a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1972 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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13 December 2007 13 December, 197 Ahmedabad 19, Douglas Street, Milton, (Brisbane), Queensland, Australia 4064 My dear Upendra, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 14, 1972, and I am very, very happy to hear from you that you have started one new ISKCON center at Brisbane, Australia. I do not know if Madhudvisa has made any arrangement for me to come there, I have not heard from him in that connection, but he has invited me to come there, so if I get the opportunity I shall be glad to visit you at Brisbane as well. As for your taking sannyas, that we shall see when I shall come there. For the time being do not disturb yourself or your wife in this matter, there is sufficient time. As for your opening still another center, if you are only few men there it will be better to stick there for some time and develop everything first. If we open so many centers and then later there is difficulty to maintain them because insufficient men, or if we have to close them, then what is the use. We are not after so many centers, but we want to make devotees, pure devotees of Krishna, that is all. Better one temple with sufficient strong men than many temples with few strong men. Do not open temples simply for the sake of adding some numbers. Let us see the success of one temple, then we shall discuss opening other center. You have named your child Bhakta Saumya Abhay Charan Dasa, so that’s all right. But if you leave your wife with such new-born child, to open other center or take sannyas, what will be the result or benefit of mother alone with child? There must be some proper arrangement, that is not our policy to get married an go away without any responsibility for these things. Husband-wife means he must accept responsibility for her his life-long, it is not such light matter we can reject and do as we like, no. Better I think you stick there for some time more, live peacefully husband and wife, and develop the temple to your full capacity. Later on we shall see to other things. Hoping this meets you in good health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: Australasia, children, management, wife letters | 13:03 |13 December, 1972 Ahmedabad My dear Candrabali, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 4, 1972; and I have noted the contents with great care. I have received also one letter from your good husband Citsukhananda and he is going to Caracas, South America, for opening our ISKCON Branch there. I am very much pleased upon him for his doing such prominent work in spreading this Krishna consciousness movement to that part. Especially I was happy to see your nice temple in Mexico City, and I am always thinking of that place and all the nice devotees there. I am happy to note also that you have given birth to a daughter. You may call her ____ DASI, which means eyes like the spreading petals of lotus. Raise your family to be exemplary Vaisnavas by yourself following the regulative principles and rigidly chanting Hare Krishna mantra, and without any doubt they and yourself will become all of you firmly situated on the path back to home, back to Godhead. Regarding your questions, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura never took formal sannyasa. He was babaji, living in seclusion away from wife and family as Paramahamsa. One can have as many children as Bhaktivinode Thakura as long a one is as good as Bhaktivinode Thakura. Visnupriya, wife of Lord Caitanya, was young woman of 16 years old when her husband took sannyasa, leaving her without any children, but she always remembered Him, so in that way she was always serving Him and she was never separated from Him. Regarding your husband taking sannyasa, you should not worry as we shall see to the matter later, not now, and I promise you he will certainly fulfill his family obligations in Krishna Consciousness. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: children, husband, Mexico City, sannyasa letters | 13:01 |10 December 2007 10 December, 1972 Ahmedabad [To Brahmanya Tirtha - text missing] Regarding your question should force be used on children, no, there shall be no forcing the children to do anything. Child should not be forced. This is all nonsense. Who has devised these things? If we want them to become great devotees, then we must educate the children with love, not in a negative way. Of course, if they become naughty we may show the stick but we should never use it. Child is nonsense, so you can trick him to obey you by making some little story and the child will become cheated in the proper behavior. But never apply force, especially to his chanting and other matters of spiritual training. That will spoil him and in the future he will not like to do it if he forced. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: children, gurukula, New Orleans letters | 12:00 |17 November 2007 18 November, 1972 Hyderabad My Dear Bhanutanya dasi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter undated, and I have noted the contents with great concern. One thing is, I am very much sad to learn that you have left the company of the devotees over this incident at Gurukula school. Now you are living by yourself because you have been hurt by seeing that the children are sometimes mistreated, and because no one has taken your good advice in this connection. But you may be assured that I am always anxious about the welfare of my disciples, so that I am taking steps to rectify this unfortunate situation. Now my advice to you is to give up these feelings and return to your life of Krishna Consciousness devotional service, and if you go back to Dallas school and demonstrate to the other teachers there just the proper way to instruct and discipline the students nicely, that will be a great service. I am forwarding the copy of this letter, with your letter, to Satsvarupa for his immediately attention. Now the thing is, children should not be beaten at all, that I have told. They should simply be shown the stick strongly. So if one cannot manage in that way then he is not fit as teacher. If a child is trained properly in Krishna Consciousness, he will never go away. That means he must have two things, love and education. So if there is beating of child, that will be difficult for him to accept in loving spirit, and when he is old enough he may want to go away - that is the danger. So why these things are going on - marching and chanting japa, insufficient milk, too strict enforcement of time schedules, hitting the small children? Why these things are being imposed? Why they are inventing these such new things like marching and japa like army? What can I do from such a distant place? They should run and play when they are small children, not forced to chant japa, that is not the way. So I have given you the guiding principles, it is not that I must be consulted with every small detail, that is the business of the in-charge, but if no one is there who can manage in the right way, what can I do? Now if you have got the right idea how to do it, you may go there again and take some responsible post for correcting the situation, that will be your real duty, not that there is some disagreement and I go away disgusted, no. That is not Vaisnava standard. Standard should be that, never mind there is some difficulty, my spiritual master has ordered me to do like this, now let me do it, that's all. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: children, gurukula, management letters | 20:30 |18 November, 1972 Hyderabad My dear Rupa Vilas, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 28, 1972, and I have noted the contents with care. I am very glad to learn that the children at Gurukula school are making good progress in their Krishna Consciousness education, that is very good news. Yes, if we simply train them properly they will come out just to the highest standard of Vaisnava devotee. And what is that training? Simply they should be engaged in such a way that they are somehow or other remembering Krishna at every moment, that's all. It is not something mechanical process, if we force in such a way they will come out like this, no. We are persons, and Krishna is a Person, and our relationship with Krishna He leaves open as a voluntary agreement always, and that voluntary attitude - "Yes, Krishna, I shall gladly co-operate whatever you say" - that ready willingness to obey is only possible if there is love. Forcing will not make me agree. But if there is love, oh, I shall gladly do it. That is bhakti, that is Krishna Consciousness. So similarly, if we train children by developing and encouraging their propensity to love Krishna, then we shall be successful in educating them to the topmost standard. Then they shall always very happily agree to do whatever you ask them. So I have heard that there as been some beating with sticks on the children. Of course I do not know, but that should not be. You may show the stick, threaten, but better art is to somehow or other, even by tricking them, avoid this matter of force and induce them to obey out of loving spirit. That is success of disciplinary method. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: children, Dallas, gurukula letters | 20:29 |26 October 2007 Thursday, October 26, 1972 Vrindaban My dear Dinatarini dasi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 11, 1972, and I have appreciated very much your kind sentiments. Yes, I am very pleased to see how our children in Dallas school are making such nice advancement in Krishna Consciousness happy life. Small children are just like animals and they have to be t rained how to obey, otherwise they will be simply spoiled. But the art is how to apply authority and discipline so they will enjoy it and not reject, and I think you all instructors are learning yourselves that art more and more, and this pleases me very much. I am glad to hear that the worship of deities is improving daily and Sri Sri Radha and Krishna are appearing happier in their new Dallas home. Why don't you send me some photos, how they are looking now? Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: children, Dallas, deities, gurukula letters | 20:31 |10 September 2007 10 September, 1972 Dallas My dear Rsabhadeva, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter from Berkeley, dated August 28, 1972, and I thank you very much for your kind sentiments. I am very happy to hear that you have got a son for dedicating for Lord Caitanya's Sankirtana movement. Yes, his name of Gauranga das is very nice and I have no objection for calling him like that. Now we are at the Dallas school and it is very nice place and just suitable for educating your son here when he becomes old enough, at least four or five years old. Now give him all facilities to become conscious of Krsna from very birth, and this will be the greatest service for Krsna if you can deliver Him one pure devotee. Hoping this meets you in good health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: Berkeley, children, gurukula letters | 12:55 |11 August 2007 Friday, 11 August, 1972 London My dear Gangadevi, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated August 8, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. I was very happy to see both you and your good husband Vasudeva when I was in Paris, especially now that you have got such a nice child. Now you have got your child and your responsibility is to raise your child in Krsna consciousness. You and your husband are very sincere devotees, and your husband is a nice boy, and I like him very much, and he is doing the best service to Krsna and humanity by managing the Berlin center so nicely. So never mind there may be some inconvenience in family life for the time being. Your husband is doing the highest service. You may assist your husband very nicely by concentrating all your time and efforts in raising your child in full Krsna consciousness. That will require all of your attention, and in that way you will be giving your husband the best assistance. This spot life is merely a platform for us to make progress toward going back to home, back to Godhead, therefore we should not be too much concerned with family matters. We are never alone in Krsna consciousness; you have got so many wonderful brothers and sisters who are really your family, and besides that the spiritual master is always in his instructions, and Krsna is there within your heart, so you need not feel you are ever alone. Make Krsna your husband and always think of Him, raise your child up very nicely, chant without fail sixteen rounds of Hare Krsna mantra daily, read Srimad-Bhagavatam at least one hour daily, and in this way without any doubt you will very soon become very happy, and your life will be sublime. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda/yda Labels: Berlin, children, husband, marriage letters | 17:14 |30 July 2007 Sunday, 30 July, 1972 Amsterdam My dear Arundhati, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 19, 1972. I am simply surprised that you want to give up your child to some other persons, even they are also devotees. For you, child-worship is more important than deity-worship. If you cannot spend time with him, then stop the duties of pujari. At least you must take good care of your son until he is four years old, and if after that time you are unable any more to take care of him then I shall take care. These children are given to us by Krishna, they are Vaisnavas and we must be very careful to protect them. These are not ordinary children, they are Vaikuntha children, and we are very fortunate we can give them chance to advance further in Krishna Consciousness. That is very great responsibility, do not neglect it or be confused. Your duty is very clear. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda letters | 06:38 | 20 June 2007 Tuesday, 20 June, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Stoka Krsna, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter from Dallas dated June 14, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. Upon your recommendation I am very glad to accept the boys and girls you have recommended to be my duly initiated disciples. I am sending their beads under separate post, and their letter is enclosed herewith. Now you may hold a fire yajna and give Gayatri mantra to Dhristaketu, Narayana, and Hiranyagarbha. I think you have got a tape of me reciting Gayatri mantra through earphones into the right ear. I am enclosing the three sacred threads and copies of Gayatri mantra herewith. The fire yajna may be held for all seven devotees. I have indicated in my previous letter of several days back some hints for giving Krsna Consciousness children their proper education. I consider this Gurukula school to be one of our most important aspects of this movement and it should be given all serious consideration by the members. If we are able to make a whole generation of our children into fine Krsna Conscious preachers, that will be the glory of our movement and the glory of your country as well. But if we neglect somehow or other and if we lose even one Vaisnava, that is very great loss. So I am very glad that you are taking your business very seriously and you may consult always with Satsvarupa in all matters of management and policy, and if he cannot answer to your satisfaction, you may also ask me something. For children it is a long time between 8:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., therefore they are naturally hungry long before the lunch time. If it is convenient you may add another period for light prasadam between those times. The children should e allowed to eat as much as they like, therefore if children are complaining from hunger we must feed them. On the second point, if someone is coming to our school for the first time, still, they must eat what we are eating, namely Krsna prasadam. Yes, everything should be prepared for the pleasure of the Lord, without any other consideration. Our