a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1969 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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2 April 2005 Wednesday, April 2, 1969 San Francisco, Calif. My Dear Gaurasundara, Govinda Dasi, Vamanadeva, Balabhadra, Sudama, and Karatieya, Please accept my blessings to all of you. I beg to inform you that I have safely arrived as scheduled in San Francisco, and I am thinking fondly of you all. Cidananda has received one telephone call from Satsvarupa requesting advice as to what should be Jadurani's program, and I have advised that if the doctor wishes Jadurani to go to Hawaii immediately then she should do this. Otherwise she will wait in Boston till after I go there on April 22nd about. So when this matter is decided you will be notified about her arrival there. I hope this will meet you in good health and cheerful mood. Please keep me informed to your well-being and the progress of your center. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. I am reaching L.A. on 6th and N.Y. on 9th. letters | 06:12 | April 2, 1969 San Francisco, Calif. My Dear Rayarama, Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter dated March 25, 1969, along with the two magazines. These are very excellent both in appearance and in reading matter. This should be the standard of our Back To Godhead. As in the next issue there will be no advertisements, we shall be able to give substantial reading matter like that of Bhaktivinode Thakura, "Teachings of the Golden Avatara." We have got many such informations from the Vedic literature. The mayavadis reject the Puranas, but actually the Puranas are supplementary to the four Vedas, the Upanisads and Vedanta. This is confirmed by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura. Srimad-Bhagavatam also is considered amongst the Puranas, but because the subject matter within is purely transcendental, it is called the Maha Purana. So from the Puranas we can give many, many instructive articles with nice pictures. Similarly, we can give many valuable articles, even from political or social points of view (although they are not our business), so much so, that the people of the world will have completely novel spiritual ideas. As people in your country are very much receptive to new ideas, I think we can place Back To Godhead very nicely with sensible layout. The present issue is excellently done. It is rich in all respects. Your article, "Nine Points," is very instructive. I do not know whether people will take our advice, but we must go on presenting these ideas to the human society. If you are not going to print any more issues in the interval period between this issue and the Japan issue, then I think you can reprint another minimum 10,000 copies for continuing the sales propaganda. I am glad to learn that you are trying to work out things with Hayagriva. I have advised him that he may come also as co-editor. In your previous letter you wanted that the final words in the management of Back To Godhead will rest on one person, either on you or on Hayagriva. I think that for management it is better to have two heads than one. But even there will be two heads, I still wish that you shall continue as the managing editor as you are doing now. Naturally, the final decisions will rest upon you. And if there is actually any controversy, I think there will not be, then I am always at your service. In a recent letter from Hayagriva, I understand that he is feeling little disappointment because there was no invitation from your side. I think now you shall invite him and work jointly as you were doing before. I am still sanguine that my decision in the beginning about you and Hayagriva working as editors for Back To Godhead was very appropriate. I wish to see that both of you, being so intelligent and sincere devotees, shall work together, and then Krishna will help us to propagate this Sankirtana Movement magazine so nicely. I am going to Los Angeles on the sixth morning, and I am thinking of starting for New York on the ninth morning. The tickets may be sent directly to the Los Angeles temple address. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Enclosed find one nice article published in Hawaii while I was coming here. I think you can utilize it for your BTG. ACB letters | 04:14 | 1 April 2005 April 1, 1969 San Francisco, Calif. My Dear Brahmananda, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated March 26, 1969, and I have noted the contents carefully. Regarding the letter to the draft board, I would like that you boys may decide among yourselves what is to be done. When you have decided amongst yourselves, send it to me and I shall sign. I understand that Tamala Krishna has contacted a lawyer in Los Angeles, so you may contact Tamala Krishna to see what he has learned. Regarding my coming to New York next week, you may immediately send tickets from Los Angeles to New York for April 9, 1969. Murari will be coming to work as my attendant but as he already has a ticket, you need send tickets only for myself and for Purusottama. I hope this will meet you all in good health, and I shall be happy to see you once again when I arrive on the 9th. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami NB: If Purusottama's ticket is to be student fare, then please send him one student card and identification. letters | 04:46 | 30 March 2005 Sunday, March 30, 1969 Oahu, Hawaii My Dear Syama dasi, Please accept my blessings. I have received your note along with Satyabhama's letter. I thank you for your very nice sentiments. I hope by this time you must have improved your health and very soon you will be able to work fully along with your good husband. I think by the will of Krishna you two good souls, Hayagriva and yourself, are combined now to fulfill my mission of publishing the whole of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Krishna is sufficiently powerful and able to give facilities to His devotees provided a devotee works very sincerely to please Him. We shall always keep this motto in our view, and it is very nice to hear that you are feeling separation from most beautiful Syamasundara., but you are satisfied by chanting His Holy Name. Syamasundara. is not different from His Name. Krishna's Name, qualities, form, fame, abode and paraphernalia, all are identical with Krishna. So if we take advantage of associating with any one of them that makes us fixed up in our eternal relationship with Syamasundara. I hope you are feeling well, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 10:16 | March 30, 1969 Oahu, Hawaii My Dear Satyabhama, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated Feb. 22, along with the Deities dress, and it was received by me just yesterday. I think due to my change of address it was delayed. Anyway, everyone here has very much appreciated the beautiful dresses you have sent for the Deity and today we are changing the dress by putting on your dress on the transcendental Body of the Deity. I think I have replied your former letter also, which I hope you have received by this time, and I am so glad to learn that you are feeling very happy in New Vrindaban. The basic principle of our life in Vrindaban will be cow keeping. If we can keep cows sufficiently and grow our necessary foodstuffs, then we shall show a new way of life to your countrymen . . . completely spiritual life in healthy atmosphere in divine consciousness. And you will have ample opportunity to educate children and write books for them because there is sufficient matter for publishing such books from the Puranas, Mahabharata, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and many other allied literatures. There are thousands of ideal historical events, which if we can put with suitable pictures, it will be a great idea and people will like to have such literature. I have got many ideas for developing the new Vrindaban scheme and if Krishna gives me opportunity I may be able to show something very wonderful in your country. Unfortunately I have no money neither the richer section of your countrymen have taken any serious view of our movement. Otherwise there is more than sufficient money and if one or two men of your country gives a little attention, with this we can develop many New Vrindabans. We are not very much expensive; simply if we get the necessary money, we can play wonderful. Our only hope is books and literature. So we have to start press, and for that purpose, and publish varieties of books and literature for getting some financial help as well as propagating our mission. So as soon as I come to your place I shall give you all nice ideas you have asked for in your letter under reply. And I thank you very much for giving me all these ideas for our future activities. Please convey my blessings to all your God-brothers and God-sisters there, and especially our Syama dasi, I hope she is doing well. So far keeping Deity in your separate house, I think there is no need for this. Because if you keep Him there, you have to take proper care, with aratis and attention, and thus divert attention from the Deity in the temple, and from chanting and so many other forms of service, like your writing and sewing, etc. So I think it best if everyone centers his attention on the Deity in the temple, and in that way the temple worship will pull on nicely. Of course, if the temple is unapproachable, or too far, or something like that, that is different thing, but if the temple is easily accessible then this is the best program--for all to go there and attend arati and kirtana etc. No, I do not think you should give Jagannatha to small children because they will not take proper care and make offenses. In this country their parents do not give them proper example of worshipping the Deity with all respects. Just like in my childhood, I was seeing my father bowing down and offering respects to the Deity and I did the same on seeing him. But this is not done here, so it is better to take some care in giving Jagannatha out. I hope you are all well, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 07:12 | March 30, 1969 Oahu, Hawaii My Dear Jaya Govinda, Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter of March 7, 1969. At the present time, I am living at Hawaii, therefore your letter was redirected from L.A. temple to here, so I received it late. I am very sorry that I did not reply your last letter but I thank you very much that you are sending me letters every week. Your very strong desire to return to Germany is already approved by me, and Krishna das is very much eager to receive you there. In his letter of March 2nd, he writes to say "we may send Jaya Govinda his ticket via AE immediately; hopefully he will arrive here by the week's end." Therefore I hope you might have already received the ticket for returning to Germany. But before your leaving Delhi, either for Bombay or for Europe, please book the unsold goods taken delivery from Atma Rama and Sons and send to our shipping agent in Calcutta, so they may ship them to N.Y. Your sympathetic expression about my magnitude of work with which I am pressed here is undoubtedly very much encouraging to me, and certainly I am pressed with heavy work. I am receiving letters about 12 daily, from different centers with different problems and then at the same time I am just trying to write my books, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Nectar of Devotion, and Krishna, and lately Vedanta Sutra. So certainly this is heavy task but by the Grace of Krishna, it does not depress me. I feel encouraged to act so busily day and night. But the body sometimes does not allow