a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1968 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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17 Jul 2004 Wednesday, July 17, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Brahmananda, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter and check duly. I have already sent necessary instructions through Hamsaduta. You are all my limbs of my body. Unless you cooperate, my life will be useless. The senses and life are correlative. Without life the senses cannot act and without sense, life is inactive. I have advised Hamsaduta to cooperate fully with you. The 50% arrangement is agreed. Regarding Kallman affairs: please try to get out of it, even at a loss. And for future, take lessons out of it. For us desiring to go back to Krishna, persons engaged in sense gratification business is more dangerous than poison. But rest assured Krishna will save you from this entanglement. Have you sent the cable to Dwarkin? We want Mrdangas very urgently because very soon we shall be going to London. Six devotees from the West coast and six devotees from the East coast, 12 for Kirtana besides my humble self, and one or two Brahmacaris. Henceforward our plan should be to push Sankirtana and sell our publications. For books, Brahmananda, for magazine, Rayarama, for Sankirtana, Hamsaduta and Mukunda, and for suggestion, my humble self. Please let us concentrate this integration and I am sure our movement will be successful. Hoping you are all well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 06:15 | July 17, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Mukunda, Please accept my blessings. I thank you for your letter dated July 14, 1968, with enclosure. It is very nice. I am already informed about your Kirtana activities in San Francisco and its success. I think Krishna is dictating us to adopt this method for propagating the Sankirtana movement all over the different cities, towns and villages on the surface of the globe, because that was the prediction of Lord Caitanya. The exact words in Bengali poetry are as follows: "Prithi vite acche yata nagaradi gram. Sarvatra pracara haibe more nama." I have already asked Hamsaduta to open correspondence with you. Please do expedite the arrangement for London Yatra by mutual correspondence. Here in Montreal there is postal strike. So I am posting this letter in Buffalo where one boy is going tomorrow morning. I think unless there is very important business you can suspend correspondence to Montreal address. My visa is up to 3rd of September 1968, and if by that time my London yatra is not completed, then I will have to extend the visa period. I think you should start for London as early as possible. The plan already made by you is agreed by me. So you can go ahead with the plan. Our only plan should be henceforward to spread the Sankirtana activities and sell our publications. Publication of Back To Godhead is entrusted to Rayarama, and for publication of books, Brahmananda is entrusted. For business Gargamuni is entrusted. So let us combinedly execute the Krishna Consciousness movement in full swing. Hoping you are all well, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 06:10 | 16 Jul 2004 Tuesday, July 16, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Gurudasa, Please accept my blessings. I thank you for your letter (undated), and I am so glad to see the photo album sent by you. But I have not received any newspaper clippings regarding the procession--neither I have received the 2 slides which you mentioned in your letter under reply. (you mentioned 2 slides, one of Lord Jagannatha and one of the car) You write to say that there was one article in the San Francisco Examiner on July 1, 1968, but I have received none till now. Please try to send one copy as soon as possible. You will know about my plan about London-yatra from the letter which I am addressing today of the Rathayatra festival. I understand that Mukunda and Janaki are now living with you, but I have not received any letter from them. Anyway, I understand that Mukunda is leading now a nice Kirtana party in the streets, and there is good response. The time is fast approaching when we will have to perform such public Kirtana in all the important cities of the world. Here also, in the Expo, they have performed Kirtana. for two days, and it is wonderfully successful. Your appreciation of the Rathayatra festival and realizing the beauty of Kirtana and Jagannatha as well as the magnanimity of Lord Caitanya in His sublime teachings, are some of the wonderful things that I mark in your progressively advancement in Krishna Consciousness. Please try to continue this attitude and you will be more and more happy in your life, and at the end, get entrance into the association of Krishna. Chant Hare Krishna, both husband and wife, regularly, and worship Lord Krishna's Sri Murti, as you are doing, and try to elevate others in Krishna Consciousness, which has nothing to do with academic education; I therefore wish that instead of wasting your time for 2 or 3 years for taking a degree, you may increase your scope of activities for recruiting such boys and training them in Krishna Consciousness. But if your state laws do not allow it to hold any class without such degree then you must get such degree. On the whole you have got a very nice engagement for training children in Krishna Consciousness. And I think you are very fit for it. I am sure if you endeavor in this line of service, Krishna will be very much pleased and will shower His blessing more and more. You are very nice girl and I have got full faith in you and I wish that you can develop this line of service to the society. If possible, please send me the address of Prasad; I want to write