a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
|
|
| Prabhupada Letters :: 1968 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
|
|
12 Dec 2004 Thursday, December 12, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Himavati, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of December 6, 1968 and I thank you very much for it. Just as you are thinking of me so often, similarly, you should know that I am often thinking of you also. So if you can remember to always remember Krishna and the instructions of your Spiritual Master than surely this will bring the highest benediction to yourself and to those with whom you come into contact. To the extent we are thinking of Krishna, to that extent Maya has no influence. But as much as we are desiring to forget Krishna and trying to enjoy for ourself, so to that extent we must suffer the pains of Maya. So our remedy for material life is very simple, simply to chant for Krishna, to dance for Krishna, to work, prepare nice foods for Krishna and then cent per cent we become fully free from all other influences. Please always remember this secret and show by example to all others. Please convey my thanks to Satyabhama for her nice work in sewing the clothes for my deities. These deities will require several more sets of such excellent dresses so Satyabhama or youself may supply as you are able. Your sewing proposal is very nice and such idea is given by the Grace of Krishna. Try to utilize your profits to maintain the temple with your husband and the others. With much pleasure I have seen the French edition of Back To Godhead and I thank you all for this endeavor. With such engagements as this magazine, we can live to propagate Krishna Consciousness and that is the success of our lives. Actually, our living conditions can be minimized as far as possible. Simply we should live for propagating Krishna Consciousness. That is our life. In conclusion to your letter you have asked as to where is the ocean of love? And I think that you may know that it is in your heart. So please convey my blessings to all others there and I hope you are all well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 02:03 | December 12, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Hamsaduta, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letters of December 4th and December 7th, 1968 and also I have received the beautiful first edition of Back To Godhead in the French language. This is a great joy to me to see such publication being printed so nicely and my heartfelt thanks are due to Janardana, Dayala Nitai, Vaikunthanatha, yourself and your wife, along with all the others who have helped to make this publication come so expertly. Such French edition was my great ambition and now that you have achieved success, I request you all to improve it continually so the French speaking people will have opportunity to take advantage of our Krishna Consciousness movement. So now there is plenty engagement for everyone at the temple and if you can secure funds simply by selling our literature, by prasadam program and by some sewing labor, then it will not be necessary to take karmi jobs outside. So Krishna has given you very good facilities to be engaged and make profit at the same time for the temple so even though you may live poorly, if you can support yourselves simply with these activities it will be very good. You have expressed some new ideas to improve BTG of the English Back To Godhead, but I think that there is no need to interrupt their way of thinking. Now you have chance for your own edition so do it nicely and according to your own ideas. You are artist, so you have facilities to make a very nice edition to sell to the French public. Since in Montreal 75% of the populace are speaking French I think you have very good chance to popularize and improve this magazine. So far as my book fund is concerned, you have said that you do not wish to take profit from this fund so as you like you may take the commission as Brahmananda has proposed and then you can return the profit to me in Los Angeles. That will keep the accounts clear. But somehow or other see that our books are sold very quickly. My book fund is now drained by $7,000 and I should fill up this gap very soon. I require to keep this fund because it is helpful in achieving the immigration papers as well as credit for such items as temples and books from MacMillan and Dai Nippon. This account should therefore always be kept for an emergency. Also, I next wish to publish a new book entitled Nectar of Devotion. So if you can help with these funds it will be very appreciated. You have asked about singing the prayers of Narottama Thakura and yes, they are very much approved in any language. Please convey my thanks to Janardana for the fine work he has done on the magazine and also request him to write to me about his future plans of going to France. He is a most sincere, important member of our society and I think that in France he may be able to do much to popularize our movement and to circulate our new French magazine. Kindly convey my blessings to all members there and I hope you are all well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. Improve the Prasadam program as nicely as possible. letters | 01:58 | December 12, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Saradia, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your recent letter and I have noted the contents with pleasure. Your kind thoughts which you expressed are very nice and encouraging to me. Also you have asked some intelligent questions and I am answering them here. You have asked how Krishna is with the spirit soul in the spiritual world and the answer is that Krishna is the heart of the spirit soul, or spiritual body, So Krishna is never apart from us. Either He remains in the heart of the material body, or He remains in the heart of the spiritual body. This is Krishna's Causeless Mercy to all of His beloved children, or living entities. To answer your second question, you should know that Arjuna and Kunti Devi are not in Krishna Loka. They are eternally associated with Krishna only in the material world. Just like Krishna is always in the spiritual world, so