a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1972 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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14 July 2007 Friday, 14 July, 1972 London My dear Gurudasa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 9, 1972, wherein you have told me the water from the well is sweet. That is very good news. Now erect one large tank, similar to the one in front of Vrindaban station. Pump the water into the tank and store it. Water in Vrindaban, if it is sweet, it is very digestive, and simply by drinking water one becomes healthy. So far the sign is concerned, you can call our place the ISKCON Krsna-Balarama Temple. Regarding the Cox and Kings proposal, that is very nice. I have no idea about Haridwar and Hrshikesa. I think Acyutananda was there, along with Hari Vilasa. But our point is that the tourists may concentrate in Vrindaban with us, live with us, and learn from us the spiritual life. What is the use of wandering here and there, simply seeing this and that and going home? Our main business is to teach them Krishna Consciousness. Yesterday I have met with George Harrison and his wife in their place at Henley, and they are both very much favorable. They want to stay with us for some time at Radha-Damodara Temple this winter sometime, I will tell you when. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: George Harrison, Vrindavan letters | 19:22 |14 July, 1972 London My dear Rsabhadeva, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge your letter from Berkeley. I am very much pleased to learn that you are trying to find out some place where I can give two or three times a week lecture-class to university students in the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness or Bhagavata Dharma. But one thing is, the sannyasi has no such thing as teaching credentials or academic vitae. So they can simply decide on the basis of my books and teachings. But I am not an ordinary teacher, I can do it only if I am a guest lecturer. Otherwise they will not take me very seriously. But I should be honored as a guest lecturer and paid well, as well as they should give me a nice house, not very big, but nice. And I will speak twice or thrice in a week to as many students who will come, intelligent boys and girls, and they will get regular instruction in our Vedic knowledge as it is. I have heard from Bhakti das that that University in San Diego where I spoke is willing to have me there, so unless you are able to arrange something there at Berkeley or San Francisco, I shall probably teach at San Diego. Accredited or not accredited, it doesn't matter, I simply want to present this great philosophy to serious students who will understand it and deliver the world from the present-day ignorance of misinformation. So if you can help me in this way I shall very much appreciate. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: Berkeley, college preaching, sannyasa letters | 19:21 |14 July, 1972 London My Dear Palika, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 4, 1972, and I am very much pleased to hear that all the preparation for Rathayatra Festival are very nice. Regarding the Jagannatha deities, They can be placed on the altar, that is sufficient. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: deities, Ratha Yatra letters | 19:20 |14 July, 1972 London My dear Karandhara, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 9, 1972, along with letters to temple presidents, which I have signed and duly posted. I am glad to hear that the owner has accepted our bid of $63,500 cash, and I shall be returning to U.S.A. before the end of 50 days to settle the matter. I have promised Brahmananda to be in Nairobi up to August 27th. If the deadline for payment is August 30th, that leaves very little time. Shall my presence be required to sell the FNMA bonds and make other arrangements? What do you suggest? So far Dayananda, I have no objection if the grhasthas live outside and earn money, but I do not want them to leave. The strict temple procedure is only for those who live in the temple. Grhasthas should live outside, and they cannot follow strictly everything, but why they should give up altogether their devotional procedures? So many big stalwart devotees are leaving, why is this? Advaita, Uddhava, Krsna das, and now our Dayananda and Nandarani. I have sent them each one letter, so if you find them, you may deliver them my letters. This is not at all good if our big devotees fall down so easily and go away. Try to save them. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: grhasthas, Los Angeles, management letters | 19:20 |14 July, 1972 London My dear Hanuman, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter from San Salvador dated June 28, 1972. I am very pleased to note your progress by marching through the central America. It appears this part of the world is very, very sympathetic with our movement, so you may supply Karandhara with all the news reports and request him to send men to open centers. This travelling and preaching is very much appreciated by me and factually it is really Lord Caitanya's sankirtana movement. So you and your assistants have got my all blessings and encouragement, now go on with complete confidence and always praying for the protection and mercy of Lord Krishna, and there will be no impediments, rest assured. If you require books in Spanish language, you may request Karandhara and Citsukhananda and they shall ship to you wherever you like, but this distribution of books, combined with preaching, is the best process for spreading Krishna Consciousness, so always there must be books. Hoping this meets you in very good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: book distribution, Mexico City, sankirtan letters | 19:20 |14 July, 1972 London My dear Bhavananda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated July 5 and July 8, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. So far the speakers for Rathayatra are concerned, that is all right, but it is also a good idea to offset their nonsense by our own speakers. Yes, we should stand in our position and defy all nonsense propositions. Our math in Mayapur is not for Bengalis, the math is for you foreigners, to give you facility for offering respects to Lord Caitanya. I have notified Karandhara to send you the ten Krsna Books as you have requested, but in future I want at least two signatures to be there. One thing is, I have heard that Jayapataka is requesting Giriraja that Bombay should send maintenance allowance to Mayapur monthly. But I instructed in the beginning that Calcutta should maintain Mayapur. Also, you are not sending your collections regularly to Bombay, so how they can support you? If Bombay is maintaining, what are others doing, eating and sleeping? Why does Jayapataka want allowance? Anyone who cannot collect money, they should go to Mayapur and live there and simply eat and sleep, like women and widows. I shall arrange for their eating and sleeping. But in cities, those should live who can collect and earn. The widows are not earning in Hindu society, they eat and sleep at others' expense. So if you are not able to earn in Calcutta, better all go to Mayapur and eat and sleep and I shall accommodate all widows, women, and others at Mayapur and Vrindaban. Otherwise why should we maintain such large establishment in Calcutta simply for eating and sleeping and spending. These two places will be reserved for those who cannot collect. For them I am making provision. Only the active members who can collect, they shall live in the city. Eating, sleeping members, they shall live in Mayapur, that's all. As soon as the first residence is finished, no more cash will be sent, only books. Therefore, you must work very hard to sell the books. Not that money will come from somewhere and we shall eat and sleep and so-called chanting. We must work hard like karmis, but not for sense gratification but for Krishna. One thing, on the invitation card you have written All Glories to Our Guru Maharaja. This is impersonalism. As soon as we offer obeisances to guru, the name should be there. We are strictly personalists. The sahajiya's, they write Glories to Guru. Why you are learning this impersonalism, who has taught you? Daily I am offering obeisances to my Guru by vibrating his real name, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, otherwise it is impersonal. Formerly, I told that Calcutta should support Mayapur. So whoever can take charge of both, he should be President. You should discuss these things amongst yourselves. Simply taking title of President will not help. Why there are no letters from Tamala Krishna, why he is not taking active part in Mayapur? I originally entrusted him with responsibility for Mayapur, but he does not even write what is the situation there, nor does he co-sign for money to be sent. Whether you can deal with so many problems? I am receiving so many letters daily from Calcutta. The temple officers are appointed to minimize my time, not increase it with so many letters. Best to stop expanding, or if you cannot raise funds there, close up the Calcutta center. It is not that the officers should be expert in one field only, they should be expert in everything. I have written one letter to Syamasundara Mallik, and I am glad that the preparations are going on nicely for the Rathayatra Festival in Calcutta. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: Calcutta, management, Mayapur, Ratha Yatra, spiritual master letters | 19:19 |13 July 2007 Thursday, 13 July, 1972 London Shyamsundar Mallik 155/A Mahatma Gandhi Road Calcutta-7, India My dear Brother Shyamsundar, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your kind letter dated 7/7/72 in Bengali and you will excuse I am writing in English because I am in London. I hope you are making the Ratha-yatra Festival very successful, along with my disciples headed by Bhavananda and Acyutananda Swami. In my childhood I used to take my ratha with my little friends, about 60 years ago. Again I am reviving the same attempt with my young disciples. I have become old, and you are also old, although not so old as I am. We may pass away, but my disciples will carry on this festival yearly, and so it will be remembered forever our eternal relationship with Sri Sri Jagannathaji and Sri Sri Radha-Govindaji. Ask your sons also to cooperate so that in future this festival will be continued for good. I am presently engaged here in London for celebrating the Ratha-yatra Festival also. A huge festival will begin at Marble Arch and proceed to Trafalgar Square, where I shall speak to at least 10,000 persons. Similarly, my disciples are holding Ratha-yatra festival at San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York, Tokyo, Melbourne (Australia), Calcutta, and other places. So what was my childhood play 65 years ago is now a worldwide event. The same Radha-Govindaji worship and Jagannatha worship is going on all over the world. Hoping this will meet you in the best of health. Yours affectionately, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Calcutta, Ratha Yatra letters | 19:20 |13 July, 1972 London Tridandi Swami Sri B.V. Puri Maharaj, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Math, Sri Krishna Nagar, Visakhapatnam, A. P., India My dear Puri Maharaj, Please accept my humble dandabats. I understand that the Rs. 1000/ has already been sent to you on or about June 8, 1972. I hope you have received it safely, and that you are doing the needful. I shall be very glad to hear from you what is the progress. Now we are in London for holding our 4th annual Rathayatra Festival of Lord Jagannath. The procession will begin from Marble Arch and finish in Trafalgar Square, where I shall be speaking to more than 10,000 persons and holding fire yagna. Simultaneously, my disciples will be holding similar Jagannath Rathayatra Festivals in San Francisco, Tokyo, Philadelphia, Melbourne (Australia), and Calcutta. Thanking you, and I hope this meets you in the best of health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Enclosure: (1) Labels: Gaudiya Math, Ratha Yatra letters | 19:19 |13 July, 1972 London My dear Sons, Please accept my blessings. Upon the recommendation of Giriraja 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. Your initiated names are as follows: Tom/Tilakainath das Doug/Dhumrakesa das George/Gokulacandra das Paul/Pavamana das Now please continue to strictly follow the regulative principles, namely: no eating of meat, fish, or eggs; no intoxicants, including tea, coffee, cigarettes; no illicit sex-life; and no gambling. If you stick to these principles with determination, then you will become free from all attachment to Maya, by Krishna's grace. The example is that 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 in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: Bombay, initiation letters | 19:15 |13 July, 1972 London My dear Giriraja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 6, 1972, and I have noted the contents. I am pleased to hear that everything is progressing nicely there in Bombay. As for Srimati and Madri, they shall not be going to Africa. Brahmananda mentions that several other boys want to go to Africa from Bombay. Why this restlessness? If you so much require their services in India, why they should whimsically go away? It is better if they stay to help you there. So far the flats, yes, Rs. 80/- per sq. ft. should be the price. Rs. 100/- is the standard rate for that neighborhood, so our price is not too high. So far Lalita Krishna is concerned, I have received one letter from Purusottama das Brahmacari requesting to travel to Malaysia with Lalita Krishna for opening some centers there. So best thing is to open centers in Malaysia and Singapore, recruit many Chinese-speaking devotees, translate our books into Malaysian and Singapore language, then with a party go to China later on. Regarding the boys you have recommended, their letter of initiation is enclosed and beads are sent under separate post. Life Member means Life Member, there is no inheriting by the eldest son. It is only Rs. 1111/-, what is that? Why you shall send Mayapur a monthly allowance? The plan was that Calcutta or Tamala Krishna was to maintain Mayapur. How is it Calcutta is not sending collections to Bombay? Unless they send their collections you cannot pay them anything. Bhavananda and yourself, you consult and do the needful. Why everything is referred to me? I instructed that Calcutta should support Mayapur. Otherwise what is the use of maintaining such big establishment in Calcutta? So far Saurabha's idea to concentrate on the temple building, that is accepted. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda cc: Jayapataka/Mayapur Labels: Africa, Australasia, Bombay, management, Mayapur letters | 19:14 |13 July, 1972 London My dear Yadubara, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 1, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. Dai Nippon has upped their price for Hindi BTG considerably, so it is better to print in Bombay just as you have done with Gujarati BTG. When you return to Bombay, you can try for this. Meanwhile, the manuscript is lying with Dai Nippon for next Hindi BTG, so they have quoted nearly 20 cents per copy or more than 2 rupees, so I think that it will be better to send the manuscript to Bombay. I shall await your advice before deciding the matter. You may develop the films of manuscripts from Birnagar and inform me what you have done and which manuscripts are with you, then I shall inform you where to send them for translating, etc. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda letters | 19:13 | 12 July 2007 Wednesday, 12 July, 1972 London My dear Jaya Gopala and Suniti, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your telegram dated July 9, 1972 and I have noted the contents with great concern. I am very much anxious to know what is your condition, and how you are recovering. Please let me know at your earliest convenience. In this material world, at every step there is danger, so we must become very diligent in executing spiritual life, and not neglect even a moment. Hoping this will meet you good spirits and increasing good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/nkd Labels: Los Angeles letters | 19:13 |12 July, 1972 London My dear Giriraja, Please accept my blessings. I have met with Mrs. Morarji on arriving here in London and she has agreed to be the President of our Bombay Board of Trustees for building up the Juhu project. This is a good opportunity. So she, along with our other big Life Members, can form this Committee, and our own men will give direction. Now form the Committee by consulting her how to do it, and the Committee may meet and organize how to raise funds and push on this project, and I shall give direction how to do it. Now one thing is, she wants us to come to her school and give classes in Krishna Consciousness, so you go there with others as often as possible and give instruction to the children, bring them to our temple, distribute prasadam, like that. More and more, she will become favorably disposed as she sees us that we are performing the best welfare activity. Kindly inform me how these matters are making progress. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: Bombay, Sumati Morarji letters | 19:13 |11 July 2007 Tuesday, 11 July, 1972 London My dear Gurudasa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter from Vrindaban dated July 5, 1972. I am pleased to note the progress with Mr. Keating. You can send me the letters and documents as soon as possible, and we can use them in our propaganda work. I have sent one letter to Ish Kumar Puri, copy to you under separate cover. As for size of plates from Japan, you may correspond with Karandhara in Los Angeles about these businesses with Dai Nippon, as he knows all these things. I am very much encouraged to understand that you are making nice progress with the building work. I have sent the Check Book, Punjab National Bank, account no. 642, under registered post, so kindly acknowledge if you have received or not. Then you remain as President of Vrindaban center, we shall see later on. As for Ksirodakasayi, he has decided to remain here in London to live with his family and work here to raise funds for future new London headquarters. There is one boy, Bhagavatananda, in Pittsburgh temple, who wants to have some new engagement and he is expert carpenter who has built many houses in New Vrindaban, so you may correspond with him if he can come to help you there. I do not know what you mean when you mention the government is discouraging Americans from Vrindaban area, and that Subala may be deported. Kindly elucidate. So far the Delhi deities, one man here in London, Dr. Shah, wants to pay for the freight to bring them to Edinburgh where we have got one nice center for installing them there. But I do no know how it will be done. Anyway, keep them safely and we shall see later on. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: building, deities, Vrindavan letters | 19:12 |11 July, 1972 London My dear Subala, Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter from Kanpur dated July 2, 1972, and I have noted the contents therein. Yes, singhania will not help us very much, but if he wants to sponsor a ten-day Hare Krishna Festival* in Kanpur from Sept. 22 to Oct. 1, 1972, that will be nice. If I am in India at that time, I shall be pleased to attend. In future, you may join either Tamala Krishna's party or Gargamuni's party for preaching tour, this alone preaching is not good. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda *or Bhagavat Dasaha which means ten days of transcendental discourses on the science of Bhagavan reading from Bhagavad-gita as it is as well as that from Srimad-Bhagavatam. If I attend, I shall let you know timely so that you could give publicity sufficiently. Most probably I shall attend. ACB letters | 19:11 | 9 July 2007 Sunday, 9 July, 1972 New York Atmaram and Sons Book Sellers and Publishers Delhi-7, India My dear Ish Kumar Puri, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter from Delhi dated June 23, 1972, and I am pleased to note that you wish to take up publishing our books. Enclosed you will find information of several of our major works, such as number of pages, size of pages, etc. So far number of copies to be printed, that you can decide between yourselves and our ISKCON representatives there in India. I wish to publish with your firm less expensive editions of our existing English language books, keeping as far as possible to the high standard we have established, and also to print Hindi language books. In this connection, I am requesting two of my disciples there to either correspond or meet with you to discuss the matter thoroughly. Sriman Gurudasa Adhikari, President of our Vrindaban ISKCON center, can supply you with all samples of our literature, etc. His address is c/o Radha-Damodara Mandir, Seva Kunj, Vrindaban, U.P. In addition, the editor of our Hindi publications, Dr. R. P. Rao, Reader-in-Chemistry, 20-K Hirapur, Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, U.P., will be contacting you very soon regarding the work in Hindi language. After you have studied the matter thoroughly, kindly send me your lowest quotations for printing the books listed herewith. I shall be in London at the above address until the 20th of this month, and after that you may write me at my New York temple-headquarters, 439 Henry Street, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. 11231. Kindly convey my blessings to your good family, and especially my respects to your father. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: Delhi, printing, publishing letters | 19:10 |9 July, 1972 New York [To Hrdayananda - Text Missing] Now you must all three, along with the other sannyasis, GBC members, and other leaders become very serious to actually give the human kind the greatest welfare, namely, this Krishna Consciousness movement. Your task ahead is very huge, but it will be quite simple and easy if you simply do as I am doing. You must become conversant in every feature wherever it is needed throughout the society. Out first business is to preach to the devotees and to maintain the highest standard of Vaisnava education. Management must be there as well, just as I am preaching daily from S. Bhagavatam, B.G., but I am also going to the bank, making investments, seeing the trial balance making letters, seeing how things are going on, like that. So you must become expert in all these matters, just as I am giving you example . . . Syamasundara. has passed on your telephone message that you wish to open a Vedic college or school of higher Krishna Consciousness education there at Houston. That is not very much desirable. Actually, every center should be a college, and this is our training, singing dancing, working, temple worship, like that . . . Try to understand the subject matter from different varieties or approaches. For example, we know from Bhagavad-gita that Krishna says He is the taste in water. Now try to understand just how Krishna is that taste in water, that is the high-class education. Labels: GBC, management, preachers, study letters | 19:08 |8 July 2007 Saturday, 8 July, 1972 New York My dear Nandarani, Please accept my blessings. I have seen this special Rathayatra issue of Back to Godhead written by you, and I am so much pleased that so intelligently you have assorted the matter to completely understand our philosophy in a nutshell. I know that you are very intelligent and educated girl, so fully kindly utilize it for developing the Dallas institution for the benefit of your so many children. Or if your husband will accept the post as President of San Francisco center, you may accompany him there and assist him in every respect. You can consult me freely whenever you like and I shall try to enlighten you as far as possible. But I am certain you are intelligent enough and I have already given you some hints on the basis of which you can do the needful. Your husband has gone back from London, being completely overcome by family separation. So there is no need of living separately. Both of you husband and wife live together and render the best service to the Lord. We have never discouraged family life, so both of you are intelligent and can make your plan. Keep your situation fit for rendering service to the Lord more enthusiastically. That is my desire. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda letters | 11:34 | 8 July, 1972 New York My Dear Bhagavatananda, Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter from Pittsburgh dated July 3, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. One thing is, our process of Krishna Consciousness, if it is followed with determination and enthusiasm, automatically it has the effect of fixing us, body, mind and soul, to the Lotus Feet of Lord Krishna, so that all sorts of fluctuations of the material nature, all sorts of difficulties and discrepancies of life are easily withstood. But first you have to agree to understand the process and follow it scrupulously. That is wanting. If I only think I know something, that is mental platform of accept/reject, and any knowledge gathered from the mental platform is like that, tottering and precarious, and it can be immediately rejected at any time. Krishna Consciousness has great potency to deliver us to the highest platform of perfection, but only if it is understood by the intelligence. Something understood by the intelligence is fixed forever and cannot waver, and that is almost spiritual. From your letter, I can understand you are confused in your mind, because you do not want this, you do not want that, you might like another, like that. That position of confusion is not very much desirable, so you are a Vaisnava, now rid yourself of such misunderstanding of things. Vaisnava means one who is able to sit down anywhere, under any conditions, and be happy. He wants only a place to lay down, a little prasadam, and if there's a little service he can do, gladly let me do it for Krishna, that's all. As long as we are thinking I want this, that is not to my liking, or if I adjust things a certain way everything will be better, these thoughts are material. Devotional service is not conditional. So stop this dreaming state. Try to understand things with the light of your intelligence, and if your are sincere in this way, without a doubt Krishna will give you full facility to understand Him and become freed of the bondage of ignorance. Nowadays it seems many of the older disciples like yourself are having difficulty. If you do not set the example for the younger students and take the responsibility for instructing them in the right line, how will things go on? Try to always study our books and see our philosophy from different lights of directions, become convinced yourself of this knowledge and without a doubt all of your difficulties of mind will disappear forever and you will see Krishna face-to-face. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: difficulties, Pittsburgh, study letters | 11:33 |8 July, 1972 London My Dear Madhudvisa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated June 30, 1972, and I have noted the contents. I am very much pleased to see the photos of the Jagannatha cart being made by you in Melbourne, and I can understand that your energy and experience are being put to good use there in Australia. That is the secret to success, utilizing our God-given energy to please Krishna. Regarding your question of dancing-show; whatever it may be, it may not deviate from the real Krishna Consciousness program. We are Hari Kirtana men, that's all. We can attract people by some gorgeous show, but inside there must be strict purity and seriousness, otherwise, we shall be attracted by the gorgeous show only. There are two energies always working simultaneously, and Maya means when we diminish the spiritual energy, then automatically we become attracted to the external dress of Maya. So I do not care very much for these plays and dramas unless they are coming directly from the Vedas. If we can recite from Bhagavad gita the first chapter without any need for elaborate scenery or stage-props and gorgeous dresses, that is best. Just like your Shakespeare. Macbeth may be recited by two men, without anything else, and simply by their acting ability and the meaningful words alone, they can very easily capture the entire audience and give them real substance. We have so many stories, like Jagai-Madhai, Krishna departing for Mathura, like that. Satire will not help us. Our message is very grave, and because it is the Absolute Truth, it will work without any artificial presentation. Because they heard of our program in Bombay along with the Zavery sisters Manipuri Dancers, here in London they had arranged one program of lecturing by me along with a recital by one man playing on the vina just to attract attention to my speaking. I am not in approval of such arrangements, and it will be dangerous thing in future if we begin this type of program just to attract the masses. Already I see this happening practically all over the Society, so better we stop it now and get ourselves firmly on the track chalked out for us by Lord Caitanya. We are simply Sankirtana men, our program is chanting, dancing, distributing prasadam, and speaking high philosophy, that's all. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Melbourne, purity, Ratha Yatra, sankirtan letters | 11:32 | |
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