a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1972 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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23 July 2007 23 July, 1972 Paris My dear Sankarasana, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter and I have noted the contents. It is very good that you want to become very learned in Krishna Consciousness, but what good is so much knowledge without practice? Obedience must be there, so by being submissive in this way and following the direction of the temple leaders is practicing the knowledge of Krishna Consciousness. Disciple means discipline. Without discipline there cannot be any spiritual progress. Therefore our system is to follow the authority or our superiors, no that we can independently question, not this is right and this is wrong. That is not the way. So my best advice to you is that without questioning you follow the instructions given to you by Visnujana and other leaders, and do exactly as they say, then everything will be all right. If you want to study, there is much time in the day for studying, but you must go also on Sankirtana party, that is the result or practice of your studying. Simply studying is dry and useless without chanting. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: chanting, New York, sankirtan, study letters | 06:28 |22 July 2007 Saturday, 22 July, 1972 Paris My dear Suniti, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 13, 1972, describing the condition of your husband, Jaya Gopala das. Whatever happens we must take it as the special mercy shown by Krsna to his devotee. Yes, the reading of Krsna Book and chanting at his bedside must go on. I am offering prayers to Krsna that He may protect Jaya Gopala, who is such sincere devotee. Now you and your godbrothers and godsisters also continue to offer prayers and chant always the Hare Krsna Mantra for him, and this will save him under any conditions. Hoping this will meet him in improved condition of health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: chanting, difficulties, Los Angeles letters | 20:48 |22 July, 1972 Paris My dear Jagadisa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 15, 1972, and I have noted the contents. I am very much pleased to hear that everything is going on nicely in Canada, especially that your travelling party is having good success. Yes, that is the right idea, to strengthen whatever devotees we have got in spiritual life, fix them beyond any doubts. Then our potency will increase and we may recruit dozens of new devotees easily. Main thing is to make sure everyone is chanting minimum sixteen rounds daily of Hare Krishna Mantra. Otherwise they will not be able to perform the other practices of brahminical life, such as early rising, cleanliness, etc. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda letters | 20:44 | 25 April 2007 25 April, 1972 Tokyo My Dear Madhavananda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated April 3, 1972, and I have noted the contents with pleasure. I am very much engladdened to hear that you are arranging nice engagements in Calcutta, especially in the schools. This is a very important program, so do it nicely. So far the report of other things, it is all very good news. Especially you may try for wholesale book distributing through Rupa and Co., and you may inform them that yesterday 1,500 3-volume sets, or 4,500 books, of paperback-size Krishna Books were dispatched to Bombay from here. Also in the near future many more books are to be shipped to India, so there will be always regular supply. All money collected from these books can be used in building there in India, you have not got to pay for them, so try to increase sales in this way and practically you can finance Mayapur in this way. I am very glad to hear that Mr. Jalan has given Rs. 10,000/-. As our work progresses, especially the building itself, the school and the prasadam distribution programs, these will put us very much favorably in the public eye and many many big men in Calcutta can give tremendous sums for such good public welfare work. There were four listeners when Krishna instructed Arjuna, so there are four bona fide Visnu sampradayas. Ramanuja is in the Sri or Laksmi sampradaya, Nimbarka is in the Kumara sampradaya, Vallabhacarya is a follower of Visnuswami or Rudra sampradaya, like that. Besides the Visnu sampradayas, there are other sampradayas, but they are following the directions given under off-shoot authorities. They have created so many, but these are not recognized by us. The four Visnu sampradayas are authorized by us, they are the original authorized sampradayas or religion, the Vaisnava religion. The original dharma is to follow the varnas and asramas, and these are created, according to Bhagavad-gita, to please Visnu. So sampradaya means one of the four original Visnu sampradayas. Yes, you do not know how to serve Krishna, so you simply assist your guru--we must always think like this, that I do not know how to serve Radha and Krishna, but my Spiritual Master knows so I am assisting him. In this way we can offer one plate and many plates are distributed. The Mahamantra was given to Narada by Brahma. Other mantras made by ordinary men are not authorized by the Sastras, so they have only proportionate effect as much as they are authorized or unauthorized. Highest benefit is from the Mahamantra, or Hare Krishna Mantra, because this is said by authorities. You know these things, you are becoming strong yourself by chanting this mantra, so actually it is so. Compare what you were before to what you have become, now challenge any other mantra to produce such effect. You know it, now try to realize it yourself and convince others, that is Krishna Consciousness. Yes, the more one surrenders, the more he is enabled by the Spiritual Master to succeed. Hoping this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: book distribution, Calcutta, chanting, philosophy letters | 13:09 |27 March 2007 March 27, 1972 Australia Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter, undated, and I have noted the contents. Thank you very much for the nice poems you have written. They are very well done, and you can submit them to Iskcon Press for publication in Back to Godhead. I am glad to hear that you and your husband