a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1972 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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6 October 2007 6 October, 1972 San Francisco My dear Tamala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. I do not know where you are now, probably you are in Bombay. So, I am sending one copy to Bombay and one to Vrndavana. The Bombay dealing has been muddled by the tactis of Mr. Nair and Diwanji. Giriraja is in trouble. He is a child in these worldly dealings so immediately go to help him. The present position is that Mr. Nair wants more money. We have already paid him two lacs. So according to our purchase agreement, we require to pay him 12 lacs in 4 years. But he says that he has to pay 5 lacs to the government as tax, so he cannot pay from his own pocket. So we are prepared to pay him 5 lacs against the purchase value. So both you and Bhavananda arrange for this money from Mr. Jayan, and send advice to Karandhara by joint signature. But you must be careful to pay the money in the court (registrar's office) and not in the hand of Mr. Nair or his solicitor. I enquired through a local lawyer why Diwanji is delaying the matter. He replied that he (Diwanji) is no longer our solicitor. So things appear to be very hazy, but we must not become the victim to the tactics of Mr. Nair and Mr. Diwanji. If things can be settled mutually even by paying 5 lacs more on the account of purchase agreement, do it and settle up the things properly, otherwise let us go to the court for specific action, either civil or criminal against the tactics of Mr. Nair. Syamasundara has gone to London to purchase a very big palatial building about 20 minutes from central London, and George has agreed to loan £200,000. So he is engaged there, otherwise he would have proceeded immediately to India. Hoping this meets you in the best of health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/kdb letters | 19:58 | 5 October 2007 Thursday, 5 October, 1972 Los Angeles My dear Giriraja, Please accept my blessings. Here is a copy of a letter received from Ambubhai & Diwanji that they are no longer acting as our attorneys. So please let me know who is acting as our attorney and what is the situation. Please reply to both Manila and Vrndavana addresses. Manila address is ISKCON Manila, 179 Ortega St., San Juan Rizl, Manila, Republic of the Philippines. Hoping this meets you in good health Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/pda P.S. Vrndavana address is Radha-Damodara Temple, Sevakunj, Vrndavana, Mathura (U.P.) letters | 19:58 | 5 October, 1972 Los Angeles Glendon Tremaine Tremain, Shenk, Stroud, Wright & Roberts Suite 1414, 606 So. Olive St. Los Angeles, Calif. 90014 Dear Glendon Tremaine: Please accept my respects. I thank you very much for your letter dated October 4, 1972, with enclosure from Ambubhai & Diwanji. I am surprised to learn how he has ceased to become my attorney without my advice, nor do I have any information as to who is acting as my attorney. Will you kindly inquire from him to enlighten when and how he has ceased to become my attorney. Thanking you once more, Sincerely yours, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/pda Labels: legal letters | 19:57 |4 October 2007 Wednesday, 4 October, 1972 Los Angeles My dear Giriraja, Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter dated September 27, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. I am greatly relieved to hear from you that the bank is likely willing to loan us Rs. 5 lakhs or Rs. 10 lakhs. That is the ideal solution. Best thing is to take loan. We have paid two lakhs, so take twelve lakhs from bank and finish the business. That will be nice. Otherwise, we shall go to the court with lawyer and get out a criminal case against him. That is the lawyers business. Take loan and give him, that is the best solution. We want to keep that land, we do not want to break the agreement, therefore I have formed this committee. Actually we are in possession of the land, and we shall remain there. Now if we have to take Mr. Nair to criminal court, and supposing it will take years to settle, still, we can occupy and carry on as we are doing. But if you can prove to the municipal officers that we are legally in possession of the land according to sales agreement, why they shall not give permission to build? We must have that land, and on the terms of the purchase agreement. Otherwise we shall bring him to the criminal court. We are in possession of the land in legal terms, so even the government cannot take it. We can give Mr. Nair this much concession, the five lakhs worth, but it must be deducted from the purchase price. Otherwise, we shall not give any concession we shall go to the courts. You consult the lawyers. The committee. is there, I want that the land should be purchased, that's all. Hoping this meets you in good health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami n.b. Syamasundara is in London now for settling up the London house, and he will fly to Bombay very soon on his way to meet me in Delhi, so why not take his help to finish this business? ACBS/sda letters | 19:56 | 3 October 2007 2 October, 1972 Los Angeles My dear Niranjana Das, Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter dated 27 September 1972 and have carefully noted the contents. So, both you and Ramananda come to Vrndavana and I shall clear up everything. I am arriving there by the 15th of October. Our Vrndavana address is Radha Damodara Temple, Sevakunj, Vrndavana (Mathura), U.P., India. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 19:56 | 30 September 2007 Saturday, 30 September, 1972 Los Angeles My dear Susan Beckman, Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter dated September 22, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. I am very much encouraged that you want to join this Krsna Consciousness movement for perfection of your life. Householder life is also the perfect platform for rendering devotional service to Krsna. Any station of life, whether you are unmarried, married, or in any occupation of life, you can achieve the highest goal by adopting and practicing the principles of devotional service. You are married and your husband is striving to become a devotee of Krsna, so you become his devotee, that is the position of husband and wife, that the husband will become a great devotee of Krsna by his wife's assistance, and the wife will take benefit and advance in spiritual life by serving her husband. You are anxious about the rules and regulations, but without rules and regulations there is more frustration. So it may be a little difficult at first, but if you are sincere to achieve the highest result of your lifetime, then you can be assured that by your efforts in Krsna Consciousness that you will very quickly become happy more and more. The difficulties of this material world will shrink to no more than the size of a hoofprint left by the calf. Actually there is no difference between devotees living inside the temple and devotees living outside the temple. You are right that the important thing is to remember Krsna, whatever is your activity. So try to remember Krsna always by following the principles as you know them, namely, rising early, taking bath, cleansing, attending aratrika, reading scriptures at least one hour or two hours daily, chanting sixteen rounds on beads of Hare Krsna mantra, going for street sankirtana, offering all your foodstuffs to Krsna, like that. In this way very quickly you will make progress in Krsna Consciousness and become very very happy in your life. Hoping this meets you in good health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: husband, Philadelphia, regulative principles, wife letters | 06:05 |30 September, 1972 Los Angeles My dear Sankarasan, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated September 28, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. Your question is how much or how little brahmacaris should associate with the unmarried brahmacarinis in the temple. As brahmacari you should not mix at all with brahmacarinis. Actually they should not at all see the face, but that is not possible in your country. But so far as possible, remain separate and talk almost nil. Brahmacari is advised not to go near a young woman anywhere. A brahmacari should always address every woman as mother. In your country it is a little difficult, but the principle is to avoid. To talk secretly or privately is strictly prohibited. If you want to discuss philosophy and other matters you can discuss publicly in a meeting, but not privately. A brahmacari and unmarried woman in the same room together alone is strictly forbidden. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: Boston, brahmacaris, women letters | 06:05 |30 September, 1972 Los Angeles My dear Bali Mardan, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated September 27, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. Regarding that building on 40th Street, try to get it as much as possible, but if business of getting this building appears too much difficult or complicated, then give it up. If you like, if this place is not possible, you may try for another similar place. I have received one telephone call this morning from Kesava, who is in California, so he will not be able to take over the affairs there in New York. So how will you be able to leave New York affairs? New York is our most important center in all the world and it requires your strong leadership there, or a suitable replacement. I do not think anyone is there who is able to become president and manage the Press affairs altogether. Regarding the question you have raised about traveling sankirtana parties and selling of books, yes, we want money. So that is the real preaching, selling books. Who can speak better than the books? At least whoever buys, he will look over. If you have to sell books, do it by hook or by crook. The real preaching is selling books. You should know the tactic how to sell without irritating. What your lecture will do for three minutes, but if he reads one page his life may be turned. We don't want to irritate anyone, however. If he goes away by your agressive tactics, then you are nonsense and it is your failure. Neither you could sell a book, neither he would remain. But if he buys a book that is the real successful preaching. That is the certificate of my Guru Maharaja, if someone, brahmacari, would sell a one paise magazine, if one of our brahmacaris would go and sell a few copies, he would be very very glad and say "Oh, you are so nice!" So distribution of literature is our real preaching. Now if you cannot handle the matter nicely, that is your fault. But the success of your preaching will be substantiated by how many books are sold. Anything you want to sell, you have to canvass a little, so he gives some money for the service of Krsna. That is his good luck and he gets the chance to read some transcendental knowledge. But if you only irritate and he goes away, that is your less intelligence. The fact is that we have to adopt the same tactics as ordinary salesmen adopt, but the difference is we do it for the satisfaction of Krsna, they do it for sense gratification. Actually we have experienced that sometimes out of sentiment someone gives to ISKCON and then laments and wants it back, but that does not mean we should give it back. Our policy is that his money which