policy is that the children should be so trained that they will enjoy performing austerities, it is not that we shall spoil them at young age by indulging them in sense gratification. If there is obedience then there will be discipline, and without any discipline the management is very difficult. So first obedience by the children. That is not always by punishing or by force, but sometimes by showing the stick, without necessarily hitting and sometimes it is learning how to trick them or even cheat them into obeying you voluntarily and enjoying by their obedience. If there is difficulty for taking the smaller children on public sankirtana, there is no need. Unless tey are behaving, what is the use of taking them into public? The smaller children can have their sankirtana party within the school grounds daily and they will enjoy as much. The main point is that these children may be given the two-fold program of education in Krsna Consciousness, namely, chanting and performing devotional activities on the one hand, and some knowledge of our philosophy and other subjects of knowledge on the other hand. Yes, you have got the right idea when you say that your preaching work shall be directed toward the children and the devotees and not so much to the Dallas public. We may thin the milk till it becomes useless, or we may boil it until it becomes thick and sweet, so now we have got enough followers, let us train them up perfectly in the philosophy and activities of Krsna Consciousness way of life. Unless all of my students become very much fixed up in their spiritual progress, what is the use of so many programs for expansion? So you are the leader at Dallas, now it is your task to become very, very responsible for the spiritual well being of all of the students there, so Krsna will give you all intelligence and facilities to serve Him nicely if you are very much sincere to do so. This will please me very much. Hoping this will meet you in good health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: children, Dallas, gurukula letters | 17:02 |13 June 2007 Tuesday, 13 June, 1972 Los Angeles My Dear Stoka Krsna, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated June 5, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. Yes, the proof of your teaching method shall be seen in the spiritual improvement and fresh enthusiasm exhibited by the children. If they are allowed to worship the Deity by practicing performing aratrika very seriously, plus always be engaged in different various activities centered around Krsna, then their education will be completely successful. The children should always be instructed by taking advantage of their playful mood and teaching them to play Krsna games like become cowherd boys, cows, peacocks, demons and in this way if they always think of Krsna by playing just like they are actually present in association with Krsna then they will become Krsna Conscious very quickly. In addition, there should be a little ABC, then prasadam, then worshiping the Deity, then more playing Krsna games, some kirtana, a little more ABC, like that. In this way, always keep their minds and bodies engaged in different activities because children are restless by nature so they will want to change often. I am feeling more and more the urge to retire behind the scenes and translate these Vedic literatures for the greatest benefit for mankind in general. So I have given you my all senior disciples and leaders everything so if you will kindly take this matter very seriously and do my work for me I shall be very much thankful to you always. Of course, if there are some questions which are of extreme importance and cannot be answered by the GBC men then I am always very glad to advise and hear from my beloved disciples. So for future questions about the Gurukula activities or any other matters you may refer them all to Satsvarupa and he is able to give you all the proper answers. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACB/sda letters | 10:05 | 2 May 2007 2 May, 1972 Tokyo My dear Giriraja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated April 20, 1972, and I have noted the contents. So you have paid Mr. Bhuther Rs. 10,000, but you have built a temporary pandal for Rs. 1500/-, and all of the materials can be re-used so just see how much money you have wasted on this pandal. No one followed my instructions in this matter, as I repeatedly advised to build a semi-permanent pandal from corrugated iron sheets, and now so much money has been lost. I have got some reports that the deities in Bombay are being much neglected. This is most abominable affair. Radha and Krishna should not ever be neglected or left unprotected, so I am wondering what you have done to rectify this situation. I have heard that Madhudvisa intervened to get the deities better place, so he has done nicely. Also I have got complaint from Nara Narayana that he is not being allowed to work on his gardening as I instructed him to do it. So you let him go on with that work of gardening; sometimes he may be difficult to live with, but good manager means he is able to satisfy everyone and live in cooperative manner with all the devotees, so if you manage things nicely he can do tremendous work. Practically no one has more energy than Visvakarma. So let him do gardening work and if Bhavananda needs his help to build Rathayatra