a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1973 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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8 August 2007 8 August, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor My Dear Tamala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 2, August 1973 and I have noted the contents very carefully. Yes, Hrsikesananda Maharaja may collect money for Vrindaban, that will be nice. But I notice that you are to collect one Lakh only, how is that? You are GBC so you should collect more than the others, you should collect the highest amount. One thing is that the Hyderabad scheme is hazy, so that collection may be spent for Vrindaban. See the correspondence with Mahamsa above. Yes, your idea to install Krishna Balarama first is all right. It would be nice if all the deities can be installed at the same time, but if it is not possible then installation of Krishna and Balarama is all right. I am very pleased to note that in Delhi they are doing the life membership programme. Previously I suggested this to Madhavananda and now he is doing it, that's nice. I also was meeting big Government officials and distributing my Back To Godhead in that way, at that time there were no books. I have already written to you in my letter dated July 20th 1973 that I will dispatch the 9 Lakhs if negotiations are fruitful. (See enclosed letter). You show three Lakhs and I shall show 9 Lakhs. Yes, I have received the Bank statements from C. B.I. I shall talk of this thing later. Out of the 150,000 Rs/. you have repayed only 27,000 Rs/. you have to complete this immediately so 3 lakhs will be shown from Gowalia Tank Branch and 9 Lakhs from C. B.I. Head office, so whatever money you collect use it to fill up this blank. You fill up the 50,000 Rs/. and I shall show the balance of 9 lakhs in the C. B.I. Head office. So pay immediately another 30,000 Rs/. and free the second 50,000 Rs/. The collections from your part meant for Vrindaban may be sent later because the construction is going on there. First of all fill up if you are serious about negotiations. I have met Mr. Therany in Zurich and he is a nice gentleman, he will pay as promised, so keep him satisfied. Observe many festivals, that will keep both public and devotees alive. Temple means festivals and Festivals means chanting and distribution of Prasadm. Regarding Hyderabad, I have got the draft and letter and the reply is sent to Mahamsa and you. If you have got a copy then you ask Mr. Vakil that the clause No. 5 shall be omitted. You cannot go to Hyderabad unless approved by me, you will understand everything from the enclosed letter. But I am happy to know that the preaching is going on. Above all our preaching must go on. If we do not get that land then we may purchase some other land, that is not a very difficult thing, but preaching is our real business. If Mrs. Nair's solicitors are serious then we can show bank reference by the 25th August 1973. Gargamuni told me that he collected 50,000 Rs/. of which the major portion was spent to pay for bills that Madhavananda left unpaid. If this is a fact then it is most dangerous. Let me know. Gargamuni is sending you reports, but have you not received this report? I hope this letter meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami enclosure ACBS:hda Labels: Bombay, India, life membership, management letters | 17:20 |25 July 2007 Wednesday, 25 July, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor Dear Gurudasa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 20, 1973 and I have carefully considered the contents. I am pleased to hear how you are completely absorbed in the project of our Vrindaban temple and taxing your brain how it can be carried out. I am also always praying to Krsna that He may give you intelligence to carry it out rightly. If you let me know actually how much money will be required to complete the temple, then I can make some financial scheme so that you can quickly get money and finish the project. You and Tamala Krsna das Goswami can make an estimate and send it to me so that I can work on a scheme to arrange for that amount. Regarding Saurabha, I think he can stay with you in Vrindaban designing, and he can also go sometimes to Hyderabad, as required, and then return to you. Yes, I agree that you should construct the temple in sections and first should be the darsana mandap, the deity Garbha Grha etc. In this way if need be you can install the deity without other shelter. Now Madhavananda and his wife have arrived. Kausalya is an expert Deity worshiper and an important hand in our movement, so she and Yamuna, two sisters can be very useful in Deity worship there. Keep Kausalya comfortable and she can be a great help. Madhavananda can be engaged in collections. I think all respectable gentlemen will come and you can arrange for that. Our temple is the only Krsna Balarama temple in Vrindaban and it will be so attractive that people will automatically come and see. That quarter is aristocratic and our temple is unique. From Bombay and Delhi we can rent rooms in the temple. This is called bhetnama. Perhaps you may know. The room is used by the contributor for lifetime then it becomes again the property of the temple. Our new disciple Hrsikesananda Swami has promised to collect money from Punjab for Vrindaban. Let him go to Punjab, leaving Calcutta. In this way all of you, Tejyas, Tamala Krsna etc., combine together collect and finish the project. I may try to help from other sources if I receive an estimate of the cost of the scheme. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: life membership, management, Vrindavan letters | 06:43 |17 June 2007 17 June, 1973 Mayapur My dear Tamala Krsna, Please accept my blessings I have received your telegram regarding Syamasundara asking devotees to leave India to be guests in the new London temple. So let Syamasundara come to Mayapur and we can discuss this and correct any difficulty. Regarding our involvement with the property in Bombay: by chance we have been entangled but now a strong committee should be formed of our life members. Let them take it up, otherwise what can be done? Our men should be engaged for preaching - why should the preaching be stopped? I was very much encouraged when you and Gargamuni Swami purchased jeeps and formed a travelling sankirtana party. So why have you stopped it? Let the matter of the property in Bombay be dependent on the life members. They have paid us for membership and we have paid them, so they are also concerned. Giriraja and a small staff can stay but they must be given visa facility. The next thing is if you take up this travelling sankirtana party seriously. Just as in USA they are sending buses from U.S. centers to the villages so you can do that and entrust this Bombay matter to our life members. Hoping this will meet you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/jda Labels: Bombay, life membership, preachers, travelling letters | 04:48 |27 April 2007 27 April, 1973 Los Angeles My Dear Bapi: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated April 21, 1973 and am glad to learn that you have immigration visa for U.S.A. valid until August 9, 1973. Your former letters I did not receive most probably because they have been missing me because of my extensive travelling. I have come from India to U.S.A. recently on April 1. You can purchase immediately one membership ticket for ISKCON. It costs only Rs. 1111/-, and on this ticket you can stay in any temple for as many days as you like. So you can secure a membership ticket from our membership office at the following address: ISKCON, 66 Babar Road, Bengali Market, New Delhi. When you come to New York, I shall advise the Temple Commander to receive you. As you have been granted visa, you can secure a job. I think you can get it easily because you are qualified. I shall advise my disciples to help you, but this will have to be arranged when you come here. I am sorry to learn that your father cannot see at night. When our time is up, we have to push on even in broken condition of life. At present I am in Los Angeles and most probably will be here during the month of August. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: life membership, New Delhi letters | 13:23 |15 March 2007 Thursday, 15 March, 1973 Calcutta My dear Tejiyas: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated March 12th and have examined it with great pleasure. This program of approaching MPs is very very important. If you can get this petition approved, that would be a great boon to our movement. Even if 15 or 20 MPs join our Society that will be a new chapter for us. And your petition is very attractively worded. Actually India is the spiritual leader of the world but the fools and rascals are trying to sabotage the position. Your school preaching is very much welcomed by me. We are in need of new recruits to carry out so many ambitious programs here in India, so if you can infiltrate the school system as you did in America that will be a great service. Yes, this program for the factories I have already outlined. Let the labor-management disputes be finished by prasada and regular kirtanas with temples right on the premises. Your statement that "no intelligent man can resist becoming the member'' because of our books is a very good observation. Now these beautiful books have become the firm basis for our movement and any intelligent person in any part of the world cannot but fail to admire them. Devotees there or visiting must follow our regulated principles under your direction or they need not stay. Devotees should not be in India on their own business or on a whim, they should have our GBC approval. Everyone must be favorably engaged. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/rdg Labels: India, life membership, New Delhi, preachers letters | 04:47 |7 March 2007 Wednesday, 7 March, 1973 Calcutta My Dear Dr. Aggarwal, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated Feb. 25, and I have examined the contents carefully. Thanks very much for the poem. I am very pleased to hear that you are regularly visiting our Washington Temple, and seeing our Damodara Prabhu and the others. Actually one can be perfectly Krishna Conscious without being literate. Education is not necessary. Simply it is required to accept the fact, that we are the eternal servants of Krishna, and engage in some tangible service. Otherwise, there are so many convincing arguments, i.e. the Bhagavad-Gita, to bring us to the right point of surrender. Even the Karma-Kanda, and Jnana-Kanda, sections of the Vedas are designed to bring to the proper Sidhanta, conclusion. And that conclusion is made by Krishna in the Gita, that one who knows the purpose behind the Vedas, surrenders unto Him. Four things can be surrendered: Our life, our words, our intelligence, and our money. So just try to gradually engage these things in Krishna's Service. One thing you can enquire from Damodara, is about our Life Membership Program. Here in India we have now over 2000 members, including may prominent men. You are a learned gentleman, a medical doctor, so kindly apply your determination, to understand this Krishna Conscious movement, and I am confident that Krishna will bless you more and more. Kindly just read our books, and help us as you are able. I am going to Mayapur by the 15th, for the celebration of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Appearance Day, and the opening of our new centre there. Meanwhile I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/rdg Labels: life membership, Washington letters | 07:30 |March 7, 1973 Calcutta My Dear Bali-mardana Maharaja: Please accept my blessings and I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter, with newspaper clipping, dated nil. I can understand that actually Hayagriva was not involved directly in the management of Back to Godhead and that whatever arrangement you already have there is sufficient. Meanwhile Hayagriva can be encouraged to continue his literary contribution of articles, editing of the smaller books, etc. We shall see what he can do, and if at all possible he should be brought back to the standard. In this connection I have written his wife, Kirtanananda Swami, and the GBC members. Thus far I have received no reply regarding Madhudvisa's suggestion about Hrdayananda from the GBC members. You have been to India so you know the importance of the life membership program here, so I am requesting that you personally attend to some items needed here for the preaching work in that connection. Rupanuga is writing the specifics to you under separate cover. I have received from Kirtiraja the specifics and plans of your proposed building, the Columbia Club property, and it is ideal for all of our purposes so I am anxious to hear of any progress in securing it. I am approving of second initiation for Hari-puja dasi as you requested. My plans are to go to Mayapur as soon as they have finished my quarters and to remain there until the 22nd. Thank you very much for the mostly favorable newspaper article and I hope this meets you in good mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: initiation, life membership, management, New York, regulative principles letters | 07:29 |2 January 2007 Tuesday, 2 January, 1973 Bombay My dear Tejiyas, Please accept my blessings. Your letter dated 21 September 1972 is in hand and I am especially glad to note that you have got that apartment in Bengali Market, Babar Road. Now you have got facility for spreading Krsna consciousness in Delhi, and I know that you are very sincere and serious preacher, therefore Krsna has given you to utilize on His behalf. You have mentioned one life member meeting and some queen is helping, but I do not understand what queen that is or what is that life member meeting. You may please inform me everything in connection with the Delhi business, I am always anxious to hear from you. I think that they have sent you books from Bombay so now you distribute them as profusely as possible and make also life members, as many as possible. I am informed there are many so-called hippies staying at Delhi, so you try to recruit some of these men or other local men to assist you there. Your description of struggling is to be understood as the mercy of Krsna, and when He is satisfied by your giving energy in this way just to please Him despite all conditions of difficulty, then you need not worry for money, there will be sufficient and more. I am including herewith one letter to the Minister of Home Affairs. You present him with a full set of our books, including Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, like that, and give him also my letter. Try to present them personally to him. Actually you may take this opportunity of being situated at Delhi to make every Parliamentary member our life member also. You can get the list of addresses and systematically approach each and every member of Parliament to become our member also. So many big big lawyers, doctors, government ministers, professional men are there in Delhi, I think more than any other city of India, and they are all intelligent men, they can be easily recruited for life member by simply showing the books and requesting them to kindly help us in this way. So make many, many life members amongst this class of men, that will be your great contribution. Whether there were any news clippings on the Parliamentary proceedings that you sent me? Hoping this will meet you in good health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: India, life membership letters | 15:02 | |
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