are happy in your work for Iskcon Press. The distribution of our literatures is such an important task, for as more people read these books, more and morethe whole world will become auspicious and the degrading influence of this age of Kali will become minimized. Because we are not pure, these thoughts of sense gratification are bound to come into our mind, but if we do not act on them and keep ourselves always engaged in Krishna conscious activities, they will have no effect. Maya is always placing the memories of our past sinful activities before us, and encouraging us to come once again into her clutches, but by always chanting Hare Krishna and keeping our mind fixed on Krishna, he will give us the strength to resist her demands, and gradually they will diminish. Krishna is like the sun, and Maya is like darkness. Where there is sun what is the question of darkness? Raising children is a great responsibility, and a prospective parent should be convinced that he can deliver his child from the clutches of birth, death, disease and old age. If that conviction is there, then there is no objection to having hundreds of children and raising them to be pure devotees of Krishna. Because this body belongs to Krishna, and we are using it in His service, it should be kept in good working order. A little dal, a little rice, some vegetable and a few chapatties is a substantial diet, along with a little fruit and milk. Two cups of milk a day is sufficient. The Ayurvedic system of eating is to decide how much you can comfortably eat, then take half of that amount, filling the remaining half one quarter with water and leaving one quarter for air. This simple, regulated diet along with strict cleanliness will keep one healthy, strong and free from disease. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/nkd Labels: book distribution, chanting, children, diet letters | 08:10 |12 February 2007 Saturday, 12 February, 1972 Madras My dear Govinda dasi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated January 16 and January 23, 1972, and it is with great pleasure that I remember you and your good husband by reading them and seeing the nice work you are doing in the New Navadvipa News and other pamphlets. I am very sorry to hear about your demoniac neighbor cutting down many tulasi plants, but do not worry, he shall get his due punishment in time, rest assured. Simply go on in the normal way, and gradually his threat will disappear. Such men should be taken and beaten very hard with shoes--but it will not be very much to our credit if we are accused of fighting in this way. But if that man is caught trespassing on our property, then he may be severely punished by us. You can put up barbed-wire fence around the tulasi plants if that will help, or somehow or other protect them from further danger. Our experience has been that if we ignore them such demoniac class of men, they will go away. When I shall come there you can make extensive preparations for my speaking, etc., by advertising and propaganda, even more than this Cinmayananda Swami. My work is to preach, so you can prepare many very nice speaking engagements, especially to the intelligent class of men and the hippies. I am especially appreciating the writings of Siddhasvarupa in the New Navadvipa News and Open Letter pamphlets, like 'Die Hippy, Die!' and these articles should be published in our Back to Godhead magazine and distributed very widely. Regarding the Panca-tattva deities, the pictures you have sent are very nice. Because they live in Bengal, dhoti, shirt and chaddar are the standard dress, and if they are dressed in this style with different colors, that is nice. They should normally always be dressed in dhoti, but if occasionally you dress them in skirt-dress outfit, that can be also. They may all five wear jewellery, why not? Doctors give medicine and they speak surety, but there is no surety, and when there is no surety why should we break our four basic principles? I don't think there is guarantee of surety by taking this medicine with animal products. But if there is surety, you can take. But it is very doubtful. When I shall come there I shall see what is wrong. Regarding that man Cinmayananda, he's a sinful man, I know him, at least sinful according to our four principles. He as been lecturing for 20 years, still his asrama stands vacant. Unless one's life is made up, what this lecturing will do? So far your other letter, devotion does not depend on the body, and in spite of all difficulties we can chant, so long we have got the tongue--and even we have got no tongue we can chant in our mind. So where is the question of not serving with devotion? On the contrary, I consider that you and your good husband, Gaurasundara, are two of my topmost disciples and the work you are doing greatly encourages and pleases me, therefore do not think that because you are sometimes sick or weak that you are not making any advancement and that you are disappointing me, no. I am always thinking upon you both, that Krishna will give you His all blessings. Simply if you are able always to chant Hare Krishna, that is the same as following all other regulative principles. I shall be very glad to see you both again, but my program shall be delayed for about one month as I have just purchased for a very good price one large 20,000 sq. yard plot in Juhu, the wealthiest and most beautiful section of Bombay, very much like your Hawaii, and in the month of March I shall be lecturing there on the site in our pandal, in order to supervise the construction of our first Hare Krishna City. I shall inform you more when we next meet. Hope this will meet you both in good health and cheerful mood, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: chanting, deities, tulasi letters | 22:25 |2 January 2007 2 January, 1972 Bombay [To Yajnesvara] Regarding your questions, your first question was should the devotee always speak the truth to everyone in all circumstances? The answer is yes, one should always speak the truth, but qualified devotee will be able to speak the truth always very palatable to everyone so that it will sound pleasing even to his enemy, that is the art of speaking truth. It is certainly so that we must speak the truth to all people, but how you say it that is another thing: satyam bruyat, priyam