a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1968 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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17 Dec 2004 Tuesday, December 17, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Lilasukha, Please accept my blessings. With great pleasure I have read your letter of December 9, 1968. I thank you for your kind sentiments expressed and your nice attitude of humbleness and devotion. It is very good that you and the other girls are preaching in school to your class mates. This will bring the greatest benefit not only to them but also it will help you to progress more and more in your devotional service. Krishna Consciousness is so nice that when one makes some gain it does not detract from anothers' gain, but, rather, it means that there is gain for the whole world. When one is chanting or speaking of Krishna or working for Krishna then so many living entities hear him or help him in some way and thus find benefit also. This is why the devotee is dear to all creatures and to Krishna. So always be engaged as you are doing and with your all good qualities Krishna will surely bestow his full mercy, rest assured. So all of the girls you have mentioned, such as Ekayani, Kancanbala and Indira are similarly very good souls and I am always praying that Krishna will help you all more and more. I was pleased to note that you are happy with your plans for marriage to Uddhava. He is a very good boy and please always serve him nicely as a good wife. You are fortunate to obtain such a nice husband and he is also fortunate to obtain a nice wife. So all in all it is very nice arrangement and certainly it is Krishna's special mercy upon you both. Please convey my blessings to all other of my students in the New York branch and I hope this finds you all in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 06:52 | December 17, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Sivananda, Please accept my blessings. I have just received your letter dated December 14, 1968 and I have noted the contents with some surprise. You have written that you will soon be leaving Hamburg and this news has caused me some distress. I have always been glad that you were in Germany to take care of the temple and you have written that Krishna Das is also disturbed at this sudden turn. From your letter it is unclear as to where you are going, to Montreal, to New Vrindaban, to work for your mother, it is all unclear as to your plan. I think that you must stay in our Hamburg center until you write to me why you are leaving Germany, and where you are expecting to stay. It could be that you are experiencing some difficulty in Germany, in which case please inform me of the same so we may solve the problem. You mentioned that leaving is the best thing for your devotional service, but you should know that without the instructions of the spiritual master that there is no question of devotional service. So I think that you must remain in the Hamburg center until I advise you further. I am anxiously awaiting to hear your reply. I hope you are well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 04:48 | December 17, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Ananda, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated December 13, 1968 along with the Hare Krishna Mantra card. I am glad that you have already started a center in small scale and please try to improve it as far as possible. There is no question of doing anything very hastily so please try to make steady, even if slow, progress. So far as the Indian population is concerned, we have no such discretion that we have to pick our members from a particular group of people. Everyone is Krishna's part and parcel and wherever we find it convenient we will pick up a person to be trained in Krishna Consciousness who is interested in going back to home, back to Godhead. I think that the Canadian people especially will be suitable for your membership. Try for this as far as possible. For the new souls who have already joined you, try to encourage them as far as possible. Thank you again for your letter and for the important service you are rendering to Lord Caitanya's movement. I hope this finds you in very good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 03:41 | December 17, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Gaurasundara, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated December 12, 1968 and I have noted the contents. I am glad that you have also received my previously sent letters. I have also handed over your letter for Govinda Dasi. I am very sorry to learn that this girl Madhavi Lata has gone there and created some disturbance. If she is still there, ask her to live separately and she may come only during kirtana performances. This girl appears very disturbing and every place she goes there seems to be some trouble. Please try to keep her away carefully and ask her to come back here because immediately there is no chance of my going to Hawaii. Just today I have got one press conference in the temple and after this there will be more propaganda work. There is scheduled another press conference by January 22, 1969, so at least for one month more there is no chance of my going to Hawaii. If I leave abruptly now the program here will be disturbed. Better is I wait until we finish the engagement in Los Angles. In the meantime I will try to pick up some devotees to join you. I am glad to note that an asrama will attract interested students from all over the world. Please try to organize this asrama in cooperation with Murari. I am asking Purusottama and others to search out some brahmacaris to go there to assist you. I am also still more encouraged that you propose to build a temple and secure some land in the main island of Hawaii. I think that my presence in Hawaii will be nice when you are still more in sound footing there. So you arrange your program in that way. Better would be that you and my other dear disciples try to manage all centers as far as possible independently. For me, in my old age, moving constantly does not suit my health. The Los Angeles climate is not unsuitable for me so I am thinking of making my head-quarters here because it is very important city also. But as soon as there is the need of my presence some place I must go where I am required. On this principle please prepare to work. Regarding Govinda Dasi, she can immediately start for Hawaii if you send her the passage fare. Please convey my blessings to the others with you and I hope this finds you all