a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1972 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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12 April 2007 Wednesday, 12 April, 1972 Sydney, Australia My Dear Anuttama, Please accept my blessing. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated March 10, 1972, and I have noted the contents. I am very pleased to know that you are feeling happy in your execution of devotional service. Service of Krishna's devotees is the highest stage of spiritual perfection, so your desire to render service to the other devotees is very nice. You keep this humble attitude always, and your example will be a source of spiritual inspiration for everyone. Thank you for the Tulsi leaves you have sent me. Srimati Tulsi Devi is very dear to Lord Krishna, so you must always care for her very lovingly and attentively, and in this way Krishna will be pleased. Hoping this will meet you in good health and a happy mood. Your ever well-wisher A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: tulasi letters | 05:33 |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 |6 January 2007 6 January, 1972 Bombay My dear Govinda dasi, Please accept my blessings and offer the same to your good husband Gaurasundara. How are your Tulasi plants in Hawaii? How are they feeling? I am always thinking of them and you. Please let me know how they are growing and how you are taking care of them. This time when I go to Hawaii I shall sit down in the forest of Tulasi plants and chant Hare Krishna. I hope you are well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: tulasi letters | 08:38 |6 January, 1972 Bombay My Dear Radhaballabah das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your first and second copies of your letter dated December 18th, 1971 which were sent to Bombay and Madras respectively. I am very glad to know that you are seriously taking to Srimati Tulasi Devi worship. Tulasi Devi is a pure devotee of Krishna and she should be treated with the same respect given to all Krishna's pure devotees. Simply by worshipping her faithfully, a devotee can get himself free of from all material miseries. In the Nectar of Devotion I have given two verses from the Skanda Purana, one of which is: "Tulasi is auspicious in all respects. Simply by seeing, simply by touching, simply by remembering, simply by praying to, simply by bowing before, simply by hearing about, or simply by sowing the tree, there is always auspiciousness. Anyone who comes in touch with the Tulasi tree in the above mentioned ways lives eternally in the Vaikuntha world." So from this verse we can understand how pure is the service which Tulasi offers to Sri Krishna. So we should always endeavor after becoming servant of Tulasi Devi. I do not know who has taught you that part of a Tulasi plant may be cut off and then replanted? From the Tulasi plant you can cut off only leaves for offering them to Krishna, never for cutting and planting. That is an offense. The manjaris (seeds) can be offered in water and it makes the water fragrant and tasteful. And the manjaris can be planted for growing new Tulasi plants. Yes, the prayer you have enclosed is bona fide. Tulasi Devi never goes back to Godhead, she is always with Godhead. She is a pure devotee and thus she has appeared on this planet to render service to Krishna by being offered in all temples throughout the world by being offered up to the lotus feet of Krishna. Chanting japa should be done early in the morning with full concentration preferably during the Brahma Muhurta time. Concentrate fully on the sound vibration of the mantra, pronouncing each name distinctly and gradually your speed in chanting will increase naturally. Do not worry so much about chanting fast, most important is the hearing. A devotee should always be grave and silent which means that he only discusses topics relating to Krishna Consciousness. Yes, spend your time chanting and reading and taking Krishna Prasadam and automatically your tongue will come under control. If you sincerely engage 24 hours daily in devotional service according to the instructions of the Spiritual Master, chant daily 16 rounds, attend the arati ceremony of Lord Krishna, associate with the devotees and adhere strictly to the regulative principles then Krishna will reveal Himself personally to you. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:tkd letters | 08:38 | |
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