a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1973 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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20 July 2007 Friday, 20 July, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor Dear Govinda dasi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your undated letter. I am concerned that you write describing that you are bewildered by the dictates of your material mind. Of course we have to control the mind, and I have already instructed you and all my students that the restless fickle mind can only be controlled by putting the mind to the lotus feet of Krsna, and that can best be done by chanting Hare Krsna mantra, and there is no alternative in this age. By chanting without offenses, the devotee cries to Radharani and Krsna to please lift him out of the material energy and put him into the spiritual energy, which is devotional service. And because we are not at the stage where we can chant and do nothing else all day, there are so many other engagements. So you have sufficient engagement there? Because if we are not fulltime engaged then the mind is free to do its fickle business of rejection and acceptance for sense gratification. Maya will immediately enter - we do not even have to call her - the moment we are not absorbed in Krsna's devotional service. But if there is something further which is specifically causing you so much difficulty then please disclose it to me. While writing this letter, your package has just arrived with various dried fruit and vegetable; so I have turned it over to my servant, Srutakirti and he shall be using it very soon in some of my preparations; thank you very much; How is Gaurasundara? Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: Hawaii letters | 21:00 |20 July, 1973 Herts, England Dear Yasomatinandan, Please accept my blessings. I heard you were transferring to our Los Angeles center but I do not know if you have left our Chicago center yet, so I am sending copies of this letter to both places. The thing is Brahmananda Maharaj is having difficulty translating literature into the Gujarat language in Nairobi. There is a large Gujarati population there and he has had some of our literature translated by a non-devotee translator. You know well the havoc which can result if a nondevotee tries to give his interpretation of Krsna. Although Krsna understanding is very easy for those who are simple and submissive devotees, for the duratma, Krsna is very difficult. So if at all possible we want all our foreign language books to be translated by devotees. I think you are already working on Gujarati translations of our works, so please immediately correspond with Brahmananda Maharaj at our Nairobi center and offer your services as translator. Take this as a great responsibility and it will please me very much. I will be glad to hear your progress in this important matter. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: Los Angeles, Nairobi, translating letters | 20:58 |20 July, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor Dear Nityananda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 15, 1973 and I have carefully noted the contents. It is very encouraging for me to see the activities of the New Orleans temple. I can see you have a nice house which you have purchased in the Society's name and that you are taking care to worship Lord Jagannatha with opulence. The picture of tulasi is especially indicative, because if tulasi grows luxuriantly that proves the sincere devotional service of the place. On you recommendation I am accepting the three candidates for initiation as my disciples. Their names are as follows: Miss Jeri Whorrel--Hamsini dasi Roy Roberts--Satyavrata das David Deben--Caturbahu das You can send their beads for chanting to Satsvarupa Maharaja in Dallas. Now hold a fire yajna and invite as many quests as possible; hold kirtana and distribute prasadam. I am enclosing one brahmana thread duly chanted on by me for Vrikodara; have him hear the tape recording of me speaking the gayatri mantra, in his right ear and you instruct him in his Brahminical duties. Regarding Radha Krsna worship, yes, when your new temple is completed, so long as you have sufficient Brahmins you may plan to install Radha Krsna deities. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami NB: Thank you very much for your two checks; I am placing them in my appropriate accounts. ACBS/sdg Labels: initiation, New Orleans letters | 20:53 |July 20, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor Dear Bali-mardana Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of July 18, 1973 with enclosed photostat of Caitanya-caritamrta which I am looking over. Regarding the purchase of the building, I wish that unless the Columbia Club sells the building that you do not move from the present building. You proposed to move to another building but I do not appreciate this idea. Go directly to the Columbia Club building. So finish your dealings with Columbia Club managers and we can purchase and move directly there. I am praying to Krsna that He will favor you with that new house for conducting His preaching work. Now we are going to install nice Radha-Krsna Deities here in our new Letchmore Heath Temple on Janmastami Day, August 22nd 1973. The thing is there are no nice paintings immediately available for the Temple room here. So I want you to remove all of the paintings that are presently hanging in my rooms at Brooklyn Temple and dispatch them to Letchmore Heath or London immediately by air mail. The temple room is very large, I think about 70 feet by 30 feet, so many paintings are required to decorate it nicely. Therefore all of those paintings in my rooms are required and if you can send me besides additional of the newer paintings that will be your great contribution. I am awaiting anxiously your report on the meeting with the Japan emperor. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami NB: As to when I shall be able to go to Japan, I am going to L.A. by the end of August. In September I will stay in L.A. Then whenever you call me at Japan I shall be able to go. Thirty lakhs rupees will solve the problem of India. Labels: art, deities, Japan, London, New York letters | 20:53 |20 July, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor Dear Tamala Krsna Maharaja: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 15 July, 1973 and I have carefully examined the contents. Yes, I am prepared to pay the entire amount for purchase of the land at Juhu. But Mrs. Nair cannot increase the price. If she wants to increase then we will demand she return the 5 lacs rupees, plus interest and damages. So she has already got something like 2 lacs, so as soon as the conveyance is made and taken to the register, we will immediately pay cash, about 12 lacs rupees. You ask that I arrange to have 9 lacs of rupees ready from America for this purchase, but so far you have already paid 2 lacs, 3 lacs are in the bank--so if we have to raise 9 lacs from outside India then my question is what are you collecting