a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
|
|
| Prabhupada Letters :: 1973 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
|
|
9 November 2007 Friday, 9 November, 1973 New Delhi My Dear Dinesh Candra Sarkar: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 21/10/73 in Bengali and have noted the contents with thanks. At present I am in Delhi. I left Bombay on the 1st after finishing the land dispute there and shall return to Bombay again on my way to Nairobi by the 23rd instant. Then I shall return back to USA via Rome and shall come back to India in the month of March during Lord Caitanya's Appearance Day. For the time being I am keeping my health fairly well. Certainly I was sick when I left Calcutta for London, but I improved my health there. So after all, this is an old body. I am 78 years, and still by the grace of Krsna it is going on. So I am very much thankful for your enquiry about my health. I am glad that sometimes you are going to the temple, and are staying to take prasadam. So when I shall return there we can talk more. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 05:25 | 9 November, 1973 New Delhi My Dear Vegavan Das: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 24/10/73 and have noted the contents. It is very good to hear of your programs in the high schools. Please continue and increase this program there. It is a nice name you have chosen for your son, Murali Dhara Das. I give all my blessings to your son. Please raise him as a Krsna conscious child and be happy to become parents of a nice Vaisnava. I hope this meets you and your good wife in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: children letters | 05:25 |8 November 2007 Thursday, 8 November, 1973 New Delhi My Dear Bhagavan Das: Please accept my blessings. I beg to inform you that I have received a very nice report from Hamsaduta of the Moscow activities, and I may request you in this regard to please immediately send Mandakini there for being married to Ananta Santi Das. Both of them will get good strength from it. So please do the needful. I have not received any report from you of Paris affairs since coming to India, so please send me the report. I hope this finds you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs cc: Hamsaduta, ISKCON, Heidelberg. letters | 05:20 | 8 November, 1973 New Delhi My Dear Hamsaduta Das: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter with enclosures dated October 26th, and have noted the contents with great pleasure. It is Krsna's mercy that you were able to take in a copy of Bhagavad-gita to Moscow. It is very encouraging that the boy without any association is maintaining the standard. This is due to his chanting 16 rounds and following the regulative principles. Now he should be in your charge, so you kindly guide him and keep him in our atmosphere and utilize him properly, but steadily and cautiously. Yes, you arrange for their marriage. I am writing both Bhagavan Das and Mandakini, the copies herewith enclosed. Their marriage will be very good, and both of them will get some strength. So guide them both as you think best. Yes, have our literature translated into Russian. Why not have our Bhagavad gita distributed underground there as they are doing the Bible? So you support him in any way, and write Mandakini to immediately go there. So far his engagement is concerned, it is not necessary that he join the Christian order. Better as you have suggested to preach amongst their friends and to gradually induce them to take interest. I am also glad to note the work going on in East Germany. Try to impress upon them to make communism God-centered. God is the father of everyone, and we are all His sons. Everything is His property, and everyone has the right to enjoy it. Without being God-centered, Communism will fail. So we have got good potency to be the leaders of the world if we carefully push on this movement. Regarding killing the demons, yes, Krsna has done it, "paritranaya sadhunam/ vinasaya ca duskrtam" [Bg. 4.8]. But, for us to kill like that we first have to become first class Krsna devotees like Arjuna or Hanuman, then we can fight with the Ravanas and demons. But that requires good strength, and we are not in that position now. Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not kill the demons, but He converted them. So this should be our example. I am glad to note the work of Cakravarti and Prthu at the Belgrade Book Fair. This is real progress. So from all the literatures you are distributing you spend this money for spreading Krsna consciousness in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and East Germany, and prepare men. Put all of our books into the local languages. It is good that you are maintaining stocks of our books for being distributed. Can you supply paper to India? If you can send paper from the Book Fund. We can print some books locally. If it is possible, then send paper samples to me. Here there is a scarcity of paper. I am very glad to learn that you are composing Krsna Book, and also possibly TLC, so you bring the blueprint with you to Mayapur in March, 1974 for our Festival. The report of all the Sankirtana parties is very encouraging. So you are pushing Caitanya Mahaprabhu's movement very nicely throughout Central Europe. May Krsna bless you. Yes, I want that you give me the facility to write my books, but I can attend some meetings of important people and elites. You have taken the right view of the importance of my books. Books will always remain. That was the view of my Guru Maharaja, and I also have taken it. Therefore I started my movement with my books. And we shall be able to maintain everything with the sales of the books. The temples will be maintained by the book sales, and if there are no more temples, then the books shall remain. So far my coming to Moscow, yes I will come, but I may not be arrested. Still I shall go, and I shall speak on pure communism. I hope this meets you and your good wife Himavati in best of