similarly He is always in the material world and His Pastimes are going on there also. In the material world, Krishna also has eternal associates, such as Arjuna and Kunti Devi. There is a difference between the body and soul of Arjuna and Kunti Devi. But although Arjuna is with Krishna in innumerable different material universes at one time, still there is only one spirit soul who is Arjuna. This spirit soul expands into many different bodies and thus you can understand that there are also incarnations of devotees as well as incarnations of Krishna. This is the power of the spirit soul, that it is unlimited. Such conception cannot be understood while one is still in the conditioned state. Regarding your third question, both incidents are correct. I hope these shall answer your questions. Please convey my blessings to Satsvarupa, Jadurani, Devananda, Rukmini and all others. Hope you are all well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 01:56 | December 12, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Ananda Das, Please accept my blessings. I have heard from Upendra that you have had some success in arranging for a temple in Vancouver. This is most encouraging news, but why you are silent? Please inform me of your progress there as I am always anxious to hear from you. You will be very glad to know that our Montreal center has mimeographed a very fine edition in French language of Back To Godhead. I think that in Vancouver there may be good opportunity to circulate this publication so you may write to Hamsaduta in Montreal to make arrangements for ordering copies. I hope that this finds you very well and that you will notify me immediately of what is happening with you. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. Are you getting BTG from New York? We have now Bhagavad-gita As It Is published by MacMillan Company. Copies can be had from New York. letters | 01:48 | December 12, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Joy Fulcher, Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter dated December 6, 1968 and have considered the contents. I know that now there is a shortage of hands in our Seattle center, so why not remain there to help out Upendra and the others. Also your services to attract brahmacarinis will be very valuable in Seattle. I know that you are very nice artist even without the guidance of Jadurani so for the time being you should remain in Seattle and paint independently. You should work to paint very quickly and very beautifully because we have need of such talented artists. When Jadurani first began to paint she was slow but now that she has practiced she has become very expert and quick. So this practice is what will improve all areas of your already very nice art work. [TEXT MISSING] letters | 01:30 | 11 Dec 2004 Wednesday, December 11, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Brahmananda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 6, 1968. Also I have received the duplicate copy of the letter of credit which you have returned. So far as dealing with Mr. Kallman, I think that you should have no more business dealings with this man. At every turn he tried to cheat us so we must consider him as very dangerous cheater and avoid any future business dealing. We shall continue to be polite with him but this is far as it is to go because his only thought for us is how to exploit. You must remember this in any future contact with him. He now owes me $15,000 for the record album royalty that I recorded and yet he claims that our society owes him so much money for incense and records. This is all a bluff because unless he pays me how can he insist we owe to him. So it is best that we have no more schemes with this Mr. Kallman. Not even should we buy records from him. We shall rather make our own records. I have seen the recent dummy you have sent of Teachings of Lord Caitanya and it is very much approved by me. I think that all of the devotees should purchase one copy of all of our books for study and future preaching activities. I have also heard from Purusottama that you have now obtained one beautiful temple on Second Avenue that can very nicely be compared with a palace. So this is all Krishna's Grace. You have tried so hard to find a new temple there but Krishna did not approve so there was no temple. But now that Krishna wills it with simply a flick of the eye a temple has come to us, better even than we were hoping for. So this is what is meant that Krishna is Controller and we are controlled. When we simply remember to accept the control of Krishna and not to act independently then all fortune is automatically present. We have received from Yamuna Devi in London some completed certificates so please send a list of all initiated devotees in New York so we can send out. Hope you are all well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Enclosure-1 letters | 05:51 | December 11, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Krishna Das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge of your very nice letter dated November 5, 1968 and I thank you very much for the kind sentiments that you have expressed therein. Because you are very nice, sincere boy so Krishna is now giving you very good facilities by which you can serve Him and at the same time perfect yourself for going back to Godhead. So if you try to continue in the humble attitude you have now, with little time you will have wonderful success in further developing your Krishna Consciousness. Actually the Krishna Consciousness is already there, but it is now covered up so we must wipe away the dirt of maya from our consciousness so the pure essence of consciousness, or love for Krishna, may once again shine forth. I am always praying to Krishna to help you more and more so if you remember to always increase your efforts to make progress in spreading this movement, then Krishna will certainly save you, rest assured. I have noted with much pleasure that you are planning to mimeograph our essays in the German language. This is good news and please do it nicely. These literatures must be made available to all peoples so they may take interest in Krishna and seek to learn more. This will attract