briya. When you become yourself little more experienced in Krishna Consciousness by preaching work and if you are sincere and serious to make progress in spiritual understanding, you need not have to worry yourself further because the truth will always be spoken by you in the proper manner. Krishna will give you that intelligence, you need not be concerned for it. Simply try to please Him always by your sincere service and chanting, that's all. Of course, for doing business with businessmen you have to lie business. Just like Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sometimes He also had to also fabricate something in emergency situations. Although He made promise not to interfere in the Battle of Kuruksetra, He was forced to break His promise just to save His pure devotee. So there is no prohibition one shall never tell lie, because for business of carrying our propaganda work sometimes it may be necessary. Krishna Consciousness means practical living, not something utopian or idealistic and vague. We simply do the needful, whatever pleases Krishna most, that's all. Gradually you will understand what it means to please Krishna and what it means to displease Krishna. That you will learn by studying our books and by yourself engaging in practical devotional service. In the material dealings there is always there is always something undesirable, but even so you cannot give up your occupation. Just like fire is very pure, still there is some smoke. You cannot avoid it. All these things can be rectified when the result is offered to Krishna. Otherwise even though you may do very honest business it has no utility whatsoever. Your question if a devotee has no appreciation for God but he has little appreciation for pure devotee, than what kind of devotee is this? If he has appreciation for pure devotee, than he must have appreciation for God. It is just like "Love me, love my dog." If he simply loves the dog and not the master, then what kind of love is that? I have remarked that in your country when friends met, one friend has one dog beside him, the other friend always bends down to pat the dog first, then he is very much appreciated by the dog's master and the friendly discussions can begin. It is something like that. Your next question was regarding the neophyte devotee who is unable to comprehend even the existence of God, how he shall ever become lover of God? Therefore he has to be engaged in deity worship, and gradually you will have that sense. It is obligatory for the neophyte devotees to be engaged in deity worship. Even if he has no love of God, by following the regulative principles and worshiping the deity he will awaken that dormant love, and if you have got some faith in your spiritual master, by engaging in serving your spiritual master you will also come to the point of love of God: yasya prasadad bhagavata-prasadao yasya prasadanna-gatih kuto 'pi dhyayam stuvams tasya yasas trisandhyam vande guroh sri caranaravindam If one has appreciation for the spiritual master then he must follow the instructions of the spiritual master, and that means he is supposed to worship the deity in a certain way, like that. It is not possible to love the spiritual master without loving God. Your next question was about the free will, whether we have it or not? If one is not intelligent enough for making for making decisions, then all decisions shall be sanctioned by the spiritual master. Neophyte means no independent decisions, no free will, that means surrender. But when he is trained up then automatically he gets his freedom. Just like a small child can only eat such things which are sanctioned by his parents, not by his own discretion. Free will is that when the controller says do this, you can use your free will to do it or not to do it. You have got the power to not do: iti te jnanam akhyatam guhyad guhyataram maya vimrsyaited asesena yathecchasi tatha kuru "Thus I have explained to you the most confidential of all knowledge. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do." (Bg. 18.65) Krishna asks, "Have you decided to fight?" "Yes, I have decided to follow Your order." This is free will. You will find mentioned in many Vedic scriptures that maha-mantra is especially recommended for understanding God in this age of Kali Yuga, such as Agni Purana, Kali-Santaram Upanisad, Brhan Naradiya Puranam, and many others. Haridasa Thakura chanted 3 lakhs of names each day, that means 16 names in the mantra, 108 x16 or 1,728 names in each round of mala, dividing 300,000 by 1,728 comes to roundabout 175 rounds on beads daily. And for us it is even difficult to chant 16 rounds! That is why Haridasa Thakura is namacarya. We find in Caitanya Caritamrta information that both Lord Caitanya and Haridasa Thakura were constantly absorbed in chanting the Hare Krishna mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. [PAGE MISSING] letters | 08:40 | 1 January 2007 Saturday, 1 January, 1972 Bombay My Dear Sucandra, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter undated. Krishna has been very kind to you that as soon as you have gone to Munich to open a new center, He has helped you with a very suitable accommodation. Now develop everything very nicely there and build a fine, strong Krishna Consciousness center. Be very enthusiastic and determined to teach everyone the message of Lord Caitanya. We must follow strictly the four regulative principles and always chant at least 16 rounds daily and this will keep us pure. Lord Caitanya wants that this movement be spread to every nook and corner of the earth, so we require so many hundreds of thousands of sincere young men like yourself to take it up. I wish that it will be noted down in history that this Krishna Consciousness Movement is responsible for saving the world. Practically, our Movement is the only hope for saving the world from complete disaster. So you have got all good opportunity now, do everything very nicely. Krishna will soon bless you with a nice child and as soon as it is born you may inform me and I will be pleased to give it a name. Please offer my blessings to your good wife Bhusakti and to the other devotees in Munich. I hope you are all well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:tkd letters | 08:37 | |
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