Letters from Srila Prabhupada Vol.1 1947-1969

LETTERS FROMSRILA PRABHUPADAVOLUME IFrom 12th July, 1947 (47-1)To 18th January, 1969 (69-1-29)THE V AISNAV A INSTITUTEin association withTHAILAND • MEXICOBHAKTIVEDANTA BOOK TRUST

Readers interestedin thesubject matter of thisbook and otherpublicationsofThe Vaisnava Instituteareinvitedto correspond withitssecretaryTHE V AISNAVA INSTITUTE8507 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230First Printing, 1987Limited Printing 500 CopiesImpreso en MexicoPrinted in Mexico

LETTERS FROM" - -SRILA PRABHUPADAVOLUME IFrom 12th July, 1947 (47-1)To 18th January, 1969 (69-1-29)VOLUME IIFrom 18th January, 1969 (69-1-30)To 3rd June, 1970 (70-6-3)VOLUME IIIFrom 3rd June; 1970 (70-6-4)To 24th June, 1972 (72-6-30)VOLUME IVFrom 25th June, 1972 (72-6-31)To 8th January, 1975 (75-1-31)VOLUMEVFrom 8th January, 1975 (75-1-32)To 6th September, 1977 (77 -9-1)

PREFACEIt was simply a matter of time before these letters would be published. After the departureof His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharyaof the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, there was a coordinated endeavorto publish his biography; funds and human resources were made available for thispurpose. But many of his followers wished that s1milar facilities had been given for thepublication of his correspondence. Although the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust initiated aprogram to gather and preserve a complete collection of the letters, no attempt was madeto make them widely available. Almost ten years later, this has remained the BBT policy.For guiding ISKCO N and educating devotees after Srila Prabhupada 's disappearance,the importance of the letters is indisputable. They contain the timeless teachings of a puredevotee to his disciples. It is interesting to note the many pertinent instructions on conductingISKCON affairs in his absence. Many major mistakes within the Movementcould have been avoided by a more widespread dissemination and thorough understandingof these letters. In addition, this journal offers the new generation of devotees thepersonal association of His Divine Grace, thus giving them an opportunity to gain a transcendentalsense of judgement and the ability to recognize true Krishna Consciousness.Therefore, the need to make the letters available to all is unquestionable. We hope that alldevotees will welcome this journal as an important contribution to Srila Prabhupada 'sMovement.Every effort has been made to present the original material unchanged, even withregard to incorrect spelling, punctuation, and grammar. These letters are archival; therefore,in order to facilitate devotees and scholars in their research, it was felt that it wouldbe inappropriate to edit or "correct" the text in any way. However, letter headings andaddresses have been shortened in order to save space.We want to thank all the devotees who inade their private collections of letters availablefor this publication and those who worked selflessly sorting them and producing thebooks. They are too many to name here; however we would like especially to thank NiscintaPrabhu, Govinda-bhasya Prabhu, Rasamanjari devi dasi and Amrta devi dasi fortheir contributions and assistance in making this publication possible.-The Publishers5th November, 1986Disappearance anniversaryof Srila Prabhupada

1940s

1940s 347-1Mahatma GandhijeeBhangi ColonyNew Delhi.Cawnpore12th July, 1947Dear Friend Mahatmajee,Please accept my respectful Namaskar.I am your unknown friend but Ihad to write to you at times and again althoughyou never cared to reply them. Isent you my papers "Back to Godhead"but your secretaries told me that you havevery little time to read the letters andmuch less for reading the magazines. Iasked for an interview with you but yourbusy secretaries never cared to reply this.Any way as I am your very old friend althoughunknown to you I am again writtingto you inorder to bring you to therightful position deserved by you. As asincere friend I must not deviate from myduty towards a friend like your good self.I tell you as a sincere friend that youmust immediately retire from active politicsif you do not desire to die an ingloriousdeath. You have 125 years to live asyou have desired to live but you if you diean inglorious death it is no worth. The honourand prestige that you have obtainedduring the course of you present life time,were not possible to be obtained by anyone else within the living memory. Butyou must know that all these honours andprestiges were false in as much as theywere created by the Illusory Energy ofGodhead called the Maya. By this falsity Ido not mean to say that your so manyfriends were false to you nor you werefalse to them. By this falsity I mean illusionor in other words the false friendshipand honours obtained thereby were butcreation of Maya and therefore they are alwaystemporary or false as you may call it.But none of you neither your friends noryourself knew this truth.Now by the Grace of God that illusionis going to be cleared and thus your faithfulfriends like Acharya Kripalini and othersare accusing you for your inability atthe present moment to give them anypractical programme of work as you happenedto give them during your gloriousdays of non-co-operation movement. Soyou are also in a plight to find out a propersolution for the present political tanglecreated by your opponents. You shouldtherefore take a note of warning from yourinsignificant friend like me, that unlessyou retire timely from politics and engageyourself cent per cent in the preachingwork of Bhagwat Geeta, which is the realfunction of the Mahatmas, you shall haveto meet with such inglorious deaths asMussolini, Hiders, Tojos, Churchills orLloyd Georges met with.You can very easily understand as tohow some of your political enemies in thegarb of friends (both Indian and English)have deliberately cheated you and havebroken your heart by doing the same mischieffor which you have struggled so hardfor so many years. You wanted chieflyHindu-Moslem unity in India and theyhave tactfully managed to undo yourwork, by creation of the Pakisthan andI n d i a separately. You wanted freedomfor India but they have given permanentdependence of India. You wanted to dosomething for the upliftment of the positionof the Bhangis but they are still rottingas Bhangis even though you are living inthe Bhangi colony. They are all thereforeillusions and when these things will bepresented to you as they are, you mustconsider them as God-sent. God has favouredyou by dissipating the illusion youwere hovering in, and by the same illusionyou were, nursing those ideas as Truth(?).You must know that you are in the relativeworld which is called by the sages asDwaita i.e. dual- and nothing is absolutehere. Your Ahimsa is always followed byHinsa as the light is followed by darkness

4 Letters from Srrla Prabhupiidaor the father is followed by the son. Nothingis absolute truth in this dual world.You did not know this neither you evercared to know this from the right sourcesand therefore all your attempts to createunity were followed by disunity andAhimsa. Ahimsa was followed by Himsa.But it is better late than never. Youmust know now something about the AbsoluteTruth. The Truth with which youhave been experimenting so long is relative.The relative truths are creations ofthe 'Daivi Maya ' qualified by the threemodes of Nature. They are all insurmountableas is explained in the BhagwatGeeta (7114). The Absolute Truth is theAbsolute Godhead.In the Katha Upanishad it is orderedthat one must approach the bonafide Guruwho is not only well versed in all thescriptures of the world but is also the realisedsoul in Brahman the Absolute-in orderto learn the science of Absolute Truth.So also it is instructed in the BhagwatGeeta as follows:-Tad Biddhi PranipatenaPariprasnena SebayaUpadekshyanti Tad JnanamJnanina Tatwadarshina (4/34)But I know that you never underwentsuch transcendental training except somesevere penances which you invented foryour purpose as you have invented somany things in the course of experimentingwith the relative truths. You mighthave easily avoided them if you had approachedthe Guru as abovementioned.But your sincere efforts to attain someGodly qualities by austerities etc surelyhave raised you to some higher positionwhich you can better utilise for the purposeof the Absolute Truth. If you, however,remain satisfied with such temporaryposition only and do not try toknow the Absolute Truth, then surely youare to fall down from the artificially exaltedposition under the laws of Nature.But if you really want to approach the AbsoluteTruth and want to do some realgood to the people in general all over theworld, which shall include your ideas ofunity, peace and non-violence, then youmust give up the rotten politics immediatelyand rise up for the preaching work ofthe philosophy and religion of "BhagwatGeeta" without offering unnecessary anddogmatic interpretations on them. I hadoccasionally discussed this subject in mypaper "Back to Godhead" and a leaf fromthe same is enclosed herewith for yourreference.I would only request you to retire frompolitics at least for a month only and let ushave discussion on the Bhagwat Geeta. Iam sure, thereby, that you shall get a newlight from the result of such discussionsnot only for your benefit but for the benefitof the world at large-as I know thatyou are sincere, honest and moralist.Awaiting your early reply with interest.Yours sincerely,Abhay Charan De.Enclosure-one leaf from Back to Godhead47-2Raja Mohendra PratapWorld FederationPrem Moha VidyalayaP. O. Brindaban.Dear Raja Sahib,Cawnpore.13th July, 1947In continuation of my last post card, Ibeg to inform you that I have finished thereading of your book Religion of Love. Inmy opinion the whole thesis is based onthe philosophy of Pantheism and the approachis made by the services of mankind.Religion of Love is the true religiousidea but if the approach is made throughthe service of mankind only, then the

1940s 5process is made imperfect, partial andunscientific.As you say the waves of the creationsare the different aspects, why a particulartype of waves namely the mankind shouldbe partially selected and offered servicesand why other types of waves such as thebeasts or birds, the plants and the stoneshall not be offered a similar type of services?In that case how can you say thatthe worship of a stone is sinful while aman who is more than a stone shall beconsidered as the object of Love? Theseare some of the questions that arise out ofa critical study of your book.If you so desire I can enter into discussionsabout it and my opinion is that yourapproach is partial and unscientific.There is no hesitation to accept the principleof the Religion of Love because theAbsolute Truth is, as we have known,Godhead Who is Sat, Chit and Ananda.Without Ananda there cannot be any Lovethat is an accepted fact. Your delineationof society, friendship and love among thehuman beings is based on this Anandaportion only but you have avoided theother portions of eternity and cognition ofGod the Whole soul. Thus the approach ispartial and unscientific. The true Religionof Love is perfectly inculcated in theBhagwat Geeta. When we speak of Lovethere must be the object of Love and theLover too. Here in this world we find thatthe object of Love and the Lover both arethe cheater and the cheated in their reciprocaldealings. That is our experience.But the ultimate end being one WholeSoul, the dual existence of the object ofLover and the Loved loses identity. In thatcase the eternity and cognisibility of theLoved and Lover vanish at once. In thisway there arises many questions whichmay be put forward to you for further discussionsto adjust your ideas of religion.Besides you have not quoted any authorityfor all your statements. So it ismore or less dogmatic. If different menput different dogmatic views about religionand its essential!' who is to be acceptedand who is not be? Therefore theapproach shall be and must be authoritative,scientific and universal. Your delineationsdo not conform to all thesenecessary things. That is my main contention.If you have time to discuss on it, Ishall be glad to substantiate my contentionsas far as possible. My basis of argumentswill be Bhagwat Geeta which is themost authoritative, scientific and universal.To summarise the conclusions ofBhagwat Geeta it may be said that,1) God is One and everything is in Himand He is in everything.2) To render transcendental serviceunto God is to serve everything that be,just like to water the root of the tree is towater the different branches and numerousleaves of the tree or to supply food tothe stomach is to vitalise all the senses andthe sense organs of the body.3) The parts are automatically servedwhen the Whole is served but when theparts are served the whole may not beserved or not served at all.4) The parts and the Whole being eternallyrelated, it is the eternal duty of theparts to render service unto the Whole._5) A recipient of the services of theparts, God's "Satchidananda" Vigrahai.e. the All Attractive Cognisant and Allblissful Personality eternal. He can revealHimself by His own potency without anyhelp of the external potency called Mayainorder to be cognisible by the limited potencyof the parts and as such He is notonly the greatest of all but he is the smallestof all. That is His prerogative.6) He is better realised when He by Hiscauseless mercy agrees to descend in thismortal world but he He is never realisedby the partial speculations of the empericphilosophers however systematic andIongtermed it may be.

6 Letters from Srrla Prabhupiida7) Sree Krishna is the Personality ofGodhead and is the Summum BonumCause of all Causes proved by fact and figuresin the statement of Bhagwat Geeta,but He reserves the right of not being exposedto the sensual speculations of theemperic philosophers.8) One should therefore surrender untoHim if one wants to know Him as He isand that is the real process to approach theInfinite by the infinitesimals.9) Sree Krishna is easily ava1llable bythe Religion of Love i. e. by Love and serviceas conceived by the damsels of"Braja" who had practically no educationwhatsoever and much less any cl11-im forhigh class birth right.10) The highest service that can berendered to the Mankind is, therefore, topreach the philosophy and religion ofBhagwat Geeta for all the times, all theplaces and all the people.I hope you may agree with me and thusmake a combined effort in this directionfor the benefit of the Mankind.47-3Yours sincerely,Abhay Charan DeThe Proprietor,Aska Distillery,Aska.D/sir,Calcutta.21st October, 194 7We have decided to open a branchmanufactory of our above Laboratory in asuitable locality ofBerhampur. We are arrangingto approach the local excise authoritiesto grant us permit for possessingand using rectified spirit for medicinalpurposes. But before we do anything finallyas would like to enquire from yourgoodself whether it is possible to get sufficientquantity of rectified spirit from yourdistillery.The bearer of this letter is a messengeron our behalf and we shall be thankful ifyou will kindly let us know the followingpoints per bearer.I. Whether rectified spirit is obtainablefrom you at the rate of 100 gallonsper month.2. Whether you distill rectified spiritthroughout the whole year.spirit.3. Your usual strength of rectifiedYours faithfully,For Vimaltone Laboratories Ltd.Abhay Charan DeDirector in chief.49-1 Calcutta28th February, 1949Hon. Sardar Dr. Vallavbhaiji PatelDeputy Prime Minister,Government of India,New Delhi.Revered Sir,May your honour accept my humbleNamaskar. Your honour is well known asthe Iron man of India but I know that youthe most practical man who can takethings as they are. With this idea in view Iventure to approach your honour for submittingthe following few lines for yourconsideration and necessary action.Funds are being collected to commemorateMahatma Gandhiji in a fitting mannerand I beg to suggest that the same maybe done in the Gandhian way and not otherwise.Gandhiji's whole life was dedicatedto the service of humanity at largewith special interest for raising the moralstandard. His later activities showed thathe was equal to every one and all the peopleof the world knew him more as thespiritual leader than a mere politician.Devotion to Godhead was his ultimate aimand when I say that his sacred memoryshould be perpetuated not in the ordinary

1940s 7way but in the Gandhian way, I mean thatfitting respect to his memory will be donein the following manner.I. In the midst of his multifarious duties,Gandhiji never missed to attend to hisRamdhun Kirtan meeting. This is one ofthe soundest method for the culture of devotionto God. In the opinion of 'Srimad­Bhagbatam', one who is imbibed with thedevotion of Godhead is also endowed withall the good qualities of the gods. But onewho is not a devotee of Godhead, has notany value for his good qualities because heutilises his so called good qualities for ultiriorpurposes. As such the easy way toraise the moral standard of people in general,is to make this 'Samkirtan' movementmore popular all over the world byphilosophical discourses based on reasoningand moral and ethical codes. TheVaishnava Acharyas especially LordChaitanya and his six Goswamin disciplesgive us ample opportunity and scope forthis work. Lord Chaitanya first inauguratedthe Samkrtan or Ramdhun movementand the later Goswamins supportedit by scholarly philosophical synthesis.The six "Sandarvas" by Sreela Jiva Goswamiare marvelous in this respect.2. The second item is to take up thetemple entry or temple worship movement.This is, in the real sense, a theisticcultural movement and the facility or opportunityshall be open to every one whatsoeverhe may be. All the past Acharyasaccepted everyone who desires to offer hisrespect to God inspired by transcendentallove and devotion. We can support thismovement of Gandhiji on the authority ofShastras. There are thousands and Iakhsof temples all over India but they are notalways properly managed. Some of themhave become the positive dens for undesirableactivities and most of the ownersor trustees of such temples do not knowhow to utilise these sacred buildings. Neithermodernised gentlemen have any interestfor these neglected theisticinstitutions. Originally the aim of thesetemples was to diffuse spiritual culture inevery quarter. These temples or theisticinstitutions should therefore bereorganised as the centre of spiritual cultureaccording to authentic principles aslaid down in the scriptures like BhagwatGeeta.3. The third item is to take up the 'Harijan'movement. This movement is, in thereal sense, a spiritual initiation movementand this should be organised in such amanner that people all over the world maytake interest in it. The 'Harijan' is a wordwhich shall not be used neglectfully as itis done now but attempt should be made tomake every body a 'Harijan'. 'Harijan'means the recognised man of Hari thePersonality of Godhead and thus he (theHarijan) is as important a man as theknight of the King. So 'Harijan' movementshould be strengthened more scientificallyto turn every person who is now'Mayajan' into a 'Harijan'. The 'Mayajan'is a word which is applicable to a personwho is ordinarily engaged in the service ofmaterialistic pursuits, whereas the 'Harijan'is the person whose main business isto attain perfection of human life, as MahatmaGandhi did, by spiritualistic realisation.This movement should thereforebe conducted under strict disciplinarymethods as prescribed by the 'Mahajans'or the 'Harijan' of accredited merit. Insuch a movement we shall have full cooperationof the 'Sadhu' community in India.4. The fourth item is to organise themuch discussed caste-system as a solutionof natural division of the human beings allover the world. Nationalistic division ofhuman races is artificial but scientific divisionof the caste system as envisaged inthe Bhagwat Geeta is natural. We shallhave to pick up Brahmins and others notonly from the Indian people but from the

8 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiidapeoples of all over the world. The vitiatedcaste system of present India is neversanctioned by the scriptures. But the castesystem is made by God according toquality and work of the subject and it wasnever designed for the benefit of accidentalbirth right. Thus whatever is made byGod cannot be destroyed by man. Destructionof the caste system as contemplatedby some exponents, is therefore outof question. By the modes of Nature differentpersons are imbued with differentqualities and the scientific way of divisionof human society, from the qualitative aspect,by the caste system is quite natural.But the basic principle of such caste systemis to serve the plan of Godhead and bydoing so the four orders of caste systemmake a headway by the co-operativemethod. When such spiritual progress isdefinitely made, the materialistic progressis automatically effected as a matterof course. That makes a real classless society.The above four-fold Gandhi movements,if done in an organised, scientificway supported by all the authentic scripturesof all religiosities, will bring in thattranquility of peace respite of all harshnessand bitterness of the present world,which we have longed for till now.I wish to organise a spiritual societyfor the above movements and therefore Iseek your active help and support for this.The immediate need is to start an organisationcentre in a suitable place preferablyin New Delhi under your direct supervisionand to train up a batch of youngmenfor this transcendental service. If possibleto conduct a monthly magazine in this respectfor propaganda work.If your honour will allow me an interview,I shall be very glad to explain thewhole idea personally and let you knowhow the scheme can be given a practicalshape for subsiding the general unrest allover the world. Such an organised movementshall be the panacea of all socialmaladies.The State is giving help for so manyman-made purposes and I pray that a sumofRs 2000/-per month may be allowed forstarting these Gandhian movements in organisedform and that on authentic basis Ithink if your honour as a renowned practicalman accepts my humble suggestion, itmay be by the Will of God, that the wholeatmosphere of the present world calamitiesmay be mitigated altogether. Myhumble self had the privilege of takingthis training under the lotus feet of mySpiritual Master and I am confident to organisethis work in a scientific way ifl amhelped by the State.Hoping to be excused for intrudingupon your valuable time and awaiting yourearly reply with deep interest. With mybest regards, I beg to remain,Yours faithfully,Abhay Charan De49-2Calcutta14th March, 1949Dear Juggannath Babu,Please accept my respectful Namaskar.The sacred meeting organised byyou at your place yesterday will be rememberedby me with great reverenceand I must thank you from the very core ofmy heart for giving me a chance to servethe cause of the Potency of the AlmightyGod. I think you have inherited some transcendentaltalents by the good deeds ofyour past life and as such you have takenyour birth in the family of the SREEMA­T AM as stated in the Bhagwat Geeta. Godwilling you shall render tremendous transcendentalservice in the rest of your lifeand by doing so you shall not only glorifythe family in which you have taken yourbirth but also the community and thecountry will be benefitted.

1940s 9Yesterday evening when we were talkingat your Verandah we had some talksover the advent day of Lord Chaitanyawhich falls to-day the most auspiciousDol-jatra Purnima day and as such I myselfalong with some members of myfamily to day observing fast till the adventmoment of Sree Chaitanya Mahaprabhujust in the evening. Guru Moharaj Shastrijiadvised the members assembled yesterdayto observe fast to-day and this isbeing done as a matter of course on the occasionof Gour Jayanti day. I was so glad tohear from you that you know Lord Chaitanyaas the Incarnation of Godhead. Yes heis so and there are ample proofs of His Beingso in the different Shastras such asMahabharat, Bhagwat, Upanishads andmany other Puranas. So on the occasionof Lord Chaitanya 's 463rd advent ceremony,I am taking this opportunity to rememberabout him which will help myBrata observed to-day. I hope you will notmind for intruding upon your time withthis statement.In the Srimad Bhagwat when KarabhajanMuni was elucidating the different Incarnationsof Godhead in different Yugas,he said that in the "Kali yuga the intelligentpersons will worship the Incarnationof Sree Krishna, by the transcendentalSamkirtan method. This Incarnation ofSree Krishna will be Non-Blackish in thecolour of His body but will constantlychant the Name of Krishna along with Hismany disciples who will act as the soldiersfor the deliverance of the fallen souls ofthe Kali yuga."Sree Krishna Chaitanya preached asone of the Vaishnava Acharyas like Ramanujacharyaand others and His missionwas to establish the same theory of deliveranceas was propounded by SreeKrishna Himself in the Bhagwat Geeta. Inthe Bhagwat Geeta the Lord personallydescribed as to the method of approachingHim, His real features, His different Potenciesknown as the Mahamaya and theYoga-Maya, His Virat appearance Hismethod of creation maintenance and destructionof the material world, informationof the transcendental world whichdoes not annihilate even after the annihilationof the material world. The living entitiessouls, the process of migration of thesouls the description of the Mahatmas,their duties and lastly the duty of everybody after elaborate elucidation of thethree modes of Nature Satya Raja Tamaand the different human races, work,knowledge, devotion, worship activitiesunder the influence of such modes of Nature.In the Bhagwat Geeta a clear distinctionhas been made between the AshuraPrakriti and Daiva Prakriti and He has vehementlydeprecated the demonic orAshuric Prakriti and eulogised the DaivaPrakriti.The Mahamaya Who is known asDurga Kali Chandi Bhadrakali Mohalaksmietc is the embodiment of His externalPotency as described in the Chandiand it is the thankless task of the Mohamayato punish the Ashuras with Her allpowerful weapons in the ten direction ofthe material world. She does not only createand maintain this material world butalso she annihilates it according to the directionof the Almighty God. In theBhagwat Geeta this Mohamaya has alsobeen described as Daivi Maya and She isso Powerful that the Asuras cannot bypassHer at any rate. The Ashura can getremission from the stroke of the Trishulaof Mohamaya when he the Asura, surrenderssurrenders himself to Sree Krishnathe Personality of Godhead. As Superintendentof the Material world the Mohamayahas been described Durga as theprotectress of the great durga or fortressof the grand universes. She gives all thenecessities for our existence but as soon aswe become a Ashura like the Mohishasuras,Ravanas, HiranyaKashipus, and in

10 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadalater ages like the Mussolinis and suchothers for the exploitation of the materialenergy, the Durga Devi at once appearsHerself with Her dreadful trident and beginsto devastate the whole existence bysuch tribulations as war, famine, pestilence,or sometimes anihilation of a totalexistence. The methods of anihilation asare invented by the human brain such asthe atomic bombs etc are also Her creationsbut the deluded Ashuras, who arecaused to act by the modes of Prakriti thematerial nature, do think themselves asthe originator or inventor of such weapons.In that way a constant struggle is goingon between the Ashuras and thePrakriti and the Ashuras are thus beingpunished in different ways which theAshuras cannot overcome by any methodexcept by full surrender unto the AlmightyGod.In the Bhagwat Geeta the last instructionis to surrender fully unto Him the authorof the Bhagwat Geeta but unfortunatemen of demonic mentality misunderstoodthe teachings of Bhagwat Geeta as amethod of sophistry and therefore thesame Personality of Godhead SreeKrishna in the garb of a transcendentaldevotee preach the same techniques ofBhagwat Geeta i.e. full surrender unto theAlmighty God or His different Potenciesin a demonstrative way.The method of His demonstration wasalso very suitable. He inaugurated theSamkirtan Movement accompanied withmelodious song which method has beenfound practically very effective amongstthe masses. It is not possible for themasses to study the Vedanta or to undergothe difficult mystic processes especiallyin the Kali yuga when the general peopleis indolent, unfortunate, shortlived andalways disturbed by physical and mentaltribulations. So they the general mass ofpeople are fallen in the estimation of thegreat saints and as such for them SreeChaitanya Mohaprabhu is the only hopefor deliverance. When Sree ChaitanyaMohaprabhu visited Baranashi He was invitedto a philosophical discourse by thePrakashananda Saraswati a great giantscholar and Sannyasi of the Mayavadi orShankar Sampradaya and discussion wasmade on the Vedanta Philosophy. SreeChaitanya Mahaprabhu was victorious inthat discussion and converted the greatSannyasi with his 60,000 followers to Hiscult of devotion and established His easymethod of Samkirtan movement the mostsuitable method for the deliverance of thepeople in general.So on the occasion of the Lord's 463rdadvent day, I beg to suggest that in the'Gurumandal' some such preachingmethod as was adopted by Lord Chaitanya,may also be adopted for the benefit ofthe general people. The upashana of Yogasystem as recommended by Shastriji maynot be suitable for the people in generalbecause hardly they will be able to adhereto the principles of Yoga and it may be assuggested by the Rajguru Shastriji that inthe default of such Yogic method the performermay fall ill and thus becomedoomed for his life.You have encouraged your mill employeesby establishing a recreation cluband the amiable feelings of your employeeswith the benovolent proprietors as hasbeen exhibited in yesterdays function,may be supplemented by infusing themwith spiritual inspiration by the simplemethod as done by Lord Chaitanya. Inthe last portion of His transcendentalpastimes, Lord Chaitanaya lived inPuri-dham and worshiped the LordJuggannath. By Some way or other yourmill area has been named as the JuggannathPuri and I suggest that an actual templeof Sri Juggannathji may be erected bythe 'Gurumandal' for the benefit of thesemill workers. If they simply make melodiouskirtan of Rama or Krishna or both

1940s 11combined and they are offered the Prasadamof Sri Juggannath surely they shallimbibe the spiritual tendency inherent inevery human49-3The Secretary[PAGE MISSING]The Board of Trustees of5th July, 1949Mahatma Gandhi Memorial NationalFund,New Delhi·:Dear Sir,With reference to the invitation issuedby your Board, for suggestions for the administrationof the Fund, I beg to informthat Gandhiji's memorial can fittingly beperpetuated by a continued effort to keepin motion his spiritual movements. I begto suggest most humbly to your board thatGandhiji, minus his spiritual activities, isan ordinary politician. But actually hewas a saint amongst the statesmen and hisbasic principle was to overhaul the veryfoundation of present civilization by thenovel philosophy of Satyagraha and Nonviolence.The Congress institution isalready in the waning for neglectingGandhiji's spiritual movement which wasthe main pillar of his universal popularity.By claiming the Indian state as secular weshould not sacrifice Gandhiji's spiritualmovement which is different from communalreligiosity. This fact is corrobocrated by such personalities . as SriAurovindo and Dr. Radhakrishnan. Youmay do everything for commemoratinghis memory living but if you do not acceleratehis spiritual movement, his memorywill be soon as dead as has been the Jot ofother politicians.Mahatma Gandhi, although he was alwaysbusy with his political activities,never missed to attend to his daily prayermeetings in the evening. This rule he observedpunctually even a few seconds beforehis assassination . To give a fittingmemorial to Mahatma Gandhi we mustfollow and propagate this particular lineof spiritual activities and must daily read achapter from Bhagwat Geeta in congrega··tion. Bhagwat Geeta is the world recognisedphilosophy oflndian culture andthe favourite scripture of Mahatma Gandhi.He was a great follower of this greatphilosophy like other great saints and hewas therefore a great Devotee of Ramaand Krishna and for this only he wasraised to such exalted position of a saintamongst the statesmen during his very lifetime. The Gandhi Memorial NationalFund should be utilised for training up thepeople in general in this line of dailyprayer in different places of Gandhi memorialbuildings and other similar importantplaces.If systematic and principled directionis given to this daily prayer meetings followingthe footprints ofMahatmajee, thenwe can help all concerned in subduingtheir evil propensities which are thecauses of disruption in the human societyat large. When spiritual instincts, whichare inherent qualities in every living being,are kindled by such daily prayermeetings , it is then only the people in generaldevelop the qualities of the gods andthe Trust Board of Mahatma Gandhi Fundshould not miss this lesson of Mahatmaji'spractical life. Such qualities being developedpeople in general will give up thehabit of imitating others but they will liveand act freely boldly and rightly like MahatmaGandhi and that will bring realfreedom of life individually or collectively.Mahatmajee started another spiritualmovement known as the Temple entrymovement and he wanted to give this facilityto every one irrespective caste distinction.The temple worship is another

12 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidakind of spiritual cultural movement for thebenefit of the ordinary class of people. Hehimself installed the deity of Sree RadhaKrishna at Noakhali when he was thereand that is also very significant. The theistictemples all over India are actually thedifferent centres as are the Churches andMosques all over the world. These sacredcentres were meant for diffusing spiritualeducation and by this process of spiritualculture the disturbed mind could betrained up in concentration for higher dutieswhich every human being must do.By such education in practice can helpman in realising the existence of Godwithout whose sanction, according to MahatmaGandhi, "not a blade of grassmoves."A part of this movement is the " Harijan".movement. The Harijan means theGod's man or the godly man as distinguishedfrom the satanic devils. How aman of satanic principles can be turned into a God's man is enunciated in theBhagwat Geeta. The way of Karmayogai. e. doing everything for God's sakeshould be the principles of life. The activitiesof the general public may not bestopped but may diverted in the mannerstated in the Bhagwat Geeta. By doing soany one in the world can be turned into aGod's man. Thus the Harijan movementstarted by Mahatma Gandhi should not betaken absolutely for the benefit of theBhangis andso to say but itshould be utilised for all who have thementality of the Bhangis etc.By all the above process MahatmaGandhi wanted to establish a greater humansociety. His idea of a casteless societycould only be given a shape under theguidance of the principles of BhagwatGeeta. There are men of different mentalitiesaccording to quality and work.There are different modes of Nature.These natural modes work everywhere inthe world and different propensities developby the psychological modes of Nature.The caste system is nothing but aclassification of men according to suchmodes of Nature. It is not therefore boundup within the walls oflndia but this is currentall over the world may be under differentnames. This scientific and naturaldivision of men should be accepted andpeople should be given chance to becomeHarijan with equal facilities for all. TheBhagwat Geeta gives a clear idea of doingthis work and the Gandhi Memorial Fundshould be utilised mainly for this purpose.Myself with a batch of sicere workerare ready to take up this work, and I shallbe glad to have your reaction to my abovesuggestions.49-4Calcutta.1st September, 1949SecretaryShree Gita Mandir Trust,Gita Mandir Road,Ahmedabad.Dear Sir,I am so much obliged to your kindlyconveying the blessings of ReverendSwamiji 108 Sri Srimad Vidyanandji Maharaj.I am very glad to learn that your programmefor preaching in the foreigncountries, is still under consideration. Ibeg to submit herewith my missionaryviews in respect of preaching BhagwatGeeta and I shall be glad to know the reactionof your association in respect of myviews:I believe that practical solution ofworld unrest is lying in the transcendentalmessage of Sri Krishna the Personality ofGodhead as given by Him lately in theBhagwat Geeta.In this sacred philosophical discoursethe Supreme Godhead declares Himselfas the begetting Father, who impregnates

1940s 13the seeds of living entities in the womb ofMother Nature who in turn gives birth toall varieties of living entities or species.So the plain truth is that the Supreme Godheadthe Father, the Nature material is themother and all living entities are so manychildren of Almighty Father Godhead,and the mother Nature. The whole arrangementis just a family unit, and weshould wonder as to why there is so muchanomaly in this great universal familyunit.The answer for this is also given in theBhagwat Geeta. It is said that there aretwo classes of men in the creation. Oneclass is called the Devas (godly) and theother class is called the Asura (demonic orgodless). As sons of the Almighty FatherSupreme Godhead, all individual livingindividuals have their respective independence.One can utilise this god-gifted independenceproperly or improperly.When a living entity improperly usesgod-gifted independence and apply suchindependence for sense-gratificationwithout fulfilling the will or the plan ofGodhead, he at once develops the demonicqualitites in contact with the illusoryEnergy of Godhead and becomes aful-fledged Asura. But one who do notmisuse the God gifted independence anddoes not engage himself in the act ofsense-gratification but fulfills the plan ofthe Godhead, continues to be a Deva orgodly. In this act of sense-gratification theAsura children of Godhead forgets theplan of Godhead and therefore tries to exploitthe state of Godhead for their ownbenefit which is sometime centralised butsometimes extended. The gods or thegodly sons of Godhead do not act like thisand they are therefore distinguished fromthe Ashuras.The mother Nature or, the MaterialEnergy of Godhead is, as she should naturallybe, the most faithful mistress ofGodhead. She does not tolerate the exploitativemotive of the Asura children ofHer and for this he has to assume the roleof Daiva Maya and takes at once Her grimtrident and inflicts the weapon in the veryheart of the Asura although the latter isher own son. The Asura is thus subjectedto three-fold miseries and this is done accordingto the plan of Godhead. TheMother Nature, therefore chastises Herdisobedient sons in order to bring them tothe right path of fulfilling the plan of Godhead.This process of chastisement is necessaryfor the benefit of both the Asurasand the gods alike. Such process reestablishesthe plan of Godhead. TheAsuras however when turned to act accordingto the plan of Godhead, at oncebecome a God. When the Asura becomesa God the angry mode of Nature subsides[PAGE MISSING]49-5Dear Sir,Calcutta1949On the conclusion of the All ReligiousConference held at Bombay very recently,I may submit that nothing practical hascome out of it for uniting the different faithsof the world. The practical solution is lyingin the transcendental message of SreeKrishna the Personality of Godhead asgiven by Him lately in the Bhagwat Geeta.In this sacred philosophical discoursethe Supreme Godhead declares Himselfas the begetting Father who impregnatesthe seeds of living entities in the womb ofMother Nature who in turn gives birth allvarieties of living species. So the plaintruth is that the Supreme Godhead is theFather, the Nature is the Supreme Motherand all living entities so many children ofAlmighty Father Godhead and theMother Nature. The whole arrangementis therefore a family unit and one shouldwonder as to why there is so much anomalyin this universal family affair.

14 Letters from Srfla PrabhuptidaThe answer for this is also given in theBhagwat Geeta. It is said that there are twoclasses of children in the creation of Godheadand Nature. One class is called theDaiva (godly) and the other class is calledthe Asura (demonic or godless). As sons ofthe Almighty Father Supreme Godhead,all the living entities have individual independenceand when some of the childrenmisuse the godgifted independence fortheir sense gratification and not to fulfillthe plan of Godhead, they develop the demonicqualities and become Asuras. Butthose who do not misuse the the godgiftedindependence for sense gratification theycontinue to remain as the Daivas. For sensegratification the Asura children of Godheadand Nature forgets the plan of Godheadand thus they begin to exploit andtrouble the mother Nature and other obedientchildren of Nature, for their own benefitsometimes centralised and sometimesextended. Those children who do not dolike this are gods themselves distinguishedfrom the Asuras.The Mother Nature is, as She shouldnaturally be, the most faithful mistress ofGodhead and She becomes angry for thebehaviour of the Asura and thus assume therole ofDaivamaya (generally known as theMohakali, Durga, Bhadrakali etc.) andtake at once Her grim trident and inflictsthe weapon in the heart of the Asura who isalso Her son. The Asura thus becomes subjectto threefold miseries and this is doneaccording to the plan of Godhead as themother has to chastise the disobedient soninorder to make him alright. This processof chastisement is necessary for the benefitof both the Asura and the Daiva sons inorderto stop disorder in the great plan ofGodhead. As sons as the Asura, however,surrenders unto Godhead as the obedientson and servitor of the plan of Godhead theAsura is turned into a Devata. The angrymode of Mother Nature at once subsidesand she appears to such godly sons as themost affectionate Mother in the role of Jogarnaya(commonly known as Lakshmi,Seeta and Radharani etc)So according to Bhagwat Geeta thewhole trouble of the world is due to the increasein the number of the Asura and decreasein the number of the Daivas. Whois a Daiva and who is a Asura is clearlydefined in the Bhagwat Geeta. Thus thewhole problem has to be solved accordingto expert advices and it is not possible tosolve the world problem so easily as byholding occasional discussions by somewho are already themselves under the influenceof the Asuric qualities. Thisshould be done most scientifically whichis above mistakes and illusion.As stated above the Asura, as soon ashe surrenders to Godhead makes thewhole problem solved. But unfortunatelytheto the threefold miseriesof mother Nature and thus befooled by hisrepeated foolish activities will not easilysurrender unto Godhead due to his longforgetful relation with the Almighty Father.It is a hard job therefore to turn theAsura to be a Daiva but the process hasbeen made easy by the Personality ofGodhead Himself in the Bhagwat Geeta.Mahatma Gandhijee took up this cause tobegin with but he is gone without furtherprogress in the matter. If we are intelligentenough we should again take up the mattermore scientifically and do the job verynicely for the peace of the world.I have, according to the instruction ofmy spiritual master, chalked out a programmeof work according to BhagwatGeeta and I wish to discuss it personallywith your goodself to give the plan a practicalshape. Will it be convenient for youto see me for this purpose? I am preparedto go to you at my cost at wait upon you ifso desired by you. Awaiting your early replyand thanking you in anticiption.Yours faithfully,

1950s

1950s 1750- 1 Calcutta12th December, 1950Sriman Ram Krishna Deyc/o Day Bannernut Co.Waterloo St . -Cal.My dear Father Ramkrishna,My departure for Allahabad was postponeddue to the failure of my proposedtenants' payment of Rs 500/ = . The manpromised to pay me yesterday but he saidhis cheque was dishonoured. To-day hehas again promised to pay at 12 noon but Ido not now count upon him. So either hepays or not pays, I must proceed to Allahabadtonight positively otherwise thewhole thing will be spoiled.Now as a helpless child looks upon hisfather, so I look upon you in the absence ofmy real father. Please therefore come inthe evening, or to-morrow morning, enquire__ ifl have had the balance money(Rs 500/ = ) before going to Allahabadand if you learn that the tenant is not___ with money, please try to send mefurther Rs 500/ = to my Allahabad addressby T.M.O. or letter T.T. and writeme the news. As the son cannot repay thefather, so I cannot repay the obligation Iowe to you, but my sincere blessings arealways upon you because you have tried tohelp me in a very critical time.My life was miserable due to my familyaffairs and you have come to rescue me fromthe plight. May God help you in all respects.With my blessings, I beg to remainYours affectionately,Abhay Charan De.51-1 Allahabad22ndJune, 1951Sri R. Prakash M.A.Officer in charge for SocialUpliftment & Prohibition,Department N.P. Excise,Allahabad.Dear Sir,With reference to my personal interviewwith your honour, I beg to introducemyself as an humble disciple of His DivineGrace Sri Srimad Bhakti SiddhantaSaraswati Goswami Maharaj of SreedhamMayapore at Nadia the holy birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu theDivine inaugurator of "Sankirtan movement."In the spiritual line of disciplic successionfrom Sree Brahmajee who was firsttranscendental student of the Vedas downto my spiritual Master as above mentioned,the Vedic culture is aimed at reestablishingthe eternal relation of livingentity with the Absolute Truth of Whomthe living entities are but parts & parcels.Forgetfulness of that eternal relation iscalled Maya or illusion. This illusory energyof Godhead is conducted under threemodes of Nature under the name of mundanegoodness, passion and ignorance.The whole material world is the creationof the External illusory energy of Godheadand the living entities who forget theeternal relation with Godhead are so tosay entrapped by Maya to undergo a conditionallife under the modes of Nature.Out of eighty four lacs of varieties orspecies of life there are only four lacs varietiesof human being. Out of these varietiesof human being those who can acquirethe the qualities of goodness out of thethree modes of Nature, can also realisethe proper self which is not the product ofmaterial world.The Vedic culture determines the standardof social upliftment in terms of thedegree of self-realization and as such thesocial division was estimated accordinglyin terms of goodness (intelligence andhigher learning), passion (martial spirit tolord it over the world), passion-cumignorance(the spirit of productivity) andignorance (the spirit of passive acceptanceof being controlled by the laws of

18 Letters from Srila Prabhupiidamaterial nature).According to Vedic scriptures thepresent age is called Kal i-yuga and almostall human beings are now degraded to thestandard of the mode of ignorance andtherefore the greater number of populationare subjected to the pangs of thethreefold miseries of material existence inthe most horrible manner.In such rabid condition of human beingthe panacea is 'Krishna Samkirtan' recommendedin all scriptures. By this process,the fo rgetfulness of human being ofhis eternal relation with Godhead, is removedaltogether.Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as confirmedIncarnation of Sri Krishna the Personalityof Godhead inaugurated thisSankirtan Movement and He reclaimedall conditioned souls from all ranks of lifeeven from animal kingdom for being reinstatedin the transcendental relation andactivities of loving service to the AbsoluteTruth. Thakur Haridas who happened toappear in the family of a Mohammedanwas one of His principle associates andHis transcendental movement embracedall varieties of people beginning from themost erudite scholar Brahmins to the onewho came in the family of Javana & Chandala.The specialty of His movement wasthat the fallen chandala did not remain achandala after his initiation but he wasmade to rise up to the status of Vaishnavawhich is far above the status of Brahminand other orders of life.That is the process of Social upliftmen!.And we follow the footprints of SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu and His associateswho were all kind enough to raise thesocial status of every one concerned irrespectiveof birth and occupation.Such process is not only transcendentalto all sorts of mundane speculation, butis very simple and innocent. The principleis a sort of curing a disease not only by administeringproper medicine but also bysupplying proper diet at the same time.The medicine is administered throughsubmissive aural channel as 'HariSamkirtan' which means(1) To sing 'Bhajan' songs glorifyingthe Almighty and His Pastimes.(2) To preach the teachings ofBhagwatGita, Bhagwat, Ramayan, life of suchsaints as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Tulsidasetc.(3) To establish the philosophy of devotionallife as against fruitful action ordry speculation of empiric philosophy andmeet the opposite elements with all logicalweapons.i.e the medicine of 'Hari Sankirtan' is administeredby threefold action, namely by(a) melodious songs (b) by propagandathrough press and (c) by propaganda onplatforms.The diet portion of the transcendentlltreatment consists in the distribution ofPrasadam.i.e. in all gatherings the audience shouldnot only be sustained by mellodious musicalperformances of Bhajan Sangat or byreligious or Theistic discourses but theymust be given some sort of remnants offood-stuff offered to God, as recommendedin Bhagwat Gita.By this process of medical treatmentpeople become gradually free from thefollowing four kinds of addictions of sinsnamely-( I) Illegitimate connection withwomen.(2) Habit of animal killing.(3) Addiction to intoxication habits(4) Lure of gambling.The conditioned human beings areenwrapped in the above four special __due to the influence of kali yuga and by thetranscendental treatment of Hari Sankirtanthe mirror of the heart of human beingbecomes cleansed of all the above mentioneddusts. As soon as the dusts are

1950s 19removed the human being is able to visualisea clear conception of his real selfand thereby he becomes free from themiseries pertaining to the body & mind,pertaining to the other living being andpertaining to the onslaughts of Nature.As followers of Bhagwat Gita we arefirmly convinced that the on slaught of naturewhich is constantly being inflictedupon human society is a sort of policeaction by the laws of the Almighty and assoon as we surrender unto the Divine Willof the Almighty we not only become Mahatmas& saints but also the attack of unkindNature is vanquished at once. That isthe teaching of Bhagwat Geeta and that isthe demonstrative preaching of LordChaitanya Mahaprabhu. The real life beginswhen we are freed from the clutchesof Maya which is nothing but a bewilderedconception of materialistic life . SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu changed the faceof it spiritually.In the Bhagwat Gita it is said that thecommon folk follows the leading men ofsociety. At the present moment of democraticage the Government of the State isconducted by the leading men of society.As such it is a good sign that the Governmenthas taken up this work of social upliftmentas a right measure at a right time.And in order to give the scheme a right directionthe government may take authoritativehints from the scriptures likeBhagwat Gita.It is a common saying that example isbetter than precepts. The example of theleading men in the right direction willvery soon be followed by the commonmen.Mahatma Gandhi set the example athis fag-end of life and his daily prayermeetings in the midst of gravest politicaloccupation must be taken note of. So alsoin the Bhagwat Geeta. The Arjuna in thegravest moment of warfare learnt theteachings of Bhagwat Gita & he changedhis personal opinion in the manner of thefighting.So the present process of human thinkingfor material gains only has to bechanged by an organized preaching workof Bhagwat Gita as done by Lord Chaitanyanot only for the benefit the people ofIndia but also for all people in the world.Lord Chaitanya 's way of preaching is _but a practical demonstration of the way ofBhagwat Gita. No amount of dry speculationby easy chair empiric philosopherswill be able to implement the teachings ofBhagwat Geeta unless we adopt the practicalways of Lord Chaitanya as above mentioned.I think that immediately an organizedbody of devotees may be registered withsuitable memorandum & articles of associationto embrace all kinds of people andthen individual members must sacrifice aportion of their income fo r God's sake.They should not only accept the amenitiesof life for nothing from the agents of Godbut they must now repay the debit by somepersonal sacrifice. That is the way of 'Jajna'as stated in the Bhagwat Geeta.If your department will give me properencouragement, I can give a ____to this transcendental movement with abatch of worker who are mostly dedicatedlife for this cause. We do not want anythingas personal renumeration. Becausenobody can write up this transcendentaltransaction who will work for materialgain. That is the secret of this movement.Every member & worker must learn tosacrifice for Gods' sake that is the principleof this movement.The Government shall only meet theinitial expenses only to give a __ ofthis movement and gradually this will beself supported by public sympathisers.I said in this connection Sri M.S.__ __ Governor of Biharand had along interview on the subject.Dr. Raj endra Prasad also has his good

20 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiidawishes for me. But I could not give thestarting for financial difficulties, I wantRs 10,000/ = to give it a starting.The general programme of work willbe as mentioned above in terms of medicaltreatment by the Sankirtan movement.There is a batch of selfless worker mostlyBrahmachary & Sannyasi at my disposalwith whom I can give it a starting but arrangementhas to be made for training students& selfless young men to furtherinterest of the work.I am confident that many selfsacrificingyoung men will join us as soonas we begin the work. We have to workthis scheme from village to village andtown to town which we will have to developby a gradual process.There are lacs & lacs of temples allover India and these centres have to be utilisedas local preaching centres. Membersare to be recruited from all sections ofpeople and I am sure when actual work isbegun there will be no dearth of financialhelp. To begin with we can utilise theGandhi Memorial centres all over thecountry for organising this Sankirtanmovement and if we do the work properlyGovernment may recommend the Gandhimemorial fund for helping this movement.I am already in negotiation with anAmerican Federation and if proper workis done, such foreign federation will alsohelp us. The thing is nowadays nobody isblind to any practical work. So as soon aspeople will find in it a practical utility,surely they will come & join with men &money.I wish that you may recommend thisscheme of work to your government andthe financial help may be awarded to theboard of governors made according to thememorandum & articles of associationand I shall work as the ____ forthe association throughout my life as orderedby my spiritual master Om VishnupadaSri Srimad Bhakti-SiddhantaGoswami Maharaj .Exhibition:-( 1) Back to Godhead(2) Gurus visit(3) Rajendra Prasad's letter(4) Education minister's letter(5) Two __ _(6) Memorandum of association(7) Magazines __ etc.51-2 Allahabad.14th September, 1951Mr. Daniel BaileyInformation officerAmerican Reporter,54, Queensway, New Delhi.Dear Mr. Bailey,I am in due receipt of your kind letterNo. AR2295 of the 7th instant and I thankyou very much for the same.You have written to say that 'TheUnited States and the American Reporterare keenly interested in bringing to-getherthe East and the West closer on a philosophicaland religious basis as well as economicaland political. Certainly thisattempt is not only a laudable thing butalso a stepping stone towards the ultimateself realisation.When we speak of Philosophy it issomething higher than the attempt ofcombining the East and the West. Thewhole cosmic situation is a complete unitand unless and attempt genuine is madefor harmonising the whole disturbed systemand partial attempt on our part howeverlarge in magnitude will fail toapproach the ultimate goal.Sages of India realised this by a perfectdeductive process which descends on humanconsciousness by the transcendentalunbroken chain of disciplic successionthatmaterial civilisation is a gigantic

1950s 21temporary demonstration of a rabid processof sense-gratification. In that modeof civilisation the sense organs are giveunrestricted liberty to gratify everincreasingdesires and the whole showof cultural advancement in science, art,education, trade, industry economics andpolitics is only varied activities of thesenseorgans.While I appreciate contribution bySwami N ikhilananda of RamakrishnaMission in New Yo rk towards "IndiaAmerican relation-A way to worldpeace." It will not be out place to mentionthat comparative study & Philosophicalideas expressed by different religiousheads will not only bring large contributionsto the said __ but will also givethe public at large a conviction of the BhagavadGita.Smoke immanates from the fire undercertain condition but it is a disturbing conditionof the fire. We need the fire and notthe smoke.The present smoky materialistic orsensuous civilisation has to be kindledinto the fire of reality or Spiritualism. It isneither difficult nor impossible and ismuch more simpler than any othermethod. It is just a simple process of fanningthe fire inorder to get rid of the disturbingsmoke. Such fanning process iseternally the same and the one and the empiricspeculators have nothing to inventnow in it.The great Philosophy of Bhagwat Gitais the authoritative book to guide us in thisrespect. We have nothing to drag init byforcing empiric interpretations. Let it beunderstood as it is because it is just likethe Sun The Sun does not require to behelped by other light. So there is no needof interpreting Bhagwat Gita by any indirectmeaning. Let us understand thatKurukshetra is Kurukshetra and it is still asacred place of Hindu pilgrimage. ThePandavas are the sons of Pandu as it isstated in the history of Mahabharata. ThePandavas and the Kurus met at the battlefieldofKurukshetra and the philosophy ofthe Bhagwat Gita was told by the SupremePersonality of Godhead Sri Krishna.I wish that the American people maytry to understand Bhagwat Gita in terms ofits direct meaning. Let it not be unnecessarilymisunderstood by the empiric speculativemethod for making a show of thevanity of so called learning without anyliving experience. Such academic eruditionhas nothing to do with living reality.I wish to present an analytical study ofBhagwat Gita as it is. If your people cangrasp the direct meaning of Bhagwat Gitait will be possible for us all to understandthe basic principle of cosmic harmony.When that is done we shall know then thatall adjustment of our existence is not onlypeaceful but an eternal bliss distinguishedfrom the ephemeral sensual satisfaction.We shall then only know that here is worldwhere there is no struggle for existenceand every living entity, nevermind what itis, is fit to exist.Thanking you in anticipation,Yours truly,Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta51-3Allahabad2nd October, 195 1Mr. Daniel BaileyInformation Officer American Reporter54, Queen's Road, New Delhi.Dear Mr. Bailey,I am in due receipt of your letterNo .AR-2732 of the 26th ultimo, and I amvery glad to note your frankness to admitthat you cannot go so far at present to deseminatethe basic principles of Indianphilosophies.Indian philosophies mean generallythe Sada Darshan or the six differentschools of philosophers namely, 1. the

22 Letters from Srfla PrabhupiidaMimansha, 2. Sankhya , 3. Nyaya, 4.Mayabada, 5. Patanjal and 6. the Vedanta.The last named Vedanta Darshan wascompiled by Sri Vyasa after a thoroughrefutation of all other five Darshans andtherefore Vedanta is accepted by all Indianscholars and no body is recognised asbonafide who has no interpretation of thisVedanta Darshan.The Western philosophers mostly ofthe Sankhya school have less aquaintancewith the Vedanta Darshan and philosopherslike Kant, Mill, Aristotle or Schopenhaueretc all belong to either of theabove five Darshans except Vedanta becauselimited human thinking power cannotgo beyond that stage. But VedantaDarshan is far beyond the limited mentalspeculation of the human brain conditionedby material nature. UnfortunatelySankara who belonged to the Mayavadaschool made a misinterpretation of the Vedantafor his own purpose to convert theBuddhists in India.The Ramakrishna mission although itdoes not come out of the above six schoolsof philosophers-generally they prefere tocall themselves as Sankarites or belongingto the Mayavada school . Interpretations ofVedanta made by them are neither Mayavadanor Sattattva. They have their owninterpretation diffe rent from the Vyasaschool of philosophers.Other Acharyas such as Ramanuja,Madhva etc and lately Sree Chaitanyaallbelong to the original Vedantist schoolby direct disciplic succession.According to these Acharyas BhagwatGita and Sreemad Bhagwat are, in theiroriginal stand , the real commentaries ofthe Vedanta Sutras. The Mayavadins whodo not actually belong to the Vedantaschool have overcast a cloud unnecessarilyover the Bhagwat Gita and thereforecommon people are misled by them. Inother words they have no entrance in theVedanta Darshan so to say.It is not at all necessary that an ailingperson shall oblige all classes of physiciansfor the sake of their being medicalpractitioners only. The patient must betreated by such physician only who is ableto cure him.Philosophical ways are practical and itis no use simply by indulging in speculationwithout any practical result just liketo keep a cow without any milk. We mustalways seek a practical value from philosophyfor the benefit of all. The missionwith which you have started your serviceinspired me to help you as far as possibleand I thought it fit to inform you that yourmission can be well guided by the practicalphilosophy of the Bhagwat Gita . If youdo not wish to have it that is a differentquestion. If you put up a programme acceptableto one and all there is no necessi!Yof patronising a particular ism. Acommon formula can be of practical useboth for India or others. As such you canhave practical solutions of all problemssuch as social, religious, cultural, political,economic as well as agricultural andindustrial-from the Bhagwat Gita. It ispossible only simply by assimilating it bydirect perception. It is meant for all livingbeing. Indirect perception will mislead faraway from the truth and I am afraid manysuch indirect misinterpretations in a speculativemood by various commentators,have done more harm than good to the humanityin generalIn all humility I beg to differ with youthat all men should be free to make theirchoices and interpretations in all things.Less intelligent men are always guided bythose who are superior in knowledge in allspheres of life. This principle is applicableeverywhere but the guidance must beright and bonafide. But it depends alwayson the sweet will of the guided to acceptthis principle or reject it.I am glad that you have a copy of Gitawith you . Apart from the Swamijee's

195 0s 23learned interpretations-you can see foryourself what is written in the 18th Chapter67th sloka . Empiric philosophers maycall it a sophistry but is a fact substantiatedafter all human reasoning offered by Arjuna.It is clearly said here that one shouldfollow Sree Krishna alone. If any bodymakes his choice not to follow him surelyhe will have relative result.Bhagwat Gita is mostly read by almostall classes of people of the world but unfortunatelythey are accepted in an independentchoice of indirect interpretation.That is a deviation and for that reason onlythey cannot derive the direct benefit.My sincere thanks are due to you forthe last portion of your letter under reply.Yo urs sincerely,A.C. BhaktivedantaAll Glory to Shree Guru and Gouranga.52-1 Allahabad20th January, 1952Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,President-J\11-India National CongressWorking Commitee,New Delhi.Dear Panditji,Your article heading as "Let us beTrue to one another" published in theA.B. Patrika (Allahabad Edition)D/30. 12 .51 attracted my attention and Iread it over and over again. This articlecontains the nucleus of future activities ofthe human society in the spiritual realmand I have read in your statement aboutyour deep thought on the onward march ofhuman civilization. You have rightly saidthe following words in this connectionviz."So we search for new ways, new aspectsof the truth more in harmony withour environment. And we question eachother and debate and quarrel and evolveany number of 'isms' and philosophies.As in the days of Socrates, we live in anage of questioning, but the questioning isnot confined to a city like Athens: it isworld wide".There are two ways of answering suchquestions, I mean the deductive way andinductive way. Mortality of man is establihsedby either of the above ways. Indeductive way we take it fo r granted fromreliable source, 'Man is Mortal'. But inthe inductive way we approach the sametruth by our poor reasoning of 'observationand experiment'. By observation wecan see that Gandhi dies, Fotilal dies,C.R. Das dies, Patel dies and therefore weconclude that man dies or, "Man is Mortal". Then again in the same deductiveway when we reason that man is mortal,and find that Jawaharlal is a man and thusconclude that Jawaharlal is mortal .Truth means Absolute Truth. Relativetruth is conditional and when the conditionsfail, the relative truth disappears.But Absolute Truth does not exist on conditionsit is above all conditions. So whenwe speak of truth, we may take it for theAbsolute Truth. And when we speak ofapproaching the Truth by new ways, wemay take it for granted what we want toapproach the Truth by the inductive way.Absolute Truth is described in the Ve ­das as Satyam Param Dhimahee-thesummum bonum. And from this AbsoluteTruth everything emanates. "JanmadyasyaJataha ". This Absolute Truth isdescribed in the Vedic literatures as Sanatanaor Eternal. And the philosophy orscience which deals in such eternal subjectsis described as Sanatana Dharma.Therefore, we have first to find out theEternal Absolute Truth by some newways(?) and then we have to find out thenew aspects of Absolute Truth in harmonywith our present environment.The present environment is undoubtedlydifferent from the old. And if wecompare the present with the old- we can

24 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidavery easily discover thatI. People in the present age are generallyshortliving. The average duration oflife being 30 years or so.2. They are generally not very simple.Almost everyman is designing andcrooked.3. They have no scope fo r high thinkingbecause they are perplexed with differentrelative truths.4. Unfortunate as they are in this agetheir problems remain unsolved for thewhole life even though they are tackled bytheir leaders. They make the best effort tosolve a problem but unfortunately thesame becomes more acute and stringent.5. And above all, people in this age arealways distressed by famine, scarcity,grieves and diseases in an increasing ratio.In the old days life was not so muchconditional and encumbered. The simpleproblems were then the problems ofbread, clothing and shelter which weresolved by the simplest process. By agriculturethey used to solve the bread,clothing and shelter problems andindustrialisation was unknown to them.Thus they had no idea of living in big palatialbuildings at the cost of sacrificing theboon of humanity. They were satisfied tolive in the cottages and yet they were perfectlyintelligent. Even the famousChanakya Pandit who was the Prime Ministerof India during the reign of Chandragupta,used to live in a cottage and drawno salary from the State. Such simplehabits did not deteriorate his high intelligenceand dignity and as such he had compiledmany useful literatures which arestill read by millions for social and politicalguidance. Thus the simplicity of Brahmanicalculture was an ideal to thesubordinate others of the society and inthe Deductive way the subordinate orders,namely the the Ksatriyas, the Vaishyasand the Sudras would follow the instructionof the cultured Brahmin. Such waysof approaching the Truth is always simple,plain and perhaps the most perfect.The cultured Brahmin-order of the societywould declare that there is God orBrahman and the Kshatriyas, Vaishyasand the Sudras who were less culturedthan the Brahmins-would follow thelater fa ithfully call it blindly or otherwise .By such fa ithfully following the subordinateclasses would be able to save muchtime in the matter of arguing or reasoningfo r the existence of God at all, and stillthey would not be faithless.In the old days even a politician Brahminlike Chanakya would say thatVidwatamcha NripatamchaNaiva Tulaya KadachanaSwadeshs Pujyate RajaVidwar Sarbatra Pujyato.A really cultured learned fellow is fa rabove a politician. Because a politician ishonoured by the votes of his countrymenwhile a cultured and learned fellow is honouredeverywhere all over the world. Sowe say that Rabindra Nath and Gandhiwere never dependent for the votes of theircountrymen but they were honoured allover the world for their cultural contribution.The same Chanakya Pandit definedthe standard of learning. The standard oflearning had had to be testified by itsresult and not by the manner of Universitydegrees. He said that one, who looksupon all women, except one's marriedwife as mothers-all other's wealth as thepebbles on the street and all living beingas one's own self,-is really learned fellow.He never stressed on the point ofstandard of how many grammars, rhetoricsor other books of knowledge onemight have gone through, or how manyDoctorates of different Universities onemight have been decorated with.At the present moment we know verywell that a few men look upon other women,besides one's married wife as mothers; very

1950s 25few men will look upon other's wealth aspebbles on the street and very few men willtry to behave with other living beings as onewants to be treated oneself.The sages of old age discovered it byspiritual culture that man's energy should beutilised only for spiritual realisation. Not tospeak of Lord Sree Krishna who spoke thephilosophy of Bhagwat Geeta near about5000 years ago, we know that within 2000years of human history no sages includingJesus Christ, prophet Mohammed, LordBuddha, Acharya Shankara, Madhya, Ramanujaor even Lord Chaitanya gave any importanceto materialistic way of living.Material necessities were always subordinateto the spiritual realisation. They saw itthat the bread problem, clothing problemand shelter problem are never solved by materialactivities because in the law of naturethe elephant is given the whole jungle to eatand the little ant is given a grain of sugar tosolve their respective bread problems andyet the animals remain hungry. It is not thequestion of a jungle or a grain of sugar thatcan solve our bread problem but it is thequestion of real food that can quence thehunger of human being and revitalise him toproper life. Human being therefore shouldnot be encouraged to satisfy his unsatiatedhunger like the giant elephant or the little antbut he should be trained up otherwise whichshall provide for his real food .The wonderful temples, the mosquesand the cathedrals of past centuries werebuilt up to give them the real food andwere not built up by blind or unquestioningfaith. The were built up on full faithand reasoning which were based on thedeductive process. The Vedas, the Bibleor the Koran would ask the human beingto make proper use of his conserved energyin the transcendental service of Godand unsophiscated men in the old dayswould follow such instruction unhesitatinglyfor realising the Absolute Truth.Such temples, mosques were thereforecentres of high culture to provide real foodto human consciousness.But in the present age in the absence ofsuch high culture there is hardly any differencebetween the temples, mosquesand cathedrals and the high commercialbuildings in a busy city. If the culture is tobe revived it is quite possible to do it evenin your parliamentary buildings in NewDelhi or in the commercial buildings ofNew Yo rk. As the Socratesian ways of reasoningis not bound up within the walls ofAthens so also the Brahminical culture isnot bound up within the walls of India.You can find out the nine prescribedqualifications of a Brahmin, the sevenqualifications of Kshatriyas, the threequalifications ofVaishya and the one qualificationof a sudra, world wide. You cantherefore pick up Brahmins and other ordersof society all the world over. Gandhijialthough born in a Vaishya family, possessedalmost all the nine qualifications ofa Brahmin and if possible we can find outsuch Brahmin in other parts of the World .One Brahmin-Gandhi Congressman isquite competent to guide its principlewhereas thousand other sudra congressmencan only help it to break it up intopieces.Thus if we want to approach the AbsoluteTruth by new ways in harmony withpresent environment we should try to betrue to one another in the qualified way ofBrahminical culture. Only a dozen of realqualified Brahmins from all parts of theworld should combine to guide the principlesof the Kshatriyas, the Vaishya and theSudras all over the world . The Socratesianway of reasoning should be fully utilisedbecause that makes the only differencebetween a human being and a beast. Thereis ample scope for this new way of approachingthe Absolute Truth and thatwill only solve the acute distressing worldproblem. If there is scarcity of such qualifiedBrahmins which I honestly think

26 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadathere is, we should combine to evolvesuch Brahminical culture not by blindfa ith but by sound reasoning and questioning.But all the same we must be sincereand thorough in our attempt.As an humble disciple of Om VishnuPad Sree Sreemad Bhakti SiddhantaSaraswati Goswamin, I wish to remain alwaystrue to you and everyone. And if yousincerely be true to your fo refather, Imean the Brahminical culture, you havethe strength and capacity to save the worldby presenting the Brahminical cultureonce again fo r consummation of the distressedworld. In such acts of your broadnessof mind,l am always at your service.Awaiting your reply with interest,Yours Sincerely,week to come to the normal condition. Iam awfully stranded and put to muchshame. Will you kindly help me as youhave done so many times? As a son has noshame to ask his father, so I feel no shamefor it because there is no other help at thepresent moment. If you can, please dosend me T. M. 0. fo r Rs 3001 = & save myprestige & honour. I expect to return youthis sum after a fort night. As soon as mybusiness is opened I shall at once get backRs 1000/ = . May God bless you .Yours affectionatelyFather-in-law.N. B. I shall expect your T. M.O. by Mondaynext or latest Tuesday next.ACD52-2 Allahabad26th September, 1952My Dear Ramkrishna,In reply to Srimati Suluxmona's letter,I am sending herewith one letter for herwhich may be delivered to her. I camehere to improve my lot but I see that mybad luck is impossible to be improved .For the last two years approximately Ihave met expenses from this business tothe extent of Rs 600/ = month. Calcutta,Allahabad , Ranchi High Court & RyJourney altogether five diffe rent items ofexpenses have been so far met. But all of asudden my sister opponent firms have designedto remove me from this place. Bytheir trick the Drug Controller has suspendedmy business fo r the last one and ahalf month with the result that about Rs1 000/ = has been locked up & sealed and Ihave been put to shame by my servants. Irequire immediately Rs 300/ = to meetthe establishment charges without which 1am much humiliated .I am try ing my level best to reopen thebusiness but still it will take minimum one53-IlTrue copy of the letter published in theA.B. Patrika on 7/7/53 at Allahabad underthe heading "Hindu Missionaries"]Sir-With reference to the letter of SriSatish Asthana published in your columnsof the 2nd instant, I have the honour to inform all concerned through your esteemedpaper, that an association formissionary activities under the name andstyle "The League of Devotees" has alreadybeen established recently with thesame aims and objects as suggested by SriAsthana and Sri Sitaram.The registered office of the aboveLeague is situated at the big spaciousbuilding 'Bharati Bhawan' at Sipri Road ,Jhansi. Gentlemen interested in such culturalactivities may ask from the FounderSecretary, the prospectus of the mission(in Hindi or in English) with details of theinstitution.The matter is so important that it cannotbe (now) set aside to be managed bythe Sadhus and Sannyasins only but itmust be taken care of by all responsiblemen.

1950 s 27The word ·Hindu· is somewhat fo reignaccording to India's spiritual or culturalconception. The exact word used fi:>r thispurpose is 'Sanatanam ·or the eternal. Sri'Bhagwat Gecta · gives us the message that'Sanatan' religion is meant not only fo rthe 'Hindus' , the Indians or all the humanityat large but also fo r all living beingson earth.It is wrong to interpret that Vedic religion(corrunonly known as 'Hinduism') is notproselytistic The proselytising method of'Bhagwat Geeta' is to tum the face of allmundanners towards the transcendental serviceof the Absolute Personality of Godhead'Sri Krishna' which process can only savethem (the mundanners) from all calamitiespast present and future.The present Godless civilization has tobe remoulded into Godly one and for thispurpose all missionaries (Hindu or non­Hindu) who have regard for scientific proselytisingmethod may join this 'League ofDevotees'[PAGE MISSING]53-2Dear Mr. Bailey,I am in due receipt of your kind letterNR AR 2295 of the 7th instant and I thankyou very much for the same.You have written to say that 'TheUnited States and the American Reporterare keenly interested in bringing togetherthe East & the West closer together on aphilosophical and religious basis as wellas economic agricultural and politicalcertainly this attempt is not only laudablebut also a stepping stone towards the ultimateself-realisation.When we speak of philosophy it is somethinghigher than the attempt of combiningthe East & West. The whole cosmic situationis a complete whole and unless an attemptgenuine is made for harmonising thewhole system any partial attempt on our parthowever large in magnitude will fail to approachthe ultimate goal.Sages of India realised it by a perfectdeductive process which descends on humanconsciousness by a transcendentalchain of unbroken bonafide disciplic successionthat material civilisation is a temporarygigantic demonstration of a rabidprocess of sense gratification. The senseorgans are given uncertain liberty to gratifytheir desires and the whole show ofscience education, trade, industry,economy and politics arc but differentspheres of activities in the realm of gratifying the senses.Above these senses or sense-organs isa dymitric fo rce which is subtler than thesense-organs and is known as the mindbut acts in terms of thinking, feeling &willing. The empiric philosophers speculatingon an imperfect process of induction,generally indulge intellectual featswithout knowing that behind the mindthere is human intelligence which is ableto analyse the process of psychology but isunable to find out the ultimate force orspirit behind their intelligence.So the spirit that conducts even intelligenceis the primeval root of everythingana there is an adjustment of spirit andmatter as much as there is an adjustmentof smoke & fire . The smoke is a conditionalstate of fire and therefore smoke isnothing but fire and yet we cannot comparesmoke & fire on the same platform.Smoke emanates from fire but it is disturbingcondition of fire . We need fire andnot the smoke .The present smokey material or sensualcivilization has to be kindled into thefire of reality or spiritual civilization. It isneither difficult nor impossible. It is just asimple process of fanning the fire in orderto get rid of the disturbing smoke. Thefanning process is eternally the same &one and the empiric speculators have

28 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadanothing to invent new in it. It must be actuallya fanning in spiritualised process &nothing else. The great philosophy ofBhagwat Gita is the authoritative book toguide us in this respect. We have nothingto drag in it by foreign empiric interpretation.Let it be understood as it is because itis just like the Sun. The Sun does not requireto be helped by the light. So there isno need of understanding Bhagwat Gita byindirect interpretation. Kuruksetra isKuruksetra. Dharmakhetra is Dharmakhetra.The Pandavas are Pandavas orthe sons of Pandu and nobody else. ThePandavas & Kourabas not actually at thebattlefield of Kuruksetra and the philosophyof Bhagwat Gita was told by the SupremePersonality of Godhead SriKrishna.I wish that your people may try to understandBhagwat Gita in terms of its directmeaning. Let it not be unnecessarilymisunderstood by the empiric speculativemethod. For making others of the vanityof so called learning without any livingexperience. Such academic erudity hasnothing to do with the living reality.I shall try to present an analytical studyof Bhagwat Gita through the pages of yourAmerican Reporter in order to help theAmerican people to understand BhagwatGita as it is. If your people can grasp thedirect meaning of Bhagwat Gita it will bepossible for us all to know the basic principleof cosmic harmony. When that isdone we shall know that all maladjustmentof our existence is not only peacefulbut an eternal bliss distinguished from theephemeral temporary sensual satisfaction.We shall then only know that here isa world where there is no struggle for existenceand every living entity, never mindwhat it is either a man or a beast is fit toexist. The enclosed peace of article & the..... is the first of a series of articles on theabove subject to understand Bhagwat Gitaby its direct meaning.[PAGE MISSING]55-Ilstform No-1. 1st January 1955.The circular letter addressing as 'DearBrother'to be sent along with the Prospectus bybook Post2nd letter on receipt of the reply of the 1stcircular letter.(For inner members who are willing tolive with us fo r spiritual upliftment)Dear Brothers,I am very much glad that you are willingto live with us. As already informedwe have no restriction for admitting innermembers, so far nationality, caste andcreed are concerned. But the inner memberswill have to abide by the followingrules, which are necessary as basic principlesfor spiritual upliftment. The innermembers will not have(I) illegitimate connection withwomen.(2) He shall not be adicted to intoxicatinghabit. No member shall be allowed tosmoke, chewing betel, drink tea etc. insidethe house.(3) He must be satisfied with 'Prasadam'which will be served to him & mustbe strictly vegetarian. No inner membershall be allowed to eat fish, meat, eggs,onions, etc .(4) the inner member shall not indulgein unnecessary indoor or outdoor games,sporting or gambling habit. The nominalboarding charges is Rs 25/ =. No chargesfor lodging.(5) the inner member must enroll himselfas regular member in the A. B. or C.Category. Members with voting powerwill have to pay the scheduled monthlysubscriptions The lowest rate of subscriptionis Rs 10/ = per month. Any one unableto pay the membership fee may apply

195 0s 29for free membership or lesser subscriptionfor consideration of the Board ofExecutive members. The executive committeecan decide on it.(6) The inner member is requested torise early in the morning before sun-riseand finish his morning duties for inner &make cleanliness. And after finishingsuch duties, he will have attend to'Mangalaratric' service to be held in thetemple of 'Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu &Radha Govinda".(7) The inner members will be servedwith Prasadam after 'Mangalaratric'(mostly some milk-preparation)(8) After partaking the 'Mangalaratrik'Prasadam, he shall attend the morningclass of 'Path Kirtan' in whichchanting of the holy name of God alongwith musical instruments, will be sungbefore and after reading of "SrimadBhagwat Geeta' 'Bhagbatam' etc . Thisfunction will continue from 6 to 8 in themorning.(9) After this a cup of milk along withother foodstuff will be served to the innermembers as break fast.( 10) After breakfast the member candevote himself, for studying book in thisconnection which will be supplied to himby the League.(11) At eleven noon, the 'Bhogaratric'service will be done in the temple and themembers will be requested to attend thisceremony after bath, __.(12) Just after 'Bhogaratrik' function,the members will be served with 'Prasadam'which shall consist of the followingitems: (1) Rice, (2) Dal, (3) Chappatiswith ghee (4) 2 curry (5) Bhija (6) Khicheries(7)(8) Sauces (9) Pampar( 10) miscellaneous.(13) After taking 'Prasadam' in thenoon the member may take rest from oneto three in the after noon.(14) At three in the after noon therewill again 'Baikali' ceremony in the ternpiewhich the members will be requestedto attend. And again at the end of the'Baikali' ceremony at about 4, the membersshall be served with Prasadam consistingof a cup of milk & some fruits.(15) the member shall then attend thePath Kirtan class from 5 to 7 in the eveningas is done in the morning.(16) from 7 to 8 pm there will be 'Sandhyaratrik'ceremony in the temple & themembers will be requested to attend to this.(17) At nine in the night, there will beagain Bhogaratric ceremony which memberswill be requested to attend. After this'Prasadam' will be served consisting ofchappatis or rice with dal , currys & somemilk preparation at the end.(18) From 10to 4at night the membersshall take rest for the night,( 19) After six months of living or earlieras the case may be the members willbe expected to be initiated in the devotionalservice of Theism or Vaishnavaism.(20 For such initiation the memberwill have to accept 'Diksha' according tothe rules of the Goswamins & just becomea qualified 'Brahmin'(2 1) Initiated members shall observethe 'Ekadashi Brata' twice in a month andon that day he will be allowed to take onlyfruits & none of the cereals.(22) Initiated members shall adere hisbody with the marks of Vaisnavism;(23) He shall chant the holy name ofGod systematically & regularly accordingto the rules of the Goswamins.(24) He shall try to worship in the templeafter learning the art from another coworker.The initiated member isconverted & accepted as bonafide Brahmin& thus he can enter the temple.(25) He may enhance his spiritualeducation taking lessons from Geeta,Bhagwat, Science of Devotion, LordChaitanya etc. and prepare for the examinationof Bhakti-Shastra, Bhaktisiddhanta,Bhaktivedanta etc.