car he can go to Calcutta for some time to work there. I have not got any plans from Saurabha, though I requested him many times, only I have got two sketches from the architects in Cyavana's letters Saurabha was going to sketch the interior of Govindaji's temple and make plans for Vrindaban also, but he has not sent, so I do not think he is yet very reliable. I am very much pleased about the children's classes. These are very, very important program, so let it go on nicely, even if Madhudvisa leaves there. I have heard that some men have come from USA, so if Gurudasa needs some help, some can go there to help him. Also, Gargamuni wants to form a travelling party for raising funds, so some men can be given him, not more than four. You may offer my thanks to Sumati Morarji for giving us some sofas and chairs. So far books are concerned, don't reduce the price on hardback Krishna Book unless there is vast increase in sales by making cheaper. But I do not think that if you reduce the price for Krishna Book hardbound that more people will buy it. You can send report if making cheaper has sold many more books. But if someone wants Krishna Book cheap, they can purchase our paperback edition which has been sent to India from Japan recently. Mr. Deewanji has done very nice service for Krishna, please offer him my heartfelt thanks. Always consult with him on these matters before doing anything. You can form the Hare Krishna Cooperative so we shall avoid the stamp tax, that's all right. So far CCP permission is concerned you should be more in correspondence with Gurudasa in this matter, as I have sent him all the details and he has assured me that getting the license will not be at all difficult from Delhi. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: Bombay, book distribution, building, children, deities, management letters | 12:52 |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 |28 February 2007 Monday, 28 February, 1972 Mayapur My dear Satyabhama, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 24, 1972. I am very much pleased that you and your good husband are developing the New Vrindaban land very peacefully, and I think that you both are perfectly suited to remaining there and managing things very nicely, and you may gradually bring that New Vrindaban property to its full potential by stages, and that will please me very much. I always had great hopes for New Vrindaban, and gradually we are developing, as I can understand from Hayagriva's recent Cow Protection Report. You are experiencing some doubts, that you cannot believe that the Krishna from Krishna Book can be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that it must be like some fairy-tale. To clear up these things the best remedy is to discuss amongst yourselves all members regularly all our books in classes, then these doubts will be killed. Without reading books it becomes hackneyed and such obnoxious ideas trouble us. Our thoughts are always changing, that is the nature of the mind, so you cannot expect that even the great saintly persons are free from thoughts coming and going. But after thinking there is feeling and willing, willing being the stage of putting the thoughts into action. So if we are able to employ our intelligence, then we kill the thoughts before they become manifest in activity, but because we are so much inclined to enjoy something unintelligently, we have to therefore daily sharpen our intelligence faculty by reading and discussing and preaching to others. In this way we are able very easily to defeat all challengers to our philosophy and everything becomes very clear as it is revealed from different angles of vision. Krishna makes promise to one who is striving to serve Him sincerely that He will give such devotee the intelligence by which he may come to Him. Therefore we should always pray that Krishna may kindly provide me the intelligence to kill all demons of doubt, and because He understands the heart of His sincere devotee, immediately He gives assistance. For my part, for example, I am absolutely certain that anyone who challenges me I can defeat you. Why is that? Because Krishna gives me the intelligence. Your idea to start a nursery school in New Vrindaban is very good proposal and you may immediately try for it by cooperatively consulting amongst yourselves how to do it. But one thing, we are teaching Bhakti by practical attendance and by decreasing playing desire or drive. If the children simply do as their elders are doing, that is, regularly attending mangal arati, rising early, chanting, eating prasadam, looking at books, worshiping the __ like that, then automatically they will become trained up in right way and there is no need for special program for education. Children will always do as they see others doing, so if by the good association of their parents and the other older persons, they will come out nicely fixed in Krishna Consciousness, and because they are not spoiled by an artificial standard of sense gratification, they will think that performing austerities is great fun. Just like in India we see the young brahmacaris are sent out to beg for their spiritual master to teach them humility and non-attachment, and they spend the whole day in the hot sun and come back at night, take a handful of rice, and sleep without blankets on the hard floor--and they take this type of life