a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
|
|
| Prabhupada Letters :: 1973 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
|
|
20 December 2007 20 December, 1973 Los Angeles My dear Hari Bol Ananda, Please accept my blessings. I am in receipt of your letter dated December 13, 1973. Yes, we want to develop our land there and Bhaktivedanta Manor very nicely with cows and gardens. So after discussing the matter fully with Madhavananda and Mukunda you make a practical plan for doing this, simultaneously carrying on the Sankirtana program and book distribution. Kindly keep me informed of the progress there. I hope this meets you well. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:Kda letters | 17:31 | 2 December 2007 Saturday, 1 December, 1973 Los Angeles My Dear Jayananda, Please accept my blessings. I am in receipt of your letter dated November 13, 1973. I was very happy to hear from you. I am always thinking of you and praying to Krsna for your advancement in Krishna Consciousness. That you are engaged in street Sankirtana in San Francisco is fully approved by me. That you are feeling more and more enthusiasm by doing this is quite natural as Sankirtana is our life and soul. My Guru Maharaja used to say, "One who has got life, he can preach." Yes, I remember the old days in San Francisco. Krsna has been so kind upon me to have sent so many sincere disciples to help me push on this Movement on behalf of my Guru Maharaja. You continue with your program there in San Francisco, always strictly keeping our principles and Krsna will bless you with greater and greater realization of the importance of this Movement. I am dependent upon you, my older disciples, to carry it on. Please offer my blessings to your good wife, Trayi devi dasi, and thank her on my behalf for the three nice drawings of Krsna lila. Also, please thank Bhavatarini devi dasi for her drawing of Gopala Krsna. So far how she can serve me, the best service is to chant Hare Krsna always and spread it to every town and village. I hope this meets you well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/Kda Labels: San Francisco, sankirtan letters | 18:25 |16 October 2007 Tuesday, 16 October, 1973 Bombay My Dear Kurusrestha Das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 5, 1973 with enclosed pictures, and you have given me much pleasure. The altar is very nice and so are all the pictures. It appears to be very neat and clean. Please keep this standard. The tulsi also is very nice. It is a fact that the American people are the most fortunate in the world, and that this Krsna consciousness movement is the final touch of fortune. You are doing very nicely, and I thank you very much. Your high school classes are very nice. Take care of the young people for a future Krsna conscious generation. The worship of Lord Jagannatha must go on nicely and cleanly. Regarding your Sankirtana, yes, if anyone chants, tries to follow the rules and regulations, and reads our books, he'll be successful in his life. Regarding the initiations, I am pleased to accept the following as my disciples: Pancanand das--Mike Price Vamsidas--Tom Harovtunian Srinivasa das--Hans Olson Virachandra das--Dick Erdel Bhaktapriya dasi--Christene Mossain Also enclosed is the sacred thread for Makhana Taskara. Let Karandhara chant on the beads and hold a sacrifice. The gayatri mantra should be heard through the right ear from the tape. Please see that all the new disciples do nicely and always chant Hare Krsna. Yes, when I go to Los Angeles next, I will surely come to your Denver temple. The pictures you have sent attracts me. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Denver, initiation, sankirtan letters | 14:20 |12 October 2007 12 October, 1973 Bombay My Dear Hamsaduta: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your GBC report dated October 4, 1973 and I thank you very much for it. So your Sankirtana Parties are collecting very nicely, especially Amsterdam. As long as we go on preaching in this way, we will not starve. It is good that the Berlin party is travelling. To be stagnant is not good. Just like I am an old man, but I am always travelling. I am glad that the Hamburg Deity worship is going on nicely. Wherever there is Deities there must be first class care, arati, bhoga, cleanliness, dressing, regular classes. If this is not possible, then better to travel. Your translation process is very good, so do it nicely. So you are doing excellent preaching, while I am here fighting with Mrs. Nair. I want that when this business is finished to return for Europe or America, perhaps via Africa. You will be pleased to know that the London devotees that you have trained in Sankirtana and book distribution are doing very nicely. This past month they have sent dollars 10,000 to Los Angeles against their debts. Mukunda is there in charge, and Syamasundara is here in India. The German devotees I have seen both in Paris and Stockholm have impressed me by their enthusiasm. It is very encouraging, so train them