__30 Letters from Srrla Prabhupiida(26) If he desires to be a preacher, hewill be trained up in that way & will begiven the titles of ____ ____capacity.55-2according to preaching[PAGE MISSING]The Registrar ofJoint Stock CompaniesUttar Pradesh-Lucknow.Allahabad4th February, 1955All Glory to Sri Guru and Gouranga.Dear Sir,With reference to my interview withyour honour on the 3rd instant, regardingregistration of the Memorandum of Associationand Rules and Regulations ofthe League of Devotees (alias SarbabhoumaBhagwat Samaj), I beg to informyou that I have deposited the fee RS 50/=(Rupees Fifty only) in the Imperial Bankof India Ltd, Lucknow and beg to handyou the fo llowing as advised by you.(I) The Memorandum of Associationclearly signed by the present members ofthe League of Devotees.(2) The Rules and Regulations dulysigned by thepresent members of theLeague of Devotees.(3) Deposit Challan No 81 D/4 3/3 fo rRs 50 /=Kindly acknowledge receipt of theabove and do the needful at your earliestconvenience.All correspondence in this regard maybe addressed to the undersigned in hispresent address as above mentioned.Thanking you in anticipation,Yo urs fa ithfully--A.C. BhaktivedantaEnclosures-3.55-3 New Delhi16th September, 1955My dear Shripad Gosvami Maharaj,Please accept my respectful obeisances.I am in due receipt of your kind letterdated the 14th instant and I have notedthe contents very carefully. I am glad thatyou have come back to Calcutta from theinundated area of Orissa and am moreglad to learn that your holiness is trying toreturn to Delhi fo r creating a peaceful atmospherehere.Yo u will be glad to learn that day beforeyesterday morning at about 9 O'clockSri N .C.Chatterji the big advocate andPresident of the Hindu Mahashava cameto our Sangha with his secretary unexpectedly.It happened that about a fo rtnightpast we had a P.ath Kirtan fu nction atbis residence at 7-B, Pusa Road and in thatevening we had some talk about ShriChaitanya Mahaprabhu. He appeared tobe wellversed with the matter of ShriChaitanya Charitamrita . I therefore invitedhim to come to our Sangha and hereplied that he would try. After a week Ireminded him again by letter and in responseto my letter he came here all ofsudden. Practically all the members wereout at that time and myself along with twoother Brahmachari and Brindaban receivedhim. He was acquainted with ouractivities and was offered Prasadamwhich he accepted and took it with him. Ihave asked him to come again when yourholiness come back.Regarding your instruction fo r SpdAkinchan Maharaj, I have intimated himabout it and it is learnt that he has askedShripad Bonbehariji to bring along withhim the old receipts when he is coming toDelhi.Yo ur note for Shriman Keshavanandaj ihas also also been noted by him.All the press matters for September issuehave been duly handed over to the

1950 s 31Kapoor Art Press but till now we have notgot any proof from them. I sent for it thismorning and they have promised to deliverit from tomorrow. It is learnt fromKeshavanandaj i that they have promisedto fi nish the task by the 25th of this month.I have noted your remark about thecover of the monthly and I have alreadysuggested so many things to Shripad RamanandaPrabhu ti.>r apprisal. ShripadRamananda Prabhu and many othersalong with me want to sec the paper just titfo r the f(>reign countries. In that case wemust get it printed on nice paper in a verygood upto date Press . It all depends on theexpenditure that we are able to meet butthe ideal must be fo r its many sided desirableimprovements. When you come backwe shall sec to it because in your absenceit is not also possible to change the press.When we cannot change the press immediatelyit is useless to change the paper orthe cover.The suggestion made by some friendthat the paper may be printed from Calcuttais alright. But my suggestion is thateither in Calcutta or in Delhi we musthave our own press with good cquipmentsso that we may be able to broadcast themessage of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhuin all the important languages specially inHindi and in English. Hindi is meant fo rall India propaganda while English ismeant for world wide propaganda.This day we have received two copiesof 'Gaudiya Darshan' from ShripadShridhar Maharaj 's Math at Nabadwip.The starting is very good and I have quiteappreciated the endeavour of ShridharMaharaj even though very late . It is betterlate than never. He has a very good assistantin the person of young Govinda Maharajand I think it is a good attempt .Regarding Typewriter machine I understandthat Shripad Ramananda Prabhuis unwilling to part with it. Of course inhis head office of the institution he requiresone fo r so many correspondencesbut here also in the ofi ice of Shri SajjanatoshaniPatrika which purely in Englishone machine is absolutely needed . Hereall the presses do want tpe written copiesso that the matter may be promptly executed.Some of the presses arc ready tofinish the whole printing work within 4 or5 days if the whole matter is given in distincttype written papers. This machinewas hired and I have already informed youabout it. We have in the meantime typewritten three copies of all the addresses sothat fo r three months we can simply pastethe addresses on the covering wrapperwithout taking any trouble of clerical job.Any way we shall sec to it when you comeback if possible with the machine .Yo urs affectionately,A.C. Bhaktivedanta55-4 New Delhi16th September, 1955His Holiness ShripadBhakti Sundar Govinda MaharajShri Chaitanya Saraswat MathKolergunjP. O. Nabadwipa,Dist. Nadia (W.Beng.)My dear Shripad Govinda Maharaj ,This morning I received two copies ofyour 'Gaudiya Darshan' and I was veryglad to see its appearance. When I was atMathura I heard from Spd . Keshav Maharajand so also I heard it from Spd GoswamiMaharaj that His Holiness ShripadShridhar Maharaj is going to publish'Gaudiya Darshan' and to-day I find it actuallyin hand. I cannot but offer my congratulationsto your holiness. Because Iknow if anything has been done it is due toyour energy. I can understand now whyShripad Shridhar Maharaj bestowed allhis mercy upon you . He rightly fo und inyou some dormant energy for future

32 Letters from Srfla Prabhupildaaction and we can see that it is now fructifyingduly.I have read with great interest your articleespecially the one which is named as'CHALAR PATHE' . It is not only veryamusing but also instructive. Simple dryphilosophical arguments will not be appealingnow a days to people in general .They will like to read such articles as writtenby you with greater relish. In this articleI can find out that you have really someparts and in time you can become a greattranscendental humorist in the art of journalism.You have complete mercy of yourDivine master and you can depend on hisblessings for your future improvement. Isincerely wish you all success- Undoubtedlyyou are now in the highest order ofVarnashram Dharma but we cannot forgetthat you belong to the category of our affectionatesons. We cannot forget all suchfilial love for you and when we see thatyou are improving in all respects it gladensour heart . I have just written a letterto Shripad Gosvami Maharaj and in thatletter the following statements have beencarried to him him. The wordings are asfollows:-"This day we have received two copiesof Gaudiya Darshan from ShripadShridhar Maharaj 's Math at Nabadwipa.The starting is very good and I have quiteappreciated the endeavour of Shripad Maharajalthough very late . It is better latethan never. He has a very good assistant inthe person of young Govinda Maharaj andI think it is a good attempt."Your poem on Vasita is also good. Allthese show that you have good tact andmay God help you more and more. ShripadShridhar Maharaj 's article onGaudiya Darshan is philosophical and ifhe so desires I can get it translated into Englishby myself and get it published in theShri Sajjanatoshani Patrika. I understantthat Shripad is now out on pilgrimage andyou can Jet me know his opinion when hecomes back or earlier according to yourconvenience.Hope you are well. Brindaban wantedto live with me and so he has come herefrom Calcutta just a fewdays before.Where is Madhusudan Maharaj ? Pleaseconvey my dandabats to all theVaishnavas. With my regards for you all.Yours affectionately,A.C. Bhaktivedanta55-5 New Delhi19th September, 1955My dear Shripad Gosvami Maharaj,Please accept my respectful obeisances.I hope in the meantime you have receivedmy last Jetter. This day I had beento the office of the Director of Postal Servicealong with our friend Shri HorendraNath Shome and Shripad Akinchan Maharaj. Some of the would be customerswhose addresses were given for registrationdenied to be our paid subscribers andthis was against the registration certificate.We had some talks with the Asst. Directorwho was a perfect gentleman.Heron Babu being one ofthem he told thathe is also a customer. When he wrote inblack and white his version the Directoragreed to register it and I am glad to informyou this day our 'Shri SajjanatoshaniPatrik' is registered in the postal departmentas a monthly newspaper under registrationNo. D797. Just on the way Idropped in at the Kapoor Art Press and Igave him the No. for printing on the cover.Our posting date has been fixed up on the26th and 27th inst. I do not know if thepress will be able to finish the job by thatdate. I have already given him the pressureand I shall see that it is duly publishedby the above date and posted. If not thenwe will have to make another applicationfor changing the date of posting.I understand that you have written to

1950s 33Shripad Akinchan Maharaj to print thepaper 500 only for September. In this connectionI asked the press if they will reducethe charges for this less number ofpringting. He said that the charges will besame. I think that we should print it asusual i.e. 1000 . Akinchan Maharaj hassecured contribution of three reams of paper(241bs) and the postal charges will beonly 1/4th of the last month. So why forthe matter of saving some papers we shallnot print the full number. In my opinionwe should print more than 1000 copiesevery month and distribute them in largescale. I thin you will reconsider the matterand let me know your futher opinion. Theprinting will begin from dayafter tomorrowand you will kindly reply this juston receipt of it.I hope by the time this letter reachesyou you have had returned from Nabadwipa.Hope you are well.Yours affectionately,A. C. Bhaktivedanta55-6 New Delhi5th October, 1955My dear Shripad Gosvami Maharaj,Kindly accept my humble and respectfuldandabats. I am in due receipt of yourletter of the __ __ while you'restaying at Howrah Goudiya Math. I hopeby the time this letter reaches your handyou might have come back to calcutta. Iwas anxiouly awaiting your articles forOctober. Today is the 5th and I thoughtthat by the 15th of this month the papermight be be out. So please send the articlesper return of post and oblige. I havenoted your instruction for reviewing NetaidasBrahmachary's book. The otherbook is not available from ShriKeshavanadaji.I am glad that you have purchased onemodel No16 Remington Typewriter and Ithink you have done right in doing so. Toconduct the SajjanToshani Patrika it is absolutelynecessary. This typewriter is tobe returned to-day because the period ofone month expires to-day and as you arebringing very soon the purchased one, Ishall return it today with out further rentalexpenses.I wish to see this paper just to the standardof "Illustrated Weekly " with numerouspictures inorder to make it a verypopular literature and for this I wish tomove myself to secure subscribers as wellas advertisers. I wish to visit good businessmen,insurance companies and Govt.officers in this connection. But I have noproper dress at all. I want two set of gooddresses inorder to take up this reponsibilityand I shall be glad to have you decisionon this matter. It is my heart's desire thatthis paper is improved to the highest elevation.I am glad that Shripad Shridhar Maharajhas advised you to purchase a land atMayapur. Yes we we must have a temple atMayapur. If every one of us posess a templethere, the importance of ShridhamMayapur will automatically increase andwe must have this ideal in view always. Iam also glad to learn that you are securingsome good land on long lease from thePort commissioners fo r our HowrahMath. Howrah is a good place for preachingour cult and it behoves that we have adecent Math there.Akinchan Maharaj has received yourcheque for Rs400/- and he is preparing tostart for Joypur as early as possible.Awaiting your early reply.Yours affectionately,A.C. BhaktivedantaN. B. Some non-Bengali gentlemen aredemanding my Hindi edition of ChaitanyaCharitamrita. They are prepared to payany price for this (Rs 32/ or Rs 25/- ) yourHoliness has already seen the manuscript.I wish to get it ·out part by part. The first

34 Letters from Srrla Prabhupiidapart will cost ncar about Rs 600/ = . If thispart is sold out , The other parts will automaticallycome out. I would request youto invest this initial Rs 600/ = for this purposeunder any arrangement you like. Ishall be glad to receive your reply on thispoint . I hope you will give this starting &obl ige. ACB.55-7 Delhi13th December, 1955Sri R.N. Aggarwal MA.President D.M. CommitteTown Hall, Delhi.Dear Sri,Re: your secretary's letter No.D.O. 8(J]fP.T. the League of Devotees: D/2211 1155With reference to the above and mysubsequent interview with you, I beg toinform you that it has been now decided tohold a preliminary meeting of the aboveleague in the city first to discuss the aims& objects.Myself, l.ala, Girdhari lal and, AdvocateBipinchandra Misra, three will be convenors.I request you to preside over this meetingand give me some time at your convenienceso that the meeting can bearranged accordingly.In this meeting all the members of yourcommitte as well as other respectableresidents of old Delhi will be invited togive it an initiation.I hope you will kindly accept it and letme know your decision, so that fu rther arrangementcan be done.)burs fa ithfully,A.C. Bhaktivedanta.55-8Names of the Executive members of theDelhi section of The League of Devotees.(I) Rai Bahadur Pandit Narain Das, 21Pusha Road , N. Delhi(2) Rai Sahale Seth Girdharilal, Bag Diwar,Delhi(3) Seth Baseswar Nath, 9 BarkhnkakauRoad, N. Delhi(4) Sat Narayan Gurvala, Malibara, Delhi(5) Rai Sahale Ram Saran Das, II Ramanagar,N. Delhi(6) Shri Makhanlal Gupta,Delhi(7) Shri Bipin Chandra Misra(8) Lala Maha Sankar, Ramanagar.(9) P.dndit A.C. Bhaktivedanta( 10 ) Lala Mohanlal Advocate . c/o Girohilal(11 ) Shri Ram Prakash,Chawn Bazar(12) Shri Direndra Kumar. Siddhomal &Sons. Chawn BazarDear Sirs,With reference to the inaugural meetingof the Delhi section of the League on221 1 2/55 the gentlemen named abovehave been selected to be the executivemembers. The immediate programe ofwork is to find out some suitable place fo rthe central office as also to provide theplace of residence fo r the workers.When I was at Jhansi, I was providedwith a big palatial building to live in associatedwith 40 workers who are beingtrained up for intinerary preaching work.The expenses were about Rs I 000/ = permonth. I approached the Govt fo r help buteven after one year no definite decisioncould be arrived at by the Govt and thematter is still pending. Jhansi was a poorplace + I shifted to Delhi.My associ ates were therefore disbursed& I came to Delhi to give it a newlite . Delhi is the only centre where fromthis cultural movement could immediatelybe given effect because it is the centreof international political, socialeducational & cultural movements. WhatI want to do immediately are as follows:-

1950s 35( 1 ) To hold consecutive meetings at different Mohall us & houses of Delhi for impressingthe ideas of the mission.(2) To give training to at least 7 to 10 educatedyoung men in the "parampara lessonsof Bhag wat Geeta '' and then to•· Brahma Sutra," Bhagwat & ChaitanyaChari tam rita(3) To publish an English monthly paperto sell specially to the English knowingheads of the society and to get printedsome relative literatures ___ .A meeting of the executives has to becalled fo r discussing the above subjectsbut before doing so I wish that you all gentlemenmay kindly fill up the typed membershipforms enclosed herewith-so thatfo llowing your ti.Jot prints other membersof the public may __ members of thisinstitution in large numbers.Thanking you in anticipation.Yo urs fa ithfully,For the League of Devotees (Reg. J.S.)A.C. BhaktivedantaFounder SecretaryTo __ of the following immediately(I) Letter Heading (English)(2) Visiting Cards (English)(3) Japa Appeal (English & Hindi)( 4) Membership forms (Engl ish & Hindi)(5) Rubber Stamps55-9Dear Brother.I am in due receipt of your kind enquiryand I am glad that you wish to becomea member of the League ofDevotees for learning the science & techniques of Theism or spiritualism of thehighest standard . The Prospectus is enclo:-.edherewith p l ease find & decide ti.Jryou rself for becoming a permanent member of this noble institution.The membership fees are mentionedbelow which is the extract from theLeagues registered rules & regulations.Rule I. "The general body of theLeague will ('Onsist of members of thefour orders of l i te namely (a) Brahmacharies(b) Grihasthas (c) Vanaprasthas (d)Sanyasis or "Tyagis" .Rule 4. "The members will be of threeclasses defined as class A, B and C in accordancewith the membership tees paid.(a) Those who will contribute Rs 500/ =and above per month will belong to the"A" class. (b) Those who will contributeRs 50/ = and above per month will belongto the "B" class. (c) Those who will contributeRs 10/ = and above per month willbelong to the "C" class."Rule 16. "Every member is entitled toone vote either in person or by proxy at ageneral meeting held fo r its elections ofthe members of the Executive Committeeor fo r any other purposes."If you think yourself unable to pay eitherof the above mentioned membershipfees per month, then you can apply forfree membership or tor a lesser value ofmonthly subscription for consideration ofthe Executive Committee, who will decide on the subject.But if you become preacher member.in that case you will have to pay once RsI 0/ = o nly for the degree of "BhaktiShastry " which will be awarded to you byregistered certificate of degree for yourbecoming preaching member of theLeague and doing the necessary preachingwork on behalf of the League. Thepreaching work is conducted as fiJllows:(I) As soon as you get the certificate ofdegree of "Bhakti Shastry " at once youbecome a bona fide preacher of this institutionand fo r this you will have to read"Bhagwat gccta" regularly.(2) As you go on reading 'BhagwatGeeta ' q uestion will arise in your mindfo r so many teachings in that Book &you are at liberty to ask us fo r answersof those questions which will be re-

36 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidaplied to you very clearly for yourunderstanding.(3) Some of the general questions arealready answered in different pamphlets& one of them is sent herewith for exampleand your understanding.(4) These questions & answers youwill have to preach to others, so that bothyourself & your audience will be benefitedby that process.(5) If you cannot go to others outsideyour hearth & home, you can do thepreaching work amongst your familymembers only and in this meeting yourother friends, neighbors & relatives alsocan join.(6) Hold this meeting regularly for onehour in your home or any other suitableplace near about your home, and chant thehymns or slokas of 'Bhagwat Geeta' withreverence & devotion. If possible thereading of Bhagwat Geeta may be preceeded& followed by a congregationchanting of the holy name of God as mentionedbelow-Hare Krishna . . . . HareHare.(7) Now relevant questions that maybe arising out in the meeting may eitherbe answered relevantly & just accordingto the authority of "Bhagwat Geeta".But if it is found difficult the questionmay at once be referred to us and itwill be very nicely & clearly answeredby us fo r clear understanding of allconcerned.(8) Some of the audience also may beinterested in becoming a preachingworker of this League & we shall be gladto substain him in the same way as weshall be dealing with you . We are interestedmore in preaching members than inthe sleeping members.The motto of preaching shall always beaimed at the ultimate goal of life. The ultimategoal of life is to re-establish our lostrelation with Godhead who is the AbsoluteWhole, and we all living entities areHis parts & parcels.We have forgotten our relation withGodhead from time immemorial bysomehow or other & due to our forgetfulnessof the relation, we are roaminglife after life in different species ofbodies which are 84 lacs in number.This process of transmigration fromone body to another after death is a__ of disease of the living entity &the chance of curing the disease is possiblevery effectively in this humanform of life.The value of this human fo rm of lifeis therefore immense and a momentlost of this life means a loss of immensevalue. Do not therefore neglect thetime that you have been allotted by thelaws of Nature and utilise it fully-notin the matter of animal life but in humanlife. Eating, sleeping, fearing &sense gratifying process are meant forthe animal portion of our life, but ashuman being we have got the specialprerogative fo r searching out the causeof our threefold miseries & to rectify itin this very life without any further Jossof time.The League of Devotees stand to servethe humanity in this spirit & the preachingmember's cooperation in this noble act ofhuman behavior will reciprocally benefitboth the League and its preaching members.The highest benefit that is possible todo to the humanity is this act of preachingfo r receiving the Divine Consciousness ofthe living being. By doing so, we do notonly send a living entity back to home &back to Godhead but at the same time weourselves also go back to home back toGodhead. Rise up to the occasion of thispreaching work & be a real benefactor tothe people in general & your family membersin particular.[PAGE MISSING]

1950s 3756-1 Delhi21st November, 1956Letter to the PresidentHis Excellency Dr. Rajendra PrasadPresident Indian Union,Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi(Through His Private SecretarySri Viswanath Va rma)May it please your most exalted Honour,Kindly accept my humble obeisances.It is the custom of India from a time immemorialthat a citizen of the state wouldapproach the king, to express his grievancesfor redemption and the king wouldvery kindly consider his case as dutybound and give him necessary relief bythe royal judgement:At the present moment, your excellencyis seated in the position of the kingby the will and Grace of the Lord and as atrue Vaishnava I must accept your excellencyas the representative of the SupremeLord Shri Krishna, as He has expressedHimself in the pages of Bhagwat Geeta.As such I beg to lay before your most exaltedhonour, the following few lines forfavourable consideration and do the needfulin pure consciousness.Your Excellency is the Representativeof Shri Krishna by authority and I hopeShri Krishna will direct you from withinin the matter of my transcendental serviceto Him.I beg to submit herewith that by theGrace of Shri Krishna through His mercypersonified-my spiritual master, I haverealised it most thoroughly that going"Back to Godhead" is the highest privilegeof mankind and that is the supremeperfection of human life.Unfortunately, the present day humancivilization is very much attracted withthe beauty of Apara Prakriti the illusorymaterial Nature and as such they are overpoweredby a demoniac form of propensityin the atheistic set up of civilizationmanifested in the matter of sense gratification.This tendency is dangerouslyharmful to the real progress of life.The aim of life should be to make a sincereeffort to go "Back to Godhead" butcontrary to this, the tendency is to go backto hell or in the cycle of evolutionary animallife as it is described in the 16th chapterof Bhagwat Geeta.Please therefo re save them from thegreat falldown. Believe me or not, I havegot the clue of going "Back to Godhead"just after leaving my present materialbody and in order to take along with me allmy contemporary men and women of theworld, I have started my paper "Back toGodhead" as one of the means to the way.Please do not think of me as an wonderfulor a mad man when I say that I shallgo "Back to Godhead" after leaving mypresent material body! It is quite possiblefor everyone and all of us.In the Bhagwat Geeta it is said veryclearly that whosoever may adopt the specificprinciple of accepting Shri Krishnathe Personality of Godhead, he will beable to achieve the highest transcendentalgoal of life,-never mind what he is eithera born untouchable, a fallen woman, a laboureror a man dealing in rupees annaspies. His being so, what is there difficultyfor a pious "Brahmin" and devoted kingfor going 'Back to Godhead'? Everyoneshould therefore adopt this principle ofgoing 'Back to Godhead' in order to getreleased from the world, of miserous,with temporary existence.This fact is corroborated by ShriChaitanya Mahaprabhu as the practicaldemonstrator of Bhagwat geeta and as themost magnanimous incarnation of ShriKrishna-the Personality of Shri KrishnaChaitanya has made the path of going'Back to Godhead' so easy for every onethat even a boy of the world can swimacross the ocean of religiosity, although it

38 Lertersfrom Srrla Prabhu p iidais injected with so many dangerous animalsready to devour up a fa llen person inthat great massive water. I have simplyadopted the easy method of Shri ChaitanyaMahaprabhu just suitable to the modernpeople in general. As such I amfeeling as sure of going "Back to Godhead"as I feel without any doubt aftertaking my dinner that I have eaten to mysatisfaction. This feeling is a necessaryconcommittant factor of the great scienceof devotional service in the approved lineof Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.I am therefore very eager to broadcastthe secret of my success to all men andwomen of the world as a natural consequenceand I am seeking your excellency 'shelp and co-operation in this great attemptof transcendental service.I am enclosing herewith 12 (twelve)copies of · Back to Godhead' (I to XII) fo ryour excellency 's reference. If possiblekindly go through them all and I am surethat your honour will understand me rightabout my assertion. If it is not so possible,your excellency can kindly give a glanceover the head lines only, and I am sure thatwill also give your excellency an idea ofmy definite assertion.To make a world wide propaganda fo rthis most essential service to humanity, itis necessary that your excellency willstretch the helping hand necessary in thismatter, as your exhalted honour is personallyfit also to do this job. Although themethod is very simple fo r universal adaptation,it is not possible for me to expressin this letter all the words that I wish to tellyour honour. As such, I am seeking an interviewwith your honour herewith. Whenyour excellency will see personally the papersand programme of work about mybonafides, I am sure your excellency willbe interested in co-operating with me .There is immense work to be done so farIndia's spiritual asset is concerned and Ithink the Govt. may take up the matter scientificallyfor the good of all men. India'sspecific culture demands that there shouldbe a ministry of spiritual affairs to save thegreat culture of " Bharatvarsa ':.I am crying alone in the wilderness atthe present moment . So please help me inthis noble cause and oblige .Thanking you in anticipation for anearly reply, I am,Yo urs in the service of the Lord ,A.C. Bhaktivedanta57- 1Bombay18th February, 1957Sri K.M. Munshi,President of the Bharatiya VidyaBhavan, BombayGovernor's Camp,Lucknow-U.P.Dear Sir Munshiji,Please accept my greetings . I amthankful to you for your granting me an interviewand accepting a few copies of mypaper "Back to Godhead" which youhave promised to go through at your leisurehours. And on reading the paper, Ihope, you may be able to make an estimateof my mission in the matter of theBhagwat Gita.I heard it through reliable sources thatyou are a great admirer of the BhagwatGita and your Vidyalaya has a special departmentfo r preaching its philosophy. Icame to Bombay from Vrindavan to cooperatewith you , because there is no difference between the missions of bothyourself and myself.I also attended your meeting of the16th instant on the subject of "What is thematter with the world?" I was very glad toknow your opinion about it and so far I rememberthat you concluded to go back toGodhead which only can save the worldfrom a disaster of civilization.

1950s 39Actually that is the position. Men haveforgotten their eternal relation with SriKrishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.Some of them are so foolish as tothink that everyone of them are so manySri Krishnas (?) or Gods although weknow that God is one, one without a second.But there is no doubt in the fact thatthe man, nay every living entity, is a partand parcel of the Supreme God in quality ;and therefore qualitatively there is no difference between living being and God .But so far quantity of energy and potenciesare concerned, there is a great oceanof difference between living being andGod. Therefore, the right philosophy isthat God is simultaneously one and diffe r­ent from the living being. Those, whotherefore consider God and living beingsare identical in every respect, are polutedin thought. This polution of thought of theempiric and atheistic philosphers nowprevailing practically all over the world,has caused a tremendous deterioration ofhuman civilization as to become agnosticsin dealings. Symptoms of this agnostictrend of human civilization is described inthe 16th chapter of the Bhagwat Gita and Ineed not describe it before you.Therefore the preaching of theBhagwat Gita must be in the line of itsparampara system as it is described in the4th chapter of the book. If it is not doneso, then such preaching of the BhagwatGita, even if it is done by the eruditescholars , will be a sheer waste of time , energyand money.I wish, therefore, that you may cooperatewith me in giving the idea an effectiveshape.In this connection, I would like to drawyour attention particularly to my papers(issue No. XI) "An essential service" and(Issue No. X "Sri Krishna the SupremeVedantist". In this connection, I have alreadymade an association registered, ofwhich a short description is given on the4th page of the issue No. X which, I hope,you will kindly note.Some friend asked me to join your institutionfo r preaching the cult of BhagwatGita; but if you find it difficult to acceptmy service, then I shall go on organisingmy society separately. And if you adviseme to do so separately, then I would requestyou to become a fo rmal member ofthe League personally. I hope you will nottake my offering in an inferior complexbut accept it in a spirit of love fo r theBhagwat Gita. Om Tat Sat,As I have been engaged in speaking ofthe Bhagwat Gita in your 'Bhavan' for afew days, you may kindly send me the replyto the address given on the top of thefi rst page .Om Tat Sat.lam,Yo urs sincerely,A.C. Bhaktivedanta57-2Sir Padampat Singhania,Kamla Tower,KanpurKanpur7th May, 1957My dear Shri Padampat Ji,In continuation of my yesterday 's letter,which I hope you have duly receivedby this time , and with reference to your requestof submitting the way of powerfulMantra fo r broadcasting all over theworld, I beg to inform you fu rther that inevery Mantra the prefix of Namah is generallyadded. Just for example you said theother day Namah Sivaya . Now this Mantrais practically indicating the holy nameof Lord Shiva . Na means negation and Mameans false ego or Ahamkara. ThereforeNamah means surrendering to the nameShiva. In other words to accept the supremacyof Lord Shiva means Namah Sivaya. Thereofe the conclusion is that in

40 Letters from Srfla PrabhupiidaMantra the name of the diety is unavoidablyamalgamated. And in the Mantra thespiritual power, by the Rishis like Naradetc. is surcharged like the copper is electrifiedby magnetic force. The etymologicalalphabets are so surcharged withspiritual potency and as such all Mantraindicating the transcendental holy nameof God or Godhead is to be understood inthat way. When we chant the Mantra aswere presented by the authorities-theprocess helps communication with thepersonality of Godhead by the soundwaves as we have now experienced in thematerial world of physical waves vibrations.The powerful Mantras have suchpotency if they are sounded in the right direction.And by chanting the Mantrasonly one can spiritualise the whole existenceas heat can expand on the sphericalobjects. Mantra Siddhi means completeliberation. Therefore , there is no differencebetween the holy name and Mantra.Man means mind and tra deliverance.That which delivers one from mentalspeculation is called 'Mantra' "MantraSiddhi" is to transcend the gross and subtlemental plane. The same meaning is forIn this age all the Mantras that can helpus reaching perfection up to the plane ofGodhead-has been still more concentratedinto the Harinam. We find thereforein the Brihannaradiya Puranam (3811 26)a particular stress on Harinam which isstated as follows: -Harinama HarinamaHarinama eva kevalamKnlau nastyevanastyeva nastyeva gatir anyathaThe above statement is very importantin the following manner. There are twodifferent processes for acquiring knowledge.The one is Deductive Process andthe other is Inductive Process. In the DeductiveProcess we deduce the conclusionfrom the statement of higher authoritieswhereas by the Inductive Process wemake a research in the truth by our ownimperfect knowledge and induce a conclusion.Say for example if we want toknow how man is mortal then we have tomake a research in statistics of daily deathoccurances. Rama dies, Shyama dies, fatherdies, mother dies, he dies, she dies,etc. all these experiences may help us inthe conclusion that after all man dies andtherefore the conclusion man is mortalmade. But the defect of this process ofknow lege is that it may be that we have notseen a person who is still living even aftersome thousands of years. As soon as weget this information the whole conclusionthat a man is mortal-is atonce changedand we have to say that some men are mortal.In this way the research work of scientificthought are constantly changingbecause the very research work is done byperson who is himself a condition by thefour principles of mistake, illusion, cheatingand imperfection. Therefore , the DeductiveProcess is more effective. Man ismortal we have heard it from very authoritativesources like the Vedas and we haveaccepted it. The Vedas say that stool is impurebut the stool of the cow is pure. TheVedas say that bone is untouchable but theconchshell which is also a bone is perfectlypure. For the common man thestatements of the Vedas appear to be contradictory.But in spite of such contradiction,because we Hindus accept the Vedasas authority we accept cowdung as pureand allow it to be used even in the kitchen.So also we accept the conchshell. Theconchshell is after all a bone of an animalbut because it is accepted by the Vedas weallow conchshell to be used in the sanctifiedroom of our family diety. If we examinein the physical laboratory or analyse itby chemical test we won't find any differencebetween the stool of a man and that ofa cow or the bone of an ox and that of aconch. And yet the whole Hindu Muslimconflict, the whole struggle of Gandhi andJinnah and the whole question of Kashmir

1950s 41problem in the UNSCO have arisen fromthis petty difference of bones only. In theHindu temple the bone conchshell is alreadythere but as soon as a Mohamudanthrows a piece of bone of the ox in thetemple-the whole trouble began, resultingin the partition of India and Pakistan.So an impartial mundane student who willenter into the research work of such boneaffairs in the annals of Indian Historysurelyhe will come to the conclusion ofunrestricted obedience to the words oftheVedas or that of the Koran or that of theBible that lead to all sorts of Jehad andcrusade. As a matter of fact the so calledintelligent persons of the modern age havetaken the shelter of secularism on thestrength of past unfortunate religiousfeuds. This is another type of nonsense.Therefore in the present age respect forDeductive Process is dwindling whereasrespect for Inductive Process is increasingalthough we know so far the Inductive researchis concerned the process has notbeen successful. The conclusion is thatwe have lost our faith in the traditional Vedicknowledge handed down from theGuru to Chela or from the father to theson, although such system of DeductiveKnowledge from the authority is the mostperfect form of knowledge. The ultimatetruth which is far beyond the reach of ourimperfect senses can never be known bysuch inductive research work. The imperfectsenses could not even measure thedistance of the physical product 'The Sunor the Innumerable stars in front of usandwhat such imperfect senses can makea research in the Mantras which arepurely spiritual affairs. We have to acceptthe Mantra and its potency from the Vedicsource and follow the practice and principlesonly to arrive at reality of truth. Researchwork by imperfect senses ispractically a revolt against the establishedtruth . Let us therefore accept the Vedic injunctionof Brihannaradiya PuranamI have already mentioned about thisMantra in my previous letter and I beg toconfirm it further that the Name'Krishna' even up to the foreign wordslike God and Allaha, if they at all aim atthe Supreme Personality-then the Nameis as much holy and potential as perfect isthe Supreme Lord-because in the AbsoluteRealm or Spritual Nature everythingis identical with everything as all of themare qualitatively spiritual and thereforepure, eternal, liberated and perfect.For all practical purposes if we systematicallypreach to chant the holy nameof Godhead, I think no body even the religiousfanatic will take objection to it.Every human being has a conception ofthe supreme truth. That conception is presentedin some concrete shape. If thereforethe Mussulman or the Christiandenies to chant the name of Rama orKrishna we may ask him to chant thename of Allah or God respectively and Ithink therefore there will be no objectioneven by the Buddhists if we simply askthem to chant the name of Lord of Buddhain the systematic way.The systematic way means to avoid theten different offences in the process ofchanting, which are all philosophicaltruths.If by such propaganda of chanting theholy name, the filthy atmosphere of jealousy,bickerings, selfishness, falsehoodand so many other affairs of the modernage-can be avoided, and if by such chantingthe complete process of selfrealisationcan be achieved-is it not ourduty to do this service by combined force.In this age of quarrel and fight everythinghas to be done by combined force toachieve ready success. As the topmostperson of a group of large scale industries,your good personality knows betterthan me how combined forces and diverseenergies make the particular industry asuccessful establishment.

42 Letters ji·om .rrla PrahlwplidaIn the same way we have to combinethe different forces of Sociology in men.money. intelligence and field work tomake the spiritual movement a grand success.If we do not do that we shall be fa ilingin our duty to serve the completewhole. No partial service or temporarybenefit can lead us to perfection. Theworld is mad after such temporary benefitand partial service and it is our duty tochange the face altogether by an authorisedspiritual movement. The other day Iwas very glad to hear your ideas about itand in our next meeting I wish to say something about it as I have realised. Hope youarc well. With my regards.)burs sincerely,Goswami Abhay Charan BhaktivedantaEditor- " BACK TO GODHEAD."57-3 Bombay20th February, 1957The Hon'blc Mr. Chief-JusticeSri M.C. Chagla,Chief Justice House,Harkisan Road ,Bombay-6.My Lord ,I heg to inform your Lordship that onthe 16th instant I was present in the meetingof Bharat iya Vidya Bhavan in whichyour Lordship spoke something at lengthon the matter of equal distribution ofwealth as the ultimate solution of economicproblem. The subject matter dealtwith in the meeting was "What is the matterwith the world?", and you all respectablegentlemen tried to solve it in differentangles of vision. Shri Munshiji tried veryfa intly to solve it by going hack to Godheadand I do not know whether yourLordship agrees with him.I may introduce hert.:by my humble selfas the editor of a fortnightly Theistic periodicaland copies of the same are sent toyour Lordship for your kind perusal. Icarne to Bombay from Vrindavan to seeShri Munshi on the same mission of goingback to Godhead . because without thisthere is no solution of any problem. theworld is now fac ing.The Bhagwat Gita is the standard bookin this matter. Shri Munshi is try ing to utilisethis philosophy hH the good of thepeople in general . He is spending establishmentcharges to the extent ofRs.40,000/- per month for the last twentyyears-but actually no tangible benefit isderived out of it up till now. I saw ShriMunshi with a view to cooperate with himfor implementing the transcendental ideasof the Bhagwat Gita. But I did not receiveany encouragement from him so far. I am.therefore . seeking an interview with yourLordship to discuss for a few minutesabout this standard idea of solving theproblems.In the Bhagwat Gita the solution of theproblems are given in the fo llowingwords,Blwktarwn yajna tapasamSarva loka mahe.l"h varamSuhrdam sarva hlzutanam}mum mam santim rcchati(Bg. 5.29)If karosi yat asnasi!iJuhosi dadasi yatIf tapa.l"ya.l"i kaumeyaTa t kuru.l"va mad arpanam(Bg. 9.27)Equal distribution of wealth or knowledge,beauty. fa me, energy and nonattachmentetc .. all these arc perfectlydone by the above arrangement. The matteris more explicitly understood by theexample of our own bodily structure . Thewhole body is constituted of the sensesand organs. All the senses and organs are

1950s 43equally suppl ied with energy when thestoma:h is fu lly fed up. Stomach is thecentral figure for distributing equal energyto the respective parts of the body asmuch as watering the root of the tree is thesource of supplying energy to all thebranches and leaves of the tree .The human society is now running onin an illusory way, fo rgetting its eternal relationwith the Central Cause. They willhave to be re instated in that original positionin terms of the above slokas of theBhagwat Gita. Without this no solution ispossible. There are practical ways andmeans to do this job in accordance withthe present time, situation and objective .I have a programme fo r this job by theorder of my spiritual master and I havecome to Bombay to enlist some sympathiscrswith my object. Will your Lordshipbe kind enough to hear me fo r a few minutesand oblige?57-4Yo urs obediently,A.C. BhaktivedantaShri K.M. Munshi,Governor of Uttar Pradesh,Raj Bhavan, LUCKNOW.Bombay .21st February. 1957Dear Sri Munshiji,Please accept my respectful Namaskar.I hope you have duly received myletter of the 18th instant in the meantime.By the by while reading some of the literaturesof your great institution, it has cometo my notice that you have in your mindabout the various temples and their respectivePujaris also .In this connection, I wish to draw yourattention to my paper "Back to Godhead"issue No. VI dated 20/5/56 in which anidea of a Gita Nagari fPP2 ) and how topreach the tea:hings of Bhagwat Gita aresuggested. In that article I have alsotouched the question of these various temples(PP3 > oflndia and how to utilise themti.H public welfare work .A thorough reformation of the managementof these temples are required fo rspreading Theistic know l edge throughthese centres. No intelligent person isnow attracted in such temples , becausethe purpose of these temples have beenlost sight of due to negligence on the partsof both the pub I ic and pujaris. As a matterof fact, therefore, no new temples orplaces of spiritual enlightenment are constructednow in the newly constructedcolonies of diffe rent cities. There aresome of the signs of materialistic trend.If I remember rightly, you have beencriticising in the meeting of the 16th instantabout the culture of Holywoodcinemas. The Mayavadi philosophy havingkilled the spiritual variegatedness ofthe Supreme Being-the people are generallyattracted in the variegatedness ofmaterial existence. In the vedanta sutras,we have direct information of how a spiritualentity is joyful-full of spiritual bliss.This idea of enjoyment is focussedthrough a material __ and as such thespiritual focus is reflected in a pervertedmanner. The attention of the people ingeneral is attracted by the cinemas inplace of temples, because the Mayavadiphilosophy-impersonality of Godheadhas created a void in the spiritual realm.But in fact the spiritual realm is not at allvo id . It is fu ll of variegated ness of spiritualmellows. If you create a void in theSpirit unnecessarily, you have to createnecessarily a fill-up in the material existenceand that is the cause why temples arebeing replaced by vulgar cinemas.So simple criticism of cinema houseswill not fulfill the purpose. We have tocreate tangible interest in the temples fo rspiritual advancement of knowledge.With that purpose in view, it is necessarythat the priests and pujaris must be

44 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupddaenlightened men both in Theism and Sanskritlanguage also. They shall be primaryteachers of the Bhagwat Gita in differenttemples. Both these temples and theirmanagement have to be reformed in thepresent context. We shall have to accommodatethe process of temple entry by allclasses of people but they may be so admittedfor proper qualification and not forthe purpose of a mere show.Om Tat Sat.Yours truly,A.C. Bhaktivedanta58-1My dear Shri Ved Prakash,I am in due receipt of your letter NoVP 1159/58 D/217/58 with thanks andhave noted the contents carefully.I quite appreciate your feelings for thepeople of lndia. But when we speak of humanityit does not necessarily mean Indianonly neither it may be restrictedwithin the human society even. 'Paropakar'or humanity is meant for all the 84lacs varieties of living beings . LordChaitanya said 'Praminam ' 'Upakaraya'i.e. to say for the benefit of all living beingconcerned . Then there is the question ofopportunity also. While rendering firstaid service in the battlefield the Red crossmen although equally disposed to all thewounded soldiers-they give first preferenceto the hopeful ones. The hopelessones are sometimes neglected. This is acrude example only.In India, even after the attainment ofSwaraj , the mentality is predominent by"Made in London " ideas. It is a longstory. But in nutshell the Leaders of Indiain the name of secular Government theyhave engaged themselves in everythingforeign. They have carefully set aside thetreasure house of India's spiritual assetand they are imitating the westernised rnaterialway of life constantly engaged in theacts of error of judgement, misgivings,imperfectness and duplicity.India's vedic knowledge is above allthe conditional defects mentioned abovebut we Indians at the present moment haveneglected such wonderful vedic knowledge.It is due to its improper handlingnow. The whole vedic literatures namelyVedas and Upanishads are summarized inthe Vedanta Sutra which includes the purportof the six Indian philosophical thesisesof Kanda, Goutama, Kapila,Pantanjali, Astavedya and Vedic Rishis.This Vedanta Sutra was compiled bySrila Vyasadeva and by the advice of HisSpiritual master Srila Narada-Vyasdevawrote a commentation of the Vedanta Sutraby compiling Srimad Bhagwatam. SoSrimad Bhagvatam is the last gift of SrilaVyasdeva to represent an authorized commentationof the Vedanta Sutra and LordChaitanya 's mission is to preach this cultin every corner of the world in order tomake the people really happy. This VedantaSutra is now mishandled in India byunauthorized persons of diffe rent campsand as such the people are being misguided.Newly sprung up national enthusiasmof the Indian leaders, Industrialistsand plan makers, has no time neither desireto understand the message of VedantaSutra or even the Bhagwat Geeta. Youcannot do acts of humanity without properguidance. The Vedanta Sutra is the properguidance because the sastra "Athata Bramajijnasa"is the beginning of an enquiryin the essence of our different engagements.So my idea of preaching in the foreigncountries means that they are rather fed upwith material advancement of knowledge.They are seeking the message guidance ofthe Vedanta Sutra or for the matter of theBhagwat Geeta in an authorized way. AndI am sure that India will again go back tothe Vedantic life when the principle is

1950s 45accepted by the Europeans, Americansetc because the Indian people are now inthe habit of begging, after neglecting theirown property. That was my view point.But all the same we must take only the opportunityof service without any limitationof time and space. More when wemeet.Hope, now you may have returnedfrom Calcutta.Yours etc .58-2 Bombay24th July, 1958Seth Mangumal Amarsingh345 , Kalvadevi Road , 4th Floor,Bombay.Dear Sir,I beg to inform you that Sri SanjibBanerji manager of the United Bank of lndia,has advised me to see you between 1to 2 p.m. and he has told me that he hadtelephonic conversation with you aboutme . I have come from Vrindaban on amissionary purpose and the necessary papersin this connection are enclosed herewith. Please find . Sri Banerji has spokenvery high about your good-self that youare highly interested in the matter of propagatingthe cult of devotion and the messageof Vrindaban.The present Vrindaban city is the excavationof the six Goswamins headed bySrila Rupa and Sanatan Goswamins whowere deputed by Lord Chaitanya to reestablishthe Bhakti cult and inexecutionof the order of Lord Chaitanya the sixGoswamins lived there made a vast researchin the Sahsteras and left behindthem a vast literatures of pure Bhakti cultto be broadcast all over the world by laterAcharyas . As such my Spiritual MasterShri Bhakti Siddhant Goswami Maharajmade a great effort to execute the order ofLord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and wewere fortunate enough to meet Him fo rservice. Apart from his various uncommonactivites in the line, He was kindenough to order me to propage the samecult in English language to preach the cultin the foreign countries and in obedienceto His order I am trying to do my bit. WhatI have done so far will be spoken by theenclosed papers. But I am practicallystruggling very hard for this job withoutany tangible succes till Sri Sanjib Banerjihas told me that you are the right person toco-operate with me in this noble task forpropagating the Bhakti cult and combinedin the message of Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita.The haering tendency is made easy andstill more favourable by songs and musicof spiritual value to be equally shared byall classes of men namely the highest educatedand the lowest illiterate . The movementis sublime and easy at the same time.The League of Devotees is registered tomake this movement in an organised wayand I wish to enquire if any co-operationand help can be expected from your honour.Awaiting an early reply and thankingyou in anticipation.Yours faithfully,58-3Bombay28th July, 1958Dear Mr. Banerjee,Please accept my Namasker. As advisedby you the other day I went to seeMr. Mangumal at Kalvadevi but he did notentertain the idea of missionary work. Italked with him and found him perfectgentleman but he has spiritual realisationof the lowest rank. According to Bhagwata person who is attracted by the ArchanMarga without any knowledge of the scienceof Vaishnavism is called the Kanisthaadhikari vaishnava. He has of course

46 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidahonoured me with Rs. ll/- and a glass ofmilk for which I have thanked him verymuch but mission is not fulfilled .I beg to inform you that one gentlemanhas allowed me to sit down in his office forpropaganda work in Bombay city and I amseeking your help in this matter. ShriChaitanya Mahaprabhu 's message of universallove and fellow feeling requires tobe preached in an organised manner andwe Bengalis the countrymen of LordChaitanya have a responsibility for thistranscendental task.Some years ago Srila Bhakti SiddhantaSaraswati Goswami Maharaj my spiritualmaster attempted to preach this messagethroughout the world but untortunatelyafter His departure the movement was notcarried by the entrusted successors . I amfeeling for it and I have come to Bombayfor organising this movement.Respectable gentlemen specially theBengali community may comeforward firstso that others will automatically follow thesuit. The modern set of human civilisationis an anachronism and Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu'smessage only can adjust thethings all over the world . It is not blind convictionbut actually this a tact which can bejudged if people will make an analysis ofthe mercy bestowed by Lord Chaitanya .The whole world is looking fo r it and it willbe a credit for the Indians generally and heBengalis specially if they can give the messageto the suffering humanity in the rightdirection as chalked out by the authorisedAcharyas .I wish to talk with you in detail and shallbe glad to know if you can spare some convenienttime for this. Also I shall be moreglad to speak on the teachings of LordChaitanya amongst your selected friends ifsuch a meeting is organised at your or anyother suitable palce. Thanking you in anticipationand awaiting your reply.Yo urs sincerely.58-4 Bombay28th July, 1958My dear Shri Ved Prakash Ji,With reference to my interview withyou yesterday, I beg to inform you that thecause of our difference of opinion is basedon the fact that you have got you own opinionin the matter of preaching our spiritualculture in the foreign countries but so far Iam concerned I am conducted by the orderof a superior authority and liberatedperson. My spiritual master Om VishnupadaSri Sri Bhakti Siddhanta SaraswatiGoswami maharaj wanted it and just tryingto serve Him without any personalwhim.If you would have co-operated with meyou could do so fo r the satisfaction ofspiritual master as abovementioned andthat was a chance to serve a real representativeof the Lord. I was glad to hear yourregard for the world preachers likeChriest etc and I can see in you a desirefor real service to the suffering men. Hereis a chance fo r you and if you like you canutilise this opportunity for your as well asmany other's benefit. It is not imaginationnor self compliance but it is fact. I foundyou a good soul and therefore I did proposeit to you but if you refuse cooperationthen what I can do. Even ShriKrishna cannot compel one fo r cooperationbecause every living being isgiven full chance of utilising independentviews . The humanform of life althoughtemporary it has a great value fo r utilisingfo r the service of the Supreme. The Supremeis everything but everythi ng is notthe Supreme . The stomach can digesttoodstuff fo r all the sense organs but allthe parts of the body is not the stomach.This philosophy of Achinta VedavedaTatwa was preached by Lord Chaitanayfor world welare . It is our duty to help itspracti

1950s 47by one's whim. It is science it has to belearnt from the proper sources. ShriKrishna is not a man in flesh and bloodand His Leela was not meant for interpretationby any mundane scholar. There isway to learn it and unless we have it ourenergy will be spoiled only by attendingany layman's hypocricy. I had a mind tosay you something about it but you havedenied my co-operation and I have nothingto say about it. I hope you will thinkover this in your Iiesure hours and oblige .Thanks.Yours faithfully,58-5Bombay2nd August, 1958My dear Harbanslal Ji,I am very glad to learn that you havenow gone to fo reign countries for tour onbusiness as well as cultural mission and Ihope that you are enjoying there both yourgood health as well as the trouting experience.We had a German friend Indiandomiciled for the last 20 years who is agreat scholar in several languages. Heused to say that in Germany specially,wherever an Indian goes specially the student,the Germans receive him well in theproportion of his Indian cultural knowledge.Scholars and thinkers in Europespecially in Germany and Russia know itwell that for learning about culturalknowledge, no body can surpass the Indianswho have a back ground of centuriesengaged in spiritual investigation.According to Indian way of thought,every one is advised to do good to othersnamely not only to the human society butalso to living beings other than human being.The Indians are not cow worshippersas others wrongly interpret it, but the Indiansare gratitudeful to the species of cowfor supplying milk to the human babiesand the sentiment is so fine that simply forsupplying milk the cow is accepted as oneof the seven mothers. That is called Indiancultural mission. We should learn to lookupon every living being as our ownbrother and treat him in that love . MahatmaGandhi's philosophy began fromthis philosophy of universal brotherhoodwhich is not restricted to the human kindbut to all the species of life. That is thesign of real intelligence. In the BhagwatGeeta it is stated that a learned man looksupon a well educated Brahmin who is wellbehaved by education and so also upon achandala who is accustomed to eat thedogs. And what is the purport of this equalvision? The purport is that we should lookupon every one as the spark of the SupremeBrahman and we should not lookupon the outer dress which every one hasto give up one birth after another. I hopeyou will preach this Indian way of thinkingevery where in the foreign countrieswherever you will have the opportunity. Ithink that people need this Indian messagein this hour of necessity when the atomicbomb is hovering over the head of the humansociety.You know that I am attached with onecultural mission of the name of the Leagueof Devotees as well as Indian culturalCongress which is trying to broad castethis message of Pa ropakara. The standardof Paropakara should be such as will beuseful both in the current life as well aslife after death . Every sane man thinks ofPa ropakara in that way. Temporary sensegratification is not real Pa ropakara .Please therefore begin these Pa ropakaraactivities in the foreing countries as youhave gone there. I think your going thereis another __ preaching the Indianculture as above mentioned. I shall beglad to be in touch with you by correspondenceso that I may be giving you my humblesuggestion fo r this service.By the by by I may inform you that, asyou know I am passing my days in

48 Leiters from Srrla PrabhupiidaBombay in great inconvenience fo r wantof a suitable residential place. I may remindyou in this connection that yourgoodness promised me some place in yourflats as soon as one of them is vaccant. Iunderstand that some are going to be vacatedsoon and I shall request you to helpme by giving me a flat and thus mitigatemy difficulties. A flat with minimal[PAGE MISSING]58-6 Bombay4th August, 1958Pandit Shri Jawaharlal Nehru,Prime Ministe r of India,New Delhi-2My dear Pandit Ji,Please accept my respectful Namaskar.I beg to inform you that yourspeech on 2/8/58 at the Gurukul UniversityHardwar, has given me some inspirationto inform you something about Indianculture . The basic principle of Indian cultureis spiritualism which defies the externalattraction of phenomenal material ism.'You are thinking of adjusting westernways of material adjustment with Indianculture of spiritualism and I beg to giveyou herewith the clue that materialismconducted with an aim of reaching spiritualperfection, is the right adjustment ofhuman activity.If the aim of spiritual realisation ismissed, the whole plan of materialism issure to be frustrated and that is the law ofNature . The law of nature is so made by asuperior authority and no body can surpassthe intricacies of material nature simplyby partial adjustment of materialscience. The history of the West beginningfrom the time of the Greeks and theRomans down to the modern age of atomicwar-is a continuous chain of sense gratificatorymaterialism and the result is thatthe westerners were never in peace withinthe memory of 3000 years of historical records.Neither it will be possible fo r themat any time in future to live in peace till themessage of spiritualism just suitable to thepresent age does not reach their heart.Therefore India may not waste hertime in imitating the western way of life.Yo u have admitted it that the position ofIndia's culture is of very high order. But atthe same time you want to bring in materialprosperity of India by scientific advancementof knowledge. And what isthat scientific Knowledge? Spiritualism isalso advanced scientific knowledge. Materialadvancement of scientific knowledgecannot give even the desired materialprosperity to the people in general withoutspiritual help. Swaraj of MahatmaGandhi was adjusted in spiritualism morethan materialism. Do you think thathorseless carriage or telephonic or radiocommunication or any other such ephemeralfacilities of life, can bring in materialprosperity? No it cannot . Material prosperitymeans that the people must havesufficient to eat or to maintain the bodyand soul together in sound health for furtherdevelopment in spiritual consciousnesswhich is conspicuous by its absencein the sense gratificatory life of the animal. Do you think that your diffe rentplans have brought in that standard of materialprosperity or that modern westerncivilisation can bring in that ideal prosperity?Even they are given all the facilitiesof material need yet the unrest willcontinue to go on till there is spiritual satisfactionof life. That is the secret ofpeace.Both the Americans and the Russiansare better materially advanced and althoughthey have diffe rent political philosophyof life till they are not materiallyhappy and peaceful because both of themare unconciously hankering after spiritualrealisation as the child cries fo r themother without expression by language.

1950s 49Yo u can help the people of the world fo rsatisfying their spiritual hankering as thetrue Indian messenger of peace. Theworld has recognised your sincere effortfo r endeavouring peace in the world andthis is the suitable time to help yourfriends and at the same time glorify thestandard of Indian spiritual advancementof knowledge fo r world peace. Please takeup the matter in cool brain.Poverty means poverty of knowledge .Prime minister Chanakya P.andit used tolive in a thatched house or cottage but hewas the dictator of India in the days of EmperorChandra Gupta. Mahatma Gandhiyour pollical Guru voluntarily acceptedthe ways of the so called poor Indians andstil he was the dictator of India's destiny.But was he actually poverty sticken on accountof his plain living with the premitivecharkha? He was always proud of hisspiritual knowledge. Therefore it is thespiritual knowledge which makes a manreally rich and not the radio set or the motorcar. Please therefore try to understandthis position of Indian culture and try togive it to the western brothers in the prescribedstandard method of the liberatedpersons and that will be an exchange of lndianculture with western material advancementand necessarily bring in ahappy life in the peaceful world .Here is a programme of spiritualmovement (an appeal enclosed herewith).I am struggling alone very hard to give itan effective shape without any help frompersons like you. You can help the movementa lot without the least difficulty ordisturbances.My humble advice to you, as I am yourold friend from Allahabad, is that youshould now take leave fo rm you presentresponsibility of Prime ministership andas you are a popular gentleman of theworld you can just engage the rest of yourmost valuable life in this organised spiritualmovement to achieve the aim of yourlife which is yet to be known by the___ the world. By pushing on this authorisedspiritual movement you canmake a real adjustment of the western materialscience combined with Indian wayof spiritual realisation.Please therefore think over this proposalvery seriously and let me know yourreaction upon it and oblige. If you canspare a little time , I am sure to convinceyou about its importance more quickly.Thanking you in anticipation and awaitingyour early reply.Yours sincerely,A.C.B.Private letter per registered postEnclosure : - I.58-7 Bombay5th August, 1958Per. Registered Post with AID.Shri Ratanshi Morarji Khatau,Organiser of Bhagwat week(22-7-58 to 28-7-58)at (Vedanta Satsang Mandai)55, New Marine Lines,Bombay -I.Dear Sir,I beg to inform you that I am in receptof your invitation letter in the matter of observingBhagwat week through the secretaryof Bombay spiritual centre . As Iknow what sort of Bhagwat week can beobserved by the Mayavadins for misleadingthe inocent public and therefore I notonly restrained myself from attending thefunction but also I advised many othersnot to attend for the very reason that therecitation of holy Bhagwat is being performedby men who have no access in thisgreat scripture in which only the liberatedpersons, who are freed from all pretentiousreligiosities, can take part. TheMayvadins specially have no right to discussSrimad Bhagwat Puranam for the

50 Letters from Srila Prabhupadaonly reason that they are aspiring after liberation(Moksha Vanohha). And SripadShankaracharya because He was the incarnationof Shankara . very carefullyavoided to make any commentation on theholy Bhagwatam. Sripad Shankaracharyapreached His Mayavada philosophy fi.)rbewidering the atheist class of men inorderto confound them to become more andmore atheist and thus suffe r perpetuallywithin the threefold miserable conditionsof the material nature . But because Hewas great devotee at heart He dared not tocommit sacrilege by unauthorised commentationon the Bhagwatam fo r He knewit well that a person who aspires afterMukti or merge one's identity in the impersonalfeature of the Supreme Personalityof Godhead , is debarred from thebenefit of Sri mad Bhagwatam. If you readSrimad Bhagwatam from the beginning(which is absolutely necessary for a seriousstudent) you will find what is spokenthere in the 2nd sloka of the 1st chapter ofthe I st Canto. It is clearly stated there thatmundane religiosities, economic development,sense gratification and ultimatelya frustrated man's desire to mergein the impersonal feature of Godhead andall similar other things are completelythrown away from the transcendental literatureof Srimad Bhagwatam. SripadaSridhar Swami the most authorised commentatoron the Bhagwatam has said thatby the prefix of 'PRA' in the sloka the desireof liberation (Moksha Vanohha) isalso stopped herewith. A person who isnot a pure Va ishnava cannot understandSrimad Bhagwatam. A mayavadi may pretendto become a so called Va ishnava butbecause he cherishes at heart to mergeinto the Supreme. he is unable to developthe devotional cult which is a necessaryqualification for understanding SrimadBhagwatam. And to qualify the Mayavadinsand other common men who indulgein the mental speculative transactions,Srimad Bhagwatam gives them instructionsfrom the I st to the 9th canto aboutthe transcendental nature of the SupremePe rsonality of Godhead. Unfortunatelythe cheap and unscrupulous professionalreaders of the Bhagwat or the Mayavadimisleaders in the garb of a renouncer indulgein the highest topic of SrimadBhagwatam described in the Rasa PanchaAdhya. A person who is compact in mundanethought of material enjoyment willcertainly be indulging in playing with poisonif anyone, devoid of transcendentalrealisation playfully deals with the transcendentalpastimes of Lord Shri Krishna.Some friends who attended your Bhagwatweek have told me how the pastimes ofLord Krishna was being wrongly interpretedin your organisation on the pretextof saving Krishna from being an immoralpersonality. To save these foolish audiencesin future Maharaj Parikshit had alreadyasked Sri pad Sukhdeva Goswami toclear the Rasaleela activities of Lord ShriKrishna. The transcendental nature ofRasa Leela does not require to be apologisedby any Mayavadi or mundane moralist.The Leela is what it is. Srila Vyasdevanever desired that in future the real purposeof the Rasa Leela had to be explainedby some mundane scholar with poor fundof knowledge. It does not require to bechanged a bit but the only thing requiredin this connection is to qualify oneself inthe matter of undergoing a strict spiritualtraining to realise the same transcendentallyfrom the right sources. In order tokeep the Rasaleela activities of the Lord intact Srila Sukdeva Goswami has alreadyexplained the matter in the Bhagwat lOthcanto chapter 33 and slokas 29 to 39. Ishall request you to go through them withspecial reference to the slokas Nos. 30,34and 39.In the sloka No.30 it is fo rbiden that amundane person should not indulge inhearing Rasa Lee! a or one should not hear

1950s 51Rasaleela from a mundane person. Inyour organisation both the audience andthe lecturer are mundane persons andtheir indulgence in the matter of Rasaleelaout of sheer foolishness will result in immitatingRudra who swallowed up anocean of poison. There is nothing immoralityin the transendental activities of thelord neither it requires to be defended byany immoral man because simply by rememberingthe holy name of Krishna orby serving His lotus feet one can at oncebecome a liberated person. (Bhag.I 0/33/34) Besides that the result of readingor hearing the Rasaleela in the devotionalmood is stated (Bhag. 30/33/39) tobecome culminated in complete disappearanceof the devotee's lust disease inthe heart. Persons who are not pure devoteesand must have therefore an impureheart full with dirty things of mundane affairswill not only try to defend RasLeelaby interpretations or decry the dealingsbut also shall be ruined as by drinking poisona man goes to hell.I shall request you therefore not to misleadthe people in general under the garbof religiosity and indulge in the transcendentalpastimes of the Lord known by thename Rasa Panchaadhya. This societystands to rectify all these anomalies in thename of religion and I shall ask your goodsense to join hands with us to stop all thesenonsense. India's culture of spiritualvalue has an unique position and it has tobe learnt by the human society in rightearnest from the right sources. As an Indianand a man of good sense with practicalbusiness-brain you should not at leastindulge in such organisation under the influenceof unauthorised person. Instead ofindulging in the organisation of such unathorisedpersons you may kindly learnthe science from the authority and makeyour life enlightened and attain success ofthe boon of human form of life. TheLeague of Devotees is an organised effortto render this service to the human societywithout any pretentious conventions. Weare publishing one paper of the nameBack to Godhead to educate people in theright direction and I am sending herewithone pamphlet in which the opinions ofseveral respectable gentlemen are insertedas to how they are being appreciated.It is our duty to defend the cause of'Bhagwat' either by request or by legalaction according to necessity and I hopeyou will understand us in our most responsibletask. Awaiting your early replyand thanking you in anticiapation,Yours faithfully,A.C.B.Enclosure-I .58-8Bombay14th August, 1958Shri Anand Prakash,c/o Rai Sahib Madho Ram & Sons,Nai Sarak,Delhi.Dear Sir,As you arc a gentleman in public welfareactivities, I am in need of your helpfor advancing the cause of my missionaryactivities. The programme in nutshell isenclosed herewith in an appeal formwhich please read and oblige. And on receiptof your reply to this letter, I shallsend you my publications both in Hindiand English.The whole idea is to preach the cult ofLord Chaitanya who desired to bestowupon every living being the highest benefitby transcendental love of Godhead,which alone can bring in peace in theworld.As an experienced philosopher gentlemanof practicality this facet is not hiddenbefore you . According to Lord Chaitanyaevery Indian is competent to do good to

52 Letters from Srila Prabhuptldathe rest of the world. Provided such Indianhas fulfilled the mission of life. And themission of life is to revive the dormant divineconsciousness in every living being.The process recommended by the Lordis very simple and plain. It is just to createa favourable condition for hearing onlythe message of Krishna (The BhagwatGeeta) or the messages about Krishan(The Srimad Bhagwatam) or both and Ihave therefore come to you for gettingyour co-operation. I hope you will notdeny the co-operation.The thing is that the living being is thepart and parcel of the Supreme Lord ShriKrishna and some way or other he (the livingbeing) has come in contact with thematerial energy with an enjoying spirit tolord it over the material nature whichspirit is a perverted reflection fo the AbsoluteEnjoyer the Lord. In other words theliving being due to his desire of becomingan imitation Lord of the material nature,he is suffering the effects of material energyin the shape of threefold miseries as amatter of police action of the strong materialnature. The foolish living being is tryingto overcome the stringent laws ofNature by different plans which are beingfrustrated __ ergular way. The last snareof Maya or the material __ is an offeringof opportunity to become one with__ Absolute thereby misleading him(the ___ perpetually to pull on the materialbondage under different categoriesof life. He can only be saved from this turmoilby reviving his consciousness of surrenderunto the Lord which only saveshim from all effects of sin. That is the lastinstructions of the Bhagwat Geeta.Lord SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu who isKrishna Himself in the Form of a devoteepreached the cult of the Bhagwat Geeta forall practical purposes and benefit of thehumanity at large. As it is stated in theBhagwat Geeta that a person who takesthe resposibility of preaching the Bhakticult by all means is the most most favouriteperson of the lord. This missionhas to be taken up in the modern light ofunderstanding and for this purpose I haveregistered _ association of the name asabove mentioned.I wish that a personality like you mayaccept the head man ship of this institutionand conduct the missionary work in a suitablemanner befitting the time circumstancesof the modern civilization. Theold way of leaving the matter to the irresponsibleclass of men will not help thepreaching work of this important mission.Resposible gentlemen who are mangingall other affairs, must also take up the responsibilityof this branch of acivity andthen it will successful. The present worldsituation is too much entangled. It is theduty of all sane men to enlose the tightenedcondition by the simple method ofBhagwat Geeta and the result is sure to besuccess full.I hope you will take the matter very seriouslyand do some practical service forthe satisfaction of the Lord.Yours faithfully,58-9 Bombay14th August, 1958Padmabhushan Knight Commander,Darshanacharya Dr. B.L. AtreyaM.A. D.Litt etc .Atrey Nivas, P. O. Hindu University,Varanashi-5.Dear Sir,As you are a visiting professor to foreigncountries on religious and philosophicalmission, I am in need of yourhelp for advancing the cause of my missionaryactivities. The programme in nutshellis enclosed herewith in an appealform which please read and oblige . Andon receipt of your reply to this letter, Ishall send you my publications both in

1950s 53Hindi and English.The whole idea is to preach the cult ofLord Chaitanya who desired to bestowupon every living being the highest benefitby transcendental love of Godheadwhich alone can bring in peace in theworld.They are now very busy to bring inpeace in the world and are continuouslyholding expensive conferences, meetings,summit talks etc . to make an effectivepeace movement but because such attemptsare being made without any relationof God, they are all manifoldcreations of the External Potency of theAbsolute Truth . As an experienced philosopherthis fact is not hidden before you .According to Lord Chaitanya every Indianis competent to do good to the rest of theworld provided such Indian has fulfilledthe mission of life which is to revive thedormant divine consciousness in everyliving being.The process recommended by the Lordis very simple and plain. It is just to createa favourable condition for hearing onlythe message of Krishna (Bhagwat Geeta)or the messages about Krishna (The spiritualBhagwatam) or both combined in themessage of Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita.The hearing tendency is made easy andstill more favourable by songs and musicof spiritual value to be equally shared byall classes of men namely the highest educatedand the lowest illiterate ,. The movementis sublime and easy at the sometime.The League of Devottees is registeredto make this movement in an organisedway and I wish to enquire if any cooperationand help can be expected fromyour honour.Awaiting your early reply and thankingyou in anticipation.Yo urs faithfully,58-10 Bombay26th August, 1958Shri Jugalkishore Birla,Birla House,Albukark Road ,New Delhi.Dear Sir,Please accept my respectful greetings .I beg to inform you that it is a matter ofgreat satisfaction for us especially and forall generally that your honour is very sincerelyanxious to preach the universaltruth of Bhagwat Geeta all over the world.We know it also that you have spentmuch of you valuable enrgies for this purposebut so fa r it has not been to your satisfaction.The purpose of the Bhagwat Geeta canbe preached only when it is taken up byreal devotees of Krishna the Personality ofGodhead .One of the real devotees of Krishnawas Arjuna during the appearance of LordKrishna and as such the parampara of theBhagwat Geeta , which was broken priorto the occurence of the battle of Kurukshetra, was reestablished at the battlefieldand Arjuna was authorised to understandthe purpose of the Bhagwat Geeta . Weshould not miss this important point if weare serious about preaching the gospel ofthe transcendental literature .As such it is understood in the beginningthat one who doesnot follow the footprints of Arjuna, cannot enter into themystery of the Bhagwat Geeta and thereforeno body can preach the gospel ofGeeta without knowing its mystery.There are thousands and one scholarsin India and abroad but very few of themhave followed the foot prints of Arjuna exceptthe Vaishnave Acharyas such ShriRamanuja, Shri Madhya, Lrod Chaitanya,Shridhar Swami, Madhusudan Saraswati, Vishwanath Chakarabarty, ValadevaVidyabhusan etc and many others

54 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadawho have followed the bonafide Acharyas.The League of Devotees, is registeredto train preachers and missionary workersfor preaching the pure cult of the BhagwatGeeta not only in India but also throughoutthe whole world-exactly on the lineof the bonafide Acharyas as it is recommendedin the very Bhagwat Geeta. Andthat is the right way to successful preachingof this Universal Truth for the benefitof all without any distinction of castecreed colour or nationality. Every one isopen to approach the Personality of GodheadKrishna not only from the species ofthe human kind but also from the speciesof life other than the human kind . This isclearly stated in the Bhagwat Geeta. So farthe system of Varnashram is concerned itis no one's monopoly business and anyqualified man can be classed in the Varnaand Ashram as it is described in theBhagwat Geeta.The cult of Hinduism or the system ofVarnashram are not being utilised in thespirit of the Bhagwat Geeta and as suchthe abovementioned cult is waning day byday. We should take serious note of thiskind of deterioration of the Arya HinduDharma and shall request you to comeforward to help this institution determinedto preach the pure cult of the BhagwatGeeta . Yo u should not allow anymore thegross misuse of the cult of SanatanDharma at the risk of world peace andprosperity but come forward forward toco-operate with us in this noble missionand help us with all your strength.I hope you will not misunderstand theposition of the Acharya who is so importanta figure in the matter of learning thetranscendental science. The Acharya isthe direct representative of the Personalityof Godhead . And no body can claim to becomea bonafide Acharya if he has notstrictly followed the footprints of the previousAcharyas authorised in the matter.The whole thing has been disturbed in theset of Sanatan Dharma only by violatingthis principle of following the Acharya.So fa r the Bhagwat Geeta is concernedevery one, let him be a very great scholarin the mundane sense, must be in confirmedposition along with the mode ofunderstanding of Shri Arjuna. That is thecrucial point of testing an Acharya false orreal Shri Arjuna is the first man to understandGeeta and the mode of his understandingis clearly defined in the BhagwatGeeta. So there is no difficulty in testingan Acharya whether he is false or bonafide.Our determination is to preach theBhagwat Geeta strictly on that paramparasystem as it is recommended in theBhagwat Geeta.In the last portion of the BhagwatGeeta the necessary qualification of understandingthe Bhagwat Geeta is clearlystated.According to this formula of qualificationone who does not accept Krishna asthe Supreme Personality of Godhead-isunable to understand the Bhagwat Geeta.Such devotees of Krishna are actuallyMahatma. Such Mahatmas are very rare.They are seen always engaged in the transcendentalservice of the Lord especiallyin the preaching work of the Lord's gloriesin His different enrgies namely the materialas well as the spiritual which are describedin the Bhagwat Geeta as the Pa raand the Apara Prakritis. These Mahatmasare always anxious to preach the universalmessage of peace mentioned in theBhagwat Geeta and it doesnot matter inwhatsoever Ashram he belongs to. Arjunawas a householder Kshatriya and wasfighting for the interest of the Lord and assuch he was the first Achraya in theparampara line.Arta, Artharthi, Jnani and Jijnasu arethe beginners in the line of understandingthe Geeta. The Mahatmas are above

1950s 55all these four classes of men and they arethe post graduate men in the line. Weknow also the Ashuras who are dividedinto four classes namely the Duskritinas,the Mudhas, the Naradhamas and theFolish scholars. In order to preach theBhagwat Geeta we have to create theMahatmas and not the Foolish Scholarswho have unauthorisedly taken up theBhagwat Geeta without following theparampara line. That is an importantpoint.Please therefore join this League ofDevotees and try to preach the BhagwatGeeta through the bonafide Mahatmas.Any one who fo llows strictly the footprintsof Shri Arjuna is certainly a Mahatma.It does not mean that a red-dressedman is a Mahatma and a noble householderlike your goodself is otherwise. Wecan find out Mahatmas like Arjuna in thehouseholder life also and in this age ofKali we should find out More Mahatmasin the householders lite than in the othercamp.We are struggling very hard to give themission a practical shape fo r want ofmoney. It has not yet come to the pointsave and except publication of two papersonly one in Hindi and the other in English.And if your goodself joins , manyother richmen of the world will certailyjoin.The minimum expenditure is estimatedto be Rs.3000/- a month to beginwith. Three hundred members of this noblemission can at once raise this sum fo rtraining the preachers and other necessaryexpenditure .Please therefore come fo rward andbecome the headman of this League.See that the money is properly being utilisedand see the result also side by side.I am sure you will be encouraged to takeinterest in this missionary work moreand more by the practical result of thework.Awaiting your early reply and thankingyou in anticipation.For the League of Devotees,Yours fa ithfully,A.C. BhaktivedantaFounder Secretary.58-1 1JhansiMy dear Brother,Please excuse me if I have offendedyou by calling you my dear Brother. Actuallyyou are my dear brother and whenyou know me you shall be pleased that Ihave called you as such.Yo u are my brother in relation to ourcommon and Eternal Father the AlmightyPersonality of Godhead Sree Krishna therevealing Author of the great book of Philosophy'Bhagwat Geeta'. And from thisbook of transcendental knowledge, I haveknown that you and all other living entities,in whatever fo rm they may be, are allmy brothers.But I know some other less intelligentbrothers, who are now in the animal kingdom,will not be able to recognise meeven if I address them as my dear brothers,fo r the reason of their being grosslyenwrapped in material consciousness.But as you are a human being and as youhave developed the consciousness of a humanbeing, I have ventured to approachyou and address you directly 'My dearbrother.' Please therefore donot mistakemy endeavor.You may be, although I donot believeit. one of those other brothers who do notbelieve in the existence of any Person likeGodhead our eternal Father. But if you sobelieve , I shall tell you that you are mistaken.Yo ur conviction as such is due toyour either being misled by another waylaidbrother or due to your fa ilure to makecommunion with our Eternal Father. You

56 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidaare not therefore in the right consciousnessif you do not believe in Him.I am prepared to convince you in everyrespect that there is our Eternal Fatherand He wants you and all of us to go backto our permanent home . If you argue thatthere is no such Father God at all, then Iam still more prepared to argue with youin all seriousness. In that case you maykindly let me know your definite viewpoints relevently so that I may try to replythese points one by one. And should youdesire to argue with me, then my only requestto you will be that for all such argumentswe must be always very sincere andserious. Once we are convinced in thatway, we must be prepared to act accordingly.You may also argue that if there is anyGod at all , let Him be peacefully at Hispleasure at any place He likes and we haveno business with Him whatsoever. In thatcase I shall again say that you have everybusiness with Him by re-establishing yourforgotten eternal relation with Him.Suppose you are a rich man's son andyou have left your home, fo rgetting yourfather's property, home and happiness.And if some body gives you informationabout your paternal property of immensevalue which you can inherit by your birthrightclaim, will you neglect that friend? Iam sure you will not. I am able to give yousuch important information.I can challenge you that you are nothappy in the present set up of your affairs.You may have in your possession your socalled accumulated material wealth,health or happiness but still you are alwaysfeeling some insufficiency and frustrationand thus you are not happy as youought to have been . If you donot feel likethis, then you must be either an abnormalman or a liberated saint or in gross ignoranceof lower consciousness. Should youfeel yourself abnormally happy, I shallask you the following plain questions.They are as follows:-1) Do you like to die?2) Do you like to take your birth again?3) Do you like to be an old man?4) Do you like to be a diseased man?I am sure you shall reply to all thesequestions by saying the only word 'No.' Ifyou think yourself happy then have yousolved all the above problems in any way?Have your vast resources of materialknowledge helped you in solving theseseemingly common but very big problems?Do you think that you shall ever beable to solve the above problems at anylength of time? If you say so, I shall againcall you in abnormal condition.So donot become a madman in falseconviction. Do not remain in ignorancefor your problems. Be just like a fully developedconscious man and acknowledgethat you have never been happy in the truesense of the term neither your ideal ofhappiness has ever been fulfilled.The way in which you are seeking to behappy or trying to make others happy inyour manufactured ideology-is called'Maya' or illusion. By such illusory wayof making yourself and others happy, youhave simply been credited with creation ofmuch disturbances and entanglement forall concerned. That is the record of historyof the material world. Empire maycome and empire may go, the problems oflife remains the same. Please therefore becool headed and patiently ask withinyourself if you are really happy.The happiness which you arehankering after is possible to be attainedas soon as you learn to introspect yourselfwithin yourself. Yo u are yourself yourfriend and you are yourself your enemy.You can raise yourself by your self effortand you can down yourself by the same effort. It is simply to know the direction andthe way. In the right direction you can

1950s 57make yourself happy in the right way.Please therefore contact us and we shallhelp you to raise youself to your normalhappiness. It is no dream neither anybluff. Yo u shall know yourself how faryou have made progress in that path andour duty will be to help you only. Thinkingthat you shall be a prospective memberof our League of Devotees, I amsending you herewith a copy of the Prospectusand I wish most sincerely that youshould become an active member of thisgreat institution. Pay or pay not you canbecome a member without obligation andthe League welcomes you always acceptingyou as the Divine child. Yours Sincerely,For the League of Devotees,Abhay Charanarvinda BhaktivedantaSecretary.

1960-65

1960-65 6160-1Delhi28th March, 1960Dr. Y.G. Naik M.Sc., Ph.D.,Principal Gujarat College,Dean, Faculty of Science,Gujarat University AhmedabadDear Dr. Naik,Your letter dated 20 March 1960 redirectedfrom my Hd Qrs. (Vrindaban) isduly in hand and I am very much encouragedto go through the contents which arefull of valuable informations. The subjectmatter discussed in my article under referenceis authorised as far as it refers to theconclusion of Geeta.I may also inform you that my conceptof anti-matter is exactly what you call itanti-material. Technically it may be that Icould not express the exact word used bythe physicist but I have tried to explain theword anti-matter in the light and sense ofwhat you say as antt-material which isspirit. But spirit is not apara as you havepointed out. In the Bhagwat Geeta TheSupreme Truth or the Absolute Personalityof Godhead is the transcendental purushaand the two energies namely paraand apara are emanations from Him. TheApara or the Inferior material energy mayconsist of many other elements like matter,anti-matter, proton, electron, neutronetc. in terms of physical science but accordingto the authority of the BhagwatGeeta-all of them are produced of the inferiorenergy called by the name AparaPrakriti. The Apara Prakriti consists ofgross and subtle matters like mind, egoand intelligence. Spirit is transcendentalto all these. The spiritual energy paraPrakriti is simultaneously one and differentfrom the spirit whole. Qualitativelythey are one but quantitatively they aredifferent. The Brahman Ray is the effulgenceof the Supreme Person.You have defined impersonal Brahmanas the Divine Energy. I fully agree withyou in pursuanee of its description in theBrahman Samhita, I am going to publishin the next issue an article of the name"Variety of Planetary System" in whichthere is reference from the BrahmaSamhita.According to the Bhagwat Puranamthe Supreme Truth is realised in threestages namely the Impersonal Brahman orthe Nirakar Absolute. The Paramtma orthe localised aspet of Brahman. The neutronpart of the atom may be taken as therepresentation of Paramatma who entersinto the atom also. It is described in theBrahman Samhita. But ultimately the SupremeDivine Being is realised as the SupremePerson all attractive (Krishna) withfull and inconceivable potencies of opulance,strength, fame, beauty, knowledgeand renunciation. The six potencies arefully exhibited by Sri Rama and ShriKrishna when He descends before the humanbeing. Only a section of the humanbeing who are unalloyed devotees couldrecognise Him on the authority of revealedscriptures but others are bewilderedunder the influence of materialenergy. The Absolute Trhth is thereforethe Absolute Person without an equal orhigh competitor Personality. ImpersonalBrahman Rays are the rays of His bodytranscendental as much as the sun rays areemanations from the sun planet.Accordiug to the Vishnu Puranarn thematerial energy is called Avidya or nescience which is exhibited in the fruitive activitiesof sense enjoyment. But the livingbeing belongs to the group of antimaterialenergy or spiritual energy whilehe has the tendency of being illusionedand trapped by the material energy forsense enjoyment.In this sense the living being is the positiveenergy whereas the matter is thenegative energy. The matter does not developwithout being in contact with the superiorspiritual or anti-material energy

62 Letters from Srfla Prabhup iidawhich is directly part and parcel of thespirit Whole.Any way the subject matter of thisspiritual energy exhibited by the living beingis undoubtedly very complicated thingfor an ordinary man. The ordinary man istherefore astounded in the subject. Sometimeshe partially understands it throughthe imperfect senses and sometimes hefails to know it altogether. The best thingis therefore to hear the grave subject matterfrom the. highest authority Sri Krishnaor His devotee representative comingdown in the chain of disciplic succession.Bhagwat Geeta is the essence of all theUpanishads and Vedanta.I am glad to note that you have got thehighest estimation for Geeta. I am justtrying to present the conclusion of Geetato the world as it is and without any imperfectcompromise with speculative interpretations.We have to learn the lessons ofGeeta from the authorised dicipilic successionas it is advised there in the book(4th Ch.). Unfortunately every one not inthat line tries to explain Geeta in his ownway and this process is misguided the people.We have to counteract this disruptivetendency and put them at right.I shall be very glad if you join my mission(The League of Devotees) and on receiptof your favourable reply I shall sendyou the prospectus. An erudite scholarlike you should join and help in this nobleattempt. Your appreciation of India's culturalheritage is very much enlivening forme. Let us jointly distribute this great culturalheritage to the world at large in anorganised manner and through the recommendedprocess of Divine Love propagatedby Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.Please try to help me as far as possible.Awaiting your reply with interest. Hopeyou are well.Yours sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami60-2 Delhi-618th September, 1960[From the Visitors' Book]SRI SRI RADHA KRISHNA TEMPLE2430 Chhipi Wada KalanI am pleased to write herein that I havecome to Delhi from my H. Q. 1/859 KeshGhat, Vrindaban (U.P.) purely on spiritualmission to propagate the cult of devotionalservice of the Lord. And I am morepleased to mention herewith that SrimanSri Krishna Sharma, Haribhaktan das,has provided me with a suitable room formy literary activities. I am publishing anEnglish fortnightly magazine of the nae"Back-To-Godhead" from this place andthe Nawal Prem Shabha of which SriKrishnaji is the Hony Secretary is arrangingfor my daily lectures on SrimadBhagwat.Late Pandit Jyoti Prasad Sharma fatherof Shri Krishnaji was also known to meand during his life lime whenever I used tocome to Delhi, Late Pandit Jyoti Prasadjiwould provide me with residential place.His good son is also following the footprints of his noble father and as secretaryof the Nawal Prem Sabha, he is doinggood service in propagating Rama Namaall over the city.In my opinion temples are centres foreducating the public in spiritual valuesand I have a mission to organise all templesfor that spiritual education. Templesare not meant for ordinary householdersengaged simply in the matters of animalpropensities. Those who are actually engagedin the service of the Lord Deity, thepredominator of the temple; can only beallowed to remain in the temple, otherwisenot.Anyway so far I have been well treatedboth by Shri Krishnaji the Secretary andSree Prabhatilal along with his sonSitaram-care taker of the temple.I wish all improvement of this spiritual

1960-65 63establishment and I have full cooperationwith the authorities concerned for thispurpose.At last I must thank Sriman HariBhaktanudas Shri Krishnaje Sharma forhis kindly providing me with a place forconducting my activities in the service ofthe Lord and without his help in this way itwould have been an impossible task forme to start the paper Back-to-Godhead. Iam waiting for the inauguration of theBhagwat class proposed to be held in thetemple daily.I am in the service of the LordA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEditor, Author, & Preacherin Transcendental Science61-1Cuttack20th March, 1961The SecretaryMinistry for Scientific Researchand Cultural affairs,Government of India, New Delhi.Dear Sir,I beg to inform you that I am in the renouncedorder of life devoted in the serviceof researching in the science ofcultural affairs of human spirit. I am theauthor of several books in this like and thecopy of the Foreword by Dr. N.K.Sidhanta Vice Chancellor of the DelhiUniversity on my book "EASY JOUR­NEY TO OTHER PLANETS", is sentherewith for your perusal.As such I have been invited by the organisersof The Congress for CulturingHuman spirit to be held at Japan in themonth of May 1961. The copy of bonafidesis also sent herewith for your reference.I am a Snnyasi and my mission of life isto propagate the idea of cultivating spiritualvision of life which alone can bringabout peace and prosperity of the humansociety. I wish to impress upon the delegateswho will internationally join theCongress for Culturing Human spirit atJapan about the necessity of an internationalmovement for this purpose in cooperationof all the enlightened people ofthe world. The Japanese organisers haveagreed to meet my expenses there as youwill find it from the enclosed papers and Iam simply seeking your help to despatchme to Japan to attend this congress.I beg to inform you in this connectionthat the following gentlemen know mewell and about my cultural activities in literarycareers.1. Dr. S. Radhakrsahnan Vice Presidentof India.2. Dr. H.K.Mahatab3. Bhagirathi Mahapatra M.P.I must reach Japan (Tokyo) on or beforethe 9th of May 1961 and I shall requestyou to give me help and facilities inthis connection.Awaiting your early reply and thankingyou in anticipation.Yours faithfully,(A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami)61-2 Delhi29th March, 1961My dear Doctor Radhakrishnan,I beg to acknowledge receipt withthanks your letter of the 24th instant andhave noted the contents. I have come backfrom Cuttack on the 26th night.You know that I am a Sannyasi withoutany relation with Bank neither I am attacchedwith financing institution. But theJapanese organisers have liked my literaturesand they want me to be present there.The Congress which is going to beheld at Japan is on the matter of How OneShould Cultivate Human Spirit. While theIndian leaders are giving more importanceon the material construction of the

64 Letters from Srfla Pra bhupadahuman body, enlightened people of othercountries are thinking of the HumanSpirit. People of other countries who havealready tested the bitterness of materialism,are now seeking something elseother than matter.The sages of India in the bygone agescultivated on the Human Spirit in an elaborateway. Sripad Sankaracharya, Ramanujacharya,Madhva and later on ShriChaitanya dealt on the subject most scientificallyfor the welfare of all men in theworld. I think therefore that the IndianGovernment should send there all the representativesof the abovementioned Achryasto deliver the message of Atma or theHuman Spirit.A Godless civilization cannot bringabout peace and prosperity and when theyare anxious about it we must administerthe required medicine.I am therefore very much anxious to attendthe Congress although I have nomeans to go there. They are also verymuch anxious to get me there and if I saythat I cannot attend the congress for wantof means then I think it will be an insult tomy country.Formerly the Zamindars and Princeswould provide for such endeavours. Butthey are now finished. Under the circumstancesit is the duty of the Government toarrange for our travel in such noble mission.I wish therefore that you can speciallyrecommend my case to Minister HumayunKabir to arrange for it.If it is impossible altogether, then personallyyou can send me there without anydifficulty. They have already agreed topay for my boarding and lodging for thedays I shall remain there. I may also informyou that the Secretary of the INTER­NATIONAL FOUNDATION FORCULTURAL HARMONY has alreadyagreed to publish some of my literatures.If you will kindly somehow or other despatchme there, then it will be a chance formy mission.Thanking you in anticipation.Yo urs sincerely,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami61-3BombayDelhi31st March, 1961My dear Brijratanji,Kindly accept my greetings. I hopeyou are quite well in all respects by theGrace of the Lord.I beg to inform you that an internationalcongress fo r cultivating HumanSpirit is going to be held in Japan in themonth of May 1961 and you will be gladto know that the Japanese organisers haveinvited me to attend the congress. Theyhave already taken from me in advance thecopy of my vies on Human Culture andtheir second letter confirms it that they arevery much anxious to receive me there.From the copy of the enclosed certificate,you will find it that they have arranged formy boarding and lodging during the daysof my stay there.Now I request you to arrange for mypassage to Japan and oblige. Last youwere ready to bear my passage expensesfrom India to South America. And as Icould not get the No objection certificate Ihad to postpone the journey. This timethere is no such question and the passageexpenses to Japan are far less than SouthAmerica.Kindly therefore do the needful immediatelyand give me a chance to speak tothe enlightened people of the world themessage of Human Culture from the Vedicliteratures. I am sure such views willchange the angle of vision of the worldactivities.