as very much enjoyable and great fun. This is how we train our children in Krishna Consciousness, just be keeping them always attending our regular program and associating with Krishna devotees, teaching them in spiritual realization by giving them the idea that sacrifice and tapasya for achieving the highest goal of life is a very nice way of life. Not that we shall give them many games for playing, these so-called scientific methods of learning are artificial, unnecessary, and on the whole I do not have much trust in this Montessori system or any other such system of teaching. Your idea for having altars to train the children in deity worship is very nice. So far your Jagannatha deities which have become badly cracked, it is better to replace them, but if that is not possible then you may repair. The story of Lord Jagannatha is like this: Once King Indradyumna wanted to establish the picture in the temple of Krishna, Subhadra, & Balarama coming in a car or chariot during solar eclipse to Kuruksetra so he employed Visvakarma to carve them from wood, and actually the carving was going on behind closed doors, but the King was very impatient to see, so Visvanatha stopped, but the King was satisfied with them half-finished. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: children, deities, gurukula, New Vrindaban, philosophy letters | 10:07 |28 February, 1972 Mayapur My dear Harsarani, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated February 5, 1972, and I have noted the contents. You have mentioned that your father of your two children has left you and you are forced to live outside the temple. but I cannot understand what is the trouble. If you are getting government welfare help, then you can live separately, take the children to the temple every day and bring them up in Krishna Consciousness, and when they are old enough you may send them to our new school in Dallas. There is no question of losing father, now they shall have dozens of fathers and mothers, simply engage them in our regular KC program of routine rising early, cleansing, chanting, eating Krishna prasada, looking at books, street Sankirtana, like that, and let them associate nicely with other devotees in such program daily, and automatically they will be trained up nicely in Krishna Consciousness. This brahmacari system is there, but if one is not so strong, then he is allowed to marry, but he must expect that the after-effects will always be troublesome. Everywhere I see people, man and wife with family, and all of them they suffer, but still they go on producing more. Sex means trouble. Therefore one should become dhira and don't be attracted by this sex-life. Henceforward, anyone proposing to marry must produce some outside income and live outside the temple, they must know this in advance and be prepared to carry such burden. Let them be married, but at their own risk. I cannot sanction anymore. My Guru Maharaja never allowed, but when I came to your country it was a special circumstance so I gave concession, but I am not so much inclined anymore, so I shall not sanction, but they may marry on their own risk of knowing that such arrangement is always troublesome. I Hope this will meet you in very good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: children, gurukula, marriage, San Francisco, sex life letters | 10:06 |28 February, 1972 Mayapur My dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of February 9, 1972, and I thank you for the photos of our new school in Dallas, Texas. You ask one question about the nature of books I want you to write as my disciples; on this point, Krsna Consciousness is not limited. Persons like all of the Gosvamis wrote so many books, Visvanatha Cakravarti, and all the acaryas wrote books, and still I am writing books. Similarly, also my disciples will write. So any self-realized soul can write unlimited books without deviating from the original ideas. Sanskrit should be compulsory for all our children to learn, and anyone who has elementary knowledge of alphabet and grammar can begin to teach it. In addition, English reading and writing, a little mathematics, history and geography or we shall be thought fools if we do not know--that's all. Main thing is that by attendance of our routine programme, that is, rising early, cleansing, chanting, eating Krsna prasada, street Sankirtana, looking at books, etc., in this way, if the children associate with their elders in the regular schedule of devotional practices, that is best way to train. Otherwise, hygienic principles must be very much practiced. The future preachers of KC Movement must learn to be suci, absolutely pure in all respects, & for this, practical cleansing is the basic teaching, e.g., not touching anything dirty to mouth. Mouth is dirtiest part, and infection can spread very easily by the mouth. There is word visa-kanya, or the policy of gradually poisoning a beautiful girl so she will adapt ad not be affected, then she will have the potency to assassinate by passing infection by mouth to some enemy. Water itself is most antiseptic, so soap is not always required. The boys should be taught, and also all devotees should also be taught to wash own dishes, hands, mouth--that means always washing. They should be given only what they will eat, so that nothing is left over, and while bathing they can wash their own cloth. Your