nicely. The Germans are very intelligent, and they will be the future preachers. So give them nice translations of my books and you will have tremendous success in Germany. Our success is our enthusiasm. So everything we do should be done with enthusiasm, the chanting, reading, and following the rules and regulations. Regarding the Festival programs, you should not stop because it is not economic. You can earn from book-selling and then spend for the festivals. The festivals are very good for attracting the people, then you can easily inject the Krsna conscious poison into them. You are experienced, senior member of the society, and Krsna has given you excellent opportunity for organizing Central Europe. I am sure you will be able to do something in Moscow. The young men there, are eager, only the government is a barrier. It is a good field there, you simply have to find the means, but rest assured that you will find many customers there. Regarding your service as secretary, you are as good as the others, and sometimes better than the others, so don't say like that. I am very satisfied on you and your good wife, so go on serving Krsna with greater enthusiasm. That will make me happy. Actually everyone one of you my disciples are good, and my task is to find out the fault in you. Yes, just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu, His spiritual master simply found Him to be a great fool number one. He said that the Lord was unfit to read Vedanta and should just chant Hare Krsna. Your emphasis on book distribution is very good. You have enough centers. Let more devotees come, then consider opening more. The bus program is successful everywhere, so continue it. I hope this meets you and your good wife in best of health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: festivals, Heidelberg, sankirtan, spiritual master, travelling letters | 10:21 |30 September 2007 Saturday, 30 September, 1973 Bombay My Dear Radha Damodara, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for the very nice button you have sent me. Preaching work is our main business as this picture on the button shows. I pray that Krsna blesses you with all strength and intelligence to guide the Sankirtana movement ahead in Denver. I hope this finds you in the best of health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:tkg letters | 10:21 | 30 September, 1973 Bombay My Dear Madhudvisa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated September 20th, 1973, and I have noted the contents carefully. I am very glad to note your Sankirtana enthusiasm. These Volkswagen buses are very nice. This is real Sankirtana preaching. Regarding Hong Kong, I think the Sankirtana can be organized there also. Please try to organize it. Your reply to the Hindus regarding another Swami speaking in our Krishna Consciousness Temple is nice. We cannot compromise to satisfy others. The neophyte preaching programme is very good, and this should be introduced in all our centers. Regarding the devotees getting sick, they are not accustomed to eating fatty foods. Therefore, I suggest boiled vegetable taking only little ghee and capati without any ghee. Tusta Krishna Maharaja, Siddha Svarupananda Maharaja and Sudama Vipra Maharaja are good boys and if there are any difficulties, I shall rectify these on my return to Los Angeles via Hawaii. Regarding the Lord Caitanya murti, it is not at all good and I do not approve. Lord Caitanya is stout and strong. There are so many pictures which you can follow. So have the artist start a new murti. Regarding my coming there in December for opening the new Australian Headquarters, yes that will be possible if the opening ceremony can correspond with the celebration of the Disappearance Day of my Guru Maharaja on December 13rd, that will be auspicious. I hope this meets you and all my beloved disciples in Australia well. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Australasia, deities, disagreements, health, sankirtan letters | 10:21 |4 September 2007 4 September, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor My Dear Sudama Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated August 28, 1973. I have noted the contents carefully. My sanction for the deities in the touring van is still there. But I have heard that sometimes the deity falls down, so these things are objectionable. Touring and book distribution, side by side, this is the main business. The general public will not be very much interested to see the deity, it is our personal business. When you contact with the mass of people Sankirtana is the main business. So considering all these point you do the needful, I have no objection. I hope this letter meets you well. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:hda Labels: deities, New York, sankirtan, travelling letters | 19:37 |3 September 2007 3 September, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor My Dear Madhudvisa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated August 24, 1973. Your book selling report is very encouraging to me, so much so that I want to go there immediately. Anyway as soon as I get opportunity I shall go to Australia to visit all the nice places you have started and stay there for at least two months. Krishna has given you great opportunity to preach the Krishna Caitanya cult in that remote part of the world. The time was there some years ago when Australia would not allow any colored men to enter, but now you have allowed Caitanya Mahaprabhu to enter Australia and inundated the whole country with Hari Nama Sankirtana. Caitanya Mahaprabhu's another name is Pita Varanara Gaura, so by your combined effort I hope that one day Pita Varanara Gaura will rule over Australia. I think that Australia is a great field for these activities as it is evident from the book sales statistics gradually increasing. I am very much encouraged in this respect. I am going on the 5th September for a few days to Stockholm, Sweden, then returning to London, and leaving here on the 15th September for Japan via Iran, and India. I expect to reach Los Angeles by the 10th October. I hope this letter meets you well. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Australasia, book distribution, itinerary, sankirtan letters | 15:57 |31 August 2007 31 August, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor My Dear Jagadisa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated August 24, 1973, and I have noted the contents carefully. Regarding the Regina temple, if it is already opened then maintain it, otherwise we should not open more centers at this time, especially in the smaller cities, it is better to go there with traveling Sankirtana parties, that was my point. And the deities in a moving vehicles is all right, providing they are cared for properly, so do the needful. Everything has to be done expertly that is my point. Otherwise your report is encouraging to me, I always look forward to hearing from you. I hope this letter will meet you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: deities, Regina, sankirtan, Toronto, travelling letters | 15:55 |28 August 2007 28 August, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor My Dear Bahudak, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated August 6, 1973 and I have noted the contents carefully. When I hear about the Sankirtana Buses that are moving all over the world then I think that we are becoming like a gigantic guerilla warfare movement fighting with maya. This traveling in buses is the best means to drive away maya and establish Krishna consciousness all over the world. After all the whole world is the property of Krishna, but temporarily it is being illegally occupied by maya's agents. Flood them with kirtana and books, this is the best weapon, increase the number of buses that will be your success. The new initiates are named as follows: Peggy Flyn--Purnamasi Dasi, Garry Pennington--Punderikasam Das. I am also enclosing one sacred thread and mantra for Ganapati Das. You may proform a fire ceremony and distribute prasadam feast. I hope this letter meets you well. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: initiation, sankirtan, Vancouver letters | 15:54 |15 August 2007 15 August, 1973 U.K. 15 August, 1973 My Dear Madhudvisa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter and check for 1111.00 dollars. Regarding the old lady blessing the king, although the part of a constable is not very big, but the blessing is big always. Just as Krishna wants from his devotee a little flower, a little leaf, a little water, or a little fruit, these things are not very big things. Still if a faithful devotee offers to Lord Krishna with love and service, Krishna accepts them very gladly. So Krishna's gladness and the devotee's love and sincerity, they are taken into consideration. Similarly when a person offers something in sincere faith and love that is always welcome either by big or small men. So as you are spreading Krishna consciousness in Australia. Hamsaduta is also spreading in Germany. He has got eight vans and they are out regularly preaching sankirtana and selling books and he is now well to do even financially, and I hope you are also well to do, otherwise how you can promise for the next year 11,111.00 dollars. It is very nice. So you continue this system of preaching village to village by increasing the number of Sankirtana parties, it will be appreciated by Guru Gauranga. Do it nicely, you are a fit person, Krishna will bless you. I hope this letter will meet you well. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Australasia, sankirtan letters | 10:46 |15 August, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor My Dear Jagadisa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated August 1, 1973 and I have noted the contents carefully. The book fund debts should always be cleared very quickly, otherwise how books will come out, so always pay regularly as you collect. To install Deities in a moving vehicle is not very good. There is always danger of falling and breaking. Sudama already has experience of this. Why is Deity worship being introduced? It should not be introduced because it is very difficult to maintain the standard under such circumstances. If you have picture of Guru Gauranga that is sufficient. You are wondering if you did the right thing by giving the Deities to Sudama, so the answer is no. The deities may be brought back and worshiped in the temple as before. The idea of traveling Sankirtana is to distribute books not to do Deity worship, it is very difficult to maintain the standard of Deity worship in the temple, how will it be maintained in a truck? Another thing is that opening temples should not be encouraged at this time. Subala did the same thing in Santa fee years ago, why again he is doing the same thing? Hamsaduta in Germany instead of increasing the temples and Deity worship he has increased the Sankirtana parties. He is running on eight New buses and distributing large quantities of literature, this is more important. Neglectful Deity worship means offense. So make propaganda in this way, but in the bus there should not be Deity worship, simply the picture of Guru Gauranga. I hope this letter meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: deities, sankirtan, Toronto, travelling letters | 10:44 |27 July 2007 27 July, 1973 Bhaktivedanta Manor My dear Tamala Krishna Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge your letter dated 22nd July. It is very encouraging to note that the work on our BTG and other Books is going on. Actually producing and distributing books is our most important engagement, all other engagements culminate in this one end--distribution of books. Anyway our festival here was very well received and I was so much encouraged by the whole thing that I was able to walk and dance the entire way from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square. The newspapers showed one picture of our Ratha next to the statue of Nelson and caption was "Krishna - a rival to Nelson." So all over the world our men are working hard to push this important message. I know that you are very hard working all the time and therefore your life is becoming perfect and sublime. Thank you for helping me so much. I hope you are well. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/hda As we are in possession of the land we must fully utilize it for our purpose. We must therefore hold Sankirtana Festival immediately and arrangement must be done with the help of all Hindu leaders like __, __ etc. ACBS Labels: Bombay, London, Rathayatra, sankirtan letters | 06:45 |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 | 11 July 2007 Wednesday, 11 July, 1973 England Dear Ajita, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 28 June, 1973, and I have carefully noted the contents. It is encouraging to me that you are in Stockholm trying to open a center, six of you including your wife. From your letter it appears you have found a nice place for a center there. Yes, we can use everything in Krsna's service and when Krsna gives us a nice big house that does not mean we use it for our eating and sleeping, but we work harder in His service. It is also very favorable that you are able to do sankirtana in the streets and getting a nice reception. The book you enclosed is excellently done. Let me know how you are doing in distributing them. Regarding the initiated disciple of my Godbrother Sanananda Swami, Vamanadeva das, please approach him and request that he come and see me in London. So Everything appears to be going well there, just go on increasing. As you write that the Swedish society has placed great stress on material happiness so you can expose how this material life is actually full of miseries and temporary, and the so-called happiness is only illusion. People in the western countries are becoming gradually fed up with materialistic propaganda so you will find good response simply by chanting, speaking from Bhagavad gita as it is, and distributing prasadam to everyone. Unless the human society takes to this process the situation is very precarious. So we have to work hard. Hope this finds you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 19:29 | 20 June 2007 Wednesday, 20 June, 1973 Mayapur My Dear Gunagrahi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 5 June 1973 and I have noted the contents. Everything appears to be going very nicely there under your management. You are facilitating sankirtana and book distribution by travelling and going to colleges in a trailer, and you are preparing for a large Ratha-yatra festival. This is all pleasing and inspiring to me. Upon your recommendation I have accepted the following as my disciples: Lawrence Burstein's name is now Lokavarnotamma das, Claude Crocker is now Cittaranjan das, Catherine Crocker is now Citraketu devi dasi and David Sherk shall now be called Gadai das. Regarding second initiation, enclosed is a sacred thread for Lalitananda das and gayatri mantra for he and one for Sita devi dasi. Hold a fire yajna for the first initiates and