1960-65 65Awaiting your early reply to the abovecamp Address and thanking you in anticipation.Yours sincerely,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiTru e Copy.Certificate.From the International Foundationfor Cultural Harmony.PO Box No.43, Numazi City, Japan.To Whom it may concern.This is to certify that Shree A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami l/859, Keshi GhatP. O. Vrindaban (Mathura) U.P. India, is abonafide visitor to the " CONGRESSFOR CULTIVATING HUMANSPIRIT" will be held under the auspicesof the International Foundation for CulturalHarmony from the lOth Maythrough the 24th May this year 1961 at theimportant places in Japan.It is understood that lodging andboarding arrangem ents during th e periodwill made and payed by us.It would be a great favour if necessarypassport and a visa to visit Japan arepassed to him to make his arrival in Japanbefore the lOth May 1961.sd/-Toshihiro NakanoGeneral SecretaryInternational Foundation for CulturalHarmonyCopy forwarded toShri Brijratan S. MohattaPeoples BuildingSir P. Mehta RoadFort Bombay- I.N.B. If you want take my assistance inany matter to be executed at Japan, I shallconsider it my duty to do without any obligationon your part,Yours etc.61-4Delhi31st March, 1961Shri M.M. MalhotraMinistry of ScientificResearch and Cultural Affairs.Government of IndiaNew Delhi.Dear Shri Malhotra,Thank you for yourD.O.No.25( 16)/6l -r-II dated the 27th instantwith enclosure.I have now come to Delhi and stayingat the above camp address for expeditingthe matter and therefore further correspondencemaybe made to my above campaddress.Enclosed I beg to hand you herewiththe form sent by you and duly completedbyrne .Thanking you in anticipation andawaiting your early reply.Yours sincerely,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiPer registered postWith A/D.Enclosure: -161-5Delhi3lst March, 1961Deputy Manager,The Scindia Steam Navigation CompanyLtd.Scindia House, Dougall Roadballard estate, Bombay- I.Dear Sir,Kindly refer to your letter No.OPD/FREE/369 dated 30112/58 and Ibeg to inform you that you agreed to giveme 50% concession from India to U.S.A.and I had to postpone my journey for notbeing able to pay you even 50% charges. Iam a Sannyasi and my expenses for propagtingthe transcendental message isborne by the philanthrophist every where.

66 Letters from Sri/a PrabhupadaRecently I have been invited by the Japanesefriends to attend an internationalCongress for Cultivating Human spiritand the copy of the invitation certificatewill speak for itself.I shall therefore request you to give mefull concession for going and coming backfrom Japan. India has to teach the worldfor cultivating human spirit and we aremeant for htis purpose. Please thereforeco-operate with us broadcasting the messageof cultivating human spirit and increaseIndia's original culture of spiritualvalue fo r which counties outside India arealways eager to have it.An early reply to my above camp addresswill enable me to arrange for myjourney to Japan.Thanking you in anticipation,Yours faithfully,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiTrue Copy.Certificate.From the International Foundationfor Cultural Harmony.PO Box No.43, Numazi City, Japan.To Whom it may concern.This is to certify that Shree A. C.Bhaktivedanta Swami 1/859, Keshi GhatP. O. Vrindaban (Mathura) U. P. India, is abonafide visitor to the " CONGRESSFOR CULTIVATING HUMANSPIRIT" will be held under the auspicesof the International Foundation for CulturalHarmony from the lOth Maythrough the 24th May this year 1961 at theimportant places in Japan.It is understood that lodging andboarding arrangements during the periodwill made and payed by us.It would be a great favour if necessarypassport and a visa to visit Japan arepassed to him to make his arrival in Japanbefore the 1Oth May 1961.sd/-Toshihiro NakanoGeneral SecretaryInternational Foundation for CulturalHarmonyN.B. Japan is far nearer than U. S.A. andtherefore your sacrifice for travel to Japaneven in full concession will be not morethan 50% concession to U.S.A. I hpetherefore you will agree to this internationalcultural harmony and let me knowyour affirmation per return of post.Thanking you once more .Yours etc.61-6Delhi1st April, 1961Mr. Toshihiro NakanoSecretary GeneralInternational FoundationFor Cultural Harmony.P. O. BOX No. 43, Numazi CityJapanDear Mr. Toshihiro Nakano,I beg to inform you that while I was ontour a letter from you was received in theoffice and it was sent to me on my tour.Unfortunately the same is missing and Ishall be obliged if you please send me acopy of the same by retu rn post. The subjectmatter of your letter under referencewas, however, noted and as such I havedespatched to your address one copy ofEASY JOURNEY 1D OTHER PLAN­ETS and the pictographical explanation ofspiritual culture 21 typed pages per separateair mail book-post (Regd). Kindly acknowledgereceipt and oblige. I have sentyou about 20 pictographical illustrativeideas and explanations. There are more30 also but considering that you may feeldifficulty to get all these 50 picturesprinted and lJUblished within such shorttime, I have sent you only 20 pictographicalideas. But if you think that I can send

1960-65 67you the remaining 30 pictographical explanationsalso, you may let me know atonce and I shall do the needful.For the present I have come to Delhifrom V rindaban and am staying at theabove camp address. You can thereforeaddress for the time being at my abovementionedcamp address.My small booklet Easy Jou rney toOt her Planets is a novel step towards thepath of cultivating Human spirit. TheRussian scientists are trying to reach otherplanets by sputniks but such attempt ismore or less utopian. There are innumerableplanets, within the visible sky andeach of them have diffe rent climatic conditions.Human being of this planet canhardly adjust with the climatic conditionsof other planets even if he is able to reachthere by the sputniks. The easy method issuggested in my book which is calledBhaktiyoga easy to be performed by anylayman in any part of the world. By suchpratice of Bhaktiyoga one can reach eventhe spiritual sky which is far far away fromthis material sky. But the propagation ofHuman Spiritual Culture, your institutionthe International Foundation for CulturalHarmony, can teach all the people of theworld about the easy method of Bhaktiyogawhich can carry the practitioner toany other planets even up to the spiritual8ky. They are all results of cultivating HumanSpirit. And if you take up the matterseriously, I can help you also very seriouslyin co-operation with all importantgentlemen who will arrive at Japan fromevery corner of the world. Please thereforethink of a programme for executionby your good Foundation.My advance copy of speech, which Ihave already sent you, together with thepictographical explanation, may beformed into one book and the picturesmay be drawn in colorful expressive toneby your good Japanese artist. Japan is famousfor artistic work and India is famousfo r spiritual culture. We should now combinetogether for uplifting the unhappyhuman being from the muddy things ofgross materialism.The Book may be published under theauspices of your good foundation and ifyou like it we can publish many otherbooks for cultivating Human spirit.When I go to Japan I shall carry withme some important mss of my works andif possible we shall get them published forevery one's benefit.After the session of your organisedsession of the Congress I wish to make anextensive tour in Japan, China and U. S .A.fo r preaching the Cult of Human Spiritand I shall be glad if you consider this proposalwith due importance.All great sages of the world like LordKrishna, Lord Budha, Lord Chirest,Hazrat Mohammed, Acharya Shankar,Acharya Ramanuja, Lord Chaitanya, alllived for enlightening men on this cultureof Human spirit. And men like us shouldfollow their foot prints for all round welfareof the human society. Your Foundationhas rightly taken up the cause in duetime and I have my full co-operation withyou. Hope you are well.Thanking you in anticipation for anearly reply.Yours sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami61-7Delhi15th April, 1961Dear Sir,I beg to inform you that I have verykindly been invited by the noble Japaneseorganisers of the International Congressfor Cultivating Human Spirit, to be held inyour different important cities. I am an IndianVaishnava Sannyasi dedicated to thecause of spiritual upliftment of the humansociety. I have therefore taken up the cause

68 Letters from Sri/ a Pra bhup adaof the ensuing congress in your countryand wish to meet you conveniently when Iam in Japan.Present advancement of material civilization,in the opinion of the Indiansages, is going in the wrong way becauseit has neglected the spiritual side of humanconstitution. All living beings arespiritual sparks covered by material encagement.In his pure spiritual form a livingbeing eternal , cognisant and blissful ,but being covered by matter he is sufferingthreefold miseries of material existence.The human form of life is the highestdeveloped stage in the evolutionary processand thus a civilization based on spiritualculture is the right type of humancivilization.The human being must know what heis, where from he has come what is thepostion after death; why we are sufferingthreefold miseries of life; what is the ultimategoal of life; what is this cosmic universe;what is matter and what is spirit;which of them is superior etc . There areso many things to be learnt by the humanbeing.Unfortunately, the present human societyby the advancement of scientificknowledge, has manufactured lethalweapons to kill and destroy. They have nodiscovery for living and building peacefuland progressive life. The world has no informationfor the great problems life.I am very glad that some of your noblecountrymen have taken notice of this defectivecivilization and have very timelyinvited this important congress with a futureidea of forming an international bodylike the United Nations Organisation notfor conflict but fo r HARMONY.I am very glad to know this and I amanxious to meet you and render my fullco-operation in this great, important andnoble endeavour for welfare of the entirehuman society. I hope this noble movementwill unite the communists and thecapitalists alike fo r the common goal oflife which still remained veiled for wantsufficient intelligent class of men .I wish, therefore, that in this congressa combination of the most intelligent personalitiesof all nations shall unite togetherand teach the prople in general,ignorant in spiritual knowledge, that( 1) Human life is based on spiritualground(2) Spirit is separate superior elementthan matter and(3) by spiritual culture of life only the humansociety can be brought into perfection.This perfection of life will help also inbuilding up the next progressive lofe afterdeath. The human society is meant for liberalco-operation for this movement of allround perfection of the human societywithout any bar for class or nation or dogmaticfaith . Spiritual culture is not dogmaticfaith but it is based on philosophy,reason and culture. This can be introducedvery easily through convenientmethods of music, dance and refreshmentwhich are acceptable by all grades of humanbeing in all parts of the world. It requiresonly to be organised by combinedeffort of the intelligent class of men of allnations. I have tried to explain the humancultural synopsis in fifty pictographicalexplanation and I wish that these pictographicalexplanations may widely be distributed.The sponsors of the Congresshave taken charge of this and I hope theywill do the needful.Without spiritual culture a human societyis another polished edition of the animals.There is no value of education inthe animal society as the trained up loon ina circus is never to be trusted. The lion isnot trusted because it cannot assimilatespiritual knowledge. But a man is able totake up this knowledge and his formationof the brain is meant for it. It is nothingextraordinary for him because he is

1960-65 69prepared for this culture and is awaitingproper administration only. The ways andmeans were envisaged by the liberatedsouls and especially by the sages of Indiaand I proud to feel that Lord Buddha happenedto be an Indian and we worship Himas incarnation of Godhead. His holy nameis mentioned in the Vedic literature likeBhagwat. We can take help from theBhagwat the cream and ripen fruit of theVedic literature and stop at once the quarreland turmoil of the present world.I hope that your honour along withother thoughtful men of your great countrywill give full attention to this movementand I am always with you forrendering my humble service for thiscause.I hope this will meet you alright andmore when we meet.Yours in the service of the Lord.A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. A similar letter by air is also sent toMr. Teruta KunitoMayor of Takamatsu CityTakamatsu City, Shikoku Island, Japan61-818th April, 1961Dear Mr. Nakano,I am in due receipt of your letter of the9th instant and I am grateful to you for allthat you have said for me. I am a humblecreature and I am just trying to do my bitin this connection because I was so orderedby my Spiritual Master Shri BhaktisidhantaSaraswati Goswami Moharaj .As desired by you I have, imediately onreceipt of your letter, sent two letters byair mail to the twa respective Mayors ofyour country. The copy of the letter is alsoenclosed herewith as you desired me todo.While I am feeling too much ecstacyfor the reception arrangement you are doingfor me , I beg to inform you that mypassage expenses which is near aboutRs3500/- not yet settled.I submitted one application to theGovt. of lndia for help and the copy of myapplication is also sent herewith. I alsowrote a private letter to Dr.S. RadhaKrishnan in this connection and the replywhich I have received is also enclosedherewith.All these are not very encouraging forme. I therefore saw the Vice President today personally but he says the same thingas he has written in his letter. Althoughthe matter is not yet hopeless altogether Iam disturbed in my mind thinking whatshall I do in case the Govt. denies to help.I am therefore seeking your good advicein this connection. Dr. S. Radhakrishnansaid to me that you had also invited him toattend your congress and he opines thatthe passage expenses might have beenpaid by you.The hope and expectation of the Congressis undoubtedly very great and I wishthat I may fully utilise this opportunity forgeneral welfare of the entire human society.I have fully explained my views authoritativelyin my statements already sentto you for publication and the gist idea isexpressed in the letter of the Mayors thecopy of which is also enclosed.As a Sannyasi I have no personal pursefor expenditure. Under the circumstancesif the Government denies to help for thepassage then I will have to ask for thesame from you otherwise my going to thecongress will end in dream only. I havevery little faith in the dealings of the politiciansand specially of the Indian politicians.From the conversation of Dr. S.Radhakrishnan it appeared to me that theGovt. does not approve of such congressas are organised by private persons and assuch they do not participate in such congress.I shall wait for their final decision

70 Letters from S rrla Prabhup tidafor one week more when the matter willbe clear, yes or no.You have requested to send you myphotograph and personal history andthank you for this. I am sending herewithsome cuttings of photograph (Present)which appeared in the press. If these arenot suitable for your purpose, then youcan get a fresh bromo-copy from the originalnegative which also is being sentherewith. Regarding my personal historyI beg to state it shortly as follows: I wasborn 1st September 1896 in Calcutta asthe third son of my father Late Gour MohonDev and mother late Rajani Devi inthe family of one of very respectableGoldmerchant aristocracy of Calcutta. Iwas educated in the Scottish ChurchesCollege (B.A. 1920) and Netaji SubhasChandra was my college mate. I left educationinfluenced by Mahatma Gandhi in1921 and joined for some time in the nationalliberation and other social servicemovements. I was secretary of the SocialUnion movement of which Late Mr. J.Choudhury Bar-at-law was the president.In this movement there was a great stir forintercaste marriage in favour of Patel 's(Vithalbhai) bill. I was married during mystudent life in 1918 with Radharani Deviand she is in Calcutta with her sons anddaughters five children and a few grandchildren also. After my education I wasappointed ( 1921) as the Asst. Manager ofDr. Bose's Laboratory Ltd of Calcutta andthen engaged myself in my personal businessin the chemical line. I was a researchstudent in chemical and medicinal compositionand for the first time in India, Iintroduced Gadine preparation in themedical profession. I met my spiritualmaster Late Bhaktisidhanta Saraswati Goswamiin 1922 and he desired me topreach in the foreign countries the spiritualmovement started by Lord Chaitanyafor enlightenment of all materialistic menall over the world. He gradually turnedmy mind from matter to spirit and I wasaccepted as his disciple in 1933 after fullassociationof ten years. He left this worldin 1936 and insisted to explain the missionin English. I started my paper Back toGodhead in 1944 and ledt home for goodentirey to execute the order of my spiritualmaster in 1954. Since then my H. Q. is atVrindaban and devote in literary work.[PAGE MISSING]61-9Dear Mr. Nakano,In continuation of my Reg letter of the18th instant I beg to inform you that on20/4/61. I have received the reply fromthe Govt. which reads as follows.I have therefore sent you to-day the followingcable which I beg to confirm herewith.As you have, developed a deep love forme, I dare to ask you to send me financialhelp to take me to Japan. I think you canimmediately instruct your Embassy inDelhi to do the needful and dispatch me toJapan on your behalf. I am feeling toomuch to meet you and the Congress so thatwe can build up a solid institute for spiritualcultivation.I shall await your instruction by cableto fix up my programmes.61-105th November, 1961Sri Pramatha Nath Roy140/A Raja Dinusta StreetCalcutta-4.Handedover the manuscript of ShiChaitanya Mahaprabhu for printing in athree forms book on the occasion of SriSrimat Sakhi Charan Das Babaji Maharaj's first disappearance ceremony.If not printed the same is to be sent

__1960-65 71back to Delhi per registered post.If printed he will send me at least I 00copies for distribution here.A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami62-1Dear Sri Puri,Yesterday evening I have come to Vrindabanfor a flying visit and shall return toDelhi on Monday 4/6/62 to attend the Jailmeeting on Tuesday 5/6/62 morning. I amglad to see that my Thursday lectures havebrought some changes in the mind of theyoung offenders. If the lectures are continuedI am sure to turn these offendersinto saintly characters. The means whichI have adopted is spiritual and it worksquickly than any material means. If yougive me chance to speak to all the membersof the Jail, it is quite possible for meto turn them into ideal characters.In my next lecture on Tuesday the5/6/62 morning, I would request you alsoto be present and see it personally how thetranscendental medicine is acting uponthem. I am just trying to make spiritualmethod as much practical as any othermaterial cures with greater and persistingeffect.[PAGE MISSING]At present I am at Vrindaban. Lasttime (Feb. 9th 1963) when I met your Excellencyto present my Srimad Bhagwatam,you promised to read it to see what isthere in it.As Srimad Bhagwatam is combinationof philosophy and religion it is a greatneed of the day. It is a fact that at thepresent moment only philosophy and religioncan bring about a __ of humanity.I think you must havethe requiredideal.The Governor Of U.P., the CongressPresident others all have sent their valuedcomments on the book. I am also expectingyour opinion on the publication. Thiswill help me very much.Hope you are well and thanking you inanticipation.Yours sincerelyA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swamito the Governor of U.P. writesas follows:With reference to your letter datedMarch 18 ___ I am desired to say thatthe Governor has __ with interest yourbook SRIMAD BHAGWATAM ___ under separate cover and foundit instructive and scholarly. His commentson the book are enclosed.Yours faithfullysd/ G.B. Parit etc63-1His ExcellencyDr. S. Radhakrishnan,President of IndiaRastrapati BhawanNew Delhi.VrindabanJuly 9, 196364- 1DelhiFebruary 29th, 1964Sri Mangala Nand GoutamEditor RastrapatiJama Masjid DispensaryDelhi-6Respected Dr. Radhakrishnan,Please accept my greetings. It is understoodthat you have come back fromyour American & European Tour on themission of philosophy and religion.Please receive the following books onsales and return basis in terms of you letterof date. Please also receive the order bookalso herewith.5 copies of SRIMAD BHAGW AT AM

72 Letters from Sri/a PrabhupadaVol . 1 sales price Rs. 161-(Returnable if not sold within one week)1 copy Order book No.23 to lOC.A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami64-2Delhi13th March, 1964AN APPEAL TO THE VAISHNAVASECT ANDSPECIALLY TO THE VALLABHASAMPRADAYAOF BOMBAY AND GUZARAT.SRIMAD BHAGW AT AM is verydear to all Vaishanavites and especially tothe Valla bha and the Goudiya Vaishnavas.The glories of Vrindaban and Mathura aremagnified by these two Sampradayas andthe undersigned as an humble servant ofall Vaishnavas, has tried his best to renderit into elaborate English version fo r itspublicity all over theworld. The first andsecond volumes of the publication are alreadyout and there are still 58 fiftyeightparts to be published to finish this mightyproject.I am therefore appealing to the VallabhaVaishnavites specifically to help mein this mighty project. I am a Sannyasi andas duty bound I have attempted this heavytask for benefit of all human beings and Iam seeking your valued co-operation.A.C . BHAKTIVEDANT A SWAMIEnclosure :-One review by the Adyar LibraryBulletin64-3Delhi12th April, 1964Sri Mangalanand GoutamJama Musjid DispensaryDelhi-6My dear Goutamji,The other day when you came to mewith your wife, you said that the orderbook & receipt book would be returned byyou. But since then you have not seen me .Kindly return back the order book &the receipt book fo r bearer & oblige.Yo urs sincerely,A.C . Bhaktivedanta Swami64-4 Vrindaban23rd May, 1964My dear Mathura Prasad ji,I beg to thank you for your kind cooperationin the matter of BhagwatamMission. I shall try to see the Hathras gentlemanof whom you have given me thename and the address. Kindly send mesome more addresses of gentlemen so thatI shall send themthe books and other necessarypapers to convince them about theimportance of the work I have undertaken.After seeing the Hathras gentleman I shallgo Delhi and from there I shall send yousome sets books and other literatures toyou per Railway parcel and then I shallagain go to Agra from Delhi to securesome members of the League of Devoteeswhich is a registered society possessingcertificate of exemption of income tax toreceive donations .Sethji, you are not an ordinary businessman.Yo u are sufficiently educatedand have rightly taken to business. By theGrace of Lord Sri Krishna you one of thevery important business magnet and I mayinform you on the authority of greatAcharyas and books of knowledge that itis our duty to make the best use of ourmoney so long it is with us. By the law ofnature nothing in the material world ispermanent including our material bodyand therefore the great politician PanditChanakya who was once the HonararyPrime Minister of India, advised it that

19 60-65 73the nature of everything material beingdestructible the best use of a bad bargainis to utilise the temporary possessions forthe cause of the Permanent.At the present moment the peopleare more concerned with the temporarythings namely the gtoss body and thesubtle mind without any practical touchwith the permanent soul and His Lord.The result is that we have produceda godless civilisation and the wholeworld unhappy fo r this conception ofcivilization.Srimad Bhagwatam gives us practicalsolution for all the problems political socialideological philosophical culturaland transcendental knowledge for all humanbeing. Srimad Bhagwatam is meantfor all human beings and it is the dutyof the Hindus specially the Vaishnavasto disseminate the great knowledgethroughout the whole world. With thispurpose in view I have taken up themighty project and I wish that yougentlemn co-operate with me fully. Theco-operation is possible to be madeeither by life, wealth, intelligence orwords. Every one has got some of theabove assets of the above four principlesif not at least one of them must we haveand we can engagethem in the service ofthe Lord.Srimad Bhagwatam gives all informationsto attain the highest perfection of lifeboth duing the continuation of the presentlife as well as in the life after death .I shall request you with all humility toco-operate with this mission and thus bebenefittedyourself. It is not the least exaggerationbut actual fact and to become amember fo r this mission will to your owninterest. And help others also who may beknown to you.I am requesting you to give me at leastten members from Agra as you have alreaygiven one yesterday and I am thankingyou once more .Kindly address all correspondence tomy Box No. 1846 to ensure safe delivery.G. P. 0. Post Box No.l846, Delhi-6.Awaiting your early reply,Yours sincerely,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami64-5FOREIGN FORWARDING LETTERS.DearSir,With due respect I beg to request you tolook into the papers despatched to .youraddress under separate Book Post.In that book post you will find onecopy of my theistic fortnightly paperBACK 10 GODHEAD broadcasting exclusivelyeverything about the SupremePersonality of Godhead. These topicsabout Godhead are delineated in a mannerfor understanding of any common manand it is high time that people of the worldshould now know about the SupremeTruth when they have had tried enoughand failed in the matter of establishingpeace in the world by so much attempt.The fact is that we all living energies indifferent species of life are all individualparts and parcels of the SupremeEnergotic person as the son is the part andparcel of the father. The whole creationincluding all material or spiritual planesand planets are different parts and parcelsof One Unit only but there are immensediversities in unity for variegatedness isthe necessary paraphernalia of eternalpleasure which we are all seeking in thewrong way without the right informationto have it.BACK 10 GODHEAD can direct theright way of such happiness even in thematerial field by the simple adjustment ofre-establishing our lost relation with Godhead.We wish that people may kindlyread this paper for some time with due attentionand critical gravity. We are always

__ literature74 Letters from Sri/a Prabhup tidaprepared to answer any relevent questionin this regard from any quarter who maybe seeking after the Absolute Truth.Although the messages contained inthe pages of BACK 1D GODHEAD areall gifts of the ancient sages of India whoactually realised the Absolute Truth, yetat the present moment the so called leadersof India are too much enamoured bythe western way of material advancementof knowledge. They are completely neglectingthe treasure house of knowledgeleft by the sages.You, gentlemen, of the Western Countrieshave seen much about material scienceand yet peace is not within yourcontrol . In most cases you may be feelingthe want of peace although you haveenough in the matter. This basic defect ofmaterialism remains undetected by themisleaders of India and therefore they arenot serious about going BACK ro GOD­HEAD the ultimate aim of life's journey.I am therefore seeking your help inbroadcasting this message of spiritualvalue through your good institution.I shall request you to go through the literaturessent to you per separate book postand let me know your reaction upon it.I am seeking your help for gettingsome addresses of the thoughtful men ofyour country who are leading the publicopinion and to whom I may be able to sendthis important paper for consideration.Thanking you in anticipation andawaiting your early reply.Yours faithfully,A. C. Bhaktivedanta.64-6My dear Shastryji,I thank you for your granting me an interviewyesterday morning but I was notsuccessful in my mission because yourdealing with me yesterday was more officia!than hearty. You asked me to send youmy Srimad Bhagwatam Part II with anote. This is not only expensive for me butalso troublesome for me. Any way as youwanted me to send you a note. I am abidingby your order but I am doubtfulwhether you will have any time to gothrough my notes. The first thing is thathere is the copy of your letter which yousent me onafter receiptof the 1st part.[TEXT MISSING]I beg to enquire if you had some time togo through the 1st part. If you have notgone through it there is no use for the 2ndpart.The whole thing is to be completed insixty parts of 400 pages. It is a mighty projectand I am doing it alone. Here withplease find one picture & literature for thepublication.If you would have gone through the 1stpart you would have actually felt howmuch important work I have undertakennot only for the benefit of India but alsofor all the world.If you actually want good governmentnot only fo r India but also fo r all the worldover, you must promote the sales of thispublication either or you may purchasesome thousands of copies of this publicationof concessional rate & distribute boththe same to all leading & thinking men ofthe world. Srimad Bhagwatam is aand it is speciallyneeded at this hour of human disparity allover the world.So far I remember, you referred aboutthe Education Ministry. But I may informyou that the Education Ministry has alreadyapproved of this publication andSpecial Sanskrit officer is purchasing 50copies per volume.You can however order your other ministryto purchase 50 copies of each volumeand distribute them as they like.

__1960-65 75The American Embassy is also purchasing18 copies of each volume.You have desired that this importantpublication may be introduced in theof all Govnt unification. And ifyou do help me in this discretion, then Ican peacefully finish up the job.I think the Government would havegiven me all encouragement for attemptingsuch important work but I have notbeen so engaged till now. It is better latethan never and I wish that in your GovernmentI may not be neglected.65-1 New Yo rk27th October, 1965Madam Sumati Morarji Baisaheba,Please accept my greetings. I am veryglad to acknowledge receipt of your letterdated the 9th instant and have noted thecontents. Since I have landed in U.S.A. Ihave improved in my health and I am veryglad to see that in America practically everythingis available for our Indian vegetariandishes. By the grace of LordKrishna the American are prosperous inevery respect and they are not povertystricken like the Indians. The people ingeneral are satisfied so far their materialneeds are concerned and they are spirituallyinclines. When I was in Butler, Pennsylvaniaabout 500 miles from the NewYo rk city, I saw there many churches andthey were attending regularly. This showsthat they are spiritually inclines. I wasalso invited by some churches churchgovernedschools and colleges and I spokethere and they appreciated and presentedme some token rewards. When I wasspeaking to the students they were verymuch eagerly hearing me about the principlesof Srimad Bhagwatam rather theclergymen were cautious to allow the studentsto hear me so patiently. Theythought that the students may not be convertedinto Hindu ideas as it is quite naturalfor any religious sect. But they do notknow that the devotional service of theLord (Sri Krishna) is the common religionfor every one including the aborigens andthe canibals in the jungles.Any way sofar I have studied theAmerican people they are very much eagerto learn about the Indian way spiritualrealisation and there are so many so calledYoga ashramas in America. Unfortunatelythey are not very much adored bythe Government and it is heard that suchyoga ashramas have exploited the innocentpeople as it has been the case in Indiaalso. The only hope is that they are spirituallyinclined and immense benefit canbe done to them if the Cult of SrimadBhagwatam is preached here.The American public also give receptionto the Indian art and music. So manyof them come and every one of them isgiven good reception. Recently onedancer from Madras came here (Balasaraswati)and just to see the mode of reception,I went to see the dance with afriend although for the last forty years Ihave never attendeed such dance ceremony.The dancer was successful in herdemonstration. The music was in Indianclassical tune mostly in sanskrit languageand the American public appreciatedthem. So I was encouraged to see the favaourablecircumstances about my futurepreaching work.The Bhagwat cult is preached alsothrough the art of music and dance as itwas done by Lord Chaitanya. I am justthinking of introducing the very same systemfor my Bhagwatam preaching but Ihave no means. The Christian missionarypeople are backed by huge resources andthey preach the Christian cult all over theworld. Similarly the devotees of LordKrishna may also combine together tostart the mission of preaching Bhagwatamcult all over the world. It is not for serving

76 Letters from Sri/a Pra bhupiidaany political purpose but it is necessary topreach cult for saving the people in generalfrom the dangerous tendency of Godlessness.The Christian cult or any other cultcannot save the people from being underthe clutches of the growing communismbut the Bhagwatam cult cansave them becauseof its philosophical and scientificapproach.I am therefore thinking of bringing aSamkirtan party from India but I do notknow how to do it. Unless there is an organisedparty or association it is very difficultto do it. The Rama Krishna Missionhere is busy in preaching a misrepresentationand therefore practically they havefailed to preach the real cult of India. Theso called Yogis also could not establish thereal cult of Bhagwat Geeta. They are aftermaterial gains. The Bhagwat Cult is notthere at all although it is the only remedyfor raising the people in the world in thepath of self realisation and spiritual salvation.I do not know what is in the mind ofLord BaJa Krishna but I think that your attentionto give an impetus to the Bhagwatcult and my humble attempt can servegreat purpose. By the grace of the Lordyou have a great position in the world andit is learnt that you are one of the richestwoman in the world. But above all you area pious lady with great devotion for LordBaJa Krishna and you can do a lot in thisconnection.By the Grace of Lord Bala Krishna youare also free from all family encumbrancesand as I have see you in your PalmBan house, you live like a sage and a Ta ­paswini. I wish that you may take up thisidea of Bhagwatam preaching work a littlemore seriously. What I want that immediatelya society for this purpose may beformed and that will be recognised by theGovernment for cultural activity. So manycultural mission come here from India atthe expense of Government and they simplywaste the money. But if there is a realcultural mission for preaching theBhagwatam cult a great philanthropicwork will be done for the human society atlarge. I am just giving you the idea and ifyou kindly think over the matter seriouslyand consult your beloved Lord BaJaKrishna surely you will be further enlightenedin the matter. There is scope andthere is necessity also and it is the duty ofevery Indian specially the devotees ofLord Krishna to take up the matter.I shall be gald to hear from you aboutmy humble suggestions per return ofmail . Hope you are well. With my best regards,I amYo urs sincerely,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami.N.B. I am very glad to note the last line ofyour letter under reply in which you writeto say "I feel that if you should stay theretill you fully recover from your illness andreturn only after you have completed yourmission."Yes I wish to stay here for all the days till Ihave finished the mission of life to preachBhagwat Cult very rightly and for thisvery reason only I have suggested theabove means and ways. If you kindly cooperateinforming a society for this purposewith your great influence surely allIndians will combine and thus we can fulfillthe mission very nicely declaring theglories of lndia. Please do it for the Lord'ssake.65-2 New YorkNovember 6th, 1965My dear daughter Sally,I am so glad to receive your very affectionateletter of the 3rd instant and havenoted the contents carefully. Yes I have gotthis nice typewriter by the Grace of theLord and I am very much satisfied with itworking. Before receiving your letter

1960-65 77under reply I have sent two letters both toyou and Gopal. I understand that you havereceived them. In one of them I have requestedGopal to despatch 25 sets ofbooks to Paragon Book Gallery and I amanxious to know if the books are aireadydespatched.Regarding your reminder for my goodcooking, I am very much thankful to youand next time when I shall go to yourhome, I must serve you with good luncheswithout fail. Now I am far away from youotherwise I would have at once gone toyou and entertained you with suchlunches. I am anxious to learn about thehealth of you all specially of your littlechildren. How is your naughty daughterKamla. Please offer them my love andblessings and so also accept both of you .Please write to me occasionally and asGopal is not accustomed to replypromptly I shall henceforward write toyou . Did you meet your good father andmother in the meantime? If you meet themplease offer them my respectful regards.Both your father and mother are goodsouls and therefore you are a good daughterof your parents. I remember all of youalways.Please offer my good wishes to yourfrineds who still remember me. I shallmeet them again when I go to Butler. I likeButler more than New Yo rk and speciallythe quarters in which your home is situated.Had I had the means to rent a houseindependently I would have gone backagain to Butler and hold my Bhagwatamdiscourses daily with good friends.So far I have studied the Americanminds they are eager and apt to receiveBhakti Cult of Srimad Bhagwatam becausethe Christian religion is based onthe same principle. My mission is not turnany one from the affiliation of a particularreligion but I want to let them know moreknowledge about God and devotion.Dr. Rammurti Mishra is also very kindgentleman and I am living very comfortablyat his care. He is keen after lookingmy all kinds of comforts. I am negotiatingwith some booksellers and publishers andI hope I shall be able to settle somethingbefore I leave for the next station. I shallbe New Yo rk still for a few days more andI shall let you know when I leave the station.I am so grateful to your kindness andsurely I shall ask you if I need anything. Ihave left my hearth and home in India buthere by the Grace of the Lord I have gotgood sons and daughter like you. So I donot feel any foreign complexion.Hope you are all well and awaitingyour early reply,Yours affectionately,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami.65-3 New YorkNovember 8th, 1965Pujaniya Srila Tirtha Maharaj ,Kindly accept respectful obeisances atyour lotus feet. Since I have come to theUnited States of America I had severalcorresponce with Sripad Govinda Maharaj. While I was in Calcutta at that timeas well as in our diffe rent exchange of lettersthere was some hint from SripadGovinda Maharaj , I should work inco-operation with your holiness and in mylast letter I have already expressed myreadiness to co-operate with your holinessand I ahd to ask from Govinda Maharaj asto the basic principle of that co-operation.Before I took Sanyas perhaps you will rememberit that I proposed to join you if mypublications were taken up. But some howor other it was not possible and we missedthe chance.Now here is a second chance and withoutundergoing a long series of correspondencewith Govind Maharaj , I am directlywriting you about my intention. SrilaPrabhupad had a strong desire to open our

78 Letters from S rfla Prabhuptidapreaching centres in the Western countriesand both Bon Maharaj and GoswamiMaharaj were deputed for this purposewithout any tangible result.I have come to this country with thesame purpose in view and as far as I see ithere in America there is very good scopefor preaching the cult of Lord Chaitanya.Here the Ramkrishna Mission is there forthe last forty years and I attended their twocentres here and I found there is no appreciablegatherings. Vivekananda preachedfor Daridra Narayan seva and the practicalAmericans question the swamijis ofRamkrishna Mission why there are still somany Daridra Narayans lying on thestreets and foot and paths in India. InAmerica there is no such scene of DaridraNarayans lying on the foot path or in otherwords there is no question of Daridra N a­rayan here because every one has ample toeat and there immense vacant places fortheir homes. I have not seen a single spothere which is not nicely decorated withgood houses and nice roads. Actually theyhave built a properous country in this partof the world and so material prosperity isconcerned they are happy in everyrespect.So naturally there is spiritualhankerings and because India is wellknown for her spiritual assets they moreinclined to take something spiritual fromthe East. But unfortunately either the RamakrishnaMission or the Yogis have notdelivered the goods they want. I had a talkthe other day with Swami Nikhilanand ofthe Ramakrishna Mission and he alsoopined that the Americans are just suitablefor the Bhakti Yoga cult and that isalso my opinion.I am here and see here a good field forwork but I am alone without men andmoney. To start a centre here we musthave our own buildings . The RamkrishnaMission or any other mission which areworking here all ahve their own buildings.So if we want to start a centre here wemust have also our own building. To havea own building means to pay at leastRs5 000/-five lacs or one hundred thousanddollars. And to furnish the housewith up to date paraphernalia means anothertwo lacs. If attempt is made thismoney can be had also. But I think for establishijgMatha and temples here youmay take the charge and I shall be able tomake them self independent. There is difficultyof exchange and I think unless youhave some special arrangement for startinga branch of Chaitanya Math transfer ofmoney will be difficult. But if you can doso with the help of the Bengal or CentralGovernment, here is good chance to openimmediately a centre in New York. I amnegotiating with some brokers here whocan give us a house and they have suggestedlike above. Without our own houseit will not be possible to open our owncentre. For me it will take long time butfor you it is very easy. The CalcuttaMarwaries are in your hand by the Graceof Srila Prabhupada. If you like youcan immediately raise a fund ofRs lO,OO,OOO/- ten lacs to open a centre inNew Work. One centre started, I shall beable to start many others also. So here is achance of co-operation between us and Ishall be glad to know if you are ready forthis co-operation. I came here to study thesituation and I find it very nice and if youare also agreeable to cooperate with it willbe all very nice by the will Srila Prabhupada.So I am writing you directly this letterto elicit your opinion. If you agre thentake it for granted that I am one of theworker of the Sri Mayapur Chaitanya Matha.I have no ambition for becoming theproprietor of any Matha or Mandir but Iwant working facilities. I am working dayand night fo r my Bhagwatam publicationand I centres in the western countries. If Iam successful to start a centre in Newyork, then my next attempt will be startone inCalifornia and Montreal where

1960-65 79there are many Indians also. There is amplescope for working but unfortunatelywe have simply wasted time by quarrelingwith one another while the RamakrishnaMission with misrepresentation havemade their position all over the world. Althoughthey are no so popular in these foreigncountries they have made a greatpropaganda only and as a result of suchpropaganda they are very prosperous inIndia while the Goudiya Math people arestarving. We should now come to oursenses. If possible join with our othergodbrothers and let us make an effortcombinedly to preach the cult of GourHari in every cities and villages of thewestern countries.If you agree to cooperate with me as Ihave suggested above, then I shall extendmy Visa perios. My present Visa periodends by the end of this November. But if Ireceive your confirmation immediatelythen I shall extend my Visa period otherwiseI shall return to India. Immediately Iwant some good assistants to work withme. They must be educated and able totalk in English as also read Sanskritnicely. For preaching here two alnguagesEnlish and Sanskrit will be very much appreciated.I think under your leadershipevery camp of our god brothers shouldsupply a man good for this purpose andthey must agree to work under my direction.If that is possible then you will seehow our beloved Srila Prabhupada will besatisfied on all of us. I think we shall allfo rget now the past fratricidal war andnow come forwad for a good cause. If theyare not agree able then do it yourself and Iam at your service. Please therefore considerthis and let me know by wire if youare agreeable. Ohtherwise I shall not extendmy visa period but I shall return toIndia withoutbeing able to do anythingtangible at my first tour. Hope you willtake this matter as very urgent and let meknow your decision by immediate returnof post or by wire to my above address andoblige. Hope you are all well and thankingyou in anticipation.Yours obediently.65-4 New Yo rklOth November, 1965Madam Sumati Morarji Baisaheba,Please accept my greetings and blessingof Lord Bala Krishna. I hope you havealready received my letter of the 27th ultimoand I hope to receive your reply verysoon. And in continuation of my letter asabovementioned I beg to inform you thatthe number of Hira nyaka sipus andRavanas in this age ofKali increased morethan that in other Yugas. Hiranyakasipusare always enomical with the devotees ofthe Lord even such devotee happens tobe a son. Hiranyakasipu persecutedPrahlada although he was a boy of 5 yearsold and a beloved son of Hiranyakasipu.As I have already informed you that theAmerican people in general are verymuch inclined to receive something fromIndian culture of spiritual knowledge,they would be a first class reciepient forthe Bhagwatam culture provided an organisedattempt is made for this purpose.The organised method is like this. Theyshould have association of bonafide devoteesof the Lord, they should join the Kirtanglorifying the Lord, they should hearthe teachings of Srimad Bhagwatam, theyshould have intimate touch with the templeor place of the Lord and they should begiven ample chance to worship the Lord inthe temple. Under the guidance of a bonafidedevotee they can be given such facilitiesand the way of Srimad Bhagwatam isopen for every one. Apart from civilisedmen like the America ns ev en th e Kirata ,Andhra, Pu linda, Pukkasa, Abhira, Sumbha,Yavana, Khasadaya or any otherlower caste, all of them can be trained up

80 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidato be devotees of the Lord under properguidance of a pure and bonafide devotee.That is the instruction of Sukadeva Goswamiimparted to Maharaj Parikshit.I think therefore that a Temp le of Ba lakrishna in New York may immediately bestarted for this purpose and as devotee ofLord BaJa Krishna you should execute thisgreat and noble work. Till now there is noworshipable temple of the Hindus in NewYo rk although in India there are so manyAmerican missionary establishments andchurches. So I shall request you to do thisnoble act and it will be recorded in the historyof the world that the first Hindu templeis started by a pious Hindu LadySRIMAT SUMATI MORARJI who is notonly a big business magnet in India but apious Hindu Lady a great devotee of LordKrishna Krishna. This task is for you andglorious at the same time.Simply by casual lectures there is nopossiblity of any tangible work but theabovementioned standard work will doimpress the people what actually theHindu culture is. I have already seen anice house for this purpose and if you purchasethat house for this purpose as yourpersonal property and give the facility ofworking then you will see how the missionof Bhagwati cult is being preached here inAmerica beginning from New York. I donot wish to disclose the names of the Hiranyakasipushere in America who aregainst this Bhagwat preaching. There areso many Indian missionaries like the RamakrishnaMission, Sivananda Missionetc and all of them are against Bhagwatamculture and every one of them has refusedto give facility to speak on the Bhagwaticulture. Each of them have their ownhouse but instead of worshipping the SupremeLord they have created their ownGod and they try to put such manufacturedgods to compete with Lord Krishna.So unless there is a place for me andfacility to work systematically, myBhagwati Mission will not be workable inthis place. I have no ambition to becomethe proprietor of any temple or househouse in America because what shall I dowith them after becoming a Sanyasi butfo r the facility of work our own house isabsolutely required.Please therefore purchase a house herein New Yo rk and let me work very seriouslyfo r this mission of Bhagwatam cultureand I am sure that your goodness willnot only be recognised by the Lord by youwill be recognised by the whole Hinducommunity. Please take up this work veryseriously and on hearing from you withoutdelay I shall let you know further details.My term to stay in America wil be finishedby the 17th November 1965 but believingon your foretelling "you sh ou ldstay th ere till you fully[TEXT MISSING]hope, I shall be able to get them. Thehouse which I have seen for this purpose isjust suitable for this great missionarywork as if it was built for this purpose onlyand your simple willingness to do the actwill complete everything smoothly. Andthinking that you will agree to this I amjust giving you an idea of the space etc.l. Dimensions 18'6" x 102'2". Fullyair conditioned by lO ton central unit.2. Bronze front approximately 4500square feet.3. The house is practically threestoried. Ground floor basement and twostories up with all suitable arrangementfor gas heat etc .The ground flor may be utilised for preparationPrasdam of Blala Krishna becausethe preaching centres will not be for dryspeculations only but for actual gain fordelicious Prasdam. I have already testedhow the people here like the VegetablePrasadam prepared by me. They will forgetmeat eating and they will pay for theexpenses. The American are not poor

1960-65 81men like the Indian and if they appreciatea thing they are prepared to spemd anyammount for such hobby. They are beingexploited by simply jugglery of words andbodily gymnastics and still they arespending for that. But when they will havethe actual commodity and feel pleasure byeating very delicious Prasadam of BaJaKrishna I am sure an unique thing will beintroduced in America. As soon as everythingis arranged, I shall bring my assistantsfrom India to help me in all details.The price ofthe house is $1 10,000 subjectto alteration and other expenses $5,144.Immediately cash may be paid on $35,000and the balance by monthly instalments tobe completed in 15 years or the wholeamount may be paid at once without[TEXT MISSING]65-5New York13th November, 1965My dear daughter Sally,I thank you very much for your letter ofthe 9th instant and I am very glad to notethat your little Bijo is growing to be moreadventurous now a days. Generally theson acquires the qualities of the motherand the daughter acquires the qualities ofthe father. And such children becomehappy in life. You have acquired the qualitiesof your intelligent father and your sonwill be as intelligent as you are and thusyour son will be as good as your noble father.I wish that you be happy more andmore with your growing children. You cantake me also as Old Bijo and thereforeeven at my ripe old age I have taken someadventurous task and as your little Bijo requiresyour help always in his little adventuresso also your old Bijo requires yourhelp in his adventures in America.Yes I am living here in a precariouscondition and I wish to leave this place atany time. There is a room suitable for mebut the lady wants $55.00 per monthwhich I cannot pay. But there is a goodsuggestion for you also. If you be interestedin your improvement of economiccondition I would suggest you to start a lucrativebusiness in New Yo rk. As you haveliked my cooking so also here all thefriends who have tasted my cooking haveliked it. And by this I am suggesting youwhay dont you start an Indian rstauranthere in New York? I am sure if you start abusiness like that you will earn at least$2000.00 a month nett. This is not adream but actual fact. In New York thereare so many restaurants and all of them arefull with customers so I thought like thatyou should also start a restaurant supplyingnew palatable dishes and they wouldlike them surely. There are about threehundred item of good vegetable preparationsand if they are introduced inAmerica it will be recorded in the historyof America. People will foreget meat eating.I do not say that cent percent peoplein America will be vegetarian but I amsure that at least the higher section willturn to be vegetarian if they get such nicevegetable dishes. Why not intoduce thisnew thing in America and help my missionalso at the same time. It will be veryprofitable business and I wish that youmay earn your fortune and help my missionat one stroke.This west 72nd street is just in the centreof the city and I see there is a suitableplace also now vacant for this restaurantbusiness and if you come here for a day ortwo you can see the place and decide if youcan star the business. The house is suitablefor residence of the restaurant keeperand you see all these personally if youcome here for a day or two. If you comeherethere will be no inconvenience foryou because there is one lady friend atwest I 08th street and she will be very gladto accommodate you for a day or two. I

82 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadathink you should come and see the prospectof the business. I am sure you will getvery good profit if you start this businessand I shall teach you how to prepare nivevegetable dishes. I wish that you may considerthis proposal a little seriously anddecide to come here for a day or two.Yes I have extended my visa period upto 1st April 1966 by paying ten dollars butI do not know how I shall live. Anothership of Scindia Navigation is starting onthe 17th November but my negotiationwith some publisher is not yet finished.The Paragon Book Gallery has receivedthe 25 twenty five set of books as sent byGopal . The arrangement is that after sellingthe 25 sets they will pay the money andfurther sets will be taken. Similarly I mayarrange with other booksellers in LosAngelos because it learnt that in Californiapeople are more interested in suchbooks. But I cannot go to Calfornia forwant of money. Besides that I have to embarkon ship from New York. California is3000 miles away from here and it is betterto return to India from California diretlywithout coming back here. But I have gotmy return ticket from New York.So I am not very fixed up what to do ornot. The first consideration is that I mustbe in New York at least for ten to fifteendays more for deciding the publication affairand then I may leave this place for Indiaor Calfornia. But the place where I amliving now has so many inconvenienceswhich I do not wish to narrate in this smallletter. Yes I am taking my meals once onlyfor this inconvenience. In the evening Itake some milk and fruit and now a daysthe night being very long, I feel sometimesfor this night starvation.Yes there was all darkness in New Yo rkon the 1Oth instant and it was not a happyincident. I learn that may people remainedin the elevators and in the subwaytrains for more than seven to eight hoursin darkness. I do not read newpapers butthere must have been some mishaps alsowhich we may not know. That is the way ofmaterial civilisation too much dependingon machine. At any time the whole thingmay collapse and therefore we may not beself complacent depending so much on artificiallife. The modern life of civilisationdepends wholly on electricity and petroland both of them are artificial for man.You will be surprised to know that I had totake help of the old crude method of lighteningby burning some vegetable oil anduse the samll bowl as lamp to save myselffrom the extreme darkness. I could notprocure any candle from the shop but bythe Grace of Krishna one friend Mr. Billhappened to come and he arranged forsome fruits and candle. Yes in India wesuch experience failure of electricity but Iwas surprised to see the same thing inAmerica. In India the village people saythat in Europe (Vilait) also there is ass.And I saw it practically that it is true.Even in such an advanced country theremay be possibility such failure but failurein America is more dangerous than that inIndia. In India they are not so much dependenton electricity but in America thewhole activity is dependent on electricityand think on that night it was a great dealof loss to the American nation. Any waythe danger is passed but from the papers itis learnt the loss is very great. I do not feelmuch cold now but it is learnt that it willincrease more and more and before that Iwish to leave this place. But if you start thebusiness I am sure I shall be very comfortableat your good motherly care. Ifyou decide to come for a day or two pleasedrop me a letter immediately when youare coming.More when we meet and hope you areall well. With my blessings and goodwishes for you all. Awaiting your reply.Yours affectionately,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami.

1960-65 8365-6 New York19th November, 1965My dear daughter Sally,I beg to thank you for your kind letterof the 16th instant and I have noted thecontents carefully. I am glad to learn thatyou had been to your parents house for afew days and now you have returnedhome. I am still more glad to learn thatyou are going to observe the third birthdayof Miss Kamala Agarwal on Saturfaynext. On this occasion I should have presentedher some ornaments but as I am aSannyasi I can simply offer my blessingfor her long life and good prosperity. Shecannot now read otherwise at least Ishould have presented a set of my books.But you set aside one set of my books forher future reading when she will grow upa beautiful and educated girls with fullgodconsciousness. I am obliged to yourgood daughter for awarding me a good degreeas SWAM/JESUS which is actually agreat honour for me. Some time the Lordspeaks throgh inocent child and I take thishonour as sent by Lord Jesus through aninnocent child free from all formalities ofthe current society. Lord Jesus preachedthe message of God and I have taken upthe same mission, and it would be a goodluck for me if I can follow the foot printsof Lord Jesus who preached the messageof God inspite of all persecution. Lord Jesusis a living example how one has to sufferin this material world simply for thematter of preaching the message of God.In Bhagwatam also there is another examplelike Lord Jesus. He is Prahlad Maharaja boy of five years old but because hewas a great devotee of God and preachingthe message of God among his little classmates, his athist father tried to kill him.So the atheist class of men are alwaysenimical to the devotees of God eventhough such devotee happens to be theatheist's son like Prahlad.I proposed for starting the restaurantwith a view that you may become one ofrichest family in America. One can becomerich only by trying his luck in business.It is not possible by serving other.One should have independent source ofincome that is possible only if one is engagedin business or in land lordship. Ifyou can invest $20,000/- in a property inNew Yo rk which is worth $100,000/-, youcan have at least $1000/- permonth as therent of the house. So that in 15 years timeyou become the proprietor of good huse inNew york which would fetch you $1000/­rent per month. That is my next proposal.I think you can invest $20000/- some wayor other and if you can please do it immediatelybecause that is chance also.You can send me $40/- and it will helpme going over California. I have decidedlike this. I am expecting a letter of receptionfrom Calfornia and if I get it then Ishall start for the country otherwise by thefirst week of December next I shall returnto India. If I return to India then I shall returnyour money before I start otherwise Ishall spend it for my California journey.I hope you are all enjoying good healthand with my blessings for you all, I amYours affectionately,65-7 New York23rd November, 1965Pujaniya Sripad Tirtha Maharaj ,May it please your holiness. I am indue receipt of your letter of the 17th instantand although it is not very encouragingstill as I am not a man to bedisappointed, I take courage from yourletter as you write to say that there ispoosibility to raise the fund but it will takesome time.Expecting your reply in the abovespirit I had some correspondence with thebroker firm and the latest reply which I

84 Letters from Sri/a Pra bhupadahave received from them is joined herewithplease fi nd ."Dear Sir, In answer to your letter ofNovember 16 regarding the property forsale on West 72nd Street. This is locatedat 143 West 72nd Street. It is 18.6 by100.2. contains a store and basement boththe same size and a mezzanine. Theowner is asking $100,000 for the propertywith $20,000 cash and will make goodterms on a first mortgage that they willtake back. As I have the keys, you can callat me for -an appointment to see the property.Yo urs very sincerely Sd/Louis Baunfor Phillips, Wood Dolson, Inc."So I have seen the property and thewhole space is twice as much as your ReseachInstitute building on the road whichis just in the central part of the city with allgood facilities. Now if you decide to purchasethe property, I can assure you thatthe building is just suitable for our purposeand it is almost on the same style asyour Research institure. The basementcan be used as cooking and dinning department,the store as the lecture hall andmazzanine fo r installing the Sri Vigrahaand personal appartment. The building isquite suitable and once started it will bepossible to raise fund by lectures andmembership fees etc by suitable arrangement.So the immediate investment isabout $25,000 and I think this ammountyou can arrange immediately and just starta branch of your Sri Chaitanya Math ordesignate the branch as New Yo rkGoudiya Math. The idea is very nice tothink of and it will be a nice reply to thelocal Ramkrishna Mission who indirectlydenied to allow me lecturing in their hall.You will be glad to know that my lecturingpropaganda is going on and so long I remainhere it will go on without any hamper.Recently one lecture of mine isarranged in our Indian GovernmentHouse (New India House) organised bythe Tagore Society of New York who organisesuch meeting only for the most distinguishedpersons. The consul and otherofficers of the New India House are impressedwith my book and practically the2nd officer (consul) is arranging the meetinginviting all distinguished gentlemenboth Indian and American with Tea Party.The copy of the invitation letter is alsosubjoined herewith. "The Tagore Societyof New Yo rk Inc. Cordially Invites You to alecture "GOD CONSCIOUSNESS " byA.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI Date:Sunday, November 28, 1965 . Time: Lecture,3:30 P.M. Tea, 4:30 P. M. Place:New India House, 3, East 64th Street.A widely resp ected Scholar and religiousleader in India Swami Bh aktivedanta isbriefly visiting New lOrk. He has been engagedin th e monumental endeavour oftrans lating th e sixty volum e "SrimadBh agwatam "from Sanskrit into English.etc . So my lecturing or appointing oneselling agent here for my books is alreadyfinished and if I remian such many lecturescan be arranged in different parts ofthe country. One Dr. Choudhry is preparedto arrange fo r my lectures in SanFrancisco, Los Angelos etc but in myopinion such casual lectures may be agood personal advertisement but factuallythey do not make any permanent effects.But if there is a centre of activity for attractingpeople as you are doing in the ResearchInstitute, the people can be trainedup in the cult by regular association andhearing the transcendental sound of SrimadBhagwatam. Now we have got ourEnglish Srimad Bhagwatam and there willbe no difficulty to impress the audiancewith our Siddh antas and any intelligentman impressed with our Siddhantas willcertainly change his life's mode of action.I think you may take up this suggestionvery seriously and immediately start thecentre and other things will autonaticallyfollow. And above all this is to satisfy thetranscendental desire of Srila Prabhupada

1960-65 85who desired very enthusiastically to startcentres like that in the foreign countries.If you want to start the centre on rentedhouse, the rent will not be less than threeto four hundred dollars but the space willbe one fourth of the house as we want topurchase. If you agree kindly confirm itby wire so that I can ask the broker to staythe house for some time for sale to otherparty. The Cristian churches are not veryfavourable in the matter of increasing theHindu religious institutions as it is naturalto think with sectarian views. I hope youwill accept this proposal and confirm it bywire on receipt this letter by the end of thismonth. Hope you are all well and with myhumble obeisances for all the Vaishnavas.I am your obediently,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.

1966

19668966-1-1Mr. A. B. HartmanNew York CityNew York14th January, 1966Dear Sir,Re: Your House 143 W 72nd Street fo rsale.Please accept my greetings. Perhapsyou may know me by my name because Iam in correspondence with Mr. Baum ofMessrs. Phillips, Wood Dolson Inc. inconnection with your house at 143W. 72nd Street. As I do not know your officeaddress so I contacted by phone MrsHartman and she was very kind to talkwith me. I have already left with me a paperon my mission for which I wanted thepace.The thing is that Government of Indiais very strict in getting money from Indiafor expenditure in foreign country. But becausethe Prime Minister was due to comehere and he was personally known to me, Iexpected to get his special sanction forthis purpose and the copy of the letterwhich I sent him is also enclosed herewithfor your reference.Now the Prime Minister Mr. Lal BahadurShastri is suddenly dead and I amgreatly perplexed. I do not know whetheryou have read the paper left with Mrs.Hartman and therefore I am again enclosinga second copy of the same for yourkind perusal. The cause is very great andthe best advantage of the activity will beenjoyed by the Americans.As there is now great difficulty for gettingmoney from India therefore I am requestingyou to allow me the place for useof the International Institution For Godconsciousnessat least for some time. Thehouse is lying vacant for so many dayswithout any use and I learn it that you arepaying the taxes insurance and othercharges for the house although you haveno income from there. If you however al-low this place for this public institutionyou shall at least save the taxes and othercharges which you are paying now fornothing.If I can start the institution immediatelycertainly I shall be able to get sympathylocally and in that case I may not berequired to get money from India. I amalso requesting your honour to becomeone of the Directors of this public institutionbecause you will give a place to startthe institution. Thanking you in anticipationtor an early reply.Yours very sincerely,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami.Enclosures: 466-1-220th January, 1966My dear Sripad Bon Maharaj,Please accept my humble dandabats. Ibeg to thank you for your kind letter of the14th instant. I am very glad to learn thatyour first part of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhuis now out and shall be glad if you send meone copy so that I can show to personswho are interested in my Srimad Bhagwatam.I am also glad to learn that you arenow thinking of New York on receipt ofmy letter and it may be that you have tocome here again if there is the RadhaKrishna Temple as contemplated. Themoney is there, the Deities are there, thehouse is there, the men are there but thesanction is not there. Your residence wassomewhere near the Columbia UniversityI think.Temple idea is prompted in me becauseI feel that Srila Prabhupada wantedto open some temples in the foreign countries.Personally I have no aptitude toopen temples neither I have done it in

90 Letters fro m Srfla PrqbhuptidaIndia although there were many great opportunities.But here see there is necessityeven from the point of Hindu culturalview. There is not a single Hindu templehere at least in New Yo rk or all the placesso far I have travelled in this country. Regardingmanagement of the temple is concernedfor the present i have called for oneof my of my disciples from Delhi. If otherpersons from our so many camps wnat tocome here I shall welcome and I think afterthe temple is started some men evenfrom America may be available as I seethere are in the Ramakrishna Mission aswell as in so many Yoga societies.So Iamtrying to open a temple here becauseSrila Prabhupada wanted it. Kindlytherefore help me in this direction as far asyou can. I am thankful to you for taking somuch trouble in taking the estimate of deities.But before having the Deities there isgreat stumbling block of Exchange difficulty.My money in India is ready but Imust have the exchange, by special sanctionof the Government of India. I was sohopeful to get it because Lal BahadurShastri was known to me and he was tovisit America. I arranged an interviewwith him during his visit in Americathrough the Embassy here but his suddendeath has put me into great difficulty. Assoon as the temple is started, I am sure toget help locally but to start the temple Imust have Indian money first. I am thereforeasking your co-operation and help inthis connection. I am requesting you tosee Dr. Radhakrishnan and get me thesanction for Indian exchange for this culturalmission. This is not an ordinary templeof worship but it is an internationalinstitution fo r Godconsciousness basedon the Srimad Bhagwatam. This is standardIndian good will mission. 'Lokasyaajanato vidwans chakre stwata samhita "The Government of India has its own departmentof culture and goodwill missionwhich is utilised for dancing parties tomake show in the foreign countries. Hereis the real culture and I am not asking anymoney from the Government but I amsimply asking permission to transfer mymoney here for this great cultural missionof Srila Vyasdeva the Father of Vedic wisdomwhich is real Indian culture. WhenDr. Radhakrishnan was vice president ofIndia I had lots of personal correspondenceand meetings with him and at thattime he promised me help in this connection.I hope he will remember all theseand I am requesting him through yourgood office to help me now to get the requisiteexchange from India for this greatand noble work. He is more or less acquaintedwith the activities of the GoudiyaMath preachers like your holiness, SrilaTeertha Maharaj and he know me also inthis connection. We are all sincere workersfor respiritualising the whole worldsituation and Dr. Radhakrishnan beingman in the line and being in the highestposition of the Indian Government, hemust help us in this critical moment. It isnot personal but for the welfare of the entirehumanity and considering all these hemay be kind enough to sanction this exchangeimmediately so that I may start itwithout delay.I strongly wish that I may take pssessionof the house for the temple on the dayof Srila Prabhupada's Abhirva Teethi andif your holiness will at once see Dr.Radhakrishnan and take the sanction, Ithink my desire to take possession of thehouse on the above mentioned date will bepossible. As I am out of lndia it is not possibleto see him personally and therefore Iam requesting you to see him. Besides thatthe matter being concerned directly withservice of Srila Prabhupada both you and Iare equally interested and I hope most sincerelythat you will do this act verypromptly and seriously. If need be you canshow this letter to Dr. Radhakrishna in orderto convince him and offer him my

1966 91good wishes and respects for him.Thanking you in anticipation andawaiting your early reply.Yours affectionately,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami.66-1-3New York20th January, 1966My dear Sir Padampat,Please accept my greetings and blessingsof Sri Sri Dwarkadhish Maharaj .With thanks I beg to acknowledge receiptof your kind letter dated 14th January1%6 and I have noted the contents verycarefully. The two points of difficulties asshown by you are quite right becausewithout sanction of the Government wecannot proceed a step even in this connection.And as pointed out in my last letter Ihave full responsibility for this. I was almostcertain to get this sanction from ourLate Prime Minister La! Bahadur Shastriwho was personally known to me in connectionwith my publication SrimadBhagwatam. He was to come here inAmerica and in New Yo rk on the 4th ofFebruary next and I arranged for an interviewwith him by negotiation with the localconsulate General . The copy of theletter addressed to our late Prime Ministeris also enclosed herewith fo r your perusal .Now as soon as I came to know aboutthe sudden death news of Shastri, Ithought of the President Dr. Radhakrishnanas the next man to get the sanctionbecause he is also personally knownto me. I have already approached himthrough some mutual friend to get thissanction and I am awaiting the resultsooner or later. And as soon as I hear ofthe sanction, I shall at once let you knowthe result.I am very glad to learn it that you wishto construct a Temple of Sri Sri RadhaKrishna with nice architecture and theidea is quite appropriate for a personalityof your position. You are a great devoteeof Lord Dwarkadhis traditionally. LordDwarkadhish exhibited His opulence atDwarka with sixteen thousands of queenand it is understood that He built up asmany palaces for each and every queenand the palaces were so made with jewelsand stones that there was no necessity ofartificil light in the palaces . So your conceptionof building temple of LordKrishna is in opuence. But we our residentsof V rindaban and V rindaban has nopalaces like your Dwarka. Vrindaban isfull of forest and cows on the bank of theYa muna and Lord Kridhna in His childhoodplayed the part of a cow boy withoutany royal opulence as you people inhabitantsof Dwarka think. So when theDwarkawalas and the Vrindabanwalasmeet there may be a via media.The thing is that the idea of constructinga magnificent Temple in New Yo rkquite befitting the first city of the world,will cost you not lakhs but crores. Becausehere the cost ofland and other materialsand the labour charges all arefabulous. The labour charges here is notless than 12 dollars a day i.e Rs60/per day.Besides that you cannot get a vacant landin the New Yo rk city. You have to purchasea constructed house then dismantle it andthen construct a Temple of your liking. Iknow it very well that by Grace of HisLordship Sri Sri Dwarkadhis and by themercy of Laxmiji Rukminidevi, your honouris quite competent to spend evencrores and crores for this purpose but wemust remember the difficulty of Exchange. At this stage of critical hours theGovernment will hardly allow us to spendsuch huge amount. If they at all sanctionthe exchange they may allow for lakhsonly and therefore I have suggested the estimateas seven lakhs only.I have in view a very nice building forsale which is just the suitable for a temple

92 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadato start with. The land of the house isabout 19' x 100' and although it is twostoried it has a basement under groundand therefore it can be taken as three stories.It is nicely built with air conditioningand heating arrangement with marbelstaircase brass railings just suitable for atemple. The whole area is about 450sq.feet and they are asking for 100,000dollars that is five laks of rupees. And afterpurchasing the house we can build anotherstory upon it with temple dome andChakra etc. So the estimate is about sevenlakhs of rupees and for the present let usstart in such way. The place is very importantin the city. As your Dwarkadhis Templeis situated in very important part of thecity so this house is also situated in veryimportant part of the mid city. Here inNew Yor city there are three divisionsnamely the up town the mid town and thedown town. The down town is full of businesshouses and office buildings whereasthe down town is inhabited by most employeesand middle class of men. The midtown is in between the two and the house Ihave selected is approachable easily fromboth sides of the town. The situation isvery important on account of stores, subwaystation, post office, buses, banks everythingall at hand's reach. If howevercash is paid immediately the owner maycome down to lesser price. This is readybuilding and we can start immediately theBhagwatam preaching work and worshipof the Sri Sri RadhaKrishna simultaneouslyin this house.The house has to be nicely decoratedfor attracting men and philosophical topicson the basis of the Bhagwatam Philosophyhas to be preached for the learnedscholars and high grade men. As we getpopularity so can get local sympath forthe temple also. And it will be built upstep by step and I am sure they will be veryglad to receive the message and the trainingas well if not by all but some of them.The owner of the house is prepared toaccept the following terms as I have talkedwith them. Immediately 20,000 dollarscash and the balance by suitable arrangementof mortgage with 6% interest on theammount I think we may pay him cashoutright and reduce the price as far as possible.Now taking for acceptance that Dr.Radhakrishna will give us the exchangesanction, we have to decide whether topay outright cash or to accept the proposalof instalment. You may decide this in themeantime. And as soon as I receive thenews of sanction, I shall let you know. Ifyour man is to come here you may let meknow the name and occupation of the personsso that I may arrange for his no objectioncertificate without which passportwill be issued. I will have to find out somesponsor for him otherwise no P form willbe issued. So pending the sanction let usbe prepared for all these paraphernalia. Inthe future if circumstances changes, andwe get the opportunity for spending moremoney, at that time we can sell of this orkeep it as the circumstances allow. For thepresent let us begin in this small scale andlet be grown up in the natural way. Yourhonour is a great business magnet and youknow better than me. J.K Organisationstarted by your grand father was increasedby your father and under your managementit has grown more than expectationby the Grace of Dharkadhis Maharaj. Asthe Pandavas were all devotees of LordKrishna and thus in fields of activitiesthey were victorious inspite much difficultieswere put forward before them bythe Kurus, similarly you are also alwaysglorious because you and your family allare devotees of Lord Dwarkadhish. Yourgood mother is just like Kuntideve.The mission of Bhagwatam with whichI have come here is altogether a new thingfor the American. Still the most astonishingthing is that whenever and wherever I

1966 93speak they take it very nicely. That is goodsign for them . After my lecture they cometo me and offer their thanks for the nicespeech and accept the philosophy whenthey are spoken with human understanding.There is great difference betweenthese people and our Indian people. In Indiapeople are automatically tought spirituallife by tradition and these people areautomatically taught to be materialistic .They are sincere undoubtedly but becausethey have no information of the Bhagwatamlife, they appear to be different. It isthe duty of every Indian to preach the cultof Bhagwatam in every part ofthe worldand your co-operation in this attempt willbe highly appreciated by Lord Dwarkadhish.Lord Krishna in the Bhagwata Geetahas said that one who helps in the matterof preaching the principles of BhagwatGeeta is the most favourite of the Lord . Sothis knowledge should be distributed systematicallyand we Indians specially theHindus and more specially the Vaishnavitesmust abide the instruction of LordKrishna to distribute the knowledge allover the world.America is just in the middle. on oneside of America is Europe and on theotherside is Asia. So we can expand theBhagwatam mission bothwise. On oneside towards England , Germany, Italy etcand on the other side towards china Japanetc . If we sincerely do this work LordKrishna will help us in so many ways andbecause you are a sincere devotee of theLord , you have very kindly responded tomy humble call.I am advising my man in Delhi to sendyou one set of my books (Three Vo lumes)of Srimad Bhagwatam English versionand I hope you will relish them with greatinterest. I shall request you to find oursome time for it and see it how I have beenable to present the Bhagwatam Philosophyfor understanding of the commonman.Hope you are well and thanking youonce more for your good co-operatingspirit in the transcendental service of theLord .Yo urs sincerely,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami .Enclosure:Copy of the letter addressed tothe Prime Minister of India.By air mail.66-2- 1 New Yo rk4th , February, 1966My dear Sripad Teertha Maharaj ,Kindly accept my humble dandabats, Iam in due receipt of your kind letter of the1st instant and I am glad to note that youwill get the Exchange sanction on receiptof the letter of the donor. The donor is abig business magnet of India and as requiredby you I am enclosing here with theletter of Sri Padampat Singhania of theJ.K. Organisations, Kamla Tower, Kanpurdated 14th January 1966 which willspeak for itself. I think you may also knowthe gentleman and he is competent tospend any amount for a nice temple of SriSri Radha Krishna in New Yo rk. TheSinghania family is traditionally devoteesof Dwarkadhish and therefore they are theright persons to take upthis transcendentalservice of the Lord . Srila Prabhupadawanted such temples in fo reign countriessuch New Yo rk , Lodon, Tokyo, etc and Ihad personal talks with him when I firstmet Hi mat Ultadingi in 1922. Now here isa hance for me to carry put His transcendentalOrder and because you are SrilaPrabhupada's foremost and favourite discipleand actually engaged in His service,I am just seeking your favour and mercy inmaking this attempt successful . Everythingis ready namely the house is ready,

94 Letters fro m Srrla Prabhupiidathe donor is ready and my humble serviceon the spot is also ready. Now you are togive the finishing touch because you aremost affectionate disciple of His DivineGrace. I think Srila Prabhupada wantsthat in this great attempt by my humbleselfyour valued service may also bedovetailed.Please therefore immediately takesteps in this direction and if need be youmay personally see Dr. Radha Krishna becausehe is sympathetic with the GoudiyaMath workers as they are sincerely tryingto respiritualise the whole world. He isalso personally known to me but because Iam out of India it is not possible for me tosee him.As you will know from the enclosedletter of Sir Padampat Singhania, he isprepared to spend any amount for thispurpose, you can get sanction as large anamount as it is possible. Minimum tenlacs of rupees.So far men for working here in thetemple, do not worry about it . I have alreadysome American youngmen withme and they strictly vegetarian. Besidesthat thereare many Indian students hereand I shall be able to recruit workersboth from Indian and Americans. I amconfident of this. I may cite herewithone incidence which happened yesterdyaevening. I haveprepared some Taperecord of my personal Kirtan. Whenone of this Tape record was played theaudience became practicalJy charmedby that although not a single word of mylanguage was understandable by them.So lam confident of the statement ofSrila Haridas Thakur that the transcendentalsound of Lord Chaitanya 'sHarinam can do good even to the birdsand the beasts. Undoubtedly theseAmericans are habituated to take nonvegetarinfood but I am confident that theycan be trained up to our line of living becausethey are sincere to take up thetraining. This will be all practically possibleas soon as we have regular institutionhere in New Yo rk. If it is possible tosend some men from India who must beeducated it is well and good otherwise Ishall manage everything by the Grace ofSrila Prabhupada. We cannot do anythingwhatsoever but if our sincere serviceis accepted by the Vaishnavaseverthing is possble and may not havethe audacity to speak all these beforeyour holiness who is expert in this service.Please therefore make the transactioncomplete immediately and oblige .By the by I beg to enclose herewith onecheque for Rs.IO/- as my humble offeringsto the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupadathrough your goodself and I wish that youmay ask for His blessings for becomingsuccessful in this great attempt for Hisservice.Thanking you once more and I beg toremain,Yo urs obedientlyA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.Enclosure:2.66-2-2 New Yo rk16th February, 1966Messrs. Universal Book HouseSita Sadan Top FloorTulsi Pipe Road , DadarBombay -28.Dear Mr. Dharwarkar,Please accept my greetings. Since Icame to America I have not heard anythingfrom you. Hope everthing is wellwith you and your business. I shall be gladto hear from you about the progress of thesale of my books Srimad Bhagwatam entrustedto you . I shall be glad to know ifthe sales proceeds have been deposited

1966 95with my bank account as follows:Savings Bank Account:A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMINo.4966 with Bank of Baroda LimitedReclamation Branch Sachivalaya,Bombay-lDue to my absence from India theprinting works are suspended and now Iwish to begin itagain on hearing from you .The thing is that I am trying here to establishone Temple of Sri Sri Radha Krishnaand one big industrialist of India haspromised to pay for the cost. But there isdifficulty oflndian exchange. So I am tryingto get the exchange santioned throughsome friend in India and if I get the sanctionthen I shall remain here for manymore days. So in my absence I wish thatyou may take charge of selling the booksin India. Please let me know if there is anypossibility of your taking such charge. Sofar my experience is concerned this publicationcan be introduced in all collegesand universities of India. If you have successfullyworked out the business in yourown Maharaste province as it is recommendedby the Director of Education,then it will be possible for you also forother provinces. In Rajasthan and Delhi itis already recommended and similarly itcould be recommended in all other provinces.If you have not as yet deposited thesales proceeds kindly do it now immediatelyon receipt of this letter because Ihave to pay to the Press wala before beginningthe 4th , 5th and the 6th parts at once.Also please let me know if you can takecharge of the sale for whole of India. Ifyou take up then I shall not negotiate withothers because in my absence some bodymust take charge of the sale otherwisewhat shall I do simply by printing.Kindly therefore treat this letter as urgentand reply it per return of post so that Ican do the needful .Thanking you in anticipation.Yo urs truly,A.C.Bhaktivedanta swami.66-2-3New Yo rk16th February, 1 966His HolinessSri pad B. V. Teertha MaharajSri Chaitanya Research Institute70 B, Rash Behari AvenueCalcutta 26, India.My dear Sripad Teertha Maharaj ,Kindly accept my humble dandabats atyour lotus feet. I hope you have duly receivedmy letter of the 4th instant with enclosureof Sir Padampat Singhania theexpected donnar of the Temple. Sincethen I have changed my room (Room No307) as abovementioned in the samebuilding for better air and light and on theroad side of junction of two roads the ColumbusAvenue and 72nd St. So pleasenote down my change of room only thebuilding being the same.Now I am anxiously awaiting your favourablereply because on your reply onlyI will have to take action in so many otherthings . My Visa period will be finished bythe end of March 1966 and for increasingthe period I will have to submit applicationat least a fortnight before . Yo u know itthat America is very much expensive . Iam paying rent for my room $70.00 andfo r my other expenses I spend about 4 dollarsa day. In other words I have to spendabout Rs. 1000/- per month and as such Iam counting every day to receive your favourablereply. Kindly therefore reply thisletter per return of post what actions youhave taken by this time so that I may alsoarrange my things here accordingly.It is my very good experience that yourHoliness is very prompt in replying lettersand I am very much anxious because I

96 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadahave not received your letter till now. Ihope you also received and cashed mycheque for the Vyasa Puja offerings .Hope you are all well and thanking youin anticipation for your reply per return ofpost.Yo urs obediently,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami.66-3-1New Yo rk5th March, 1966SecretaryNational Head Quarter ofThe Salvation Army120- 130 West 14th StreetNew Yo rk, N.Y.Dear Sir,I beg to inform you that I am aVaishnava Sannyasi and I have come fromIndia (Vrindaban U.P.) for establishing apreaching centre in America for the firsttime in the study of Srimad Bhagwatam.A small literature in this connection issent herewith for your kind perusal. ThisSrimad Bhagwatam is the post graduatestudy of the Bhagwavat Gita and both ofthemare sciences of Theism. I am seekingyour good cooperation in this attempt fordeveloping higher sense of Godconsciousness.I have got money in India and I wantedto get it from India for starting the abovecentre but the Government of India has nodollar exchange to pay in America andtherefore I have been handicapped in thisattempt. My correspondence with thePrime Minister as well as my devotee SirPadampat Singhania is complete. The latestreplies and their copies are aslo sentherewith for your perusal .I know that you have a great number ofcentres in India for your missionary workand you spend many thousands ofAmerican money in India for your nobleactivities. If you therefore accept mymoney in India for spending there and payme in dollars here in America for myspending here, it will be a great cooperation.I think we should cooperate in everyrespects in the matter of raising peoplessense of Godconsciousness in these daysof fo rgetfulness.I am in need of $200,000.00 two hundredthousands of dollars immediately forstarting my centre here in New Yo rk . Ifyou help me by this amount in exchange ofmy money in India, it will be considered aGrace of the Lord .Thanking you in anticipation for anearly reply,Yo urs sincerely in the service of theLord,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.Enclosure: 166-3-217th March, 1966Mr. Martin the Finance Secretary seento-day personally. Requested him to 4:80per dollar in exchange. He formallyagreed and will get it confirmed fromsender and let me know finally. It is goodnews.ACB66-3-3New York18th March, 1966My dear Sir Padampat,Please accept my greetings and blessingsof Sri Sri Dwarkadhish Maharaj . Ihope by Lord's Grace everything is allright with you .Now as referred to my last letter of January20 1966, I am very glad to informyou that by the Grace of Lord Dwarkadhishthere is now some definite arrangementfor dollar exchange in India.