country, America, will become so much degraded that they will appreciate if we are revolutionary clean. Our revolutionary medicine will be experimented on these children, and it will be seen in America to be the cure. So make your program in this way, and encourage nondevotees or outsiders to enroll their children with us for some minimum fee, and you will do the greatest service to your country and its citizens by introducing this. There will be so many impediments in pushing on our movement, therefore Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has already advised us to be tolerant more than the tree and humbler than the blade of grass and give all respects to Karmis without expecting any respect. These instructions mean that pushing on this Krsna Consciousness movement is not very easy, but we have to face them and push on this movement. Hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 10:03 | 16 February 2007 16 February, 1972 Calcutta My Dear Chaya dasi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated January 29, 1972, and I have noted the contents. Complete separation from the boys is not necessary for girls at such young age, so I don't require that they must be educated separately, only that they should live separately. What do they know of boy or girl at such young age? There was one question by a little girl like Sarasvati to her father: "Father, when you were young were you a boy or a girl?'' So when they are grown up, at about 10 to 12 years old, then you can make separate departments for teaching also. But while they are so young, although they must live in separate boys and girls quarters, they may be educated sometimes together, there is no such restriction that little girls should not have association with little boys, not until they are grown up. All the children should learn to read and write very nicely, and a little mathematics, so that they will be able to read our books. Cooking, sewing, things like that do not require schooling, they are learned simply by association. There is no question of academic education for either boys or girls--simply a little mathematics and being able to read and write well, that's all, no universities. Their higher education they will get from our books, and other things they will get from experience, like preaching, SKP, etc. Alongside the regular classes in reading and writing, the other routine programs they should also participate in, like arati, kirtana, preaching, Sankirtana, like that. You ask about marriage, yes, actually I want that every woman in the Society should be married. But what is this training to become wives and mothers? No school is required for that, simply association. And it is not necessary to say that women only can instruct the girls and men only can instruct the boys, not when they are so young. At 12 years, they may be initiated. A woman's real business is to look after household affairs, keep everything neat and clean, and if there is sufficient milk supply available, she should always be engaged in churning butter, making yogurt, curd, so many nice varieties, simply from milk. The woman should be cleaning, sewing, like that. So if you simply practice these things yourselves and show examples, they will learn automatically, one doesn't have to give formal instruction in these matters. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: children, gurukula, marriage, wife letters | 05:51 |16 February, 1972 Calcutta My Dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 20, 1972, along with pictures, floor-plan, and tape, and I am very very pleased that you have been able to secure that place for our Gurukula school and temple. I am enclosing one letter to Chaya dasi in this respect, to clear up a few points, namely, that we should concentrate on training these children up in Krishna Consciousness, not so much by formal, academic education--a little reading, writing, mathematics, that's all--but more by giving them facility to follow the examples of the older devotees in the regular KC program, namely, rising early, arati, chanting, reading, street Sankirtana, preaching, distributing literature--like that. These children can be trained in that way, by participating in all of these activities throughout the day, and always the focus of attention will be on Krishna. So you kindly see that these programs are carried on nicely, that is, in the matter of our routine KC program, and let the children learn in that way. Not much time should be wasted giving so much academic knowledge, a little reading and writing, that's all. Let them be able to read our books very nicely, and that will be their higher education. Keep them always happy in Krishna Consciousness, and do not try to force or punish or they will get the wrong idea. By and by, if they are satisfied in this way, they will all grow up to be first-class preachers and devotees. One thing, if Aniruddha is shaky in his Krishna Consciousness, how he can teach the children? Unless one is firmly convinced about Krishna Consciousness, I don't think the children will learn properly from such a person. Other experienced teachers may be called from other centers if they are required, that you should discuss with the GBC. If you are only a few persons, and if the place is so big, how you can manage? Especially I don't think you will be able to worship Radha-Krishna deities