would have been used for purchasing cigarettes, liquor, sex literature, meat, will give him the opportunity to gradually become purified. So if by tactics we save that money from being spent on cigarette packets, that is good. If we can take some money and give some literature, that is a good service. So far irritation is concerned, a child is also irritated when he is given instructions, but that does not mean that we should stop. Invite them to our feast, that is a better indication. So if the sankirtana parties in Satsvarupa's zone are irritating the public for selling so many books, that is one thing, but by their selling books they are doing the greatest service. What your one hour of preaching will do, they will hear and go away, but if they have one book at home, they will read, their friends will read, and something solid work is done. So the art is to sell many many books and not to irritate the public, so you may instruct all the others how to do this successfully. That is sannyasa. That is GBC. There are so many places to go, so why there should be business competition sankirtana parties in New York? This problem should be adjusted between the GBC men. Hoping this meets you in good health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: book distribution, GBC, New York letters | 06:04 |30 September, 1972 Los Angeles My dear Tamala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter dated September 23, 1972, jointly signed by yourself, Subala Swami, Gurudasa and Bhavananda and I am very happy to hear especially that the work is going on in Vrndavana and that you will soon begin to dig the foundation for our Vrndavana temple. I have just recently sent you one letter regarding the Bombay situation. The Bombay sales purchase agreement draft was made by you. At that time, because Madhudvisa Maharaja denied to take charge, and you also did not like to take charge, therefore I had to postpone the signing of the sales purchase agreement. In Africa Brahmananda and Cyavana encouraged me that I would take up the Bombay project and they would help me. So upon return immediately I signed the purchase contract. Now Mr. Nair is not making the conveyance complete and I do not know why our lawyer, Mr. Deewanjee is also silent. About a fortnight ago both of them were sent telegram asking why the matter is being delayed, but I received no reply from either of them. So you have been informed already by copies of letters the situation in Bombay. The summary of the Bombay situation is this: Nair says he has to pay 5 lacs of rupees to the government as a tax. This 5 lacs of rupees he is unwilling to pay from his pocket, so Giriraja, with the help of Sumati Morarji-Ben, is trying to take loan of 5 lacs from the bank, but it is not yet completed. A copy of Giriraja's letter is already sent to you and I have requested you to go there along with Bhavananda if possible or you go alone and save the situation. If money is required from here it can be arranged in the same way as with Mayapur. But it is better to arrange for the money locally through the bank, as Sumati Morarji-Ben has promised. If money is not available in that way, then arrange money from Mr. Jayan and we shall arrange for the necessary action as it is done. But in any case we must not deviate from the terms of the purchase agreement. But as a matter of concession we can pay further 5 lacs of rupees, to be deducted from the total price of 14 lacs. We have already paid 2 lacs, and if we pay further 5 lacs, taking loan from others, then it is to be understood that we have paid 7 lacs on the total, and the further 7 lacs will be paid, either taking loan from the bank, failing which, in terms of the original purchase agreement as already devised there, we shall take the remaining 7 lacs as mortgage from Mr. Nair. All of this appears to be very complicated, and Giriraja is finding difficulty, from his letter I can understand. So I think you have to revive your position as GBC again and look after all the business of India affairs nicely. May Krsna bless you with all good sense. Your program submitted by you all jointly is tentatively accepted by me. Our meeting time in New Delhi will be informed very soon by letter and telegram both. Regarding the Bharatapur house, try to convince the present king that everything will be in his name, that is, we shall name it ISKCON Bharatapur Temple or ISKCON Bharatapur House and we shall fix up a marble plaque in the front. For renovating we shall spend for all the three or four houses and they will be used for the same purpose, as a Radha-Krsna Temple and for accommodating foreign visitors and devotees. This movement is so great and ISKCON is propagating Krsna Consciousness all over the world, so why not Bharatapur Maharaja donate the building for this great purpose? They have lost their kingdom but still they have these buildings, so if they are given in our hand it will perpetually commemorate their nice gift to the ISKCON institution and thus to the world. We are purchasing a very palatial building in London and the Maharaja will be welcome to stay there as long as he wishes, or in any one of our places, especially in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, London, Bombay, etc. In this way try to induce him. Hoping this meets you in good health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda n.b. Enclosed please find the copy of my letter to that Swami in Haridwar, who has invited our party in April. Kindly contact him and make all arrangements. His address is Sri Swami Mahesawardev Shastri Gopala Dham, Jessa Ram Road, Haridwar (U.P.), phone 114. A. C. B.S. Labels: Bombay, land, legal, Vrindavan letters | 06:03 | |
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