me to do so. So I have to sleep about 4 to 5 hours. But in comparison to our predecessors, the Goswamis, this engagement in insignificant. These Goswamis used to work almost 24 hours. They used to sleep not more than 2 hours, and they produced immense literature. Of course, it is not possible to be in their level of activities, but as far as possible, we should everyone of us try to work as hard as possible for Krishna's satisfaction. This material body can be adjusted with practice. If we adjust these bodily activities towards Krishna's side, then the labor is fruitful, but if we adjust towards maya's side, then the labor is useless. A little labor done for Krishna is never lost. But the greatest labor done for Maya is simply waste of time. So I think by the Grace of Krishna you are feeling nice now. Please try to work hard for Krishna, and your life will be glorious. By Krishna's Grace and by His desire, you are destined to go to Germany to take up the work of BTG in German. The three boys now working there are very sincere workers. You are also very sincere boy and I am sure when you go there you will find a very nice atmosphere of devotee workers. I am so glad to learn that you are feeling considerably the missing separation of devotees. I am very much hopeful that Krishna Kirtana will be nicely introduced in the Western world by the Grace of Krishna, and by the efforts of our devotees. I am very sorry too that in India you could not fill up the gap of such separation, and I know why you couldn't. So let India may do whatever they like. By the Grace of Krishna you are now initiated to take up this movement; [PAGE MISSING] letters | 06:06 | March 30, 1969 Oahu, Hawaii My Dear Advaita, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your kind letter of March 25, 1969. And I have noted the contents all carefully. So far BTG, for the time being, it will be printed in Japan, so we do not require an extra hand for that purpose. At first we shall print just our books, and then if successful, we shall take to printing to the extent of 5000 copies of BTG per month. So take estimate for printing and binding machines for books only, maybe one or two a year, and save money as much as possible as it will be required to purchase the machines. We shall talk further on all these matters when I arrive there in N.Y., and until then, I hope you are both well, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 04:02 | March 30, 1969 Oahu, Hawaii My Dear Gopala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter of March 21, along with a check for $75, Canadian, and I thank you very much for this contribution for the Deity. And also I am very much obliged to you that you are going to send me another lot of $250 for my book fund. Yes, my Guru Maharaja advised me to give more stress on publication work so most probably I shall try to concentrate my energy in this department very shortly. Perhaps you know that we are going to print BTG every month 20,000 copies, and maybe very soon we shall increase to 50,000 copies. If you kindly help me in distributing these books and literature, it will be a very great help for my missionary activities. You are working as sales organizer so you can think up this sales organization side by side, and if possible try to help. My next scheme is to develop the New Vrindaban scheme, and I require there millions of dollars. Immediately I have got about $25,000 worth of books or more. If you think of how to organize sales, then we can promote more and more books, and with the profit thereof, we can spend in so many departments. The people of the Western country, they are fond of reading books and by propaganda work we have to change their taste and divert them from reading all worldly literatures, to transcendental literature. Please think of this carefully and let me know if you can help. You write to say that these days the educated class of people have rejected devotional service--and it is their misfortune. This means they are not being educated; rather they are being degraded. According to the verdict of Srimad-Bhagavatam, if one is not devotee, then he has no good qualifications, and if one is simply devotee, it is to be supposed that he has got all the good qualities. For the present you do not try to have a small temple in your house, because I know that you are not strictly vegetarian. I do not know whether now you are also strictly vegetarian, but unless you become so, don't try to have a small temple in your house as proposed by you. The four principles which we ask our students to follow, namely, restraining illicit sex life, etc., must be the basic principles of spiritual life. I am glad that you are preparing for your exam, and after that, please try to move the Indian papers, how Krishna consciousness movement is improving and flourishing here in USA, while the Indian boys and girls have rejected it. Illustrated Weekly of India had sometimes back published our article (maybe Dec. 21, 1967), so if you remind them, and send them more articles and photos, they will surely be glad to print them on receipt of them. From here I am going to San Francisco, then L.A., and then to New York by the 10th of April, and I shall be glad to hear from you at your convenience, and I thank you once more for your contribution and kind letter. Hope this finds you well, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S Please contact Bal Samant by correspondence. His address is with Jayapataka Brahmacari. Also let me his address in India. ACB letters | 03:55 | 29 March 2005 March 29, 1969 Oahu, Hawaii My Dear Hrsikesa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of March 21, and have noted the contents carefully. No, I think the letter you sent formerly must have been lost, or missing in the mail. So I have sent your draft letter duly, and the