in good health. Your ever well wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 02:37 | 14 Dec 2004 Saturday, December 14, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Gurudasa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your nice letter of Dec. 9, 1968, and I thank you very much for it. It is very much encouraging to me to hear of so many activities of performing kirtana there. Kirtana is the universal principle, therefore, if you chant Hare Krishna offenselessly, that is to say, avoiding the 10 kinds of offenses, the vibration is sure to act. And anywhere this vibration is made, it will be liked because it is done on the spiritual platform. And on the spiritual platform, there will be certainly agreement. So long one is on the material platform, there is no agreement. So our movement is directly taken to the spiritual platform. So do it nicely, offenselessly, and it will be successful anywhere. It is just like that in the milk, there is butter, but if you want concentrated butter, you have to churn milk and take out the butter. Similarly, Krishna is spread everywhere by different potencies but when there is question of love, we have to be in direct touch with Krishna. That is personalism. The heat of the impersonalist sunshine and the heat in the sunglobe is far different. One who is in personal touch with Krishna, their spiritual bliss is incomparable. The spiritual bliss derived from impersonalist realization is just like a drop of water in the presence of the Atlantic Ocean. That is the difference between personalism and impersonalism. Your question, "How did Prakasananda Sarasvati see or think that Lord Caitanya was the Lord Narayana Himself when he only realized Brahman?"--by personal audience of Lord Caitanya they could realize Him as Narayana because they were sincere in searching out the Absolute Truth. As it is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, that an impersonalist, if he is sincere in searching out the Absolute Truth, then ultimately such impersonalist can reach to the point of the Personality of Godhead. So Prakasananda Sarasvati was submissive to Lord Caitanya, because he begged Lord Caitanya to occupy superior seat, while Caitanya Mahaprabhu out of His extreme humbleness, was sitting in a place where they were washing their feet. A Vaisnava is always humble, and if a person does not misuse this humbleness of a Vaisnava, he gets a chance to be elevated. But if somebody misunderstands the humbleness of a Vaisnava then he is doomed. Just like in the Caitanya Caritamrta, the author Kaviraja Goswami says that he is lower than the stool, and Sanatana Goswami says that he is born and associated with most degraded persons. If such humbleness of Vaisnavas are taken verbatim, then we are misled. Prakasananda Sarasvati appreciated the greatness of Lord Caitanya, even though He was humble, and therefore Lord Caitanya's Mercy was bestowed upon him, and thus he could accept Him as He is. The Mayavadi philosophers even they do not follow Sankaracarya because their philosophy itself is offensive. Sankaracarya has accepted Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the Mayavadis take Krishna as a great personality only. That is their misfortune. On account of successive offensive attacks on the Supreme Person. So therefore the subsequent result of Mayavadi philosophy, on account of their rigidity to this misleading philosophy, they cannot make progress. Besides that, as it is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, the Personal Feature of Krishna is very difficult to be understood by the non-devotee class of men. So the Mayavadi philosophers are, as a class, non-devotees. Naturally they are misled almost in all occasions. But some of them were extraordinary to come out and accept Krishna's personality. This is explained by Arjuna also in the Bhagavad-gita. We are sending you a tape record also, of a short paper entitled "Manifestos of Krishna Consciousness" which I have written. Yes you negotiate for the building there. And if you have got a temple then you can write for Deities. The installation will take place when I go there. But if you order Deities, order Them not less than 20" high for Radha and Krishna. I have also written them about this. The thing is, what for you will contact this Vinode Vani dasi?* What kind of help do you want from them? They are already not cooperating. The history of this Vani dasi is that she is an old lady, and has a house and has hung a sign, Gaudiya Math, but that is all. So make clear to me exactly what sort of help you want to get from her, and I will advise you duly. In the meantime, you can one day make a courtesy visit to her, and see what is the situation with her, if her place can be used for our purposes. But I do not think that place is very nice or suitable for our purpose, as it is outside the city I think, so far I know, and we want a place inside the city. Still if you let me know what kind of help you want from them, then I can advise you what to do. I hope you are all well there, and executing Krishna Consciousness happily also. Please convey my blessings to your good wife Yamuna, and also to Syamasundara. and Malati, and Janaki and Mukunda. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami *Did she accept your invitation? Did she come to dine with you? If not how you can expect any co-operation with them? etad nirvidyamananam ichhatam akutobhayam yoginam api nirnitam harer namanukirtanam letters | 04:19 | December 14, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Jadurani, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your nice letter of Dec. 4, 1968, and I have noted the contents very carefully. I have looked at the two small pictures you sent, and I approve of both of them. This is called Rajasthan style, and it is very nice. These two pictures, if nicely painted, will look very good in our temples. Also, there is one very nice photograph of my Guru Maharaja which I want you to paint, and I will send it to you there. It was found by Gurudasa in London and he has sent me two copies of it. It was taken just after His acceptance of sannyasa, and with the Srimad-Bhagavatam opened before Him. So I shall send it. So far Los Angeles temple is concerned, we have just now leased a very big church, with large meeting hall and various compartments, so here we shall need many very large paintings for making the hall attractive. If it is possible, you can paint very large ones, as large or even larger than the one you sent to Montreal of the Gopis. Regarding the gesso sizing of