1966 97As I told you before the matter was entrustedto two responsible gentlemen inIndia. One is my godbrother Sripad B.V.Teertha Maharaj the President of ChaitanyaResearch Institute Calcutta and theother is one inflential officer in the All IndiaCongress Committee in New Delhi .Both of them are very responsible menand they are trying very sincerely to theirbest capacity to get the exchange sanctioned. But till now there is no hopefulsignal from both of them.So In the meantime I negotiated withthe authorities of the great Missionary organisationnamely The Salvation ArmyInc . The Finance Secretary of the greatorganisation writes as follows in his letterD/ 14/3/66 "This will acknowledge yourletter of March 5,1966, in connectionwith the possibility of The SalvationArmy paying you American dollars andhaving you release an equivalent amountof Indian currency for The SalvationArmy work in India. It is noted that youwill need $200 ,000/- (two hundred thousandsdollars) immediately for startingyour work in New Yo rk." "The SalvationArmay in America rarely sends money directlyto India . . ." "In the event, however,that an occasion might arise, whatwould be the basis of the rate of exchange?We understand that there is the officialbank rate and there are other rates availableto us, which are legal, but which providemore funds in Indian currency thanwould be provided by the official bankrate ."On receipt of the letter from The SalvationArmy as quoted above, I saw theFinance Secretary of the very great organisationand I talked with him veryfreely and frankly. I convinced him thatour Radhakrishna Temple will be similarmissionary preaching centre for Godconsciousnesand there is no question ofbusiness profit. We want to spend here forthe benefit of the American people as youare spending in India. It is mutual cooperationfo r spreading the idea of Godconsciousnessin the world when there isvery great necessity fo r it. The usualblack market exchange is Rs7 /- per $. ButI have convinced him to accept Rs4.80/per $ and by the Grace of LordDwarkadhish he has agreed . So the difficultyof exchange as referred to in your letterof 14th January 1966 is now solved.Now you can send your man immediatelyfor beginning the work as suggested in mylast letter. I asked you to send me the nameof the man whom you want to send for thispurpose so that I could arrange for the"No objection Certificate" from the localIndian Consulate Gnl . But now you haveto send the name immediately fo r sponsoringhim. Please therefore immediatelytake steps in the matter and let me knowthe result per return of post. I am countingevery moment for starting the Temple ofSri Sri Radha Krishna and here is the opportunitynow which we must utilise withoutdelay. Please therefore reply this letterimmediately per return of post and oblige.By the by kindly let me know if youhave received my books Srimad Bhagwatamfrom my Delhi office? I have informationfrom Delhi that they have already sentyou the books as I have already informedyou in my last letter (Page 3 para 5) Hopeyou are well and awaiting your reply.Thanking you once more .Yours Sincerely,66-3-4 New York18th March, 1966Madam Sumati Morarjee Baisaheba,Please accept my greeting and blessingof Lord Bala Krishna. I hope by the Graceof Lord Sri Krishna everything well withyou .Since I received your last letter of October9, 1965 , I was very much encouraged

98 Letters from Srrla Prahhup(/dawhen you wrote to say "I feel that youshould stay there till you fully recoverfrom your illness and return only after youhave completed your mission". I thinkthese lines dictated by you are the words ofLord BaJa Krishna expressed throughyour goodness.You will be pleased to know that I haveimproved my health to the normal and mymissionary work is nicely progressing. Ihope my project to start a Temple of SriSri Radha Krishna in New York will alsobe realised by the Grace of the Lord. SirPadampat Singhania of Kanpur J.K. Organisation,has kindly agreed to constructa nice Temple of Sri Sri Radha Krishna inNew York. I am trying to solve the exchangeproblem by all means and I amseeing some light for this purpose also.Since I came down to New York fromButler Pennsylvania, I have rented theabove room at $70.00 per month and I amdelivering lectures on the Bhagwat Geetaand Srimad Bhagwatam accompanied bySamkirtan and the American ladies andgentlemen come to hear me. You will besurprised to know that they do not understandthe language of the Samkirtanandyet they hear with attention. The movementwhich I have started here is completelynew to them because theAmericans are generally acquainted withthe Indian Yoga gymnastics as it is performedby some Indian yogis here. Theynever heard of Bhakti cult or the Scienceof Krishna before and still they are hearingme,-this very idea is a great successfor me.Now I shall require some Samkirtaninstruments from India and three men toassist me in my missionary activities. Andif the Temple is started I have to bringmany things from India and I wish thatyou may kindly arrange for free conveyanceof my men and goods in this connection.I have already asked one of my devoteesin Calcutta to send two Mridangas forSankirtan and I have advised him to depositthe same with your manager in Calcuttafor carriage to New York by any oneof your ships. Kindly issue instructions toyour Managers in Calcutta and Cochin tocarry my things as abovementioned freeand oblige.In India when I started for America,your goodness promised to reply my letterregularly but I have not received repliesfor my two letters. Please therefore seethat my letters addressed to you may beduly replied. I have come here in thisoldage neither for sightseeing nor for anypersonal interest. It is for the interest ofthe entire humanity that I am trying to implementthe science of Krishna which willactually make them happy. So it is theduty of every devotees of Lord Krishna tohelp me by all means. Kindly reply thisletter and oblige. Hope you are well.Kindly convy my good wishes to all yourstaff especially to Sarva Sriman Choksi,Nagarajam and Acharya. Thanking youonce more,Yours sincerely in the Service of theLord.A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami66-4- 1 New York27th April, 1966Madam Sumati Morarji Baisaheba,Kindly accept my greetings and blessingof Lord Balakrishna. I am in due receiptof your letter of the I I th instant andhve noted the contents with thanks.The Project for constructing a templeof Sri Sri Radha Krishna is complete becauseSir Padampat Singhania is ready tospend any amount of money for a nicearchitecturalworkmanship of Indian originbut our secular Government has officiallydenied the exchange. So Ima trying to getthe Exchange otherwise namely through

196699the Salvation Army as also through the influenceof a friend in India who can convincethe Finance Minister or thePresident in this important task. As suchmy God brother who is entrusted with thiswork has asked me to return to India forsome days to expedite the work. I am tryingto avoid the journey to India and againto come back specially for the reason thatI am holding at the above address classesthrice in a week and training someAmerican Yoth in the matter of Samkritanand devotional service of the Lord(Bhakti) some of them are taking the ressonsvery sincerely and in future they maybe very good Vaisnavas according to rigidrituals. One of the youths Mr. Paul Murrayis even ready to go with me to India tolearn the cult more specifically and I wishto take him with me when I go to India.Please therefore write to your Agent hereto allowthis more serious boy to comewith me in India and see things directlyhow temple worship is done in the VishnuTemples. I shall keep him for some daysin Vrindaban and he may be given lessonsfor future preaching in the western countries.I shall try my best to get the sanctionfor the temple Exchange and if I am unablethen I shall open the Radha Krishnaworship and Samkirtan in the rentedhouse as I am now doing. The present flatis about 100' X 25' and there is ampleplace even to have a room for the deities ofRadha and Krishna. When returning fromIndia I shall bring with me the deities eitherfrom Jaipur or from Vrindaban alongwith other things required and I shall startthe temple in rented buildingKindly therefore send your permissionfor taking this boy with me as abovementioned.He has his passport and some coupleof hundreds to spend in India. Whenwe come to India you will be pleased tosee the boy (American). He is coming of agood family and a sincere soul to this lineof culture. There are others also in theclass I am holding here but I wish to takewith me only one of them.I am very sorry to inform you that inthe last month there was a theft case in myroom. My typewriter and tape recorderand some book have been stolen wothmore than Rs I 000/- goods and therefore Iam changin the place to the above address.This present typewriter has beengiven by a devotee and thus there is no difficultyand another friend has also supplieda tape recorder. It is understood thatsuch crime as it has been committed in myroom is very common in New York. Thatis the way of material nature. TheAmerican people have every thing in ampleand the worker gets about Rs 100/- asdaily wages and still there are thieves forwant of character. The lower class mendaily workers are cent percent drunkards.Their social condition is not very __.Hope everything is well with you bythe Grace of the Lord and awaiting yourearly reply with thanks.Yours in the service of the Lord,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami.66-4-2 New York30th April, 1966Chief Contoller of ExchangeControl DepartmentReserve Bank of IndiaNew Delhi, INDIA.Dear Sir,I beg to inform you that I am a VaisnavaSannyasi in the line of Lord Sri ChaitanyaMahaprabhu. In pursuance of the cult ofLove of Godhead as propounded by LordChaitanya 500 years before, I have cometo America to preach the same culturalmission on the principles of the BhagwatGeeta and the Srimad Bhagwatam. Mytranslation of the Srimad Bhagwatam(published in three volume first canto) is

100 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadarecognised by the Government of Indiaboth central and the states. Here inAmerica also the same publication is approvedby the State Library of Congress inWshaington, New Yo rk Public Library,the Philadelphia University and manyother institutions. Arrangement is alsobeing attempted to get an American Editionof this publication as well as editingmy paper "Back to Godhead".Since I have come to America in thelast year (September 1965) I have travelledmany parts of the country. Some of the localpapers has published articles about meand they have designated me as the "AM­BASSADOR OF BHAKTIYOGA''.At present I am staying in New Yo rkcity at the above address and holding myclasses on the culture of Musical Keertanas well as discourses on the cult of devotion(Bhakti) on every Mondays, Wednessdaysand Fridays which areparticipated by the American Youths,Ladies and Gentlemen. The appreciate themusical mellow very much although theyare no conversant with the language. Andwithout understanding the language theygive a aural reception to the Keertan in adevout manner. So there is ample prospectfor propagating this Indian culture in thiscountry.I want therefore to establish this culturalcentre and for this I wish to get someexchange from India. The Governmenthas also its cultural department and assuch the Government of India spend asubstantial ammount in the foreign coutries.Similarly I wish to preach thisBhagwati approve culture not only inAmerica but also in other countries outsideIndia. I have already made experimentin thismatter and I think there isgood prospect for propagating the particularculture of how to love God, all overthe world specially in these days of forgetfulness.As I want to open this cultural centrefirst in New Yo rk, I shall be very muchobliged if you will kindly me know theprocedure in this matter.Thanking you in anticipation for anearly repluyYours faithfully,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.66-5-1 New York16th May, 1966My dear Brahmachary Mangalniloy,Please accept my hearty greetings foryour letter of the 11th instant and I havenoted the contents very carefully. Yourstrong desire to come to western countriesis very laudable because Srila Prabhupadahad a great hope to preach the gospel of sriRupa and Raghunath in these parts of theworld. At the same time there is a greatprospect for preaching the cult of SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu in this part of theworld. The Americans have very great regardfor Oriental culture and philosophyand taking advantage of this opportunitymany socalled oriental men of wisdomhave exploited their sentiments simply forthe matter of livelihood. Since I havecome to this country I have travelled manyparts of the country specially in Butler,Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Boston, Monroeetc and everywhere I have seen that thepeople in general have great respect fororiental culture and mostly they are attachedto the gymnastic process of the HathaYoga system. But the system ofBhaktiyoga will be very much appreciableto them if we could open a centre here inNew Yo rk. With this aim in view I triedmy godbrother to jointogether for thispreaching work in the foreign countries bycombined force. I tried first Kesava Maharaj, then Bon Maharaj and then TeerthaMaharaj but I have failed to get any cooperationfrom either of them till now andtherefore when I was just arranging to go

1966 101back to India to try for myself it is a greatomen to receive your encouraging letterunder reply. I know you well and I thinkonce we met at V rindaban some 8 to 9years before and I took Prasadam in yourthe then Matha behind the RanganathTemple. Perhaps you saw my paper alsoBack to Godhead. I think if you come atall you should come here with a tangibleprogramme and it is encouraging to notethat you wish to work under me by full cooperation.Yo u will be glad to learn thatSir Padampat Singhania of Kanpur wasapproached by me in correspondence, ashe was known to me before, to erect aRadhakrishna Temple in New York andhe has agreed to take up the work verynicely provided there is sanction of lndianexchange. Srila Teertha Maharaj promisedme all help to get this exchange sanctionedby seeing the President and theFinance Minister as he is supposed to havesome influence over them. This correspondenceis going on since January 1966with Sripad Teertha Maharaj but his lastletter appears to me very disappointing.Now He asks me to go back to India andtry for the sanction with his joint effortfrom the Deputy Controller of Exchangein Calcutta. Srila Teertha Maharaj hasdefinitely assured me that the exchangewill be sanctioned on submission of plansand expenditure of the proposed temple.But I am not very much encouraged tohave this information. I therefore beg torequest you to enquire immediately fromthe Deputy Controller of Exchange, ControlDepart. Reserve Bank of India Calcutta.Please take definite informationabout this and if the information is correctas per statement of Srila Teertha Maharajthen let me know the procedure to be followedin this connection. This very importantitem of my foreign travel. If wecan open one centre in New York there isgreat potency for opening other centresalso not only in America but also in Europe,Japan, China and many other placesjust to fulfill the desire of Srila Prabhupadaand Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.This is purely cultural programme forspreading the Hindu culture and if theHindus have no such scope for spreadingtheir culture then what is the meaning ofindependence? These points are to beraised and I think there must be some provisionfor such cultural propaganda becausethe Government has its own culturalministry and they are spending millionsand billions for this purpose. Please tryfor this first and foremost and if we aresuccessful in getting the sanction thenother things will follow automatically onthis cultural programme. I hope you willfollow the idea because you have done somany practical work in the mission. Iwant to know simply whether the DeputyController of Exchange is actually inpower to saction such exchange as to openHindu temples etc in the foreign countries.I understand that Sripad MadhavMaharaj also sometimes goes to see thePresident and therefore he must be verywell acquainted by such occasional visits.I think he can also help me in this connection.Anyway let us co-operate in this connectionfor some tangible work. Not onlyyour goodself but also many others fromIndia are prepared to come here to assistme but I think casual visit to this countrywill not do. We must have some centre ofactivity either by establishing a temple ofour line of action or by establishing an organisationlike Ramakrishna Mission forthis cultural work. Anyway your voluntaryoffer for co-operation is very welcomeand I take it for Srila Prabhupada 'shelp in this great adventure . If I shall remainhere for some time more, surely Ishall call you as desired by you providedyou work in cooperation with me fully.Personally I can take the sponsoring foryou in the month of September 1966 butmy Visa period will end on the 30th

102 Letters fro m Sri/a PrabhupadaJune 1966. So if I see circumstances favourableI shall try to extend my Visa forthe required period otherwise I shall returnto India after the above date. My stayingwill now depend on your goodcooperation in India for the present. In themeantime I am trying also here what canbe done. The idea of preaching here and inIndia is completely different. Here youcannot make any collection whatsoever.At the same time the expenditure tooheavy. I am paying here rent 100 dollarsper month which means 500 rupees in ourIndian exchange . Besides that my expenditureis daily four dollars two persons.Mr. Paul is whole devoted to my work.But we are getting some contribution byour meetings on Mondays, Wednesdaysand Fridays when we perform Samkirtandiscourses on Bhagwat Geeta or SrimadBhagwatam as is our usual programme. Ifyou come it will be great help for me providedyou agree to work under me. Morein my next. Hope you are well and awaitingyour early reply.Yours sincerely,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami66-5-2New Yo rk28th May, 1966Ministry of FinanceDepartment of Economic AffairsGovernment Of IndiaNew DelhiTHROUGH :THE INDIAN EMBASSYWASHING1DN D.C.Dear Sirs,Re : Release of Exchange for erecting acultural Institution of Radha KrishnaTemple in New Yo rk for preaching thecult of Krishna philosophy as revealed inthe Srimad Bhagavatam and Srimad BhagavatGeeta.With reference to the above I beg to informyou that I am a Va isnava Sannyasi inthe line of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.In pursuance of the cult of Love ofKrishna philosophy as propounded in theSrimad Bhagavat Geeta, I have come toAmerica to preach the cultural mission.My translation of the Srimad Bhagwatam(published in three volumes first canto) isrecognised by the Government of Indiaboth central and states education department.Here in America also my book isapproved by the State Library of CongressWashington, the Public Library and manyuniversities.Since I have come to America in thelast year (September 1965) I have travelledmany parts of the country and someof the local papers have published articleson me and they have designated me as theAmbassador of Bhaktiyoga.At present I am staying in New Yo rk atthe above address and my Americanfriends and admirers are hearing from meabout my cultural mission and attendingmy Keertan class as wellas discourses onthe Bhagwat Geeta and the SrimadBhagwatam.I therefore want to establish a permanentestablishment of Radha KrishnaTemple and I am very glad to inform youthat Sir Padampat Sighania of Kanpur hasagreed to spend any amount for erectingan Indian architectural Temple in NewYo rk for this great cultural mission of India.I am enclosing herewith the copies ofthe letters received from Sri PadampatSighania.I had to approach the Exchange ControlDepartment of Reserve Bank of Indiaand the reply which I have received fromthe Controller is also enclosed herewithplease find.My cultural mission as I have tried toexplain in my books Srimad Bhagwatamhas been highly appreciated by all responsiblequarters in India including the LatePrime Minister La! Bhadur Shastri. The

1966 103All India Congress Committee has reviewedmy books in the following words:"At a time when not only the people of lndiabut those of the We st need the chasteningquality of Love and Truth in thecorrupting atmosphere of hate and hypocrisy,a work like this will have correctiveinfluence. What is God? He is truth, He islove. Even an atheist must accept the supremacyof those qualities and how muchthey are needed by the people of the worldwho have been tought to deny God andthese qualities do not require much emphasis.""The author has attempted a tremendoustask . . . A perusal will give us insample measure a knowledge of the original. The essence of Srimad Bhagawatamis the exposition of the Absolute Truth,for an understanding of Absolute Truthwe would recommend this book."Mr. N.C. Chatterji M.P. and the latePresident of the Hindu Mahasabha writes"You have done a first class work and youdeserve the hearty commendationof everyIndian and every Hindu. Your deep andpenetrating study of the subject and yourphilosophic insight are reflected in thiswork. . . . You a are doing a great serviceto the cause of humanity."So this is a cultural mission for enlightenmentof the entire human society andNew York is the best centre for distributingsuch cultural knowledge because it isthe Head Quarter of the United Nations.We shall erect such a nice cultural Halland Temple and everything is ready at thisopportune moment. Kindly therefore giveyour sanction for this noble and sublimeactivities of Indian original culture stillgoing strong.His Excellency Dr. Radhakrishnan thePresident of India knows me personallyandif need be you can take referencefrom him about me.Kindly help me by your early sanctionof release of Exchange and I shall awaityour favourable reply per return of postwith interest.Thanking you in anticipation,Yours faithfully,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.66-5-3New Yo rk28th May, 1966SecretaryIndian Embassy in AmericaWashington D.C.Dear Sir,I beg to inform you that I have been instructedby the Controller of ExchangeReserve Bank of India Delhi to forwardmy letter to the Ministry of Finance, Departmentof Economic Affairs Governmentof India New Delhi for release ofIndian Exchange.As advised by him I beg to hand youherewith the above mentioned letter toMinistry of Finance Government of Indiawhich please forward to India and oblige.Please acknowledge receipt hereof andthanking you in anticipation,Yours faithfully,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.66-6-1New Yorkllth June, 1966Sriman Brahmachary Mangalniloyc/o messrs. Bhajanlal SrinivasP.O. Shillong, AssamINDIAMy dear Brahmachary Mangalniloy,I thank you very much for your kindletter of the3rd inst and I am glad to understandthat you are serious for joiningme in my great adventure for preachingthe message of Rupa Raghunath in theseparts of the world . I am confident to seefulfilment of Lord Chaitanya 's mission inevery corner of the world. His Divine

104 Letters from Srrla PrabhuptidaGrace wanted this mission to be fructifiedduring His presence but He was so muchdisappointed in the last days of His life fo rmany of His follower's indisciplinary activities.I do not know how far I shall besuccessful in this attempt but I am tryingmy best to do this job as He wanted me todo. If your Guru Maharaj Sripad MadhavMaharaj fully co-operate with me in thisadventure I am confident to come out successfulin my attempt. Yo u have asked meto correspond with him but as he is alwaysin preaching activities it is better you openthe negotiation first with him and if heagrees to help me and co-operate with mein the matter of preaching work in the foreigncountries, it will be great encouragementfor me. Up till now I am workingalone without any co-operation of any oneof my Godbrothers and it is the first timethat you have voluntarily extended yourhand to co-operate with me in full spirit.May Srila Prabhupada bestow His DivineGrace upon you. I have already decided toget you here to help me and I am trying mybest for your "No objection Certificate"as well as free passage to this country.Most probably you shall be requisitionedby the end of July next and be prepared forthis. I want also another assistant who canplay Khola very nicely. If you have got anybody in view you may also arrange for hiscoming here and I shall arrange for himalso. If so please immediately send hisname and address so that I shall try for hisNo objection certificate also. While cominghere I shall require you to bring withyou the following articles namely: (1)Two first class Mridngas (2) Ten pairs offirst class Kartals (3) One first class Harmonium(4) one first class Tanpura (5)Four pairs of Ghungar for dancing.Regarding the construction of theTemple here in New Yo rk and in otherplaces, I have now decided to struggle forit to the end of my life and I am glad thatyou have decided to follow my instructionin this connection. I think I shall be able tofinish this Job even if the Government ofIndia does not allow me any exchange. Iam now trying to incorporate one corporationof the local friends and admirersunder the name IN TERNATIONAL SOCI­ETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESSINC Negotiation is going on with the Lawyerto formulate the scheme and as soon asthis is incorporated I shall submit applicationfor sponsoring you in this country.There is enough money in this countryand for temple we may not require to getexchange from India. The only thing is thepeople of this country must know that thisis very important work and by such convictionenough money could be raisedfrom the local people. I hope when youwill come I shall get your full cooperationin this connection. Henceforward write inEnglish language. Here English languageis very much essential so try to have itpractised fluently. You are educated and itwill not be difficult for you.There is another impediment for mystaying here. My publication work is suspended.Yo u know I have already publishedthree volumes of my SrimadBhagwatam and further copies are readyfor printing. Please let me know if yourestablishment can take charge of publishingthese books or can manage the publicationin my absence. Due to my absencefrom India the publication is stopped andtherefore it disturbs my mind. This publicationwork is my main function. So atany rate I cannot stop it. I can stop my foreignactivities but I cannot stop my publicationwork. Please let me know if there isany possibility of your institution to lookafter these affairs during my absence.You have asked me to write somethingabout Mr Paul . He is a youngman oftwenty three years old. He was attendingmy class at 72nd St. along with others andwhen there was theft case in my room heinvited me to his residence. So I am with

1966 105him and training him. He has good prospectbecause he has already given up all socalled bad habits. In these country illicitconnection with women, smoking, drinkingand eating of meats are common affairsbesides that other habits like usingtoilet papers after evacuating etc . But bymy request he has given up 90 % of his oldhabits and he is chanting Mahamantraregularly. So I am giving him the chanceand I think he is improving. To-morrow Ihave arranged for some Prasad distributionand he has gone to puchase somethings from the market in the car of afriend . I shall inform him about you whenhe comes back. Here we have got a bighall and my classes are going on thrice in aweek. The rent is $100.00 permonth. Ithink when you come here we shall beable to organise the things more nicely.Please be in regular correspondence withme and offer my respects to SripadMadhav Maharaj and if possible let meknow if there is any possibility of our cooperationin this attempt of foreign propaganda.If so kindly let me know youropinion in this connection.Hope you are all doing well and withmy good wishes I amYours affectionately,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.Please let me know the price of two[TEXT MISSING]and shall send you cheque on Calcuttabank. ACB66-6-2New York11th June, 1966Sri I. N. WankawalaScindia Steam Navigation Co LtdCentral Bank Buildings,Netaji Subhas Road ,Calcutta-!Dear Mr. Wankawala,Please accept my greetings. Since Ihave left India I did not hear from you andI hope everything is well with you . Mypreaching work is going on nicely. TheAmericans are taking interest in the matterof Bhakticult of Samkirtan movement.I am holding classes of Samkirtan and discourseson the Bhagwat Geeta and SrimadBhagwatam and I very glad to inform youthat they are chanting the holy name of God"Hare Krishna Hare Krishna KrishnaKrishna Hare Hare" with great devotion.There is some attempt for opening oneRadhaKrishna Temple in New York andSir Padampat Sighania of Kanpur haspromised to build up the temple. I am tryingfor the Indian Exchange sanction andif it is sanctioned, I hope one temple of SriSri Radhakrishna will be first built in NewYork. I am also trying for the temple otherwiseif the Exchange is not sanctioned.I have received one letter from SrimatiSumatiji Baisaheba dated the 11th April1966 in which she writes amongst otherthings as follows: " . . . . . Regarding freepassage to be provided to your men fromIndia to New York on our ships, kindlynote that these gentlemen will have to obtainpermission from the Reserve Bank ofIndia and therefore I suggest that youplease request them to complete the Pform formalities and thereafter please askthem to contact Shri I.N. Wankawala ofour Calcutta Office whom I am advisingsuitably.""As regards equipment for the templesuch as Mridanga for Samkirtan, also Iam advising Shri Wankawala to allowfreight free shipment on our vessels. Youmay therefore advise those concerned tocontact him for this purpose. I may addthat for shipment from Cochin also ShriWankawala of our Calcutta office shouldbe contacted and he will do the needful ."I hope you have duly received instructionfrom your Bombay office regardingthe instructions of Baisaheba and I am arrangingmy men (Samkirtan Party) to

106 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptldacome here by the end of July with Mridangaetc for advancing the missionarywork here. Some of my goods are lying inDelhi and I wish to get them here. Pleaselet me know where the goods should besent either to Cochin or to Calcutta. Ofcourse from Delhi Calcutta is nearer thanCochin. Kindly therefore reply this letterper return of post and I will do the needfulregarding the above.By the by I may enquire if you are readingmy Book Srimad Bhagwatam andshall be glad to hear from you about yourreaction.Hope you are well and awaiting yourearly reply.Yours sincerelyA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.66-6-3 New Yo rk23rd June, 1966My dear Brahmachary Mangakniloy,Please accept my dandabats . I am indue receipt of your letter of the 16th instantand have noted the contents carefully.Please let me know if I will have tosend you money for the articles like Mridangaetc . If so kindly let me know the respectiveprice.In your first letter dated June 3, 1966you had to inform me that you had alreadyadvised Sri Jagamohon Prabhu to see theDeputy Controller of Exchange Calcuttabut I have not heard anything about it.Please note that this work is very importantand I have already submitted my applicationto the Finance Ministry of theGovernment of India through the IndianEmbassy here in America. The IndianEmbassy at Washington has acknowledgedreceipt of my application as follows:"Prakash Shah Second Secretary Embassyof India Washington D.C. datedJune 9, 1966. Letter No. Con.63(1 )/66.Dear Mr. Swami, This is to acknowledgeyour letter dated May 28 , 1966. Your applicationfor release of Foreign Exchangehas been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance,Government of India. Yo urs sincerelySd/Prakash Shah"Now I would request you to see the FinanceMinister or the President immediatelyand get the Exchange sanctioned.There is provision for such exchangesanction but it requires special sanctionfrom the Finance Ministry. So we have toconvince only the Finance Minister thatfor spreading the culture of BhagwatGeeta or the science of Krishna Consciousnessthis cultural propaganda fromIndia's side has to be done. I have alreadyexplained the matter in my application butif yourself or Sripad Madhav Moharajsees the Finance Minister immediately, Iam sure the Exchange will be released. Ihave already informed you that the donorSir Padampat Singhania is ready to spendany amount for constructing a nice Indianarchitectural temple in New Yo rk and whynot take this opportunity for spreading themission of Srila Prabhupada. SripadaMadhava Maharaj is known to the Presidentbecause sometimes before His Holinesssaw the President in New Delhi. Irequested for this to Sripad Bon Moharajbut he has declined, I requested SripadTeertha Moharaj and at first he promisedsee the President and the Finance Ministerbut later on he is trying to avoid it. So Ihave to request Sripad Madhav Maharajthrough you for this most important workto see the President and the Finance Ministerimmediately with reference to my applicationas it is acknowledged by theEmbassy of India in Washington.You have written to say in your letterunder reply that you want to join first with

1966 107me then talk with Sripada Maharaj aboutco-operation otherwise your journey tothis country may be cancelled by him. Icould not follow the import of this proposal. Do you think that cooperaton withme prior to your joining me here is notpossible? Why this mentality. Is it my privatebusiness? Srila Prabhupada wanted toconstruct some temples in the Foreigncountries as preaching centres of the messageof Srila Rupa Raghunatha and I amtrying to do this in this part of the world.The money is ready and the opportunity isopen. If by seeing the Finance Ministerthis work can be facilitated why should wewait for time so that you cannot talk withyour Gurumaharaj about any co-operationbecause you afraid of your journeyhere may be cancelled. Please do notthink in that way. Take everything as SrilaPrabhupada's work and try to co-operatein that spirit. The Goudiya Math institutionhas failed . . . . .So far your dress is concerned, I thinkyou will require several suits for visitinggentlemen here. As a Sanyasi I cannottake suits and boots but you are Brahmacharyso you can accept such gentlemanlydress. Regarding the Mridanga player, ifyou think that he is REALLY expert as itshould be, then he may come even thoughhe does not know English. We may engagehim so many other things. Please send meimmeditely one copy of Panjika and acopy of Satkriya Sarartha Dipika of GopalBhtta Goswami. Hope you are all welland awaiting your early reply. Once moreI may request you to cooperate with me infull spirit. Do not think for a moment thatmy interest is different from that of yourGuru Maharaj . We are executing the willof Srila Prabhupada according to our owncapacity. But combined effort would havebeen by far more better.Yours aftly. ,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami66-7-1 New York16th July, 1 966My dear Brahmachary Mangalniloy,I thank you for your letter of the 8th instantand have noted the contents. Pleasenote my change of address as above mentioned.I have further risked in the matterof rent of the house. I was paying Mr.Murray $100.00 but I was not independentthere. Here the rent is $200.00 permonth but I am completely independentand that I have taken atelephonic connection.My lecture hall is on the groundfloor and my apartment is on the firstfloor. This Second Avenue is one of theten longest roads of the New York cityRegarding the temple project I havejust received the reply from the Embassyof India in America as follows: (D/July11, 1966) "Please refer to your applicationregarding release of foreign Exchangefrom the Ministry of Finance,Government of lndia. Due to existing conditionsof foreign exchange stringency, itis not possible for the Government of Indiato accede to your request for release offoreign exchange. You may perhaps youlike to raise necessary funds from residentsin America"So the controvery is now closed andthere is no need of help from any one else.We are not always successful in our attemptsin preaching work but such failuresare not certainly ludicrous. In the Absolutefield both success and failures areglorious. Even Lord Nityananda pretendedto be a failure to convert Jagai andMadhai in the first attempt, rather he waspersonally injured in such attempt but thatwas certainly not ludicrous. The wholething was transcendental and it was gloriousfor allthe parties concerned.It is however very difficult to raisefunds from the Indian residents inAmerica. My followers here are 99 %Americans. But Indian Government has

108 Letters fro m Srfla Prabhupadataken wrtten declaration from me that Ishall not collect any fund from theAmericans. So unless I do get such permissionI think I will have to return to Indiadisappointed to live at Vrindabanpeacefully for the remaining days of mylife.Regarding the Jhansi incidence referredto by your Gurumaharaj I may informyou that the donor of the house didnot like to hand over the estate to any individualperson. I therefore registered a society(The League of Devotees) and Iinvited your Gurumaharaj to join it as thehead man. But he, as he was with the thenKunjada desired to have the property inthe joint name of him and Kunjada. So Ibecame silent and I left the whole scheme.Let us now forget all these past incidencesand go forward with present responsibility.My future activities will now dependon the reply of the Indian Embassy whomI have asked for permission to raise fundsfrom the American people. On hearingfrom them I shall let you know the result.Hope you are well . When you are comingback to Calcutta?Yours affectionately,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami.66-7-2Mr. Prakash ShahSecond SecretaryEmbassy of IndiaWashington D.C.New Yo rk16th July, 1966Dear Mr. Shah ,I thank you for your letter No. Con63(1)66 of the 11th instant and it is understoodthat I may raise the necessary fundsfrom the residents of America.Would you please send me a list of theIndian residents in America and oblige.I may also inform you that my followershere, who come regularly and enjoymy Keertan and discourses on theBhagwat Geeta,-are all citizens ofAmerica. Whether I may also raise fundsfrom them.Kindly reply this letter per return ofpost so that I may do the needful . Alsonote my change of address as above mentioned.Yours sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami66-8-1 New Yo rk1st August, 1966My dear Sripad Madhav Maharaj ,Please accept my humble dandabatsand I hope everything is going well in respectof your holiness health and preachingwork.I hope that you are aware of the correspondencewhich I had been exchangingwith Sriman Brahmachary Mangalniloyand you also know it that I am desiring toget him here in United States of Americafor my assistance. You may also know thatI am trying to construct a Temple of SriSri Radha Krishna in New Yo rk speciallyand I was trying to get exchange from theGovernment of India. I am very sorry toinform you that the Government of IndiaFinance Ministry has expressed it inabilityto sanction Exchange Release from Indiabut the Indian Embassy in America atWashington W. C. has directly sanctionedto raise funds from the Indian residents inAmerica and directly from the Americancitizens.The American Foundations do notcontribute anything to any institution ororganisation if it is not properly incorporatedby law of the land. So far I haveknowledge of the Indian residents inAmerica they are mostly engaged in local

1966 109educational or Indian Government servicein the Embassy. Therefore there isvery little hope to get from them any substantialhelp fo r the proposed temple constructionwhich will require somemillions of dollars. But if the Americanstake the matter very seriously there aremany Foudations one of them alone cancontribute such amount.I have therefore very recently incorporatedone organisation very recently(within a fortnight past) under the name ofINTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FORKRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS (Incorporatedin U.S.A.) The Trustees of thisorganisation are all American gentlemenheaded by one of the leading lawyers ofNew York Mr. Steven J. Goldsmith B.Sc.M.A.B.L. who comes regularly in myweekly classes and chants the Mahamantravery devoutly.Now the chance for preaching the cultof Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the westerncountries like America and Europe ispractically established and if the organisationis properly managed I am sure therewill be no dearth of financial facilitiesfrom the American citizens. But still Ithink this organisation should have cooperationfrom all countries of the worldspecially of lndia and more specially fromthe Goudiya Vaisnavas who are pledged totake the responsibility of preachingChaitanya cult in every village and town ofthe world. I am therefore inviting the firstcooperation from my Godbrothers in thisgreat adventure. I am very much hopefulof success of the attempt and I am seekingyour good consultation if it is possible tohave full sympathetic cooperation of myGodbrothers in India in this adventure.Sriman Brahmachary Mangalniloy has alreadyagreed to come here to assist mefully but I wish that each and every one ofthe different Goudiya Math organisationsmay kindly send one person respectivelyto work under my direction in these foreigncountries and thus become individuallya member of the internationalorganisation abovementioned. The qualificationof such intending candidates mustbe that he must be able to speak in Englishor be well versed in playing Khola or singing.If one is qualified with all the abovequalifications it is very good otherwise hemust be qualified at least one of them. Sofar their coming here I shall take all the responsibilityfor passage and maintenance.Would kindly consider this proposal immediatelyand let me know your decisionperreturn of post?[TEXT MISSING]for this cooperation programme. SrilaPrabhupada wanted us to do everything incomplete cooperation and thus I am inclinedto have full cooperation in thisgreat attempt of preaching in the foreigncoutries. All the camps of our variouscamps may at least cooperate in the matterof special activities and I may be able toprovide any number of men who may benow inclined to come here and work undermy direction. There is great possibilityof Lord Chaitanya 's cult beingpreached amongst the younger section ofthe Americans and some of them are hearingme very seriously to accept the philosophy.Our men in the ideal line ofactivities chalked out by Srila Prabhupadawill be great help to me and the personswho are now seriously attending myclasses.Awaiting to hear from you as early aspossible with the list names of the personswho will come here from differentcamps.I am asking people here to practiceKrishna consciousness through musicdance philosophy science religion anddistribution of Prasadam. I am askingthem to become freed from all sorts ofanxieties by practicing the transcendentalsound vibration of Hare Krishna HareKrishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare etc

110 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidaand I am asking them to join the InternationalSociety for Krishna ConsciousnessInc . My classes are being held thrice aweek in the evening between 7:00 to 9:00P. M. Hope you are wellYo urs affectionately,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiI hope you will please note the abovepoints carefully and reply this letter atyour earliest opportunity and oblige.Thanking you in anticipation,Yours sincerely,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami66-8-2AgentThe Bank of Baroda, LimitedBranch Chandni ChawkDelhi 6, IndiaNew Yo rk3rd August, 1966Dear Sir,Re My savings Bnak account 1452With reference to the above I beg to informyou that since a year I am out of India,and I may be required to live here afew days more. I am therefore anxious toknow my above account position and shallbe glad to have a statement of accountsince June 1st 1965 on which date I see mycredit balance Rs . 2206.05.I may further inform you that myAmerican friends will purchase somebooks of mine from India and I wish tosend the money for deposit in a separateaccount namely A. C. BAHKTIVEDANTABOOK A/C. I therefore request you toopen the above account immediately andtransfer Rs. 100/- from my present accountto this new account. And on hearingfrom you I shall send all the depositsmoney to this account .Please let me know the number of thisnew account A.C.BHAKTIVEDANTABOOK ACCOUNT. Also please send mea cheque book containing ten cheques tomy above American address. Also pleaselet me know the present or current exchangerate for American dollars in Indianrupees.66-8-3ManagerFirst National City BnakGrand Street BranchGrand St. and BoweryNew Yo rk 13 N.Y.New Yo rk3rd August, 1966Dear Sir,I beg to inform you that I have to transfer1500/- Indian rupees to my Account(Savings) No. 1452 with the Bank ofBaroda Limited Chandni Chawk BranchDelhi-6, India from my savings bnak a/cwith you .Please let me know how many dollars Ihave to withdraw for the exchange andyour charges for transfer by air mail .Yours sincerely,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami66- 10-1New Yo rk3rd October, 1966Mr. K. B. MehtaAssistant ManagerScindia Steam Navigation CompanyCentral Bank Building33 Netaj i Subhas RoadCalcutta 1, IndiaMy Dear Mr. Mehta,Kindly refer to your letter dated 27thJune, 1966. Now, immediately, somefoods are to be dispatched from Delhi andCalcutta on my account to New Yo rk. Youhave written to say that the goods shouldbe cleared and passed by the customs undera certain bill. But I do not know who

1966 111will take charge of clearing these goodsand getting them passed by the customshouse. If you will, therefore , let me knowthe name of your clearing agent in Calcuttathen I can send the railway receipt tohim so that he can clear the goods fromrailway station and fo rward to your boat oryour ship, and I'm prepared to pay forclearing and fotwarding charges . In themeantime, Swami Bhakti Vilas Tirtha ofChaitanya Research Institute of 71 B RashBehari Avenue may send you some goodsfor fo rwarding. Please arrange to receivethe goods and forward to New Yo rk by anyone of your freighters. And also let meknow by return of post your authorizedclearing and forwarding agent. Also letme know whether the goods sent fromDelhi may be booked for Calcutta or Cochinport. Yo u can let me know whicheveris convenient so that I shall advise my manin Delhi to follow your instruction. Youcan send a copy of reply of this letter to myagent at Mathura. His address is as follows,Swami B. V. Narayan Maharaj , KesabjiGoudeya Matha, Kanstila, P. 0.Mathura, India.My best regards, for you allSwami A. C. Bhaktivedanta66- 1 0-2My dear Janis,New Yo rk29th October, 1966I thank you for your letter of 25th instantand I have noted the contents carefully.I have complete agreement with forthe arrangement that you desire to make inconnection with the Exhibition at Montreal. Ye s we shall go in a batch fo r performing the Kirtan ceremony both in theexhibition panda! as well as in the UniversityHall and you can arrange in that way.Here things are improving and peoplein New Yo rk taking in importance the Kirtanmovement. The enclosed papers andnewspaper cutting will give you an idea.We have already published some new literaturesnamely Krishna Reservoir of AllPleasure, Who is Crazy ? Introduction toBhagavad Gita , Back to Godhead, etc andour Society is coming in prominencedaily. We are just trying to purchase aproperty in New Yo rk at $9 00 .00 andthe students are taking the responsibility.Thus I think there is good prospect for thisSociety being an World organisation andyou must try to have a centre at Montrealas soon as possible.Under separate post parcel I am sendingyou all the above newly published literaturesand I shall request you to enlist asmany subscribers for Back to GodheadMagazine because we have to submit atleast 200 subscribers names tothe thepostal authorities for getting the concessionalrates.I am glad to learn that you are chantingregularly and I hope you are graduallygetting some enlightenment in KrshnaConsciousness. Our path is genuine sublimeand easy. So there must be an worldwide organisation for pushing the movementin the Human society so much afflictedby material advancement only.This is only medium to save the peoplefrom ruination.As my representative you can see Mr.Luthra and arrange things as you thinkbest. Whatever arrangement you willmake on behalf of the Society will be acceptedby us.I understand that you have done someFrench rendition of my writings includingthe essay which you have taken with you . Ihave now about 150 sets of Bhagavatamwith me. Please let me know if you havealready sold the sets that you have takenfrom here . Hope you are well with mygood wishes for you and your wife.Yours affectionatelyA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

112 Letters from Srrla Prabhupdda66-1 1-1 New Yo rk13th November, 1966Madame Sumati Morarji Bai Saheba,Please accept my greetings , and I hopeeverything is well with you .Surely you will be very much pleasedto know that my preaching work is gettingground in this country. The most importantfactor is that my followers and assistantsare all young Americans. They areeducated and possess an aptitude forgrasping reality.Under separate cover, I am dispatchingthe following publications which mySociety has already published:2 issues of Back to Godhead,Who is Crazy?Krishna the Reservoir of Pleasure,andIntroduction to Geetopanisad .And I am enclosing herewith the prospectusof the Society and some press cuttingsfrom which you will know how the movementis growing.I am very much obliged to you for allyour supports for me in my mission, and Ishall be more glad if you enroll yourself asan honorary member in this great Society.Some of my Indian friends have alreadyacceded to this request. I hope you willalso do so. I want to make this movementactually international , and as a great devoteeof Lord Krishna, not only yourself butall others should become members of thisInternational Society. Tomorrow we arejust going to celebrate Lord Krishna'sworship as Gridhari at Gobardhan Pujah,and we have invited many tfriends to partakeof Prasadam. You will be glad tolearn that I am distributing Prasadam tomy followers (20) daily, and Krishna is arrangingfood for them. I wish to increasethis number more and more, and my goodboys are trying to purchase a bigger housefor this purpose.Sriman Choksi, your secretary,wanted to visit the States while I was coming.Now I am in a position to sponsorhim. If you so desire, please let me knowand I shall send the sponsoring letters inthis connection. My blessing for Choksiand all your staff members, and my goodwishes fo r you . Awaiting your early reply,Yours sincerely,A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Swamienclosures: 366-11-2 New Yo rk26th November, 1966The Universal Book HouseSita Bhavan, Tulsipipe RoadDadar, Bombay-28, India.Dear Mr. Dharwadkar,Please accept my greetings. Kindly referto your letter of the 26th February1966.If you have not been able to sell all thebooks left with you for sale, you maykindly return the books toSrimati Morarji (Sumati) of ScindiaHouse Dougall Road, Ballard State, Bombay.Or if you think you shall be able tosell them you can keep the books onsales account and in that case you willplease immediately hand over two setsof Book (Srimad Bhagavatam) to SrimatiSumati Morarji as abovementionedand oblige .I shall be glad to receive from you astatement of account for Books sold andamount deposited with the BankKindly treat this as urgent and oblige.Awaiting your early reply and thankingyou in anticipation.Yours sincerely,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami

1966 11366- 1 1-3 New Yo rk26th November, 1966Madame Sumati Morarji Baisaheba,I thank you very much for your letter ofthe 22nd instant and have noted the contents.I am enclosing herewith one copy ofthe letter to my booksellers in Bombay.Kindly get in touch with them and take deliveryof Two sets of (three volumes each)Srimad Bhagavatam.Thank you very much for your enquiryabout the printing of my books. I beg toinform you that the printing work is nowsuspended on account of my being absentfrom India. The books manuscript areready for printing. I was printing themwith great difficulty by collecting snailammount of mony and due to my absencethey are not being printed. If your goodselfor somebody else come forward to cooperatein this connection the printingwork can immediately be revived. In themeantime I have also prepared a commentaryon the Bhagavad Gita purely onBhakti principle and when published itwill be an unique publication of BhagavadGita as it is. So far all the commentariesmade on the Bhagavad Gita like Dr.Radhakrishna or others, they have noknowledge in the Bhakti cult. Thereforesuch commentaries on the Bhagavad Gitaare no authorised. "Bhakta asi priya asime rahasya hi etad uttamam" No bodyhas any access in the Bhagavad Gita withoutbeing devotee of the Lord. But all thecommentaries in English now available inthe market are made by the non devoteemental speculators. As such if my BhagavadGita will be an unique presentationif they are published. I shall be very muchglad if you kindly cooperate in this connection.I have not as yet received the reply ofmy letter dated 13th instant and I hope toreceive it soon.I consider your goodself as one of theassociates of Srimati Radharani LordKrishna's most beloved consort. So yourprayer to Lord Krishna for success of mymission in the Wwestern countries willsurely be heard . But at the same time I expectfull cooperation of all devotees ofKrishna in India specially in Bombay inthis mighty progress. I wish to train up theAmerican youths in the line of devotionalservice and entrust them with Temples ofSri Sri Radha Krishna in various parts ofthis part of the world. With my goodwishes, I beg to remainYours sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami66- 12-1New Yo rklOth December, 1966Janis Dambergs311 Saint Louis SquareMontreal, 18, QuebecCanadaMy dear Janis,I am so glad to receive your kind letter,dated November 30, 1966, with enclosureof $50.00 on account for my books.Thank you very much. Just on receipt ofyour letter, I have already sent you,through the Railway Express Company,the following books and literatures:18 sets Srimad Bhagawatam25 copies Krishna the Reservoirof Pleasure-25 cents25 copies Who Is Crazy?-25 cents40 copies Introduction toGeetopanisad-35 cents40 copies Back to Godhead (#1)-15cents35 copies Back to Godhead (#2)-15cents35 copies Back to Godhead (#3)-15centsI am so glad to hear that you are nowmarried. I pray Krishna that you may live

114 Letters from Srfla Prabhupddahenceforward happily as a householder,without thinking of a separation fromyour wife. According to Vedic wisdom, agood wife is a great assistant for materialand spiritual prosperity. Even if there issome deficiency, you should try to correctit without thinking in the We sternizedway. I hope your wife may be taking interestin your chanting Sankirtan and readingSrimad Bhagawatam. As she has becomeyour life's companion, it is your duty to induceher, peacefully, in the matter of spiritualadvancement of life.Material bodily conditions may betaken as secondary. Your primary occupationshould be Krishna Consciousness. Iam sorry to learn that you have lost somemoney, to the extent of $350, and that youare involved in some court case. In the future,as far as possible, try to avoid suchentanglements. Of course, Krishna willsave you if you are forced to be so entangledNow you can distribute the books andthe paper, Back to Godhead, to the best ofyour capacity, and if you require more, weshall be glad to send them.When you send the remittance, pleasealso send separate accounts for the booksand the other literatures.I think I shal be engaged in Californiaduring January and February. So, Apriland May will be quite suitable for me to goto Montreal. To go at both times will notbe possible. If, however, I do not go toCalifornia, then I shall write to you .I thank your father for his rememberingme, and if I meet him sometime, Ishall not disclose your wedding, rest assured.Please send me your news at leasttwice in a month.Yo urs affectionately,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: 166-12-2 New Yo rk15th December, 1966Sri Nripendra Nath BanerjiLate Principal of Kanyakubja CollegeElliot Road . Birpur.My dear Nripen Babu,Kindly accept my greetings and blessingsof Sri Sri Radha Damodar Dev Thakura.I hope everything is going well withyou.Since I came to America I desired towrite you letter several times but I for gotyour address. I wrote several letters toyour brother at Vrindaban but I have receivedno reply from him. I do not knowwhy. I am therefore writing to you althoughI do not definitely your address. Ido not know whether you will receive thisletter and still I hope this will reach youand I hope you will kindly reply this letterpromptly.Since I have come to America in September1965, I have travelled many partsof the country specially Pennsylvania,Phaladelphia, Pitsburge, Butler, SliperyRock, Monroe, Boston and now I amsituated in New York the biggest city inthe world. I have started a small Ashram atthe above address and yong American studentsare taking very great interest in thephilosophy of Vaisnavism based on theBhagvadgita and Srimad Bhagwatam. Mybooks are selling here and I have publishedmany small books also since I havecome here. My fo rtnightly magazine"Back to Godhead" is also being regularlypublished and my lectures and Kirtanhave been recorded in Phonograph.The important papers have given me publicityand things are growing nicely. I haveestablished a Society here under the nameand style INTERNATIONAL SOCIETYFOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESSINC and the Trustees of this society are allAmerican and my disciples. They are goingpurchasing house in New Yo rk and as

1966 115soon as the house is purchased I shall establishin New York a Temple of SRI SRIRADHA KRISHNA for the first time. SirPadampat Singhania of your city of Kanpurwas ready to spend lakhs of rupees forthis temple in New Yo rk but Govt. of lndiadid not sanction exchange from India. So Iam trying locally to start the temple andmost probably I shall be successful to startone not only in New Yo rk but also one inCalifornia and the other in Montreal(Canada) in both cities there are my discipleswho are already working there. Ihope you will be pleased to learn aboutconsiderable success in my preaching activities.Now one thing I beg to draw your attentionis the Rupanuga Pa ra Vidya Pithawhich I wanted to start in Vrindabanwithin the vicinity of Radha DamodarMandir. If it is possible to get some vacantland for constructing the building. MyAmerican students are ready to spend forthis and I think if you give some land onlease terms, then I can immediately beginthe work. Perhaps you may rememberthat when I first came to your temple, thiswas my proposal and both yourself andGorachand Goswami agreed to this. Lateron when I wanted to do the work yourbrother indirectly declined. So I did notattempt any thing. Now I am serious aboutthis building and if you so desire you cangive me some land on lease terms. Offcourse there is ample land in V rindaban tostart this institution, but my aimis to startit in the land of Sri Sri Radha DamodarTemple which I think is very good forevery one concerned. I want to start a niceInternational Institute at the place of Srila___ Goswami is silent on this pointand therefore I am writing to you . Theidea is very good and I hope you will appreciateit. Any way it is up to you to acceptthe proposal or reject it but I shall beglad to hear from you about your honestopinion on this. My mission is develop theglories of Srila Jiva Goswami all over theworld and I think you should cooperatewith my honest endeavour.Kindly reply this letter promptly if youreceive it. I shall be glad to hear aboutyour sons. Specially your youngest son.How he is feeling in the absence of his belovedmother. I hope you are takingproper care of the boy. He is very intelligent.If you so desire I can help him in gettingeducation in some of the Americaninstitutions for being great scholar in anyline . Thanking you in anticipation andawaiting your early reply. Hope you arewell . With my regards I beg to remain,Yours very sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.I do not wish to disturb the position of thesevaits of Radha Damodar Temple, butsimply if I am given the facility to livethere with my disciples, it will be my pleasureto serve Their Lordships Sri SriRadha Damodar to my best capacity. Nowit is up to you all sevaits to decide on thisfact.Yo urs sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiACBS/sdncc: Nripendra Nath BanerjeeMathuram Goswami

1967

JANUARY67- 1 -1 San Franc isco19th Januar y, 1967My Dear Brahmananda, Hayagriva,Kirtanananda, Satsvarupa, Gargamuni,Achyutananda, Jadurani,Please accept my greetings and bl essingsof Guru Gouranga Giridhari Gandharvika. You have alread y got the newsof our safe arrival and good reception bythe devotees here. Mr. Allen Ginsbergand about fifty or sixt y others received uson the air port and when I arrived in myapartment there were some press reportersalso who took note of my mission.Two three papers like the Examiner andthe Ch ron icle etc . have alread y pu blishedthe report. One of the reports is sent herewithplease find. I wish that 1000 cop iesof this report may be offset printed at onceand 100 copies of the same ma y be senthere as soon as poss ible.I understand that you are feeling myabsence. Krishna will give you strength.Ph ysical presence is immaterial; presenceof the transcendental sound received fromthe sp iritual master should be the gu idanceof life . That will make our sp irituallife successful. If you feel ver y strongl yabout my absence you ma y place my pictureson my sitting places and th is will besource of in sp irat ion fo r yo u.I am ver y much an xious to hear aboutthe final dec ision of the house. I wish toopen the house by the 1st of March 1967and arrangement ma y be done dexterousl yin this connect ion. I have not as yet receivedthe tapes for Dictaphone and I havesent you tapes yesterday. Please offer mybl essings to Sriman Neal.Sriman Rayarama is cooking well anddistr ibuting Prasadam to the devoteesnum bering sometimes sevent y. It is ver yencourag ing. I th ink th is centre will bever y nice branch without delay. Ever y­th ing is prospective. Hope yo u are all welland awa it ing your earl y repl y.Yo urs affectionate ly,A.C. Bhakt ivedanta Swam iEnclosure : I67-1-2MontrealSan Franc isco22nd January, 1967My dear Janardan,I thank you for your letter of Januar y17, 1967, red irected from New York. Ihave come here on the 16th instant byUn ited Airl ine Jet plane, and I am glad toin form you that my students hereespeciall y Mike and Harve y-made verynice arrangements for rece iving me. Thecenter is open now and exactl y like NewYo rk we are executingthe serv ice regualrly. Some of the devotees will be in it i­ated toda y.Now it is yo ur turn to open a similarbranch at Montreal . To open a branch andto conduct it nicel y accord ing to our lineof ac tion is the path of Krishna Consciousness. In my absence in New Yorkthe students arc nicel y manag ing affa irs.Th ey. although feel ing my absence, arenot dis couraged. Rather the y arc executingthe serv ice ver y nicel y and exactl y. Ith ink the y will manage to purchase thehouse under negotiat ion. 80% of thetransaction is finished. The y are taking a

120 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadagreat burden in paying $200,000.00.They are very enthusiastic, and I hope youwill also manage to open a nice branch atMontreal like that. In the spiritual worldalso there is competition for the best satisfactionof Krishna.I hope you will take me to your placeby the month of April, 1967-or earlier asyou think best. Before returning to India,if I am able to run at least three centerslike the one in New York, another in SanFrancisco and the other in Montreal, thenI shall feel successful in my mission. Ihope you will help me in this direction andoblige.Ranchor has come with me from NewYork. Yes, he has your goods in his apartment.Herewith you may find his note inthis connection.I am also enclosing a press cuttingwhich will speak for itself. Hope you arewell, and with best wishes for Mrs. Dumbergs.The girl is very intelligent, and youshould peacefully teach her about ourgreat mission in the world.Yours affectionately,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-1-3 San Francisco25th January, 1967My dear Brahmananda,I am in due receipt of your letter of the21st instant and later on yesterday I havereceived five tapes in good condition outof which I have sent today two tapes dulyrecorded. So long am here I shall send youtwo tapes duly recorded every day andsimilarly you also send me two tapes dailyso that there will be no difficulty.While coming San Francisco I advisedboth Kirtananada and Gargamuni to despatchone tape reel to India. It was dulypacked and addressed as follows:Sri Radharaman Das BrahmacharySri Goudiya Sanghasram23 Doctor Lane Calcutta-14 India.I am very much anxious to know if thisreel has already been despatched by airmail. If not please immediately do it andlet me know that you have done so. I havereceived letter from the above Brahmacharythat he has not as yet received thesame. Please treat this as very urgent.Sriman Karalapati (Carl Yeargans) hassent me one check for ten dollars which Iam enclosing herewith for credit of his accountand he has said that some of his relativeswould pay $50.00. If not receivedplease let Sri Karalapati be informed ofhis dues till now and he would remit. Hisaddress in Greece is as follows:K. Yeargans, Poste Restante, LindosRhodos, GreeceAlso please send him all the copies ofBack to Godhead and other literatures sofar published. He is very anxious to getmy commentary on the Bhagavat Gita. Solet me know if there is any possibility ofpublishing this book from U.S.A. otherwiseI shall immediately arrange for itsprinting in India. The translation andcommentary is already finished. I shallbegin Chaitanya Charitamrita Essays &Text. If I am assisted by one expert typewriterlike Neal, as he is doing now, wecan publish every three months a book.And the more we have books, the more webecome respectable.It is understood that $5000.00 fivethousands of dollars have already beencredited in the account of INTERNA­TIONAL SOCIETYFOR KRISHNACONSCIOUSNESS INC. on January23, 1967 and as advised by me in my previousletter the payment should be madeto the seller of the House under strict instructionof the Laywer appointed in thisconnection. In India it is the custom thatimmediately after payment the buyer getspossession of the house immediately. I

JANUARY, 1967 121think the same procedure is followed inthis country.Further, $200. 00 may be transferred tomy account in the Trade Bank And TrustCo. at 4th street for purchasing some musicalinstruments for Mr. Janathan Altman.This month as usual the check maynot be sent to him but advice may be sentto him that the ammount has been paid tomy account for purchasing his musical instrumentsin India. The cost will be about$500. 00 out of which $200. 00 has to besent immediately. So after transferring theabove ammount you can let us both knowabout it so that I can take the necessarysteps.While Kirtananda coming he maybring with him some stationery and envelopesof the Society as well as dry mangoejuicefor me. Kirtananda knows whereto get it. I have also sent some instructionswith Rayrama and I hope you have receivedthe same.Here everything is going well. Fourdevotees have been initiated and two devoteeshave been married. On the marriageceremony day there was extraordinarygatherings (150 at least) and all of themwere distributed prasadam. Sriman Ranchorassisted by some girls prepared Kachauri,Samsoa, Iskcon Balls, Puri,Chatni etc and there were many fruits alsoand all the guests enjoyed the Prasadamvery nicely. The initiated persons are asfollows:Sri Haridas Brahmachary,(Harvey cohen)Sri Shyamsunder Adhikary (Sam)Srimati Malati Devi (Mrs Melody)Srimati Harsa Devi (Miss. Hope)In the morning class there are not lessthan 25 students and in the evening thereare 30 to 50 students. And I think they aregradually understanding the philosophyseriously. Sriman Mukinda Das has inview a plot of land about sixty acres forthe society and he wishes to organise ourcommunity camp there. It is very encouraging.Please reply this letter point by pointand let me know the progress of the housepurchasing negotiation. Hope you are doingwell with greater enthusiasm eventhough I am absent. Please take care of Jaduraniso that her painting work may goon very nicely. She is entrusted with greatresponsibility. More in my next. With mysincere blessings for you all, I amYours ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami.Enclosure check for $10.0067-1-4My dear Jadurani,San Francisco30th January, 1967Please accept by blessings. I haveheard about your good work although youdid not write me. I always remember youas the nicest girl because you are so devoutlyengaged in the service of Krishna. Iam sure Krishna is pleased on you and Hewill bestow His blessings upon you. Betteryou accept Krishna as your Husbandand He will never be unfaithful. Mundanehusbands and wives never agree with oneanother. Because in the material world therelations are on the basis of body which isfalse basically. Under the circumstanchow we can have the genuine thing onplatform of false existence. Devote yourselftherefore 24 hours in the service ofKrishna and see how yo feel happy in allrespects. You are very good girl, becauseI have heard you chanting while working.It is very good and may Krishna give youmore and more enlightenment. I alwayspray that you may be happy by our Lord'sGrace. I shall be glad to hear from you.Yours ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

122 Letters from Srrla PrabhuptidaMy dea r Satsva rupa,Please accept my ble ssing. I understandthat Neal has left us and you ha vetaken the responsibility for typi ng the records.Please let me kno w how manytapes are wi th you. I think you ha ve fivetapes with you because I ha ve got onlythree with me. See that the tapes do notmiss. You are a sincere dev otee of theLord and certainl y He will bless you withauspicious advancement in the ma tter ofspiritual unders tanding. Your ass istantRanchor is doing well with me. He is notnow disturbed in his mind. I hope you areall in full cooperation in the service ofKrishna. I shall be glad to hear from you .Hope you are well.Your ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Achyutananda,Please accept my blessings. Since Kirananandais absent certainly you are feelingsome strain. But the more you serveKrishna the more you become stronger. Ihope you are being properly assisted byyour other Godbrothers. I shall be glad tohear from you . May Krishna give you allprotection in the discharge of your transcendentalduties.Yours ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Gargamuni,Since I have come here I did not hearfrom you. Hope you are doing well withfull cooperation of your elderly Godbrothers. Did you go to your mother alongwith Brahmananda? I hope she is alrightnow. I have already transferred $5000.00to the A/c of International Society forKrishna Consciousness Inc. Checksshould be drawn with full deliberance.Have you transferred $200.00 to my accountinstead of sending the check to Mr.Altman? I have already sent you instructionsin this connection. Shall be glad tohear from you. Ho pe you are well.Yours ever we l wi sher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. Up to date I have only 5 ta pes withme. Pleas e let me know how many youcounted altogether.67-1-5San Francisco30th January, 1%7My dea r Rayrama,I am in due receipt of your letter of thr26th instant. The service proposal is ve rynice and I approve of your acceptance thisjob. Not only your income will be a greathelp to the society but also it will be agreat opportunity for learning how to organiseour magazine Back to Godhead.This Back to Godhead will always remainthe bac kbone of the society because morethe magazine is popular the more societybecomes popular. So your amb itionshould always be how to impro ve thequality of the paper so that it may be readby all respectable persons. In future wemay have one French edition of this paper.If our Back to Godhead goes on nicelythen we can have our all publicationswithout waiting fo r any other publishers.Regarding Srimad Bhagavad Gita I amnow arranging to get it published independentlyand to print it in India because itwill be cheaper. What we wil l spend for2000 copies here will be sufficient forprinting 5000 cop ies in India. And theabridged edition may be printed herethrough some publisher. I have askedHoward to edit it immediatel y. I am somu ch pleased to learn that everything isgoing on well at N.Y. centre . So long ourKirtan is alright there is no difficulty atall. Hope you are well along with yourother God brothers and sisters.Yours ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami

JANUARY, 1967 123My dear Brahmananda,I am in due receipt of your letter ofthe 28th instant. I was very much eagerto get the records but they are still delayed.Our yesterdays function was verysuccessful. There were about 1500 ormore audience and all of them chantedand danced continually for one hour andfifteen minutes. I came back at 1 1-30 atnight . I think Sriman Haridas Brahmachary(Harvey) will contribute$1000.00 towards the building fund atNew York. I am sorry that the Lawyer ofthe owner is delaying the matter. Willthe proprietor of the house be carried bythe Lawyer? If it is so what is the use ofwasting time in that way. If they are seriousthey must finish the business withoutdelay. I wish that we must enter thehouse by the 1st of March 1967 .Please try to secure a copy of each filmso far taken of us while performing Kirtan.If requ ired we may pay something forthis; better they should contribute a filmto the society as we have not charged anything.If we get the filsm we can then purchasea projector to show in differentplaces. Please send the records as early aspossible. There is possiblity of selling agreat number of records here. They areall purchasing cash. Please expedite thematter.One thing you may note also as a matterof etiquete. The Sp iritual Master is addressedas His Divine Grace, a Godbrotheris addressed as His Grace, andany Sannyasin is addressed as HisHoliness.I am very much an xious to know aboutthe progress of the house negotiation aswell the records. Hope you are well.Yours ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami

FEBRUARY67-2-1San Francisco3rd February, 1967my dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter with enclosuresand have seen the balance sheet. I haveseen also the check account. Thank youvery much. I think you are now expert accountkeeper may Krishna bless you fortalents and sincere endeavour for serviceof the Lord. The more you serve the moreyou become expert in everything.Now you should become little cautiousto sign checks. At least $6000.00 nowshould always remain in the Bank withoutfail. Expenditure should be met with frombalance above $6000.00. In other wordsthis should be the deadline for drawingcheck.I had talk with your brother Brahmanandayesterday on the dial. I amglad that Mr. Payne has promised to returnthe amount $750.00 in case no salecontract is made. But any case you shouldnot pay any farthing more than what youhave already paid either to the Lawyer orto Mr. Payne unless there is actual salecontract is made. It appears to me verygloom about the transaction because therewas no basic understanding before thepayment of $1000.00 either to the Lawyeror to the Real estate. This is not businesslike.Unless there is no basic understandingwhere is the way of transaction. Ifthere was no basic understanding why somuch waste of time and energy I cannotunderstand. And if there was basic understandingwhy it is changed so quickly. Iam therefore perturbed in the mind. Whenthere was no basic understanding whatwas the need for appointing Lawyer. Anywayit is my advice that you should consultme before issuing any further money. ButI hope you will make the transaction successfulwithout further delay.I hope you are duly receiving my tapesand Sriman Neal has no difficulty for typing.Today also I have received one tapefrom you and I have sent you five tapes inthree days hope you have received themduly. Please consult the Dictaphone supplierwhy the it stops sometime whileworking. It appears that it clogs either forthe Upe or for the machine. Please let meknow what is to be done. Does the tape orthe machine require to be cleaned. So farthe machine is concerned it is brand newand there is no need of cleaning the machine.But if the tapes are to be cleanedhow it is to be done. Please consult thegentleman who supplied the machine andlet me know the instruction. If there iscleaning instruction either of the tape orsome part of the machine how it is to bedone and what are mediums please let meknow in detail. I am also sending the passbook under separate post please find anddo the needful. A letter for Neal is also enclosedherewith please find. I hope youhave all received all my other letters.Please send me regularly the Mangojuce(dry) and Papad made by Bedekarwith spices.I hope Kirtanananda has already arriveddestination. I shall be glad to hearfrom him. Hope you are all well and performingKritan regularly. Kirtananda haslearned one tune to be sung in the morningwhich please practice as far as possible.

126 Letters from Srfla PrabhupiidaBrahmananda must attend his officeti mely so that he may not be called for explanationor reprimanded. Now Kritananandais there and I think there will beno difficulty in the management. I havereceived the cover of the record and hopeto receive the records as early as possible.Thanking you all for your si ncere serviceto the Lord.Yo ur ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami.Enclosure: 167-2-2 San FranciscolOth February, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am in duereceipt of your note along with Sri man Kirtanananda's letter. They are very muchanxious to get the records since you havesent the cover only. Please ask Mr. Lernerif Mr. Kallman is unwilling to send the recordsfor reasons known to him so that Ican inform here to the parties concerned.We mu st have some definite understandinginstead of prolonging a matter. I think everythingis going well there by the Grace ofLord Krishna. I have invitations fro m otherorganisations to lecture on 11th, 12th and14th at Self Realisation Organisation,Hi malayan Accademy Administration andSan Francisco University College. Someof them writes as follows: "Your Holiness:You have brought great beauty and harmonyto our community through your loveand devotion. Many souls have found theirinner peace in your teachings of theKrishna Consciousness " I could have immediatelydistributed many records inthese meetings by practical demonstrationof the records. What shall I do with theempty case? I cannot understand the policyof Mr. Kallman. Please try to understandhi m and let me know what is the actualposition.My dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your note . Ye s please sendme immediately one copy of Bhakti Sutra(with original Sankrit text) . I shall immediatelybegin the commentary. Ye s youcan edit on the tapes of Teachings of LordChaitanya. I am very pleased to receiveyour voluntary offer. Thank you verymuch.My Dear Kirtananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of 7th (March)February 1967 and I am very glad to learnthat you are improving your departmentvery nicely. I learn also that you made thenew Kachouri according to my directionand it has come out very successful . I havetought two more things to Ranchornamely "Nan khatai" and "Peda" whichyou have to learn from him by succession.Srimati Jadurani writes "many of SwamiSatcitananda's disciples were present inthe last Sunday's feasting and returnedthis morning to Kirtan. Our traps are toostrong to resist." I think you will agreewith her. I am glad to learn that the filmtaken by Mr. Richard Witty has come outvery successful. It is all Krishna's blessings.I think we may purchase one copy ofthe film at some concessional rate fromMr. Witty.Regarding the house I was corect in myremarks that there was no definite understanding.If Mr. Taylor can change hisword of honour transpired between himand Mr. Payne certainly that is not definiteunderstanding. Mr. Taylor's lawyer can ­not change the understanding between thetwo gentleman, he can simply give a legalshape only. Therefore, in such negotiationseverthing is done in black and white .Nothing is being done in black and whitebut everything is being done with faith onMr. Payne.Now forget what has been done in the

FEBRUARY, 1967 127past. Do it now businesslike. Mr. Taylor'slawyer has agreed to accept $1 05,000cash for the house "as is" and Mr. Paynehas agreed to pay the same secured fromPitsburge . Let this understanding be completedwithin I st of March 1967 and closethe chapter. I think this is my last word inthis connection. Yo u are all grown up boysand you use your discretion and you cannow complete the transaction withoutprolonging it indefinitely. If, however, weare not able to purchase a house it does notmean closing our activity at 26 Second avenue.So there is no question of packingup and come to S. F.Regarding your editing, I would verymuch like it. I am sending my lecture copiesto you. I think my other copies are lyingon the left side of my seat in acardboard box which please find out.Please be careful not to change the ideas.My dear Rayrama,I have not heard from you since a longtime. I hope you are doing well with yournew job. Now as I am going to send theGeetopanisad to India for printing, pleasesee the 1st and 2nd chapters finally ifthere are any grammatical or spelling mistakes.Also mark the verses with diacriticsigns as they are in Dr. Radhakrishnan'sbook. Mark the words in synonyms also.When you let me know that you have doneit then I shall ask you to send it to India.With my blessings I hope everything iswell there.My dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I have alreadyinformed you that the Dictaphone isclogging at the las t stage from point 25 . Isit due to the tape or the machine? Pleaselet me kno w what to do. Also please paythe rent of Ranchor's apartment since heis here . I hope you are well.Mydear Jadurani,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter dated 7th February1967 and have carefully noted the contents.May krishna be pleased on youmore and more for your sincere service.As you are good artist so also you writegood hand. Accept Krishna as your husbandand He will never cheat you . He iscompetent to maintain any number ofwife with full comforts because He isOmnipotent. So remain busy in the serviceof your Husband and you will beha ppy in this life as well as in the next.May Krishna award with His all benedictionsupon you.Yo urs ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67 -2-3San Francisco11th February, 1967My dear Rupanuga,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of the 7th Februaryand am surprised to note that temperatureof New York has gone down belowZe ro and there was a regular snow blizzardfo r two days. Certainly this situationwould have been a little troublesome forme because I am old man. I think Krishnawanted to protect me by shifting here atSan Francisco. Here the climate is certainlylike India and I am feeling comfortablebut uncomfortable also becauseat New Yo rk I felt at Home on account ofso many beloved students like you . As youare feeling my absence so I am feeling foryou . But we are all happy on account ofKrishna Consciousness either here orthere. May Krishna join us always in Histranscendental service. I am very glad tolearn that Eric has learnt Krishna Consciousnessbetter than his parents. I thankhim very much. This is the example of unsophisticatedmind. The child is innocent

128 Letters from Srila Prabhupadaand therefore he has taken the consciousnessso quickly. And he appears to be previouslypracticed to such consciousness.Please help him more and it is the duty ofgood parents to help their children advancedin Krishna consciousness. I amgald to learn. that devotees at New York areimproving especially in the chanting onbeeds.This evening we had very successfulperformances of Kirtan and discourses fortwo hours (7-9 P. M. ) at the HimalayanAcademy the Christian Yoga Church andthere were about 100 respectable gatherings.All the ladies and gentlemen werecultured and decent and all of them appreciatedour Kirtan and lectures. They profuselygarlanded me and exposed me forphotosnaps. Ranchor played the Harmoniumand they were pleased with his playingand garlanded him. They handed overto me some collection about $12.00 andmost probably they will invite us again forsuch performances. The students of thisHimalayan Academy have built a verynice temple and I wish the students in NewYork also finish the proposed building asnicely as they have done at San Francisco.Tomorrow we are going to see Dr. HaridasChowdhury one Calcuttaman who hasa similar institution under the name ofSelf Realisation Organisation of SanFrancisco. An American gentleman Kriyananda(J. Donald Walters) will take methere by engagement. And in the eveningto-morrow a couple will be married andtwo students will initiated prior to theirmarriage. And the same Kirtan functionwill be performed at California college onthe 14th instant Tuesday. !think our popularityin this part of the country is increasing.I think in New York also you shouldarrange for such Kirtan programes in differentchurches and societies on off dayslike Tuesday, Thursday, Saturdays. Whereverwe get opportunities we must performsuch Kirtan.My dear Kirtanananda,Please accept my blessings. I hope youhave by this time received my former letterand the package of lectures for editing.I have received one letter from Janis Dumburgesat Montreal proposing a Branchthere and he has selected one very niceplace for this purpose. He wants two studentsfrom New York to help him and fourhundred dollars. I wish therefore that youshould at once go there for a week or soand if you approve this place and prospect,we can begin a Branch there also.He has asked help for $400.00 in this connection.And if you approve then bothNew York and San Francisco will contributeeach $200.00 and this may be returnedby the Montreal Branch later on. I wishthat each and every Branch shall keeptheir independent identity and cooperatekeeping the Acharya in the centre. On thisprinciple we can open any number ofBranches all over the world. The Ramakrishnamission works on this principleand thus as organisation they have donewonderfully.Bob is prepared to go there also but Ishall send him to assist you there on hearingfrom you from Montreal. The addressof Janardan Das Adhikary (Janis Dumbergs)is as follows:311 St. Louis SquareApartment # 2Montreal Quebec, Canada.The thing is that in April 1967, there willbe a great exposition and millions of peoplewill gather there from all parts of the world.We have to prepare literatures both in Englishand French and have to draw the attentionof the university students as ourmembers. Mr. Janis proposes that by end ofMarch 1967 the Branch organisation mustbe completed and by the end of third week ofApril I shall go there after opening of ourNew York house (as per present negotiation).I think the idea is good and we shalltake the opportunity and for this I select you

FEBRUARY, 1967 129to go there first and study the prospectivesituation immediately. I shall be glad toknow per return of post about your decisionin this connection or if you start immediatelyon receipt of this letter then you canwrite me from Montreal.Neal has not yet arrived here.My dear Gargamuni,I am anxious to hear from you aboutthe clogging of the tapes in dictaphone.Please ask the supplier why it is cloggingat the end say from .25 to .30 situation.How to solve this problem. Please let meknow. I have now only one tape with meand what about the others. I shall be gladto hear from you.My dear Jadurani,If Kirtananda goes to Montreal you cangive him one Visnu Picture. I hope youhave received the Visnunames sent by me.Yours affectionately,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. My dear Rayrama, Please keep intouch with Mr. Leo Ypstantin. One Indiangentleman who is here for the last fiveyears as permanent resident, suggests thatif my students and admirers submit applicationto the visa department submit thatthey want me for their benefit they sanctionPermanent Resident Visa: Severalother organizations the __ mothersmy students as admirers, __ papershave appreciated my work. Why not adoptthis procedure before the expiring of mytentative period. Please consult Mr. Ypstantinand let me know his opinion. Showhim the cuttings. ACB67-2-4 San Francisco14th February, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Please accept blessings and offer thesame to all your Godbrothers and sisters.With reference to your telephonic conversationlast night and your letter of the 1OthFebruary, I beg to inform you that theBranch at San Francisco will act as a separateidentity and the New Yo rk establishmenthas nothing to take risk for thiscentre.I have also received the letter of Mr.Altman and I shall act according to his desire.So you can transfer $200.00 for Altmanand $6000.00 altogether $6200.00to my savings account No.19282 at theTrade Bank And Trust Company and letterof transfer is enclosed herewith. I haveduly signed the letter and you also sign itand forward it to the Bank. They will dothe needful. This $6000.00 will be transferredforthwith by me as soon as there is aSale contract for purchase of the house.Till then it will remain in my Savings Account.When actually there is Salecontractsigned I shall induce the San FranciscoBranch to contribute $1000.00 positivelyrest assured.In the opinion of the devotees andtrustees here $1000.00 dollar has beenrisked without any understanding. I knowthat you are doing your best but still therehas been an error of judgment. I am not atall displeased with you but they say thatMr. Payne will never be able to secure financialhelp from any other source. He issimply taking time under different pretextchanging constantly. Therefore youshould not pay even a farthing more thanwhat you have paid. If he wants any moremoney you should flatly refuse.Kirtanananda's presence in New Yo rkis essential; therefore I have postponed hisjourney to Montreal. Advice of friendshere has been accepted by me that openingof too many branches at the present stagewill be too heavy for us. Let us consolidatethere in two places which we have alreadyopened. Besides that the MontrealBranch wants men and Money which we

130 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadacannot spare at the present moment.Yo ur note on the dictaphone is takencare of . It is sent for adjustment becausethere is some defect in the machine. In themeantime they have supplied a machinefo r my work . I hav e now five tapes only.Thee more required . Neal has not comehere . Chant Hare Krishna be jolly. We areall secured by Krishna rest assured.Your ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure : I67 -2-5 San Francisco15th February, 1967My dear Sat-svarupa,Please accept my blessings. I hope youhave received my previous notes sent toyou in different letters. I have not as yetr eceived the copy of Na rada Bhaktisutrawhich you want me to write commentaries.I hope you are duly editing thetapes of Teachings of Lord Chaitanya.While typing the records after your editingmake it in duplicate and send me onecopy to see how you are doing it.I have now just five tapes with me outof which I am returning one to day. Pleaselet me know how many tapes are there tillto-day. Neal was to come here but he hasnot come; therefore, I am sending you thetape both for typing and editing. I hopeyou will do it nicely. May Krishna bepleased up on you.I have advised Brahmananda to transfer$6200.00 to my savings account andplease see that it is immediately done. Ihave sent him the letter of transfer simplyhe has to sign it or you may sign it and fo r­ward it to the Bank. I allowed you to dealwith the Bank for two reasons. 1 That Imay be free from monetary dealings 2.That you may learn also how to deal with.But recent indiscriminate issues of checkshave perturbed my mind. By indiscriminateissues of checks $1000 .00 of socie ­ty 's money have been put into risk .So far I can see from the correspondenceof Brahmananda it is not possiblefo r us to get the house for so man y rea ­sons . The main reason is that we have nomoney to pay cash and no body is going toinvest cash in that house because it is neithercomplete nor has any income. It issimply utopian to think of possessing thehouse and Mr. Payne is simply giving usfalse hope. That is the verdict of devoteesand trustees here and for reasons I believeit is correct. Please see therefore that theabove amount is immediately transferred.When actual sale contract is there I shallagain retransfer the amount as I did it afew days ago.You are all innocent boys without anyexperience of the world. The cunningworld can befool you at any time. So pleasebe care ful of the world in Krishna Consciousness.When Krishna will desire thehouse will come to us automatically. Butwe should not ask Krishna to give us ahouse let Krishna give us when He likes. IfMr. Payne is able to give us the house it isso far ve ry good. But from circums tances itappears that Mr. Payne cannot get financialassis tance from any businessman. If somebodygives us donation for the right causethat is a different thing. So we should onlywait for Krishna's mercy and should notjeopardise the hardearned money for serviceof Krishna. I hope you will not misunderstandme. Both you and Gargamunimust be care ful about the accounts and seethat checks above $50.00 are not issuedindiscriminately.Hope you are all well and shall be gladto hear from you by return post. Pleaseask Rayrama to write to me. I am anxiousto know if he had any talks with Mr.Ypslantin.Your ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiNote to Kirtanananda,

FEBRUARY, 1967 131My dear Kirtannananda,Your absence from New Yo rk is not advisable while I am not there. Therefore Iha ve postponed your journey to Montreal .Please take care of the bill of Lading forclearing the Mridangas. I think the shipJaladuta must be reaching New Yo rk bythis time. Please do the needful and clearthe valuable goods. Hope you are all well.Yours ever well wisher,A .C.Bhakti ve danta Swami67 -2 -6 San Francisco17th February, 1967My dear Brahmananda,In continuation of my yesterday 's letterand in reply to your very long letter of the13th February 1967 I beg to inform youthat I have received one letter from Mr.Payne and the copies of the schemes dated19th January 1967 which did not fructify.It appears that Mr. Payne has not beensuccess ful to secure any financial assis ­tance till the 14th february 1967 and it ishinted therein that I may also try for thesource of money. I have, therefore, re ­plied him and the wpy of the reply is enclosedherewith please find.So my opinion on the house purchaseis clearly defined there. We must have asale contract and then let us try for thefund combinedly. That will be some prac ­tical proposition. So far things have beendone in "entire negotiation is irregular"as stated in your letter. Now it appears thatMr. Payne is not very hopeful himself forraising the fund otherwise he would nothave written me as "It had occurred tome, your Excellency, that there might be apssibility of money source in the area inwhich you are working. This I do know,money men and their operations there arenot so sophisticated or unimaginative asthey are here." I think if there is sale con ­tract, it may be possible to raise the fundby combined effort both here and there.Without sale contract it will be not practicalto raise fund.So far records are concerned, the secretaryhere told me that they are preparedto pay enough for the records up to 1500pieces.Do not misunderstand me that I haveno interest in having a permanent buildingat New York. I want the house more thanyou; my only objection is that " This is nota regular business tra nsaction" as admittedby you. Why not make it regular nowas suggested by my letter to Mr Payne? Ifyou can have a sale contract then everything will be regular and it will be easierto raise fund. What is the difficulty in get ­ting the Sale contract as suggested by me.I have not sent the Pass Book. But theletter of transfer is sufficient and I hopeyou have already sent the le ter to theBank. Hope you are all doing well. Withmy blessings for you all,Your ever wei wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami67-2-7 San Francisco17th February, 1967Carl E. Maxwell-PayneWilliam Alfred White Inc.513 Avenue of the AmericansNew Yo rk 1 1. N.Y .Dear Mr. Payne,I thank you ve ry much for your letter ofFe bruary 14, 1967 and I have received thecopies of your schemes which did notfructify.From a letter of Mr. William J. Taylordated January 20, 1967 it appears that heauthorised you for first mortgage negotiationand I do not know how Mr. Taylor'sLawyer can change this arrangement.I can also understand from your letterand other sources that so far you havenot been able to secure any financial

132 Letters from Srrla Prabhupiidaassistance with any tangible hope.You have also hinted in your letter underreply that I may try here some possibilityof money source. Of course mystudents here raised fund by one schemeof dancing a fund of $4000.00 since I havecome here and they have spent in differentitems almost all the fund. But they cannottake up the matter seriously unless there isfact. It may be possible to raise fund inthat way if we have got actual salecontractfrom Mr. Taylor on legal standing.It is understood from letters ofBrahmananda that the Lawyer of Mr. Taylorhas now agreed to convey the title ofthe property on cash down payment of$105,000. I think you should get a salecontract on this basis and take maximumtime, not less than, three months for finalpayment. If required you can pay earnestmoney at most $750.00 which you haveon our behalf.If there is sale contract, my studentshere and in New york will be able to raisethe fund very seriously. In the absence ofany sale contract everything appears to bein the air and Mr. Taylor or his lawyer canchange his word as he has already done. Ithink that is the best solution of thepresent deadlock. I am forwarding a copyof the letter to my students in New Yo rk.Hope you are well. With regards,Yours sincerely,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami67-2-8CONFIDENTIALSan Francisco18th February, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. With furtherreference to my letter of yesterday'sdate I may inform you that from the letterof Mr. Payne and the schemes which producedno fruit, it appears to me that he isnot in a position to secure money for thehouse from any financial party. That is myconviction. Now if you think that he isable to secure money for us, if you thinkthat there is something hopeful by thistime then you can continue the negotiationsas he is doing but do not fo rKrishna 's sake advance a fa rthing moreon any plea by him. He may be trying hisbest but he is incapable to do this. That ismy honest opinion.Next thing is that when a man takeswork in his own hand it is sure to be done.If you are serious about purchasing thehouse then do not depend on Mr. Paynetake the work in your own hand. Just enterwith Mr. Taylor in agreement of hire purchasesystem sale contract for any reasonablemarket price. We shall pay rent tothe amount of $1000.00 per month andcash down $10,000.00. The repairingwork may be done by Mr. Taylor as he isdoing. So long his full money is not recoveredwe shall continue to remain as tenantand as soon as his full money is paid up thetitle automatically becomes conveyed tous. We have already engaged our Lawyerand Mr. Taylor has his Lawyer. Let themdraw a hirepurchase-sale-contract on theabove basis. It is not amortisation but it ispractically an agreement between the tenantand the Landlord. Let us remain astenant and let Mr. Taylor remain as landlord. As Landlord he will have full right toevict us failing to pay the stipulated rent.So there is no risk on the part of Mr. Taylorand I hope the lawyer of Mr. Taylorwill gladly accept these terms. Mr. Taylorwill be profited by this, because he gets animmediate tenant and income up to 1000dollars per month for a house which is lyingvacant for so many years. And for uswe get a house which is suitable for us.Convince Mr. Taylor like this and enterinto such hire-purchase system-salecontract.I think this is the best solutionfor both Mr. Taylor and ourselves. Try

FEBRUARY, 1967 133for this and quickly occupy the housewithout waiting for help from so calledfinanciers. No sane financier will investmoney on the complicated schemes drawnby Mr. Payne. It is simply utopian it willnever be successful.Now next proposal is that why don'tyou arrange for ,Kirtan and lectures by mein every school, college, clubs, association,etc in New York. Now we have 'Mridangas'and cymbals. Let us organise aKirtan party both at New York and at San­Francisco and on our off days at leasttwice in a week let us have our Kirtan outside.Here the students are arranging anotherdance meeting like the one they didon the 29th January and they are expectinggood collection. Even there is no goodcollection, by outdoor Kirtan and lectureswe shall at least be popular to everyoneand automatically we shall be successfulin raising fund. The other day we had avery nice meeting in the California StateCollege it was grand successful. They aregoing to arrange again like that in Berkeleycollege where they are expecting threethousand audience. I am enclosing herewitha copy of the letter received fromHimalayan Accademy. See how they areappreciating our method of peace movement.So in this way we have to forwardour cause. No business man will comeforward to help us on utopian schemes ascontemplated by Mr. Payne. We have totry for ourselves. So the summary is toobtain a hire purchase sale-contract fromMr. Taylor and popularise our movementby outdoor engagements as many as possible.Now my staying in your country is increasedfor two years at least and while Iam here (U.S.A.) we can work tremendouslyby working ourselves on the abovescheme. Let us take help from Krishna byhonestly working for Him than on utopiantheories. Even there are three centres Ican move everywhere without any tiresomefeeling. I can stay one month in eachcentre every quarterly and see things goingin order.I hope you will try to understand myview point and let me know how do youappreciate the scheme.Neal has arrived here yesteday eveningand he feels joly. Please send me all thetapes that are lying there. I hope you willrealise the repairing charges for Dictaphone.There is again some defect in themicrophone. It is not rewinding by pushingthe finger clip. I do not know what todo. I hope you have by this time clearedoff the consignments per M. V.Jaladutafrom India. And I shall be glad to knowhow you have received the goods.Here everything is going on nicely. Ihave not heard anything from Kirtanananda.I hope everything is wellthere.I understand that Sriman Acyutanandais feeling my absence. I shall be very soonthere. Please offer blessings every onespecially Sriman Acyutananda and SrimatiJadurani. Please ask Gargamuni towrite me occasionally about his good accountkeeping. Please ask him to despatchall the Srimad Bhagavatam sets withoutdelay. They have paid me the price offormer consignment.It is understood that you have now anelectric Typewriter. If so why not send ithere to be worked on by Neal or Howard.Awaiting your early reply.Your ever welwisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami,Enclosure : 167-2-9 San Francisco21st February, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of the 18th instantand have noted the contents. I am

134 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadaglad to know that the "Happiness On SecondAvenue " film has come out veryhappy. Please see it and let know theresult. I hope you have received my lastletter suggesting therein the scheme ofhire purchase agreement with Mr. Taylor.I have not heard anything from Kirtananandatill now. Neal , one day evening,came here but since then he is not here anddo not know if I shall send the recordedtapes or not. Because here there is notypewriter. Howard is not serious aboutgeneral typewriting.My dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your statement. It appearsthat you have $5,823.04 in the treasury.Yo u can therefore deposit $5,700.00 tomy account by transfer advice. Since Nealis not available here, I am sending the recordedtapes to New York for typing asyou have the Dictaphone there. I am alsoreturning the le ter of authority to theshipping company duly signed by me .There is some defect in microphone alsoof the dictaphone. What is to be done. Thedictaphone seller does not appear to bevery honest. When I enquired they toldthat it should be tak en to some local deal ­ers and when it is repaired they say thatthey are not going to pay for the labour. Soif there is any defect, has it to be sent toNew York at their expense?You can send the sets of Bhagavatamkeeping there two sets only. And the setswhich you have already sold, proceedsmay be deposited in my account. Mr. Al ­tman has not got to be paid this month becauseas soon as I hear from you that youhave transferred the amount to my accountI shall send $200.00 to India forpurchase of harmonium.My dear Rayrama,I am in due receipt of your long letter. Ido not know why Back to Go dhead is notprinted timely. If it is prin ted send here thenecessary copies. I do not know who saidthat Back to Godhead is to be printedhere. Unless there is written order by meBack to Godhead should regularly beprinted from New Yo rk . There is no questionof its being printed here . So go onprinting it right time. You can send thecopies here with bill and I shall see that itis duly paid.Yo ur ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-2-10 San Francisco23rd February, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I hope thistime you have received the goods from IndiaJaladuta in good condition.Out of the goods, you keep one Mridangaand six pairs of cymbals there atNew York and all the balance goods includingall the papers or letters thereinmay be sent here at once. They are arrang ­ing kirtan programme at different placesand I think the Mridanga and cymbals willincrease th e dignity of kirtan.For the Mridangas, I personally paidto India. So later as we shall see what isthe act ual expenditure.Ranchore has given a packing instruc ­tion. Please see that the packing is nicelydone as instructed and as illustration isgiven there. Hope you are all well andwith my blessings for all!Your ever well wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN. B. Yesterday I have sent 3 tapes. AskSatsvarupa to do the needful.