health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: Bhagavad-gita, book distribution, Heidelberg, publishing, Russia letters | 05:19 |8 November, 1973 New Delhi My Dear Jadurani dasi: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 19, 1973. Yes, why not get Devahuti to paint, she's a good painter. Now I want for Lord Caitanya's Appearance Day one book of Adi lila published, 400 pages at least, hardbound, for being distributed at Mayapur. Regarding the enclosed photo, the Yamadutas are all right. Yes, it is all right to show the subtle body looking just like the gross body. Regarding Lord Caitanya's danda, it was broken for good. So after Puri, He never took danda. So for painting Him as sannyasa, it depends on the time as to whether He had danda or not. The eka danda is all right, as in the Sadbhujah picture I sent. Do not be concerned with how the Mayavadi sannyasi dandas are wrapped because we are not following them. Kapiladeva was a young man, say 15 or 16 years. He appeared as a baby. Salagrama sila is a black stone ball, round, with eyes and nose painted with gopicandana with a golden crown on and placed on one small srngasana. Advaita Acarya was worshipping this way. Regarding the arati ceremony of Svayambhuva Manu, better to have the men and women separate. That is the Vedic system. Not like in the West of co-education, because intermingling of men and women was not at all sanctioned. If he is performing arati, how can he sit in a throne or asana? The young girls on the bank were worshipping Siva linga. It is made from earth collected from the Ganges bank. There was no deity of Durgadevi. These Siva lingas are placed right on the Ganga bank without any throne, wherever there is a suitable place. So why don't you come to Mayapur for sometime, not only you but all others and stay for sometime and finish the paintings locally there. So go on with your chanting of Hare Krsna. You have written "Jaya Vali Hari," but it is "bali hari yai?" meaning "I give you all credit, all glories." I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: art, Brooklyn, Caitanya Caritamrta, questions letters | 05:18 |7 November 2007 Wednesday, 7 November, 1973 New Delhi Sunset Beach, Hawaii My Dear Tusta Krsna Maharaja: Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your telegram dated October 29 reading as follows: "DEAR SRILA PRABHUPADA, PLEASE ACCEPT MY HEART AT YOUR FEET RECEIVED YOUR LETTER AND TELEGRAM TODAY TEMPLE WILL NOT BE SOLD ALL PAPERS TO BE SIGNED OVER TO YOU NEVER INTENDED TO CLAIM PROPERTY OR MONEY AS MY OWN DETAILED LETTER FOLLOWS PLEASE FORGIVE ANY CONFUSION OR ANXIETY MY BLUNDERS HAVE CAUSED YOU--YOUR SERVANT TUSTA." I am at present in New Delhi awaiting for our festival here, so your telegram has been redirected from Bombay. I am so much pleased to read it because I know that all of you, Siddha Svarupa Maharaja, Sudama Vipra Maharaja, and yourself, are all good souls, and so I also know that Gaurasundara is also of this same level, but I do not know why this disruption has taken place. If there is any misunderstanding with the GBC men, that can be readjusted by mutual understanding. I wanted to see you all to mitigate this misunderstanding, but I was very busy in Bombay for the same Juhu land of Mr. Nair. Perhaps you remember that you introduced Mr. Nair to me. Now he is dead and gone, but he created so many obstacles. So I had to pay them so many lakhs of rupees black, but now the position is that it is purchased, but still there is a little discrepancy. I hope this will also be squared up without delay. So kindly take my word and do not leave our society. If you cannot agree with the GBC, I can take up your matter personally and do the needful. I love you all very much, and if you go away and stay independently that will be a great shock for me. I want to meet you all together. Let me know where I shall go to meet you. Just now I have received the news that in Hawaii the tulsi plants are drying for want of watering. How has Govinda dasi left the tulsi plants which she nourished so lovingly? Please therefore all of you go to your respective positions and revive your devotional activities without any further delay, and if you cannot cope with the GBC men, which I suppose there must have been some disagreement, I shall deal with you directly. But, do not leave the Krsna consciousness movement, at any cost. If possible kindly let me know where is Gaurasundara. On my behalf please request him to come back to the temple and save the tulsi plants. Ask Govinda dasi also on my behalf to do this without delay. Kindly treat this letter as very urgent and do the needful. Awaiting your early reply. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami cc: Karandhara Das, ISKCON, Los Angeles, Madhudvisa Maharaja, ISKCON, Sydney ACBS/bs Labels: disagreements, GBC, Hawaii, tulasi letters | 05:18 |7 November, 1973 New Delhi My Dear Karandhara Das: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 25, 1973 and have noted the contents. So far yourself is concerned, whatever is done is done. Now go on with your duty and do it nicely. You are an intelligent devotee. You can understand. Now one thing for Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Appearance Day, I want that there be published one volume of Caitanya Caritamrta. You have got the Adi lila from Chapter Seven onwards. So at least one volume must be published of 400 pages, hardbound edition. Copies must be there in Mayapur for distribution on the appearance day. So please arrange for this. Another thing is that now my program is fixed up for going to Nairobi on November 23, instant, and from there I will return to Los Angeles via Rome. I will stop there for two days for meeting with the Pope. So I may request you to send one ticket for Pradyumna (P. Sherbow) Nairobi-Rome-Los Angeles. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs N.B. I have received the two bank slips for $298.20 and $200.00 Also enclosed is one letter to Tusta Krsna. Labels: itinerary, Los Angeles, publishing letters | 05:17 |7 November, 1973 New Delhi My Dear Tamala Krsna das Goswami: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 1/11/73 and have noted the contents. So why Mrs. Nair has not given the tax certificate. What is the cause for delay? What answer does her lawyer give you? Regarding the fencing, why depend on others? That there is delay means we cannot depend on Mr. Shetty to do the work. We have to do ourselves. He proposed he would sit down and supervise. If he does so, that's nice. Otherwise we have to arrange for our own men to work. Yes, we want to begin the temple construction immediately, so let them approve the plans. In the meantime finish the fencing, cleansing, and painting the residential quarters. If possible make the privy a little usable. It is not a practical idea of Mr. Birla to first collect half the money and then construct. People will pay as the construction goes on. If they are doubtful, then they can form a temple construction committee. and see that every pie is used for temple construction. At least Mr. Birla must give whatever he has promised for Vrindaban. Vrindaban needs money, but we can't press him for Bombay. If he likes, he will give, but he is such a rich man he can pay for both. I am glad to learn that you are preaching nicely. It is very important business. Unless our men understand thoroughly the philosophy, how will they be able to preach. After fencing, you can make one big electric light post to illuminate the temple ground. So you replace my Rs. 30,000/- personal deposit, and when you've done it, please let me know. Regarding Mohanananda I have already written to Satsvarupa that Mohanananda may remain in Bombay for at least three months. I think you can keep him to assist you so you can go for collecting, and he can manage locally. Gradually he will also collect, but now India is foreign to him. But you should know that Krsna has sent him, so keep him nicely. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: Bombay, construction, legal, preachers, Vrindavan letters | 05:16 |6 November 2007 Tuesday, 6 November, 1973 New Delhi Srimati Indira Gandhi Prime Minister of India Your Excellency Srimati Indira Gandhi Devi: I thank you very much for kindly allowing an interview to my disciples Sriman Gurudasa Adhikari accompanied by his wife also, Srimati Yamuna devi. Perhaps your Excellency is aware of our Krsna consciousness movement all over the world. We are not only preaching the cult by chanting and dancing, but also by presenting in the English language the books of the bhakti cult, especially Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam all over the world. You will be pleased to know that our books are being well received in all parts of the world, and recently we have information from London that in two months time we have sold 30,000 copies of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. I am sending herewith one copy of my book Bhagavad-gita As It Is as my humble presentation. I hope at your convenient leisure time, you can have a glance over this book, at least the preliminary statement in the Foreword, Introduction, and Preface, which will convince you of the importance of the book. We think that Bhagavad-gita As It Is without a wrong interpretation can solve all the problems of human society, namely social, political, religious, economic, philosophical, cultural, or from any angle of vision, because it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is above all deficiency, namely mistake, illusion, cheating, and the imperfection of the senses. So we in our humble way are trying to spread this cult of Bhagavad-gita all over the world, and my American and European disciples, two samples of them are meeting with you, are helping me in this connection. After all, Bhagavad-gita is the sublime cultural knowledge, and of course religion is included there, but it is not fanaticism or sentimental religion. It is based on pure science, philosophy, and logic. I wish that our Indian government will be proud to take up this cultural movement very seriously, so that the whole world will be benefited, and India will be glorified. I hope Krsna will give you the proper sense to understand my humble presentation, and it will be a great pleasure to know you have relished this Bhagavad-gita As It Is without any unauthorized commentation. Thanking you once more for giving us the opportunity to see you in this connection. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: India, politicians letters | 05:16 |6 November, 1973 New Delhi Bhaktivedanta Manor My Dear Mukunda Das: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated October 25, October 29, and the letter from Scandinavian Airlines. So it is a great credit that you have reduced the BBT bill, so make it nil and it will be greatest credit for London. London temple was always bad debtor to BBT, but by your management it is becoming a very good atmosphere. Syamasundara was here, but he has now gone to Hyderabad. It is very good to hear that you are being assisted by Vaikunthanatha and Puranjana. Encourage them and keep good relations with them so things may go on nicely. This is management. Also Madhavananda and his wife are both very good workers and they will be very expert in dealing with the Indians. What about Jaya Hari? He was a very good book distributer. Try to engage him. Another request I have to you is that there have now been two instances of when somebody does not agree you try to get them out by calling the police. This is never to be done. This is the mistaken policy of Shayamasundar, but do not follow this principle. With great difficulty we get a man. We have to reform them. Our business is to become sympathetic to fallen souls. So in future do not do it all. Everything should be done amicably. Regarding the letter from the airlines, does it mean we are entitled to a refund or we can utilize the credit on their airlines? I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: BBT, London, management letters | 05:15 | |
|
| ||
|
||||
|
||||