the canvases: If they last for 20 years that is fine and plenty long enough. The other process sounds too complicated, and this plastic sounds to be very nice. Deity worship is for such persons who have ample time. The thing is, Deity worship is compulsory, and you can increase if you have got time to do so. But Mangala aratrik is essential (morning arati), and Sandharatrik (evening aratri) is essential, and offering of Prasadam to Deity is essential. And nice dress, decorating the Deity with sweet-smelling flowers, colorful and very opulent dresses, jewels, incense, etc, to make Them very brilliant and attractive, that is real Deity worship. I hope you are all well there, and happy in Krishna Consciousness, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 02:16 | 13 Dec 2004 Friday, December 13, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Jadurani, Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter of December 9, 1968 and have noted the contents. Regarding the material for canvas protection I think that there is a tar which is made from coals (coal-tar) which may be used. Or else if this is not available or cannot be used then you may use any material which will do the job nicely. I have just received a copy of Back To Godhead number 21 and please convey my appreciation to Satsvarupa for his excellent article of Lord Ramacandra. Such articles give enjoyment and spiritual benefit to all readers so he should do more of such writing as he is able. As soon as possible, I will require some artist who will paint pictures from the Bhagavatam as I give hints on what to paint. But the artist must be very quick. Two or three pictures must be done every week. These pictures will be used for my new book, "KRISHNA", which I will begin as soon as I get the assistance of a quick painter. I am sure that you could do this but you are already engaged with so much work. There is one girl in Seattle, Joy Fulcher, who is nice artist. Would you like her to go to you to do this work under your guidance? I think that you know this girl. If you think this idea is alright, you can call her at Boston. As usual, I shall send "KRISHNA" tapes to your husband with hints for you about the pictures so you and your husband can send me the complete materials for the final printing. Please consider these suggestions and do the needful. Kindly convey my blessings to Devananda, Saradia and Rukmini. I hope you are all well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 05:28 | December 13, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Paramananda, Please accept my blessings. I was so pleased to receive your letter of December 8, 1968 and I have noted the contents with great pleasure. Such attitude of humbleness which you have so nicely expressed along with your very good service attitude is very beautiful and will take you far to advance more and more. I am happy that you and your very good wife, Satyabhama, are finding such satisfaction in executing your Krishna Consciousness activities and such pleasure will only increase more and more as you continue to advance further. This is my blessing upon you both that your lives may become happy and successful. So my one request to you is that you keep yourself always engaged in Krishna's service sincerely and that you help your wife in this matter also. Now there is enough engagement with popularizing our books and magazines so you will have enough work to utilize all of your time in this important endeavor. You are strong, intelligent boy so there is so much of such service that you can render and be a great asset to this Krishna Consciousness movement. In the future there may be facilities to start schooling in our New Vrindaban and when this is begun I think that Satyabhama and yourself may consider to go there to teach and assist with the work going on there. So as Krishna desires we will see what happens. Please convey my blessings to all others and I hope that you are well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 04:26 | December 13, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Girish, Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter of November 30, 1968 and have noted the contents with pleasure. So far as your question about the Krishna stories, you will be glad to know that soon we will begin working on a book called, "KRISHNA" which will have stories and illustrations of all of Krishna's Pastimes. These stories come from the 10th canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. You have also written that you wish to obtain some pictures of Krishna in his childhood and such pictures can be obtained by writing to Brahmananda in New York about prices and which pictures he has available. I think that now that you are going to public school that you must study hard especially keeping in mind to learn how to read and write and do arithmetic. Perhaps after the summer we will have our own school in New Vrindaban and you will be a student there. But in the meantime, try to acquire these skills. They shall be a great asset to you in reading our literature and so many other services. So now that you are in school, you may make the best of it and become expert in these abilities. Thank you again for your nice letter and I hope that you are well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 03:24 | December 13, 1968 Los Angeles, Calif. My Dear Jagadisa, Please accept my blessings. Enclosed please find your prayer beads which I have chanted one round upon and initiated you with. Your spiritual name is Jagadisa das Brahmacari. Jagadisa means Lord Jagannatha, the Lord of the Universe. So please continue to be very sincere about developing your Krishna Consciousness and Krishna will give you all facilities to return with Him to His Spiritual Abode. Take instructions from your god-brother Rupanuga, chant your sixteen rounds daily, follow all regulations strictly, and you will have all blessings from the disciplic succession to advance nicely. So now you have this all important opportunity so I request you to take full advantage and perfect yourself in Krishna Consciousness. This is my request to all of you. This will be great service not only to yourself, but also to all the living entities with whom we come into contact. Please convey my blessings to all others. I hope that you are well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. I have not heard anything from Rupanuga since a long time. ACB letters | 02:22 | 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 | |
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