a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1969 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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10 June 2005 Tuesday, June 10, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Mukunda, Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter of June 3, 1969, and I have noted the contents carefully. Regarding Mataji Syamadevi's temple in Leicester, your version is all right, and I am not very interested to establish a Hindu temple. Perhaps you know from the very beginning I never described my movement as Hindu religion. Religion means the bonafide process by which we understand God and the first class religion is that which teaches people to develop love for God. To know or accept the authority of God is one thing, but to love God is another. Generally, people are interested in material comforts and they make God as the supplying agent. This kind of devotion is not purified. It is contaminated by material desires, but when one is elevated to the position of giving everything to God out of love and affection, that is the first class position. We are teaching this philosophy in the name of Krishna Consciousness, and it is applicable to all sober persons. The Bhagavat principle is that because we can be happy simply by developing our dormant love of God, this is our first business. I understand that you have now three houses under consideration: two of them are immediately available, but one requires some money. Why don't you pay the money? What is the amount? If you are short of money and the house is very nice, then we can arrange for the money. You have stated that Mr. George Harrison will be seeing the Archbishop for granting us a church, and that is a very nice idea, but so far I see Mr. Harrison promised so many things which were not fulfilled practically. So instead of waiting for the church, if you can get one of the three houses now under consideration, that will be better. Your Sankirtana Movement is going on even with no house, so there is no cause of lamentation. You must go on with Sankirtana and selling our literature, never mind there is temple or not. I am very pleased that you have already sold 1,000 BTGs, and I assume that it will not be too difficult for you to sell 5,000 magazines. That will solve part of your financial problems. The answer to your Istagosthi questions are as follows: Unless one is a resident of Krishna Loka, one cannot be a Spiritual Master. That is the first proposition. A layman cannot be a Spiritual Master, and if he becomes so then he will simply create disturbance. And who is a liberated person? One who knows Krishna. It is stated in BG, fourth chapter, anyone who knows Krishna in truth is immediately liberated, and after quitting the present body, he immediately goes to Krishna. That means he becomes a resident of Krishna Loka. As soon as one is liberated he is immediately a resident of Krishna Loka, and anyone who knows the truth of Krishna can become Spiritual Master. That is the version of Lord Caitanya. So to summarize the whole thing, it is to be understood that a bonafide Spiritual Master is a resident of Krishna Loka. Your next question, whether the Spiritual Master was formerly a conditioned soul, actually a bonafide Spiritual Master is never a conditioned soul. There are three kinds of liberated persons. They are called 1) sadhan siddha, 2) kripa siddha, and 3) nitya siddha. Sadhan siddha means one who has attained perfection by executing the regulative principles of devotional service. Kripa siddha means one who has attained perfection by the special mercy of Krishna and the Spiritual Master, and nitya siddha means one who was never contaminated. The symptoms of nitya siddha is that from the beginning of his life he is attached to Krishna, and he is never tired of rendering service to Krishna. So we have to know what is what by these symptoms. But when one is actually on the siddha platform there is no such distinction as to who is sadhan, kripa, or nitya siddha. When one is siddha, there is no distinction what is what. Just like when the river water glides down to the Atlantic Ocean nobody can distinguish which portion was the Hudson River or some other river. Neither is there any necessity to make any such distinction. Actually, every living entity is eternally uncontaminated, although he may be in the material touch. This is the version of the Vedas. Asanga ayam purusha--the living entity is uncontaminated. Just like when there is a drop of oil in water you can immediately distinguish the oil from the water, and the water never mixes with the oil. Similarly, a living entity, although in material contact, is always distinct from the matter. You are correct when you say that when the Spiritual Master speaks it should be taken that Krishna is speaking. That is a fact. A Spiritual Master must be liberated. It does not matter if he has come from Krishna Loka or he is liberated from here. But he must be liberated. The science of how one is liberated is explained above, but when one is liberated, there is no need of distinction whether he has come directly from Krishna Loka or from the material world. But in the broader sense everyone comes from Krishna Loka. When one forgets Krishna he is conditioned, when one remembers Krishna he is liberated. I hope this will clear up these points. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. I am very much anxious to hear from Janaki why she does not write? letters | 05:20 | June 10, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Madhudvisa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated June 6, 1969, and I have noted the contents carefully. Your determination to remain as brahmacari is very encouraging. Actually, a living entity does not require to be entangled more and more. Rather he should save his time to finish the Krishna Consciousness business, and thus be liberated in this life. Sex urge is a symptom of every living entity, but in the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is advised that it is something like the itching propensity. If one can tolerate this itching, he can save himself from enormous troublesome business resulting from this itching sensation. So an intelligent person rather suffers the pain of itching sensation than accepting the after effects of satisfying the itch. In India, therefore, there are many akanda brahmacaris, and my Guru Maharaja was the best brahmacari. So your decision to remain a brahmacari is very glorious, and if you you stick to the principles of Krishna Consciousness rigidly, you will never be disturbed by any sex urge, and life will be very much simplified, completely being engaged in Krishna Consciousness. Regarding the consignment coming from India through the Bank of America, I am enclosing herewith one letter and a check for $100. I hope this will solve your question. With this enclosed letter you may do the needful. I thank you once more for your encouraging letter. Please convey my blessings to the other devotees there. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 04:19 | June 10, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Dinesh, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated June, 6, 1969 and the copy of the agreement which you sent. The first thing is that I have already given you my word, so there is no need of an agreement with me. My word is final agreement, but if you want it for business reasons, I have no objections to sign it. But the wordings are not always clear. Another thing is although I have brought this Sankirtana Movement to the Western World we cannot make it copyrighted. The Sankirtana Movement is not my invention. So how can it be copyrighted? Besides that, as you will find in the album of my previous recording, the chanting of Hare Krishna is going on since time immemorial. So Hare Krishna cannot be copyrighted, although the tune in which I sing with my disciples, that may be made copyrighted. I have no objection to sign this agreement, but don't be misled that the chanting of Hare Krishna or Lord Caitanya's Movement can be made copyrighted. There are some points in the contract which are not very clear, so you may explain them to me further by post. The points are as follows: "ISKCON shall have the sole and exclusive right and authority to collect preserve and distribute all tangible expressions of said sound vibrations." "Said sound vibrations shall be fixed in a tangible form solely by ISKCON" "ISKCON shall have the exclusive right to any existing sound recordings contained in any medium of fixation that have been previously recorded by the SWAMI" "ISKCON shall have the sole and exclusive right to use the name and likeness of the SWAMI for all purposes and activities encompassed by this agreement." So upon hearing from you on these points I shall send you back the agreement duly signed by me. I am very much encouraged by the statement of your letter, but I must let you know the pros and cons of this agreement. Please convey my blessings to Krishna Devi. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 03:17 | June 10, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Tamala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated June 5, 1969, sent along with the article printed in the Cosmos, and I have noted the contents in both of these items. The article was very nice, and I can appreciate how you are assimilating this Krishna philosophy and conveying it nicely to others. Your descriptions of the Dadhibhanda Celebration sounds very thrilling, and here in New Vrindaban there is also nice supply of butter, ghee, milk and cheese due to the cow that they are keeping here. Regarding the draft lawyer, please try to expedite the matter, because there are many of our boys who may take advantage of this facility of being excused from the draft service. So when you are able to arrange for this it will be a very important achievement for our society. Regarding your suggestions for my travel plans, your ideas are very nice, and if I do not go to London, you can expect me to come to Los Angeles directly from New Vrindaban by the 10th of July. So I hope this will meet you in very good health and cheerful mood. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 02:16 | 8 June 2005 Sunday, June 8, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Ananda, Please accept my blessings. I am very glad to receive you letter (undated), and I have noted your new address. I am pleased to note that you have already paid for the place for one month's rent. I thank you very much that you are struggling there alone and silently, and Krishna will surely bless you for this. I suggested in my previous letter that you join the Toronto party if you are feeling alone. But if not, you go on with your present program, and I have got all support for that. In all the centers everyone is trying his best to improve his own center, and gradually there is becoming factual evidence of very nice progress. Mandali Bhadra and his wife have to go to Germany to take charge of our publications in German language. It is already settled, and it is understood that they are leaving on the 27th of June. So they will not be able to help you personally by their presence. You can write, however, to Hamsaduta, and he may go there for some days with his Sankirtana Party and help you in establishing your center firmly. I am also writing to Hamsaduta in this connection. I thank you again for your letter. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 04:15 | June 8, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Hamsaduta, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated June 2, 1969, and I have noted the contents. I understand that you are feeling some inconvenience due to police interruption, but we have to make the best of a bad bargain. There is a Sanskrit proverb, sati shatyam samacharit, and this means if somebody is cunning, we must also become cunning. To a cunning person we must not be a simpleton. Krishna Conscious devotees are expected to be very intelligent, so we have to work very intelligently to prove our advancement in Krishna Consciousness. I think you should keep a table by the Sankirtana Party, a table with a charity box and our books and literatures for sale. You go on with your work as usual and when the police come you say you are not canvassing. You have simply kept a table and whoever wishes to purchase may do so. This is called sati shatyam samacharit. Regarding the Beatle hero, certainly you will find him nonsense. Actually they are nonsense, but in the Western part of the world it is a folly to be wise, and ignorance is bliss. This whole material civilization is gross ignorance, and therefore you cannot expect very intelligent persons in this part of the world. Even though one is a great philosopher, writer, or something like that, it does not qualify him to be one of the selected intelligent persons who take to Krishna Consciousness. There is another proverb in Bengali that in the forest a jackal is considered to be a great nobility because he is very cunning. Similarly, in the materialistic way of life everyone is blind, and in spite of thousands of big blind leaders, the followers who are also blind cannot get any tangible benefit. So you have done your duty to give him some impression about Krishna Consciousness. That is all right. We should not waste much of our time with these so-called leaders because they are jackals in the forest. They are not actually leaders. The only leader is Krishna and one who is Krishna Conscious. Others are simply misleaders. Your unhappiness in the absence of sufficient engagement is a good sign. This is called abertya kalatyum. When a person is advanced in Krishna Consciousness he should always think that my time may not go in vain without being engaged in Krishna's service. Your main business is Sankirtana. From everywhere I am getting good reports, especially from Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Hawaii that they are having good success by outdoor kirtanas. So you follow this principle without fail, and treat the cunning with cunningness. Sometimes in your letter it appears that you are confused. I do not know why you should be like that. Your clear program is spreading Krishna Consciousness, and you are competent and experienced for this. Why you should feel confused? As you are feeling for a little change, I think you can go with your Sankirtana Party to Vancouver for some time, and help establish a center firmly because Ananda is struggling there alone. He had been helped by Mandali Bhadra and Vrndavanesvari, but soon they are leaving for Hamburg. So why don't you go for a few days to Vancouver? Please convey my blessings to your good wife, Himavati,* as well as all other devotees there. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami *I shall be glad to hear from her and a dress for my deity. letters | 02:14 | 7 June 2005 Saturday, June 7, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Jaya Govinda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 27, 1969 and your letter dated May 20, 1969. I have immediately sent to Acyutananda a copy of the goods delivered to United Shipping Corporation. It appears that this company is very slow and not businesslike. So probably I will have to change to some other shipping agents, and I have already advised Acyutananda to do the needful. The second batch of Deities which you sent to Los Angeles has been received by them. I am very glad to learn that you are feeling enthusiastically in the German center, and it is clear that Krishna wanted you there. Please work there with your full energy in cooperation with your other godbrothers. Krishna Das, yourself, Sivananda and Uttama Sloka all are good souls and sincere devotees of Lord Krishna. So as you faithfully continue to work under my direction, your further advancement is sure. I have received a letter from Mandali Bhadra that they are reaching there on the 27th June, and when they arrive, do everything very nicely in a cooperative spirit. I hope that by this time you have secured the typewriter and things are going on with the German translations. You have inquired if you should learn the German language, and my answer is yes, you should learn it by all means. Here in New Vrindaban the atmosphere is exactly like Vrindaban. They are performing the routine activities from 4 am. in the morning till 10 pm. at night. The aratriks are going on several times daily as you have seen in Vrindaban. The pictures which you have taken of Vrindaban have been published in BTG, and I have seen a special advance copy sent from Japan. It is very nice article, and you have done nicely. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami The reproduction of the newspaper cuttings which you have printed was done very well, and I would like about ten more copies of this page to show to other centers. letters | 07:12 | June 7, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Krishna Das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 25, 1969, and I beg to inform you that both Saradia and Vaikunthanatha are doing well in Boston. I hope you have sent her a letter of congratulations by now. When I was in Montreal Saradia expressed her desire to marry Vaikunthanatha, and immediately I asked that he would remain reserved for her. He is a very nice boy, and I hope they will be happy in their future homely life in Krishna Consciousness. I have received also news from Mandali Bhadra and Vrndavanesvari that they have already purchased their tickets and are going on the 27th of June, so when they arrive, please cooperate with them nicely. You are all sincere workers, and