FEBRUARY, 1967 13567 -2-11 San Francisco24th February, 1967My dear Brahmananda ,Please accept blessings. Hope you areall doing well. I ha ve not as yet recei ve dfrom you the reply of my letter in which Isuggested to negotiate with Mr. Taylor onhire -purchase-scheme which is equallygood for Mr. Taylor as well as oursel ves.In the meantime I ha ve recei ved one letterfrom Kirtananda asking fo r $200.00 forMontreal and has also suggested as fol ­lows :"Secondly I recommend that you returnto N. Y. for the showing of the C.B.S.program. I recall Mr. Gerard stressing onme the importance of your presence inN.Y. for the two or three weeks followingthe program. This is because so manypeople will be visiting the temple andwishing to see you. Even if you should de ­sire to return to S.F. after two or threeweeks, the $300.00 invol ved in flying isnothing compared to the millions in pub ­licity value we are getting on the TV. Iknow N.Y. would be more willing tospend the money if need be. "So if you think that my presence will benecessary as suggested by Kirtananandathen immediately book my seat in the airline when you want me to go there. I shallthen cancel all programs here for threeweeks. If need be you can talk with me onthe phone. Kirtananda has also highlyrecommended your combined managementat N.Y. He writes in this connectionas follows:"I know you will be pleased to knowthat the N.Y. center is really doing well;in fact, I belie ve they are really strongerNow than ever before ." I am very glad tolearn this and I am ve ry much encouragedto know it. It is all Krishna's mercy.I ha ve decided to contribute to theMontreal center $100.00 from each centernamely New Yo rk and San Francisco.My dear Sats varupa,Please accept my blessings . To day Iha ve sent you the first instalment of"Narada BhaktiSutras" . Please let meknow how do you like it or if there is anydifficulty to understand it . On hearingfrom you I shall take up the next instal ­ment. Here there is no typewriter nor anytypist. Neal has not come here. I do notknow where he is. Therefore you ha ve totype the tapes there is no other alternati ve.Howard does not wish to work on thetapes. Today I ha ve got a letter from him(Neal) from somewhere in Calfornia butthere is no address.My dear Gargamuni,I hope you ha ve duly recei ved myformer letter. I ha ve asked the Bank to forward$100.00 to Montreal from my ac ­count knowing that you may not ha vesufficient money in the society's account.Ha ve you transferred the amount to my ac ­count.I am very much anxious to know if thegoods from India Mridanga etc ha ve beenalready recei ved by you . Please let meknow as soon as you recei ve them. Hopeyou are all well. With my blessings.My dear Rayrama,I am in due receipt of your letter. Accordingto our agreement Mr. Ypslantincannot ask any more. It was understoodthat further money will be required whenthe bill is actually in the congress sessionfor consideration. We ha ve already paidhim three hundred dollars which was fullfor dealings in the preliminary stage.Any way I have a call from Naturalisationoffice to see them on 2nd March. AndI shall let you know what is to be donethereafter. Or in the meantime if I returnto N.Y. I shall let you know what is to bedone. Have you taken deli very of the 1stchapter Bhaga vad Gita from the publisherwith whom you left it for examination?

136 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaYou have not informed me about this.Please take care of this. Here everythingis going well. We have got some engagementsup to Tuesday next week. Kritanannandais trying to start a third center of theSociety at Montreal. It is all Krishna'sGrace. I have received the copy of Back toGodhead.Your well wisher.A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiPicturesThe letter of appreciation by the Mayor(which Garga Muni used for the Cart license)or any other things that are used forour propaganda. I require this immediatelyfor presenting to the Naturalisationand Immigration office here where I haveto be present on the 2nd March 1967.After this I shall be free for threeweeks and if required I can have a trip forNew Yo rk which I have already informedyou in my letter of yesterday. I hope youwill receive this letter on Monday nextand if you post the above articles immediatelyby air mail special delivery, I mustget them latest the 1st of March and forwhich I shall thank you very much.Hope you are all well and with myblessingsYour ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami67-2-13San Francisco28th February, 196767-2-12 San Francisco25th February, 1967My Dear Brahmananda,I have sent you three four letter consecutivelybut I have received no reply.Please reply those letter as well as letme know if my presence is required inN.Y. on account C .B.S. show. Also let meknow whether you have received the consignmentfrom India.Besides the above please immediatelyon receipt of this letter despatch per AirMail special delivery the following literatures:All sorts of press cuttings 5 copies each(New Yo rk Times, East Village Voicewith my pictures)My picture with Photo of Prime MinisterShastriBhagavatam colored RadhakrishnaMy dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings and offerthe same to all your Godbrothers for yourdoing the respective duties nicely. I am indue receipt of the copy of Back to Godheaddated 15th February 1967 and I amglad that it is nicely done. The only defectis that picture which is wrongly put therewithout asking me. There was no need ofinterpretatios and why you have interpretedthe picture as one has to be nakedbefore the Lord to become perfect(?). Wehave no interpretation in any one of theverses in the Gita and Srimad Bhagvatam.They were not ficticious and thereforethere is no need of interpretation. Krishnaactually took away the dresses of the Gopisand actually He saw the girls naked.There is no interpretation there. The girlsof V rindaban of the same age like Krishnawanted Krishna as their husband. In Indiathe girls are married earlier by ten years atleast and thus the girls who were of thesame age were married although theywished Krishna as their hus-band.Krishna fulfilled their wishes by this pastimes.No body can ask any woman or girlto become naked except the husband.That is the moral etiquette of Vedicculture. Krishna is actually husband ofevery woman. There was no necessity offormal marriage. But still Krishna playedlike husband by asking them to becomenaked. In the spiritual world there is nocohabitation; simply by such emotion in

FEBRUARY, 1967 137transcendental ecstacy the desire isfulfilled.These pictures of Krishna and the Gopisare not understandable by a laymanwho has no idea of Krishna. Therefore,this picture was wrongly put without askingme. Please, therefore, consult mebefore putting any such picture or interpretations.One must understand firstKrishna from the Bhagawatam by readingthe first nine chapters. Ohterwise Krishnawould be taken as ordinary man and Hispastimes will be wrongly understood. Besidesthat a Brahmachary should not seeany kind of naked picture. That is violationof Brahmachary law.I am asking you therefore not to put thepicture in the issue of Back to Godhead. Ihave asked here not to put this picture andso also I am asking you. I think all the picturesare not yet stapled and therefore itmust not be put in there.Last night we had very nice function atStanford University. More than three hundredstudents gathered and all of themsang and danced with our Kirtan for fullone hour. There was lecture for 15 to 20minutes questions and answers about 25minutes and the balance for Kirtan. So altogetherthere was two hours program andit was very successful.On Sunday afternoon there was Kirtanin the Golden Gate Park and there wasabout 3 to 4 hundred audience and most ofthem danced in ecstacy. It reminded me ofour activities in the Tompkinson Park. Ihave asked them to arrange for loudspeakers and microphones so that nextweek we may have greater audience tojoin us. It appears to me that people of thiscountry will accept this movement nicelyif we do it in accordance with prescribeddirections. When we receive the Mridangaswe shall have better chance to performthe Kirtan more nicely.Please try to send the Mridanga andcymbals as early as possible as I have alreadyinstructed.Hope you are all well,Yours ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami

MARCH67-3-1 San FranciscoHis GraceSripada Ramananda BhaktisindhuGaudiya Sangha (Regd)23 Doctor Lane, Calcutta- 14India.My dear Sripad Ramananda Prabhu,Kindly accept my humble dandabats. Iam in due receipt of your kind letter datedMarch 3, 1967. I can understand your difficultyfor the work I wanted to entrustupon you . But I shall be much pleased ifyou kindly introduce to me some goodpresses whoc an take up the work. Toprint my books in U. S.A. is five to tenti ­mes more expensive than in India. I there ­fore want to get the books printed in a firstclass press in India. So if you can send mesome names of first class press it will bevery kind of you .I am enclosing herewith one letter forSripada Sar Maharaj which will speak foritself. The certificate is urgently requiredper return of post. The thing is that I haveto go to Canada Montreal next month toopen the third Branch there. But as soonas I leave the borders of U.S.A., my Visafor this country will automatically cancelled.Then I will have ask for new Visato enter U.S.A. which may be delayed forformalities. I am therefore trying for permanentvisa and for that purpose the certificateis necessary. I have also written toother Godbrother Sannyasins becausesuch certificate is necessary.IfSripada Sar Maharaj is not in the stationor if there is no chance of meetinghim immediately, then I shall request youto send me certificate in your official formand signed by you as Secretary.I hope you will treat this as urgent andoblige. Hope you are well.Yours affectionately,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami67-3-2 San Francisco4th March, 1967Sriman Brahmananda Brahmachary,Sriman Satsvarupa Brahmachary,Sriman Rayrama Brahmachary,Sriman Gargamuni Brahmachary,and other Trusteesof the International SocietyFor Krishna Consciousness Inc26 Second Avenue,New Yo rk N. Y. l0003My dear boys,Please immediately hold one meetingof the Trustees of International SocietyFor Krishna Consciousness Inc and resolvewhether $5000. 00 dollars shouldimmediately be paid to the seller of thehouse under agreement and as advised bythe appointed Lawyer Mr. Seymour Herzog.In my opinion the check should neverbe drawn in favour of the financier. Butit should be drawn in the name of originalseller Mr. Taylor. If the Financier pays toMr. Taylor the purchase money it is thenonly the above $5000.00 should be moneypaid on behalf of the Financier and theFinancier should enter into agreementwith you acknowledging receipt of theammount with definite date or immediatepossession of the house. In all

140 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiidacircustances the check may not be drawnin favour of the financier. The checkshould be signed by the President andthe Secretary because Brahmananda andSatsvarupa are the main support for purchasingthe house and Kirtanananda issupplement to this from his kitchen department.The money and society is your.You can spend in any way but it is my dutyto give you guidance as ever well wisher.You should send me a copy of the resolutionyou will make in this connection inthe meeting of the Trustees. Please notethat I have already advised the Bank totransfer $5000 .00 in the account of theSociety and have sent them the Pass Bookas desired by Brahmananda. Pray toKrishna for your successful transactionand I hope when I go to New Yo rk next Ishall enter the new house forthwith.Please send me a copy of the agreemententered. With my blessings, I am yoursEver well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.Note to Satsvarupa.My dear SatsvarupaIn your previous letter you informedme that you are not going to pay a farthingunless you are in possession of the house.So you must follow the determination. Youshould not sign the check if you are notsatisfied yourself. ACB67-3-3San Francisco7th March, 1967My dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of the 3rd instantand noted the contents carefully.Gita Press is full of Mayavada Philosophywhich says Krishna has no form butHe assumes a form for facility of devotionalservice. This is nonsense. I am justtrying to wipe out this Mayavada philosophyand you may not therefOie order forany more copy of the English Bhagavatampublished by the Gita Press. The onewhich you have got may be kept only forreference on having an understanding ofthe Mayavada Philosophy which is verydangerous for ordinary personThe Mayavada Philosophy has playedhavoc in spiritual understanding leadingto Aetheistic tendency. The interpretationthat one has to be naked before the Lord isalso mayavada philosophy The pictureswhich Dan might have brought in the templeare certainly unauthorised. In furturebefore publishing any picture you mustconsult me . Any stage of life in Krishnaconsciousness may be a victim of strongmaterial energy. Therefore we have alwaysto take care and strictly follow therules and regulations. Yo u are a good boyand sincere devotee and I hope you willunderstand me right.I am glad that you are getting somenice job. They have tried for so many daysand still the experiment is going on. Anyway if by the Grace of Lord you can helpthe Society it will be a great help. You aretaking a great responsibility in the matterof purchasing the house. It is very good totake all risks for Krishna but for our personalsatisfsction we should not take theleast risk. I am very glad to learn thatBrahmananda, Yourself and all othershave the transcendental courage to take allrisks for Krishna and this act will enhanceyour glory in Krishna consciousness.So far my going back to New York Ihave already sent you a letter that I shallstart from this place ater 6th April 1967 InCalifornia the scope of Krishna consciousnessis gradually taking some solidground . Formerly when you were here theaudience was hearing sitting but now adays all of them stand up and dance. InStanford University although the demonstrationwas first introduced still they took

MARCH, 1967 141it as hypnotic chant. Many Yoga societieshere feeling the strength of our movement.Yo urs ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. Please send me the copy of resolutionyou made in connection with purchasinghouse as also the copy ofagreement made in this connection. Ihope next time when go to New York , Ishall[TEXT MISSING]in the new house67-3-411th March, 1967My dear Sripada Sar Maharaj ,Please accept my humble obeisancesat your lotus feet. I am in receipt of yourletter dated February 20, 1967. I am somuch thankful to you all for encouragingme in my humble attempt to preach themessage of srila Prabhupada in this part ofthe world. I am sure to be successful if Iam blessed by you all Vaisnavas .I can understand your difficulty in thematter of my publication work. I am gladto learn that your activities following thefoot prints of our beloved Gosvami Maharajis being conducted nicely.By the by I may inform you that in thematter of permanent Visa in this country Irequire some certificates from India. Willyou kindly send me a certificate in yourpersonal form of letter as the Presidentand Acharya of the Gaudiya Sangha(Regd) in the following words and oblige.Wordings of the certificate: "This is tocertify that His Holiness Tridandi SwamiA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swamiji Maharaj is abonafide disciple of my Spiritual MasterOn Visnupada Sri Srimad BhaktisiddhantaGoswami Prabhupada We havehighly appreciated his publication SrimadBhagavatam in our Sajjan Toshani Patrika(Monthly Magazine) in June 1963.Swami A.C.Bhaktivedanta was the Editorof the above magazine while the paperwas started from Delhi. Subsequently hehas accepted the renounced order of life(Sannyasam) from His Holiness Sri SrimadBhakti Prajnan Keshav Maharaj theFounder President of the Gaudiya VedantaSamity in 1959 . He is therefore bonafidePreacher in the line of disciplic successionfrom Lord Chaitanya Who preachedthe cult of Krishna Consciousness in Indiaabout 48 1 years ago. We all godbrothersof Swami A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami inIndia are very much pleased to learn thathe is executing the mission of our SpiritualMaster in the Western countries evenin his good oldage. We wish all successfor him in his great and noble attempt.Sd/-------(Bhakti Saurabh Bhaktisar Maharaj)President & Acharya.Kindly send this certificate by return ofpost and oblige. Thanking you in anticipation.Yours affectionately,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-3-5 San Francisco14th March, 1967My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my thanks and blessingsof Lord Krishna for your letter of the 12thinstant describing your meeting with aMaya the illusory energy and combatingher by Krishna consciousness. In future ifany one challenges our philosophy onemay put his questions in writing and mustbe prepared to receive the answers fromhuman understanding. We cannot talkwith any one who is not within the purviewof human understanding. You arecompletely right when you refuse to debateand accept invitation for chantingHare Krishna Mahamantra. Although we

142 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadashould not chant in a society which is disruptivebut as soon as one invites us forchanting we take it for granted that theyare friendly and we must take the opportunity.A female is never awarded the order ofSannyasam. Because a female is neverconsidered independent and Sannyasamwas never awarded to any female in thepast by the great Acharyas like Samkara,Ramanuja etc. The fe male Sannyasins areto be immediately understood as pretendersor prostitutes. In India they haveorganised so many organisations wherespecially young females are maintained toattract rich women-hunters who pretendto pose as righteous in the society. This isthe age of Kali which plunders away spiritualsense of the human being and it isonly the Divine Grace of Lord ChaitanyaWho can protect us from all these dangerouspitfalls. Yo u were not agitated by unfavourablecriticism and yet you chantedHare Krishna Mahamantra that is the wayof chanting Hare Krishna. I thank youvery much for this for-bearance. I amvery glad to note that you can know thefoolishness of the modern society in spiritualunderstanding and I thank you verymuch for your appreciation of my association.This association is disciplic and assuch all thanks are due to Lord KrishnaWho infuses His powers through thebonafide disciplic succession.But I am very sorry to learn that Mr.Taylor is still playing in his own way. I donot know why. If the financier is payinghim all cash what is the cause of delay. Wehave already handed over the amount$5000.00 and if thngs are still lingered insuch a way it becomes really disturbing. Ishall be glad to hear from you how thingsare taking place. In your last letter I wasgiven to understand that while signing theagreement Mr. Taylor was not present.This was something like marriage performanceswithout the bridegroom. In yourlast letter you informed me that you aregoing take possession of the house immediately.I hope you are going to do so and Imay inform you that the possession mustbe taken on or before the 26th March 1967because that is the day of Lord Chaitanya 'sbirth day. You shall observe Lord Chaitanya'sbirth day as follows:1. The picture of Lord Chaitanya withHis party should be nicely decorated withflowers and garlands and Samkirtanshould be performed regularly fromMorning to evning. Just after seeing theFull Moon on the sky the days fast shouldbe broken. I mean the devotees should observefasting the whole day. In the eveningthe devotees should take food as in theEkadasi days.2. The next day you can celebrate feasingon account of Lord Chaitany 's appearanceand read about His life as givenshortly in my Srimad Bhagwatam and youcan read also from the teachings of LordChaitanya part of which is going to bepublished in the present issue of Back toGodhead.If the psycholdelic men want to sell ourVishnu pictures you can charge them atleast $50.00 for each picture. For displayyou lend them one only returnable on demand.We require many pictures aspainted by Jadurani for decorating thelecture-hall in the new building. You willbe glad to learn that here also we have gotanother Jadurani whose name is GovindaDasi wife of Gour Sunder. Both the husbandand the wife are good artist and theyhave printed a very nice picture of RadhaKrishna.I am glad to learn that Donald haspurchased Prof. Sanyal 's book KrishnaChaitanya. Late Prof. N. K. Sanyal wasmy Godbrother and his book KrishnaChaitanya is approved and authoritative.Keep it very carefully and we may publishin Back to Godhead some articles fromthe book. It will help us a great deal

MARCH, 1967 143because my Spiritual Master has givenHis approval to this book.* Please keep itcarefully and when I return I shall see toit .I shall be glad to hear from you whenyou are going to take possession of thehouse. Inform all friends there that I wishthat we may enter the house on or beforethe 26th March 1967. You have done rightby removing the pictures which deal inGopis and Krishna. They are never forpublic show. They are very confidentialand meant for advanced devotees whoknow Krishna fairly well . The neophyteswill be misguided by such pictures. I hopeyou will understand me right.With my blessings for you all.Your ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami*The picture of my Spiritual Master in thebook may be painted in colour by Jadurani:this will be another type of pictureof my Spiritual Master.67-3-6My dear Kirtanananda,San Francisco15th March, 1967Please accept my blessings and offerthe same to all the devotees there. I hopeby this time you must have received another$100.00 from new york which wasdelayed on account of the Pass Book. TheBank has however sent me the debit notefor this $100.00. I am anxious to knowwhat you have done about editing my lectures. Have you done something or not . Ishall be glad to hear from you in this connection.I was indisposed for four days onaccount sudden attack of cold. Now I amwell . Please send me a weekly report forall the work that you are doing there. I understandthat Jadurani is there and she isdoing well. I am sending herewith a workfor her. I am returning to New Yo rk by the9th April 1967 .My dear Jadurani,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter. You have askedme soemthing for which it is difficult toanswer from such a distant place . You aregrown up girl you should rather decidewhat to do. Fix up your mind always inKrishna and He will give you good counsel.I am sending herrwith two pictures. Iwish that you may enlarge one of them inpainting. I like both the pictures but as anartist you can make your choice. I preferthe picture which contains all the body ofKrishna on my right side. Any way one ofthe pictures may be painted in three so thateach branch may have one picture.I shall be glad to know how many picturesyou have completed by this time.Hope you are all well by the Grace of LordKrishna.My dear Janardan,Please accept my blessings. I am gladto learn that your good wife is now daystaking interest in Krishna Consciousness.Please offer her my blessings. I think agood and sincere husband's influence isworking in her. Be happy in family lifeand both of you become blessed byKrishna consciousness. What about mybooks.Yours ever well wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure:267-3-7San Francisco16th March, 1967My dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I haveseen the typed copies of Narada BhaktiSutra as well as Teachings of Lord Chaitanya.Both of them are nicely made. I thinklet us finish first Teachings of LordChaitanya and then we take again Narada

144 Letters from Sri/a PrabhupadaBhakti Sutra . The subject matter discussedwith Narada Bhakti Sutras is alreadythere in the Teachings of LordChaitanya. I have sent you matter for theSecond part of the Teachings and pleasego on sending me one copy of your typewrittenmatter. I shall be glad to hear fromyou .My dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings . I ampleased to learn that you are conductingclasses very nicely and Krishna is supplyingyou inteeligence to answer some criticalquestions by the audience . It is verygood news. The more one can meet oppositeelements successfully the more one issupposed to be advanced in Krishna consciousness.To a sincere heart Krishnagives all intelligence to combat such dialogues.Be sincere servant of Krishna andKrishna gives you everything. By theGrace of Krishna you are now engaged insome good work. Do it sincerely and helpthe organization to your best.Now coming to the question of Geetopanisad,I am sorry that the book is not yetready for printing although I have finishedthe book I want to get it immediatelyprinted either there in U. S.A. or in Indiabut the editing is not yet finished. Howardswants to do it but he hass no time tofinsih it or to type it . You are also engagedin various ways and I do not know how tomake it ready. Both you and Howard wantto edit it but no body takes charge to finishthe job quickly say within a month. Thematter is already thre simply it awaits thefinishing touch. I want to print also theTeachings of lord Chaitanya. We mustpublish our books as much as possible becausethat will create our position. Backto Godhead should be the life and soul forthe Society. Please let me know your program.Have you taken back the FirstChapter of Geetopanisad from the publisherwhom you delivered? I have askedyou several times about this but I have receivedno reply from you . Please take itback.67-3-8San Francisco18th March, 1967My dear Nripen Babu,Please accept my humble dandabatsand blessings of Sri Sri Radha DamodarThakur Jew. I am in due receipt of yourkind letter of March 11, 1967 and havenoted the .contents very carefully. I amvery sorry to learn that things in the TempleSrila Jiva Goswami has deteriorated somuch. Please therefore immediately go toVrindaban and make things alright. Stayin the temple for sometime as co-sevaitand do things as already planned by you. Iam very much surprised to note that indulgencein liquor within the temple is goingon. Of course I had personal experiencethat indulgence in Ganja was freely goingon and now it has deteriorated to the utmostdegree. Please do the needful immediatelyotherwise things will deteriorate tomany more things. I think GovernorBiswanath Das is already aware of thecondition of the temple. Many people atV rindaban has complained against theGoswin of Radha Damodar Temple andconsequently the Governor withdrew hispromise to pay yearly Rs500/- for Kirtanin the Temple on Janmastami day. Hepublicly promised this in the temple whilemeeting was going on Janmastamiday organisedby me . Unfortunately a demonstrationwas made by one woman whomade a great show by crying that Panchuhas cheated her by Rs800/-. This show ofthe woman and subsequent adverse lettersby other envious persons marred thewhole project. Since then I could understandthat no improvement in the RadhaDamodar Temple can be made undersuch condition. The cheating of Panchu

MARCH, 1967 145by 800/ rupees was subsequently confirmedbefore me by one woman discipleof Gorachand Gosain. I remained silentand this the first time I am disclosing thefact before you.Any way please try to save temple ofJiva Goswami because in very near futuremany people all parts of the world willcome to see the Temple and Samadhi ofJiva Goswami and Rupa Goswami . If youget court permission to sell the land therewill be no objection for purchasing _ sofar I know that your maternal uncle andcausin brother arealsoin thetemple. Sunderlalla son (the Vakil at Mathura)told me like that when negotiationwas going on for lease. But I think if courtsanction is obtained it will be quite alright.As far as possible do not get into litigationwith your causin Gorachand but try tosettle things by your presence. Your presencein the temple is essential to establishyour claim. In your absence some body asyour representative must remain there. Itis essential . And you can publish in thepaper that no transaction will be validwithout your signature as copartner.You have sought my advice and I beg tosubmit humbly that you must stay in thetemple for some time till things are not outof order. If you feel inconvenient to staywith Gorachand Gosain, you can stay inmy rooms but I think you should remain inthe rooms set aside for your staying. Youmust keep your claim intact. As you aregoing to restore order in the temple I amalways with you because Srila Jiva Goswami'stemple is my heart and soul. Ithink with your cooperation I shall be ableto render some genuine service to theGoswamins Who are staying in the temple.I shall be glad to hear from you nowand then specially when you reach Vrindabanduring the Holi festivals. MyAmerican students are all glad to haveyour good blessings for them. If RadhaDamodar desires many Americans willgo to see the holy place of Jiva Goswamiin the very near future . I am just trying to[TEXT MISSING]Last time when I was in Vrindaban,you know how much attractive and pureSankirtan was performed by my disciples.To arrange for 50 men's prasadam nowadaysmeans daily expenditure not lessthan Rs 100/ = daily or Rs. 3000/= permonth.I do not wish to disturb the position ofthe sevaits of Radha Damodar Temple,but simply if i am given the facility to livethere with my disciples, it will be my pleasureto serve Their Lordships Sr SriRadha Damodar to my best capacity. Nowit is up to you all sevaits to decide on thisfact .Yours sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swamicc. Nripendra Nath BanerjeeNathuram Goswami67-3-9San Francisco21st March, 1967My dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. Regardingyour question about the inhabitants ofBrajabhumi or Vrindaban it is to be understoodthat Vrindaban is the originalabode of Lord Krishna as He is the originalPersonality of Godhead. In that transcendentalplane He has His transcendentalassociates in different exchangeof humour. For ourselves when we are inperfect stage of devotional service, we canknow our eternal relation with Krishnaand as such one of the associates of LordKrishna becomes our ideal leader. Thisacceptance of leadership by one of theeternal associates of the Lord is not artificial. Do not therefore try it at present itwill be automatically revealed to you inproper time.

146 Letters from Srfla PrabhuptidaRegarding the house, you are alreadyin trouble. The best thing is to stop thisstrain. Mr. Lerner told me that Mr. Hillhas no sufficient money to purchase thehouse. I definitely instructed you if Mr.Hill enterns into agreement with Mr. Taylorit is then only you could hand over thecheck of $5000.00 to Mr. Hill or hisagent. But you have not followed my instructionand now you are in trouble. IfMr. Hill has no money to purchase thehouse then his accepting our check isclear case of cheating. So immediately enquireif Mr.Hill has at all money to purchasecash from Mr. Taylor. If notimmediately demand back the check otherwiseconsult our good lawyers and file acheating case. We cannot forego thischeating conspiracy, if Mr. Hill has nomoney. He must either deliver the possessionof the house immediately or must returnthe money immediately or filecheating case against all the combinedgroup namely Mr. Payne , Mr. Hill andMr. Palmer. I do not know what is actualcase but from the telephonic conversationof Brahmananda it appears to be an organisedcheating case and you have to facewith courage without excusing any one ofthem. We are not revengeful but we cannotlose Krishna's money for nothing.Brahmananda has asked me whetherSan Francisco Branch will pay somemoney for purchasing the house. Butwhere is your house and where is the purchase?So far it is talks of Mr. Payne andcompany in which you innocent boys havebeen entrapped. I do not know how I canhelp in great blunder. I can only hope thatKrishna will help you.Howard wants one of the Mimeographmachine here so that copies of Back toGodhead required here may be printedhere. What is the weight of the machineand what will be cost of transport charges.I think you can spare one machine for SanFrancisco and charge cost of it.Please ask Rayrama to get back thefirst chapter of Geetopanisad from thepublisher. I have asked this several timesbut there is no reply. I shall be glad to hearfrom you about all the points mentionedtherein.Ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-3-10San Francisco25th March, 1967My dear Sri Krishnaji,Please accept my greetings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of the16th March 1967 and with great difficultyI could guess only 75% of the hindi writing.There is no body here who can readHindi. Any way I have got the summary ofthe letter and the immediate issue is thatthe room must be cleansed and I may informyou that as soon as I return to NewYo rk on the 9th April 1967 evening, I shallarrange to send the key for opening theroom at least for cleansing. The key is inNew Yo rk otherwise I would have sent itimmediately; sent it from here. But restassured that the room will be opened andcleansed or vacated by the end of April1967. Please do not be anxious. My reservationby the United Air Line is alreadybooked on the 9th April and I am returningthere.Regarding publication of my books,you know that since I have come here thework is stopped and that is great loss forme. My primary duty is to publish the SrimadBhagavatam and finish it in my life.But preaching in the western countries isalso my duty as it was ordered by mySpiritual Master. I thought that I shall beable to publish my books from Americabut it is very much expensive: therefore Ihave to get books published from India atany cost. Sriman Surya Kumar Joshi B.A.

MARCH, 1967 147in charge of the publication departmentAll India Congress Committee No. 7 JantarMantar Road New Delhi has ve rykindly agreed to take the burden of proofreading and if you also join with him tohelp me in this connectionit will be greathelp for me. If you ha ve time you canplease see him and talk with him face toface how you ca·n help me. If you both cooperatethen the publication work may immediatelybe re vi ved. Surya Kumar Joshiis expert in proof reading and as such if heand you cooperate there will be no difficulty.Regarding Se va Pujah of the temple Iha ve already written to Sripad NarayanMaharaj if he would come to Delhi andli ve in the temple. If he comes he will relieveyou from the se va pujah of the templeand he will do it nicely.Regarding cooperation in the matter ofpreaching work in the western countries itis the duty of every Indian and Hindu tocooperate in this task. There are so manySanatan Dharma establishment in Indiabut no body has tried to preach the principlesof Bhaga vad Gita in the Westerncountries although Bhaga vad Gita iswidely read all over the world. Swami likeVi vekananda or others who came here beforeme. manufactured their own ideologicalreligion and that is not in conformityof the Bhaga vad Gita. The straight way ofBhaga vad Gita is that Lord Sri Krishna isthe Original Personality of Godhead andHe is the only worshipable object for allhumanity. "Mattah nanyat parataramkimchid asti dhananjaya". There is nothingsuperior Truth than Sri Krishna is theGospel of all Vedic instruction. I am tryingto implement this truth in this part ofthe world and it is the duty of the Hindusand Indians to help me in all respects .As far as possible try to help me in thismission at least in the publication of mybooks from India and if possible meet SrimanJoshi with this letter and talk withhim. Let me know know your joint decisionand that will help me much. If you replythis letter after 31st March 1967 thenyou may reply this letter to my New Yorkaddress namely 26 Second Avenue NewYork N. Y. 10003 .I am glad to learn that Srimat Bahujiand other members of your family are alldoing well by the Grace of the Lord and Iwish that you be happy in your executionof Harbhakti in which Lord Rama has alreadyengaged you .Yours affectionately,A. C. Bhakti vedanta SwamiN.B. Your friend who wants to come here+ stay may directly send me letter abouthis expenditure for coming here. He mayalso let me know why does he want tocome here & what is his qualification.Then I shall see here. I can help him in thematter of his stay in this country.ACB67-3 -1 1 San Francisco28th March, 1967My dear Brahmananda,With reference to your letter of the24th March 1967 . I beg to request you tosee in the Bnak as to who has taken paymentof the check. Any one either Mr.Hill or any one else who has taken the paymentmust be sued along with Payne. Inwhose fa vour did you sign the check? Ithink you signed the check in fa vour ofMr. Hill because he is supposed to be thefinancier and who else can take paymentof the check except Mr. Hill.If you expect that Payne is coming with$20000.00 second mortgage money thenwe shall not lag behind. We are preparedto pay the balance $5000.00 and otherfees at any cost. If you lag behind to paythe balance money certainly you are noteligible to get back the money. So we shall

148 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadanot lag behind. If we are actually gettingpossession of the house , then I take the responsibilityto pay the balance money restassured . But I do not know what is theagreement you have entered into.Payment of the next instalment of$5000 .00 dollar is not the issue: the issueis that Mr. Payne has made a false transactionand Mr. Hill is his accomplice to takethe money under the plea of being the financierto purchase the house. I am not aLawyer but this is common sense affair.Mr. Hill has taken the money and he mustfinance to purchase the house. If he has nomoney to finance then it is a cheating caseclear and simple. Mr. Lerner said that hehas no money, therefore, he must be suedalong with Payne. But if he is able to financeas per agreement we are also preapredto pay the balance money. So if Paynecomes with the money, I take the responsibilityof paying the balance $5000 .00.The scheme of Mr. Herzog to servenotice to Mr. Taylor will clear up thecase. So to serve the notice of action toMr. Taylor is very good. So far $750 paidto Mr. Payne his firm should be given allpressure even up to the court.My point of view is that provided weare getting possession of the house weshall not lag behind in the matter of allstipulated payments. If we lag behind weare not going to get back the money$5000 .00. We want the house and we areready to pay all with all hardship on ourpart but if it is a maneuver on the part ofMr. Payne and His accomplice Mr. Hillthey must be brought to the criminal courtfor proper punishment. If however we getthe money back without a farthing less,we are not going to take any step eventhough we can do so legally.In such critical points how you canleave New York. Suppose Mr. Payne securesthe second mortgage money by the31st March and you are absent who willlook after the transaction. We must getinto the possession of the house forKrishna's Temple or we must get back themoney for Krishna's service. And we areprepared to fulfil the terms of the agreement.On the birthday of Lord Chaitanya wehave installed the deity Jaganath (in three)in the temple of the San Francisco Branchand the celebration of feasting was nicelast night. People are taking interest in thetemple and they are attending meetingsaregularly. I think similarly Jagannathshould immediately be installed in NewYo rk. If some of you who may know carpentarywork can engrave such deity, asShyamsunder has done here, I can giveyou the model . If not I shall ask Shyamsunderto curve one set for you. I donotknow if you are going to change thepresent pleace as it was indicated in theletter of Satsvarupa.At last also i may say that you can forgetthe great loss. Do work sincerely inKrishna Consciousness abiding by the orderof Krishna and everything will be inorder.Yours ever well-wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami67-3-12 San Francisco28th March, 1967My dear Brahmananda, Satsvarupa,Rayram. Gargamuni, Rupanuga, Donald,Pllease accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of the 24th March 1967and previous to this I received one copy ofthe letter addressed to M/s. Willium AlfredWhite Inc. I have replied Mr. Goldsmith'sletter also giving him the wholehistory of the cheating business. It is understoodthat Mr. Goldsmith says thehope of getting back the money is veryslim. Under the circumstances there is noneed of pushing good money for the bad.

MARCH, 1967 149$6000.00 has already become bad moneyand therefore no more good money shouldbe spent after this. Forget the chapter.Take it fo r granted that Krishna has takenaway this money from you for your deliberatefoolishness. In future be very cautiousand abide by the orders of Krishna.If you abide by the orders of Krishna, Hecan give you thing that you may need. Becheerful and chant Hare Krishna withoutany lamentation. As I have told you severaltimes that my Gurumaharaj used tosay that this world is not a fit place for gentleman.His version is corroborated by thefollowing verse of Srimad Bhagavatam. Itis said like:Ya sya asti bhagavati akimchana bhaktiSarvai gunais tatra samasate sura.Harau abhaktasya kuto mahat gunaManorathen asto dhavato bahi."A person who is not in Krishna consciousnesshas no good qualifications.However so called gentleman one may beor academically educated he may be he ishovering over the mental plain and thereforehe must commit nuisance being influencedby the external energy. A personwho has however unflinching faith in theSupreme Personality of Godhead has allthe good qualifications of the demigods."In other words you should not keep yourtrust on so called gentlemen of the worldhowever nicely dressed he may be. In thematter of discharging our mission ofKrishna consciousness we have to meet somany so called gentlemen but we must bevery cautious for dealing with them as weare cautious in dealing with serpents.I have taken quotation from good printinghouses in San Francisco for Geetopanishadand it is estimated to cost about$11000.00 for five thausand copies casebound and golden title. I will have$5000.00 from here and shall be glad toknow how much you can contribute sothat I can take up the work. I wish that youmay contribute the balance either by sellingmy books (Srimad Bhagavatam) or byraising funds.[PAGE MISSING]67-3-13San Francisco30th March, 1967My dear RayramaMydear Satsvarupa,I beg to acknowledge receipt of yourletters with enclosures. Thank you verymuch and accept my blessings.Regarding the house and the moneywhich you have foolishly mishandled, Ican give you still good consel as follows:I do not know what is the agreementyou have entered into and paid the checkfor $5000.00 but I can guess it that theagreement is drawn on the understandingthat Mr. Hill is the financier who is goingto purchase the house on our behalf fromMr. Taylor and the check is received byMr. Hill as earnest money with provisionthat further $5000.00 shal be paid by 31stMarch 1967. Mr. Payne knew it very wellthat you have not got further $5000.00 topay by the 31st March and he thought thaton your failure to pay further $5000.00dollar the first $5000.00 dollars can beusurped by the gang.But actually this Mr. Hill has no sufficientmoney to pay Mr. Taylor. Mr. Taylormay know this fact and therefore hewas not present when you all foolish boysassisted by similar lawyers signed theagreement without the presence of Mr.Taylor. I repeatedly warned you even atthe last point that we should not pay thecheck unless there was agreement betweenMr. Taylor and Hill. The agreementwas signed like marriage ceremonywithout the presence of the bridegroom.The mistake was there and now you are repenting.Any way if on the 31st March Mr. Hill

150 Letters from Srila Prabhupadaand his accomplice comes forward withsecond Mortgage money $20,000.00 anddemands the second instalment of$5000.00, do not lag behind. In case thehouse is actually being purchased by Mr.Hill from Mr. Taylor and if there is genuinetransaction between the parties, weare prepared to pay the balance $5000.00immediately. But I know this Mr. Hill hasno money, as Mr.Lerner told me, to purchasethe house on our behalf. It appears abogus representation of Mr. Payne.Therefore it is a clear case of cheating andtherefore all of them must be punished inthe criminal Law court at any rate. I askedyou to send me the copy of the agreementbut you have not sent it. Otherwise Iwould have been able to give you clear directions.And yet I give you some suggestionsas abovementioned and I do notknow how you would tackle. If it can beproved that Hill has no money to purchasethe house then it is clear cheating case arrangedby Mr. Payne. So on the 31stMarch challenge them whether they haveentered into agreement with Mr. Taylor orwhether they have actually paid ourmoney to Taylor. If it is a fact that he (Mr.Hill) has paid the $5000.00 to Mr. Taylorand if actually we are going to have thehouse, do not lag behind, we are preparedto pay the balance within a fortnight restassured . I do not know why the Lawyersare not serious about this cheating case. IfMr. Hill has no money and on pretentionof purchasing the house on our behalf hehas accepted the money, then it is a clearcase of cheating and Payne is the organiserof this cheating maneuver. And if thisis genuine case that the house is actuallygoing to be purchased we are prepared topay the balance $5000.00. Let us have thehouse or return back the money. In defaultthere is clear case of cheating as far as Ican guess. Now you can do as you like.English translation of CahitanyaCharitamrita by Nogen Roy have beenseen by me. There is no commentary andtherefore it can be read. But I do not knowwho is this Sanjib Choudhuri. Any waythere is no harm reading simply the translation.Regarding the Mimiograph machine ifit is very expensive to send do not send it.Rayrama, you took some quotation forprinting the book Geetopanishad inU.S.A. If you therefore take immediatelyquotations from several places on the followingdetails and let me know then I candecide immediately what to do. You cantake further quotations on the followingdetails:Description : Case bound BookQuantity : 5000 five thousand copies.Size : 12 1/2 x 9 1/2 flat & 6 1 /4 x 9 1/2folded.No. of pages : 400 plus the cover.Paper : Best quality offset Book.Composition : By the printer in 10 and 12pt anditalics.Press work : Black ink two sides andone tricolor photo.Cover: Title engraved and gold stampon backbone.Quotation : Each book.Delivery; Maximum time to be deliveredpartly in New Yo rk, partly in SanFrancisco and Partly at Montreal.Please take this quotations and let meknow so that I can decide where to printthe book either in New Yo rk or in SanFrancisco.Hope you are well. Further Gargamunisuggested that there is some chanceof opening a branch in London. I shall beglad to know about the possibility. Ifl canestablish one branch in London afterMontreal it will be a great success of ourmission. Please let me know in detail.Yo urs ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

MARCH, 1967 15167-3-14San FranciscoMarch 1967My dear de votees,I am aware that you are feeling my absencejust as I am feeling the absence fromyou . But in the meantime this must be soand Krishna will pro vide for you as longas you keep chanting Hare Krishna. I wantto see each and every one of you, so I amasking Mukunda to arrange my vi sitssince he has vo lunteered to render thisser vice. If any of you ha ve any particularpoints you wish to discuss with me, pleaseha ve Mukunda make an appointment withme for you. I am always at your ser vice.If you chant always Hare Krishna, readmy books, and preach this philosophy sincerely,then Krishna will pro vide you withall facility, and you will not fall down intomaterial entanglement.Affectionately your ever well-wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami

APRIL67-4-1 San Francisco3rd April, 1967Mr. Richard Fulton Inc.200 West 57th StreetNew Yo rk N.Y. 10019Dear Mr. Fulton,I thank you very much for your letter ofthe 31st March 1967 and I have noted thecontents carefully. Mr. Alan Kallman ofPixi Records is my well wisher friend andit is very kind of him that he has desired topush my cause through your valuable endeavour.I am returning herewith the Agreementduly signed by me along with somepapers of my activities. Amonst the papersyou will find one copy of literature ofmy Srimad Bhagavatam and if you have noobjection to mail such literatures then Ican send you copies as many as you maydesire. Any order received through youdirectly or indirectly will credit your accountby the same commission namely33-1/3 %Thanking you once more and awaitingyour early reply. I am returning to NewYo rk on the 9th April 1967 by United AirLine.Yours sincerely,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: Signed Agreement & eightother papers.This is to certify that His HolinessTridandkSwami Bhakti Vedanta SwamiMaharaj is a bonafide initiated disciple ofHis Divine Grace Sri Srimad Bhakti SiddhantaSaraswati Prabhupada, theFounder-Acharya of the Goudiya MathInstitutions and in November 1959 hetook Sannyasam (renounced order of life)from His Holiness Tridandi-SwamiBhakti Prajnan Keshav Maharaj , theFounder-President of the Goudiya VedantaSociety. He is therefore an authorisedPreacher and Teacher in the line ofdisciplic succession from Lord ChaitanyaMahaprabhu, who preached KrishnaConsciousness all over India about 500years ago and authorised His all disciplicsuccessors to preach the Philosophy ofBhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam inall towns and villages of the world. It is agreat pleasure for all members of theGoudiya Vaishnav Vedantists thatTridandi-Swami Bhakti Vedanta SwamiMaharaj is engaged in preaching the cultin the western world.Swami B. V. Narayana67-4-2My dear Kirtanananda,San Francisco7th April, 1967Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your affectionate letter ofthe 3rd instant and have noted the contentscarefully. Hayagriva informed me that youhave become sorry for not receiving myletters and for this I must beg your pardon.But do not think that I neglect towrite you letters. Of course I do not replyyour each and every letter, I always thinkof you because you are all my heart andsoul. I am so pleased to have your associationand I always thank my Spiritual

154 Letters from Srrla PrabhupadaMaster Om Visnupada Sri Srimad BhaktisiddhantaSaraswati Goswami Maharajfor His fa vo ur by sending me some sincererepresentati ve of Him in missionary activitiesin this part of the world. I camehere to execute His Will and by His GraceI ha ve so many good souls like you ,Brahmananda, Sats varupa, Hayagri va ,Rayrama, Haridas, Mukunda etc. I consideryou all as representati ve of my Gurumaharajto help me in this helplesscondition. My Godbrothers did not helpme but my Spiritual Master has helpedme. So do not think that I can ever forgetyou even for a moment. I pray to Krishnafor your more and more ad va ncement ofKrishna Consciousness. Be happy and executemore and more ser vice for Krishnaand Krishna will accept you in Hisassociation.I am ve ry glad to learn that Lord JesusChrest has appro ved our acti vities. Perhapsyou ha ve marked it in my preachingwork that I love Lord Jesus Chrest as goodas Krishna; because He rendered thegreatest ser vice to Krishna according totime circumstances and society in whichHe appreared. Similarly Hajrat Mohammedand Lord Buddha also renderedgreatest ser vice to the human society accordingto circumstances. So work withmore entuasiasism and we are sure to besuccessful in our great mission.Last night we had ve ry successfulmeeting at Berkeley and I think there wereabout three hundred students who particpatedin the meeting for two hours ,dancedwith us and after the close of the meetingthey surrounded me to offer their respectsand some of them enquired various questions.Every one appreciated what I couldspeak in the meeting for about forty minutesand so I was ve ry much encouraged.By Krishna's planning Brahmananda 'spresence at Montreal was so much helpful. I very much appreciate your selectionof Janardan as the President and Paul andHelena as treasurer and secretary respectively. May Krishna bless them and let mecongratulate them fo r execution ofKrishna's ser vice so nicely.You will be please to know that we havealready installed the Sri Murtis of Lord Jagannath,Valbhadra and Subhadra in thetemple of San Francisco center and I wishto establish similar temple at Montreal.Probably I shall carry with me the Deityfor New Yo rk. Editing of my lectures maybe a hard task for you but it will prove anexamination test for you as how far youha ve heard me attenti ve ly. Never mind itis slow but it must be sure . You can keep anote of my acti vities and can wait for writingbook at suitable time. I am asking Mukundato send one copy of the presentationas he has made a presentation to SrimanBrahmananda.I ha ve recei ved letter fromBrahmananda that he is going to take delivery of the records on Thursday and he isgoing to send 500 records to San Francisco.I do not know if he is going to sendyou some records.Regarding my going to Montreal it isunderstood that Brahmananda a has alreadypaid $150.00 to Mr. Ypslantin theVisa Lawyer to save me from my Visa beingcancelled. But in any case I must go toMontreal and if my Visa is not grantedagain to enter New York, I think I shall remainfor sometime at Montreal and thenproceed for London to establish a centerthere. I wish that at least four centers maybe established in the Western countries includingone in London and then a companyof twel ve at least of all your brothersand myself may ha ve an extensive tour allover the world for preaching this uniquecult of Hare Krishna. And because it isappro ved by Lord Christ at least theChristian world will accept our Kirtanprocedure. I ha ve seen in the bible thatLord Jesus Christ recommended this Kirtanperformances in the Bible. You know

APRIL, 1967 155better than me and I would request you towrite a small book on SANKIRT ANMOVEMENT IN THE BIBLE. I ha vegi ve n a note of direction to Hayagri va forwriting a Drama on Lord Chaitanya and ifhe can deli ver us a nice Drama for stagingin your different parts of the State it will bea great stride for our mission and I hope itwill help us financially a great deal. Justyou encourage Hayagri va to write thisDrama ve ry nicely in Poetry so that theycan be sung in western tone all overAmerica and Europe and staged everywhereto co ver our expenses.Brahmananda may try Mr. Kallmanand Mr. Fulton to help me getting a permanentVisa immediately. These two gentlemenhave entered into Contract with mefor recording and lecturing all overU.S.A. and it will be a great loss on theirpart ifl am not granted a permanent Visa.Mr. Fulton may arrange immediatelysome lectures in Canada and that will helpus both ways namely to sa ve the Visa frombeing cancelled at the same time I canvisit Montreal without any hindrance.You can reply this letter to New Yorkaddress because by this time 3-15 P. M.(San Francisco time) on Sunday next Ishall be in New York.Con vey my blessing to Sriman Janardan,Paul, Hansa and Helena.Your ever well wisher,A.C.Bhakti vedanta Swami67-4-3 New YorklOth April, 1967My dear Janaki De vi, Haridas,Mukunda Das, ShyamsunderMalati De vi, Hayagri va Das,Harsarani De vi, De vakinandanLila vati, Ra vindra S varupa,Haladhar Dasi, Upendra Subal Das,Krishna De vi, Dayananda, Nandarani,Jayananda, Ballabhi Dasi, Shyamadasi,Ramanuja Yamuna De vi, GurudasYogmaya, Mr. Mathews,and all other de votees and friends,Please accept my hearty greetings andblessings. I am so much obliged to you foryour de votion and affection for me. Ithought of you all throughout my journeyfrom Francisco toNew York and I waspraying to Lord Krishna for your moreand more ad vancement in Krishna ConsciousnessOn my arri val here I was received by hundreds of de votees andfriends although Mr. Ginsberge was outof the town. One young professor from Indiafirst greeted me and told me thatSwamiji you are doing here real workwhereas others who ha ve come from India,ha ve simply formed some groups ofold lady students without any real informationof Indian original culture. Anyway the reception in New York was ve rygood organised by our students here andthere was distribution of va rieties of Prasadamto about 100 men in the temple. Iwas not least tired and after landing fromthe air ship although there was someblockade in my ear still I continued meetingfor three hours. I am now ve ry well althoughI am feeling your great separation.Please continue Kirtan as usual with de votionand you will make more and more advancementin Krishna consciousness.Hope you are all well and I beg to remainYour ever well wisher,A.C.Bhakti vedanta Swami67-4-4 New York12th April, 1967Dear Mr. Senior Dambergs,Kindly accept my greetings. I am unknownto you but I have heard about youfrom your ve ry good grandson SrimanJanardan (Janis). I ha ve heard that youhave been ailing since a long time but I

156 Letters from Srrla Prabhupiidahave heard also that you are a great devoteeof Lord Jesus Christ. It is very good. Iam also an insignificant servant of LordJesus Christ because I am preaching thesame message as Lord Jesus did. I preachingGodconsciousness or Krishna consciousness.Fools thought that Lord JesusChrist was dead by crucifixion but He resurrected.All living entities are parts andparcel of the Supreme Lord and thereforethey are also eternal. All our ailments aredue to the external body. Although wehave to suffer some time from bodily inconveniencesspecially in the old age , stillif we are Godconscious, we shall not feelthe pangs. The best thing is therefore toChant the holy Name of the Lord Constantly.I would you request you to chantalways God's holy Name. We are chantingGod's holy name always and instructingour students to do so. If you have any holyname for God do chant Him always and itwill do you the greatest benefit. And bychanting so when you will be rememberingHim always then you transfer to theKingdom of God is guaranteed. When youreturn to the Kingdom of God there is nonecessity to come back again to the rottenworld full of miseries. We are chantingGod's Name asHare Krishna Hare Krishna KrishnaKrishna Hare Hare Hare Rama HareRama Rama Rama Hare Hare.The Lord Has millions of holy namesand you can chant any one of them andeach and every Name of the Lord is fullpotential. We chant the abovementionedholy Name of the Lord because the namewas Chanted by Lord Chaitanya the fatherof this movement of Krishna Consciousness.We follow Lord Chaitanya's footprintsto achieve very quick result. Iwould advise you also to follow the principle.Krishna means the most attractivereservoir of Pleasure. Who does not wantsuch pleasure? Therefore we wantKrishna and nothing more.Hope you will understand me right.May Krishna give you all peace of mind.You are so lucky that you have got a niceboy like Janis as descendant of your goodfamily. He will render you greatest serviceto your family by his becomingKrishna conscious,Yours very sincerelyA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-4-5New York12th April, 1967My Dear J anardana,I am in due receipt of your very longletter of April 10, 1967. On the same day Ireceived also your wife's letter requestingme to pay $300.00 which she gave in loanto the Society. I have at once replied to herletter through Rayarama that the money,$300, which she has given in loan to theSociety must be returned to her, and I amglad that you are going to repay nextweek. If you , however, find any difficultyto repay her, then write to me and I shallmanage to send her the $300. Of course itwill be difficult for the managers to send$300 while they have lost $6,000. Still, Ido not wish to put your wife into troublefor the money which she faithfully loanedto the Society. So kindly let me know thatyou are going to repay her loan. OtherwiseI shall send her the money.I can understand that there is some difficultyin meeting the regular expenditureof your Society-namely $350, as youhave stated in detail. I apprehended thisdifficulty in San Francisco when you firstinformed me of opening a branch in Montreal, and I discouraged the enterprise.But you were, both you and Kirtanananda,all enthusiastic.Now when you have opened it is notgood to close it; that will be a discredit for

APRIL, 1967 157the Society. Try to continue the branch byco-operation. I can understand that youare a family man. You cannot expend thewhole amount you earn, but as your wifehas proposed that she can allow you tospare 50% . So either 50% or any per centyou can easily spare for the Society, weshall welcome. Don't be overburdened.We don't want anyone to be overburdened.Rather I shall ask Kirtanananda who is nota family man to take the whole responsibility.So don't be agitated. ProsecuteKrishna consciousness in peacefulness.One thing I shall request you and yourwife: to translate into French all ourbooks. The Society will be obliged to youby your intellectual service more than bymoney ; because you are a family man andyou require money. I hope this will satisfyyou.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swamiand certificate of bona fides of the teachersponsored by some American. The form Igot from the office of Immigration is perhapslying at San Francisco.Anyway you wanted the certificatewhich is now obtained and now you can dothe needful quickly and let me know whatyou have done. Please offer my blessingsto all my devotees and specially JanakiDevi. Awaiting your early reply. I hopeyou are following the prescribed routinework for holding the classes and shall beglad to know about it.Your ever well wisher.A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: Copy of the certificate.N.B. I have not heard anything about theprinting affair of Bhagavad Gita.67-4-7 New York13th April, 196767-4-6My dear Mukunda,New York12th April, 1967Please accept my greetings and heartyblessings. I hope in the meantime youhave received my previous letter informingmy safe arrival in New York.To-day I have received the certificatesfrom India and the copies are enclosedherewith. Please immediately consultyour Lawyer friend who wanted this certificatesand do the needful. I must havenow the Permanent visa otherwise I cannotgo to Montreal and work will suffervery much ifl do not go to Montreal by thenext month. Kindly let me know what youhave done in this connection and I shallwait your letter with interest.I heard that for appointing a teacherforeignerexpert in particular subject onehas to submit application with $25.00 feesIHA YASYA HARER DASYEKARMANA MANASA VACHA.MIKHILESV APYAV ASTHASUJIVAN MUKTA SA UCHYATE,by work, words + mind."A person, who is always anxious torender service unto the Supreme LordHari, as His eternal servitor, in all conditionsof life he is considered to be liberatedeven though within the materialbody"My dear Kirtanananda,Please accept my blessings and conveythe same to all devotees there. I am in duereceipt of your letter of the lOth instantand have noted the contents with great delight.Your mutual understanding withSriman Janardan making Krishna as thecenter of attraction is very much enlighteningto me. Transcendental jealousy isnot wrong but it is absolute. In the transcendentalworld there are jealous partiesalso like the party of Radharani and the

158 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadaparty of Satyabhama. Radharani and Satyabhamaare always jealous of one anotherbut the center is Krishna. There aremany material examples also. There aremany political parties in a state but inspiteof all political jealousies they are one inserving the state. Similarly Krishna beingthe center all competetion and jealousiesfor serving Krishna the best is always Absoluteprovided such jealousies do notcome down to the material plane.Krishna consciousness means to increasethe number of persons in Krishnaconsciousness. Therefore it is the duty ofa Brahmachary to go door to door as beggarand enlighten people in Krishna consciousness.Whenever you go to someperson he will hear something from thedevotee about Krishna consciousness andthat will be very much beneficial for boththe devotee and the person who hears thedevotee. In India the Brahmacharies aremeant for begging from door to door forthe Spiritual Master. But in your countrythis activity is not allowed, therefore somedevices like selling the publications recruitingmembers, inviting them to ourmeetings and likewise activities must betaken by the Brahmacharies and that willbe nice. Grihasthas or the householdershave responsibility of family thereforewhatever contribution they can offer forthe Society is welcome.Afterall, Krishna is the ultimate Person.We are just trying to serve Him.Your conviction that we have to supplythe demands of Krishna and not to demandanything from Him is the pure devotionalphilosophy. The followers ofLord Chaitanya never makes Krishna theOrder supplier but the devotees becomethe order supplier of Krishna. Krishnawants that all His bewildered sons maybe turned towards Him and therefore themore we are able to turn devotees ofKrishna the more our service is recognised.We have to work practicallyhow this mission can be well organised.Residential quarters for students andothers on terms of our rigidity is very goodproject. We should increase this projectlike Y.M.C.A. organisation without anyprofit. We shall supply nice Prasadam atcheap rate and we shall give shelter to personswho will abide by our rules. That willhelp in increasing the numbers of devoteesbecause they will attend our lectures andtake our Prasadam and will have opportunityto hear Srimad Bhagavatam etc. I thinkwe should make an experiment of this projectduring the world Exposition.I understand that you are going to takesanction of India Govt for distribution ofthe literatures. But the present India Governmenthas a phobia against anythingwhich is religious fervour. The best thingwould have been to have one small stall for.ourselves from the Exposition authotitywithout any co-operation of the Indian Pavilion.Then we would be able to functionindependently. If we distribute our Prasadam,our literature, try to sell our booksand other literatures and go on playing ourrecords and sell them, I think that will beproper utilisation of our Krishna Consciousenergy. If possible try to work onthis line. When I think of Indian GovernmentI become at once hopeless on accountof the secular procedure.I have approved your prospectus and Iam sending herewith copies of certificatesabout my bonafides from GaudiayaVaisnava Societies in India. Our Goudiyasocieties are many many times older thanthe Ramakrishna Mission. I am the onlyrepresentative in U.S.A. of my 500 hundredyears old societies in India. If Ramakrishnamission can have all facilitiesfrom U.S.A. Government for preachingtheir cult and allow all Ramakrishna MissionSanyasins remain here, why I shallnot be allowed to remain here for propagatingLord Chaitanya 's movement. AnywayI have now certificates from my

APRIL, 1967 159Godbrothers in India where we have gotvery big organisations in the matter ofKrishna consciousness and let me see howthings take shape.To-day I am going to initiate five devoteeswho were waiting for me while I wasat San Francisco.Hope you are well and awaiting yourearly replyYour ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosures : 767-4-8New Yo rk14th April, 1967My dear Kirtanananda,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter of the 12th in ­stant and have noted the contents verycarefully. It is very pleasing to learn thatyou had very good Kirtan on the 11th instantnight with many devotees. Forget everythingand go on with your Kirtan thatwill bring us all transcendental bliss. I re ­ceived all letters from Janardan and I haveduly replied them including one meant forhis grandmother who is ailing for sometime past. You are all good souls andtherefore Krishna has sent you all for givingme chance to serve Krishna.Regarding permanent Visa fromCanada it is very welcome suggestion. AsI have told you several times that I want atleast twelve trained devotees and let ustour all over the world for preaching thegospel of Krishna Consciousness. Thatwill satisfy me. Now we have both recordsand books and I have ordered for morebooks from India and I have now money toprint the Geetopanisad. Janardan's friendMr. McGill certainly can help me in thisconnection. Why not make me an Hon.teacher in the Religion Department forteaching the cult of Lord Chaitanya whichis the living religion of the world. Allother religions of the world are carried bymore sentiments than philosophy butChaitanya cult is full of philosophy andtranscendental sentiments or emotions. Iam enclosing herewith certificates of mybonafides and see if you can arrange formy Permanent Visa from Canada. Mr.Ypslanti the Lawyer for my Visa asks menot to go to Montreal because as soon as Icross the border of U.S.A. I shall not beallowed to enter U. S.A. until I return toIndia and apply for new visa. And He issimply taking time to draw some morefees. Under the circumstances if it is pos ­sible for me to get Candian permanentVisa through the good office of Mr.McGill then I can immediately start forMontreal. Please let me know how far it ispossible and if Janardan has made anyprogress in this connection."Why we cannot eat meat ", to answerthis question the staight reply is that "becauseKrishna does not eat meat ". We areconcerned with Krishna Consciousnessso our eating is dependent on KrishnaConsciousness. We cannot eat, cannot do,cannot think, cannot will or can do nothingwithout Krishna consciousness. Bynature one has to eat some weaker livingbeing and therefore animals are eaten byman, vegetables are eaten by animal or theweak is eaten by the strong and thereforeone living being is eaten by anotherstronger living being. But there is a systematicrules and principles for eating anda human being is to eat Krishna Prasadam.If Krishna would have eaten meat,we would have also eaten His meat Prasadam.We are concerned with Krishna Prasadam.In this connection please consultmy writing in Srimad Bhagavatam thirdvolume page 822 "One living being is thefood fo r the other " also please consultpage 984 ''The principles of Cow Killing "

160 Letters from Srila PrabhupiidaMydear Janardan,Please accept my blessings . I hope youhave duly received the note sent for yourgrandmother. Although we have spent$500.00 till now for my permanent Visa,our Lawyer is not yet successful . He doesnot advise me to cross the borders ofU.S.A. otherwise the Visa which is nowextended to February 1969, will be cancelled.And I cannot return to U. S.A. It isvery difficult to deal with these lawyers.Now if it is possible for me to have CanadianVisa as Kirtanananda has suggestedin his letter under reply and which youhave also confirmed that it can be done,then please do it immediately and I canstart fo r Montreal never mind it is cancelledhere . You will find herewith twocertificates of my bonafides in the matterof my becoming the teacher of ChaitanyaCult. I have got my books also. So if I amappointed as teacher I think the wholeproblem is solved.I hope you will try for this and let meknow what is the opinion of Mr. McGillwho is your friend.Jadurani also has drawn one design forthe Montreal Prospectus enclosed herewithplease find.Your ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: 3 & 1 Letter from N.Y. U.67-4-9 New Yo rk15th April, 1967TRUE COPY. of Letter under separatepost with Gramophone Record AND ACHEQUE FOR RS. 501-"My dear Sri Krishna Panditji,Please accept my greetings . I am indue receipt of your letter of the 9th instantand have noted the contents carefully. Aspromised by me previously I am sendingherewith the Gramophone Record of myKirtan and short speech thereof. I hopeyou will enjoy it. I am very sorry to learnthat Srimati Bahuji is suffering fromPyorrhea. It is due to excessive Bettiechewing. Any way I am sending herewitha small cheque for her treatment. Pleaseaccept it with my blessings."Regarding printing work, I am preparedto guarantee for payment to thepress if the printing is first class just suitableto the American taste. If Joshiji appearsto be not interested why not yourselfdo the work and I am prepared to pay youas stated in my previous letter."Regarding your introduction to mydisciples here, you can immediately notedown the following address. He is interestedin importing musical instrumentsfrom India. If you can immediately arrangeto supplyfrom Delhi things like Aggarbatti,Dhupa, Musical instruments,Varanasi Sari, Bronze cymbals, Printedmatters, Printed cloths from Agra andFarukhabad etc, you can do very goodbusiness and make profit not less thanRs200/- per moth or more. Add only 5%on the purchase price or sometimes lessthan 5% on purchase values and you willbe do good business. But if you can notwrite in Englishhow you will make correspondencewith them. You must write inEnglish or get it done by some one whoknows English Unless you write in Englishhow can you deal with them. Pleasenote down the following address immdediatelyand correspond with him givingreference of my name."Mr. Michael Grant 518 FrederickStreet, San Francisco, California 94117."Regarding my room in the temple, Ican understand that you want to use it formany other purposes and you cannotagree to use it exclusively for my BhagavatamPrinting. I do not wish to disturbyou. As you are very much anxious to getthe room vacated, I have decided to vacateit without delay. I have advised Srimad

APRIL, 1967 161B. V. Narayan Maharaj of Mathura (KesavjiGaudiya Matha) to vacate the roomwithout delay. When he goes to the Templeplease help him as far as possible andhe will certainly vacate the room for yourother religious purposes as you have informedme in your letter under reply.In conclusion I may inform you that Ican introduce to you many names in thiscountry provided you can arrange for correspondencein English. Who will readyour Hindi letters. Please note that withoutEnglish you cannot be in touch withthe outer world at least in Business. Whynot train at least one of your sons in Englishcorrespondence and I will help himin doing ourworld business and yourfamily will be profited."Hope you are well.)Your ever well wisher.A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Sri Krishna Panditji,The above letter was to be posted by airmail. But my students have posted it alongwith the Gramophone Record by ordinarymail. So it will take some time to reachyou. I therefore send the copy of the aboveletter by air mail sothat you can know thereply of your letter of the 9th instnat.Kindly help Narayan Maharaj in clearingthe room. Awaiting your reply.Yours etc.A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swamithe books. It is understood that they havedelivered all the books to your office. Iwould therefore request you to take asmany books as you may require and thebalance out of 126 books may be bookedto New Yo rk by any one of your ships.You will be pleased to know that peoplein this country specially the youngersection are accepting the philosophy ofBhagvat Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam as itis and I am hopeful of my mission in thiscountry. I am enclosing herewith somepress cuttings which will convince aboutmy success inpreaching in this country.Kindly pray to your Balakrishna to helpme more in this connection. I have nowopened three centres namely one in NewYo rk, One in San Francisco and one inMontreal (Canada). This branch isopened by one of my American disciples.Kindly let me know if you have got any officein Montreal and in San Francisco. Ishall be much pleased to hear from you atyour earliest convenience. Kindly conveymy blessings to Sriman Choksi and yourother Secretaries.Hope you are well,Yours sincerely,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosures: 367-4-1122nd April , 196767-4- 1018th April , 1967Madam Sumati Morarji Baisaheba,Please accept my greetings. Hope everythingis well with you. Kindly refer toyour letter of 22nd November 1966 inwhich you ask me two copies of my SrimadBhagavatam. I had some books inBombay c/o the Universal Book House,Dadar and I advised them to deliver youMy dear Ballabhi,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter of the 18th instant and Ihave noted the contents with so muchpleasure. I know that you poor girl havebeen frustrated by the so called societyand you deeply needed the shelter ofKrishna Consciousness. Krishna kindlysent you to me and I have tried to give youwhatever I had in my possession. Pleasego on chanting Hare Krishna HareKrishna as you are doing now and this

162 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidave ry chanting will gi ve you all peace andprosperity both in this life and the next.Ne ver expect any good from the so calledsociety, friendship and lo ve. OnlyKrishna is the genuine friend of all li vi ngbeings and it is He only who can gi ve usall benediction. The more you ad va nce inKrishna Consciousness chanting HareKrishna Hare Krishna the more you becomespiritually ad vanced and happy inall respects.The separation which you are feeling onaccount of my physical absence is goodsign. The more you feel such separation themore you will be situated in Krishna Consciousness.Lord Chaitanya felt this separationand His process of approachingKrishna is the feeling of separation. HoweverI shall return to San Francisco as soonas possible. How is Nandarani and her husbandDayananda ___ not hear fromthem since I have come back to New Yo rk.Herewith please find some notes for SrimanSubal das and his wife Krishna De vi.My dear Subaldas and Krishna De vi,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter and ___ sove ry nicely made. I am enjoing your preparationsdaily and it is so __ I am gladthat you are prosecuting the ____regularly and that will make you happy inthe world both in this life and in the next.Make Kirtan your life and soul and Hewill gi ve you all benediction.My dear Srimati Harsarani,Please accept my blessings. I ha veduly recei ved your bags for the beads andthank you ve ry much. I hope you are___ Kirtan nicely and feeling transcendentalhappiness. Please offer myblessings to all the boys and girls. Hope tohear from you.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhakti vedanta Swami67-4- 12 New Yo rk27th April, 1967My dear Pradyumnadasa Brahmachary,Please accept my blessings and I beg tothank you for your ietter of the 22nd instant.I am returning herewith the Bankcard duly signed by me . Pradyumna isKrishna's plenary expansion like Vasudeva, Aniruddha and Samkarsan. WhenKrishna appeared on the earth Pradyumnaappeared as His son born ofRukmini. The immediate expansion ofKrishna is Valade va who appeared as elderbrother of Krishna and Valade va expandsHimself further as Samkarsan,Vasude va, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha.There are such innumerable expansionsof Krishna and Pradyumma is one ofthem. There is no difference in potency of.all these expansions.I am so glad to Jearn that you had nodifficulty on the border. These man madeborders of land are disturbances in theLaw of the Lord . All lands belong toKrishna and as ser vant of Krishna we ha veevery right to enter any land but artificialman made ci vilisation has created somany nonsense and these are the conditionsof material existence. Sometimes weha ve to place oursel ve s under such conditionsto make the best use of a bad bargain,but rest assured in the discharge ofKrishna conscious duties Krishna will alwaysgive us His protection and we maydischarge our duties unhesitatingly. I ha veseen in you that Krishna has special mercyupon you and utilise this mercy fully sothat in this ve ry life you can be elected asthe associate of Krishna in His supremeabode Goloka Vrindaban. As you are allgood souls Krishna will help you alwaysin your business of Krishna Consciousness.Regarding Harmonium, you can immediatelysend me a Money Order check$100.00 and I shall arrange for one Har-

APRIL, 1967 163monium the best as well as for one goodMridanga and a few pairs of Kartal.My dear Kirtanananda,Please accept my blessings. By theGrace of Sri Krishna you are doing well inthe management of the Montreal centerand your combined service will improvethe condition more and more. Be jolly al ­ways knowing well that Krishna is withyou and all sincere attempt to improve theMontreal Branch will be successful. Ihave already asked Shyamsunder of SanFrancisco to sculpt one set of Sri Murtis ofJaggannatha for Montreal but if you canlocally do it there will be great saving oftransport charges. I am sending herewithone picture of Jagannatha as they aresituated in San Francisco. You have seenthe place and now you can arrange for theDeity like the picture and I wish to followthe same principle in all our branches.The Deity room should not be separatefrom the common lecture room but itshould be situated in such a place that allcan see the Deity perfectly. But arrangementshould be made in such a way thatthere would be one round curtain to coverthe place when there is no class. Theyshould not always be exposed, only duringthe class hours the curtain should beopen. The picture enclosed herewithmaybe enlarged and sent me back again.Regarding Easy Journey to OtherPlanets if you like this book just edit itnicely and we shall get it printed here withaddition of my chanting essay. Now I amtrying for printing arrangement and thisbook also can be nicely printed providedyou take charge of distribution. I am verymuch anxious for sale of my books. It hasto be organised; please think over thismatter. If the books are not properly soldhow I can print so many books. Let Pradyumnahelp me in selling the books. If itis possible you can make Jagannathstatues in various sizes for sale and I approvethis project. We have ordered forsome Krishna pictures and they are alsofor sale.Regarding Bengalis. I think it will bedifficult for them to join us because wepure Vaisnavas. The Bengalis are generallyworshipers of Goddess Kali for facilityof eating meat and fish. But some ofthem may join us in minority. Indiansother than the Bengalis may join us inlarge numbers because most of them arevegetarians. Any way do not disturb themor any one about their personal affairs butgive every one the chance of joining us inKirtan that will pave the path of KrishnaConsciouusness. You are intelligentenough and I hope you will understand meright.You will be glad to know that I havebeen able, by Grace of Krishna, to recover$4227, and odds out of the $5000.00 gonein the belly of Sir Conman Fraud (Payne)and Mr. Goldsmith is trying to recover atleast $500.00 out of another $750.00 inthe belly of Payne. I prayed to Krishnaspecially for this recovery because Ithought that Krishna's money may not beutilised for sense gratification. So I thinkstill we shall be in loss of about $1000.00or more which cannot be recovered be ­cause they have been shared by the Lawyers.Any way it is Krishna's Grace but infuture all of you must be very cautious todeal with men like Payne whom I trustednot from the very beginning.Krishna is dictating you from withinfor nice management and I am very gladto have detailed statement of accounts.You will also be glad to know thatSteadhisa (Stanley) has joined us again ingood health. He is a sincere devotee oftheLord.Yo urs ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure :2.

164Letters from Srila Prabhupiida67-4- 13 New York27th April, 1967My dear Sripada Nripen Babu,Please accept my humble dandabats. Iam in due receipt of your letter of the 22ndinstant and have carefully noted the contents.The substance of the letter is thatGorachand has sufficiently exploited histemporary position with power of Attorneyand this process is going on since verylong time even prior to the arrival of Gorachandat the cost of the temple property.Amalgamation of all the deities namelythe deity of Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami,Deity of Bhugarbha Goswami, the Deityof Jaydeva Goswami and the Deity of JivaGoswami Prabhupada at one place byyour maternal uncle is the beginning ofthis mismanagement culminating at lastby selling the properties of the. respectivedeities by Gorachand for his personalsense gratification-is clear case of misappropriationand it is clear case of criminalbreach of trust. But I think criminalcase of breach of trust or misappropriationor similar criminal charges cannot bebrought against Gorachand because hewill present himself as a co-sebait or apartner in the trust. So far I know a partnercannot be prosecuted criminally but Ithink as Gorachand has broken the termsof your Power of Attorney which you havealready cancelled is a case against himand he can be prosecuted immediately. Iam not a lawyer but if he can be criminallyprosecuted on this ground of breaking theterms of Power of Attorney you must immediatelyprosecute him on this groundand make him responsible for all loss ofthe property. Side by side you have immediatelyto apply for being appointed theReceiver of the state by the courtfor takingcharge of the property. If so required youcan become the joint Receiver of the Stateby court permission and that will solve thewhole probles. This you can apply immediatelyand showing the imergency of thematter the court will immediately grantthis Receivership either jointly and severally.If the court can be convinced thatGorachand has already mismanaged theproperty, his claim to come into the managementof the affairs will not be acceptedand then you become the Receiver of theProperty and as such you can offer securityof your personal property which alsohappen in U.P. So there will be no difficulty.I think you should adopt this policyand you will be successful. Other caseswill be simply dragging and will have noimmediate effect. Besides that as I havealready informed you in my previous letterthat your presence or your son's presenceas the co-sebait in the temple is veryessential. Otherwise you shall not be ableto protect the state and I think for the sakeof Radhadamodarji and Srila Jiva Goswamiyou must adopt this principle andstay in the temple as co-sebait and if Gorachanddoes not allow you to stay either youcan stay at my rooms or you can ask thecourt to claim your room which Gorachandhas forcibly occupied. Any way ifyou or your representative does not liveyou cannot give any protection.I can understand that you are short offund because you have retired from yourservice. Although you have not asked mestill my conscience says that I may sendyou some money on account of the landyou may give me on either lease terms oron sale. I am therefore advising my societyto send you $100.00 one hundred dollarsor Rs750/-as earnest money. Pleasetherefore send a receipt to my society asco-sebait of the property otherwise youcannot take charge or manage the property.Gorachand has done everything illegallyand as Receiver of the stateappointed by the court you can recoverall the misappropriated money fromhim. If you know that he has money in thebank on personal account you can sus-

APRIL, 1967 165pend the payment as Receiver. Thereforeyou must take this step immediately asadvised hereinbefore. My society willnot be agreeable to negotiate with anyone who is not permitted by the courteithet to sell or giveout on lease. Themoney sent by the society as earnestmoney may remain with you till suchcompletion of · negotiation and in themeantime you can send a receipt on thesociety's account.So far the land is concerned my societydesires to construct a nice Americanhouse on the land for study and promulgationof the Go swami literatures all over theworld. We shall start a fine press for publicationboth in Sanskrit and English languageand we can appoint your son as thePress manager if he can manage. I wish Iwould have gone immediately to India butif I go just now the work here will suffer.So please be with me in this project as youhave promisedfor the service of Srila JivaGoswami. I think simply the land in Lotankunjawill not be sufficient. I wantother lands also on the northern side of myroom as well as on the western side of theTemple. But rest assured if you can giveus some land certainly a newchapter . ....