him one letter. Hope you are both well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 06:00 | July 16, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Tamala Krishna, Please accept my blessings. I am so glad to receive your letter dated July 12, 1968 with the notes of your successful performances of city Kirtana movement and it is a very good plan. I think we should not be worried about our expenditure, Krishna has given us good opportunity of service, and if we simply execute the service, by such performances of Kirtana and practice ourselves the rules and regulations rigidly and with faith in Krishna and service to the orders of the bona fide Spiritual Master, then there will be no scarcity of our necessities of life, and very pleasantly we will be able to execute our Krishna conscious activities without any anxiety for financial difficulties. Actually everything belongs to Krishna, and if He likes, He can immediately give us the whole U.S.A., but He is very cautious because we are prone to the allurement of maya, so He does not give us all of a sudden all the facilities, lest we may fall prey to the illusory presentations of maya. Just like a physician does not give delicacies to a suffering patient, but as he recovers from the disease, the physician allows him to accept palatable dishes. So we have to wait for the cure of our material diseases, and proportionately as we become recovered from the disease, the supplies of pleasant things will automatically come. But we must always know that there is nothing more pleasant than Hare Krishna. When we will be able to relish the transcendental pleasure, in chanting Hare Krishna, that will be the sign of our recovery from material diseases. Please continue the method in cooperation, very faithfully and diligently, and Krishna will help you more and more. Hope you all are well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 05:12 | 15 Jul 2004 Monday, July 15, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Syamasundara., Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter with thanks, dated July 8, 1968, and I must say that the Rathayatra festival was so successful for your diligent labor only. If you would not have constructed such a nice ratha (car) in such a short time, it would not have been possible to perform the grand festival. By Krishna's Grace you have got the talent of carpentermanship, and you have fully utilized your energy in the service of Krishna. You have carved so many Jagannatha Murtis, and the car also, so Krishna must have been very much satisfied with your service. Srimad-Bhagavatam says that the highest perfectional stage of everyone's talent is to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, by his craftsmanship, scientific knowledge, philosophical research, or similar any other energy. Please continue this attitude of service and success of life is assured for you. I have learned the description of the Rathayatra festival verbally from so many persons who came to see me from San Francisco, and I have received the photo album from Gurudasa. But I have not received any newspaper clippings, which I am very much anxious to see. I am so glad to learn that Miss Sarasvati devi is doing very well with her good parents. Please bring her up nicely in Krishna Consciousness and that is the duty of responsible parents. Regarding London-yatra: (like Rathayatra--yatra means travel.) I am contemplating of forming the following party: yourself and your wife, Mukunda and his wife, Gaurasundara and his wife, Hamsaduta and his wife, Pradyumna and Upendra. Maybe we may have to change later on a little bit, but this is my contemplation. Now, I do not know how to make this program fruitful. Here I have gotten some encouragement by recent Kirtana performances in the Expo. For two days they have paid us $300.00, and maybe they will be required to perform Kirtana for a few days more. Similarly I have got one encouraging letter from San Francisco written by Tamala Krishna, that there is good collection in the Kirtana performances led by Mukunda. I have asked Hamsaduta to open correspondence with you to make plans how to go to London. I understand that he has got already 15 to 16 hundred dollars in this account. The thing is that 12 to 15 heads will have to go there. First of all we have to accommodate ourselves in a nice place. And I am so glad you have already written to Anapurna's father, and as soon as some plan is fixed up, we start immediately. It may be that we may not wait even up to the end of August. My special instruction to you all is that you practice Sankirtana very rhythmically and in a responsive way. That means one should chant first, and others should follow him. That is a very nice system. I understand from Gurudasa that you had some meeting amongst yourselves to chalk out the plan and I shall be glad to know what plan you have made, as he has mentioned this meeting in his letter, which I am replying herewith. Please convey my blessings to your good wife Malati, and to your new daughter, Miss Sarasvati devi. And I hope you are all doing well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 06:02 | 14 Jul 2004 Sunday, July 14, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Hayagriva, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your two letters dated July 6 and 8, 1968, respectively, along with one letter from Kirtanananda Swami. My first request to you is that as you are getting a job again, in the Ohio State University, you must accept it without hesitation. In the Bhagavad-gita you have read that one should fully utilize one's talent for the service of the Lord. Arjuna was a military man and he utilized his talent fully for executing the purpose of Lord Sri Krishna. So, by the Grace of Krishna, you have