a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
|
|
| Prabhupada Letters :: 1969 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
|
|
17 September 2005 September 17, 1969 Tittenhurst My Dear Krishna das, Please accept my blessings. Yesterday I received a packet from you containing several letters from different parts, and I thank you very much for it. I am expecting one air mail small parcel from India, from Indo Crafter. If it does come, you can immediately redirect it to me by simply writing the new address on the package and putting it in the mailbox. That will not cost you anything. But I have not received any letter from you since I left Hamburg. You will be glad that here the reception was very nice, and I am enclosing herewith one press cutting, although there were several other nice cuttings also of our activities and picture. We have already passed through two important programs here: one big meeting at the Town Hall, attended by Indians and Englishmen, which was very successful, and one nice meeting when the BBC men invited us for television on Tuesday night. They came also to the temple last night, and it was very nice. We are expecting many engagements from different persons, and it appears that people are interested in the Krishna Consciousness Movement. So I shall be glad to know how your center is making progress. The immediate problem is to secure a nice place, and if it is possible to do so during my stay in Europe, then I shall go there again to Hamburg to install the Deity. From India I have settled up with a firm to supply Deities along with other things. So I have ordered four pairs of Radha-Krishna Deities, 24" high, weighing about 30 lbs. each. The cost will be about $100 per pair, or 400 marks. The firm in Germany wanted $650 for the Deities, 12" high, so there is much difference of price. Therefore I have decided to get them from India. I have already ordered four pairs: two pairs for England, one pair for France, and one pair for Germany. So I hope very soon you shall find out a nice place, and we shall install the Deities as early as possible. I am enclosing herewith one newspaper cutting published in New York, and you will find how Patita Uddharana, Rsikumara and other boys are chanting and getting alms. Please offer my blessings to the others. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 10:13 | 16 September 2005 September 16, 1969 Tittenhurst My Dear Brahmananda, Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter dated September 13rd, 1969. Regarding the press purchasing, it must proceed on, and Krishna will help you. Don't worry. I understand that you require approximately $14,000 out of which Advaita has $4,500 and you have about $5,000. The balance may be asked from Tamala as the house we are contemplating to purchase is untouchable by us on account of too high price. So Tamala can spare the balance money for the press at the present moment, and when the house will be actually purchased, Krishna will provide us with the money. Anyway, don't be discouraged. Whatever deficiencies will be there, Krishna will supply you, and if there is actually any deficiency, please let me know and I shall send you a check for that amount. I think this will be all right. In the meantime, I am sending herewith my pass book for the First National City Bank. You go to the bank and make it up and let me know what is the balance there. You can simply let me know what is the balance and the passbook may be kept with you carefully for depositing in my book fund regularly. Your report that book sales are not very satisfactory is not very encouraging. if it is not selling well in New York, why not dispatch to other centers for distributing? The United Shipping agency has dispatched the books as I understand, and on receipt of this you will kindly let me know how many full sets of Bhagavatam are there. Then I shall instruct you to distribute them in different centers on hearing from you. Please offer my blessings to the others. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 08:17 | 15 September 2005 September 15, 1969 Tittenhurst My Dear Upendra, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated September 10th, 1969 and I have also duly received the Bhakti-sastri examinations from Seattle temple on the same day. I was very pleased to learn of the elaborate way in which you celebrated the Janmastami Day and Vyasa Puja Day ceremonies. The articles in the local papers which you have forwarded to me describing the event are also nice. Last Thursday, when I arrived in London there were more than one dozen reporters to take pictures immediately as we got off of the plane, and then we were led by a special airport attendant to a room where there was nice kirtana and some questions from the pressmen. The next day several articles appeared in the London papers, and I am enclosing one such article for your reference. Regarding the Mayapur center, I am not giving attention just now to Mayapur. I have not heard anything about it from Acyutananda, but I have already given him the necessary instructions. When we actually get land, then we will divert attention to Mayapur, and at that time your services will be required. At present, I am giving all stress to beginning our own press in Boston. The Mayapur center is there, but immediately there is no concern with it. I am very pleased to learn that your temple is making very nice progress, and the devotees there are doing nicely in Krishna Consciousness. Please offer my blessings to all of them. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 01:30 | September 15, 1969 Tittenhurst My Dear Gurudasa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of the 13rd Sept., and I am so glad to learn that you are active in preaching Krishna Consciousness in London. You all 3 couples are expert in the matter of preaching Krishna Consciousness, and your last effort in the matter of performing Ratha Yatra festival was so successful. So I am sure by your combined effort in London, there will be a great successful center. I am so pleased to learn about your staunch faith in Krishna and your Spiritual Master. May Krishna bless you more and more in the matter of advancement of Krishna Consciousness. Hope you are well, and please convey my blessings to your good wife, Yamuna devi. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 01:30 | September 15, 1969 Tittenhurst My Dear Yasodanandana, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated September 5th, 1969, and I have carefully noted the contents. I have also read the poems that you have sent to me, and they are nice. I am pleased to learn that your parents are willing to make a weekly contribution to Krishna Consciousness, and your mother can make bead bags and shirts for the devotees. This is very nice engagement for your parents, and you should encourage them to come to kirtana when they are able to and to read our literature. So far as your propagating Krishna Consciousness while you are in school, you simply speak to the students and teachers there, distribute Back To Godhead and our books as far as possible, and try to arrange for kirtana performances there where many students can hear the sound of Hare Krishna. This is the prescribed formula for propagating Krishna Consciousness. Regarding your question about Yasoda and Devaki, this is all explained in detail in our Krishna book. Devaki is the actual mother of Lord Krishna, but because Devaki's brother, King Kamsa, wanted to kill Krishna because of the omen that he had heard that Krishna would one day kill him, Vasudeva, Krishna's actual father, brought Baby Krishna to Vrindaban to the care of Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja, who acted as Krishna's foster parents. I am pleased that the Montreal center is doing nicely, and please offer my blessings to all of the devotees there. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 01:29 | 14 September 2005 September 14, 1969 Tittenhurst My Dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated September 9th, 1969 addressed to the Hamburg center. Now I have come to England. Our temple here is not yet finished, so I am staying in the house of Mr. John Lennon. He is very much kind upon us. Here also there is a nice big hall, exactly suitable for a temple, and the devotees are enjoying the opportunity by chanting there twice, thrice daily. I have also begun to give lectures here on specific days, but there are no outsiders coming. I have arrived here on the 11th September at about 2:30, and the devotees arranged for a very nice reception in the airport. There was chanting, press interviews, and nice press reports have come out with excellent pictures. Some of them are enclosed herewith for your reference. The first meeting organized by the devotees here will be held in the Town Hall tomorrow in the evening. So let us see how we can establish Krishna Consciousness in this part of the world. Regarding your judgment in court, it appears that the judge is a learned man, and he has given the right judgment, being graced by Krishna. We have to work sincerely, and because Krishna is in everyone's heart, there will be no difficulty to have the necessary facilities. I hope by this time you have received the three Krishna tapes that were sent to you from Germany, and there will be more coming soon. I am enclosing a picture of the Los Angeles throne which Murari may hold as the standard for constructing the throne there. The throne should be 40 x 40 inches square, and 45 inches up to the canopy. Above that, up to the dome, it is another 12 inches. There should be three pillars as shown on the photograph, and they should be silver colored or silver-plated. I am pleased that the press arrangement is proceeding nicely, and you will be pleased to know that my Guru Maharaja drew a picture in which He gave great importance to the symbolic representation of the press next to the mrdanga. Press means publication of various types of books and literatures and the mrdanga means Sankirtana Party. So now your center will have both facilities, and organize in such a way that you will become the living example to the other centers. When the press is fixed up, I shall go to Boston and see how things are being done personally. I hope you will accept this program. Regarding the house, as you are consulting with some lawyers, perhaps you can also take advice from Giriraja's father, who is also a lawyer. Please offer my blessings to the others. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PS: I am in due receipt of Giriraja's letter, sent along with $30 for the maintenance fund. Please thank him for this. letters | 02:28 | September 14, 1969 Tittenhurst My Dear Tamala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated September 7th and 10th, 1969, and I have noted the contents. You write in your letter of September 10th that you have not received my replies, but I reply each and every letter. Especially your letters, Brahmananda's letters, Satsvarupa's letters and Gargamuni's letters I take special care and reply each of them. I hope by this time you have received my reply. Regarding the house, I have answered this point in one of my letters. But one thing I must let you know is that I may be a poor man's son, or a poor man myself, but fortunately I have been transferred to America to become rich man's father. So I wish to live like rich man's father, as there are many American rich man's fathers. Now you can do whatever you like. But one thing I can suggest is that we are now getting our own press, and as we have got so many books, if you can arrange for the selling of these books, there will be no scarcity of money either for the father or for the son. I am pleased to note that you will be giving four classes in Los Angeles universities this year, and everyone is welcome to appear in the Bhakti-sastri examination and take the title. But one must be acquainted with Krishna philosophy at least for one year. So the students may attend class for one year as you have already arranged, and if they learn this philosophy, even if they don't become initiated students, it will be a pleasure for us. Regarding the tests you are holding there in Los Angeles, keep them there, and when I return I shall see them personally. I am encouraged to learn that you now have a very nice place for photography work, and you can send me photographs of the size of TLC of pictures for the Krishna book and Nectar of Devotion. For Krishna you have the pictures by Jadurani, Jahnava and Murlidhara. Then there is the Radha-Krishna picture by Devahuti, the Radha-Krishna picture which was kept in my room on the wall just to my righthand side, and the Radha-Krishna picture which was kept on my altar while I was there on Formosa Avenue. Regarding Aquarian Gospel of Lord Jesus The Christ, I have taken some stray extracts just to support our views, but we don't give any importance to that book. The best thing is that we accept Lord Jesus Christ as a great devotee of the Lord and the son of God. It is better not to discuss in any detail about the Christian religion or any other religion. Your idea for Rukmini and her husband, Bharadraja, to go to Chicago is nice. I understand that Sudama and Bali Mardan have already gone to Japan and I am anxious to get their address. Please offer my blessings to the others. I hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 01:27 | 13 September 2005 13 September , 1969 Tittenhurst House, England My dear Patti Birnack, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your letter, and I have noted your situation as you have described it therein. I am very pleased to learn that you are coming to our Krishna Consciousness temple in Ohio and you are nicely appreciating this movement. I can understand that you are a sincere soul, and I am sure that Krishna will help you to solve all of your present difficulties. So far as the questions and doubts raised by your father, you may rest assured that to every question your father may raise regarding the existence of God and even to much higher questions regarding the nature and activities of God, the Vedic literature which we are following has the perfect and authoritative answer. But to understand about God one must be purified. In contaminated state one cannot expect to understand about the Absolute Truth. Our Krishna Consciousness movement is for bringing the devotee to the purified consciousness where he understands Krishna and serves Him in unalloyed devotional service. Regarding the inquiry, "If there is God, how can there be suffering and disease," the similar question may be asked, "In the presence of an affectionate father, why should a child suffer from diseases?" God is the Supreme Father and He gives us the process for being relieved of our sufferings. But if one refuses to accept this gift of God, then he must suffer from the results of his activities. Anyone who is suffering or enjoying in this material world is doing so as a result of his own activities. Krishna says that if we surrender unto Him, He will relieve us of all sufferings, so if someone rejects this offer of Krishna and then says that there is no God because he is experiencing some suffering, that is not a very intelligent position. Krishna wants everyone to go back to Home, back to Godhead, and enjoy eternal life and blissful knowledge there. If your father agrees to this process, he also can be taken back to Home, back to Godhead, with my other disciples. There will be no difficulty for me. You can tell your father that. But if he does not agree, what responsibility is God’s? Everyone has got his independence. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 16:01 | |
|
|