MAY67-5-1New York1st May, 1967My dear Janardan,Please accept my blessings. I thank youfor your letter of April 27, 1967 and havenoted the contents care fully. My first instructionto you is that you must pass yourM.A. Examination before any other consideration.Your degree will be a great asset forthe society in the near future. So this is yourfirst consideration. Regarding returning themoney you do not bother much. Your goodwife gave in loan to the society $300.00 andshe must have the money returned. So donot bother about it. The society will returnthe money to N. Y. conveniently. There is noimmediate necessity.Regarding my Canadian Visa, I shallgo to Montreal when you are confident ofgetting it there. Otherwise I shall lose theU. S.A. Visa also. So conveniently you tryto get information from the right sourceand the best thing will be to get me as ateacher as you suggested in your previousletter. So far I am personally concernedeither I remain here or there my businessis to chant the glories of Lord Krishna.Wherever I get chance to chant is good forme. I have no idea for sight seeing in anycountry because I know that all land belongto Krishna and anywhere I remain Iremain at His Lotus Feet. But if you thinkmy presence in Montreal will be good forthe Branch there I am prepared to go thereany moment you ask me to go at all riskeven if I am bereft of the U.S. visa. I donot mind it. Offer my blessing to all devoteesthere and your good wife.Yours ever well wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-5-2New York4th May, 1967My dear Shyamasundar,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of April 28,1967 , and thank you for returning thecheck. For the balance eight books youcan send me your check conveniently,there is no hurry.It is so pleasing to me that you are givingservice to Krishna by your intelligence,by your body, by your mind.Everything is very nice and this will makeyou more and more progressive in understandingKrishna Consciousness. I thinkyou are feeling and understanding howyou are making progress and I am veryglad to see it. I am also very much satisfiedto see you have got a good companion,your wife Malati. She is very nice. Ihave received her letter, please convey myblessings unto her. I know that you are notmuch for writing letters but you are muchfor work. This is very good proposal.Make the Rathayatra Festival very greatsuccess. This will be a great introductionin your city and people will appreciate itand if we can introduce successfully thisRathayatara Festival not only in San Franciscobut also in New Yo rk and also inMontreal, then it will be a great success ofmy mission in this country.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta, Swami

168 Letters from Sri/a PrabhuptidaMy dear Malati,Please accept my blessings. I am in receiptof your letter of the 25th, April1967, and I am very glad to know the sentimentexpressed therein. You are a verysincere girl and your sentiment is alsovery nice. One should always feel veryhumble, that will help one to make progressin Krishna Consciousness. So yourhumble feeling that you are shrouded byillusion is very nice, at the same time yourfeeling that Krishna Consciousness is sonice that it makes everything easy.You have desired me to return to SanFrancisco by the 1st of June. If Krishnawishes it is not impossible. My programwas to go to Montreal but there is somedifficulty about the visa so I may not go toMontreal , and in case I do not go it will benot difficult for me to return by 1st June toSan Francisco. If l am not there by 1st ofJune by the 1st of July I must be there.Thank you very much.Your ever well wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-5-3My dear Upendra,New Yo rk4th May, 1967I am in due receipt of your affectionateletter dated April 26, 1967. Thank youvery much. Please accept my blessingsand I also thank you very much for yoursandalwood book marker. It is wonderful.Everyone appreciated this present and Iam keeping it very carefully. I am gladthat you are changing your office time andyou shall have more time to perform kirtan.I am glad that you have mentioned thefirst stanza of Prayer to Spiritual Master. Ithink you know the meaning of thisstanza. The meaning of this stanza is that,this world is just like forest fire and spiritualmaster is just like the cloud on thesky, therefore as the forest fire can be extinguishedonly by water from the sky,similarly, one can be peaceful and elevatedin spiritual consciousness orKrishna Consciousness only by the mercyof a bonafide Spiritual Master.The process which you are following isvery nice. Your humbleness and sinceritywill make you more and more advanced inKrishna Consciousness. I shall pray toKrishna for your welfare always.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Swami67-5-4San FranciscoMy dear Mukunda,New Yo rk5th May, 1967Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated May 1,1967 and thank you very much. You willbe pleased to know that yesterday at noonat the City College of New Yo rk I had avery successful meeting amongst the students.There were about 200 studentspresent, and at the last kirtan they alldanced and sung with me, and there were20 minutes of answers and questions.This meeting was arranged by the PhilosophyDept. Chairman, so it was verynice and successful. Regarding your enquiryabout the individual soul present, Ithink you will remember that I have severaltimes explained that throughout thewhole cosmic creation, not only in thecosmic creation, in the Spiritual Worldalso, the individual is full everywhere,they are numberless. In the materialworld, the number of souls are very small.In the Spiritual World the number of individualsouls are far far greater than whatthey are here. The conditioned souls arejust like prisoners, as we have got lesspopulation in the prison house, similarly,

MAY, 1967 169in the material world the number of individualsouls are very small. So you mayunderstand from me that the individualsouls are everywhere, means, anywhereyou go within this material world there areindividual living entities, in all planets inthe outer space, in the water, on the landeverywhere.You have done right by attaching a laceon the mridunga just to make it convenientplaying while dancing. I request you to getmore mridungas, of course the first consignmentof mridungas and the cymbals Isent money from my personal book accountbut if you want more mridungas youwill have to arrange to pay. A first classmridunga available in India is about tendollars. I think you should get at least 4mridungas and teach, so that other studentsalso can play on it, so if there are 3or 4 mridungas played at the park andthere are about 20 pairs of cymbals thenthe kirtan will be more beautiful. We haveto popularise this movement everywhereso if you send me 100 dollars then I cansecure for you, one best harmonium and 2mridungas and 3 pairs of cymbals. Whathappened about your preparing the cymbals;if you prepare the cymbals there ispossibility of being sold in New Yo rk,many pairs-so why don't you do it? But ifyou are not doing it then you must get itfrom India. It is very pleasing to hear thatyou are keeping the temple neat and clean,at the same time you bedeck the templewith flowers.I am very glad to Jearn that you havegot a technicolor movie and it is very nicethat it has sound added of our voices. Iduly received the photos and immigrationmaterial , but neither the photos could beoffset printed, nor could I use the immigrationmaterial as sent by you . Mr.Ypslantin the lawyer is going in his ownway, so he does not take this material fo r­merly I offered , so Jet the matter be donein his own; there is no other way than todepend on the lawyer. Similarly in Montrealalso, Janos our student, Janardan istrying for a Canadian visa. Let me seewhat is done .I received a letter from your wife,Janaki. I think she is the foremost girl whois feeling my separation, so kindly informher that I am very much pleased to learnthat she is making progress considerablyin Krishna Consciousness.I have also received a letter from hersister and her brother in Jaw, Guru das, soI am replying to them separately. I think Ishall address them care of our temple andwhen you receive you can re-direct if theyare not there .I shall be very glad to receive some lettersfrom you . Give me the weekly reportof your activities at San Francisco.Thanking you once more, I am your everwell-wisher,Yours,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. I learn that in the temple there aresometimes men with no work. Thisshould not be allowed . Every one must bebusy with some work in Krishna Consciousness.Idleness is not Krishna Consciousness.Please take care of thisomission I shall be glad to hear from youabout this.ACB67-5-5San FranciscoNew York5th May, 1967My dear Guru das and Ya muna,I am very much pleased to receive yourwriting and short letter dated 25th April ,1967 . Please accept my blessings. I hopeyou are living very peacefully and chantingHare Krishna Hare Krishna KrishnaKrishna Hare Hare Hare Rama HareRama Rama Rama Hare Hare.I am very much pleased to see your

170 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidagood handwriting. I shall therefore re ­quest you to utilise your talent in the serviceof Krishna. I think if you write HareKrishna Hare Krishna in the same style asyou have sent me one specimen, on biggertype on canvas, say 30 inches by 20 inchesin color or black and white, it would be avery good engagement for you and at thesame time we can utilise those sign boardshanging in nice places. So if you have gottime you can prepare immediately suchsignboards Hare Krishna Hare KrishnaKrishna Krishna Hare, as you have sentme the specimen, on canvas. Make thecanvas colored bluish Krishna color andwrite Hare Krishna in white. It will bevery nice. I have very good appreciationfor both of you, Guru das and Yamuna,you are 2 good souls, now you have com ­bined. Live peacefully, chant HareKrishna and be happy in your life.Thanking you,Ever your well wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-5-6MontrealNew Yo rk5th May, 1967My dear Kirtanananda,I am in due receipt of your letter datedMay 1st 1967 and I am very pleased to gothrough it. Please accept my blessings.You are doing very nice alone, andKrishna will help you more and more. Asyou are managing our Montreal center,similarly, Mukunda and Haridas and Shyamsunderare also very nicely managingthe center in San Francisco. I have re ­ceived also one letter from Mukunda ofthe same date, May 1st, 1967 and hewrites as follows: "I am happy to reportthat many more people are attending kirtan." Someone has made a beautiful technicolormovie (our first in Golden GatePark) called "Hare Krishna ". It hassound, our voices. " I am sorry that youhave no good mridunga, but if you sendme a hundred dollars as I have alreadywritten to Pradyumna I can get a mri ­dunga and good harmonium for you sothat you can have your kirtan very nicely. Iam very much pleased to learn that ourcomments on the Bhagavat Gita are beingappreciated by the audience in Montreal.Regarding printing, ifl print th e BhagavatGita in your country, it will cost not lessthan 12,000 dollars, out of this I have al ­ready secured about 5,000 dollars fromone of my students at San Francisco andstill I require 6 to 7,000 dollars. I do notknow how to secure it, but the only hope isthat I have my books. If you can organisethe sales of my books, either you or Pradyumna,then there is no question of scarcityof money. I can go on printing somany books. But because the books arenot selling nicely, neither there is sufficientmoney, so I am handicapped. Anyway,let us depend on Krishna and whenHe will desire, everything will be verynice. Perhaps you have heard that I haverecovered out of that 6,000 dollars whichhad undergone in the belly of Sir ConFraud. I have realised about 4700dollars-the pleaders have taken about1200 dollars, including Mr. Hill's lawyer,our lawyer Herzog and I have paid alsosomething to Goldsmith. Anyway, that affairis closed. Now we are searching aftera bigger place. So far we have not beenable to find out a suitable place. We foundout a very nice suitable place at 6th Streeton Grand, but the difficulty is just on theside there is a butcher and the smell is obnoxious,so we could not do it. Now thereis a bank building on Houston Street, so,that is very nice, but we do not know howto secure it; we are trying for it.I have already written to Janardanabout his studies and I have requested himto have his M.A. degree by all means. Yo uwill be pleased to know that appreciation

MAY, 1967 171of our Back To Godhead and records hascome from London and our discipleDwarkadees, Donald Dougherty is arrangingto send 100 records, 3 sets ofbooks and Back To Godhead to London.This time they have made a very nicecover of Back To Godhead and the articlesand poetry are very nice. I think they willdispatch to you, and you will enjoy them.Think over how to popularise our samkirtan.If we can popularise our publicationthen it will be very nice propaganda.You will be pleased to learn that yesterdaywe had a nice meeting in the City Col ­lege, 138th St. There were about 200students attending and the program beganat 12 noon and ended at 1:30. First of allwe chanted and prayed for 45 minutes,then I lectured for another 30 minutesthen there were questions and answers for20 minutes then again, there was chantingand kirtan and dancing for 15 minutes andat the end all the students danced and sangwith me. They appreciated the meeting. Ifwe can arrange such meetings in theschools and colleges it will be a very nicething, because my purpose of coming hereto enthuse the younger generation and it isvery pleasing to me that Krishna is send ­ing me younger generation and sinceresouls like you. I think some of you likeyourself, Sat-svarupa, Brahmananda andMukunda and Gargamuni, Achyutanandaand all of you had already cultivated thisKrishna Consciousness in your past lives,now Lord Chaitanya wants that this move ­ment should be spread in the westerncountries, so most probably in your pre ­vious births you were all Indians and culti ­vated this Krishna Consciousness. NowLord Chaitanya has placed you in thewestern part of the world so that you cannow combine together and broadcast theholy message all over the world. Your de ­tailed account of the receipt and expendi ­ture is very nice, do your duty andKrishna will help you. I have got all approvalof your activities and I am thankingyou very much.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiNafE: If you want to come here for 2 or 3days it will be a very welcome suggestion.So we can talk together about our futureprograms, and it will be very nice. Haya ­griva wants to hear from you. He wantsthat you should join his Editorial Depart ­ment but he will only use you for Iskcon___ of which he is very __ .AC B67-5-7New York6th May, 1967My dear Upendra,Please accept my blessngs. I am in duereceipt of your letter of May 4, 1967 and Iam concerned about your __ for armymobilisation. I am enclosing herewith aletter you may present to the authority andas a Divinity Student you must not be sentto the field. Chant Hare Krishna Krishnawill save you. Present our prospectus andall newspaper cuttings. Some new cuttingsI am enclosing herewith. Also Iwould request you to pay the rent on roomin which I was staying. The Society isshort of ___ and therefore you can assureHaridas, Mukunda and Shyamasun ­dar that hence forward you should takeresponsibility for the rent of my apart ­ment.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: 4My dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. You havenicely done ___ Lord Chaitanya Drama1st Act. It is nicely done literature butwhen playing you will have to make it cutshort otherwise it will take too long a

172 Letters from Sri! a Prabhupadatime. I have given it over to Rayrama forreading.Rayrama has arranged for a press. Wecan now work our own press. So Back ToGodhead and our books now can beprinted in this press by our own men. Ithink you should now come back and seethe printing work done nicely. Yo u willhear more from Rayrama.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-5-8AgentThe Bank of Baroda LimitedForeign DepartmentMohan MansionChandni ChowkPost Box No. l409Delhi, India.New Yo rklOth May, 1967Dear Sir,I beg to thank you very much for yourletter No. FEX.l 9/994 of the 27th April1967 addressed to me San Francisco.Since then I have come to my New YorkH.Q. and the letter redirected here to day.I very much appreciate your suggestionmentioned in the second paragraph ofthe letter under reply and I may informyou that I have to pay Rs25000/- and oddsto Asia Press Delhi for printing books.Please let me know if you will issue letterof credit in their favour and if you do soplease send me your advice how manydollars I have to transfer from New Yorkto your office.Awaiting your early reply and thankingyou in anticipation.Yours faithfully,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami67-5-9San FranciscoNew York13th May, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter of the 9th May aswell as Srimati Janaki 's letter of the samedate. Please convey my blessings for herand all the boys and girls in San Francisco.Since I have come to New Yo rk Ihave not heard anything from JayanandaDas Brahmachary (Jim). Is he regularlyattending meetings. I shall be glad to hearfrom him. The gentleman who wrote onMeditation is Dr. Haridas Chowdhury.You can find his name from the telephonedirectory.The devotees of the temple must keepthemselves engaged otherwise they cannotmake progress in Krishna consciousness.The maya is very strong and assoon as there is opportunity the Maya willcome and attack. Therefore every oneshould be very careful against the attackof Maya. And the only effective defence isremain Krishna consciousness always.If you can prepare cymbals surelythere will be good demand for it. Thereare many customers here already demandingit. Gargamuni is supplying themsmall finger cymbals and they are acceptingit.So far questions on spiritual realisationand doubts in the study of theBhagvad Gita or Srimad Bhagavatam maybe placed before me and I shall try to solvethem to my best knowledge.Regarding publication of the BhagavadGita the quotations so far received are11000 to 13000 thousand dollars. I havegot about 6000 thousand dollars and I ameager to have the balance from any othersource. The profit derived from recordselling may be given to this fund. Gargamuniis paying me in that way. I wish thatyou may also follow the same principle.

MAY, 1967 173Any sitar player or Tabla player or anyother musician invited in the temple cannotplay anything except Hare Krishna.Neither any one can utilise the temple forsome musical demonstration. Such thingsare items for sense gratification. If somebodycomes in the temple to chant HareKrishna by his musical talents he is welcomeotherwise not. Please follow thisprinciple.Here also new youngsters are comingmore and more to take interest Krishnaconsciousness. We require a bigger placebut I do not know how Krishna will helpus. There is a very nice building in thisarea and we are negotiating but do notknow what is Krishna's plan. Hope youare all well.Yours ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiN .B.Nandarani has sent a letter toBrahmananda asking back her Typewiter.Did you not ask her when I wanted to exchangewith mine?N.B. I have received Balabhadra & expectingSubhadra. In Montreal they arepreparing there order so you may not preparefor Montreal but if possible make forLos Angeles.ACB67-5-10 New York21st May, 1967My dear Mukunda and Janaki,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of the 17thinstant.Your ardent call is responding fromheart and I have decided to return to SanFrancisco any day after 5th June 1967.You can advise therefore the AmericanAir Lines for booking my seat and take myinstruction here when I shall start as youdid it last time.I have already received letter from Jayanandawith thanks. I have received letterfrom all my spiritual children and I amvery sorry that I could not reply themtimely although I have replied some ofthem already. But you may announce tothem that I am coming at San Franciscovery soon some time in the second weekof June 1967.The pamphlet which you have sent tome is very encouraging. It is clear fromthe statement that some of the young menof this country are very much eager tohave some spiritual enlightenment and assuch this movement Samkirtan inauguratedby Lord Chaitanya, is just the suitablecontribution for such searching aftertruth. So let us take this opportunity andconvince them that this movement ofSamkirtan is the only means for spiritualrealisation, very simple and universal. Inour Kirtan there is no need of so calledmeditation and gymnastic of bodily exercise.It is simple and can be practised evenby the small children and we have practicallyseen it how small boys and girls dotake part in it by chanting dancing with usand what to speak of eating the deliciousKrishna Prasadam.So you can talk with the leaders of themovement to accept this common formulanamely chanting Hare Krishna, dancingwith it, hear the sublime philosophy ofBhagavad Gita directly from the representativeof Krishna, and eat Krishna Prasada.Let the leaders be open minded andnot be biased by any sectarian thoughts ofreligiosity. This movement is universal.We invite every one to our feast and Kirtanbut when one comes into the confidencewe initiate him in the process and requesthim to ovserve four principles of restrictionsbased on philosophy and morality.No body can realise spiritual enlightenmentwithout following the principles ofpurity. Therefore our four principles of restrictionmust be adopted when one is seriousabout further enlightenment. I am

174 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadaglad that Ravindrasvarupa and Devakinandan(David) is already negotiatingwith the authorities and it is good that youare arranging for twenty four hours chantingin the proposed camp.My dear Shyamsunder,Please accept my blessings and offerthe same to your good companion SrimatiMalatidevi. Please inform her that I havereceived her letter with great appreciationand I shall meet her very soon in SanFrancisco. Regarding your enquiry aboutthe valuable woodred you have secured, Iwould advise you to attempt carving LordChaitanya and His associates Murtis as Iam sending herewith the specimen. Ifpossible you can carve also the Forms ofRadha and Krishna separately. If not youcan go on carving the same three Forms ofJagannath brother and sister because wehave to open many centers one after another.I wish to open two centers immediatelyone in Los Angeles as suggested byHaridas and other in Vancouver. I have afriend in Vancouver who is devotee of SrimadBhagavat Puranam and with his helpwe can open a centre at Vancouver.I am very glad to see your enthusism inthe service of Lord Krii;hna and I am surethat this spiritual intoxicant of Krishnaconsciousness will encourage many manystudents who are actually in search afterthe Absolute Truth. I am very glad tolearn that my students and children in SanFrancisco are doing well in Krishna consciousness.My dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. am indue receipt of your letter. I understandthat some girls have volunteered to typeand therefore you can now get the revisedGeetopanisad nicely and correctly typedbefore it is handed over to the press. I amadvising Rairama to send you the sixthand seventh chapter for editing and I shalltake with me the balance for re-editingand Typing. I am reaching San Franciscoby the Second week of June1967. Hopeyou are well.My dear Ravindrasvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to learn that you are doing your bestand your good wife is helping you nicely. Ihave received her letter but I am sorry thatI could not reply this good girl. I verymuch appreciate her feelings and speciallythe hand writing. So you have verynice qualified girl as your life's companionand I bless you all that you peacefullycarry out the message of Krishna Consciousnessto the needy men of the world.I am glad to learn that you are in touchwith the council for A summer of Love.Please try to convince them that thismovement of Krishna Consciousness isthe only remedy for treatment for the diseasedcondition of human society. The basicprinciple of disease is Godlessness andthis movement is approved method for revivingGodconsciousness. So let the leaderstake this movement more seriouslyand it will actually relieve the sufferinghumanity and specially the youths whoare out to search out something spiritual.The youth of America who are so searchingI am very much sympathetic withthem and their qualification of detachmentto the material advancement of civilizationwill alone help them to advance inKrishna or Godconsciousness. If they patientlyhear me I am sure they will be convincedas you have been. So before myarrival you may make some arrangementso that I can speak to the greatest numberof people and I am sure they will appreciatemy presentation. Hope this will find

MAY, 1967 175you all well. Please convey my blessing toSriman Devakinandan Brahmachary andothers.Yours ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: one design for Shyamsunderfor carving.67-5-11San FranciscoNew Yo rk24th May, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. Since Iwrote you last an important negotiation isgoing on in respect of purchasing a verynice house for the ISKCON H.Q. in NewYo rk. So I may not start in the beginningof the Second week of June 1967; but I amsure to reach there by the end of Secondweek of June 1967 . I hope this will notcause any inconvenience.I shall be glad to hear from you. Pleaseconvey my blessings to Janaki and othergirls. Hope you are well,Your ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-5-12New York24th May, 1967My dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your air mail special deliveryletter. Thank you very much for thesame. I heard that you are not workingthere in the U.S. Mail dept. And here wewant some assistants for the Press Department.But later on it is understood that youare going to work from the 1st June 1967.If you are working there, you need notcome here. I am going to San Francisco bythe 15th of June 1967. And when I gothere I shall talk in details.Please inform Hayagriva that Gargamunihas sent him the whole set of EnglishChaitanya Charitamrita which hemay read carefully and then return itback.Please convey my blessings to all devoteesboys and girls. I am always thinkingabout you all.Your ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

JUNE67-6-1Hari Bhakta NudasaSri Krishna PanditKuncha, Dilwali SinghRajmere GateDelhi 6New Yorklst June, 1967Dear Hari Bhakta Nudasa,I'm writing this letter from the hospital. All of a sudden I've developed someheadache, as well as throbbing of thechest. When I rub my chest I feel sensationin my left hand and when I rub myhand I feel sensation in my chest. My lefthand no more works independently. Itherefore ask you if there is any good Vedicphysician in Mathura who can sendme some medicines, that, is, you purchaseand send them by air mail to ourtemple: ISKCON, 26 2nd Ave ., NewYo rk, N.Y. They symptom is predominantlywhen I get severe pain within myhead. And the trembling of the left hand iscoming every ten or fifteen minutes. I amafraid if this is not a disease like Lakhya;the boys are taking utmost care of me,there is no scarcity of care. But still afterall , this body is subject to death. I camehere with a great mission to execute mySpiritual Master's order but my heart isstabbing me. Of course, I'm not afraid ofMaya, I know Maya cannot touch me, butstill if I die in this condition, my missionwill remain unfulfilled. Please thereforepray to Prabhu Lord Chaitanya and VrindabanBihar, to rescue me this time, mymission is still not finished. I wish to livefor a few more days. They're prepared tocall an experienced Ayur Vedic physicianwho treats such diseases but I've not allowedthe boys. But if necessary, if youcan give me an expert physician who cantravel here we can send necessary moneyfor his coming here or arrange for airticket. You can consult the man in chargeof Dacca Shakti.At last I may inform you that I am inclinedtoward Ayur Vedic treatment. Youcan consult the Ayur Vedic physician inVrindaban who is a Goudiya Vaishnava.He knows me very well. He sells mybooks also.Two things are to be done if it is possible:to send me proper medicines and directions,that will be nice. But if l requireto return that also I can do. Please try toreply as soon as possible in English becausemy students cannot read Hindi. Solong as I'm in bed it's not possible to readletters. You can treat this letter very urgently.Consult necessaryphysicians andlet me know what I am to do. In Mathurathere are undoubtedly many Ayurvedicphysicians and many quacks also. Try toavoid the quacks. I would have returned toIndia immediately but the doctors say it isrisky. If need be, I shall return as soon as Iget strength to take the strain of the journey.I repeat my symptoms so that you cantake necessary care. All of a sudden I developedsome throbbing between theheart and stomach about 4 days ago. It wasso exhaustive, it was like fainting-then Iconsulted a doctor who came and gave memedicine but it was of no good effecttherefore my students at once transferredme to the hospital where they 're spendingmore or less 400 rupees daily. There is no

178 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadaquestion of neglect. All scientific treatmentis going on. But I think Ayur Vedicmedicine will be proper. Therefore I requestyou to take immediate steps and replyme .I hope this letter will con vince you ofthe actual position. While read ing this letteryou may consult some friend whoknows English ve ry well so that he'll readit correctly and reply correctly. There isno scope for corresponding in Bengali orin Hindi.Yours Sincerely,A. C. Bhakti vedanta SwamiStephen GuarinoSecretary, ISKCONfor Swami A.C. Bhakti vedanta67-6-2 New Yo rk5th June, 1967My dear Kushna dasi, Subal das,Lilavati dasi, Yamuna das i,Jayananda das, Upendra das,Malati das i, Guru das,Samsunda das, Haridas,Makunda das, Janaki,Aunt Edna Howell,My dear boys and girls I am so muchobl iged to you for your prayers to Krishnato save my life . Due to your sincere andardent prayer, Krishna has saved my life. Iwas to die on Tuesday certainly but becauseyou prayed sincerely I am sa ved.Now I am impro ving gradually and comingto original cond ition. Now I can hopeto meet you again and chant with you,Hare Krishna. I am so glad to receive thereport of your progressive march and Ihope there will be no difficulty in your understandingKrishna Consciousness. Myblessings are always with you and withconfidence you go on with your chantingHare Krishna Hare Krishna KrishnaKrishna Hare Hare Hare Rama HareRama Rama Rama Hare Hare.Thanking you once more,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhakti vedanta Swami67-6-3New Yo rk6th June, 1 0(';7My dear Mukunda,The record which you ha ve sent singingSri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram, andother Kirtans is really a new turn and weha ve enjoyed the record so nicely. ThisNarada Muni song is in your country tuneand I think it will attract many more ofcommon man to join the Kirtan so youshould practice this standard Kirtan morecon veniently so that during your Rathayatrafestival you can ha ve th is singing withthe procession.Please inform all the devotees, boysand girls, espec ially Janaki de vi, that I amprogressing well. As soon as I get a littlestrength for tra velling I shall come to SanFranc isco. In the meantime I shall be veryglad to know what arrangements you aregoing to do for the Rathayatra festival.Make it a grand procession and unique introductionin the United States.Please inform U pendra that I ha ve ve rymuch appreciated his letter of ser vice attitude.This ser vice attitude is a great assetof re velation in Krishna Consciousness.Your ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Also inform Jayananda I have receivedhis letter and the difficulties of lifemay come as seasonal changes but weshould not be disturbed by all those difficulties.Our process is to chant and thatprocess will gradually clear everything indue course. There is nothing to bedisrupted-you should go on with yourwork with enthusiasm and everything will

JUNE, 1967 179be sol ve d. We are on the sound footing ofKrishna Consciousness.67-6-4MontrealNew Yo rk7th June, 1967My dear boys and Haima vati,I ha ve duly recei ved your kind lettersand it was so pleasing to me that you areall sincere souls in Krishna Consciousness.I am making progress ve ry nicelyand tomorrow I shall be discharged fromthe hospital, to go to New Jersey to takerest for a fortnight in front of the naturalsea. The basic principle of Krishna Con ­sciousness is to recei ve one and all as ourMaster, and ser ve them with prasadam asdiet and Krishna Kirtan as medicine forbeing free from materially diseased condition.So we shall follow this principleand Krishna will help us on our onwardmarch.Yo ur e ver well wisher,A. C. Bhakti vedanta Swami67-6-5New Yo rk9th June, 1967Dear Mukunda,With reference to our telephone con ­ve rsation, I beg to enclose herewith threephoto-offset copies of certificates.I ha ve come to the seashore in N .J. andam progressing well. Today I ha ve taken ashower bath by myself for the first timesince getting ill.I am enclosing two offset copies, onefrom N.Y. U. and one from Slippery RockState College , also one from Saint FidelisCollege and Seminary. So far my certifi ­cates are concerned, if the originals arerequired I can send them, but I hope thatthese offset duplicates are as good as theoriginal and I hope you will make properuse of them.Most probably I may be able to cometo S.F. by the 25th of this month.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhakti vedanta SwamiACB :kdbEnclosures 667-6-6New York9th June, 1967My dear Nandararni,I am ve ry glad to recei ve your recentletter. I am also glad to inform you that Iam impro ving my health by the Grace ofKrishna. I don't belie ve in medicine ordoctors, but I am practically perceivingthat the massaging is helping me beyondexpectation. Today I ha ve taken a showerbath by myself, and I am reciting fromSrimid Bhagwatam, and am enjoying theseashore here in N. J. I belie ve that withina fortnight I shall recoup my health suffi ­ciently and be able to start for San Fran ­cisco and meet you all there .I am also glad to learn that you have achild within your womb, and please acceptall my blessings for the newcomer forwhom we shall be very glad to receive justafter a few months. Please take care ofyour health so that the child may growve ry healthy and become Krishna Conscious.Prahlad Maharaj was in the wombof his mother and heard the instruction ofNarada Muni and later on he became themost famous de votee of Lord Krishna. Itis the duty of all parents to make everychild Krishna Conscious, so that the fortunatechild born of Krishna Consciousparents may not ha ve any more to takebirth in this material world.Thank you for the very fine leaf.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhakti vedanta SwamiACB:kdb

180 Letters from Srila Prabhupada67-6-7S.B & K.Renovich4909 Norfolk St.Burnaby 2, B.C.CanadaNew York9th June, 1967My dear Mr. and Mrs. Renovich:I thank you very much for your letter of3rd June 1967. I have noted the contentscarefully, and I am glad that you are readingmy god-brother's book (RaghavaChaitanya Das). You are correct in yourconclusion that "Hari-Nama" is the onlymeans for spiritual realization in this age.Swami Bon Maharaj is also my Godbrother,and under the discipline of ourSpiritual Master we were all trained up forpreaching this gospel of chanting the HolyName, and I am trying to do my bit inthese western countries; and by Krishna'sGrace people are receiving the mantrawith great interest.In our three branches, (New York, SanFrancisco, and Montreal), this new line ofspiritual realization is being received withenthusiasm. Last Sunday there was ammeting in the Tompkins Square Parkand thousands of people participated. Iwas seriously ill for the last few days, sothat I could not attend the meeting, but Isent a message through my disciple, andwhen the message was read it was receivedwith great applause.I wish to open a similar branch in Vancouverwith your cooperation. If you areserious about it, then you arrange for ourreception, and I may go there with someof my disciples. The Indians in Montrealare taking· a great interest in our temple,and similarly we may expect that whenthere is a temple in Vancouver all the Indianswill take an interest. One of my chiefdisciples, Sriman Kirtananda, has verynicely organized the Montreal center, andon hearing from you either myself or Kirtanandamay go to your place. ThisSamkirtan movemement is so natural andnice; we had a very good experience atStanford Universtiy where all the studentsjoined with us and danced with us. I amenclosing one press report and hope youenjoy it.Yours sincerely,67-6-8New York9th June, 1967My dear Mr. Taber,I thank you very much for your letterand I have noted the contents carefully.You will be glad to know that I am improvingmy health gradually and today I took ashower bath by myself here at the seashorein N.J. Probably I will have regainedmy strength sufficiently by the25th of this month to come to San Francisco,but ifl do not go at that time, then Ishall advice you to come to New York.So far as your distress is concerned, itis not new: it is the general condition ofliving entities who are distressed for wantof sense gratification. Unless one is relatedwith Sri Krishna, The Reservior ofAll Pleasures, it is very difficult to havecomplete pleasures perception in this materialworld. You have read Bhagavad Gitaand it is stated that ultimate happiness canbe realized by transcendental senses only.Our movement for Krishna Consciousnessis to turn the present polluted sensesinto its original pure form, just like whena man cannot see properly due to cataractsin the eyeball, similarly we cannot havereal sense pleasure without being purifiedin Krishna Consciousness. This purificationcan be done only by engaging thesenses for Krishna. Krishna is called Hrisikesh,or the Master of the Senses. Hissenses are omnipotent; therefore, whenour senses will be engaged to satisfy thesenses of Krishna, at that time we willhave perfect sense gratification, and be

JUNE, 1967 181free of all distressed condition.A spirit soul is not impersonal, and becausehe is a person he has the latent desirefor sense gratification; but in thematerial condition he does not know howto enjoy; therefore one should purify thesenses being free of all material disignation.In conditioned stage we are designatedsouls like "American," "Indian,""dog," "demi-god," etc., but in pure consciousnessor Krishna Consciousness, weare part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman.By Brahman realization, as you mayhave read in Bhagavad Gita: Brahmabhutaprasannaatma na sochati na kankshati.So in our pure stage when we understandthat we are eternal servants of Krishnathere is no more distress. Therefore thedevotee prays: "My Lord, when shall I befreed from all material desires and becompletely engaged in your transcendentalloving service. At the present momentI am forlorn and nobody is my master.When shall I have You as my SupremeMaster; then shall I joyfully wander overthe whole universe knowing that You aremy master." Please therefore try to be inKrishna Consciousness and there will beno distress. Gradually as you realize this,you will experience it also; but the processis the same, both at the beginning andat the end.Hope you are well.Your sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiACB:kdb67-6-9New YorklOth June, 1967My dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. AlthoughI am practically on the path of death, still Icannot forget about my publications. Iwish that if I live or die you should takevery serious care for my publications. ImmediatelyI want to send Geetopanisad toJapan for publication. The complete faircopy of Geetopanishad has to be submitted.I hope you have completed fair copiesof at least seven chapters. The balance aretyped from the dictaphone, and there doesnot appear to be any possibility of theirbeing edited here, so I think you have to doit. After sending fair copies of what youhave done already you will have to edit thedictaphone copies. The original verse(sanscrit) is to be taken from Dr. Radhakrishnan'sedition, and the word to wordEnglish equivalent, as well as the translationand purport is to be found already onthe dictaphone copies. The only thing youhave to do is to place them properly and tomake the complete fair copy.I am thinking of going to San Franciscojust after getting some strength, which Ihope I will get by the end of the month; butin case I cannot go, you have to do it carefully,and send it to Japan. Please, therefore,let me know whether you'll do it. Ifyou say yes, then I will send you the dictaphonecopies for doing the needful. Thiswill give me great relief, and I am expectinga reply as soon as possible.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-6-10New YorklOth June, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I hope youhave already received my yesterday letterwith enclosure of cirtificate of photostatedcopies. The original copies are lying inmy room; they could not bring them, butif you think that the same cirtificates willserve our purpose, and the original areneedful, then I will arrange to send themsomehow or other. But you must ascertainwhether that certificate will serve the purpose.I am a bonafide preacher in the line

182 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidaof Lord Chaitanya. There is no doubtabout it. That is practically proved. Thecirtificates are also there . I am ve ry muchanxious to know if this will serve yourpurposes and a reply by return post willgive me great relief. The idea is that if Iget that permanent visa, then I shall settlethings up in that way. I do not mindwhether I am in the U.S.A. or Brindabin,because my life and soul is to preachKrishna Consciousness; but if you thinkthose cirtificates are not sufficient for mypermanent visa after consulting gentlemenlike Mr. Dhar or others whom youare consulting, then I shall think of goingback to India. But if I get the permanentvisa,, even in my broken health I shall stayin U.S. A. and try to propagate my missionthrough my disciples like you, Hayagriva,Kirtanananda, and others. I don't mindwhether I die here or in Brindabanwhereverthere is Krishna, that is Brindaban.So I shall be glad to hear from youthe clear position about this. That willgive me relief and new energy.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-6-1 1 Long Branch, New Jersey14th June, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated June 101967 . Yew it is due to your prayers thatthis time my life has been saved . Your appreciationof the movement is very keenand interesting. Actually I was also attractedby my Guru Maharaj when he convincedme that God lives and we can livewith Him. I find the same conviction inyou and it has gi ven me so great pleasure .Ye s, it is the greatest discovery. Humansociety under the spell of illusion is doingthings, each on his own responsibility andthey are becoming entangled in materialexistence. This is the greatest blunder inhuman society. They have not only forgottenGod but they 've declared openly thatGod id dead. This declaration of the foolishunman society is the greatest blunderin life. I therefore appreciate your convictionand I am still more glad that you aredetermined to progagate this message tothe world at large. I am sure you can dothis because all of you are determined topropagate this message to the world atlarge. I am sure you can do this becauseall of you who ha ve come to me are sinceresould and you have understood the innerforce of Krishna Consciousness.Please try to propagate this new movementcombinedly.I have already explained to Satsvarupathat for the present I may return to Indiaand try to recoup my health as well as be­in the American house there. I understandthe attitude of Rabbi Newman is notvery encouraging. So if I go to India andutilise the building fund there, it will benice. If we spend there 10,000 dollarsonly we can have very nice accomodationsfor training American youths in thematter of preaching work of Krishna Consciousness.We have tried our best to securea house in N.Y. but so far we havefailed and I think we can contunue ourcenters in rented houses without endeavoringmore for our mown house. Ratherwe may train up boys for preaching workand send them back to all the parts of theworld to preach this gospel. After 6months if I am fit I my come back again towrok with you with renovated energy. So Ishall like that. Yo u, Satsvarupa and othermembers may discuss this point and cometo some conclusion so that we can do theneedufl when I return to New Yo rk. In themean time you can make your decision.Even in my absence there will be no stoppageof activities, will go on nicely by regularexchange of correspondence andthere will be no difficulty. At last I may

JUNE, 1967 183inform you that if I get my permanent visaand if Rabbk Newman agrees to give usthe house then I may not return to Indiathatis my inner wish.Your ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-6-12New Yo rk14th June, 1967My dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated June 121967 and I am glad that you are being as ­sisted by an accountant friend. I quite ap ­preciate your endeavor, and I think theprocess suggested by your friend in keepingaccount will save much of your time.I'm glad that you are figuring trial balanceevery day. This is very nice. I shall be gladto see one of such trial balance-how youare doing.So far my health is concerned, I amimproving daily, but due to my weaknesssometimes I feel dizzyness. Your prayerand all other boys' prayers has saved meand I hope to render some service to youall for some more years. Please pray toKrishna and He will give us strength andenergy in every respect. Thanking youonce more. Hope you are well.Your ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-6-13New York26th June, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated June 20,1967 . Although I am passing throughcritical stages of my health , still good reportsfrom San Francisco, Montreal, andNew York are giving me life. I understandthat the cirtificate which you were to receiveby registered post was dispatchedfrom Calcutta on 2 May by ordinary mail,and it might be missing ; so I have askedTirtha Maharaj to send another to your ad ­dress. The copy of the letter addressed toTirtha Maharaj is enclosed. Please lookfor the mail. I hope the cirtificates whichyou have already are sufficient; but still,this cirtificate from Tirtha Maharij will bemore valuable.I have fixed up to start for San Franciscoon the 5th July, and the rest remainson Krishna.Hope you are all doing well. Offer myblessings to Srimati Janaki Devi.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swamiencl. 1.67-6-1427th June, 1967My dear Shri Krishan Pandit,Kindly accept my greetings. I am verymuch thankful to you for your letter datedJune 15, 1967. Your prayers to LordKrishna are heard by the Lord, and by HisGrace I'm getting improved in health dayby day. Your suggestion to return to Indiais welcome. As soon as I get a littlestrength I must return to India. I alsothank your son-in-law, Yog Raj Sharma,for his suggestion.As you have not received the gra ­maphone record as yet, I guess it has beentaken away by somebody. Therefore, Ihave advised my students to send anotherone by registerd post. With that recordwas a check for Rs/50. (check no.0055447, dated April 15, 1967) in yourfavor, so you go to the Bank of Baroda,Chandnichawk, Delhi, and stop the pay ­ment by showing this letter, and uponhearing from you I shall arrange for sendingyou cash from here. Your former letterwas properly replied from here. I request

184 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadayou to see Messrs. S.S. Brijbasse Co. atFatehpuri. We sent them an order for picturesand $100., but they are silent.Kindly enquire what is the fate of themoney and the order.My blessings for your wife and children.Hope you are well, and thanking youonce again.Yours affectionately,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-6-1527th June, 1967Madame Sumati Morarjee Baisaheva:I thank you very much for your letterdated June 20, 1967. As stated by you, mymissionary work is really a great challengeto the western way of life. ButKrishna is so attractive that He is acceptedeven by the Westerners when the consciousnessis presented in the right disciplicsuccession. The challenge is to themaya, or in other words it is a fight withthe maya, and I may inform you that themaya has given me a great stroke very recently.Due to my incessant hard work forthe last two years, my health has beenshattered. On the 25th May I had a heavystroke between the heart and stomach.The boys here took all cares possible, andI am getting well day by day. At present Iam on the seashore in New Jersey for recoupingmy health, but I am thinking ofgoing back to India as soon as I get sufficientstrength. I am now considerably old;I will be 72 years next September. But thework which I have begun in the westernworld is not yet finished, and I require totrain some of the American boys to preachthis cult all over the western world. So iflreturn to India I will have to take with mesome of the boys for training. They are allnice boys to take up the training. So yourcooperation in this connection is greatlyneeded. You have already allowed mymen from India free passage; similarly, ifyou allow free passage for some of myAmerican disciples they can come to Indiaand take training from me at Vrindaban.The idea is that in this old age I do notknow when death will overcome me, and Iwish to die in the last days of my life atVrindaban. Ifyou kindly, therefore, cooperatewith my mission of spreadingKrishna Consciousness in the westernworld, then I wish to return to Vrindaban.I hope you will kindly grant this request.Back To Godhead is becoming graduallyvery popular in this country, and weare improving the quality of the printingetc. by the next issue, which you willshortly receive. The present circulation isea. 1,500 and I expect it to increase to5,000 by the next 2-5 months. People inthis country are thinking seriously aboutthis Krishna Consciousness idea and Ihope very soon Back to Godhead will be avery popular magazine. If you give mesome advertisement it will be a great assetto the publication, and we will be glad toprint it free of charge.Hope you are well.67-6-16 New York28th June, 1967My dear Janardan, Hamsadutta,Himavati, and Pradyumna,Please accept my blessings. While onmy sick bed I was so much encouraged byyour successful carrying on the MontrealBranch even in spite of the absence of Kirtanananda.There is a verse in the Bhagavadgitatenth chapter that anyone whoserves the Lord sincerely with love and affectionis certainly instructed by the Lordfrom within. The Lord helps us in twoways: internally as paramatman, and externallyas Spiritual Master. So I think

JUNE, 1967 185your sincere activities are being appreciatedby the Lord from within and He isdictating you all for advancement ofKrishna Consciousness. I hope that I maybe able to go to San Francisco on July 5th,and from there if I get my permanent visaI shall go to Vancouver where there isevery possibility of opening a new branch.There is a friend who is prepared to cooperate,and I understand that there aremany Indians also. From Vancouver Imay come to Montreal, perform the openingceremony of installation of Radha­Krishna Vigraha. Then I may go back toIndia for six months, as there is a programfor construction of an American house fortraining preachers at Vrindaban. Vrindabanis the only solitary transcendentalabode within this universe where KrishnaConsciousness automatically reveals.Therefore I have a great hope to trainsome of my disciples for preaching work,even in my absence. I am now old man,and attacked with serious disease; I maybe overcome by death at any moment.Therefore I wish to leave some trainedpreachers so that they can do the work ofKrishna Consciousness in the westernworld. That is my ambition. I hope you allpray to Krishna so I may be able to executemy duty properly.Thanking you all for your nice advancement.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

JULY67-7-1 Stinson Beach, California11th July, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I hopethings are going on in New York verynicely, but I have not heard from you sincecoming here. On the plane I had no inconvenience,and I ate all the puries broughtby Kirtananada. Sometimes on the waythere was little jerking (air pockets) and Igot little nervous. Anyway I got downsafely and was received by the anxiousdevotees here. Jayananda in a nicecarbrought me to the house, which is situatedin an exceptionally nice spot, and thehouseitself is aristocratic. So there isnothing to complain about the house andplace. The only difficulty is that I cannotgo to the temple on accout of the zig-zagcourse of the road in crossing the mountains.Anyway, the devotees are cominghere, and the Rathayatra Festival was performedwith great pomp. More than 500people followed theprocession to thebeach, and there were about two dozencars. They distributed thousands of chopaties,and at last Shri Jaggannath, Subhudra,and Balledev kindly came here iQour house and will stay here for one weekand then return.So for my health is concerned, on thewhole it is nice, but sometimes I feel notso good. Everything depends on Krishna,and as He desires it will happen.Dwarkadisha hasinformed me youhave received one letter from the Japaneseprinters. I am very anxious to see the letters.You can direct my mail to:ACB"Bodes Paradisio"Alameda PatioStinson Beach, Calif.I shall be glad to hear from you . Hopeyou are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-7-220th July, 1967Madam Sumati Morarji Baishaheba,Please accept my greetings and allblessings of Lord Krishna. I am in due receiptofyour letter ofJuly 12, 1967. I haveadvised my disciples to Publish your advertisementin the Back to Godhead freeof charges.I am feeling too much to return toV rindaban at the lotus feet V rindaban BeharyLord Krishna; and therefore I havedecided to return to India immediately. Iwould have liked to return via sea, as youhave so kindly offered me passage in yourletter, but in my precarious state of healththat is not possible. So by the mercy ofKrishna and through one friend here,somehow or other, I have received air passage,and I am expecting to leave here forNew Delhi on Saturday next, reaching PalamAirport on the 24th instant at 7: 30a.m. From there I shall proceed to Vrindabanafter a few days rest in Delhi.I can understand that at present youcannot allow free passage to my disciples.But if you don't do so, at least in the nearfuture, then my mission will be half finishedor failure. I am just enclosing one

188 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidaletter of appreciation for one of my principalstudents (Bruce Scharf) from ProfessorDavis Herron, and another letter fromProfessor Roberts of New Yo rk University.I think these letters will convince youhow much my movement of Krishna Consciousnessis taking ground in the westernworld. The Holy Name of Hare Krishna isnow being chanted not only in this countrybut also in England, Holland and Mexico,that I know of. It may be even more widespread.I have sent you one gramophonerecord which I hope you may have receivedby this time. You will enjoy to learnhow Krishna's Holy Name is being appreciatedby the Western Wo rld.Therefore it is a need that this movementmust be spread all over this country.It is glorious for India and glorious forHindu Religion. Please therefore fully cooperatewith me. For the present, at leasttwo of my disciples must come to India toassist me there both for the sake of myhealth and for the editorial work of SrimadBhagawatam. I request you thereforeinstead of free passage to me, please allowone of my chief disciples, Sriman HayagrivaBrahmachary, (Mr. Howard WheelerM.A.), free passage to India and anotherdisciple, who takes my personalcare, half-fare . For future you may considerlater on.The whole idea is that due to my indifferenthealth in this old age, it may be thatI may not come back again. But I musttrain up at Vrindaban some of my disciples.I can very well spread up this missionarywork without any personaltransfer. Please therefore cooperate withme as far as possible for Krishna's sake.You will be glad to learn that centers atthe following places are going in fullswing: (1) New York; (2) Montreat,Canada; (3) San Francsico; and the followingcenters are going to be opened atthe following places within the next severalmonths: (1) Boston; (2) Washington,D.C. (3) Va ncouver, Canada; (4) LosAngeles; and (5) New Mexico (Santa Fe) .Some of my friends in India are sendingSri Murtis (Radha-Krishna) , and weare getting locally sculpted Jagannath,Balavadra, and Subhadra Murtis to installin the temples. The societies are beingworshipped with flowers and fruits, andKirtan is being performed both morningand evening, and Srimad Bhagavatam isbeing recited. Don't you think that thismovement is glorious both for India andthe world? Kindly, therefore cooperatewith me in full heart.I shall anxiously await your reply,which please address to:A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swamic/o His Holiness B.V.Narayan MaharajKeshavj i Goudiya MathP. O. MathuraU.P.Copy may also be sent to New York.Thanking you once again.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-7-3New Yo rk21st July, 1967My dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I have arrangedto start for India tomorrow by AirIndia, and Kirtanananda is accompaningme. Krishna willing, we shall reach Delhinext Monday morning.I am trying for your free passage, andhave written another letter to the managingdirector of Scindia Co. , and I hope itwill be successful.When you come to India, you'll takemy trunk and whatever packages I leavelabelled in my room. Also, you shouldtake either the tape recorder I have here,

JULY, 1967 189or one which Mr. Kallman will supply. Finally,there is the big Royal typewriter,which you must pack nicely and bring.I shall let you know my arrival newsfrom India. Hope this will find you allright.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-7-4New Yo rk22nd July, 1967My dear Dayananda,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to read your letter of appreciation formy services, and I can understand thatyou are making good strides in KrishnaConsciousness. May Krishna bless youmore and more so that your ambition topreach Krishna Consciousness may besuccessfully carried out. Both you andyour wife, Nandarani, are very intelli ­gent, and I have several times received herletters, and she is also making very goodprogress. It is the Grace of Lord Krishnathat He has put me in contact with somany rare souls who are taking KrishnaConsciousness in all seriousness, and Iam confident that in the future all my studentboys and girls will preach thisKrishna Consciousness in the westernworld more successfully.Due to my indifferent health, for thetime being I am going to India; and even ifI cannot come back, I will work for anAmerican house there so all you transcen ­dental children can come there and learnand be strong enough to preach this cultfor the benefit of all the human society.I thank you very much for your appre ­ciation.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-7-5New York22nd July, 1967My dear Janardan,Please accept my blessings. I have readwith great interest the copy of your letter,and I am so glad to learn that you are feel ­ing more and more Krishna Conscious.So far the stories are concerned, the Vedicliteratures are full of instructive stories forthe spiritual advancement of the humansociety. Because the less intelligent classof men, like women, mercantile people,and laborers, want to hear stories, forthem the Vedic idea or concept was ex ­plained in 18 Puranas and the Mahabharata.If I get good assistance I canoverflood your country with stories sonice and instructive .I wish that after finishing your M.A.exams that you be fixed up and come forsome time to Vrindaban in my personaltouch. In the meantime, just go on orga ­nizing your Montreal center, and the Indiangentleman, Professor Dwivdi may beinduced to take a more substantial interestin the temple. When I come back, I shallinstall Radha-Krishna Murti in the temple,and I hope it will be a great center forthe society and for both Canada and theIndian community.I am leaving this evening with Kirtanananda,and shall write you on arrival.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-7-6London24th July, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Accept my blessings. I am alwaysthinking of your separation feelings.Please do your duty nicely and Krishnawill help you in all respects. We are de ­layed here for 16 hours. Starting thismorning at nine for Delhi. The attention

190 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidaof Mr. B. K. Nehru the Ambassador of lndiawas drawn to me the other day. I havetold him about my permanent Visa and hehas promised to help me when I comeback. Please make an appointment withhim informing that I wish to present himour set of Bhagavatam and our other literatures.Then go to him and personallypresent the books etc . at Washington D.C.It may be that as soon as I feel somestrength I shall be coming back. Up tonow there was no disturbance about myhealth and I hope to reach Delhi this night.I shall write you again after reachingVrindaban. Convey my ardent affectionand blessings for all the boys and girls. Iam very much hopeful of my movement.Please keep steady, follow all my instructionsscroupulously, chant Hare Krishnaand Krishna will give you all strength.Hope you are all doing well. I amYours ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-7-7 Vrindaban26th July, 1967Dear "children" at New Yo rk,Please accept my blessings. We had avery nice plane ride here to New Delhi,although it took somewhat longer than wehad anticipated. We arrived in London onschedule Sunday morning, and Kirtananandagave me a massage, and then Itook shower bath and rested until afternoon.We boarded the plane tor Moscowand no more than we got in our seats,when it was announced that due "to healthregulation" there would be a short delaythedelay, however, turned out to be some16 hours. It seem that someone on theplane when it came into London had smallpox, so the planne was quarantined until itcould be thoroughly fumigated. So theyput us up for the night in the "Excelsor"Hotel, which was something like a dreampalace, complete with air conditioning,TV, Hi-Fi, swiming pool and everythingelse. We had a nice meal and slept verynicely. We boarded the plane for the secondtime the next morning at nine a.m.and took off for Moscow shortly thereafter,and arrived at that bastion of propagandaabout three hours later. We had anhour stop there, so we got off the planejust to take a walk. We were met by a"friendly guard" and informed that theywould keep our passport until we returnedto the plane, and then "guided" down thecorridor to the terminal. Unlike Londonor New York, there was no hustle or bustleat the terminal, nor were there manypeople-and it was very quiet! The onlyremarkable features were the propaganadapictures and the many racks offree books and literatures. We were gladto get back on the plane and start forDelhi. The flight from Moscow to Delhitook about 8 hours, and when we arrivedit was about midnight local time, andwhen we stepped out of the plane I KNEWIT WAS INDIA! It was like walking into asolid wall of HEAT. But that's what I'vebeen wanting, and it felt good to me.Some friends were there to meet us, so afterclearing customs we drove into town,where we stayed (and are presently) at aRadha Krishna Temple near KashmiriGate.Today I have consulted with two AyurVedic physians, one of whom is famous inthese quarters, and they conclude that mytrouble is with my heart, but that all dangeris past, and that I will be just fine, providedI follow simple regulative measureswith my diet and work. I also have beengiven some medicine, so we shall see howKrishna desires. Tomorrow, Krishnawilling, we will go to Vrindaban, whereyou can send mail to me.

JULY, 1967 191I have played the record a number oftimes here, and when they hear it theythink it is wonderful. I am very anxiousevenmore than ever-for our AmericanHouse in Vrindaban. I always said that iflcould get the American boys and girls totake up this movement the rest of theworld would join. Now my theory is beingproved. So now I am depending on you allto carry on this great mission in my absense;chant and hear, and Krishna willbless you.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-7-8 Vrindaban29th July, 1967Messrs Atmaram and SonsEnglish DepartmentKashmiri GateDelhi 6.Att: Sri IshkumarDear Sir:I beg to inform you that I have comeback from the U.S.A. in an unwell condition;therefore I cannot come to see youpersonally at the present time. But I requestyou to send me a statement of accountat my V rindaban address listedabove.Furthermore, I request you not to payanything more to Chandra Shekhar.Please send the check crossed accountpayee.Thanking you.Sincerely yours,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-7-9My dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated July 7,1967, and as you are very mcuh eagar tosee me stronger, similarly I am also verymuch eager to regain my former healthand serve you all. On thewhole I am gettingstrength little by little, and I hopevery soon I shall be able to work. My immediateprogram is to open somebranches and go to Montreal to install thedieties. If my visa is not obtained by thattime, I shall not wait for it, but shall go toMontreal and maybe I may return to Indiafrom there. When I return to India my ambitionis to construct an American Houseat V rindaban and get some of you boysand girls there to train for our preachingwork in this part of the world. After all, Iam old man. There is no certainty of mylife, and at any moment I can collapse andit will not be surprising. But I wish toleave some of my spiritual children whohave so kindly joined me in faith andrespectsothat they may work, and this philosophyof Krishna Consciousness maybebroadcast all over the world. You are alleducated, cultured, young boys and girls,and if you understand the philosophy itwill be a great help for the suffering humanity.You haveasked me how many hoursyou should work. Our life is dedicated toKrishna, and you should work for Him24 hours. We have different varities ofservice. For you, you should work onpainting as long as you think yourself fit;don't overwork. Balance time should bespent for chanting and reading S. B. Sofar remembering me and Krishna, itshould be simultaneous. I am your SpiritualFather, and Krishna is your SpiritualHusband. A girl can never forget eitherher father or her husband. In the Shastrasit is said that Spiritual advance of life isachieved thru the combined mercy of theSpiritual Master and Krishna. Thosewho are sincere souls, Krishna helpsthem to have a bonafide Spiritual Master,and the bonafide Spiritual Master helps

192 Letters from Srila Prabhuptidathe disciple to apprach Krishna. This isthe process. I know you are a sinceredevotee of Krishna and He will give youproper intelligence how to prosecuteyour present activities. I can simply prayto Krishna that He may bless you with allenergy for serving Him. I am very muchappreciative of your work, which you aredoing for the society, and I wish you maycontinue to do like that.very much appreciative of your work,which you are doing for the society, and Iwish you may continue to do like that.lamYour ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

AUGUST67-8-1San Francisco2nd August, 1967My dear Mukunda,I have not heard anything from yousince I have come back to India.Vinod Kumar who was supposed toreach U.S.A. on visitor's Visa is notgranted the same. Please see if it is possiblefor him to get Immigration Visa. Theforms are sent herewith please do theneedful & let me know the result. I amawaiting to hear from you at an early date.Improving gradually. My Blessings for all&Janki.Your ever well wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-8-2Vrindaban2nd August, 1967My dear Students,Please accept my blessings. I am alwaysthinking of you , and I am feelingseparation. I wish to return at the earliestopportunity. I cannot stop my westernworld activities and I have taken leavefrom you for only six months; and it maybe that on or before I will come to youagain. So continue your activities withgreat vigor. I shall always pray to Krishnafor your steady advance, but try to followthe principles which are necessary tostrengthen oneself in the matter of spiritualadvance. Never think that I am absentfrom you. Physical presence is not essential;presence by message (or hearing) isreal touch. Lord Krishna is present by Hismessage which was delivered 5,000 yearsago. We feel always the presence of ourpast Acharyas simply by their immutableinstructions. I hope you will understandme right and do the needful. Kirtananandasays from my bodily featurethat I am improving; I am also feeling likethat.My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. In continuationof yesterday's letter signed by Kirtanananda,I may further inform you thatthe MacMillan contract is very important.I have already confirmed the terms, andyou are herewith authorized to sign on mybehalf. If the contract is bonafide, thenthere is no need of printing the books atmy responsibility either in Japan or in India.I shall be satisfied with the commissionand shall only be glad to see that thebooks are being read by hundreds andthousands of men. Whatever profit maybe derived from it will be utilized for developmentof the American House here. Iwould have been very glad if Hayagriva,yourself, and Rayarama, along with Kirtanananda,would have been present combinedlyand give a start to the AmericanHouse. Negotiations for the plot of land isgoing on and as soon as it is settled weshall begin the work. Kirtanananda isfeeling the warmth of the city a little tediously.For me this warmth is little bracy.Anyway, you try to fructify this contractand it will be a great relief to me. We havealready written to Hayagriva to return toN.Y . and deliver the mass. copy over toMcMillan; the balance part of Geetopanishadwhich is being edited should be

194 Letters fro m Srfla Prabhupadafinished as soon as possible; and whereevernecessary he may consult me bymail. The first three vols. of S.B., completingthe first canto, may be publishedin one vol . without the sanscrit, i.e. onlytranslation and purport. Similarly we canpublish the second canto in one vol., andso on, one vol . per canto.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta67-8-3Vrindaban3rd August, 1967My dear Murari Das,I am so glad to see your letter dated 7-19-67. Both Kirtanananda and myselfreached safely on 14 July at Midnight, afterundergoing customs etc., we tookshelter at our temple in Delhi at about3:00 a.m. Still we could not sleep allnight. Due to that, I became indisposedand was obliged to stay there for three orfour extra days. I have now come to Vrindabanon the 31st., and am staying at theRadha Damodar Temple. You have inquiredabout the import of Murari Das:Murari is another name for Krishna;therefore one who is pledged to becomethe servant of Krishna is called MurariDas. I am so glad you are playing musicfor Krishna. It is a great service of yourtalent. Anyone's special talent should beengaged in the service of the Lord, andthereby becomes successful in his life. Ithink that you can go on playing on yourguitar and make it successful for Krishnakirtan. You do not require to learn freshlyabout sitar. We are not meant for learningsomething new for the service of the Lord;but we have to engage whatever talents wehave already got. Our life is short but anytype of education is great and long; so thebest part of valor is to utilize properlywhatever qualifications we have got forthe service of the Lord. If you think stillthat you want a sitar, I will reqeust you tomake correspondence with MessrsDwarkin and Sons, Esplanade Calcutta.Please convey my blessing to Lilavati,who is so sincere in the service of theLord. Hare Krishna!Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Mukunda,Yesterday I have sent you a personalnote on the request of Vinod Kumar. Ifimmigration Visa's burdensome for theSociety, Then don't take the risk. I think toget immigration Visa is very difficult andtherefore you may not unnecessarily involvethe society in it. Jte cannot pay himany salary at the present moment or unlesswe see his talents, I shall let you knowlater on more about it. Hope you are well.A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-8-4New Yo rkVrindaban4th August, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 8/3/67.Don't be afraid of my being attacked bymaya. When there is fight between twobelligerent parties, it is always expectedthat there will sometimes be reverses.Your country and the western world ismostly under the grip of Maya and themodes of nature in passion and ignorance,and my declaration of war against themaya is certainly a great battle. Maya sawme very successful within one year, sothat I got so many sincere young flowerslike yourself and others, so it was a greatdefeat to the activities of maya: westerncountry youngsters giving up illicit sex,intoxication, meat eating and gambling iscertainly a great reverse in the activities ofmaya. Therefore she took advantage of myold age weakness and gave me a death

AU GUST, 1967 195dash. But Krishna saved me; therefore weshould thank more Krishna than eulogizemaya. So far my present health is concernedI think I am improving; atleast Iam taking my I unch better than in N.Y. Soas soon as I am a little fit to return to thefield of battle I shall again be in yourmidst.Regarding your question about LordChaitanya 's thinking himself lower thanthe grass, it should be understood spiritually.The dimension of the spirit soul isJ/10,000 part of the hair tip; so the spiritsoul is certainly smaller than the grass.Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was teaching us asa teacher, so he represented himself as anordinary living entity; but as the SupremeBrahman he is greater than anything.I am glad that you had a demonstrationof kirtan at the home of the Consul General. Whenever you meet you shouldstrictly speak the Truth without any considerationof future material gains. If weare sincere servants of Krishna, our materialnecessities will never be hampered.But I was anxiously awaiting your replyabout your meeting the Ambassador, Mr.B.K. Nehru, with my books. After yourpresentation of the books and personallyseeing him and his reactions I shall begincorrespondence with him. We need hishelp in so many ways.I am glad that Sri RadhaKrishna Murtietc . has arrived. For the present you cankeep the murti packed. I am expecting toreturn within six months, as I told you ;and maybe earlier, calculating on thepresent improvement.I have already instructed you thatGargamuni should get married. Theyshould get a marriage certificate as soonas is possible. In the temple the ceremonyshould be observed by chanting HareKrishna before the fire, offering the clarifiedbutter with the word Saha, and thebride and groom should exchange theirgarlands before the Lord Krishna dietyand promise not to be separated in life.They should know it that bodily relationbetween the husband and wife is secondary;primary factor is that both shouldhelp one another in the matter of advancementof K.C.I sang this mantra at the airport: K, K,K, K, K, K, K, HAY (twice); K, K, K, K,K, K, Rakshaman; K, K, K, K, K, K, Pahimam;Rama Ragava, Rama Ragava,Rama Ragava Rakshaman; K. Kesava, K.Keseva, K. Kesava, K. Kesave Pahimam.You have written nothing about Mac­Millan. Please let me know about this.Please send $30 from three centers, andalso some stationery. I am sorry the oldchariot broke down.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-8-5 Vrindaban9th August, 1967My dear Janardan, Pradyumna,and Sivananda,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to inform you that we have safelyreached India on the 25th July at midnightdue to a sixteen hour delay in London. ButI am glad to inform you that there was nobodily discomfort while traveling. Kirtananandaand I stayed for a few days inDelhi and then came to Vrindaban on thefirst. I am undergoing the treatment of anayurvedic physician celebrated to be thebest there is in the area, and I think I amfeeling a little better. Anyway, as soon as Iam a little fit, I shall return to you by theGrace of Krishna.Janardan: I had some talks with mygod-brother, Swami Bon, head of the Institutefor Oriental Philosophy here, andthere is possibility of good cooperationbetween ourselves. If you want to learnsanscrit, there is ample opportunity in this

196 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidainstitute . We had some preliminary talks,and it is hopeful that Swami Bon can gi veus some land fo r our own building; buteven so, arrangements can be made withexisting facilities so there would be no difficultyfo r the students who come here tostudy sanscrit and the goswami literature.I shall be glad to know about the acti vitiesin Montreal , and herewith you may find anote from Kirtanananda.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhakti vedanta Swami67-8-6Vrindaban15th August, 1967My dear Hansaduta,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 8/9/67,and I have noted the contents carefully,and I can see that you are a little disturbedin mind. Don't be. Everything will be allright, by Krishna's Grace; we areKrishna's property, but now we are seatedin these bodies of maya, so it is sure thatfrom time to time there will bedisturbances-just like I am experiencingnow. So don't worry about it, just go onchanting Hare Krishna and engage yourenergy for Krishna in the best way open toyou.I am also ve ry happy to learn that Himavati is going to ha ve a baby. A child is arare gift gi ven by Krishna, but at the sametime a great responsibility ; every parenthas the responsibility to see that his childgrows up K. C. I know that you understandthis, and will always make Krishna thecenter of your home.Now as to what you should do: thereare a number of courses of action open toyou. First of all, you are a family man,and usually at this point a man must thinkabout pro viding for his wife and child. Soif you like you can take a job in N.Y. orelsewhere and settle as an ordinary householder,like Rupanuga and others; or, ifyou prefer, you can continue to workwithin the Temple, either at Montreal orwhere ver there is sufficient space to accomodateyou . But you must think of yourhealth. I had already noticed a deteriorationwhen I was in N.Y., and now you sayit has gotten worse. That is not good, andyou must correct it. So do the needful.Abo ve all don't be worried. Krishna willhelp you. If it is necessary to go to work inorder to maintain you wife and familynicely, Krishna will gi ve you all supportnecessary.At any rate , I shall be back by the endof October, and then everything will be allright.My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. In yourlast letter you asked how to celebrateKrishna's and Radha 's birthday. As lastyear, on K's with fasting up to midnight,and R's fasting up to noon. Then feasting.Certainly those who take Krishna's advent as that of an ordinary man are greatfools, but if one can simply understandthe transcendental nature of this event aswell as His disappearance, he becomesimmediately liberated.So long as Hansaduta and Himavati remainin N.Y. please see that they are welltaken care of. There seems to be some difficulty.I am a little disturbed to learn aboutyour financial position as serious. I thinkyou don't ha ve to pay anything to Boston,as every center should be independent, especiallywhen Sats va rupa and Rayaramaare there . If printing BTG is too expensive, then re ve rt to mimeograph. Unlesspositi ve gain, we should not take riskabout BTG. Yo u will be glad to know that

AUGUST, 1967 197fo r the last two days I am taking part in thecooking; so this is positi ve proof of improve ment in my health.Your ever well-wisher,A . C. Bhakti ve danta Swami67-8-7 Vrindaban22nd August, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter dated81 15/67 , as well as the one to Kirtanananda.It is ve ry good news for methat you are going to have $5300 ve rysoon, and I thank you ve ry much for offeringthe entire amount to me. I think thewhole amount should be utilized for furtherpublication of my books. I am ve rymuch anxious to know if any arrangementhas been made with McMillan. If not,then either we ha ve to print the books herein India or in Japan. Please therefore letme know what is the fate of the contract. Iam also anxious to know if you saw personallythe Ambassador Mr. B.K. Nehruwith my books. These things are ve ry importantfor our future. Regarding myhealth, everyone says that I am much improved, and I also feel that way, exceptthat I'm not in normal condition of mo vement,but the doctor says that that ismainly due to the heat, not my heart. Sofar my eating is concerned, I am doing itwith more relish than N.Y. If the impro vementgoes on at the present rate, I think Ishall be able to return by the end of October.Here in Vrindaban I ha ve secured fullcooperation of my god-brother SwamiBon, and he has ve ry kindly offered mefull tuition, room, boarding, etc., for atleastten students among my disciples,who may come for further study in thematter of K. C., as enunciated by the authorizedGoswamis, who are direct discipiesof Lord Chaitanya. So immediately, ifsome of you come here fo r such studies,there will be no difficult; but at the sametime I am also trying to ha ve our ownhouse, and probably it will be done .Regaring Gargamuni 's marriage, Iha ve already sanctioned it. Perhaps youdid not recei ve the letters containing allinstructions. I repeat: the bride andgroom should sit before the Deity LordKrishna or Jaggannath and you should ignitethe fire to offer clarified butter; simplychant Hare Krishna, all of you, andoffer the butter to the fire with the. wordSAHA. The bride and groom should exchangetheir garlands, and the groomshould promise never to forsake his wife,and the wife should promise to ser ve thehusband for all her days. Then when thereis opportunity, I shall further bless thempersonally.Rayarama wants $300 Joan. So you canjudge on the spot, and if possible try tohelp him. We recei ved the fuses. Thankyou.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhakti ve danta SwamiMy dear Jadurani,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to recei ve your letter along withBrahmananda's. Yes I am definitely improving, and I expect to return soon. Inthe meantime it has been decided by me totransform Kirtanananda into a Swami,and he may then go back to Montreal forimpro ving the center, and for openingmore centers in that country. He has nocomplaint now for his health, and I hope,by Krishna's Grace, he will keep wellhere . Please gi ve one painting to YogiDenkar, and charge what you like. I am sosatisfied with your ser vice for the cause ofKrishna Consciousness, and I shall simplypray to Krishna for your good health,sound mind, and steady progress in the

198 Letters from Srila Prabhupadamatter of K.C. Please offer my blessingsto all the girls especially who are livingwith you.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter of 8/1 7/67, andhave noted the contents. Krishna's Janamashtmiceremony may be celebrated inthe same way as last year. I understandthat Achyutananda is coming here onJanamashtmi Day, but I have received noword from him. Anyway, if he comes itwill be a great joy for us. You will see inthe letter to Brahamananda that any studentwho comes here for studying furtherin K.C. will have no difficulty for room,board, and tuition. It is a good opportunityfor our students, and I shall be veryglad to learn how many of you desire tocome. In the meantime, I am trying to getother facilities for passage. Please giveyour primary attention for improvingBTG, the backbone of our movement.Kirtanananda is going to be the first sannyasamong my disciples. I am improvinggradually. Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-8-824th August, 1967Dear Gurdas,Please accept by blessings. I am somuch pleased to receive your letter of8/ 16/67, and it has given me much encouragementfor your being advanced inK.C. Sincere souls who are engaged inthe service of Lord Krishna are benedietedby the Lord by revelation. SriKrishna, His Name, Form, Entourage,Paraphernalia and Pastimes are not material;they are purely spiritual . Therefore,in the beginning they are not appreciatedby our materially conditioned senses, butas we go on chanting Hare Krishna withservice mood and attitude, the Name,Qualities, etc., become revealed as Reality.For the Unbeliever Krishna and HisName etc are fictitious, but those who areadvanced in K.C. realize that K.C. is pureand eternal.I am very glad that you are graduallyrealizing these truths. I very much appreciateyour attempt for a photo book of theSamkirtan movement. I have cent percentsupport for your noble attempt, and I amsure Hayagriva will be able to help you inthis respect as he has so many facts at hisdisposal. I shall try to send some photo.I am pleased to learn that you areteaching Spanish people English to helpthe mission. And you are worthy to becomeV. P. of our S.F. branch. RegardingYamuna, your wife, I've got a very _greatregard, because she is very sincere girl .I'm sure you should feel fortunate to havesuch a wife. Please offer my blessings toher, and always cooperate with your wifein the service of the Lord. You' II be happyeternally.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-8-925th August, 1967My dear Pradyumna,Please accept my blessings. I amin duereceitp of your letters of the 15 and 16thinst., as well as the Janamashtme day circulat.I am so much pleased that everythingis going on so nicely in Montreal,and that you are ever more actively engagedfor Krishna, even in the absence ofmyself and Kirtanananda, It is a greatcredit to you, and I thank you for it. Youshould know that it is all due to your sinceretyof heart; when we are sincere,

AU GUST, 1967 199Krishna will always help us, either in externaldirection by the Spiritual Master, orinternally by His paramatama expansion.The program you have decided on for theLord 's Advent Day is nice. I also verymuch appreciate the work you are doing intrying to promote my books and record,and I am very glad to know that the newBTG is selling well. These publication arethe backbone of our movement, and if wecan distribute them sucessfully. then everythingwill be all right.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-8-1027th August, 1967My dear Mrinaline,Please accept my blessings. I haveyour letter of 8.22, and thank you verymuch for it. I am so glsd thatyou have returnedto Krishna. Krishna is kind that Hedoes not let us go, anyone who sincerelytakes toHim. And therefore you do notwish to leave Him anymore. This decisionwill lead you to your eternal life of blissand knowledge. Certainly in your past lifeyou must have had been a devotee of theLord, otherwise you wouldn't have feltlike becoming a nun at such a young age.Anyone who has a natural tendency for rejectingsense-gratification is consideredto be advanced or liberated in spirituallife. Your appreciation of Maya as falseand Krishna as the only reality is a greatasset. Nobody has evergained anything bybecoming a tool in the hands of Maya, buteveryone has become eternally happy byserving Krishna.The feeling which you had by becomingcompassionate to the fallen bum isvery good, but the best way to deliver abum is to revive his dormant KrishnaConsciousness. If you can do that thengive the bums good food and shelter. Ifyou cannot do that, then simple supplyingfood and shelter, is serving the Maya.But there is no benefit to serving Maya,you know, as it is all false, temporary orillusion. We are concerned with Reality,not Maya, and that should be the object oflife .I am very glad to learn that many of mydevotees are coming to India. Studentswho will come here for studying Krishnaphilosophy as scholar and devotee willhave ample opportunity. My god-brotherSwami B.H. Bon, has agreed to give themfree boarding, lodging and tuition, at leastfor ten students at a time. So they are welcome.I am also trying for their concessionof passage as well as a permanenthome in V rindaban. Let us depend uponthe Will of Krishna.Your letter is certainly full of sense,and a K.C. boy or girl cannot be "nonsense". I am proud to have disciples likeyou, who think freely, but correct theirmistakes by consulting me without any resevation.I am always feeling separationfor you all. Let Krishna help us meetagain.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Brahmanada,Please accept my blessings . Your niceletter of 8/18 in hand; your nice philosophythat Krishna takes and Krishna gives,is very nice. This means Krishna is notimpersonal. He is the Supreme Person andfully reciprocates. The impersonalist cannotreciprocate. Krishna does not takeanything from them, neither does He givethem anything. The Impersonal, therefore,simply enjoys the troubles of speculation.I have received news from Sante Fethat they have opened a nice branch therein an old castle, and it is very much pleasingto me. Now Kirtanananda Swami is

200 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadagoing ve ry soon to the U.S.A., and I expectthat all of you will combine togetherto open at least I 08 centers before I lac vethis world . I hope by this time you ha veseen Mr. Nehru; I am anxiously awaitingyour report . I am also glad to learn thatMcMillan is going to publish our books,and are including Gita and Bhagwatam onthier spiring I ists . So I shall not bother toarrange for printing in India . Please confirmthis .I am going to Delhi next week (Sept 5),and may not be returning to Vrindaban, soplease direct all mail from now onto P. O.Box 1846, D Delhi 6. The 10.00 dollarsmonthly contribution from each centerwill be a nice resource for de velopment ofthe Vrindaban House . I am so muchpleased to learnt that youare getting a carfrom a friend ; now please take care of itcarefully. Offer my blessings to all thedevotees .Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhakti vedanta Swami67-8- 1127th August, 1967My dear Janani vas,Please accept my blessings . I am ve ryglad to recie ve your letter of 8/20, andglad to hear that everything is going sonicely at our newest center. It all soundsve ry beautiful , and I am ve ry anxious tocome to you personally. Perhaps in OctoberI shall go directly from here to SanFrancisco, and then to Santa Fe , beforegoing to N.Y. About your question: TheSpirit Soul is certainly eternal andchangeless: and the fall is superficial, justlike the relation between father and soncannot be broken ever. Now we are simplyin a phase of fo rgetulncss, and this fo rgetfulness is called Maya . There is a nice examplein the waning of the moon . To usethe moon appears to be chnaging, but infact yhe moon is always the same . So aseternal ser vitors of Krishna-our constitutionalposition-we fall down when wetry to bccme the enjoyer, imitatingKrishna . That is our downfall. Krishna isthe Supreme Enjoyer, and we are constitutionallyto be enjoyed by Him, and whenwe re vi ve this constitutional positoonwhere is no more Maya . K.C. gi ves us theopportunity of rendering ser vice toKrishna, and this ser vice attitude only canreplace us on our original position .Pleasem therefore, continure to chantfaithfully, and Krishna will re veal Himself,by His Causeless Mercy, and you willknow everything automatically. I shall, ofcourse always be ready and anxious to answerany question you ha ve.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhakti vedanta Swami67-8- 1227th August, 1967My dear Subal das,Please accept my blessings . I am soglad to recei ve your letter dated 8/ 15, andpleased to read the contents . By Krishna'sGrace you ha ve gotten a nice old castle,and con verted into a K.C. temple . I amalso pleased to learn that people are takingan interest in the temple, and that you arcgetting some publicity started . K.C. is sothat it will bring more nad more, If youbut go on chanting with heart and soul . Itis Lord chaitanya 's desire that you ha veopened this branch in such a distant place,and surely it will be a successful attempt . Iha ve nothing to instruct you newly, but thesame : simply chant in the beginning for30-45 minutes then read somthing fromthe Gita or S. Bhagwatam, and then chantagain in the usual way.Please offer my blessings to Krishnade vi dasi, Harsharani, Aniruddha das,Rasi-kananda das, and Jannai vas, and any

AUGUST, 1967 201others who may be with you . I am sopleased you ha ve started this branch , asKirtananda did in Montreal. Please alwayskeep the temple nicely cleansed , andput as many flowers as possible , burn candlesand incense , offer fruits and nivefood stuffs , chant and dance ! If you wouldlike some paintings , you can ask Jaduraniin N.Y. , and she will sendyou some .I ha vealready setn 3 mridangas , andve ry soon will send more; and when theyreach N.Y. you will get a mridanga and afewpairs of kartel. Please keep in touchwith you by your weekly reports.So far my health is concerned , I amimpro ving slowly, and I expect to return toyou by the end of October next , as I too ammissing you ve ry much.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhakti ve danta Swami67 -8- 13Boston29th August , 1967Dear Sats varupa ,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to recei ve your first letter to me in India, andalso to recei ve your contrubutionof $10. Yo u are always "first" in contributions, and therefore your contributionis also the fi rst to come from theAmerican centers. It is so stated in theS.B. that the best use of the human form oflife is to ser ve Lord Krishna by one's life.resources , intelligence , and words; so youare all good souls , especially your exampleis ve ry nice , fo r you ha ve practicallygi ven your life and soul all to K.C. you areutilizing your resources fo r the society,and you are using your intelligence andwords for the furtherance of K.C. So Ive ry much appreciate your effort , andsurely Krisnna will bless you more andmore, and you will feel it yourself. I amve ry glad to learn that you ha ve finishedediting the T. L. C. and if you send me copiesby post , I will immediately beginprinting here . I am so encouraged that onebranch in N. M. and one in Bastion areopened, even in my absence. This iswanted . Physically I may be present ornot; but the work must continue. OurGuru Majaraj injected his Spiritual Visionin some of us , and the work is continuingin diffe rent branches , as fas as possible byBon Maharaj Tirtha Maharaj , my humbleself and others. Similarly in the Weternworld , Krishna has sent me some goodsouls like you , and I hope, even in my absence, that the spiriti of Krishna Consciousnesswill be spread .Yo u will be glad to know the Kirtannadais now Tridandi Swami Kirtananda.I ha ve made him a sannyasi yesterday onthe birthday of Lord Krishna , and it wasunexpectedly a ve ry successful ceremony.The moment he was being offered sannyasthere was some ceremony of Janmasthamiin the temple , and hundreds of men andwomen congratulated theyoung sannyasi.Somebody remarked that he looked likeLord Chaitanya. He will be going back tothe States ve ry soon; in the meantime Ishall try to utilize this "white sannyasi"fo r recruiting some members in India ,and then he will go back. He field of workis certainly there; but if he can be usedhere also , I will try for it .I can assure you your steady progressin K. C.; as you are sincerely trying fo rthe cause of K.C. In the conditioned stagethere is every possiblity of being mistaken;but Krishna will always protect usif we are sincere; even if there is a grossmistake , Krishna fo rgi ve s his who is ve rysincere so go on working sincerely andKrishna will protect you always. Kindlymade Boston center ve ry nice. The prospectthere is ve ry good , due to the largenumber of students.Yo ur ever well-wisher,

202 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaMy dear Hansaduta,Please accept my blessings. Thank youfor your recent letter. I am glad to knowthat you are comfortable in Boston, andthat you are engaging your energt there inmaking nice Krishna prasadam. I am alsovery pleased to know that Himavati isdefinitely going to have a baby. It is a verywonderful thing, and surely Krishna willbless your home with His presence, asboth youand your wife and His sincereserveants; The best preparation for thecoming of the child is just for the parentsto remain perfectly Krishna Conscious,and of course, the best means for that is bychanting the holy Names and listening toBhagawad Gita and Srimad Bhagawatam.I very much appreciate that you enjoyhelping to open various centers, and thatis certainly laudable on your part. Youmust fully consider, however, your wifeand child; your first duty now as a householderis to provide nicely for your wifeand child[TEXT MISSING]Lord to give up fighting; rather he was encouragedin his occupation but at the sametime, he was to do it for Krishna. That isthe secret of Krishna Consciousness-notthat we all have to become preachers, butthat we all dedicate our lives or our consciousness(no matter in what capacity) toLord Krishna. If things can be worked outnicely within the temple, that's all right.But family life requires a certain amountof privacy and convenience, which maynot always be available. I am simply concernedthat you be happy and contented,so you can prosecute the most importantthing, K.C., without being disturbed. Rupanugaand Damodara are both doingnicely in this reagrd, and I wish the samefor you.67-8-1429th August, 1967My dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to receive your first letter to me in India.So far Gita is concerned, please get itcompleted as soon as possible; it must bepublished now, either by a publisher or byourselves. There is a bag in my apartmentin which all the old mss. are there, and besidesthat there is in my closet (the key iswith Brahmananda) a cloth bundle inwhich you will find carbon copies; and Ithink also there are some carbon copieswith Rayarama. Please find the missingverses there, and if not, I shall do it again.Regarding separation, you may knowthat I am also feelingIt ISall Krishna's design that we can not separatetranscendentalfield, the feeling of separation ismore __ feeling of meeting. PhysicallyI am trying to go back to your statesas soon as possible. I have got a fancy foryour country, and being inspired by that, Ifirst went to your country, and still I feelthat way. I am improving, althoughslowly; but I am eating and sleeping betterthan in N.Y. Regarding your speculationas to whether or not you should accept aposition: Krishna wants that everyoneshould utilize his talent as far as possible.Arjun was a great fighter, and Krishna encouragedhim to fight. He never said thathe should sit down and I shall do it foryou , although He was able to . The principleshould be that we utilize our talents forthe service of the Lord. That is real sannyas.Formal acceptance of sannyas, asrequired for all old men, means that oneshould retire from materialistic life, anddevote his time and energy for the serviceof the Lord. As you are devoted already tothe service of the Lord, without any personalconsideration, you are always sannyasat heart. Now if you can get some