got some educational talent, and wherever there is opportunity to get some money, you must accept it, but spend the money for Krishna. As you are projecting to develop New Vrindaban, you will require money and I would advise you to purchase land there instead of taking on lease. If you want to take on lease, then it must be on long period, say 99 years; but first hand lease is better, that is from the government. I do not understand what is the position of Mr. Rose there, but I shall advise you not to make any big plans on the land of others. There is a Bengali proverb that if one is a poor man, he can go to some friends' house and accept food and then come back, but one should never accept residence in other's house. That is very inconvenient. Of course, for a Sannyasi like us, we can live anywhere and everywhere, rather we shoud not have our own place. But for the New Vrindaban project, I would advise you to purchase land as much as you can because it appears that the atmosphere and situation is very nice there. Another thing, I shall not advise you to purchase horses for conveyance. It will be a botheration for you, because now you have not got sufficient assistance. If you keep horses you have to take care for them and for a little convenience of transportation, you have to take so much botheration to keep the horse fit. I am so pleased to learn that you have got a Deity Room and you are performing jointly Kirtana, assisted by a newcomer, Harold Olmstead. He may be called Hrsikesa, there is no objection, but generally a Holy Name after Lord Krishna is offered to a devotee after his initiation. Anyway, you can call him Hrsikesa, and the same name will be continued after his initiation also. In the meantime, let him be trained up in our line of activities to observe the rules and regulations and chant Hare Krishna jointly with you. In your letter of the 8th instant you write to say, "but it would be difficult to spread the Mahamantra to the inhabitants here." Our principal aim is to preach the importance of chanting the Holy Names of God. And if there is no such opportunity then the place will be specifically meant for persons who want to retire from activities. To retire from activities is not very good idea for the conditioned soul. I have got very good experience, not only in our country but also in your country, that this tendency of retiring from activities pushes one down to the platform of laziness, and gradually to the ideas of the hippies. One should always remain active in Krishna's service, otherwise the strong maya will catch him and engage him in her service. Our constitutional position being rendering service, we cannot stop activity. So the New Vrindaban may not be turned into a place of retirement, but some sort of activities must go on there. If there is good prospective land, we should produce some grains, flours, and fruits, and keep cows, so that the inmates may have sufficient work and facility for advancing in Krishna Consciousness. In India actually the Vrindaban has now become a place of the unemployed, and beggars. Kirtanananda has already seen it; and so there is always a tendency of such degradation if there is no sufficient work for service of Krishna. Another suggestion is that if you can attract some retired men to live there peacefully and at the same time, make oneself advanced in Krishna Consciousness, that will be very nice. But I am afraid that retired men from this country cannot give up their old habits, generally, intoxication, keeping a dog, smoking, etc., and it will be difficult for them to give up such habits even they are invited to live with us in Vrindaban. Regarding Easy Journey to Other Planets: You can inquire from Mukunda das if he is going to print it or not. If not, then you can do it because you have now some money and spend for its publication. And regarding editorial work, I shall send you some manuscripts very soon. Regarding visa: I am not prohibited like that, that I cannot enter USA, but the permanent visa ws denied only on some technical ground. There is no impediment about my bona fides. But they have raised an objection because I submitted my application just after a fortnight of my arrival, and they say that I entered USA not as a bona fide non-immigrant. But I submitted my application, after consulting the Indian Embassy, as well as the American Embassy in Calcutta, but I see a different decision at the end. It is very difficult to take the words of government servants straightly. Canakya Pandit has advised not to trust a politician and a woman, so practically I consulted all these politicians and they have given a different decision. I do not know what is their intention, but for the time being I have not gotten the visa. My present visa for Canada is up to the end of August. Actually it is up to the third of September, but if I like to stay here, I can extend it, it is not difficult. But I am intending to go to London, and it may be in the meantime I may go to Vancouver. I am very much anxious about your health. Is it due to the place that you are having hay fever? It sometimes so happens that moist places causes such disturbances. Are there many mosquitoes? The best thing I can suggest that you try to keep your bowels cleared, and take more fruits and milk. That will keep you healthy. I hope you will soon feel better, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 05:51 | July 14, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Kirtanananda, Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter dated July 8, 1968, along with Hayagriva's letters. I have replied Hayagriva in detail--you will see it. Our only life and soul is Kirtana and by the Grace of Krishna, you are Kirtanananda. So the present activities which you are performing