at the very high standard until later time. Better reserve all your workers for managing other things until many devotees are there. When I shall come there later on, I will see everything, how it is going on. Sarasvati and I have enjoyed the tape of the children lecturing very much, and I think she will come with us to USA when we shall go there by late Spring or early Summer. Hoping this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: children, gurukula, management letters | 05:49 |20 January 2007 20 January, 1972 Jaipur My dear Sri Govinda das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 31, 1971. With pleasure I have noted that you are rivalling the West Coast centers in the matter of selling books. But I do not think that anyone can do better than they are doing. But you may try very hard, and if you are sincere enough then you may be the biggest distributer of my books and then I shall surely come there to your Cleveland center to live there in that new house. When Krishna sees that His devotee is sincere, there is nothing He cannot do to help that sincere devotee to advance towards Him. So I am engladdened to understand from your words that you are serving Krishna very sincerely, and you may know it for certain that in this way you shall very soon go back to Home, back to Godhead. So far the meaning of Gayatri mantra, you may refer to Pradyumna and he will help you. Generally, best times for saying Gayatri mantra are when the sun rises and sets, and when it is noon. There is no need by any of my disciples to read any books besides my books--in fact, such reading may be detrimental to their advancement in Krishna Consciousness. All reading of outside books, except in certain authorized cases such as for example to read some philosopher like Plato to make an essay comparing his philosophy with Krishna's philosophy--but otherwise all such outside reading should be stopped immediately. It is simply another botheration. If my students cannot even read my own books thoroughly, why they should read others? I have given you TLC, what need is there to read Caitanya Caritamrta translated by someone else. You are right to stop such reading. If you and your wife want to have children for raising them in Krishna Consciousness, and if you are prepared to take the full responsibility for delivering them from the clutches of birth and death, then I have no objection. I have allowed my disciples to marry as a concession for having household life, because you American boys and girls are accustomed to mix freely with one another, so what can I do? But brahmacari life or celibacy is better, because if the semina is saved it fertilizes the brain for sharpening the memory, and if there is good memory, our Krishna Consciousness becomes perfect: hearing, chanting, remembering--that is the process. Hoping this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: book distribution, children, grhasthas, outside books letters | 07:57 |4 January 2007 4 January, 1972 Bombay My Dear Krsna Bhamini devi dasi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter dated December 11th, 1971. I always receive your letters with great pleasure. I am glad that you are appreciating so much this Krishna Consciousness Movement. Lord Krishna extends His mercy to all living entities, but He is particularly attentive to the needs of His devotees. You are blessed with an advanced devotee husband, you have now two nice devotee children, and by Krishna's grace you have taken a genuine Spiritual Master. So you are the most fortunate of women because you have been given every opportunity to attain the highest goal Krishna consciousness in this very lifetime. I offer my blessings to your new child Manjari devi dasi. Have a feast, perform fire yajna, and Bhagavan may offer her a garland and announce "Our Spiritual Master has given her this nice name." So now your first duty should be to see your children develop nicely. There is no doubt they are advanced souls, so simply being in the association of their parents and other devotees they will very quickly make advancement. I am glad to know that you are continuing on work on the children's version of Isopanisad. We will require such books for use in our Dallas, Texas school. Please do this work very thoughtfully; Krishna will give you good direction in how to do it. I have seen today the slides of the paintings from our Bhagavad-gita. Many of them are super-excellent. If we introduce these books in all the bookstores, schools, colleges, libraries and everyone's home our religion will be the only religion in the world very soon. This prediction has been made publicly here in one newspaper, by a Japanese philosopher, that within ten years Krishna Consciousness will be the world religion. If you all keep preaching in such a pure way this will undoubtedly prove true. So as the wife of a GBC member you have got the responsibility to help your husband to maintain the highest standard of Krishna Consciousness both in yourselves and in all the other devotees in the Temple. Please offer my blessings to Bhagavan das and to your nice son and daughter and to all my beloved disciples in the Detroit ISKCON. I hope this will meet you all very well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:tkd Labels: children, husband, wife letters | 08:53 | |
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