a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1972 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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25 July 2007 Tuesday, 25 July, 1972 Paris My Dear Sri Joshiji, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 15, 1972, and I have noted the contents with great interest. From London now I am staying in Paris, and from here I shall go to Amsterdam and then to Edinburgh, again to London, and from there I shall go to Nairobi for installing Radha-Krishna deities in our own temple there. Your letter under reply gives me great pleasure when I understand from your childhood you are a great devotee of Lord Krishna, and now in your old age you are still anxious to preach the doctrine of Lord Krishna, namely, to surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually, the whole world requires to understand the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Although the Bhagavad-gita is a very popular book, widely read all over the world, unfortunately unscrupulous sannyasis and yogis presented the gospel in a perverted way so that people could not come to become a devotee of Krishna, instead they have become impersonalists. This infectious disease is spread in India, especially by the Mayavadis sannyasis and philosophers, therefore we have got greater task in India then in the western countries. In the western countries they have lost practically any religious system, and Christianity is declining. I was in London and practically I saw hundreds and thousands of churches are for sale because nobody is going there. The same position is in America also, but still a section of persons there are interested in church. But in Europe especially I see they have lost all respect for religious life. The same thing is there in India also. I therefore suggest that when you return to India next time, that you take sannyasa in your ripe old age without any family responsibility, and let us together do something tangible in India. In 1970 I went to Amritsar, invited by Swami Nirmalananda, and I saw the people of Amritsar are greatly devoted. We were invited by many temples and private persons, and we were made very much welcome, and somebody wanted to give me some land also. Anyway land is not very difficult to gain, but we require some men to work for this great mission. The educated younger sections are required to join this great movement. We have already got our land in Bombay, in Vrindaban, as well as in Navadvipa. Gradually, we can open a centre in each and every important city of India. I shall request you to think over this proposition very seriously and make some tangible program, then when you return to India in October, by that time I shall be there also, and jointly we can do something tangible in India also. I shall be very glad to hear from you your reaction on this proposition. Thank you very much. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Christians, impersonalists, India, sannyasa letters | 06:31 |4 February 2007 Friday, 4 February, 1972 Bombay My Dear Atreya Rsi, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your very nice letter of January 10, 1972, and I am very much pleased by the sentiments expressed therein. It is not so much that because there may be some faults in our godbrothers and godsisters, or because there may be some mismanagement or lack of cooperation, that this is due to being impersonalists, no. It is the nature of the living condition to always have some fault. Even in the Spiritual World there is some fault and envy--sometimes the Gopis will quarrel over Krishna's favor. Once Krishna was so much attracted to Radharani that by mistake he tried to milk the bull instead of the cow, and sometimes when the Gopis used to put on their dress and make-up for seeing Krishna, they would be too much hasty and smear kumkum and mascara in the wrong places and their ornaments and dresses would appear as if small children had been trying to dress themselves and they were not very expert, like that. There are so many examples. But it is not the same as material fault or material envy, it is transcendental because it is all based on Krishna. Sometimes when one Gopi would serve Krishna very nicely, the others would say, Oh, she has done so nicely, now let me do better for pleasing Krishna. That is envy, but it is transcendental, without malice. So we shall not expect that anywhere there is any Utopia. Rather, that is impersonalism. People should not expect that even in the Krishna Consciousness Society there will be Utopia. Because devotees are persons, therefore there will always be some lacking--but the difference is that their lacking, because they ave given up everything to serve Krishna--money, jobs, reputation, wealth, big educations, everything--their lackings have become transcendental because, despite everything they may do, their topmost intention is to serve Krishna. "One who is engaged in devotional service, despite the most abominable action, is to be considered saintly because he is rightly situated.'' The devotees of Krishna are the most exalted persons on this planet, better than kings, all of them, so we should always remember that and, like the bumblebee, always look for the nectar or the best qualities of a person. Not like the utopians, who are like the flies who always go to the open sores or find the faults in a person, and because they cannot find any utopia, or because they cannot find anyone without faults, they want to become void, merge, nothing--they think that is utopia, to become void of personality. So if there is sometimes slight disagreements between devotees, it is not due to impersonalism, but it is because they are persons, and such disagreements should not be taken very seriously. The devotee is always pessimistic about the material world, but he is very optimistic about the spiritual life; so in this way, you should consider that anyone engaged in Krishna's service is always the best person. I am very pleased that you are assisting your godbrothers so nicely. Yes, this is our real position, to be servants of the servants of the servants. And by your quiet and humble attitude, you shall set the example of Vaisnava so that all may learn from you, and very soon their puffed-up attitude will disappear and they will come to you and seek your advice in matters. I am also encouraged that you are preaching to many businessmen acquaintances. That is very important work, so speak to them very frankly and with strength and conviction, and they will see, that even you are yourself a big businessman with high position and salary, still, you are a devotee, and they will also become devotees if you ask them. And if only a few of such big businessmen become devotees, they can change the whole world. So it a very great and responsible task, now do it very boldly and Krishna will reward you with all success. The secret is to engage everyone, even big businessmen; so at first engage them in some small way so they will not feel threatened, but they will enjoy that small service so much, automatically they will desire for more. Then gradually you convince them by strong arguments and engage them more and more, and then they will perfect their lives in Krishna Consciousness, and go back Home, back to Godhead. Hope this will meet you in good health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:sda Labels: impersonalists, preachers, utopia letters | 09:48 |26 January 2007 Tuesday, 25 January, 1972 Nairobi Dear Atreya Rsi Das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated Jan. 10, 1972 and have studied the contents carefully. It is my wish that you work more and more closely with the ISKCON management. You have good intelligence and this should be engaged cent per cent in propogation of this movement of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So you please go on increasing your involvement with the administration. You speak of impersonalism. We welcome all impersonalists to come because if they are real impersonalists they will see that our Society is perfect and complete. Ramanujacarya is considered to be very stalwart acharya simply because he completely defeated the impersonalism of Sankaracarya. And even to this day in India, especially in the south, the followers of Ramanujacarya and Sankaracarya engage in talks and always the Sankarites are defeated. But most of the so-called impersonalists of today are rogues. You may adopt this principle, that whatever conditions increases your facility to preach this Krishna Consciousness Movement should be accepted. If we accept this all of these discouragements etc. will disappear. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: impersonalists, management, preachers letters | 11:25 | |
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