there, chanting and preparing Prasadam for the Deity, is very nice program. This chanting of Hare Krishna and our sincere desire to serve Krishna will make everything clear, even if there is some impediments, because from Srimad-Bhagavatam we understand that a system of religiousity is to be understood as the most perfect if by following such system, we enrich our tendency to love God. Actually that tendency is in everyone, but on account of not being associated with pure devotees, our love is placed on something non-God. The whole process of Krishna Consciousness is to replace our love to Krishna. So any process that helps us to increase our love of Krishna, that is the best system of religiousity. Such system cannot be checked by any material impediments, and such development of love of Krishna is without any cause. Chanting of Hare Krishna is not meant for achieving any other better thing than Krishna. But when we chant Hare Krishna without any offense, we relish Krishna, the Reservoir of all pleasure. Now by the Grace of Krishna, you have got a nice place, a nice atmosphere. So I quite approve your present activities. Continue it sincerely, and when the time will be favorable, people may come to you and take advantage of the transcendental facility for chanting Hare Krishna. Hope this finds you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. You will be pleased to know here we are performing kirtana in the Expo. They have paid us $300.00. It may be they increase the period. Yesterday it was [TEXT UNCLEAR] letters | 05:50 | 13 Jul 2004 Saturday, July 13, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Subala das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of July 11, 1968, and it appears that things are not very happy there, in spite of Umapati's presence. How is it that you do not get any work? Umapati knows some technical work. Is there only work in the resturants, and there is no other work? Another boy, Christopher Fynn, may be going there very soon. And this letter covered is addressed to him. He is, so far I learned from Janardana, he is educated boy, and try to live together very peacefully in Krishna Consciousness. The business of Krishna Conscious persons is to enjoy by mutual association on the basis of understanding Krishna from Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. So when you become three together, you should utilize your time by discussions on Krishna, and chanting Hare Krishna. Even you do not get some job, Krishna will not put you into difficulty. But try to get some job, and work for the improvement of the temple. And whenever there is opportunity, try to chant in public parks, and collect some money from the gathering, and surely Krishna will help you in spreading this sublime gospel of Krishna Consciousness. By the by, I require yo to find out the duplicate copies of Srimad-Bhagavatam, 2nd Canto, and a few chapters of the 3rd Canto, which are lying in my closet room, and send to me immediately. I want to prepare it for printing in Japan just after the printing of TLC is finished. I have decided it now definitely that all my printing works now shall be done in Japan. In America it is too expensive, and in India it is too much botheration. Therefore in future if there is money sufficient I wish to print each volume of my book, 5000 copies. Now, very soon we shall get 5000 copies of TLC and we have to organize the sales propaganda. If there is sale, then there is no scarcity of matter for printing. Mukunda has written that he is acquainted with some man for selling Back to Godheads, and you can just contact him to know further about it. I am sending you today the balance book sheets of TLC to Brahmananda. Hope you are well. Your ever well-wisher, While fixing this letter I have received your second letter also. I understand that you are purchasing a printing machine. When you have the machine some body must join you to work anybody you like and I shall arrange for that. If it is possible to print Srimad-Bhagavatam you can immediately begin it and I shall pay for the paper, binding etc. We want to print them immediately. If you can actually print our books in your ISKCON Press then a great problem will be solved. And if not any more I shall work with you provided you can give me the visa to stay. Please let me know how far you are ahead in this proposal. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. B. letters | 04:27 | July 13, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Umapati, Please accept my blessings. I understand that you have now gone to Santa Fe and trying to get a job there. And I hope Krishna will arrange for this. Do not be worried. Another boy, Christopher Fynn, may be going there very soon. So three together try to live peacefully and always discuss on the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, chant Hare Krishna in regular classes, and whenever the opportunity is there, go to the park as they are doing in Boston and New York, and getting good collection. In this connection you can consult Hamsaduta in New York, and Satsvarupa in Boston how they are successfully carrying on. Here also the Brahmacaris are chanting in the Expo, and the arrangement is they will get some lump sum of money, and they have already gotten $300.00. Hamsaduta has also collected, by chanting, $150.00. So if there is no jobs at all, then you can fully engage yourself in Krishna's job by chanting in the parks and public places, and certainly Krishna will send you salaries. Krishna provides all living entities and why not his sincere devotees? Therefore, we have to become simply sincere in our Krishna Consciousness movement, and all other things will follow. Hoping you are both well, Your ever well-wisher ACB letters | 04:24 | 12 Jul 2004 Friday, July 12, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Jayananda, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 3, 1968. I have heard about your successful execution of Rathayatra festival in San Francisco from so many sources. And I am so glad to hear the news. But till now I have not received any newspaper clippings, or photostats of news articles. I am very much anxious to get them. Yes, this Jay boy has come here, and I have seen he is sincere in accepting this principles. I have decided to initiate him very soon. They have got a two days' engagement of Kirtana here in the expo pavilion, and they have agreed to pay $150.00 per day. If the two days' program is successful, then they may get more money and more engagements. Yes, I have received Sriman Vinode Patel's letter, and I have replied the same also promptly. He appears to be a great help to your temple, and please try to keep him nicely. This is the sequence of Krishna Consciousness. He is a foreigner and belonging to a different country and culture, but Krishna Consciousness is so nice that one forgets his material designations and one tries to associate with similar Krishna consciousness persons. This is called, Sva-jati-asaya-snigdha. That means melted on the pure spiritual platform. We hope to bring everyone to such spiritual platform so that everyone will forget his material false identification and come to the real platform of becoming eternally the servant of Krishna. I am so glad that your parents are realizing the importance of Krishna Consciousness through their worthy son, Jayananda. A similar incident was there when Lord Caitanya was present, that one father became a devotee of Lord Caitanya through the exigency of the son. The son was prior a devotee than the father. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked the father whether he was father, or the son was father, and the father replied that in his spiritual enlightenment, his son was his father. So you are acting like a good father to your parents. So Krishna Consciousness will spread nicely in this way. And Lord Caitanya will be very much pleased on your benevolent activities. I have seen your father and mother, and they are very good souls, especially I remember your mother. And I hope by the Grace of Lord Krishna they will take to this Krishna Consciousness very seriously. Hoping you are all well, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 09:13 | Friday, July 12, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Cidananda, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 8, 1968, and in the meantime, Uddhava das, and Krishna das Brahmacaris have also come here via New York. Since I wrote you about the stop payment instruction, I have received payment of both the checks and money order. So you need not worry about it. When you go to Australia, you must take with you one mrdanga and at least 4 pairs of cymbals to begin Kirtana immediately there. When I came to your country in 1965, I brought with me only one pair of cymbals, and it has increased to so many pairs, at least 50 times. And I came here without mrdanga. So when you go to Australia, you have to similarly increase the number of cymbals proportionately, namely, 50 times 4. That should be your mission, and I am confident that you can do it because you are a sincere soul. If you can introduce this Krishna Consciousness movement in such a distant place, Lord Caitanya will pour His incessant blessings upon you, and your life will be glorious. In this connection, I may give you the example of the boy, Subala, who was struggling in Santa Fe. Although he is not very much qualified from the worldly point of view, still his struggle for existence in Krishna Consciousness is advancing him more and more in spiritual realization. So far I know about you, you are intelligent, qualified, and willing worker for Krishna Consciousness, and I hope if you try to establish a center of our society in Sydney or any one of the important cities, of Australia, it will be a record in the history of Lord Caitanya's movement. I hope with this seriousness, you will go there, and always pray Lord Caitanya to help you. He is very kind, and He is always ready to help a willing worker. And as soon as you establish one center, it may be that I may go there for some time and try to help you in your organization. But before starting you should make an estimate of the procedure of your working there, as well as you must be assured of getting a job there. Here in America you are working and you are getting some money, but in Australia if you do not get immediately some occupation, it will be risky. So you must consider all these pros and cons intelligently and then, depending on the Grace of Krishna, you can go there, chanting all the ways, Hare Krishna. Regarding some of your questions. Your question was, "I understand that we are not this body, mind, intelligence or ego, but are pure consciousness or pure spirit soul. This consciousness has been polluted by association with matter. By association with Krishna this consciousness will be purified. This consciousness is all throughout our body giving us the power to think, will, and feel, but how is consciousness interrelated with matter? Is consciousness like mist that hangs around a mountain? How do matter and spirit connect and how do they work together? I hope you understand my question. And what exactly takes place when consciousness becomes purified?" A living entity has constitutionally mind, intelligence, and ego, but they are contaminated in contact with matter. At the present moment, our ego is working under some designation. Somebody is thinking that he is an American or Indian, and other is thinking that he is Brahmacari or Householder. This sort of ego is material but when