copy of which is enclosed here with. I thank you very much for your kind appreciation of "Govinda" my new record album. I am very much happy to hear your kind appreciation, and it is very much encouraging to me. So I hope you are all well there, and very happily executing Krishna Consciousness. I will be very anxiously awaiting to see you all in mid-May, and then we shall talk at length on so many Krishna Katha topics. Your ever-well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 05:01 | 28 March 2005 March 28, 1969 Oahu, Hawaii My Dear Jadurani, Please accept my blessings. Govinda dasi has already written you letter to come here as soon as possible. I hope you come before I leave this place on the 31st March 1969. This tape may be returned to L.A. address. ACB letters | 04:59 | 27 March 2005 Thursday, March 27, 1969 Oahu, Hawaii My Dear Jaya Govinda, Please accept my blessings. I thank you for your letter of March 17, 1969, and I have received the bank receipt for the money deposited there. I have received one letter from Atma Ram and Sons that they have already dispatched the books to Calcutta and handed over the R.R. receipt to you. but you have not mentioned anything about this. I hope you have the matter handled nicely. I am in Hawaii for the last one month, then on the 31st of March I shall go to San Francisco, then to L.A., and then to N.Y. and then to Buffalo, then Boston, and then New Vrindaban. This is my present program up to the end of May. And in June I may be called by London. And if you are by that time in Germany it is possible that I shall go to see you there. Another prospect is that one Mr. Windisch and another woman Mrs. Barbara, they have become very much interested in Krishna Consciousness movement, and they have seen me while I was in Montreal. Now they are in Vancouver, and most probably they will be interested to translate my books and magazines in German language. So already there are three boys in Hamburg and when you join, four, and if the German gentleman and woman go, then you will be six altogether. So a good party for preaching Sankirtana movement. Here in almost all our centers the Sankirtana movement has proved very successful. Everywhere, especially in London, L.A., and N.Y., especially in these places the Sankirtana movement has very much become successful. Every day when they take the party in the street, market, or parks, they collect sufficiently and sell BTG quite a number. In Germany I think also the Sankirtana prospect is there. I do not know before starting whether you intend to see Acyutananda in Vrindaban. He says that very nice pair of Deities will cost 1000 Rs. per pair, 24" high. Formerly, it was settled at 700 Rs. so if you go to Vrindaban, you can settle up the price of the Deity, 24" high, and very nicely cut, as Acyutananda has described, at maybe up to 800 Rs. Then we shall order many Deities. And at last I wish to request you once again, if you can do something to realize the 2000 Rs. from Hitsaran by seeing Dalmia and if it is not possible, then I shall have to satisfy myself without any action, because I do not think I shall go to India to realize this money. If Parvat Maharaja can help you in this, it will be very kind of him. [TEST MSSING] letters | 07:33 | March 27, 1969 Oahu, Hawaii My Dear Hayagriva, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of March 21, 1969, and have noted the contents carefully. Yes, you can begin negotiations and as soon as I shall go there, we shall see and if possible we shall purchase the property. Regarding my going to London: If you accompany me, that will be a very nice thing. I want your company always for editing my writings very nicely, but because you have to work for maintaining New Vrindaban, so let us see what Krishna desires in the future. If the press is started in Vrindaban then certainly I shall have to stay there the major part of the time, at least for the summer season. In the near future I shall have to stick to the press work and publication work. Regarding the publication work, and editorial matters: I shall definitely settle it up as soon as I go to New York. Hope you are feeling well, and I hope Syama dasi's health is improving by this time. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 06:32 | March 27, 1969 Oahu, Hawaii My Dear Brahmananda, Please accept my blessings. As there are so many engagements in L.A. and in S.F. now I fix up my program as follows: The meeting in City College instead of on the 8th, Tuesday, push it to the 10th, Thursday, and up to the 15th or 16th of April you can make other engagements if possible. On the 18th Rupanuga wants me there in Buffalo. He wants to stay me there until the 23rd, then I shall go to Boston. Then if necessary I may come back to New York from New Vrindaban, or we shall talk when we meet. In the meantime I have received one letter from Subala, in which it is stated that on receipt of the final press proof of BTG from Dai Nippon we shall have to arrange for a letter of credit. But this arrangement is not very palatable to me, because in the last transaction, TLC, we arranged for the credit note at the cost of about $200. In this way they charged $25, for transferring the money to Japan, and they might have charged again such $25, I do not know. And on $6000, with 5% interest for 4 months, it comes to $100. So in total we have lost nearly $200. So this letter of credit is not possible. But one thing can be done, that on receipt of the press proof, you can pay your share, nearly $750, and the balance that is $1350 will be paid on delivery of shipping documents. That I shall arrange. I shall be looking forward to seeing you all on the 9th of April, and hope you are all well and happy. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 05:27 | |
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