AU GUST, 1967 203money for our cause of K.C. I think itwill be a great service. Futhermore so faras kirtan is concerned, there is no possibilityof stopping it in any circumstance.Wherever you accept service you canalso organize a center very nicely. Ateacher's position is always influential;so your sincere effort for kirtan may befollowed by some of your students andco-workers. This means that your sincereservice will be utilized more fruitfullyamong educated people. At thesame time your good editorial work willalso continue, so I think you may accept aposition like that.I am so glad to learn that you have sacrificedyour long beard and hair. I haveforgotten your mother's address, or Iwould have informed her of your action,and I think she would have liked it verymuch. Anyway, you must have reducedyour age considerably by sacrificing this"maya," and now you must look like avery nice young gentleman. I have receivedone letter from Achyutananda thathe is coming here on the 1st. I will sendKirtanananda to receive him at Delhi. Iam also scheduled to go to Delhi on the5th; so after Achyutananda's arrival, if helikes to stay for some days in Vrindaban, Iwill make arrangements with Swami Bon(who as you know has offered free roomand board and tuition to any interested student),or he can accomodate __ threeof us will do some traveling about India__ for the society. Since we have thisgood arrangement with the lnst. for OrientalPhilos., I think we may not for thetime being open such a center in thestates. I am also going to Bombay to tryand induce the managing director to giveus some concession on the Scindia Line. Irepeat once more, that I am also feelingyour separation, and I am trying to returnas soon as possible.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

SEPTEMBER67-9- 15th September, 1967My dear Woomapati,I am so glad to receive your letter dated28 August, through Achyutananda. Youwill be glad to know that he has safely arrivedhere via Delhi. He is a very intelligentboy, and has safely come without anydifficulty.Your letter is very much encouragingto me, that you are appreciating my humbleservice in spreading Krishna Consciousnessin your great country. It wasmy ambition to begin my movement fromNew York; and by Krishna's Grace, I gotgood cooperation from some boys likeyou; and I felt too much aggrieved whensome of you left me, but I was confidentthat all of your would come again, becauseKrishna Consciousness is not a materialthing, and cannot be broken: itcannot be burned or wet or dried orstopped at any stage. When I receivedyour letter, it appeared to me that I had receiveda letter from a lost child; so pleasecontinue your present attitude.I have not heard anything from Harvey.Hope he is doing well. So far my health isconcerned, I have improved considerably,and I hope to return by October next.Kirtanananda is now a completelyKrishna Conscious person as he has acceptedsannyas on the birthday of LordKrishna with great success. He is the firstsannyas in my spiritual family, and I hopehe will return back soon to begin preachingwork with greater vigor and success.Please try to cooperate with the templemanagers, because in my absense theymight feel some difficulty. You are one ofthe old founders of N.Y. temple, and Ihope you shall take some active part in improvingthe original center.I shall be glad to hear from you at yourconvenience. Hope you are well .With all my blessings,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-9-2New Yo rkVrindaban9th September, 1967My dear Rapanuga,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letters. You have aproblem before you in respect to livingseparate from your wife. If your wifekeeps herself peaceful living separatelyfrom you, I think you can arrange for thetime being like that, but in my opinion,this business of separation may not be developedinto a case of divorce. So far Ericis concerned, he is developing K.C. fromvery childhood, and it is a great opportunityon a human being. I think his fatherhas got a special duty to protect this childin his K.C.; The mother has also similarresponsibility, so either your wife or yourselfmust take care of the good child. Ifyou wife takes charge of him, then you becomecompletely free personally, and youcan live in the temple with other bramacharies,either in N.Y. or elsewhere asyou think best. If however, your wifeleaves the child with you , then you cantake care of him; that will be nice. But Ithink it is very difficult, because he is notsufficiently grown up. Anyway, both your

206 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadawife and yourself cannot think of marryingagain; that is not my advice. Even ifyour wife decides to marry again, for yourpart you should forget it; and if by theGrace of Krishna you can live peacefullywithout any wife, completely devoted toK. C., that will be the best part of yourlife. Yo u can love and put all your affectionto the child, and try to make him fullyK.C.Regarding our temple affairs, as statedin your previous letter, I think Brahmanandamight have written me somethingto my Delhi address, where I may go earlynext week; but in any case the temple affairsshould be adjusted in the mannerwhere the important members or all themembers may work and support the templeaffairs. I am getting very encouragingreports from S.F. and Montreal; but reportsfrom N.Y. is not very much encouraging.Kirtanananda has decided to returnback for preaching work in the states as hehas accepted the sannyas order of life.Achyutananda is here, but he is not eatingwell, so I am also put into anxiety. In thebeginning Kirtanananda was also sick,and he also at the present moment isfeeing some pain in his leg. On the whole,the American boys who come here becomefirst depressed, so I do not knowhow far our American house in Vrindabanwill be successful. I am negotiating withthe Revenue Minister of Rajastan governmentto have some place in the very nicetemple of Jaipur. This temple is very idealplace for our imagination of an Americanhouse, and it is almost 50% settled thatthe house may be partly occupied by us.But in any case, at least two Americanboys must live here and take charge of themanagement. I am old man. At the sametime sick. Even ifl am well, it is not possiblefor me to look after the affairs of theAmerican house. I want to remain free,being taken care of by all of you . In yourstates I was happy being taken care of byyou, and that enjoyment is liking to me inthis old age . Anyway, ask Brahmanandawhat to do in this connection.My dear Jadurani,Please accept my blessings. Your letterof 8/24 contains some important questions.The six goswamis are not all eternalassociates of Krishna. Only Rupa andRaghunath Goswami are eternal associates.You know there are two kinds ofliving entities: nityamukta or eternalassociates of the Lord, and nityabaddha oreternally conditioned. Theis materialmanifestation is a chance fo r the eternallyconditioned entities to go Back to Godhead;but when they go back there is nodistinction between the two. WhenKrishna appears some of his eternal associatescome with Him to assist Him in Hisdifferent incarnational activities; andsome of the living entities from conditionedlife are liberated by following thefootprint of Lord Krishna and His bonaassociates; so all the six became eternalassociates of Krishna. Regarding SarbabhaumaBhattacharya, he decendedfrom higher planet for being liberated inthe association of Lord Chaitanya, so hisconditioned life came to an end after hecontacted Lord Caitanya. The distinctionbetween subtle and gross bodies is elementary.There are eight elements: fivegross and three subtle. When a living entityhas only subtle body he is consideredto be a ghost, and when he has both, he isconsidered in full strength . To remain insubtle body in this material world is veryuncomfortable. Regarding your work inthe temple by painting, wherever you remina,if you are fully absorbed in yourtranscendental work in K.C., that place iseternally Vrindaban-It is the consciousnessthat creates Vrindaban. The Lord remainsin the hearts of every living entity.He lives in the heart of a hog, and the hoglives in a filthy place. That does not mean

SEPTEMBER, 1967 207that the Lord lives in a filthy place. TheLord lives always inconceivably in Histranscendental abode. Similarly, a fullyK.C. person lives always in the pastimesof Lord Krishna by such consciousnessonly. The material atmosphere is no impedimentfor continuing our K.C. in anycircumstance.I think you may not attempt to open acenter. Your duty is already fixed up. Betteryou remain peaceful under the protectionof your god-brothers, and prosecuteyour transcendental avocation.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-9-315th September, 1967My dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I was verymuch anxious about your illness, but Iverecieved news from Brahmananda thatyou are improving. Now whatever conditionit may be I advise you to take rockcandy as much as possible always keep apiece in your mouth. So far as eating isconcerned, take ripe papaya as much asyou can, also if possible boil green papaya,this will be your diet and medicine.Besides this take sufficient rest and chantHare Krishna; solong as we have got thismaterial body we have to undergo thesesituations, if we increase our love forKrishna we shall be able to get out of thismaya. People who therefore not exertingto improve Krishna Consciousness aresimply wasting there valuable time andhuman life. Their human life is a chanceto be out of the entangelments of materialbodies. We get material bodies accoudingto our activities, doggish men get thebodies of dogs in the next life, men inKrishna Consciousness get bodies likeKrishna, so developed consciousness ofhuman life is to concentrate of KuishnaConsciousness so that we may be out ofthe clutches of material entaglement.These truth should be preached all overthe world and those who are intellegentenough will take to Kuishna Consciousnessvery seriously. You will be curedvery soon rest assured, but after you getout of this diseased condition pie pleasekeep fit with regular habits at least once aday take your bath and timely eat drinkand sleep. Now you are married man youhave got facility for sex life, but also thisshould be regulated. INcreased KrishnaConsciousness will reduce the propensityof sense gratification and too much sensegratification is the cause of obtaining materialbodies. So there may not be bodilydisturbance it is necessary to maintain aregulated life and easily prosecute ourKrishna Consciousness. I shall pray toKuishna for your quick recovery.My dear Brahmananda,On arrival in Delhi I recieved a letterand I request you to take proper care ofGargamuni. Let him take complete rest inthe hospital and give him rock candy asadvised above . For a deseased person sufferingfrom jaundice, rock candy will bejust appreciated and as soon as he regainshealth the original taste will be appreciated.As soon as it is so the patient is understoodto be cured. Regarding money,you can deposit in my savings account#19282 there is a balance in my favor of27.29 and as soon as it is 100 I shall requestthem to transfer 100 to my Indianaccount. Harsha Rane Dasi writes that shehas enclosed $10 but unfortunately I don'tfind it. It is therefor risky to send bills likethat. The best thing is to deposit bankchecks in my above account as Ihave instructedso there will be no misdelivery. Iunderstand from San Francisco that theyhave sent you $20 for my maintenance inIndia so advise them to send from all the

208 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadacenters (6) to you the $10 that they haveagreed to pay. You then deposit checks inmy account and on hearing from you Ishall do the needful. Please advise themnot to send money via mail, it is veryrisky.My dear Jaigovinda,I understand that the draft board is alsodisturbing you . It is also disturbing to me,but we have no other recourse thanKrishna. Do your best to serve Kuishnaand he will give you required intelligenceto cope with distubing situations. Kirtananandais to return to NY soon and Iwill have to spend $600 somehow orother, so anyway Krishna will arrange.NB It is expected that one gentlemanDr. Dalmia a prominent Indian businessman who is now touring in the U.S. mayVisit our temple in N.Y. and other centers.If he goes therefore, please try to receivehim properly and inform him aboutour preaching work and our paintings andLord Jagganath deity there, offer himsome prasa-[TEXT MISSING]67-9-4San FranciscoDelhi16th September, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of Sept. I, Icould not write you because I was busy forcoming to Delhi. I am very happy to learnthat Janmashtami was performed withgreat pomp at our temple. A similar reportcomes from Montreal. RegardingVinode Kumar, I think it will be difficultfor us to take him to the States. The difficultyis that Scindia Lines has recentlyrefused to give free passage to anyone exceptmyself. So if we want to take himthere we have to spend some thousands ofdollars for his passage. I don't think thesociety can take the risk for a person whois not very expert. I have of course a mindto see the managing director in Bombayand unless a definite arrangement is madewe can drop the idea of getting VinodeKumar in the states. So far your requisitionfor musical instruments is concernedyou canlet me know your definite proposal,how many sitars and other thingsyou require monthly. I think your friendor Mr. Kallman in N.Y. can invest somemoney in this connection. I've also writtenMr. Kallman seperately so you can letme know your definite ideas. One sitarmanufacturer is prepared to go there andmanufacture sitars locally for us, but Idon't think, for the present moment it is apractical program. My health is improvingslowly but undoubtedly there is improvement.My dear Janaki,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter of Sep 5, 67.I'M so pleased for your writing such nicesentiment. I've especially noted that youcould express yourself so beautifully. Iknow both you and your sister have inheriteda good heart from your good mother.Your eagerness to get me back in the stateswill surely be a success because I'm alsoeager to return. Tears for Krishna is asgood as associating with Him personally.In the spiritual world seperation is morevaluable than meeting. So your feelingsand tears of Krishna Consciousness willmake you more enriched in spiritual advancement.Your husband Mukunda is avery very good boy and you are fortunateenough to have such a nice devotee husband.A similar combination is there inyour sister and Gurudas. You will be angryif I say that your sister is better thanyou but I think I'm right because Mukundasupports me. Rivalry between goodhearts is very nice job, but I'm equally

SEPTEMBER, 1967 209pleased with both your sister and yourself.Please convey my blessings to yoursister and brother-in-law. I've receivedthier good hand-writing and they have actuallydone it in full Krishna Consciousness.Swami Kirtanananda is returning tothe states very soon. You are very muchanxious to get him back home and yourdesire will be fulfilled very soon. Perhapsyou know that Achyutananda is now withus and since he has come Swami Kirtanandahas retired from all sorts of activitiesand Achyutanada is helping me.Anyway he is leaving behind a good representativeso I'll not in trouble be. Mostprobably Achyutananda will stay in Indiato take charge of an American House. Ishall be glad to know if Upendra is coming.Upendra and Achyutananda will be agood combination, both are silent workerswithout any protest. Please convey myblessings to all the boys and girls.My dear Jayananda,Please accept my blessings. I'm soglad to receive your letter of Aug 30, and Iknow also that you are a sincere devotee ofLord Krishna. When you drive your caryou always chant "Hare Krishna" andwhen I was by your side I could understandhow heartily you have accepted thephilosophy of Krishna Consciousness.Krishna is very kind to all but He is especiallykind to his sincere devotees.Krishna is always with us, within ourhearts and He is always ready to give usdirection but because everyone is independentKrishna responds cooperatively.Anyone who voluntarily cooperates withKrishna's desire He responds to his callvery eagerly. Krishna descends to teach usBhagavad Gita begging our cooperationand anyone who cooperates with Him becomesblessed. You are sincerely cooperatingwith Krishna and therefore you allboys and girls in SanFrancisco, workingtogether harmoniously. Harmony meansKrishna Consciousness. Without KrishnaConsciousness there cannot be harmonyin the world. I've received the report ofsuccessful performance of Janmashtamiceremony. I'm glad to learn that you arewilling to come to India for further study.I received no letter from Dayananda or hiswife Nandarani. I'm anxious to receivethe report of the Los Angeles center. Idonot know thier address. Your acknowledgement"Krishna has been very mercifulto me" is remarkable. You arerealizing the fruit of chanting. So far myhealth is concerned I'm improving, byKrishna's grace and it is due to your feelingof my absence and eagerly awaitingfor my return. Please go on cooperatingbetween your godbrothers. I'm alwayswith you never mind ifl am physically absent.Please convey my blessings to all theboys and girls and tell them that I'm veryeager to return.Your ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-9-5Los AngelesDelhi20th September, 1967My dear Dayananda, Nandaraniand Uddhavadas,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter post dated the8th instant and I am very glad to note thecontents. I was very much anxiousto getthe new address of our new center in LosAngeles and now I am pleased that our desireis fulfilled by the Grace of LordKrishna. Your specific duty is to chantand hear the transcedental Name of theLord, read some passages from my Englishversion of the Srimad Bhagavatamand Srimad Bhagavat Geeta (Geetopanishad)and explain them as far as possibleyou have heard from me. Anydevotee who has developed genuine Love

210 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidafo r Krishna can also explain the truthabout Krishna because Krishna helpssuch sincere devotee seated in his heart.Every one must be frustrated who is notKrishna conscious because the eternal relationshipwith Krishna is so nice. Thateternal relationship with Krishna can berevived simply by chnating His HolyName in right earnest.I understand from your letter that thesituation in Los Angeles is different fromSan Francisco or New Yo rk , in the matterof communications. But the flavour ofKrishna consciousness is so far-reachingthat it will go far and wide if we chant withdevotion. After all Krishna is the masterof all situations. In the beginning you mayfeel some difficulty but rest assured thatKrishna is always with you and he willhelp you in all respects.I understand also that you are verymuch anxious for my return to your countryand I am also equally anxious to returnand see you again. So far my health is concernedI am definitely improving in myhealth but if I work a little hard or walk alittle more I feel tired . Unfortunatelythere is no good typewriter here and thisletter I am typing my self. Achyutanandais not fast typewriter and Kirtanananda isgoing back to London tomorrow. I haveadvised him to start a centre in Londonpositively and after a month Rairama willjoin him from Boston. Kirtananannda hasexperience to start a new centre and thereforeI have entrusted him with this greattask. I hope he will be successful there as Ihave given him one important letter of introductionfor London. Please pray to theLord that he may be successful . I haveheard from friends that the climate of LosAngeles is warmer. For my health I requirewarmer climate. Whatever improvementis made here in the matter ofmy health it is all due to warm climate. Assuch I shall be pleased to know about LosAngeles with special reference to its elimaticconditions.Encouragement to the dead souls in thewestern countries is to inform them thatGod is not dead . He is not only alive butalso we can go and Jive with Him face toface. The Bhagavat Geeta gives us thisspecific information and one who goesthere in the Kingdom of God would nevercome back to this miserable materialworld. There is no need of artificial talents. One has to serve Krishna sincerelywith whatsoever talent one may have .Guidance of the Spiritual Master and sincereservice to the Lord will give us allstrength in the science of Krishna.The Teloks on the forehead and otherparts of the body are symbolic representationof Radha Krishna Temples. In otherwords by marking Teloks on all parts ofour body we become protected by theLord from all sides. Besides Telok markingatonce makes one known as Vaisnavastherefore they are necessary as much asthe beads. Hope you are well and shall beglad to hear from you .Yours ever well wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-9-622nd September, 1967My dear Brahmananda,I am in due receipt of your! etters of the16th and 2nd of Sep. As you are all feelingmy separation, similarly I'm also anxiousto return as soon as possible. I think I'mfit to go back to your coutry at present andas scheduled previously I'm sure by theend of October. I must be fit to return, butbefore this there are many things to bedone. I'm not yet assured of the permanentvisa. The best thing will be that fromeach center an invitation should be sentthat my presence is urgently required. Regardingthe American House, as I told youpreviously, I'm trying to get a nice house

SEPTEMBER, 1967 211in Vrindaban and unless I'm sure of that Ican not advise anyone to come here incurringso much expenditure and undergoingso much trouble. Students at Swami BonMaharaj, can come only if they are verymuch eager and serious about study. Hehas already given me a letter that 10 studentscan be accommodated with food androoms. In this connecton Achyutanandawishes to submit a report by practicalexperience. Presently I'm very muchanxious to begin printing here if Macmillancompany does not take up the work.Please therefore let me know yes or nofrom Macmillan; if he is serious or not,then immediately send the manuscripts,finished or not, to the following address:PunditHitsaran Sharma c/o DalmiaEnterprises, Scindia House, New Delhi.After dispatching let me know and I shalldo the needful.If possible I think you should personallygo to Washington and see Mr. Nerhufor my permanant visa. If my permanantvisa is made then I shall be very happy toreturn. Please arrange for this by allmeans. Please take up the matter seriouslyas it can be effected. Mr. Ipsilantihas simply takin money. It is so hard to geta sincere lawyer. To summarize the wholething I beg to state that the following itemsare most important: 1, Permanant visa. 2,Final decision of MacMillan.Kirtanananda has already gone backthis morning. I have given him an introductoryletter to London. In this connectionmuch money have been spent fromthe building fund. lfhe gets a favorable responsethen Rayrama may join him thereand when he goes, then I shall go. I thinkI'm now fit to travel and Krishna will giveme strength. I'm glad to hear that Gargamuneis out of the hospital and things aregoing nicely. Hope you are all well.Your ever well wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. I requested the monthly subscriptionof 10$ from each center may be depositedin my a/c in New York when it is$100.00 then I shall get it here by fast motion.Kindly let me know if it has beendone now. I have received only $10.00from Boston centre.ACB67-9-7Boston23rd September, 1967My dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I think bythis time you have gone to Boston. In yourletter I understand that you have taken thematter of Back To Godhead in your heart.I've received news from other centers thatBTG is now in demand and your idea forpublishing 5000 copies is very encouraging.The news which we are publishing inBack to Godhead has certainly a novelpresentation to the people in the westernworld who are hankering after spiritualenlightenment. So if you continue to writearticles on the basis of BG and SB certainlythey will appeal to the core of thehearts of all human beings and surely theywill respond. So, continue the policyscrupulously and you will be successful.Since I'm here I have not seen a singlecopy, although I've heard from manysources of its improvement. I'm also anxiousto know whether the advertisement ofScindia delegation is published.Ye sterday morning I sent Kirtananandato London with a letter of introductionto Miss D.C. Bowtell 27Cornhurst Road London NW 2 BasureyGaudiya Math. I hope this lady who issupposed to be a Gaudiya Viashnava willreceive him well there and there is possibilityto start a center there. You were tostart for London by the beginning of November,if Miss B gives us her cooperationand Kritananda is successful in his

212 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadamission you will reach there timely and onreceipt of a favorable report myself andAchyutananda may also go.ABMy dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I receivedmany letters from you and some I have replied.I don't know whether I'ved repliedall your points. I'll be glad to hear fromyou about the progress of the Boston center.So far as my health is concerned, definitelyI've improved because I am nowcooking and typing. I think I will be returningby the end of October. Please senda letter of invitation stating that my presenceis urgently required in the States.This will help enormously in obtainingmy permanent visa. I must produce concreteevidence of the necessity of my presaencein America for this visa status.ABMy dear Himavati,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter. Please try to besteadfast in your time of pregnancy andKrishna will be pleased. Yours will be thefirst baby born into a KC family inAmerica, so we must be very careful forhim while he is in the womb. In SB the environmentof a child in the womb is describedby Narada Muni as a very awfulplace and after nine months when thechild has developed its body and conscousnessto some degreee the entrappedsoul begs to Lord Krishna to set me andand promises that in this life he will be adevotee. At that time the baby is allowedto be born but, unfortunately during theKali yuga as soon as the child is come outof the womb he is in 90% of the cases he isnot given any facility to further its KC .However in your case Krishna has shownthis soul great mercy. The Bhagavat alsosays that no one should become the parentunless he can deliver the child from theclutches of death. So it is your duty tomake this baby KC so that he may not haveto take birth again. My advice for thepresent is that during your time of pregnancyyou should eat very simple foods,hot or spicy foods are not to be taken andalso sexual relations are forbidden. Allblessings to Hansaduta and yourself.A.C. Bhaktivedanta67-9-8 Delhi27th September, 1967My dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter of the 24th instant andhave noted the contents. RegardingGeetopanishad I have already informed tosend the manuscript one copy to the followingaddress namelyTo Sri Hitsaran Sharma C/o DalmiaEnterprises, Scindia House, Connaughtplace, New Delhi-].I have arranged everything for theprinting and so you will kindly arrange tosend one copy of the manuscript withoutdelay finished or unfinished. Whatever isto be done further in this connection Ishall manage to do it personally and alsofill up the missing stanzas of the 9th chapter.Please therefore send it immediately.One copy must remain there. You need notsend the Mss all together but send thempart by part as they are finished. I hopeyou will follow the instruction.Kirtanananda Swami prearranged withyou to reach on the 24th instant but he arrangedhere with me that he would stop atLondon and I gave him one important introductionletter. Although he had in hismind not to stop at London and yet promisedbefore me that he would go, for whichI gave him extra $20.00. I cannot understandwhy he played with me like this. Ifhe had no desire to go to London he would

SEPTEMBER, 1967 213have plainly told me like that. It has certainlygiven me a great sock. He is one ofmy very faithful disciples and if he doeslike that how can I prosecute my programmes.I have received one post cardfrom him from London AirPort in whichhe writes that he is going directly to N.Y. Iunderstand also from Woomapati 's letterthat he has already reached New Yo rk althoughI have not heard anything fromhim from New York. It is all my misfortune.I am so glad to learn that you have secureda nice job. Please accept it and dothe job very faithfully and try to injectKrishna consciousness amongst the students.I hope the Dentist's business withyou has successfully been done. Your planfor starting an Indian philosophical societyamongst your students is very good forpropagating Krishna consciousness.Wherever you may remain please do notforget Krishna Kirtan and it will do goodto you and your friends. Now I am quite fitto start for your country. The best thingwould have been to go this time with a permanentVisa. Kirtanannada met theU.S.A. Consul general and he knowswhat to do in this connection. Ifl go with apermanent Visa it will be very nice forme. Please do the needful in cooperationwith your other god brothers as also Mr.Nehru the Ambassador whom Brahmanandamight have met by this time.My Dear Devananda,Please accept my blessings, Your niceletter with deep regard for Guru is quiteappropriate. Guru and Krishna are twoparallel lines on which the spiritual expressruns very smoothly. In the ChaitanyaCharitamrita it is said "Guru Krishnaprasade payae bhakti lata vija. " By theGrace of Guru one gets Krishna and by theGrace of Krishna one gets a bonafideGuru. Therefore Krishna consciousnessmeans staunch faith both in Guru andKrishna. One minus the other is no goodfor the devotee. So your faith in the principlesof devotion to Guru will certainlyhelp you more and more Krishna. Do notever try to approach Krishna directly.Anyone who talks of Krishna without serviceto Guru will not be successful. Soyour faith in Guru and Krishna simultaneouslywill help you to become crownedwith success in the progressive march inKrishna consciousness. Do not be worried,be situated in the present aptitudeand everything will be clear.ACBMy dear Brahmananda,Please accept blessings. I have notheard from you since a long time. I hopeeverything is going on nicely. I think theMacmillan transaction is not successful.Please therefore send one copy of theGeetopanishad MSS as instructed above.Let me begin the printing immediately aswe have waited so much time. I am now fitto return back but I shall be glad to returnwith permanent Visa. I am going to Calcuttato visit Lord Chaitanya's birthplaceand next letter may be addressedC/o Madan Dutta, 76 DurgacharanDoctor Road, Calcutta-14If you have collected the contributionfrom different centers, you can pay Achyutananda'smother $88.00. This amountwas taken from him on ale ofKirtananda'sticket. Kirtanananda should return to you$20.00 which he took from me on the pleaof stopping at London. I am feeling toomuch for his disobedience. ACBMy dear Gargamuni,Please accept my greetings on your recoveryfrom illness. I was so much anxiousfor your illness. Now I am relievedthat you have come back from Hospital. Iam also glad that you are doing your workfor the Society nicely. My blessings forKarunamayee also. By separate post I am

214 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadasending my Pass book, which may be presentedas and when required. Where isRayrama? He may take back from Kirtanandathe letter of introduction to MissD. C. Bowtell and may go to London as itwas previously arranged. I entrusted thismatter to Kirtanananda but he has disobeyedwhich has given me a sock. Oncehe disobeyed my order and we lost$1200.00 in connection with Mr. Payne.This time he has again disobeyed me. If hesets such example in the Society it will bea great impediment. Obedience is the firstlaw of discipline. We are thinking of agreat world wide organisation which isnot possible to be executed if there is disobedience.A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami67-9-9 Delhi29th September, 1967My dear Jayananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg tothank you for your letter undated. I congratulateyou on your being elected aspresident of ISKCON San Franciscobranch. Your election as president is arecognition by Krishna and therefore Ihave got full support for you. Mukundaand other members have rightly selectedyou as president. Your service attitude forKrishna and your sincere attempts at beingadvanced in Krishna Consciousnesswill work with you and make your lifemore and more glorious and a happystate. I've been very glad that you are appreciatingby your self the effects of sincereKrishna Consciousness. I've nothingnew to instruct you, the same old instructionnamely constant chanting and attentivelyhearing the transcendental vibrationHare Krishna is the only processfor self realization in this age. In SanFrancisco while you were driving your carand I was sitting by you hearing your transcendentalvibration, this very sincere attempthas enriched your consciousnessand my only instruction is that you mayconstantly do this habit without fail. Regardingyour dispute in your mind as to remaininga brahmachary, grihastha orbecoming sanyasi, there is nothing to bebothered with . Anyone who is in fullKrishna Consciousness and is dedicatinghis life for Krishna is already a sanyasieven if he is a married man. If you like youcan become a householder and I've no objectionto that. Our Vaishnava philosophyinstructs to become "Vidvati sanyasis" ,this means a man who knows things asthey are, therefore a devotee who knowsthat everything belongs to Krishna andthat He is the proprietor of all such a devoteeis certainly a Vidvati Sanyasi. Our philosophyis that we should accept things asprasadam of Krishna and nothing forsense enjoyment. Anyone who acceptsthings for sense enjoyment even if he isexternally a saffron dressed man is not asanyasi. The mayavadi sanyasi considershimself as God, this concept of life developsunder illusion. When a person failsto become the Lord of the universe it islike the sly fox who attempts to tastegrapes and failing to do so says the grapesare sour. The mayavadi sanyasins are frustratedbeings in their attempt to enjoy theworld, therefore they say the world is fakeor the grapes are sour, the world is notfalse, Krishna is the supreme truth and theworld is His energy therefore the energyof the supreme truth cannot be false; butwe must know that this energy is inferiorto His spiritual energy. As there are hairsand nails on the body and sometimes weseparate these parts from the body similarlywhen the the material energy is separatedfrom the service of the Lord it isinferior energy. Inferior energy is notfalse but temporary. The same temporaryenergy when surcharged with KrishnaConsciousness it transforms into supreme

SEPTEMBER, 1967 215energy by the supreme will. By this willany energy can be transformed into anotherjust like electronic energy in a refrigeratoror in a heater, to an ordinarylayman, he sees cold and hot but to anelectrician, he sees electricity. So whenone is engaged in the service of the Lordthat person is already in the spiritual energy,and a sanyasi and the real purpose ofa sanyasi is to transform himself from theinferior to the superior, spiritual energy.If your consciousness is absorbed inKrishna you are always a sanyasi.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-9-10September, 1967My dear Krishna Devi,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your short note regardingyour marriage. So far I know that you aremarried with Subal das before me and assuch you forget all your previous life. Youare now liberated from all other oblicationsbecause you surrendered yourselfunto Krishna. Such surrender has nomore obligations to anyone. So far Subalis concerned he is also a surrendered soulans thus your combination is quiet apt forthe service of the Lord. You have, by theGrace of Krishna, got a very nice place todevelop a full fledged temple and yourhusband is becoming competent to conductthe service nicely. I have alreadygiven him instruction how to do things andthat is published in the New Mexican paper.Please do follow the instructions bothhusband and wife, and help your Godbrothers and sisters to follow the instructionsfaithfully. Krishna is always withyou provided you are sincere in His serviceand faithful to your Spiritual Master,that is the secret success. It is plain andsimple, please try to be faithful and sincere.You are very intelligent and devoteeof the Lord. Please know it that I do notapprove anyone's separation who are marriedby me. If they disagree, they may liveseparately, but there cannot be divorce.When one is separate, one msy fully devotein Krishna, but no more marriage. Ifthis is not followed, I will not take part inanyone's marriage in the future. I hopeyou will understand me right and do theneedful . Hope you are well .Your ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-9-1 1September, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I'm in duereceipt of your letter dated Sept. 21. I understandfrom your letter that you receivedone consignment of pictures fromBrijbasi of Bombay. Did you order thesepictures or were they sent of their own accord?From New York we placed an orderlast April, to their Delhi office the Delhibranch says that the order is forwarded toBombay for execution. Please informN.Y. that you have received the pictures. Ithink the picture you have must belong tothe N.Y. branch. So far as musical instrumentsare concerned I don't think it isworthwhile. Shipping charges and packingand duty come to more than that onecould purchase in the states. To send onetamboura by air the total price wouldcome to $163 and by ship 1 10. If you wishto purchase 20 items at a time then you canget trade shipping rates. Please send myblessings to all the boys and girls in SanFrancisco.Your ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN. B. I am going to Calcutta next week andI may see there how the business is possible.

216 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupada67-9-1229th September, 1967My dear Subal,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of the 13th instantas also the press report dated 17th instantand I am so pleased tohave them.You have nicely done some service to theLord by opening this grand branch andcertainly Krishna will bestow upon youHis blessings. Krishna Consciousness is atranscendental scince which can be revealedto a sincere devotee who is preparedto render service to the Lord.Krishna Consciousness is not achieved bydry arguments or by academic qualifications.Our senses are all blunt in the matterof receiving transcendental subjectmatter, but they are purified in due courseof time by constant engagemetn in the serviceof the Lord. So yours and KrishnaDevi 's sincere effort to open a branch inSanta Fe is crowned with success by theGrace of the Lord.The article in the paper New Mexicania very nicely writtrn and I offer my sincerethanks to Mr. Peter Nabokov, whobegins the article with chanting of the Mahamantra.Please offer my thanks to allwho joined you in this endeavor. I'm gladto know that Haridas is there also. Eachand every picture published in the paperlooks very nice and the devotional posturesof you all has very much pleased me.The secret of success in the matter ofKrishna Consciousness is devotion totheLord and the Spiritual Master. In the Vedas,the secret of success is described asfollowes:Yasya deve para bhakti yatha deve tathagutouYasya ete kathotha hi artha prakasyantamatmanah"Anyone who has developed unflinchingfaith in the Lord and the Spiritual Mastercan understand the revealed scripture unfoldbefore him. So continue your presentapptitude and you will be successful inyour spiritual progress. I am sure thateven if I am not physically present beforeyou. Still you will be able to execute allspiritual duties in the matter of KrishnaConsciousness; if you follow the aboveprinciples. I thank you once more for yourservice.So faras my health is concerned, I feelthat I am now fit to return to your country.You can send me now an official invitationletter with guarantee for my mainteenanceand expenditure on printed stationary, andnot only you, but also all the centerswould send me such invitation so tht theymay be used for getting my permanentvisa. Kirtananda and Achyutananda wentto the American Embassy and it waslearnt that such letter are requied for gettinga permanent visa.The lecture as it papears in the pictureseems to be very nice and I shall be veryglad to know it's capacity to hold attendants.I am also glad to hear that you arecarving Jagganath Subbhadra for the temple.If your temple accommodation issuitable then I shall install Sri Sri RadhaKrishna Vigraha when I return back to thestates. There are some Mridangas in NewYo rk and you can get them for playing inyour temple. The last line of your letter isvery pleasing to me and I am happy tolearn this temple is going to be the mostimportant than all others. Please work forit and I shall join you very soon by the endof October 1967 .67-9-1330th September, 1967Dear Janardan,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your interesting letter &also the copy of the letter you have sent to

SEPTEMBER, 1967 217the newspaperman. Yes, you must now becareful so that people may not misunderstandus to be a second edition of the hippymovement. What is done in the past to advertiseus is already done. Now we shouldwork solidly to attention of importantmen, and try to make them understandthat this movement is the most authorizedscientific agitation to invoke man's dormantKrishna Consciousness. I completelysupport your idea about thepreaching method . We are not lacking inphilosophy-by the grace of Krishna wehave got ample stock to answer anybody'sintricate philosophical questions. There isno necessity of stopping questioners bydogmatic statements as it was done in thebeginning. I have every hope in you becauseyou are educated and have understoodthe philosophy completely. Youshould try to get another newspaper articleout explaining the real scientific positionof our movement.I am very anxious to go to Montreal.Therefore you must try your best to get myimmigration visa on the basis of my beingna authorixed Vaishnav minister, based onSrimad Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagawatam.I hop you have got the copies ofmy certificates in this connection. If notyou can get the same immediately fromN.Y. of S.F. centers. I wish that eitherfrom Canada or U.S. I should get my visafor free movement.Regarding the incidence that tookplace on Janmastami day immediatelysend the following gentleman a copy ofyour grievance.* (see next page)Pandit Ram Nath Kalia, SecretaryVishwa Hindu Dharam Sammelan,1936 Chandni Chowk, Delhi 6,Tel. 262025.It is understood that this man has gotsome connections with members of parliament& he can help us in raising thisquestion in the Indian Parliament House.You should tell him that you are forwardingsame under my instructions. Do notenter into correspondence with this manwithout my consent. The man is a politicianand according to Chankyia, a politician& a woman are never to be trusted.Regarding Easy Journey. I may informyou that whatever is written there is authoritative.The information contained inEJ is contained in various Vedic literaturies.In Bagavad Gita as well as in SrimadBhagwatam it is clearly indicated that beyondthis visible space there is anotherspiritual space which is eternally existant.Modern astronomers & scientists have noinformation of the extent of this visiblespace. And what can they speak of what isbeyond this visible space? Therefore ourmovement is novel. God is living, He hasgot a particular place & anyone who isGodconscious can approach it in this verylife. One of our students, Brahmananda,appreciated very much this discovery. Hewrote to me a letter that my delivery ofthis information has given them life-thatGod is not only alive, but that we can go &live with Him. So what is applicable toBrahmananda is applicable to all sinceresouls & we have to present this to thewhole world very nicely.I am very glad that your wife Mona isgradually understanding Krishna Consciousness.Women are generally lessintelligent. Give her time & scope & shewill turn out a very good assistant foryour life. Convey my blessings for her.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami*Send him this:1. Copy of your speech and letter tome of 28 Aug. 1967 .2. Clippings of newspaper or handbills announcing Miss Uma Sharmas'dance in the Temple.3. Full name & designation of Mr.Dyal of EXPO.4. List of people present. Addresses.

218 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptida5. Copy of letter of regret by MissSharma.6. Limited information ofnl.S.K.C.O.N.7. Addresses & names of officers andtemple members iin Montreal .Reply to this lettermay be addressed to mein Calcutta.ACBN.B. I am going to Calcutta on 9/ 10/67with Achyutananda & Ramanuja. My addressis overleaf. Swami Kirtananda hasgi ven me a great shock. I ad vi sed him togo to London with introduction letter andmoney but he flew away to N. Y. withoutmy knowledge. His first action after takingSannyas is a great shock to me whichplease note. ACB

OCTOBER67-1 0- 13rd October, 1967My dear Satswarupa,Please accept my blessings, I've notheard from you in a long time. Please convaymy blessings to Rayarama, Damodar& others.Since I've come to India, I've not receiveda single copy of B. T.G. There is nostationary nor prospectus either. I askedfor these as well. But I've received nothing.I am starting for Culcutta on Oct. 9,You may send some stationary, BTG, andProspectus to my Culcutta address by AirMail. My Culcutta address is:c/o Madan Dutta76 Durgha Charan Dr. Rd.Calcutta, 14.In my last letter to Bhramananda, HayagrivaI've already requested that Rayaramatake the introductory letter fromKirtanananda & as previously settledRayarama may go to London in Nov. InLondon there is one Miss. D.C. Bowtell,27 Cranhurst Rd ., Crickle cod, London.NW.2. This old lady was given HariNama while my Guru Maharaj was onearth. Since then she is maintaining oneapartment & may be doing some preachingwork. So Rayaram may open somecorresponcence with her before goingthere. This will help in the matter of openingcenter in London. This function wasintended for Kirtanananda while returningto N.Y. He was to stop there & see herbut he was so much frenzied to see & meethis old friends that he forgot the order ofKrishna & indulged in a sort of sensegratification. It is certainly a shocking incidentwhich I never expected from a disciplelike Kirtananda. Besides that I shallbe glad to hear whether my book, LordChaitanya 's Teachings is now compleate.I am afraid if there is no contract for publicationwith MacMillan Co. I have alreadyasked Brhamananda to send Manuscriptof Gita Upanishade to following address:to Hitsaran Sharmac/o Dalmia EnterpriseScindia HouseNew Delhi 1.Please ask Bhramananda if he has alreadydispatched the manuscripts to theabove address. I do not wish to delaypublication any longer but I wish to publishhere in India.Regarding my return. I may informyou that I am now 90% cured & I can immediatelyreturn but I want to return withpermanent visa. Please therefore consultMukunda, Brhamananda & Co. & do allthe necessary action. I shall expect yourreply touching all the points made hereinto my Calcutta Address. Hope you arewell.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. I have received the letter of Jadurany.Please offer my blessing for her. Ishall reply her letter touching all thepoints duly.ACBS

220 Letters fro m Sri/a Prabhuptida67- 10-23rd October, 1967My dear Nandarani, Krishna de vi,Subal das, and Udda va,Please accept my blessings. I am ve ryglad to know that you are now in LosAngeles & organizing the most importanttemple. I had great desire to ha ve our centerin L.A. & by grace of Krishna youha ve fulfilled my desire. I had anothergreat desire to open a temple in Londonand hoped also that Kirtananada after acceptingsannyas would do this job. For thispurpose he was gi ven and introductoryletter to a London lady along with expenses.Howe ver out of his whim he didnot go to London but went directly to NewYo rk. This is a terrible example and it hasshocked me . Yo ur ser vice attitude encouragesme because Krishna can ne verbe an order supplier. We should always rememberthat Krishna is the only ordergi ver. His order is recei ve d through theagency of the spiritual master. The bon-afidespiritual master is the manifest representative of Krishna. The spiritual masteris described in the scriptures as good asKrishna because he is the most confidentialser vitor of Krishna. To please thespiritual master is to please Krishna. Onthis principle we must ad vance ourKrishna Consciousness and there is nodanger.Dayananda, Nandarani and Udda vafirst went to L.A. to open this branch & inthe absence of Dayananda, Subal andKrishna de vi ha ve come to help. Wheneverthere is new branch of our society fo rKrishna Consciousness I become ve ryve ry happy, & my blessings in heart andsoul are with you. I went to your countryfor spreading this information of KrishnaConsciousness & you are helping me inmy mission although I am not physicallypresent there but spiritually I am alwayswith you . Our procedure is ve ry simpleand consistent. We chant, we read fromBhaga vad Gita & Srimad Bhagwatam andwe distribute prasadam.Another thing I request is that everythingin the Temple should be kept niceand clean. Everyone should wash handsbefore touching anything of Krishna's. Weshould always remember that Krishna isthe purest & similarly only the pure canassociate with Him. Cleanlyness is next toGodlyness.As to my returning to U.S., I wish toget a permanent vi sa this time so that Imay work without being checked as to mymo ving. Please therefore consult Mukunda(S.F. ), Brahmananda(N. Y. ) Janardana ­(Montreal), Rayarama(Boston) & sendme either immigration papers or permanentvisa on the strength of becomongminister of the society. I am now 90% fitto go to your country. I am starting forCalcutta on the 9th and my address thereis on the front of en velope.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhakti ve danta Swami67- 10-34th October, 1967My dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. am indue receipt of your ve ry interesting letterdated 27 Sept. along with Bhramanan ­da's. When I recei ve letters from you andBhramananda immediately I feel new energy.I thank you ve ry much as much asMr. Kallman fo r impro ving our B.T.G.Krishna has entrusted you with a nice re ­sponsiblity fo r impro ving the quality &quantity of B.T.G. I am ve ry happy thatsince it is entrusted to you the things areimpro ving. This means that Krishna isgi vi ng you more & more facilities.Krishna is such a nice boss that he gi ves

OCTO BER, 1967 221more facilities & improvement to the sincereservant. From the very beginning ofyour meeting with me you have very sincerely& honestly carried out my orders &I am so much obliged to you fo r your simpleand plain behavior. Kindly continuethis attitude & advise all your Godbrothersto do so & they will be happyconsequently I shall also be happy. Pleaseguide your innocent God-sisters who havecome to our shelter. Girls are more susceptibleto the finer attack of maya. Boysare a little stronger in getting out of the intricasiesof Maya . Mrinalini, Joydurani &all other girls who are so qualified, goodlooking,intelligent, educated & seriouslyengaged in Krishna Consciousness,should always be give protection from theattack of maya . In my philosophy there isno abstenance from sex life but K.C.should teach us that sex life is the cause ofus becomming conditioned to the materialnature. Therefore advaced Krishna Conscousnessstudent should know it well thatsex life also should be dove-tailed withKrishna conscousness. Better to avoid it;if not possible, to have in a regulated marriedlife. But in all circumstances, our primarynecessity is to advance in K.C. I amglad that you are training Jagadnanda tobecome my personal secretary as well asyou are training Mr. Phil to translate ourthoughts to German. Please keep this boywith great care because Krishna has senthim to help us. It is a good combination.Janardan is well acquainted with French ,Hayagriva & you with English & Mr. Philis well acquainted with German. So combinedlyyou can perform great blitz forbombarding the We stern World withKrishna philosophy. This I wanted &Krishna is sending my good lcautenants . Iwas under the inpression that you were inBoston so I have sent you some lettersthere . Anyway please send to my Calcuttaaddress by air mail some Prospectus,B.T.G. & stationary. I am going to Calcuttaon the 9th. The address is on the envelope.Yo ur ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Bhramananda,Please accept my blessings. Your notealong with Rayarama's is in hand and I amso glad to read it. Ye s wait for the final decisionof Macmillan & Co. & I quite agreewith you . If they take up our work it willbe very very good so let us wait for it. Soyou need not send manuscript untill youhear final word from MacMillan. I amglad to learn that Kirtananda Swami isnow in N.Y. & that he looks very nice inmidst of his glowing God-brothers. But hewould have been looking more nice if hehad stayed in London for a few days as itwas settled here. Anyway I shall be veryglad if Kirtananda goes with Rayaram toLondon & opens a branch there cooperatively.He has got an introductory letterfor a London lady. Immediate correspondencemay be opened with her.Regarding Ambassador Nehru I amespecially interested in him because hewanted to help me in getting my permanentvisa. Please try to utilize him in someway or other to get this visa other-wise Iam quite fit to return to your place. I amalways anxious to be with you for the remainingdays of my life, preachingKrishna Consciousness in the WesternWorld. This time I shall go with the determinationfor my mission in the WesternWo rld & try & get me a permanent visa orimmigration papers-whichever is easiest.I think you have my certificates in myapartment & you can utilize them. Twovery important things are resting withyou. First arrangement with MacMillin &second to get my permanent visa. You arevery sincere and Krishna will certainlyhelp you in this attempt. I have duly receivedthe bank receipt along with theletter.

222 Letters from Srila PrabhupiidaThe pictures that you ordered froms.s. Brijbasi & Sons have been sent to SanFrancisco by mistake. Write Mukundathat you may get them back. He has received3000 pictures from them by air.Yo ur ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-10-4Calcutta6th October, 1967My dear Satswarupa,Please accept my blessings. I beg tothnak you for your letter of 29th September1967 and have noted the contents verycarefully. The letter which you have enclosedtherein to facilitate my permanentVisa appears to be nice but if an invitationor provisional appointment as lecturer ispossible, I think that will be still nicer.I am going to Calcutta with Achyutanandaand Ramanuja to visit LordChaitanya's birthsite at Mayapur. So untilfurther information, you can address myletters to the abovementioned Calcutta address.Kirtanananda may be eager to addressin the Harvard university but recently hehas lost his link on account of disobedience.You sing every day morning that bythe mercy of the Spiritual master one canplease the Lord and one who has notpleased the spiritual master cannot haveany access in the realm of Krishna Consciousness.Very recently Kirtananandahas developped a different consciousnessof Maya which is called misuse of one'sminute independence offered by Krishna.By misuse of one's independence one atonce becomes a victim of Maya and thushe loses all importance in Krishna Consciousness.So it is my definite opinionthat his lecture anywhere now will bear nospiritual sequence. He must rectify hismistake before he can be play in our Societyany important role. By lips he says thathe is a surrendered soul but by action he isthinking differently.I may inform you in this connectionthat photo offset copies of the followingtestimonials are lying in my apartment inNew Yo rk. Namely1. Certificate from Sri Chaitanya MathaMaya pur,2. Certificate Institute of OrientalPhilosophy Vrindaban3. Certificate Keshavji Goudiya Matha,Mathura.4. Certificate Goudiya Samghasram,Calcutta.5. Certificate New York UniversityIf it is possible to get an official or provisionalappointment letter through the influenceof Mr. Ross and on the stength ofthe above certificates, it will be easier toget the permanent visa.Regarding Manuscripts you can holdon till my arrival or next letter in this connection.The thing is that there is regularnegotiation with M/s Macmillion Co fortaking up the publication. Brahmanandain his recent letter has informed that thesanction is awaiting the President's signature.So let us wait a few days more for thefinal word.I can understand that you have secureda very nice place in Boston and there isvery good possibility of pushing ourmovement amongst the students communitythere. Our movement is certainlyvery much appealing to the younger sectionof your country and if we are successfulin the matter of attracting the studentscommunity in your country certainly thismovement will scatter all over the worldand the foretelling of Lord Chaitanya thatin every village and every town of theworld the __ will be famous for His gloriousSamkirtan movement. Please try forthis your heart and soul and your life willbe a successful mission.I can understand the hint which yougive me about Haimabati and Hansaduta.

OCTOBER, 1967 223As a matter of fact woman is like fire andthe man is like the butter pot. They mustkeep apart for healthy atmosphere. But inyour country the social system is different.In fact in our society, at least, weshould make separate arrangement of residencefor the boys and girls. Graduallywe have to organise like that.I am always aspiring after returning atyour care and overload you with typewritingtasks. You have done this work alwaysvery nicely and sincerely and a secretarylike Satswarupa Brahmachary is a greatfortune for me. I hope we shall very soonmeet again and help each other in the matterof discharging Krishna consciousnessengagements. I am now 90% alright and Ithink I can return now safely. This typewritingwork is done by me. For two daysI am alone and doing everthing myself asexperiment. This proves that I am nowwell. Please offer blessing to all the boysand girls there.Your ever well wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-10-5Calcutta7th October, 1967My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. Your letterdated 30th September 1967 duly in hand.I understand that you are all very anxiousto know about me. By the Grace of LordKrishna I am now 90 % well although thebasic difficulty namely that I cannot walkvery long distance is there. While sittingon my seat I do not feel anything abnormal;even now a days I can type letters. Iam eating also more than what I was eatingin the states. On the whole I am now fitto go back to your country.I think I have several times asked youfor arranging my Permanent Visa or immigrationVisa. This will settle myself inyour country and I can move freely. WhileI was in the States you told that my certificatesare sufficient to give me permanentVisa on the basis of being the Minister ofthe Society. Why not try for this and getme a permanent Visa. I am starting forCalcutta with Ramanuja and Achyutananda(9/ 10/67) who I think have alreadywritten to you about your Tanburaetc . Tanbura from Delhi by Air Mail isvery costly. When I go to Calcutta on the9th October 1967 I shall personally try forthe Tanbura Harmoniums etc and settlethe terms with Dwarkin and Sons. My addressin Calcutta is mentioned above.The record player which you gave meat the Stinson Beach is lost. It is stolen bysomebody from my room while I wasalone sleeping. I can take some policeaction but I do not wish to implicate myselfin such a way because I am going toCalcutta. Is it possible to send me anotherto my Calcutta address by air mail. If it istoo costly do not send. But such portablerecord player are not available in India.What happened to your cymbals. Now as Iam going to Calcutta, I shall personallytry for all kinds of supply. Please let meknow in details all the goods that you mayrequire from India to execute regulartransaction for which you have alreadystarted a partnership establishment.The pictures which you have receivedfrom S.S.Brijbasi & Sons, belong to theNew Yo rk center. They sent the order andpaid $125.00 for the price. If you want tokeep the pictures then your establishmentmust send $125.00 to me so that I can arrangeto send another consignment forNew York.ACBMy Dear Janaki,Please accept my blessings. I have notheard for a long time from you. PreviouslyI received so many letters from you

224 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadaand your sister but now a days I am not receivingbut I am always thinking of youand your good husband. I hope you are alldoing well. I have received one letter fromHaridas from Santa Fe. He is willing nowto marry and you may arrange for that.Please do remain in Krishna consciousnessfully and you will always be happy. Iam now almost cured & I wish to returnback as soon as I am in receipt of a permanentVisa or immigration Visa which is inthe hands of your good husband. I amstarting for Calcutta on Monday morningand I shall be glad to hear from you at myCalcutta address. Please convey my blessingto all the boys and girls and I hope tomeet them very soon.YoursA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. I am negotiating with a local medalmanufacturer. The cost will be about 15ps per dollar. If you want please sendmoney at least for 15 oz medals for$100.00. The size of the medal will belike the Radha Krishna picture on the Prospectus.One side the picture and the otherside the Society's name and the wordMEMBER The idea is anyone who willbecome a member will have this alluminiumnice medal glittering like Silver.Please let me know your decision in Calcutta.A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami67- l0-68th October, 1967My dear Nandarani,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your Jetter Oct 2 & I am soglad to have it. You and your husband'sservice in respect of opening the L.A.center will be recorded in the history ofour Krishna Consciousness movement.Most probably I shall be in your countryby the end of October or early in Nov. I amthinking of going by pacific route so whenI am in your country I shall either be firstin San Francisco or L. A. My mind is alwayswith you . Practically your country ismy home now. India is foreign country forme , The reason is that my spiritual familyis there & my material relationships are inIndia; therefore factually where my spiritualfamily exists, there is my home.Regarding your personal question inthe mateer of relationship with your husband.Your relationship with your husbandis all right. You must be faithful &devoted to your husband, Dayananda. Vedicsystem advises women to become verychaste & accept the husband as master.Your husband is especially good becausehe is progressing in Krishna Consciousness.I am very glad that you two are verygood combination & your devotion foryour husband & your husband's love foryou are considered great achievements soI have also advised Krishna Devi for herhusband, Subal. I feel very happy when Isee my spiritual boys and girls especiallythose who have been married by my personalpresence are very happy in theirconjugal relationship. Even if there issome misunderstanding between husband& wife that should be completely neglected& you should always remain rigidin service of Krishna as you have writtento say, it is pleasing to be in the service ofKrishna. Discharge of Krishna Consciousnessis our primary objective & allother relationships should be faithful tothis principle. Follow this principle.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Subal das,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your Jetter dated Oct. 2. It isnoted that you are trying to appoint somepublic engagements as soon as I arrive.My programis that I am going to Calcuttatomottow. The address is on theletter.

OCTOBER, 1967 225From Calcutta I will let you know when Ishall arrive there. Probably by the time indicatedin your letter. I am very anxious tosee you again. I am very much pleasedwith you & your wife's service to KrishnaConsciousness.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Krishna devi,Please accept my blessings. I am verypleased to have your note along with yourhusband's letter. The poetry composed bythe old lady Joan Hightower. This poetryindicates that there are many people inyour country who really appreciate India'soriginal spiritual culture. I am ratherproud to say that the movement of KrishnaConsciousness which I have started inyour country will fulfill the desires ofmany sincere citizens of your countrywho are actually anxious to have a bon-afidespiritual guidance from India. Thereare man other swamis & yogis in yourcountry & I am very sorry that they cansimply exploit the sentiment but they cannot deliver the real thing on account oftheir ignorance of presenting things in themodern situation. Please try to help thecause of this movement & I am sure youshall be able to satisfy many sincere souls.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-10-78th October, 1967My Dear Subal,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to understand that your service attitudefor propagation of Krishna Consciousnessis progressively increasing.Krishna Consciousness is such a nicething that the more you work for thecause, the more you become enthusiasticto execute the purpose. Yo ur wife is a!-ways assisting you so why make her unhappyby uttering something which isunnecessary and unpleasant? Even if youaccept Varnaprasta there is no restrictionfor keeping one's wife in company. Only aSannyasi can not have any connectionwith woman. Just as a bramachari. In myopinion, your wife and yourself are nicelyexecuting my mission and please try tofollow my instructions and you shall neverbe unhappy.If you think I can be on television bythe first week in December, then you canarrange for it because I must be in yourcountry by the middle of November. Hopeyou are well.67-10-8 Delhi9th October, 1967All Glory to Sri Guru & GourangaMy dear Sri Krishna Panditji,Please accept my greetings. I am leavingfor Calcutta today as it was alreadysettled. You promised to come and see meyesterday at 2 P. M. but you didn't come;When I was at V rindaban you severaltimes asked me to come to Delhi for severaltimes and I came and remained herefor a month but you did not do anythingabout the room, I would not have come toDelhi at least my Gramophone machinewouldn't have been stolen, now you candefinitely let me know your decision to myCalcutta address as it is on the overleaf.(1) If you want to transfer the Trust tothe International Society for KrishnaConsciousness, the Society will do everythingfor the improvement of the Templeand also engage you as paid whole timemanager on behalf of the Society. Youasked Rs 300/- per month and this isagreed herewith.(2) If not I am prepared to advise my

226 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiidabanker to pay you Rs 25/- per month withoutfail but the key of the room will bewith me.(3) I have not begun my printing worksbecause you have not said anything aboutthe room. If you therefore settle about theroom in either of the above mentioned ( 1)& (2) (proposed) __ I shall come__ from Calcutta, do the needful &then I shall go back to U.S.A. If you arenot settling anything __ room, then Imay not come back to Delhi any more. Iwill go to U.S.A. directly from Calcuttavia Pacific (route ?) for which Sri DalmiaSeth has already promised for the ticketRs. 5,500/-. So kindly reply this letterforthwith to my Calcutta address & __Hope this will find you well.Yours affectionately,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-10-9 Calcutta11th October, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. On my arrivalin Calcutta I have duly received yourtwo letters dated __ & 5th instant. Regardingchange of dress, I beg to informyou that every Krishna conscious personmust be clean shaved, must have Tilaks onthe forehead and other eleven places andmust have the Sikha on the top of the headbesides beads on the neck as usual. Rarelyone can continue to keep beard but it isbetter not to keep it to distinguish oneselffrom the Hippies. We must let the publicknow that we are not Hippies. Do not tryto follow the unauthorised advice of Kirtanannanda.No body cares for the dress;every sane man follows the philosophyand practical talks. Let Kirtananda Swamido something practically. Let him dowhatever he likes and let us see that thousandsof American are following him. Unlesshe does so do not accept his principle.I think all of you except a Sannyasi maydress yourself just like a fine up to dateAmerican gentleman but one must havethe Tilaks etc as I have mentioned above.Kirtanananada is the first man in our societywho cleanly shaved and kept the Sikhaon the top of the head and now he has begunto keep beard again. This is not good.Whatever he is doing now-a-days has nosanction from me. And he has deliberatelydisobeyed me by not going to London.Now he appears to be out of mycontrol and therefore I advise you not tofollow his principles unless he showspractically something wonderful. I gavehim a chance to do this in the matter ofopening a Branch in London but he hasfailed to do it. Now let him show first of allthat by seeing his newly grown beard hehas been successful to have manyAmericans following him and our financialcondition has improved, then try tofollow his instruction. Otherwise rejectall idle talks. A krishna conscious personmust be seen by ears and not by the eyes orin other words one should try to know thedepth of realisation by Krishna consciousperson and not see the beard which hasbecome the practice of the Hippies.You should have immediately utilisedMr. Nehru to give me a certificate. LordChaitanya's movement is genuine and Iam the bonafide representative in yourcountry for this movement. Now if Mr.Nehru certifies this, then where is the difficultyto obtain the permanent Visa eitherfrom there or from here. Please see thereforeimmediately Mr. Hejmadi and obtainthe certificate as abovementioned. I thinkMr. Nehru must have already spoken toMr. Hejmadi about this.As advised by you I am writing separatelyto Hayagriva about the manuscriptof Geetopanisad. For typing, Satswarupais always ready and therefore there is noneed of emplying a paid man.Regarding other problems, depend on

OCTOBER, 1967 227Krishna and try to find out a suitable placeif Mr. Judy has a tendency to exploit us. Ithink Kirtananda may do this practicalservice to the Society first if you are certainthat Macmillan Co. is not going totake to our publication, then you mustkeep aside the $5 ,500. for this purpose.We must have our books printed, we havewasted much time in the matter of editingand finding out a suitable publisher.When I was alone there were three volumespublished but during the last twoyears I could not publish a single volumemore. It is a great defeat. If I have one ortwo sincere souls like you and if we canmake more publications, then our missionwill be a great success. I am prepared tosit down underneath a tree with one sinceresoul and in such activity I shall befree from all diseases.I know that you are very much anxiousto see me in good health and by the Graceof Krishna I am getting well day by day.The only thing is that this time I wish toreturn on permanent Visa or immigrationVisa and before I go I wish to begin theprinting of Geetopanishad.My dear Rayrama,I am in due receipt of your letter. Ye syou try to make successful B.T.G. as youhave recently planned and then you mayproceed to London. And because you areso engaged I asked Kirtananda to go toLondon on his way back but he did not likethe idea and has gone back to New Yorkdirectly without any reason. Please sendme some stationery and copies of Back toGodhead to my Calcutta address by Airmail immediately.Please offer blessings to all the boysand girls and Madhusudan may be informedthat I have duly received his letter.Yours ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67- 10-1013th October, 1967My dear Damodar,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter of Oct. 9. I amvery sorry to hear that Kirtananda is advicingyou to give up the robes and theflags on the head. Please stop this neisanceas I never instructed Kirtananda toact like that. I am not at all satisfied withthis action of Kirtananda. Kirtananda hasno right to instruct you in that way, withoutconsulting me. People are being attractedto the chanting of Hare Krishna &not to Kirtananda's devices. Kirtanandasuggested to me when he was here that theAmericans do not like the robes & flag. Itold him personally if you think thatAmericans in great numbers will followyou, simply for not having robes & flag, Itherefore adviced him to drop for a fewdays in London & test this theory. But hehas gone directly to N.Y. & is now causingthese disturbances without consultingme. I have not sanctioned these methods.In my opinion, Clean shaved Bramacharies& Grihasthas in saffron robes looklike angels from Baikunta. Translation ofprayers into English is good & if somebodydresses like nice American gentlemanwithout any robes, I have noobjection; but every one of my disciplesmust have the flag & marks of telok onforehead. This is essential. Besides that,nobody should do anything without mysanction.I am very sorry to hear Kirtananda,without doing anything practical, changeshis ideas constantly. He was first man inour society to take the robes shave cleanly,& take flag & now he is changing his position.You have asked me to tell youwhether you are right or carry one by thefollowing the follish advice of Kirtananda,& I say straight that Kirtanandais wrong and you are right when you say

228 Letters from Srila Prabhupadathat the movement will come to nothing ifI am not satisfied with your actions.You have written to say that a devoteecan do anything for Lord Krishna; this isright provided such action is sanctioneddirectly by Krishna or his Bona-fide representative.The idea of film making isvery good & any propaganda medium canbe utilized for Krishna Consciousness. Infuture if you get opportunity we can producemany films of life of Lord Chaitanya,scans from Bhagavd Gita & Srimad Bhagawatam.Your plan to remain in Boston tillMarch and then start for N.Y. for film opportunitiesis quite approved by me.Thank you for your energetic enthusiasm.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Jadurani,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to receive your letter (undated). Yes Iam feeling stronger. I always think of youbecause you are so nice in Krishna Consciousness.Several times I talk about yournice qualifications which you are employingamongst my visitors. Krishna Consciousnessis always dormant ineveryone's heart & it can be awakenedsimply by service attitude. You are alreadyallotted a nice service & if you continuethis reponsibility anywhere you live& at the same time chant at least 16rounds a day you will do all right in anycircumstances. You have written to saythat I am "as hard as the thunderbolt &softer than a rose" is quite right in the lineof Krishna Consciousness. I am verysorry to inform you that Kirtananda isplaying the part of a foolish man after hisreturn to N.Y. & it is necessary for me toplay the part of a thunderbolt for his nonsenseactivities. He has unnecessarily instructedsomething to Damodar which isnot sanctioned by me. Since he has developedthis nonsensical attitude so much sothat he is dictating something which is notsanctioned by me, all his instructionsshould be neglected. Please inform this toall centers.Krishna can be present simultaneouslyeverywhere . He lives in His abodeVaikunta & still he is all pervading.Krishna is never limited by space & time,therefore he can manifest Himself in CasualOcean as well as in Vaikunta.I do no follow why you should feel uneasyin my presence. The easiest thing foryou & for all others is to follow my instructionswherever you may be or I maybe.When Rayarama returns tell him that Ihave seen a copy of BTG. and that I amvery pleased with it. Tell him to increasethe quality and qantity of BTG. Also askhim to send me as many copies of BTG (atleast 3) to this address.My dear Hansaduta,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of Oct. 5. "Money isthe honey" goes so far as it is employedfor Krishna conscousness. The body isundoubtedly a material vehicle but whenit acts for Krishna Conscousness it becomesspiritualized. By the grace ofKrishna material energy can be transformedto spiritual energy & spiritual energyis never deteriorated. to be inKrishna Conscousness means to be inSpirital energy. More in my next. Hopeyou are well.A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67- 10-1114th October, 1967My dear Bramhananda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for sending me 2 copies of

OCTOBER, 1967 229BTG stationary & envelopes. I have receiveda letter from Damodar (dated Oct.9) in which he writes to say:"Swami Kirtananda has returned tothe United States and is causing quite astir among the devotees. Following hissuggestions, we have stopped wearingrobes and have cut off our flags. He saidthese appurtanences are too strangelookingto outsiders and only make itmore difficult for them to consider chantingHare Krishna. Swami Kirtananda hassaid we must avoid appearing to be Orientalistsif we are to have 108 centers in theUs."This is very much disturbing to me &has caused me much pain. Please thereforestop Kirtanda from making his mentalconcoctions. Do not be misled by him.I have never adviced him to act like that. Ifhe is causing such disturbances he shouldnot be allowed to indulge in such nonsensicalactivities. I have already writtenyou to inform you that somehow or otherhe has become crazy; otherwise he wouldnot have disobeyed me to go directly toN.Y. For the time being he has cut all linkwith me, therefore any instruction givenby him is unauthorized & should at oncebe rejected. He has no right to dictate ashe has without my sanction. Whatever isto be done will be executed when I return.He is too much puffed-up non-sensicallytherefore you should copy this letter &forward to all centers that Kirtananda hasno right to dictate anything to the Societyin this way. I am very sorry that he is exploitinghis present position as a sanyasi. Ihave no objection if members of the Societydress like nice American gentlemen;but in all circumstances a devotee cannotavoid telok, flag on head, & beads onneck. These are essential features of aVaishnav. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta, Swami67-10-1216th October, 1967My dear Brarnhananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter (dated Oct. 10)& I've also received Kirtananda's letter.From Different centers of our society thenews ofthe activities of Kertananda is givingme too much pain. From Rayarama'sletter it is clear that Kirtananda has notrightly understood Krishna Consciousnessphilosophy & it appears that he doesnot know the difference between inpersonal& personal features of Krishna. Thebest thing will be to prohibit him to speakin any of our functions or meetings. It isclear that he has become crazy & heshould once more be sent to Bellevu. Hewas in Bellevu before & with great difficulty& with the help of Mr. Ginsberg wegot him out. But it appeares that he has developedhis madness again, therefore if heis not sent to Bellevu then at least heshould be stopped from speaking suchnonsense. It is clear from his activitiesthat he has been attacked by maya; he is avictim. We shall pray to Krishna for hisrecovery but we cannot allow him to speakon my behalf. I am trying to return as soonas possible & when I return everythingwill be all right. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter (Oct. 12). I'vereceived copy of #14 BTG & it is verynice. I do not wish to disturb you in yourresponsibilities with BTG & you can go toLondon at your convenience. I am gladthat you have started correspondence withMrs. D.C. Bowtell, & that will settle mattersmore directly. One of our girl devotees,Srimati Annapurna devi, who is inSan Francisco has also facilities to visit

230 Letters from Srrla Prabhupt'idaLondon because she belongs to that place.So you can open correspondence with heralso.I have already requested Brahmanandato stop Kirtananda 's speaking at any of ourfunctions till my arrival . If he wants topreach anything he can do it on his own ina different place. Krishna is certainly oneand different, but his oneness is stressedby the impersonalists which is distinctfrom our philosophy. Our philosophy ofKrishna's oneness & difference is explainedin the 9th ch, 4th verse of B.G. inwhich it is clearly stated that Krishna isone by distribution of his diverse energies.When Krishna contorls his diverseenergies he does not become impersonal .If Kirtananda believes in one-Self, whydoes he stress the vibration & not thewords? Why does he find difference in vibration& words? If he beleivies in onethere is no difference between vibration &words? And why shouldn't one be attachedto the chanting? All this means thathe has no clear idea & he is talking nonsense.If Kirtananda does not understndthis philosophy then better he should stopspeaking non-sense. I can understand hisdesigns but I cannot help because I am faraway from the place. I am leaving herewith a note to Kirtananda which youplease show him & do the needful. Hopeyou are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Kirtananda,Please accept my blessings. I've receivedyour note along with Brhamananda's for first time since you left to N.Y.You had no desire to stop in London. Thisis clear to me from Hayagriva's letterwhich indicated that you had alreadyplanned to go there even before you left India.Since you have returned to N.Y. youhave falsely dictated that I do not want therobes or flags. Why are you disturbing thewhole situation in my absense. I never orderedyou to speak like that. They mustcontinue to have robes & telok & flags &they must distinguish themselfes from thehippies. I never objected to any of my studentsdressing like nice American gentleman,clean shaved; those who are mydisciples must have flag, telok & beads onneck without fail. Anyway I never advicedyou to dictate on behalf, please thereforedo not misrepresent me. You have beengiven sanyas to follow my principles & notto disturb me. If you do not agree with myphilosophy you can work independent andnot with-in the walls of ISKCON. Yo uhave not understood Krishna properly.The best thing will be to stop your talksmy return & if you love me at all please donot talk in any meeting but chant in solitaryplace-anywhere you like. Hope youare well.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-10-13 17th October, 1967My dear Pradyumna,Please accept my blessings. I've receivedyour letters of Oct. 6&7. Achutanandais learning Hindi & when he iswell versed in the language probably hewill be able to translate all the Puranasavailable in Hindi into English. BrahmaSamhita is the gist of the Srimad Bhagwatam.in the bhagavad gita as well as in theSrimad Bhagwatam, Krishna is acceptedas Supreme Lord & everything about himis nicely described there, similarly in theBhrama-Samhita everything aboutKrishna is perfectly described. In the verybeginning of the book, Krishna is acceptedas the Supreme Lord existing eternallyin his transcendental form and is thecause of all causes. One who readsBrahma Samhita very carefully &

OCTOBER, 1967 231scrutinisingly can understand everythingof Krishna without any fault. I recommend,therefore that all my students readBrahma Samhita very carefully-especiallybecause it was translated personallyby my spiritual master Srimad BhaktiSiddhantaSaraswati Goswami Maharaj .Regarding Kirtanands, he is undoubtedlya good soul, but lately he has been attackedby maya; he thinks too much ofhimself -even at the risk of disobeying hisspiritual master & talking nonsense aboutKrishna. As a man haunted by a ghosttalks so much nonsense, so also when aman is overpowered by the illusoryenergy-maya, also talks all sorts of nonsense.The last attack of maya upon theconditioned souls is impersonalism.There are 4 stages of attack of maya; viz.:1 stage is that a man wants to be a protagonistof religion, 2 is that man neglects religiosityand tries to improve his economicdevelopement, 3) is to be protagonist ofsense enjoyment & when a man is frustratedin all the above mentioned stages hecomes to 4, which is impersonalism, andthinks himself one with the Supreme.This last attack is very serious and fatal.Kirtananda has very recently developedthe 4th stage malady on account of hisnegligence & disobedience to his spiritualmaster. Sometimes a foolish patient whenhe is out of feverish 'attack by the grace ofthe physician, thinks that he is cured anddoes not take pre-caution against relapse.Kritananda's position is like that. Becausehe helped the society in starting the Montrealcenter I thought he is now able tostart other branches & when he asked meto give him Sannyas I agreed taking theopportunity of his presence in Brindavan.Simply by his Sannyas dress he thoughthimself as cured of all material diseases &all mistakes but under the influence ofmaya, he thought himself a liberated patient,just as the foolish patient thinkshimself cured from the desease. Underthe spell of maya, he deliberately disobeyedme by not going to London & consequentlyhis disease has relapsed. Nowin N.Y. he has began to dictate nonsensein my name-such as giving up robes,flags etc . Instead of opening new centershe has began to deliver his nonsense sermonsamongst his God-brothers whichare all against our principles. For thepresent he should simply chant HareKrishna & cease to deliver lectures becausehe has not understood the wholephilosophy very nicely.Regarding the hippy religion; we mustdistinguish ourselves from the hippies.The hippies generally maintain long hair& beard & in order to distinguish ourselvesfrom them we should be cleanshaved. When our devotees go outside Ihave no objection if he dresses as niceAmerican or Canadian gentleman. Up todate gentlemen are all clean shaved so ifwe do not keep long hair & dress ourselvesnicely with telock, flag & beads onthe neck, apart from our devotional service,then certainly we shall be distinctfrom the Hippies. I think we should followthis principle rigidly & there is noquestion of giving up robes in the temple.We do not wish to be estranged fromthe material world. That is another nonsense.We have to deal with persons in thesociety & perhaps we are the only communityin the world which can render thebest possible service to the society.Ramachandra 's victory celebration isobserved in the last day of Durga Puja.Vaishnavas are not concerned with DurgaPuja. Depavali or Devali is observed asnew years day by certain mercantile community.The Vaishnavas have nothing todo with this ceremony but just on the lastday after Devali the Vaishnavas observeAnnakute ceremony. This celebration isthe day when Lord Krishna lifted the hill& Madhabedan Puri established the templein Gopala.