one is firmly convinced that he does not belong to any material designation, but, his pure identification is eternal servitorship of Krishna--in Vedic language it is called, aham brahmasmi. That means I am spirit soul. The Mayavada philosophers on account of their negligence to serve Krishna, may sometimes come to this understanding of Aham Brahma asmi, but they again fall down to the material platform on account of such negligence. Therefore, this chanting process is being constantly in Krishna Consciousness, there is no such fear of falling down of the devotees. Your statement "By association with Krishna this consciousness will be purified" is right. Consciousness is not related with matter. Just like the air is always pure, but when there is a mixture of dust in the air, it appears to be a cloud. The cloud and air are different substances. Similarly consciousness is pure spiritual, but when the consciousness desires to enjoy matter, it becomes cloudy and dusty, or contaminated. And then at that time, thinking, feeling, and willing everything becomes polluted. The same example as I have given several times that the proprietor of a car and the car are different identities, but when the proprietor thinks that this car is for his enjoyment, he becomes absorbed in such thought, and as soon as there is some loss or accident to the car, he thinks that he is hurt. This consciousness is false, but one suffers the consequences on account of false identification. Consciousness is not like mist, but when it is materially contaminated, it looks like that. Another example, that water from the sky falling down on the ground looks muddy, but water is not muddy, it is clear. When the water is again filtered, and muddy things are precipitated, the water comes to its original lustre, crystal clear. So our Krishna Consciousness movement is that we have to clear our consciousness by the transcendental addition of Krishna chemical. Then everything will be nice and clear, and we shall be able to see our identification without any designation. I think your questions are answered up to the last part, when you inquired "what exactly takes place when consciousness is becoming purified?" Please keep me informed about your plans and program for Australia, and I hope you are all well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 09:03 | July 12, 1968 Montreal, Quebec My Dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 10, 1968, and I have noted the contents about Mr. Coomey, assistant district director of Boston department of Justice. As you say that within a day or two he is going to reply my letter, I shall wait for his reply, until next week, and then I shall take steps as it may be needed. In the meantime I have noted his instructions as conveyed by you. I understand that you are trying to organize a Brahmacarini asrama. A Brahmacarini asrama is certainly a great necessity because there are so many girl devotees who are attached to our Krishna Consciousness movement. Those who are married couple, there is nothing to be said--simply to live together as husband and wife. But those who are not married certainly such Brahmacaris and Brahmacarinis should not live together. That is a special restricted term of our cult. But because in your country there is no distinction between boys and girls, or man and woman, they can freely mix without any restriction, I did not give too much stricture on this point because by such stricture they might be annoyed, and whatever Krishna Consciousness they are trying to develop might have been checked. But factually if you can organize a Brahmacarini asrama, it will be very nice idea. And I think that our Jadurani or similar other girl students of a little bit advanced, they can manage such asrama. But there is another difficulty, that when the girls live together they will pick up quarrels. Anyway, that sort of quarreling will continue whenever there is a little bit individuality. That is the nature. Even such quarreling is visible in the spiritual world also. But the main thing is that in Boston, you are the only earning member. How you will maintain such a Brahmacarini asrama separately unless there is some source of income. I expected that the pictures painted by the Brahmacarinis would be a source of income to the society. If some arrangement for such sales organization can be made, then it will be a very excellent idea. The Brahmacarinis cannot go, of course, for begging, but if some of them agree to go out and sell our books and literature, that will also be helpful. Some source of income by honest endeavor must be there, otherwise, how a nice Brahmacarini asrama can be maintained? In the asrama we must supply all inmates necessary nutritious food. Especially in your country, because they were accustomed to take meat and some protein food, just like regular supply of dahl, capatis, rice, fruits and milk, must be properly administered. There is no need of eating more than necessity, but the minimum demands must be supplied. But if you can organize such nice Brahmacarini asrama it will be a great success of our society. There is a great need for this. And I wish sincerely that except for husband and wife, everyone should live separately, man separate from woman, and woman separate from man. I shall be glad to hear from you about further developments. But one thing can be very nicely utilized, if the Brahmacarinis learn typographic machine. That will be a great help because printing is one of our most important line of activities. And if the Brahmacarinis help us in the making of letter printing sheets for photo offset printing, that will be a great help. Hoping you are all well, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 08:59 | |
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