombay is the important thing, never mind vacations or pilgrimages if they will interfere with our work there. We are not tourists, but if a trip to Vrndavana will enhance spiritual life of the devotees without interfering with our Bombay program then it will be all right to go there for a short time, hold nice sankirtana widely throughout the city, and return altogether. I have written to Gargamuni Maharaja that his traveling sankirtana party should concentrate for distributing our literatures there in Bombay suburbs. The money is in Bombay. What is the use of going village to village when the village people not only can they not read in English but also they have no money. And we will not be able to preach to them. So I think best thing is to thoroughly travel into the suburbs and all sections of Bombay city, sometimes going to Thana, sometimes to Poona, somethimes to Surat, like that, and distribute our books in these places and collect. I have instructed Karandhara to order from Dai Nippon all of our English literatures to be printed in very cheap paper back editions for sending to India for raising building funds. In addition, I am requesting our Hindi translators to translate more and more of my books into Hindi language and these will be printed in Japan in cheap editions as well. So you will not lack for books there in India, and by selling these books very widely you can collect immense funds for building projects in Bombay, Vrndavana, and Mayapur. So far your question regarding Deity worship, during arati everything should be offered first to the Guru. Regarding the three alternatives for our Hare Krishna Housing Society, the alternative, namely, place the flats in the housing society in the names of our various disciples so that they will hold all the votes, and let them sublet or sell their flats, this alternative is very nice. Bhagavan was here from Detroit that he has mentioned that there has been some difficulty for him by sending money to Bombay for purchasing the Detroit Deities, and he is puzzled what has happened to the money and when the Deities are coming, etc. So you kindly investigate what is the position concerning those Deities and as soon as possible ship them from Bombay by air-freight collect to Detroit. I have heard that Mr. Birla has given us two more sets of nice Deities in Jaipur, so you can transport these two sets to Bombay and sent one set to Detroit an one set to Toronto by air-freight collect as quickly as possible. There is no need to purchase any more Deities as these two sets of Deities have been given to us without charge. Also Bhagavan reports for money which he has sent to India there is no acknowledgement. So you can kindly clear up this matter. On Ash lane near Meadows Street, Fort area, there is a wholesale dealer of books and magazines. They can be interested in distributing our literatures, especially magazines. And you can approach A. H. Wheeler in Allahabad for also distributing our books widely throughout his railway station book stalls all over India. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swamia ACB/sda n.b. Brahmananda has requested some Krishna Books from you, so you may send them immediately with bill. ACB Labels: Bombay, book distribution, deities, Detroit, printing, sankirtan, Toronto letters | 16:14 |28 May, 1972 Los Angeles The Deputy/Assistant Charity Commissioner, Greater Bombay Region, BOMBAY-1. Sir, Sri Giriraja Das Brahmacari our Co-trustee has applied for the registration of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust under the Bombay Public Trusts Act 1950. The contents of the Application are true to our knowledge and we have nothing to add to the same. No separate notice of hearing is required to be issued for us. We have no objection if the registration Certificate is issued to the Applicant. Yours faithfully, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 16:13 | 28 May, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Bhagavan, Please accept my blessings. I have received the threads from you for the three boys and I am enclosing them herewith duly chanted by me. Now you can hold a fire yajna and give sacred thread to Parivrajakacarya, Santosa, and Indradyumna. Play the Gayatri mantra tape for them, and let them repeat the mantras along with my vibration, word for word, and then hang the sacred thread on their necks as usual. Teach them how to count on the finger divisions. This Gayatri Mantra function should be held amongst the devotees only. So you can hold the fire yajna for all five devotees. I am enclosing herewith also three copies of Gayatri Mantra. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACB/sda Labels: Detroit, initiation letters | 16:13 |28 May, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Bhavananda, Please accept my blessings. I am in receipt of your letter dated May 18th, 1972, and I have noted the contents. Upon your recommendation I am enclosing herewith one thread and two copies of Gayatri Mantra to be given to Purnamprajna das and his wife Narayani dasi. So you can hold a fire yajna and give them their second initiation. One thing, as you have got no tape of me reciting Gayatri Mantra, you may ask Dayananda in London or Rupanuga in New York to send you one. The tape should be heard through earphones into the right ear. I am expecting your long report about Mayapur project. Meanwhile, I hope this meets you and your good wife Palika devi in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. I think that Malati, Sarasvati, and Srimati are coming there to Calcutta. Why not these girls can assist your wife in worshiping the Deities? ACB/sda Labels: Calcutta, initiation, Mayapur letters | 16:13 |28 May, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Jayadvaita, Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter dated May 26th, 1972, along with the blue-print copies of Bhagavad-gita As It Is from MacMillan Company. It is very nice. So I shall be looking forward to seeing the entire manuscript and book sometime around first July, 1972. Meanwhile, hoping this will find you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACB/sda Labels: Bhagavad-gita, MacMillan, New York letters | 15:17 | |
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