many people to begin chanting and learning this philosophy. So try in this way, it is very important endeavor. In the United States we have now published Bhagavad-gita As It Is and by next month we should receive the Teachings of Lord Caitanya. So if you can also present our literatures in the German language it will be very successful. You will be glad to learn that we are having very good success in improving our temples here because Los Angeles has acquired an excellent, large chapel suitable for living quarters and kirtana and New York has also acquired a grand three story building for a five year lease and this building is being described to us as being a palace. So with our new books this is all very encouraging and I am always thankful to all of my students for their sincere endeavors in this mission. So please convey my blessings to Uttama Sloka and Sivananda. I have not heard from Uttama Sloka so if he will have time, please ask him to write. I hope this letter finds all of you in very good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. Address of Jaya Govinda Indraprastha Gaudiya Math Dinaka Talab, Malkaganj Delhi-7, India. Acyutananda's Address, Radha Damodara Temple, Sevakunj, P.O. Vrindaban, Dist: Mathura, India. letters | 04:48 | December 11, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Nandakisora, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your nice letter of December 5, 1968 and thank you very much for this. From your letter I can understand that you are anxious to become householder and this is very good. We require so many householders to set example to others how in Krishna Consciousness we can live peacefully and sanely, even in married life. Also, we require so many Krishna Conscious children to show how nicely and beautify a child can develop when he is following the principles of God Consciousness. So your decision is very good, but at the moment we have many girls and either too young or they are engaged or they are too old. There are a few nice girls who are available, specifically Tulsi Devi and Anna Radha Devi but both of them also have little babies and Tulsi Devi is, I think, a little older than you are. So if you like we may ask these girls if they are just now desirous of marrying. Or else you may wait for an eligible girl who I am not thinking of, or who will show up soon, so as soon as she shows up we shall make arrangements in this regard. Also, we are planning to open a school for teaching our Krishna Conscious children and I understand Satyabhama Devi has some qualifications as a teacher. This school may be set up either in New Vrindaban or Los Angeles so please ask her to tell me about her teaching qualifications and she thinks of this idea. Please convey my blessings to all devotees there, especially Paramananda, Dayala Nitai and Satyabhama whom I have not heard from in some time. I hope this finds you all in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 03:32 | 10 Dec 2004 Tuesday, December 10, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Gaurasundara, Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter of 7, December 1968 and have duly noted the contents. Regarding my plans for January I can not as yet give a definite answer because I have recently been invited to visit the South American country, Guyana at the beginning of the new year. So this too is undefinite and I will have to see whether they provide for our visit or whether will not before I can decide if I may go to Hawaii in January. I am sending the letter out today asking for confirmation of this invitation and just as soon as I hear word, I will let you now so you may make your arrangements. I have included a copy of my letter to Mr. Dindayal who is the person who has extended our invitation. So I am pleased that you are all working very hard to help us in this great mission. Please convey my blessings to Mahapurusa, Murari, Lilavati and to their child Subhadra. Hope you are all well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 05:41 | December 10, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. Chagan Govinda Arodene Road London SW2 Dear Mr. Govinda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your very kind letter of December 3, 1968 along with three omkar buttons. I thank you very much for these. In the Bhagavad-gita, this omkar is mentioned as being the sound representation of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly the Hare Krishna Mantra is also the sound representation of Krishna. So, practically we do not make any distinction between the omkar and Hare Krishna but the spiritual path is to follow the footprints of the path of the great acaryas. Lord Caitanya encouraged the Sankirtana Movement, or the chanting of Hare Krishna, is the means for God realization for this age and it is in pursuance of the revealed scriptures. Actually this movement is now becoming very popular in the Western countries. Our followers in the West are neither Hindus nor belonging to any principle sect following the Vedas but, by Krishna's Grace, they are accepting this very nicely. Some of them are very advanced as you might have seen from the characteristics of our devotees in London. I was very pleased to read how these students were very well received by your organizations there. Please extend my thanks to all concerned for cooperating with my students in London. Thanking you once more for your interest and I hope to hear again from you soon. Yours very sincerely, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 02:37 | 9 Dec 2004 Monday, December 9, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Gurudasa, Please accept my blessings. I thank you for your letter of December 4, 1968 and I have noted the contents carefully. I have seen how you have planned the board meeting to be held and it is all very nice. I understand that the MacMillan Company is distributing our book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, in London also, so if you can also retail this book to friends at the meeting it may prove very helpful in deepening their interest in this science of Krishna Consciousness. If we can present the people with our literature and with the process of