they also are very sincere souls. So cooperate together nicely, and I hope our Hamburg center will very soon become the important center in Europe. In London they have not yet been able to find out a suitable place, but still they are prepared to celebrate the Rathayatra Festival there. But so far I have received no definite information on this festival. Under the circumstances I am not yet certain whether or not I shall go to London, but in your letter under reply you have expressed the desire of my going to Germany. Do you think you are able to receive me there at the present stage? My going to Germany means lots of expenditures, including travel fare, etc. If you think that you will be able to meet these expenditures, then I have no objection for going there directly. From your report of sales of the Peace Formula it appears that when you get Back To Godhead printed in German language it will be very nicely distributed. I can see that Jaya Govinda is a great asset to your center and there will be no difficulties for printing matter. He is expert in that line, and he and Rayarama worked for many months in connection with Back To Godhead here in New York. In hope this will meet you in very good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 06:11 | June 7, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Uttama Sloka, Please accept my blessings. I am very glad to receive your letter (undated), and I have noted the contents that you had left the temple but now you have returned again. This is most encouraging, because it means that Krishna is very kind upon you. Although you left Him, He did not allow you to go away. It is His special favor upon you. As individuals there may be disagreement sometimes, but that is quite natural. Even in ordinary family affairs there is sometimes disagreement, but that does not mean immediately the disagreeing members shall leave the family. Similarly our Krishna Consciousness Movement means we are all gathering together in families of Krishna. Actually we are eternal family members of the Lord, but due to our misuse of independence we have now forgotten our eternal relationship with Krishna, exactly like a man who is mad forgets his family relationship and loiters in the street. But when he is again in his normal mental condition, he remembers his family members and goes back to them. Similarly this Krishna Consciousness Movement is a treatment for reviving the memory that we all belong to Krishna's family. So we are trying to establish a replica of Krishna's family in this material world wherein there is no material activities. To avoid the material activities means to follow the four regulative principles and to engage ourselves constantly in Krishna Consciousness activities and to have the association of pure devotees. We should not give indulgence to our senses more than what is required just to keep body and soul together. We should not engage ourselves in very difficult tasks, and we should not talk anything more than what is necessary for spreading Krishna Consciousness. We should follow the regulative principles, regard being had to situation, circumstances and objectives. We should not be greedy and we should not mix with persons not interested in Krishna. In this way, we can make steady progress and maintain our membership in Krishna's family. Thus, at the end of this life we will enter actually into the spiritual world. So your main business should be to spread Sankirtana, becoming tolerant as the tree and becoming humbler than the grass. If you have anytime any difficulty, please try to settle up in the above way, but do not leave the company of devotees. That will not help you, even though there may seem to be some difficulties. I am so pleased to read in your letter that you have unflinching faith in Krishna and in my directions, and this attitude will help you more and more in Krishna Consciousness. Thank you once more for your letter. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 05:09 | June 7, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Sudama, All Glories to Sudama das Brahmacari and the Hawaii devotees for their excellent work. I have appreciated so much your letter of June 2, 1969 that I am making copies of this letter to send to different centers to show them how much potency is this Sankirtana Movement. So for the time being as you are working enthusiastically in Hawaii, try to establish a very good center there. There is nice potential there I know, and I think Krishna is already giving impetus for this purpose, because Gaurasundara and Balabhadra have gone to find a nice place on the Hawaii Island. So all of you work conscientiously and jointly, you are all good souls, and you will be successful if you can transform Hawaii into New Navadvipa. Lord Caitanya will shower His blessings and you will be happy, not only in this life, but you will be promoted to Krishna Loka. Concentrate your energies now in Hawaii center, and in the future we shall establish a center in Japan. I think the roar of your Sankirtana in Hawaii will soon be heard in the neighboring places, including Japan and Hong Kong. The ocean is the father-in-law of Visnu, because the Goddess of Fortune, Laksmi, was born by the churning of the ocean. So the Goddess of Fortune, Laksmi, being the daughter of the ocean, the ocean also will help in spreading the glories of the ocean's daughter and son-in-law. So please keep me informed of your activities, and this will engladden me. I am glad to learn that Govinda Dasi, in spite of her sick health, is going out on Sankirtana Party, and this will cure her of all disease. Don't be worried. I always think of Govinda Dasi and Jadurani, such sincere workers in Krishna Consciousness. So please convey my blessings to all the devotees there, and you all should do things very enthusiastically. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 03:47 | June 7, 1969 New Vrindaban Dear Mrs. Davis, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 31, 1969, and I have noted the contents carefully. Patita Uddharana was here two days ago, and I had a talk with him about the situation you have brought up in your letter. There will be no objection if you can come here to New Vrindaban. The whole thing has been explained to your son, Patita Uddharana, so you may consult with him and do the needful. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 02:07 | 6 June 2005 June 6, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Vrndavanesvari, Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter dated "Victoria Day", and I have noted the contents with pleasure. I have received letters from the Hamburg devotees, and they appear to be very much jubilant to know that you will be arriving on June 27 at 9:30 am. I am also very also very glad that you will be prepared to go there. In my previous letter to Mandali Bhadra, I already informed him that he will act as the editor of the German Back To Godhead. So when you go please set up everything in a cooperative mood. The workers there are very sincere, and upon your joining them, they will be very much encouraged. I am also glad to learn that you are enjoying reading the book, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, and now both you and your husband have to preach these teachings of Lord Caitanya in the European countries. So please read our books very carefully, and as soon as there is some question you can ask me. In the future I hope that Mandali Bhadra will translate this book into the German language. Regarding the first question in your letter about how do we know of the spiritual abodes since once going there no one returns, you should know that the great liberated souls and incarnations who appear from time to time in this material world are not actually coming back, because they are never subject to material contamination or the laws of material nature. For the purpose of delivering the fallen living entities they come here temporarily and then go back when their business is finished, and this is all under the direct order of the Lord. So the appearance of the Lord or the great liberated souls in the material is different from the appearance of the contaminated living entity who is forced to take birth in the material world due to his desire to lord it over the world. In your second question you asked if we will remember the earth, when in Vrindaban, and the answer is certainly. When Narada Muni was talking to Vyasadeva, as you may have read in first volume of our Srimad-Bhagavatam, he was in a spiritual body, but he remembered his previous life and explained it to Vyasadeva. In material life there is forgetfulness, but in spiritual life there is no forgetfulness. I hope this will sufficiently answer these questions for you. Please convey my blessings to your family. I hope this will meet you in very good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.B. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 05:35 | 5 June 2005 Thursday, June 5, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Candanacarya, Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter of June 2, 1969, and I have noted the contents carefully. Regarding your proposal of working in Columbus with the chance of earning $100 per day, why don't you take it? This will be a great help to this center because there is such great potential for spreading our movement amongst the students there, and if we can either purchase the large church on 16th Avenue, or if they can purchase their present house, along with the nearby lot and gas station, that will be a tremendous asset to the activities there. I have seen in the gas station that there are two rooms, so if one room could be used for kitchen, then the other could be utilized as temple room, and the house would serve as an asrama for devotees. The first choice would be the big church, but if you can finance for purchasing either the church or the present site, that will be very nice service. So if you can actually earn $100 daily, I think you should take this opportunity. Please inform me what you have decided by return of post. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami NB: I am enclosing a letter which I have received today from Sudama in Hawaii, so you can see the great possibility of propagating this chanting amongst the boys and girls of the Western World. I thank you for sending me wrist calendar. Pradyumna, I am anxious to know about the machines. letters | 06:31 | June 5, 1969 New Vrindaban My Dear Turya das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of May 29, 1969, sent along with your beads, and I have duly chanted upon them and have initiated you as my disciple. Your spiritual name is Turya das and this means transcendental. So you are the servant of the Transcendental Lord, Krishna, and when one serves the Transcendental Lord, he also becomes completely transcendental to the laws and contaminations of material nature. In material life, everyone is bound up tightly by the laws of karma, and there is no question of transcending these laws by any material means. The modern civilization is trying to transcend the pangs of material life, namely birth, death, old age and diseases, by advancement of material knowledge, but actually this advancement is only binding them more tightly into the material concept of life. So thus there is no freedom from or transcending of these material miseries. But one who comes to the intelligence to understand that rather than serving the cause of material advancement, he should serve the cause of Krishna, then such person becomes transcendental to the stringent laws of karma. Krishna instructs us in Bhagavad-gita that one who serves Him in loving devotional service is delivered fully from all material contamination. Now you have your beads, so please chant at least 16 rounds daily, and read from Bhagavad-gita As It Is at least one chapter daily. Gaurasundara will instruct you as to the 10 offenses that must be avoided. The four principal regulative restrictions that you must follow are 1) no intoxication, including coffee or tea, 2) no illicit sex-life, 3) no nonvegetarian diet, 4) no gambling. I understand from Gaurasundara that already you are helping the Hawaii temple and that you are a very nice, sincere boy. So with these nice qualifications of sincerity and service surely you will make nice progress in perfecting your life in Krishna consciousness. As you are having questions about this great spiritual science of Bhagavad-gita, please consult with Gaurasundara, he is a very intelligent boy, and I am also always at your service to help as far as possible. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 05:28 | June 5, 1969 New Vrindaban Dear Gopala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 29, 1969. I have already sent your beads duly chanted upon, and I hope you will be happy in Krishna Consciousness always. As you are a very nice, good soul, Krishna will certainly bless you with all benedictions. It doesn't matter whether or not you remain in this part of the world or in India. Wherever you remain you chant Hare Krishna regularly, and your example may be followed by others. The world needs this benefit, and when you return to India there are so many ways you can convince your parents that to take to Krishna Consciousness does not mean one has to give up his worldly affairs. I know in India there are many foolish persons who think that by reading Bhagavad-gita one is apt to renounce this world. This is completel foolishness. Arjuna was a family man, a soldier, and he was directly taught the principles of Bhagavad-gita, but he never renounced the world nor the battlefield. I do not know why there are certain crazy men who think like that, that if a man becomes devotee, he will have no more interest in worldly affairs. We are not Mayavadi; we do not state that the world is false. We say that if Krishna is truth, the world is also truth because the world is a manifestation of Krishna's energy. So if Krishna is true, how His energy can be false? The Mayavadis preach so-called monism, but they always distinguish brahma and maya. They say brahma is true, maya is false. We say maya is true, and because it is Krishna's energy, she must be employed in Krishna's service. That is our philosophy. So far your parents are concerned, I have received another letter from a friend of your parents whose name is Bhartendu Vimal. I am enclosing this letter for you to read. Your father has induced him to ask me not to initiate you. This gentleman came to see me in San Francisco. He might be some congressman, and at the expense of the government he was making some so-called cultural tour. The government is interested to send anyone for dancing or recitation of poetry, but when the government is requested for giving some facilities for preaching Krishna consciousness, they will not encourage. On the other hand they encourage publications in which Krishna is depicted as black and low-born. This is the position of our government. I am glad that your parents are interested in Bhagavad-gita and Lord Krishna, and when you return to India you make them understand Krishna philosophy very nicely. I am also pleased to learn that when you marry, you will marry a girl who is a worshipper of Lord Krishna and who agrees to follow the four basic principles strictly. I am so pleased to learn that you have appreciated our aratrik song, "kiba jaya jaya gorachander". You have voluntarily offered to do something when you return to India, and the best project will be to work there as representative of this Krishna Consciousness Movement. In my opinion, India is going down by giving up this original cultural life which is its own. The government is enamored by the glittering civilization of the West, and it was a definite policy of our late prime minister, Mr. Nehru, who wanted to see India overnight as rich and materially advanced as America. It was, of course, Gandhi's policy to concentrate his organization in village life, taking to simple life and cow protection. But just after Mahatma Gandhi's disappearance, his chief disciple, Pandit Nehru, planned for up-to-date organized cow-slaughter house. So this is our position. If you have understood Krishna Consciousness science, then you will try to revive this cultural life in India. Of course so long I shall live I shall give you all assistance. But if you concentrate your energy in a city like Bombay for propagating Krishna Consciousness amongst the younger generation, as I am doing here in the Western World, it will be great service to Krishna and to your country. I have already asked you to think on the project how you can push on our books and literature. I cannot suggest any other alternatives, but if you can execute this will of mine, I shall remain ever-obliged to you. You are welcome to write to me as often as possible, and it is my duty to give you right instructions. Try to follow them and you will be happy. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 04:20 | June 5, 1969 New Vrindaban Dear Sir: I beg to acknowledge receipt of your Hindi letter dated May 27, 1969, and I do not know why Gopala Krsna's father is so much upset. I have received one letter from Gopala Krsna dated May 29, 1969 in which he writes "I don't think my parents will have any objections now because I have assured them in telegrams and letter that I am not going to abandon them." I hope this will clear the whole thing. So far as I remember, I met you in San Francisco, if I am right. I hope you are doing well. Thanking you for your letter. Sincerely, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 03:16 | |
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