later, privately you may play the gayatri mantra tape for the new brahmanas. Have them hear the tape in the right ear and show them how to count on their fingers. Regarding your questions about Gaura Nitai Deity worship: Yes, it is all right Gaura Nitai may wear turbans as well as crowns. You ask what they may wear in the evening--they can wear different dresses or night clothing just as Krsna is dressed. Make a small symbolical bed and give Them rest in that way. Bathe the Deities mentally by mantra and not by pouring upon them. Hoping this finds you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: Buffalo, deities, initiation, sankirtan letters | 16:49 |27 April 2007 27 April, 1973 Los Angeles My Dear Tamala Krishna Goswami: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated _ from Bhopal and also one forwarded to me from London with enclosures dated April 11, 1973. I am so pleased to learn of the successful preaching; now go on in this way. If possible in Kanpur there is one man ready to receive you. You can open correspondence. In this way you visit all the important cities and you will get thousands and thousands of life members. We can organize in each and every factory of Mr. Birla Sankirtana Movement and in this way can save the country from Communist tendency if a big man like Birla cooperates with us. In Indore we have got many life members who will help you. The certificate the Governor has given that you are the real sadhu should be published. If possible the Governor may be induced to become life member so that other government men may follow. Tejiyas Das has already made many M.P.s life members. I am anxious to know about the Mayapur progress. I want that the house must be completely finished before my returning. In London we have purchased land. Mr. Birla wanted to construct temple there. His idea is that the government would not object to sending this marble there so that the carved pieces may be sent and if expert men go there to construct the temple it will be very nice. Some men from U.S.A. are going to Mayapur for doll making, so teach them nicely and we shall be asking doll exhibit in London. Many tourists come there, and it will a great attention for the tourists. Now all you senior members work very hard and let me retire for writing books. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: India, Mayapur, sankirtan letters | 13:16 |17 April 2007 Tuesday, 17 April, 1973 Los Angeles My Dear Nityananda Das: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated April 14, 1973. I was very pleased to read of your Sankirtana book distribution results. That you are sending good amount to the BBT even you have smaller size temple is much appreciated by me. I am very much pleased how all you disciples are distributing my books. Just now Karandhara has informed me that he is printing new editions of Krishna Trilogy, Sri Isopanisad, and NOD, all 100,000 copies each, and Krishna hardback sets, 50,000. So I am very much engladdened by this news. My Guru Maharaja used to be very much pleased whenever there was book distribution. So you just continue it solidly, that is my request. Yes, you can install Gaura Nitai Deities in your temple . . Just now we are ordering very nice first class murtis three feet high from Philippines. They will cost $50.00 per set plus shipping. So we can supply you from Los Angles. Enclosed is one brahmana gayatri mantra sheet for second initiation of Debraja Dasi. Now you show her how to count on the fingers, and have fire sacrifice, and she can hear the tape through the right ear. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: book distribution, deities, initiation, sankirtan letters | 16:21 |15 April 2007 15 April, 1973 Los Angeles My dear boys and girls, you are working so hard for broadcasting the glories of Lord Krishna's lotus feet and thus my Guru Maharaja will be so pleased upon you. Certainly my Guru Maharaja will bestow His blessings thousand times more than me and that is my satisfaction. All Glories to the assembled devotees. N.B. Every one should go with the Sankirtana Party as soon as possible. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Los Angeles, sankirtan letters | 11:32 |8 April 2007 8 April, 1973 New York My dear Sudama, Please accept my blessings. Am in due receipt of your letter dated 4/6/73. I am still in New York, but if the climate is not suitable, I may be going to Los Angeles very soon. Your program for traveling on the West coast holding festivals at schools and communes is approved by me. Especially you must try to convince these students to join us. There is nothing else that will save the world from destruction and it is our responsibility to recruit these young educated boys and girls before they become spoiled by the degraded conditions of this so-called human society. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/jda P.S. I have started printing of English version of Caitanya-caritamrta Labels: festivals, Los Angeles, sankirtan letters | 17:59 | |
|
| ||
|
||||
|
||||