kirtana then certainly many will be attracted and will come join us in our activities. So please convey my blessings to Syamasundara. and Malati to whom I am not enclosing a letter herein, and I hope that you are all very well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. Please let me know when you want the open letter or if possible you can send me the form of the letter which I shall edit & send you the fair copy. ACB The photos that you have sent are duly received. Just yesterday I have received another letter from Pitamber Dindayal of Guyana. letters | 06:49 | December 9, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Yamuna, Please accept my blessings. I thank you so much for letter of November 30, 1968 and the glorious sentiments you have expressed therein. I am so glad to read that you are doing very well and keeping always engaged. This is the key to elevating in Krishna Consciousness that we always keep our thoughts, our words and our actions centered around our life and soul, this being Krishna. If we remember to practice this process then automatically all distresses and botherations will become nil. So I am very encouraged that all of you are progressing in learning this technique. So far as the certificates are concerned, they are very beautiful and nicely done. But I have noticed that there is one small spelling mistake which you may be able to correct. "Srimati" you have spelled as "Srimate". Srimate is used for addressing someone, but Srimati is the title which is appropriate on the certificate. So if you can change this on all of the certificates it will be better. Regarding your question about arati, no there is no special prayers to be said just in the morning. Also you have asked about the compiler of Sri Brahma Samhita and the four-headed Brahma of this universe is the compiler. So thank you again for your letter and please convey my very hearty blessings to Malati also who has written one very nice letter which I have seen last week. I hope that this finds you all in very good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. I have received the newspaper cuttings for Prahlada __ letters | 03:43 | December 9, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Upendra, Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter of December 6, 1968 arriving last night and I have duly noted the contents. In your letter you have made it clear that you are finding some difficulty with sex desire and have asked guidance from me to instruct you how to handle this problem of the material body. First of all I think you should know that such problems are not very unnatural because in the body the conditioned soul is very prone to failure. But also we must remember that such failure will not discourage us from executing the most important mission of our life, to become fully in Krishna Consciousness. So whatever falldown has been, you should be regretful about it, but it is not so serious nor is it a permanent disqualification. But you must try to check yourself from such artificial things and take full shelter of the Lotus Feet of Krishna. I think that for such checking marriage is the only solution. It is understood that everyone has some nasty habits but by sticking to Krishna Consciousness, chanting our required rounds loudly, and tending the deities, these items will surely save you. So always be seriously engaged in serving Krishna and pray to Krishna to help you with your frailties. But I think that marriage is the solution with no other alternative. If you are married you can continue to practice all the items of worship and with more peace of mind, so such solution, along with redoubled efforts to serve nicely and be very pleasing unto Krishna, these things will help you. I have always known you as very good, sincere boy so with utmost seriousness you must consider these points and act upon them. I shall hope to be hearing again from you soon on this matter. Hoping you are always well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. It is my open advice for everyone that one who is disturbed by sex, must take the responsiblity of married life letters | 02:25 | 8 Dec 2004 Sunday, December 8, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Kirtanananda, Please accept my blessings. I have received today your letter dated 4, December 1968 and have carefully read the contents. You have asked whether you may use charcoals to use for fuel during the winter and since this is the simplest thing to use in your present situation certainly it is all right. In all such questions as this you need only use your good common sense and depend upon Krishna as always to guide you nicely. So far as the government making repairs on the roads, If they are willing to do it this is very good. With nice roads we can invite many people to New Vrindaban as well as facilitate our own activities there so such proposal is welcome. For construction of ponds I don't know if you will be able to use them for bathing in the cold winter so it is better if you can construct a well if this can be more used in the winter. So if you are pressed now for time, the ponds may be constructed in the spring. I have noted from your letter that you have available a Lincoln automobile which you are able to donate to us in Los Angeles. At the present we are requiring just such a car so I think you may make arrangements to have it brought here. This is all Krishna's Grace so as you are able please make arrangements for this. So far as your utilizing machinery at New Vrindaban, if such machinery is helpful than you may take advantage of them. We are not enemies of machines. If they can be used for Krishna's service then we welcome them. You will be glad to know that we have now signed lease for a new temple for the Los Angeles center. It is very large, fine chapel and now there is program being organized here to set everything up very nicely and invite many new people to participate in our programs. Krishna has been very kind to grant us such facilities and now there are many efforts to be made to use it nicely. Please convey my blessings to Hrsikesa and I hope this letter finds you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 02:12 | |
|
|