there? Anyway, collect as much as possible and I will fill the balance. Rest assured, that if required, we can even draw the money from the U.S. Now you have taken a loan of Rs 150,000 from the BBT, so with these excellent collections you are now taking I request you to fill up that debt and then collect further, and the balance I shall arrange. I have read how you have dispersed your recent collections to repay BBT, and Vrindaban construction and it is all right. Please deal cautiously and do not spend unnecessarily. I am glad to hear that you have various plans for publications, but first finish this affair and then you can attempt to publish many books. I have read your report on Hyderabad and the present state of affairs there, and it is all right. Regarding Delhi, Madhavananda has also gone there and I have written to him how he can be engaged collecting with Tejyas at the government offices. Yes, your plan for people paying for a guest room at Vrindaban is very nice. The idea is they pay the price of the room and they may come there for their lifetime duration. This practice is called bhetnama, where a room is reserved for a donor for a lifetime. You will be able to secure much money in that way as many gentlemen will want to come to Vrindaban. So arrange to accommodate them in the new temple. You should also arrange for that in Mayapur building. Yes, Mayapur construction must be completely finished before I return. The next time I come there must be no more workers or carpenters with their "tack-tack" sound. I would have continued to stay in Mayapur but the hammering sounds drove me away. When you are completely finished I will go there, otherwise not. You will be glad to hear that I am eating and working nicely here. The village is neat and clean and I am walking daily in the morning with the devotees and taking the class from 7-8 A.M. It is calm and quiet here and people are coming to talk with me in the evenings. George came to meet with me and he is very enthusiastic to cooperate. Rathayatra was very successful here, as 10,000 people attended and prasadam was distributed. See enclosed newspaper. There will not be a GBC meeting in Janmastami, New Vrindaban. The important thing now for GBC members is that they go on working. It is not important to hold a meeting for passing resolutions etc. The best time and place is Mayapur on Lord Caitanya's Appearance Day. That is not only the best for me but for everyone. Mayapur is meant for that. If possible all devotees from all our centers should go for 8 days at that time. There is no need for the Janmastami meeting. Go on working and send me regular reports. Besides, I will not be going to New Vrindaban for Janmastami. They are having a deity installation here in London and they are making huge arrangements for many important men to attend this ceremony. Hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Enclosure: news clippings ACBS/sdg Labels: BBT, Bombay, GBC, George Harrison, land, Mayapur, Vrindaban letters | 20:52 |20 July, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor [To Tamala Krsna] Bombay ARRIVING AIR INDIA FLIGHT 108 3.25 AM SATURDAY 15th: BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI letters | 20:51 | 17 July 2007 Tuesday, 17 July, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor Dear Isvara, Please accept my blessings. I beg acknowledge receipt of your undated letter and I have carefully considered the contents. I can understand that you wish to remain as householders living outside the temple, and that you have bought your own cottage in Argyll, Scotland. That is perfectly all right. Narottama dasa thakur has sung that it does not matter whether one is sannyasi or householder, simply that one should be always in Krsna Consciousness chanting the holy name. So you describe that you have set up an altar in your home and you are offering prasadam, and this is all approved by me. One thing, however, is that living as a householder you cannot go into the streets and hold sankirtana and sell our books as a means of maintenance. Such sankirtana activity can be done with the devotees of our temple in Scotland, but cannot be done independently. If you wish to live separately you have to earn your livelihood by business, by taking some employment to maintain your home and family. But not by chanting in the street; this is not a good idea for householders. For example, here at Bhaktivedanta Manor the boys and girls go out every day, including householders who are living in householder quarters within the Manor, and they go door to door and take some collection in exchange for books, and in this way we maintain the establishment. All over the world we maintain our centers by such begging, or selling our books. But this is not allowed independent of our established ISKCON centers, so please do not do it; that is my request. As far as opening another center in Argyll, where devotees can come and live and where regular kirtanas may be held for guests, that prospect you can take up with Shayamasundar who is GBC for Great Britain. For the present go on with your decision to live as householders apart, but concentrate on chanting and reading our books and always offering foodstuff to Krsna by prayers. Live blissfully and peacefully as husband and wife, and if you go on chanting 16 rounds daily, Krishna Who is within our hearts, will direct your further as to best way to advance more and more in progressive Krsna Consciousness. We must never forget that this present life is temporary and may end at any moment. So the purpose of our existence should be to become fully Krsna Conscious and go back to Home, back to Godhead at the end of this present lifetime. I will be glad to hear of your further progress. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 19:31 | 17 July, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor Dear Cintamani dasi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your undated letter and I have carefully examined the contents. You have written that you are not sure what Krsna wants you to do and that Palika dasi has invited you to go to Hyderabad to come help with the deities. So I think that is a good idea that you go to India and you can do so as soon as possible. We require many more devotees now in India so it will be very nice if you can go. You ask how you can become free of envy. Simply by chanting Hare Krsna, Lord Caitanya has said the heart will become cleaned of all the dirty things accumulated in the heart. It is not that we have to endeavor separately to become rid of envy or any deficiency or impurity. In this age the chanting of Hare Krsna is recommended as the only possible method to associate with Krsna. By offenseless chanting, when we associate with Krsna through His Holy Name, then all inauspicious things are cleared from the heart. So wherever you are you should always go on chanting, and that in itself will bring all perfection. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: New Vrindaban, questions letters | 19:30 | |
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