232 Letters from Sri/a PrabhupadaUse brown or unrefined sugar if youcan find it. Hope you are well.67-10-1519th October, 1967My dear Mahapurusa,Please accept my blessings, I am indue receipt of your detailed letter. Brownrice generally is doubly boiled, thereforeit cannot be used for Krishna prasadam.Unpolished rice which looks like browncan be used. Generally in American thebrown rice is doubly boiled therefore unfit.We do not mind polished or unpolishedbut doubly boiled mustn't be used.Doubly boiled rice is considered impure.Sun baked rice is all right.My dear Sivananda,Please accept my blessings. I am tryingto go back to your country as soon aspossible. Hope you are well .Bhaktivedanta, Swami67-10-1418th October, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your telegram reading asfollows;"Swamiji Now Filling third PreferenceVisa With Documents"Today I have been to the AmericanConslar office & upon presentation of theinvitation letters from the different centersI was at once granted visitors visa under#B2. The officer whom I met was verysympathetic & he said that Immigrationvisa from this side would take a long timefor being granted better I took the visitorsvisa-so I have accepted it. Now for thepresent you may not take any steps untilmy arrival. Tomorrow we shall get yourtamboura. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta, SwamiMy dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I was veryglad to receive your letter dated Oct. 13. Icongratulate you for your successful dealingwith your good brother, SrimanBrahmananda, against His falling back aprey to Kirtananda 's recent propaganda.To save a man from impersonal calamityis the gratest service to humanity. I alsothank Rupanuga & Rayarama for helpingyou in your very laudable action.Brahmananda is very pure at heart. Hemight have been misled by Kirtananda forthe time being but Krishna did not allowhim to fall back. According to ChaitanyaMahaprabhu, the Lord is full in six opulences& the rascal impersonalists saysthat the Lord has no form & the most dangerousaccusation for the Lord that He assumesa material form when he descends.The Impersonalist is of the opinion thatthe absolute has no form & He appears ina particular type of form according to thewhim of nonsense; The impersonalistpresents any form nonsensical by hisimagination & worships it as God. Thisaccusation of the Lord is the gratest offenseof the nonsense impersonalist. Suchoffender can never realise the transcendentalform of the Lord & the Lord putssuch nonsense into more & more darknessso that the dagerous impersonalist cannever know the Supreme personality ofGodhead. I do not believe that Kirtanandahas gone to such an extent of ailing situationbut if he does not rectify himself immediatelyhis future is very dark. If he issincere in his concept of impersonal Absolutehe should enter into correspondencewith me & I shall refute all hisarguments; but I understand that he couldnot answer you even when you hit himwith some questions. I shall request that

OCTOBER, 1967 233you save this poor creature from impersonalcalamity.You will be glad to know that I've alreadysecured my visitors visa for going toU.S.A. & I am advised by travel agent tobook my seat conveniently. I am going toNavadwipa, the birth place of LordChaitanya next with Achutananda & Ramanuja.My next mailing address is; c/oShri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Kolergunge,P. O. Navadwipa. District Nadia.W. B., India. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta, SwamiMy dear Bramananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of Oct. 11. It wasa great pleasure to note the contents, nowyou have nicely expressed your real mind,In your previous Letter in which I saw alittle tendencey of being turned by foolishKirtananda. but I was confident that Kirtanandawas not so strong as he would beable to defeat you . I was completely confidentof your sincerity of service & mychoice of your being president of the societyis right. I may disclose herewith that Inever took Kirtananda into complete confidencebut I was trying to improve his positionbecause he has also rendered muchpersonal service to me. I am very muchobliged to him for the service as I am tomy other disciples & I am very sorry thatMaya has taken advantage of his disobedience& he has fallen to Maya's illusionbuthe should not continue for a very longtime as I will always pray to Krishna forhis recovery. For the time being he shouldsimply chant Hare Krishna without anyattempt at lecturing. The impersonalistcannot render any service to Krishna becausehe is a great offender. Under the circumstances,Krishna will not accept foodprepared by Kiertananda in his present deseasedcondition. If he at all wants to renderservice to Krishna he may be engagedat washing dishes & this will improve hiscondition. Yo u will be glad to know thatthe US consular office has granted me visitorsvisa and yesterday I've asked the travelagent to arrange for my seat. So in allproability I am sure to return to USA asearly as possible-just after my returnfrom Lord Chaitanya's birth place. Be assuredalways that Krishna is transcendaentalPersonality & men with poor fundof knowledge cannot understand what isthis transcendental form. Our Society ForKrishna Consciousness stands pledged tothis philosophy & I require strong mensuch as yourself for preaching this cult inthis world. I am very glad that you are tryingto understand this philosophy & thereis nothing to be sorry about your beingmisled by Kirtananda. It is not in hispower to mislead a sincere soul such asyourself; but I must congratulate Gargamuni,the simple boy, who never believedin impersonalism. He is your youngerbrother as important as Lord Lakshmanwas younger brother to Lord Rama. I amvery glad that that this simple & honestboy has saved you from calamity. I ampraying to Krishna to bless you, yourbrother Gargamuni, Rupanuga etc . fortheir eternal life in Krishna Consciousness.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta, Swami67- 10-16Calcutta19th October, 1967My dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings . Your letterdated Oct. 3rd, sent to my Delhi address isredirected to Calcutta & therefore I havedelayed in replying. We are again leavingthis place for Navadwipa & you can reply

234 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidathere, the address you will find on the envelope.It is so nice to read your letter &the reply as to how you are always thinkingfor Krishna. When you write to saythat "I would like very much to be teachingthem Krishna Conscience instead ofEnglish" it reminds me of Lord Chaitanya.For some time Lord Chaitanya wasconducting a Chatusuati, which is a smalltutorial village class run by a learnedBrahmin. When Lord Chaitanya wasteaching grammar to his students he wasexplaining Krishna. There is a chapter inSanscrit grammar which is called Dahtu,it is verbal denominations. Chaitanya Mahaprabhuwas explaining Dahtu asKrishna & He would continue to explainKrishna in every step. When the studentsfelt that the teacher was crazy the TranscendentalTeacher closed his class. Soyour desire to teach Krishna Consciousnessto the students instead of English isvery nice & Krishna will be bestowing hisblessings upon you for your thinking inthat way. From my part as I am your everwell-wisher I wish that you may preachKrishna Conscieness to the students of theentire western world. You are a sinceresoul & both your mother Father are happyto see you in Krishna Consciencness.Please continue this attitude throughoutyour life & you will be blessed not only inthis life but in your next eternal life in associationwith Krishna. Krishna has givenyou a very nice chance in the city ofWilkes-Barre Penn. & the idea of purchasingland as you have suggested is verynice. I think you can negotiate for thisland immediately & the Society will beable to pay $3,000.00. After purchasingthe land you can gradually develop it intoan ashram by dint of your personal labouras teacher in college. From N.Y. themembers may visit the place every weekendbecause it isn't very far away. Theytake a 4 or 5 hour journey every week endso a 3 hour journey is not much. If youthink you shall stick to your present occupationyou can seriously think of thisscheme.I am already preparing for returning toU.S.A. & I have obtained visitors visa theday befor yesterday. Most probably I shalltake the first chance to return to USAupon my return from Navadwipa.Regarding the Gita. I fully agree withyour suggestions. So far Macmillion isconcerned I shall be so glad to hand overthe matter to them for publication, but incase they do not do it,-please negotiatewith another publisher & in the mean timekeep the MSS ready, at least in 2 copies. Ithink there is no need to employ a professionaltypist. Our dear typist, Satwarupais always ready to do this work. He has alreadyfinished my book, Teachings ofLord Chaitanya, & he is now free to typethe Gita. So you can send it in installments& when he acknowledges receipt of firstpart you can send him the second, and soon. Or if possible you can hand it over tohim personally, as you can convenientlyarrange. Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-10-1722nd October, 1967My dear Woomapati,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated Oct.15. It is so nice & enjoyable. Your appreciationof Krishna Consciousness is muchimproved by the grace of Krishnabecauseyou are chanting Krishna's Holynames constantly. There are some truthswhich you have expressed as really sublime,especially the portion where youwrite to say "even though He Himself isunchanging, His glory will always increase."Krishna's name is Achyta, unchanging,but He is Bliss although always

OCTOBER, 1967 235full, still increases, to increase the blissfulexistence of the devotee. Please continueto think of Krishna & you will feel more &more the Blissful pleasure transcendentalto all material contamination. I am verythankful to you for appreciating my humbleservice. You will be glad to know that Ihave already secured a visitor's visa toyour country & have asked my travel agentto book my seat on the earliest possibledate. I think I shall be in your midst by themiddle of Nov. I went to your country witha mission & you all good souls were sentby Krishna to me. So let us cooperativelywork together to vigorously spreadKrishna Consciousness, to the sufferinghumanity at large. Your country is great &you are all good sons of America. Spreadthis knowledge so that America will bestill greater in the eyes of the world. Keepthis point of view in front of you & all yourGod-brothers combine together may executethis mission.I am very glad to learn from Rayarama's letter that both you & Satyabrata(Moskowitz) are regularly attendingclass. So I thank you again. Hope you arewell.You over well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Bramhananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letters dated Oct 11, &Oct 18. I have noted the contents. I havereceived stationary & prospectus bothfrom Montreal & New Yo rk. So far asKirtananda 's chapter is concerned, forgetall this, Maya's play. We shall be sorry forKirtananda's plight under Maya and maynot waste our valuable time talking abouthim. The best thing that you have done isthat he should no longer speak in our temples.We shall all pray to Krishna for hisrecovery & only by His grace can he comeback to his real identity. I've already informedyou that a visitor's visa has beengranted to me. & as you say that on myTeturnthis visitor's visa may be convertedinto a special immigration visa as a minister.So on my return necessary arrangementsmay be made as suggested by theclerk at the U.S. immigration dept. OnWed. next I am departing for Navadwipa,I shall stay there for at least a week & aftercoming back my program is to start forU.S. A. But as you say that permanent visacan be arranged from here on the basis ofcertificates which you intend to send me.So you will immediately let me knowwhether or not I shall start on the visitor'svisa. I inquired in U.S. Consulate aboutthis & the man who immediately grantedme my visitor's visa told me that a permanentvisa will take a long time for decision,so I accepted the visitor's visa. MyNavadwipa address you will find on theenvelope. Tomorrow I shall take informationof Mr. William Stuart, The U.S. viceconsul in Bombay. Regarding final typingof Gita Upanishad; the copies must nowbe ready as I am expected to return soon.So if MacMillan Company does not respondwe shall try to get it published byanother U.S. publisher, failing that weshall publish in India.Your suggestion for opening a center inRussia is welcomed as the Europeanswere very enterprising in the Middlehistoricalperiod for colonization. Similarilywe should be enthusiastic to opendifferent branches in different parts of theworld other than India. In India they areopening many such branches, but our responsiblityis to open branches outside India.So it will be a great endeavour if youfour go to Russia to open a center there.I am very much appreciate your lecturingarrangements in different educationalinstitutions & I have full confidence inboth you and Rayarama. Indian thingsmay be exported but I do not know the varietiesof goods that would be saleablethere. For the time being I have arranged

236 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadafor musical instruments with Dwarka &sons, & so also I am arranging fo incense.If Indian Saree's are required, that alsocan be arranged. But unless I definitelyhear from Mr. Kallman what particularthings he wants I can not guess what is tobe done. The most important thing is thatyou let me know immediately whether ornot I should start on the visitors visa. Visitorsvisa I've already got. I could startwithout delay but if you want me to applyfor permanent visa it will take some time.So I shall await your immediate reply.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN .B. If Kirtananda honestly believes inhis new doctrine, he should honestly returnthe certificate of his Sannyas whichhe very tactfully secured from me. Heshould not utilize this certificate withoutany allegiance.67-10-18Calcutta23rd October, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of Oct 16 withgreat pleasure. Now I feel certain that youwill get my immigration visa, in themeantime as I have all ready informed youI've gotten a visitors visa immediately onpresenting passport. So please let meknow whether I should wait for the immigrationvisa as you intend to send me orshould I start on the strength of the visitorsvisa. On the whole now I can start any dayI like but if you think I should wait I shallwait. You must write me immediately. I'mleaving Calcutta the day after tomorrowfor Nabadwip, the birth place of LordChaitanya and my address is given on theover-leaf (please find). You will reply thisletter to my Nabadwip address and onhearing from you I will do the needful.When coming from San Francisco Ipromised to Janaki and other girls that thistime when I come back I shall first cometo San Francisco. So I shall return by Pacificroute and possibly make a break inthe journey in Tokyo and Hawaii. I haveduly received the copies of your correspondencewith SS Brijbasi. I understandthat there was no mistake on your part.Along with your letter I have the note ofJanaki 's Aunt Edna. Please convey mygreetings and good wishes to her. She mayremain there withyou till my return. I haveduly recieved your telegram as well.My dear Lilavati,Please accept my blessings. I'm just inreciept of your letter. Your child should benamed Subhadra, the name that you havealready chosen, this is nice. Regardi,ngthe horoscope, it is a nice idea and if Imeet a good astrologer I shall try to getone for your little child. I'm glad that youhave sent me the exact time and date ofbirth, this will help.N.B. I have purchased one Tambura foryou costing Rsl06/- from Dwarkin &Sons. They have allowed me 20% discount(special) on the price. This Tamburais going to be booked by air cargoto-morrow by Ramanuja. The chargeswill be too much. But hence forward youcan order directly to MIS Dwarkin & son,8/2 Esplanade East, Calcutta-!. The priceis Rs 125/= Less 20% and there will beno sale tax charges if you send the amountby Bank draft in dollar direct to the firm.The will pack & ship the instruments bysurface which will be very cheap. Alwaysorder in the ISKCON Stationary whichare printed with my name.ACB

OCTOBER, 1967 23767- 10-1926th October, 1967My dear Jadurani.Please accept my blessings. I am in duereceipt of your letter dated Oct. 20 & I amvery glad to note the contents. The brahmacariniashram is not yet started. You shouldnot bother about it at the present moment.When the brahmacarini ashram is establishedthen you should consider going.Most probablly I also will go to San Fransiscodirectly from India. When I am thereI shall see if your presence is actually requiredthere . In the meantime you can continuewith your painting as usual & enjoythe spiritual life. In the Scriptures it is saidthat a woman is just like fire & a man is justlike a butter pot. The butter melts in the potwhile in contact with fire . In your countryassociation of man and woman is verycommon without restriction; thus theresult is known to you better than I am ableto explain. In spiritual life attraction of man& woman in the understanding of materialbody hampers very much, therefore, somesort of restrictions are necessary to checkthis hampering problem. In spiritual lifethere is no allowance of association of manand woman without being married. I havealready secured my visitors visa & have advicedmy travel agent to purchase my ticketvia the pacific route, & I have already securedmy passage money. So on any day Ican start for your country, but recently I'vereceived from Mukunda stating that he isarranging for my permanent visa whichwill enable me to move freely. I've alreadyasked him to let me know whether I shouldwait or start on the visitors visa.I have seen the latest issue of BTG &have very much appreciated the presentationwith your combined efforts-you artists& poets should try to increase thebeauty of BTG as well as to promote thesales in larger & larger numbers. Your appreciationof Rayarama 's effort is alsoshared by me in improving the conditionof BTG. Yo u can keep & stack your paintings& when I return I shall see where theywill be most required .Regarding Kirtananda, there is nothingto be said about but one should be verycareful not to fall sick like him. In the material world there is constant fight betweenmaya & the Jiving entity. Maya isvery strong & we can fall a victim at herhand at any moment. The only means ofprotecting us from the attack of maya is tobe fully Krishna Conscious. The proportionin which we fall back in Krishna Consciousnessis filled up by the influence ofmaya . It is exactly like the proportion ofnegligence of our health is subsequentlyresulted in our falling ill. The person whois very careful about his health does notgenerally fall ill. Similarly a person whois always fixed up in Krishna Consciousnesscannot be defeated by maya. Sometimesin spite of our full KrishnaConsciousness we fall a victim to mayabut that is temporary just as seasonalchanges such calamities do come & passaway & we have to endure them. If Kirtanandahas ever sincerely servedKrishna, & his spiritual master, he willnot fall down. The temporary systems willfall down without delay. We should allpray to Krishna for his steady recovery.My grief for Kirtananda isn't anythingpersonal but I am sorry that he has becomelike a mayavadi in spite of my bestefforts to help him. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-10-2026th October, 1967My dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I have alreadyduly received the invitation fromHarvard University. It is understood that

238 Letters from Srila Prabhupadathey are scheduling me for 20 Nov. between6 and 10 PM . I can start immediatelyon the strength of my visitors visa,but I am waiting for Mukunda 's reply whois trying for my permanent visa. Yesterdaywe have all come to Navadwipa. Thisplace is another establishment of one ofmy Godbrothers. It is very nice and extensiveplace and my God-brother, B.R.Sridhar Maharaj has spared one entirenice house for my stay. He has also agreedto cooperate with our society. We shall observehis birthday ceremony tomorrowand the brahmacaries shall learn how tocelebrate spiritual master's birthday. Ihope to reach your state by the 20 of November.Hope you are well.Your ever well wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-10-2 1Calcutta27th October, 1967My dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings . My blessingsare for you for the latest nice editionof BTG's. I am so pleased for your sincereendeavour for improving the quality &quantity of BTG. Krishna is helping youin this endeavour & he will help you more& more for your sincerekty. Our circulationmanager. Sriman Gargamuni, issurely taking great interest in seeling thecopies. Regarding Kirtananda's article, Ido not know wheat he has written but I canguess that it must be polluted with impersonalpoison, so for the time being youcan keep this article aside. I was so glad tolearn that you are acting exactly like a lioncub & I know that in the future you shallconquer ever many jackals. We have gotexperience in India that the jackals roarfour times at night without any influencebut the one roar of a lion drives away manyelephants. The pressure Maya iselelphant-like, big, but the roaring of Nrisinghadevacan drive away many elephants.Please convey my thanks toSatyabrata (Moskowitz) & inform himthat I've received hisletter. His humble attitudeis just befitting a genuine devotee . Ivery much appreciate his devotional attitude.Hope youare well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-1 0-2228th October, 1967My dear Kirtananda,Please accept my blessings. I've receivedyour note along with Brahmananda's for first time since you left to N.Y.You had no desire to stop in London. Thisis clear to me from Hayagriva's letterwhich indicated that you had alreadyplaned to go there even before you left India.Since you have returned to N.Y. youhave falsely dictated that I do not want therobes or flags. Why are you disturbing thewhole situation in my absence. I never orderedyou to speak like that. They mustcontinue to have robes & telok & flags &they must distinguish themselves from thehippies. I never objected to any of my studentsdressing like nice American gentleman,clean shaved; but those who are mydisciples must have flag, telok & beads onthe neck without fail. Anyway I never advisedyou to dictate on my behalf. Pleasetherefore do not misrepresent me. Youhave been given sannyas to follow myprinciples & not to disturb me. If youdo not agree with my philosophy youcan work independently and not withinthe walls of ISKCON. Yo u have not

OCTOBER, 1967 239understood Krishna properly. The bestthing will be to stop your talks till my return& if you love me at all please do nottalk in any meeting but chant in solitaryplace - anywhere you like. Hope you arewell.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67- 10-2328th October, 1967My Dear Aatie,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated Oct.19 & I am so happy that a boy of 1 7 yearscan feel so nicely about Krishna Consciousness.I am so happy that theKrishna Consciousness movement is attractingyoung innocent hearts ofAmerica. From this I can think that the futureof this movement is very hopeful . Iwas very glad to learn that you are followingour four principle rules, thereforeyour picking up of the process of acquiringspiritual knowledge from BhagavadGita is very nice. In the Bhagavad Gita it issaid that one should "prostrate oneself atthe feet of the wise, rendering him allforms of service & question him with aguileless heart again & again" , is the onlymeans to attain spiritual knowledge. Theprocess of speculation without approachingthe bon-a-fide spiritual master is simplya waste of time. In the ChaitanyaCharitamrita, Lord Chaitanya affirms thisprinciple, when he says that a fortunateliving being while wandering in differentspiecies of life gets the chance of meeting abon-a-fide spiritual master by the causelessmercy of Krishna. In the Vedic literaturethere is a nice story about Dhruva.This Dhruva understood from his motherwhen he was only five , that God can befound in person in the forest. Dhruva wentto the forest in seardh of God. The LordNarayana in heaven or in the heart ofDhruva understood the sincerity ofDhruva 's purpose & sent Narada, Hisgreat disciple to initiate Dhruva in thematter of Krishna Consciousness. Thisincident confirms that by the grace ofKrishna, Dhruva was able to get the helpof Narada as his spiritual master. Therefore, Krishna Consciousness is a parallelprocess in worshipping the Supreme Personalityof Godhead & the Spiritual mastersimultaneouly. Your desire to becomethe servant of the servant of Krishna isvery pious. Lord Chaitanya desired thesame thing in order to set an example,though he was Krishna Himself. The BhagavadGita confirms this. I am so pleasedto learn that you are all living in theBrahmacary house with Jayananda & Upendra& I am more pleased that you are allworking. Everyone can achieve the highestperfection of life by working in his specificcapacity. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings . I thankyou very much for sending me a recordplayer by air freight, but since you havenot mentioned that it is an unsolicited gift,customs has raised objections & they wantto levy duty to the extent of 100 rps.Please immediately send a letter addressedto Calcutta Customs stating thatthe record player was sent to me as an unsolicitedgift. Send the letter to :S.K. Dutta, 76 Durga Charan DoctorRd ., Calcutta, 14. Also please let meknow if I should start on the visitors visaor whether I should wait fo r your permanentvisa arrangement.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

240 Letters from Srfla Prabhupada67- 10-2429th October, 1967My dear Nandarani,Please accept my blessings. I was verypleased to receive your letter. I have cometo Navadwipa since I've recieved your letter,the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya. Wecame herelast Tuesday & probably I shallreturn to Calcutta early next week.Regarding the Teachings in the temple;everyone of my disciples may becomea teacher strickly following my instructions.I am a bon-a-fide teacher as long asI fo llow the instructions of my spiritualmaster. That is the only one qualificationfor becoming a teacher. As soon as onedeviates from this principle one is nolongera teacher. I do not know how Subaldas speaks but ifthere is any deviation youcan point it out & adjust things betweenyourselves. Personally I know both yourself& your husband, Dayananda, are verysincere souls & I am much obliged to youbecause you have opened a nice center inL.A. Similarly, Subal das also opened acenter at Santa Fe . All this activity is veryencouraging to my mission & I believesincerely that you are doing the best otserve the cause of iSKCON.I have already arranged for going backto your country & I have secured a visitorsvisa & the passage money is also depositedwith the travel agent, so the only thingis that Mukunda is trying to get my permanentvisa & I am waiting for his final wordin this connection. I thank you very muchfor your proposal that I shall stay at L.A.& you will arrange for all my conforts. Iam looking fo rward for the opportunity.From India I shall first go to San Francisco& then to your place. Hope you arewell .Yo ur ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Krishna devi,Please accept my blessings. I was veryglad to receive your letter dated Oct. 20. Ican understand your anxity about yourhusband & rest assured that I shall neveradvice your husband to leave you. Both ofyou are very good souls & constantly engagedin the service of the Lord. One whohas got a helpful wife at home does not requireto accept Sanyas . If required, bothyou and your husband can preach KrishnaConsciousness combinedly. We are concernedmore for Krishna Consciousness &if that work is executed more nicely by cooperationof husband & wife, there is nonecessity of thinking wife as impedimentto Krishna Consciousness. While i amliving you should act according to my instructions& there is no question of impediment.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

NOVEMBER67-11-12nd November, 1967My dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letters dated 24 & 25Oct. respectively. I may say that in replyto your letter of Oct 24, you may go to Englandaround the first of Dec. or wheneveryou find it convenient. There is nohurrying the attempt. In the meantime goon improving the condition of BTG whichyou are doing very nicely with the cooperationof your very respectable Godbrothers.Regarding Kirtananda, I cannotallow him to become Keith again. He ismy spiritual son and I shall never allowhim to fall down. When I return I shalldrag him forcibly and make all rightagain. Anyone who has once come to mehas become my beloved son; temporarilyone may display some Mayic affliction,but that can not prolong. I thank LordKrishna for Satyabrata (Moskowitz) andWoompati and I hope sincerely that Kirtanandawill also come back again withrenewed energy. I am glad that Hayagrivahas returned the manuscript of Gita and Iunderstand from Bramananda's letter thatthey are being made ready by professionaltypist. From Madhusudan's letter it is understoodthat MacMillan has agreed forpaper back printing. Anyway get it readyand print it immediately anywhere youlike without delay. I requested Satyabrata(Moskowitz) to publish Lord Chaitanya 'steachings which is ready with Satsvarupa.Thakur Bhaktivinode's book Sri ChaitanyaMahaprabhu may be printed in thousandsand distributed . If Isoupanishad isalso printed it will be very nice. I shalltake one copy of Bramha Samhita and Ishall try to print it. I have decided to returnback with visitors visa as adviced byyou. Therefore I am returning to Calcuttatomorrow and my next address will be asit is in the return address. Yo u can send bysurface mail our latest BTG copies to(copies #14, 15 & onward)Balendranath Nath Kundu B.A.,B.Sc., B.T.P. O. Teacher and JurnalistP. O. NabadwipaDistrict Nadia, W. B., IndiaHope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Haimavati,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 26 Oct.and I may advice you that in your pregnantcondition you may not take any pungentfoodstuffs . Your husband knows how toprepare nice chappaties and you can takethem nicely buttered . Don't be mortifiedwith Kirtananda 's behavior. The presentfeature of Kirtananda and Hayagriva aretemporary manifestation of maya. Theywill be corrected as soon as I return. Youhave rightly said that he and Hayagrivacame like two children and took theirthings from the temple. Don't you thinkthat all this is childish activities? If Kirtanandadonated the candle holders andclothes to the Temple of Krishna howcould he take them back for his own purpose.If they think impersonally thatKrishna is present everywhere, how couldthey think of Krishna not being present in

242 Letters fro m Sri/a Prabhupadathe New Yo rk Temple. So all their activitiesare befitting children; so as childrencommit mistakes and again reforms similarlythey will be reformed in due course.After their malady of impersonalism isover. Yo u can go on with you regularclasses, chanting Hare Krishna sincerely,without taking seriously into account thechildish activities of Kirtananda and hisfriend. Leave the __ to Krishna. Hopeyou are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67- 11-2 Nabadwipa2nd November, 1967My dear Madhusudan,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 24th October1967 . Kirtananda was awarded the positionof a Sannyasi because he wanted italthough I could understand it that hewanted to be a spiritual master him self.Lord Chaitanya wanted every one shouldbe a spiritual master provided he followsthe order of Lord Chaitanya. The Lord'smission was to defeat the Mayavada philosophyand establish in the philosophy ofKrishna consciousness because Krishnais the Supreme Lord the Personality ofGodhead. Any one fo llowing the order ofLord Chaitanya under the guidance of Hisbonafide representative, can become aspiritual master and I wish that in my absenceall my disciples become the bonafidespiritual master to spread KrishnaConsciousness throughout the wholeworld . I want it but Kirtanananda was toomuch puffed up and artificially he took upa certificate from me that he has beenawarded the order to a Sannyasi, In thespiritual field nobody can become a bonafidespirtual master by dissatisfying hisspiritual master. It is said that one can satisfythe Supreme Lord simpy by satisfyingthe spiritual master and one who dissatsfiesthe spiritual master has no place in thespiritual world. Kirtananda wanted to becomea spiritual master by dissatisfyinghis spiritual master and as such he hasfallen down. He cannot say anything genuineany more till he has had revival of hispure consciousness in the spiritual worldas mentioned above . Differentiation betweenspirit & matter is clear & practicalexperience, when a living creature is deadno amount of material advancement ofscience can bring back a dead body to life.The thing which is absent from a deadbody is the spirit. As there is individualspirit in individual body, similarly there isthe Great Spirit in the universall materialform . As the individual spirit is workingsystematically within the individual materialbody, similarely, the Supreme Spirit isconscious of the universal body. The lordknows what is happening in each & everyplanet as much as an individual soulknows what is happening in each & everypart of his body. Therefore, the individualconsciousness which is limited, whendovetailed with the Supreme Consciousnessof the Lord is called Krishna Consciousness.When I return some of youshall be offered Sacred Thread. I verymuch appreciate your version that RAyaramais roaring like a Lion-cub. I wishthat every one of you should be Lion's descendent.Our Lord Krishna assumed thefo rm of Lion & killed the atheist,Hiranya-kasipu, & by disciplic successionwe shall also kill all impersonalist atheist.Absolutely there is no Krishna Consciousnessfo r the impersonalist. Hopeyou are well.Yo ur ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta, SwamiMy dear Bramhananda,Please accept my blessings. Now I understandthat I may return with my visitorsvisa which can be altered once I am in

NOVEMBER, 1967 243USA. If MacMillan is silent then immediatelysend me the correspondence whichDwarkadhish had with the Japaneseprinters. Most probably I shall stop in Tokyo& hand over the printing to them.Hope you are well.ACBMy dear Janaki ,Please accept my blessings. Everyminute I think of you and and as you askedme to go to San Francisco while returningfrom India, I am trying to fulfill my promise.I am thinking of going directly to SanFrancisco. Please offer my blessings toShamashunda, Malati, and others. Hopeyou are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-1 1-45th November, 196767-11-34th November, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Oct. 22and I've noted the contents. I am muchobliged to you for sending me the recordplayer which is essential but I could savethe customs duty of 120 rps if you couldhave sent a note stating that it was an unsolicitedgift. Anyway the machine was receivedintact and I am enjoying it. But Ihave not heard anything definitelywhether I shall wait for the final disposalof your visa application or if I may startimmedeately.As you say that my absence is being fe ltnow more deeply than ever, so I also feelto start immediately without waitnng. Themorning prayer can be recorded when Ireturn. If there is actually a brahmacariniashram organized by San Francisco devotees,it will be very nice to keep thereJudarani as the leader of the brahmacarinies.I am very glad that two other devoteesare waiting for me . Hope you arewell.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. In replyingyour letter of Oct 21, I offer to you mysinceremost blessings for the most kindwords that you have sent me as a sinceredevotee. This attitude of service will helpyou progress in Krishna Consciousnessand perfect Krishna Consciousness willhelp us to go back to home, back to Godhead.I have already sent you my congratulationsfor improving the get-up of BTGand I am sending news to Goursundar forhis wonderful service to the cause. I'vereceived one letter from Hayagriva expressinghis sorrow about Kirtananda 'splight in relation with his God-brothers .He has complained that some of the boyshad spat upon Kirtananda's body and it isa fact it is the most regrettable incident.The fact is that once combined in KrishnaConsciousness, one cannot be separatedat any time but the incident of separationfrom the society of Kirtananda and Hayagrivais accidental . I had advised that Kirtanandashould be asked to not speak but Inever asked that he should not enter theTemple. We invite outsiders to come andhear our kirtans but I think Kirtanandamight have been disturbing the peace ofthe Temple and therefore you all askedhim not to enter the Temple. I do notknow what had actually transpired but theincident is not very happy. If possible theboy who had spat upon Kirtananda in thepresence of Hayagriva must be requestedto send a letter of regret and apology fo r

244 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadathe mistake he had done. I have alreadygiven you a list of good behavior for thedevotees. The person who is a devoteemust develop those good qualities. Kirtananda'sattempt to defy me might haveprovoked all these undesirable incidences,but in the future we shall be verymuch careful to deal in such provocativesituations; I can understand the provocationin this situation was set in motion byKirtananda 's uncalled fo r behavior. Hopeyou are well.Yo ur ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Bramhananda,Please accept my blessings . Replyingyour letter dated Oct. 21, I quite appreciateyour statement and I am happy that youhave now taken care of the Gita Mss. Ihave already written to Hayagriva that theinstructions which I impart are not dogmas.Our instructions are all based on sufficientlogic and philosophy. The thing isthat while conducting missionary activitiesit is quite natural that sometimes thesituation may become very provocative ,but we have to deal in these matters verycarefully. The boy who spat upon the personof Kirtananda must send a letter of regretand apology. That will be nice. Youshould always try to pacify the living entitiesin their rebellious propensities. Theseindividual propensities are factual evidencefo r their becoming individual entities.If everything would have beenimpersonal there would have been noscope for the individual manifestations. Itis understood that Hayagriva will purchasethe property at Wilkes-Barr withthe help of Dr. Henderson's financial assistance.I do not mind that they will dosomething separately, but I wish that theremay not be any misbehavior betweem theGod-brothers. I think you can write Hayagrivaa personal letter regretting the incidentwhich had unfortunately occurred,namely spitting over the person of Kirtananda.Hope you are well.Yo ur ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Blanche,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter appreciatingKrishna Consciousness movement. Asstated by you, it is truly a happy movement.Lord Chaitanya said that the oceanof Krishna Consciousness increases dailyand it is never experienced in the case ofmundane ocean. In other words, nobodyis static in Krishna Consciousness and everyonebecomes a dynamic force forspreading the movement. It is understoodthat you have been in the Temple for not avery long time and still you have appreciatedvery much the spiritual movement.Try to read our book and you will advancemore and more. Hope you are well.Yo ur ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-11-59th November, 1967My dear Rayaram ,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated. Oct. 28,1967. It certainly is very good news thatMacMillion Co. may now agree to publishGita Upanishad in a soft cover editionand is considering the hard cover very seriously.In one other letter Brahmanandawrites that there is not yet contract signed.So I do not know what exactly is the position.But under any circumstances, theMSS must be made ready. I do not followyou when you write to say that Hayagrivawon't deliver the MSS. If he does not returnit then how are you going to publish itand how are you going to edit it. In twoprevious letters you write that he has alreadyreturned it. In letter of Oct. 21, you

NOVEMBER, 1967 245write "Hayagriva has left the manuscriptof Gita with me and I am going to have ittyped and sent to you , a few chapters at atime." In letter of Oct. 25 you write "I'vebeen working on the manuscript whichHayagriva returned to me" . In this letteryou wrote to say that he is trying to obviouslypunish us by not returning same.The quarrel amongst yourselves, the Godbrothersis not very much palatable. I amnow thinking about our society. We werevery smoothly going on but this disruptioncreated by Kirtananda has plaguedand disturbed the situation. The best thingis to do our duty nicely with faith inKrishna and everything will be adjusted.You are nicely doing BTG.The separation of Kirtananda and Hayagrivais not a very happy incident. I waspractically in tears for their attitude ofseparation on such flimsy grounds. Inother words it is my incapability that Icould not save these two souls, but this agreat evidence that every soul is individual. The nonsense theory of onenessbecomes null and void by the evidencepresented in this incident. But we shouldnot be angry with these poor souls. Try toconvince them by argument and reasonbut do not become angry with them. LordNityananda when he was dealing with Jagaiand Madhai maintained the maximumamount of tolerance and patience in spiteof the greatest provocation. The twobrothers, Jagai and Madhai, committedviolence on Lord Nityananda. Even LordChaitanya, the author of Siksastak, becameagitated. But Lord Nityananda Prabhuin the matter remained calm and quietand delivered the two rascals to the highestelevation. We should always try to representLord Nityananda Prabhu in thematter of preaching work.Kirtananda is a crazy man. That isproved . He says that he has become equalto the spiritual master but he is such a foolthat he does not understand the principleof disciple even in ordinary worldly affairs.Even if one becomes equal to thespiritual master in education and knowledge,still one has to maintain the disciplinaryprinciple of obeying one chiefman in any establishment. If such discipleis not maintained, no establishment canmake any progress. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-11-6lith November, 1967My dear Bramhanada,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to see your letter dated Nov. 3, inwhich you have sent the good news thatMacMillion Co. has agreed to publish myGita Upanishad and the contract has beenprepared. This service is done by you is agreat asset for our society's future activities.The quotation as you have given frommy letter of Ocr. 11, just stands. I do notwant crowd of Kirtanandas but I want asingle soul like Brahmananda, Mukunda,Rayarama, and Satsvarupa. The same exampleis always applicable that one moonis sufficient for the night as not thousandsof stars. Please carefully handle the dealingswith MacMillion Co. which was begunby your good self. If publications arethere we can work from one center onlylike New Yo rk or San Francisco for propagatingour cult all over the world. Let usstick to the publication of BTG more andmore nicely and publish some Vedic literatureslike Srimad Bagavatam, ChaitanyaCharitamrita, etc . I've received onetelegram from Mukunda, reading as follows:SW AMIJI BRAHMANANDAAND I AGREE YOU START IMMEDI­ATELY ADVISE EXACT ARRIVAL­MUKUNDA in reply to this, I may saythat I am expecting my P-Form sanctioned

246 Letters from Srrla Prabhupiidaand most probably I shall be startingsometime next week. Ifl stop in Tokyo fora day to probe if there is any possibility ofstarting a center. From Tokyo I shall letMukunda know by telegram when I amexactly arriving in San Francisco. FromSan Francisco I shall try to go to see ourtwo new centers, namely Los Angles andSante Fe .I have read your statements regardingopening centers. I am not in agreementwith Mr. Altman that we are expandingvery thinly. In my opinion, a single sinceresoul can maintain a center. Yo u knowI started the center at 26 2nd Ave . alone. Itook the risk of 200.00 dollars per monthfor the rent . At that time there were no assistants.Mukunda was at that time afriend but there was no responsibility fo rhim for maintaining the center. GraduallyKirtananda and Hayagriva joined but theydid not take any responsibility. Still I wasmaintaining the establishment simply dependingon Krishna and then Krishna sentme everything-men and money. Simi·Iarely, if a sincere soul goes out and opensa center in any part of the world Krishnawill help him in all respects . Without beingempowered by Krishna, nobody canpreach Krishna Consciousness. It is notacademic qualification or financialstrength which helps in these matters , butit is sincerity of purpose which helps usalways. Therefore, I wish that you will remainin charge of New Yo rk, let Satsvarupabe in charge of Boston, LetMukunda be in charge of San Francisco,let Janardan be in charge of Montreal . LetNandarani and Dayananda be in charge ofLos Angeles. And let Subal das be incharge of Santa Fe . In this way you willfollow my example as I did in the beginningat 26 2nd Ave . That is preaching,cooking, writing, talking, chanting everythingone man's show. I never thoughtabout the audience. I was prepared tochant if there were no man to hear me .The principle of chanting is to glorify theLord and not to attract a crowd . If Krishnahears nicely then he will ask some sinceredevotee to gather in such place. Therefore, be advised that thousands of centersmay be started if we find out a sincere soulfo r each and every center. We do not requiremore men to start. Ifthere is one sinceresoul that is sufficent to start a newcenter. With this expectation I wanted tosend Kirtananda to London but he hasproved himself unworthy. When I arrivein your state, I may ask Rayarama to go toLondon and your good self to Russia andGargamuni to Holland. The incident createdby Kirtananda and Hayagriva may notdisappoint us in the least. Let us remainsincere to Krishna andHis bon a fide representativeand we are sure to carry outour mission successfully. Hope you arewell .Yo ur ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-ll-7lith November, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Nov. 5, includingthe air waybill but before this, Ihad cleared the recordplayer paying a dutyof l20.ooRps. So there is no more anychance of getting back this money. Butyour timely dispatching the machine isvery much appreciated by Krishna and Ithank you very much fo r this prompt service.Regarding your telegram; I may informyou that I am starting sometime nextweek. I shall inform you as soon as I bookmy ticket of my time of arrival (ETA). Regardingyour business, I have seen manymerchants who will supply us incense,

NOVEMBER, 1967 247frankincense, sarees, musical instruments,dancing ghungru(jingle bells forfeet) etc . Hope you are wellYour ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-11-812th November, 1967My dear Subal ,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Nov. 4. Iam very soon coming to San Francisco. Iwill let you know the exact date sometimenext week. In Krishna Consciousnessthere is variety but there is no discord. Wemay fight with one another on the point ofserving but that is not a discord. We muststick to the service of the Lord very seriously& that will help us make progress.In this connection I have written one letter,to Brahmananda the portion in whichyou may be interested is sub-joinedherein."I do not want a crowd of Kirtanandas,but I want a single soul like Brahmananda,Mukunda, Rayarama & Satsvarupa . . . Ihave seen your statement regarding openingcenters. I am not in agreement withMr. Altman that we are expanding verythinly. In my opinion a single sincere soulcan maintain a center. You know, I startedthe center at 26 2nd Ave . alone. I took therisk of $200. rent. At that time there wereno assistants . Mukunda was a friend, butthere was no responsibility for him formaintaining the center. Gradually Kirtanandaand Hayagriva joined but they did nottake any responsibility. Still, I was maintainingthe establishement simply dependingon Krishna and then Krishna sent meeverything; men & money. Similarly, if asincere soul goes out and opens a center inany part of the part, Krishna will help himin all respects . Without being empoweredby Krishna nobody can preach KrishnaConsciousness. It is not academic qualificationor financial strength which helps inthe matter, but it is sincerity of purposewhich helps us always. Therefore I wishthat you will remain in charge of Boston.Let Mukunda be in charge of San Francisco.Let Janardan be in charge of Montreal, Nandarani and Dayananda be incharge of Los Angeles. And let Subal dasbe in charge of Santa Fe . In this way, youwill follow my example as I did in the beginningat 26 2nd Ave . That is preaching,cooking, writing, talking, chanting, everythingone man's show. I never thoughtabout the audience. I was prepared tochant even if there were no men present tohear me. The principle of chanting is toglorify the Lord & not to attract a crowd.If Krishna hears nicely then he will asksome sincere devotee to gather in suchplace. Therefore be advised that thousandsof centers may be started if we findout a sincere soul for each & every center."More when we meet. Hope you arewell.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Krishna devi,Please accept my blessings . Yo u willread the letter of your husband & try toknow my mind. I am coming very soon tosee you when everything will be adjusted.Hope you are well .Yours sincerely,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67- 11-913th November, 1967My dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings! I am indue receipt of your letter dated Nov. 8,1967. You have written to say that your

248 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiidawife and you have a problem on which yourequire my help. The whole world, beginningwith the highest planet to the lowestin this material world is facing this problem.Combination of husband and wife isa necessary satisfation of the sex urge.The foolish people see everyday this problematicsituation, still thy are not intelligentenough to avoid it. Training ofBramhacary life is especially meant forthis purpose, and a student is adviced notto indulge in sex life just to avoid theseproblems. It is very difficult to satisfy awoman by a person who has no good income,neither very good health. Thewoman as a class wants sufficient meansto eat, and decorate and at the same timefull satisfaction of sex. Any husband whocannot satisfy his wife by these threeitems, namely sufficient food, sufficientdress and ornament, and sufficient satisfactionof sex, must meet all these problems.And as soon as one becomesengaged in solving these problems it isvery difficult to make any progress inKrishna Consciousness. If one is seriousto make any success in the matter ofKrishna Consciousness, one should avoidthe association of woman as far as possible.Married life is a sort of licence to theincapable man who cannot avoid sex-life.On this statement, you can understandyour real position. I do not agree withyour wife's statement that New York is unfitfor human habitation. A real KrishnaConscious person can adjust things nicelyevenin hell. A fully Krishna Consciousperson is always in transcendental positionand he is not afraid of any place whichis so called, unfit for human habitation. AKrishna Conscious person is always satisfiedwhether in Vaikuntha or in hell. Hissatisfaction is not the particular place buthis sincere service attitude towardsKrishna. I have no objections if your wifeand you go to San Francisco and live therepeacefully as man and wife concentratingyour attention for Krishna Consciousness.Hope you are wellYour ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-11-1015th November, 1967My dear Bramhananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Nov. 9,1967 and have noted the contents verycarefuly. The Kirtananda incident is certainlyvery unhappy and your dealing withthe situation is quite appropriate. LordChaitanya composed the verse that oneshould be humbler than the straw andmore tolerant than the tree for chantingthe Holy Name of Krishna, but the sameAuthor learning the insult committedupon the person of Lord Nityananda becamefurious and the Lord wanted to immediatelykill the insulter. The idea is thatpersonally, one should be very meek andhumble even in the presence of greatestprovocation, but a slight insult to Krishnaand His Representative should at once betaken seriously and appropriate measuresshould be taken. We should never tolerateany insult or blasphemy to Krishna or HisRepresentative. So your action was quiteall right, but because we are in the publiceyes we have to act cautiously so that peoplemay not misunderstand. Anyway, forgetthe chapter, there is nothing to belamented. If thousands of Kirtanandas orHayagrivas come and go. We have to prosecuteour real program being sincere toKrishna and Krishna-Chaitanya. I am justready for starting for America but as youknow our competent government is veryslow in action. The P-form was submittedalmost a month ago, but still it is going underred tapism. The visa was granted tome within half an hour. The passagemoney was deposited within two days but

NOVEMBER, 1967 249unfortunately the Reserve Bank of India isdelaying the matter unnecessarily. I expectthe P-form at any moment and assoon as I get it I shall start for your country.I understand that you want Subal to goto Amsterdam but who will take care ofthe Sante Fe Temple? I think Subal and hiswife should take care of the Sante Fe Temple,as much as Dayananda and Nandaranishould take care of the Temple atLos Angeles. Once a center is opened itmust be maintained. A responsible manfor each center must be found out beforeopening. In your previous letter you wrotesomething about difficulties in our differentcenters, therefore you should be cautiousbefore opening any further centers.Regarding Gargamuni and Karunamayee'sproblem, I have already replied and ifrequired, you can see his letter.My dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letters, Nov. 7 & 8,1967. The incident of Kirtananda andHayagriva chapter may now be closed. Weshall always pray to Krishna for their recoveryand we should not seriously taketheir counter propaganda. I am sure theywill flap for some time without any effecton our Krishna Consiousness, service.Let us go ahead with our work and everythingwill be all right. Most importantthing at present is to deal with MacMillanCo. Regarding editing of my books it wasrightly entrustd to you from the very beginningbut Kirtananda wanted that theediting should be done by Hayagriva. ButI understand from your version that insome places of Gita Upanishad he has followedSwami Nikilananda who is quiteunaware of Krishna Consciousness. Bytheir present behavior it appears that Hayagrivabelongs to the same feather andKrishna has saved His Gita Upanishad bytransferring the whole thing into yourhands. Now please do your best and handit over to MacMillan Co. for necessaryaction. We have tried our best in the GitaUpanishad that Krishna the SupremePiersonality of Godhead is the SupremePerson and His energies acting impersonally.The divotees are primarily concernedwith the Supreme Personality ofGodhead, Krishna and His impersonalexpansion of energy is of secondary importanceto the devotees. Less intelligentasuras are attracted by the impersonalmanifestation because they have nochance to meet Krishna face to face. In thelast paragraph of your letter of the 7th, youhave mentioned very nobly that you canwork with me on the project of Srimad Bagawatamand it will be a great success ofmy mission if we jointly finish up completeBhagawatam published by MacMillionCo. The chance is there, let uscarefully handle up the situation and assoon as I return to the States, we shall takeup Srimad Bhagawatam in the same Spiritas I have published First Canto. The MSSof Canto two & three is ready and if wejointly work on the other 9 cantos I shallfeel very much obliged to you. If i canleave behind me the Srimad Bhagawatam,Gita Upanishad, and Lord Chaitanya'sTeachings, & if you continue to work inthe spirit of pure Krishna Consciousness,surely we shall be able to do some tangibleservice to Humanity at large. Hope youare wellYour ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta, Swami67-11-1118th November, 1967My dear Bramhananda,Please accept my blessings. Replyingyour letter of Nov. 9, I beg to inform youthat Kirtananda and Hayagriva 's recentstanding is being directly dealt by me; at

250 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadaleast Hayagriva is not as fanatic as Kirtananda.His latest letter reveals that he isnot out of Krishna Consciousness as weunderstand. The whole episode was generatedby personal grudge. This personalgrudge is not inhuman and as I have toldmany times, that individualism is thecause of personal misunderstanding.Whensuch individualism is employed inthe center of Krishna there is no harmeven if there is personal misunderstanding.Personal misunderstanding existseven in the higher levels. There is competitionof loving Krishna even in the partyof Srimati Radharani. It is a kind of rasa tocompete in loving affection centeringaround Krishna. We shall, therefore, tryto bring back Hayagriva and Kirtananda totheir senses. After all we must understandthat we are dealing with persons affectedby Maya. Every one of us is under the influenceof the external energy, Maya. Thebest way to get out of the clutches of Mayais to concentrate our attention in the lovingservice of Krishna. I understand thatHayagriva and Kirtananda are continuingto chant Hare Krishna is their center. Ihoope therefore they will not go astray andthe misunderstanding may be cleared upin due course of time. (Even amongst ourGod-brothers we have misunderstandingbut none of us is astray from the service ofKrishna. My Guru Maharaj ordered us toexecute his mission combinedly. Unfortunatelywe are now separated. But none ofus have stopped preaching Krishna Consciousness.Even if there was misunderstandingamongst the God-brothers of myGuru Maharaj none of them deviatedfrom the transcendental loving service ofKrishna. The idea is that provocation andmisunderstanding may remain betweenone man and another. But our staunchfaith in Krishna Consciousness may notallow any material disruption. Pleasetherefore try to be sympathetic with anyperson even if they differ. The only qualificationwe have toscrutinize is if one isacting in Krishna Consciousness as far asone is able to do it.)Regarding BTG, it is understood thatRayarama is in some difficulty financially.The recent editions of BTG is verymuch encouraging to me. The standardshould be maintained and improved sothat one day it may come on the level ofsuch magazines as Life, Time etc. If he isin difficulty financially I think you cangive him loan of $500.00 to be paid inmonthly installments of $100.00. As he isnow engaged in finishing Gita Upanishad,it is understood that he cannot work. Theediting of Gita Upanishad is already muchdelayed. I think it was in this month of Novemberlast year my compilation of GitaUpanishad was finished. The editingwork was firstentrusted with Rayarama,but as he could not finish it the work wastransferred to Hayagriva. In this way evenwithin one year the editing work could notbe finished. This is not very encouraging.Now it must be finished within threeweeks and hand it over to MacMillian Co.Today I shall go to the travel agent's officefor booking my seat and may start by nextMonday or Tuesday. In my next letter Ishall let you and Mukunda know of myjourney from Calcutta to San Francisco,via Bangkok, Hong Kong etc . Hope youare well.My dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. I have advisedBrarnhananda to give you loan of$500.00 from the funds which are setaside by Brahmananda for publicationof my books. The condition is that aspromised by you, you must return themoney by monthly installments of$100.00. Please be always strongly fixedup in the Lotus Feet of Krishna, just as thebees are fixed up in the honey comb. Thisstaunch affection for Krishna will save us

NOVEMBER, 1967 251from all kinds of dangers created byMaya. You know it very well that the materrialenergy is so strong that it captivatesthe spiritual spark, living entity and theonly remedy is to cling to the Lotus Feet ofKrishna. This age is especially meant fordissention, therefore whenever there issuch occsaion we should simply call forfor the help of Krishna. Our task is veryheavy because we have declared was argainstMaya. She will always try to defeatus or even kill us but we can always besaved by clinging unto the Lotus Feet ofKrishna. Kindly remember this secret ofour success and try to convince all yourGod-brothers on this point. Hope you arewell.Your ever well-wisherA.C.Bhaktivedanta, Swami67-11-1321st November, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. Today Ihave booked my seat for San Francisco.Please inform this news to all the devotees,My spiritual sons and daughters. Ihave sent you one cablegram reading asfollows;Arriving 24th November12:45 P. M.By PAA 846More when we meet. Hope you arewellYour ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-11-12 Calcutta21st November, 196767-11-1422 November, 1967My dear Pradyumna, Satsvarupaand Judarani,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letters but have no time to replythem in detail as I am busy makinghasty preparations to leave for the USA. Ishall arrive on 24th November, 12:45P. M. San Francisco time.Killing proposal is not good. We haveto kill them with arguments and reasonsnot with sticks and weapons.Judarani-I am very glad that you wantto kill the non-devotees. You should, however,leave the matter to your good Godbrotherswho will take care of it. I ampleased to learn of your spirit of protest,but sometimes we have to tolerate. Hopeyou are wellYour ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. You willbe pleased to know that I am arriving inSan Francisco on Nov. 24 at 12:45 PM byPan Am. flight no. 846. I've sent thisnews to Mukunda. I am enclosing a separateletter authorizing you to sign the contractin my behalf. I've already written aletter to D.S. Agarwal and when he goesthere Achyutananda will see him personallyto settle up the matter. The booksfrom Swami Bon are already with theshipping agent and will be sent with all mybooks mridangams and kartals on the 7thof December.Hope you are well,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

252 Letters from Srrla Prabhupiida67-11-1522nd November, 1967Mr. Bruce Scharfc/o Iskcon Inc.26 Second avenueNew York 10003 NYDear Mr. Scharf,I hereby authorise you to sign the contractwith Messrs. Macmillon and Co. inthe matter of publishing my Geetopanisad.You are also authorized to recievepayment on my behalf.Yours sincerely,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-11-1623rd November, 1967My dear Woomapati,Please accept my blessings . I am soglad to receive your letter dated 15th Nov.1967. You're very anxious to see me backin New York and I may inform you that Ihad settled to be in San Francisco on the24 of Nov. but due to a petty revolation inCalcutta I am not able to leave. Future arrangementsare pending. I wish to go fromSan Francisco to the other two newbranches and then return to New Yo rk. Iam so glad to learn that you are now gettingthe fruit of chanting Hare Krishna.Hare Krishna is so nice that it clears thedirty things from the mind of the devoteeand the more one is used to chant the HolyName offencelessly, the more one developslove of God, forgetting the wholematerial nonsense. [It is my duty to deliveryou the right thing in right earnestnessand it is the duty of the receiver to actin the standard spiritual regulation. Whenyou left us I simply prayed to Krishna foryour return to Krishna Consciousness becausethat was my duty. Any good soulwho approaches me once for spiritual enlightenmentis supposed to be dependingon my responsiblity to get him back toKrishna, back to home. The disciple maymisunderstand a bonafide spiritual masterbeing obliged to do so under pressure ofMaya's influence. But a bonafide spiritualmaster never lets go a devotee once accepted.When a disciple misunderstands abonafide spiritual master, the master regretsfor his inablity to protect the discipleand sometimes he cries with tears in theeyes. We had an experience while myGuru Maharaj was alive. One of His discipleswho accepted sannyas was one dayforcibly draged by his wife. My Guru Maharajlamented with tears in His eyes sayingthat He could not save the soul.] Weshould always, therefore, be careful in thematter of being attacked by Maya's influenceand the only means of guarantee is tochant Hare Krishna offencelessly. Thegreatest offence is to defy the spiritualmaster and to act sinfully, thinking in thestrength of chanting. If a man thinks thatchanting will save him from all kinds ofsinful reaction deliberately committed byhim, then he becomes the greatest offender.By chanting Hare Krishna certainlywe become free from all sinfulreactions, but that does not mean that weshall deliberately commit sins and counteractit by chanting. Your reference toKirtananda and Hayagriva is very nicelyappreciated. We shall silently pray forthem to Krishna and shed tears for themfor our inablity to save them. Let us honestlypray and go ahead with KrishnaConsciousness. More when we meet.Hope you are wellYour ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Lynn,Please accept by blessings. I am in duereceipt of your letter (undated) and I thankyou for it. It is very nice and encouraging.Krishna Consciousness is so nice that ifone takes part in it in either ways, like

NOVEMBER, 1967 253hearing, chanting, remembering, worshipping,praying, or even simply by eatingprasadam, the transcendental effectwill be visible. I am very glad that youhave developed these nice sentiments andnow you are living with other devotees. Ifyou continue like this I am sure you willmake rapid progress in Krishna Consciousness.I am returning to San Franciscovery soon and soon after that I shallgo to your city also. When I meet you ,surely you shall be initiated. I thank youonce more for you nice appreciation.67-11-1723rd November, 1967My dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter Nov. 19, 1967and I am sending by air mail the purportsof verses 16-28 of the Ninth chapter.Please set them nicely and at the end ifyou add the general purport which youhave written, I have no objections. My returnto your country is already settled. Myticket was booked for starting on 23rdNov. but due to certain political strike mystarting has been held up. I think that everythingwill be alright by the end of thisweek and I may start by Monday next viaJapan.You may not write anything to MissBowtell. I think she will not be helpful inour scheme. The best thing is that you finishup the Gita Upanishad hand it over toMessrs. Macmillian Co. and then makepractical progress to start for England.Certainly I shall be in need of your assistancein finishing Srimad Bhagwatam. Onmy return I shall make practical progressso that both of us may go on compilingSrimad Bhagawatam and opening differentcenters in all parts of the world simultanously.We are completely dependenton the Supreme will of Krishna. Letus try our best to serve Him and He willgive us all facilities in our mission. OurSan Francisco friends may be very anxiousbecause I sent them two telegrams,one informing of my arrival and the othercancelling it. You can inform them of thereal position as you understand by this letter.The booklets which you have sent arevery much appreciated. Printing and paintingare our life back bone. Our nice Guruwho have been sentto us by Krishna aretrying their best and I am sure we shall besuccessful. More when we meet. Hopeyou are well. Convey by blessings to allprabhus.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-11-1828th November, 1967My dear Nandarani,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter dated Nov. 16,1967. I was as much anxious to return toSan Francisco and then to your place LosAngeles. It was almost finalized that Ishould start on the 23rd Nov. but due tothe political strikes in Calcutta things havetaken a different tum. I am just waiting forthe opportune moment. Most probablyeverything will be alright by the end ofthis week and I am start for your countryby Monday next via Japan. Anyway, I amreaching your place as soon as possible.In the meantime have some patience tillmy arrival . I am very sorry that Subal dashas assumed such air of importance. Weshould always remember that we are onthe path of perfection, but we are not perfect.If Subal das or anyone thinks that hehas attained perfection he will be wronglydirected. I have asked you all to addressyour Godbrothers as prabhu. This prabhumeans boss. If everyone of us thinks of hisfellow worker as boss there is no question

254 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadaof misunderstanding. The mistake is thatbeing addressed as boss or prabhu onethinks himself as exactly Prabhu or theboss. One should not forget himself ashumble servant even though one is addressedas prabhu. The spiritual master isoffered respects as they are offered to theSupreme Lord. Unfortunately ifthe spiritualmaster thinks that he has become theSupreme Lord then he is doomed. Abonafide spiritual master always think ofhimself as the servant of the Lord. Oneshould never forget __ be humble indealings. If everyone of us would conductour business in that spirit of prabhuand servant then there is very littlechance of being misunderstood. Sometimesmisunderstanding may take placebut it should be adjusted in a spirit of serviceattitude to the prabhu. I know thatmy presence is very urgently required.Arrangement is already completed circumstancesalone have checked mydeparture. Please therefore don't be worried.I am coming to your place within afortnight. Convey my blessings to Dayanandaand others. I amYour ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

DECEMBER67- 12-17th December, 1967My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I'm in duereceipt ofyour letter of Nov. 30, and I dulyappreciate your program for Europeantour, as well as coming to India for doingbusiness. Actually we are experiencingIndian business dealing as not veryprompt. The best thing is therefore to purchasegoods ourselves from the firm,pack and book it all ourselves. SS Brijbasihas taken so much time for nothing, theydo not even reply letters, but on the otherhand they have promptly delivered Mukunda's order, this means that businessmanaging is not regular. You can send thecopy of the letter to Achyutananda inwhich they have acknowledged payment.Achyutananda and Ramanuja will returnto Vrindaban next week and I am startingfor Japan on Sun or Mon positively. I shalltry to get some Friends there and also tryto meet Prof Rudolf stein in Hawaii.While I shall try to open somebranches in the Pacific you can also try toopen branches in parts of Europe as youhave suggested in your letter under reply.I'm trying to find out some reliable manwho can purchase goods and book thempersonally. If you come here it will be anice idea, but you should come withmoney, purchase the goods and book themimmediately. Air cargo will be too costly,we have already sent 1 tanpura to Mukundaand the cost was 1 06rs. but aircargo was 1 , 100 rs . So you cannot dobusiness by paying 1 1 times more than thecost for freight. Regarding books I've alreadyconsigned along with mridangamsharmoniums kartals and beads & bags. Ihave arranged for supplying incense witha gentleman here and I'm taking sampleswith me. Similarly I've arranged forsending spices and frankincense. Thecontact with Macmillan should be finishedbefore you leave. Your journey, asyou have suggested is important for yourtouring in Europe. We cannot expect anytangible help from Miss Bowtell. She isnot my godsister but a disciple of my godbrother.The best thing will be to start acenter independently.Regarding beautifying the temple, weshould always know that every place istemporary, but wherever we live weshould decorate and beautify it forKrishna, so go on decorating our templeas nicely as possible. Hope you are wellYour ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-1 2-28th December, 1967My dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. You willbe glad to know that after the petty troublein Calcutta and the city being normal, Ihave today booked my ticket for San Franciscovia Tokyo. I am starting on Wednesdaymorning (Dec. 13) reaching Tokyothe same day. I shall rest there for 24 hoursand then start for San Francisco arrivingat 12:45 p.m. on Dec. 14 by flight PAA846. I have got one general introductionletter from the mayor of Calcutta and itmay be that I shall be meeting important

256 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadapeople there.You will be glad to know that I have arrangedwith Messrs. Dwarkin & Son, 8/2Esplanade East, Calcutta- !, to supply allknids of musical instruments to our societyat a special discount of 20%. Ramanujahas already written you about thisthing. There is one company, the"American Mail Line" Navigation Servicefrom Calcutta to San Francisco, LosAngeles, etc . They have got their office inSan Francisco at #60 1 California Street.You can see the manager there and try toget free or concessional freight service forour temple goods. The only thing is thatyou have to impress upon them thatKrishna Consciousness is an internationalorganization for invoking man's dormantspiritual life. You can show him our otherliteratures, records and activities to convincehim in this regard. Yo u can also informthem that on the other side (Calcuttato New York) the Scindia Steam NavigationCo. has already given us facilities.We have also arranged for incense supplywith a nice factory in Calcutta. I am carryingwith me some varieties of samples.On the whole I have fixed up the carryingco., the musical co. , the incence supplyco., the cloth supply co., and all otherthings which you might require from India.You have no difficulty in gettingthings and you can chalk out your ownprogram. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-12-3 Calcutta8th December, 1967My dear Krishna Devi and Subal das,Please accept my blessings. I am gladto learn that you are going to re-open yourSanta Fe temple. Please make it a pointthat once a center is opened should not beclosed. I have already given charge of sixtemples to six boys. You and your husbandmust take charge of the Santa Fe centerand Krishna will bestow all blessingsupon you. I shall be very soon one of yourguests. Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta, Swami67-12-412th December, 1967My dear Bramhananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of Your letter Dec. 2, 1967with great pleasure. I am so glad to learnthat we are receiving orders for our recordsfrom far distant places. It is allKrishna's mercy. You will be pleased toknow that I have purchased my ticket forNew York via Tokyo and San Francisco. Iam starting tomorrow morning at ninethirty.By evening reaching Tokyo viaBangkok and Hong Kong. I shall rest 24hours in Tokyo and on the 14th at night, Iam starting for San Francisco. By localtime I am reaching San Francisco on thesame day, the 14th at 12:45 p.m. byP. A.A. 846. Yesterday I have sent one telegramto this effect, and I hope I shallreach there safely as scheduled . I am soglad to learn that Satyabrata and yourselfare trying to get the teachings of LordChaitanya published. You do not knowhow pleased I am to hear this news. Whenone book is published I think I have conqueredan empire. So try to publish asmany books as possible and that will enhancethe beauty and prestige of our society.The Ramakrishna mission hasnothing to say substantial but because theyhave money and have published so manyrubbish literatures they have become verycheaply popular. You can just imagin howmuch powerful our society will become

DECEMBER, 1967 257when we have as many substantial literaturespublished. We should not only publishin English but also in other importantlanguages such as French and German.I've also noted down your program forEuropean tour. I am very glad that you arepreparing the ground work for startingour centers in London, Amsterdam andBerlin. It may be that we can add anotherin Tokyo. Ye s, we must have hundreds ofsuch branches fo r preaching KrishnaConsciousness all over the world. I havealready made arrangements for supply ofSarees, incense, musical instruments,mridangams, cartals, spices, etc. I amalso arranging to print 2 volumes of SrimadBhagawatam in Delhi. Achutanandaand Ramanuja are going back to Vrindabanon the 15th after sending me off forSan Francisco.I am already in negotiations with thegovernment of Rajasthan for securing onepalace in Vrindavan. This house is perhapsthe best house not only in Vrindabanbut also it is one of the best palaces in allof India. When you arrive in India youwill see it and you will be pleased. I amleaving behind my dictaphone and whenyou come here you will take it back to me.I quite appreciate your program for contributing$3 ,000.oo in the matter of publishingTeaching of Lord Chaitanya.Please finish the contract with MacMillan,take $1,000 .00 from them, add$ 1,000.00 from the reserve fund to you,and take $1 , 000. 00 from Satyabrata andget the book published immediately. Youshould not waste too much time for editingas we have done in the matter of Gita Upanishad.If there is good English it is welcomebut we should not edit as Hayagrivahas replaced "devotional service" with"knowledge of self' . Knowledge of self isnot complete until one is actually engagedin devotional service. There are manycitizins who have complete sence of nationalknowledge but out of many of them,one who is engaged in national servicelike Washington or Gandhi, he becomesthe most prominent with national consciousness.Similarly, when one is maturein knowledge of self, he must knows whatis the duty of the self. The impersonalistdue to poor fund of knowledge, forgets ofthe self. They are much concerned for beingfreed of all duties which is not possibleby the living force. The living force is alwaysdynamic, therefore the living entitycannot stop discharging duties. Real dutybegins in Krishna Consciousness. Theimpersonalist cannot accommodate suchspiritual activities of devotional servicetherefore they are satisfied only by socalledknowledge of self. I shall expectyour reply in San Francisco. With Blessingsfor all your God-brothers and sisters,lamYour ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanata, Swami67- 12-512th December, 1967My dear Jadurani,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter Dec. 3, 1967.You have described in your letter that mypresence again before you will be wonderful.I quite agree with you . Your sincereprayer to Lord Nrishingadeva is helpingme to recuperate my health., and you willbe glad to know that I am arriving at SanFrancisco on 14 Dec. at 12;45 pm by PAA846. I can understand that you are allthinking of me 24 hrs and therefore Satsvarupahad a dream that I had gone to Bostonand was enjoying your company.Similarly, I also think of you all, especiallyof you because you are so nice andgood. I understand also, there was a Kirtanperformance given by Shri Puma das.You have rightly remarked whether theyare devotees. You are right. These people

258 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidaare professional singers. Krishna Kirtan isnot for earning livelihood. Krishna Kirtanis not meant for entertaining the public fo rdemonstration of arts . It is dynamic serviceto the Lord. We do not therefore mindso much about the artistic presentation ofKrishna Kirtan but we want to see howmuch a devotee is satisfing the SupremeWill. The pictures of Lord Krishna andHis expansions are particularly meant forgiving chance to the neophytes for offeringdevotional service. It was very nicethat Purna das offered respects to theSamkirtan painting. That will enlargeKrishna Consciousness. Yo ur programnfo r publishing pictures in details of greatauthorities like Bhishma and others isvery much appreciated. I am so glad tolearn that Rayarama, Satsarupa, yourself,Goursundar, Govindarani and others aredoing so much for improving BTG. I quiteappreciate your endeavours and you mustcontinue the Mahajan series, and whenevernecessary you can ask me for necessaryinformations. I would advice, unlessthere is dire necessity, you should not divertyour attention from painting. Somehowor other you have to manageeverything in full cooperation, but yourmain engagement is painting. Your Godbrothers,Achutananda and Ramanuja dasare doing well here. We very much appreciateyour offering of respects and theywish to convey the same to you . Hope youare well.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta, Swami67- 12-6San Francisco14th December, 1967My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. On my arrivalin San Francisco amongst my sincerespiritual sons, daughters and practicallyin my spiritual home in U.S.A., I was soglad to receive your encouraging letter ofDecember 23 , 1967 . I have already sentyou the purports of each and every slokathat you sent me for correction. I hope youmay have received them by this time. Ifnot, please write me and I shall send youanother copy.Regarding your last but one paragraphof your letter under reply. I may informyou that you cannot be fool as you havehumbly expressed yourself. Better to remainan ever fool before the spiritual master.But if a disciple is actually fool itreflects on the spritual master. To think ofbecoming a fool is the real qualificationfor a bonafide disciple. As soon as onethinks that he has become the wiser manthan the spiritual master one is surelydoomed. We should remain everlastinglya fool before the spiritual master. Not artificiallybut feelingly and then we canmake real progress. Even my spritualmaster a great scholar remained a socalled fool before His spiritual masterWho was outwardly an illiterate villagefellow. So in the Absolute world the fool isalso the master and the master is also afool in reciprocal exchange of dealings.Lord Chaitanya also accepted Himself agreat fool before His spiritual master andall of us must follow the transcendentalprocess.Regarding Miss Bowtell I have alreadywritten to you . If Pandit Rupavilas Brahmachariwrites you in this connection youcan reply him as I shall say. We cannotwrite directly to Rupavilas Brahmachary.If the Gaudiya H.Q. wants our cooperationwhy Miss Bowtell does not write RupavilasBrahmachary. Otherwise end thenegotiation, we shall do everything independently.Yes, you ignore the request ofMiss Bowtell!As soon as you finish the Geetopanishadbusiness and the matter is

DECEMBER, 1967 259handed over to the McMillian Co. we beginon the Bhagwatam work without delay.Bhagvatam must be finished beforemy mortal body stops to work and yourhelp in this connection will be very muchhelpful. Yo u can stop for the time beingthe London scheme. Brahmananda isshortly going there and after his return,we may all go together to London and starta branch there in grand scale, so also inAmsterdam and in Berlin or Moscow. Wehave to save the world-people from themisconception of voidism and impersonalism. "The absolute is sentient Thou hastproved all impersonal calamity Thou hasmoved." These lines were presented byme to my spritual master and He washighly pleased with me. Let me follow thesame principle and my Guru Maharaj willbless me. I have always my good wishesand blessings for you all because you areco-operating in a great mission. Thankyou .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN. B. This evening I expected your call at7 p.m. but I could not. At 7/10 pm I began,my class lasted for 1 1/2 hours andthen I left the temple.ACB67-12-7 San Francisco16th December, 1967My Dear Advaita dasPlease accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated November20, 1967.Ye s, you can marry but wait until myarrival in N.Y. very soon. I have verymuch enjoyed your appreciation of myhumble service to Krishna.Hope you are well.your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67- 12-816th December, 1967My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I was somuch happy to receive your letter Nov.21, 1967, on my arrival . I hope in themeantime you have received my letterfrom Calcutta. I also hope you might havereceived some pictures which were sentfrom Calcutta . If you can, send one offsetcopy of the horses and chariot of Arjuna.Govinda dasi may draw a small picture ofthe same chariot for printing on the frontpage of Back to Godhead.When I left your country on the 22ndof July, I had very little hope to come backagain. But Krishna informed me that I'mnot going to die immediately; therefore, Ihave come back again to get inspiration ofKrishna Consciouness from you all goodsouls. Although officially I am your SpiritualMaster, I consider you all students asmy Spiritual Master because your love forKrishna and service for Krishna teach mehow to become a sincere Krishna Consciousperson.Yes, as I told you before , you can sendall the different varieties of pictures toevery center, especially the Samkirtanpicture and Radha-Krishna picture. Asyou asked, the Pancha Tattwa paintingsalso.I understand that there are only threepersons at Boston, but each of you canwork for 300 persons, so it is not the numericalstrength that works, but it isKrishna Consciousness that works. AKrishna Conscious person is never tiredof working and the symptoms I can see inyou as you want to be overloaded withwork. This is the test of how one is advancingin Krishna Consciousness. Nobodybecomes tired but wants to workmore and more. Your God-brother

260 Letters from Srila PrabhupadaSatsvarupa also told me the same thing thathe may be overloaded with typewritingwork. Similarly, Govinda dasi and Goursundaralso want to be overloaded withwork. So your examples are great encouragementfor an old man like me. I have gotthe same spirit of being overloaded withKrishna Conscious work, but physically Iam not as strong as you are all young boysand girls. You can pray to Krishna that Imay get your strength to serve the cause ofKrishna Consciousness.Please convey my blessings to Satsvarupaand Pradyumna. Inform Satsvarupathat very soon I'm going tooverload him with tapes for typing. Mydictaphone is a little out of order (Gargamunihas taken charge of repairing it) andas soon as I get it back my work on SrimadBhagwatam will begin. At the presentmoment, I have got some difficulty insleeping. I cannot sleep more than 3 hoursat night, and I hour in day. So if it continueslike that, and if I keep fit, I think Ishall have ample time to work writingbooks.Hope you are well.Your Ever Well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Satswarupa,Please accept my blessings & conveythe same to Pradyumna & others. Imissed your telephone call but I understandthat your center is doing well. WhenI go to New Yo rk I shall go to Boston. Iunderstand that Damodar has gone toN.Y. with manuscript of Teachings ofLord Chaitanya. I thank you for your sincereservice. I pray Krishna for your more& more improvement in Krishna Consciousness.Your ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67- 1 2-916th December, 1967My dear Suabl das,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter of 12114/67 andhave noted the contents carefully. I hop inthe meantime you have received my letterposted yesterday. I have already advisedyou that once a center opens it cannot beclosed. Therefore my advise is that SrimatiKrishna devi may look after the centerfor a few days during your absence forN.Y. when the things are mature andcome back within 2 or 3 days. And for 2or 3 days Srimati Krishna devi will manageand Krisnna will give her all protection,don'g worry. I have already givenyou a business suggestion namely manufacturingincense locally. Once you aresuccessful in this attempt you will getmoney more than your expectation andspend it for Krishna's service. I hope youwill understand me right and do the needful.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67- 12-10 San Francisco16th December, 1967My Dear Daughter Krishna devi,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to know that Krishna did not allowyou to do something that was not His plan.Krishna wanted that both you and yourhusband must be engaged in organisingnice center. Jayananda is unique devotee.He paid you sincerely and therefore assoon as you reached Santa Fe you foundout a good place better than the formerplace. Please utilise your energy in thisgood task as I am sure success is awaitingyou .If there is labor cheap you can organise

DECEMBER, 1967 261there some incense manufacturing concern.I wish that in every center we shallnow manufacture incense very goodquality. The only thing you have to assuredto get the splinters or the thin sticks.If you think it will be possible to get, thenimmediately start the work. The ingredientsare the splinters, charcoal, starch orgum and essential oils. It will be very lucrativebusiness and the profits will besufficient to maintain the center once youbegin the work. I will give you many businessideas by which you can accumulatenice profits. For business four things arerequired. Namely place, labour, capitaland organisation. For incense we have alreadyorganisation. Little capital you aregathering. The poverty place means youcan get cheap labour and the place youhave already in your possession. Guidance,I am present. So do it immediatelyand there will be no scarcity of money. Ihope you understand me right.Be an ideal couple of husband and wifein your country. Be Krishna Conciousnessby full cooperation of husband and wifeand you be happy both in this and the nextlife also . Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Subal,Please accept my blessings. On my arrivalfrom India I am very much pleased toreceive your letter of 12/13/67 and muchencouraged to know that you have againfound out a nice place in the city of SantaFe to continue your transcendental activities.I think it was Krishna's desire thatyou should be induced to find out a betterplace in Santa Fe . My Guru Maharajnever liked to open a Branch preachingcenter in a place where there is less population.We are not meant for living peacefullyin a secluded place. We are meantfor recuiting Krishna's eternal servantsand therefore a better populated place. Ofcourse we don't neglect the villagementbut our first preference is to the cities.Please therefore organize the place nicely.Both you and Srimati Krishna devi aresincere worker for Krishna Consciousnessand as such Krishna will never putyou in difficulty, rest assured. Don't bediscouraged. Sit down tightly husbandand wife. If nobody comes to hear, pleasechant and hear yourself. Success or failuredoes not matter. On the Absoluteworld there is no such relativities as a successand failure . The one thing in the Absoluteworld is to serve Krishna. Don'tcare for the result. Krishna must knowthat we are working very seriously andthat is our success of life.I have explained tonight in the templemeeting that Krishna does not live inVaikuntha nor does He live in the hearts ofthe yogi. But He lives there where Hispure devotees chant His glories. You neednot go to India spending money. Whentime will be mature I[PAGE MISSING]67-12-1117th December, 1967My Dear Blanche Hochner,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter Nov. 21. I replylate because I have come back to SanFrancisco on the 14th Dec. I can understandyour position in Krishna Consciousnessfrom your letter and I reply it appearsthat Krishna Consciousness is acting uponyou. You very rightly say that we cannotreally give anything to Krishna becauseeverything belongs to Him already.Therefore the energy which we have receivedfrom Krishna should be utilized forKrishna's service. Devotional servicemeans to apply one's energy in the serviceof Krishna. That is the instruction of theBhagavad Gita . You know that all our girl

262 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadadisciples are applying their energy in theservice of Krishna. Jadurany, Govindadasi, and other girls, they are very sincerelyapplying their energy in the serviceof Krishna and I wish that you also do thesame. Ye s, we cannot understand aboutKrishna with our limited potency andsenses, but if we engage ourselves in theservice of the Lord , He will reveal Himselfto the faithful servitor.Adwaita has written me about yourmarriage. I think both of you should wait alittle more till my arrival in N.Y. I shallpersonally perform your marriage ceremony.Yo u have rightly said that learningmore and more about Krishna makes youso happy. The more we learn aboutKrishna from the authoratative sources,the more we can be attached in KrishnaConsciousness. I shall chant all the beadstoday at the time of the initiation and sendyou by post tomorrow. Yo ur initiatedname will be Balai dasi.Hope you are well.Your ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-12-12 San Francisco17th December, 1967My Dear Indira dasi (Iris Mendoza) andMy Dear Ekayani dasi (Esther Mendoza),Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letters and I am veryglad to note the contents. I can understandthat you have considerably advanced inKrishna Consciousness because yourheart is simple. Girls and women are generallyvery soft hearted and they takethings very easily, but then there is alsochance of being misled . So you chant theHoly Name of Krishna and Krishna willkeep you from being misled .Last night there was initiation ceremonyin which your beads were sanctified. Yo u' II take on string of small beadsfo r sticking on your neck and the biggerones you can chant according to the rules.There are 10 kinds of offenses inchanting Hare Krishna and everyoneshould avoid such offenses. They arelisted on the paper and you can have itfrom Brahmananda. Krishna Consciousnessis very nice, simple, and sublime. Ifyou stick to this principle, undoubtedlyyou 'II be happy both in this life and nextlife.For the present you should continuegoing to school because education is important.Without education nobody hasany social position and all our students inKrishna Consciousness are expected to bepreachers. So preachers must have sufficienteducation because they have to meetwith so many opposing elements. Educationshould be continued at the same timechanting should be continued. There willbe no difficulty.I am very glad to learn you are chanting48 rounds. Actually it is all right thatone should chant 64 rounds, even 16rounds, so if one is able to chant morethan 16 rounds up to 64, it is very good.Yo u fix up your rounds. Try to increaseit but never decrease it.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67- 12-13 San Francisco21st December, 1967My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings . Yo urhandwritten letter of 12/18/67 is a greatpleasure. Your handwritten letter is morevaluable than type written. Regarding Damodar'splight, we are very sorry but wemust always expect that some of the weaksoldiers may fall down in a fight wagedagainst the great Maya external energy of

DECEMBER, 1967 263Krishna. The sex attaction is very great inthe material world. But in the spiritualworld it is different. From SrimadBhagwatam we know that the opposite sexnamely the female members of Vaikunthaare many many times more beautiful thanthey are in the heavenly planets. Theirhips and attractive smiles cannot stimulatesex urge passion of the man or maledevotees. In the Vaikuntha planets the opulenceis very great and yet they are all engagedin the transcendental loving serviceof the Lord. It is very difficult to conquerover the influence of Maya , but whofirmly fixed up in Krishna Conciousnesscannot be a victim of Maya. Anyway, wecannot stop our fighting with Maya, neitherwe can expect that all our soldierswill remain unhurt. You know Arjun's sonAbhimanya was killed in the battle inwhich Bhismadeva was a party. FightKrishna's cause sincerely and you will begloried with victory. I was glad to hearfrom Gargamuni that you refused to setme in the N.Y. Times colums along withthe other so called Swamis or yogis. Wehave a distinct position that we are neithercheated nor cheaters. We are the genuinerepresentative of Krishna who is thefriend of all living creatures. We mustplay our part independently only on faithin Krishna and His bonafide representatives.Krishna was very kind to me when Hesent you to me for cooperating. My heartythanks for you when you write to say that"Krishna Consciousness is the full perfectionof life" . Lord Chaitanya was eulogisedby Rupa Goswami as the latterunderstood that Lord Chaitanya was thereto distribute Krishna Consciousness. Theonly gift for the humanity at large. LordChaitanya wanted that the message shouldbe distributed in every village and town ofthe globe. Let us do this service as far aspossible in all seriousness. We can notmake any compromise with anyone forcheap popularity.Regarding the Teachings of LordChaitanya, it must be very nice. I thinkDainippon Printing Company agreed toprint our books 6 112x9 112" size best paper400 pages I 0 to 12 point compositionwith best hard back binding with gold letteringon the backbone at $5000.00 fo r5000 copies. I think you will immediatelycontact the company and send the manuscriptfor printing without any delay.Contact Dwarkadish and he will helpyou in this connection. He is good boy.Regarding business, Gargamuni has alreadybegan the experiment and he willsend the estimate for starting the business.If Mr. Kallman wants we can import eitherfrom India or from Japan.When you go to India, you let me knowand I shall give you some introductory lettersto Calcutta, Bombay, Delhi, Nabadwipa,Jaipur, Kanpur, etc. Perhapsyou have to visit Udaipur also. But in Europewherever you will go, you must arrangefor opening a centre. May Krishnagive you more and more strength my dearchild. I am very poor but Krishna is veryrich. I can simply pray to Krishna. ButKrishna is very great and magnanimous;He can do everything for you and for usall. Thanking you once more. Hope youare well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. While going to India please takewith you the empty typewriter box ( Olympia).This typewriter is with Achyutanandaand the case (box) is requiredthere. And when you come back, youplease bring back my personal books (3 or4) left with Achyutananda.I am making here a series of lecture onK. C. yoga system. They are tape recorded.If Mr. Kallman wants to makesome gramophone records on this seriesof lectures, he can do so at least in thoselong time records. Please talk with him

264 Letters from Srila Prabhupiidaand let me know if he is agreeable.I think the magnetic tapes for Dictaphoneare lying in my compartment. If soplease send them here and oblige.Gargamuni 's first experiment inDhupa mfg. has come out very successful. He is making more & more experiment.67-12-1421st December, 1967My Dear Krishna devi,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of Dec. 21 ,1967. And I am glad to learn that you aregetting strength in Krishna Consciousnessso that you have decided to remain in theTemple in the absence of your husband.This is very nice. We should learn to dependon Krishna more and more. Actually,Krishna is always guiding us asSupersoul, but due to our forgetfulness,we do not understand that Krishna isfriend everlasting. With advance ofKrishna Consciousess one is able to realizethat Krishna is always with Hisdevotees-not only with His devotees,also with the non-devotees, but the devoteescan recognize His Presence and thenon-devotees cannot. The more you makeadvancement in Krishna Consciousnessyou will see Krishna everywhere. Notonly on the bank of the river, but also onstreets, trees, lampposts, and so on. Themore you see like that you know you aremaking tangible advancement in KrishnaConsciousness. Actually, there is nothingbut Krishna all around us. This is explainedin the Gita. He is the taste of water,light of the moon, the fragrance of theflower, light of the sun, sound of the sky,the power of the strong and so on. so onewho is actually making progress inKrishna Consciousness, he can seeKrishna everywhere. At every stage oflife, who can avoid the sunlight, themoonlight, the fragrance of the flower,the taste of the water, the sound of the sky,and so on; but one has to learn it, thatthere is Krishna in all these varieties of existence.Without Krishna there is nothing.It is simply by the influence of Maya thatwe forget the relationship of Krishna witheverything that be.Simply always chant Hare Krishna andwith faith in Krishna and the SpiritualMaster. I am very glad Krishna is helpingyou and He will help you more and morein the future.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-12-15 San Francisco21st December, 1967My Dear Rayarama,please accept my blessings. My firstconcern is that you are not eating well. Itis a case of anxiety. Please don't eat daland spices. Simply boiled vegetables, riceand a few chapatis. Take butter separatelyand eat only as much as you may requirefor taste. Drink milk twice, morning andevening. Don't eat at night. Eat somefruits in the evening. Use some digestivepill after each principle meal. I thinksoda-mint tablets will help. Be carefulabout your health first. This informationis not only for you but all my noble sons. Iam an old man. I may live or die it doesnot matter. But you must live for long timeto push on this Krishna Consciousnessmovement.I hope you have received all my lettersand the purports of Gita which I sent youfrom Calcutta.I am anxious to know about Damodar.What happens to him. If he is in need ofsex, who forbids him. A man in sexlife isnot negleted by us. The only thing wewant, that sex life can be allowed only in

DECEMBER, 1967 265married couples. So get him convincedabout it. What is the reason that he wantsto leave us? It is understood that the finishedMSS. of the Teachings of LordChaitanya is with him; whether he has deliveredthis final MSS. to Brahmanandafor printing purpose? Please inform meabout this. Too much editing is not required.If Satswarup has already edited it,there is no need of further editing. Pleasesend me the address of Dwarkadish. Hehad some correspondence with DP DaiNippon Printing Co. of Japan. If possiblewe may get the T. L. C. printed from Japanor in Holland as you informed me, atchapter rate. Please talk with your Godbrothersand let me know about it.So far my health is concerned, youknow that it is a broken old house. Youcannot expect as good as you are doing. Somy future hope is you all good spiritualsons. Still I am taking as much care aspossible. My only desire is that you allgood boys may take up the matter very seriously.I am very sorry fo r Hayagriva andKirtananda who have left me when I needthem very much. Krishna may give themgood sense and let them come back towork with me.Hope you are well. Offer my blessingsto Brahmananda and others. Please sendme the third Canto English translation ofthe Srimad Bhagwatam done by the GitaPress. You got these copies from the GitaPress for reference. I want the third canto,please send as soon as possible. Thankingyou once more,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-12-1623rd December, 1967My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. Your letterdated Dec. ·15 in hand. I am very glad toknow that you are helping your Godbrothersin Boston, just like the Queen ofKing Jadu. King Jadu was a very powerfulKing and Jadurany was his contant companion.Krishna selected to appear Himselfon this earth planet, selecting the JaduDynasty as His Predecessors. So yourhelp to your God-brothers just apt yourmce name.Regarding your coming to San Francisco,I have no objection, but becauseyou are only three in Boston, your absencemay be felt by your other Godbrothers.So if Satsvarupa agrees to leaveyou, you can come to S.F., otherwise,wait for the proper time. Now byKrishna's Grace, we have got many fineart students like Govinda dasi, Indiradasi, and Malati and many others. So asdirector of the art dept. , you should organizethem in one place and overflood withpictures. We require these pictures inlarge quantities both for selling and fordecoration. So I think you should immediatelyorganize these potential artists inone place, either in S.F. or N.Y., or whereveryou like, and give daily at least onedozen pictures.You should think of this line and howwe can help you and how your Godbrotherscan help you.I have no objection to your sending toN.Y. for the print of Pancha Tattwa.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-12-17 San Francisco23rd December, 1967My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. Your letterdated 17, Dec. duly in hand. I am preparingthe text in dictaphone for sending youas usual, but you must have a dictaphonethere, otherwise how you can hear the

266 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidatapes? So arrange for this, either one tohire or on purchase system. And as soonas you let me know that you have one dictaphonethere, I will send you the tapesregularly.I have already written to Rayramaabout Lord Chaitanya's Teachings, thatthere is no need of editing the final manuscripts.Better let us prepare for its printing.He had some correspondence withDainippon Printing Company of Tokyo,and our Dwatkadish did all the negotiation.Please contact him immediately, andask him to send me the correspondence hehad with the printing company.I also do not like too much editorialwork. This too much editorial work onGeetopanishad has created some misunderstandingbetween the editorial staffs .Anyway, in future, one man should edit itand be sufficient for our printing. And Ido not want that Lord Chaitanya's Teachingsshould be edited again and typedagain and waste time in that way. I havealso informed Rayrama of this, and youcan also inform him like this. The bookshould be printed immediately withoutany waste of time. That is my desire.Regarding Boston and Harvard UniversityKirtans, I quite appreciate yournoble activities. Our Kirtan movement isgenuine, and if the unsophisticated studentstake it seriously, it will be a greatachievement. I know that all these BogusYogis they are cheating the public, but atthe same time your countrymen also wantto be cheated. They are cheating the publicby words of extravagancy, saying thatanyone can meditate even he is a drunkard.These cheap words attract people andthese rascals become popular. So we don'twant cheap popularity; I was very glad tolearn from Gargamuni that Brahmanandarefused to place my identification with somany cheater Swamis. We shall always remaindistinct from all these cheaters. Ifwe can convert one person in Krishnaconsciousness, that is our success of life.We don't want too many rascal followers.Let us perform this movement sincerelywith faith in Krishna and people will graduallyappreciate our service.I thank you very much once more foryour ardent desire to cooperate with mymissionary work. Krishna will make youhappy.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-12-18My dear Brahmananda,29th December, 1967Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 12/27/67,along with the MacMillan Co. agreementform. Prior to this letter I have receivedyour other two letters , but I was expectingthis letter, so I did not reply your prior lettersearlier. I am sending herewith theagreement duly signed by me. RegardingMr. Alan Watts introduction, 1 may informyou if the books will sell nicely byMr. Watts introduction I do not mind hisnonsense. The other gentleman ProfessorEdward Dimmock of the University ofChicago who is a student of Vaishnavismis willing to give some introduction. Butyou say he is not well known. For me, eitherProfessor Dimmock or Mr. Wattsboth are nonsense. Now for selling purpose,if you think Mr. Watts is nice, I haveno objection. I give you full power of attorneyin this connection. Who ever youlike like you can accept.Regarding other books printed by,published by, or distributed by some Europeanfirm is very welcome. You havegot also the full power of attorney in thisconnection. Krishna has sent you to me tohelp me in my mission. As you are my sincerespiritual son, Krishna will dictate to

DECEMBER, 1967 267you what to do in this connection. So Ihave full faith in you and you can determineas Krishna speaks within your heart.Regarding Hayagriva and Kirtananda,if they come again we should accommodatethem and should not continue themisunderstanding that has been engineered. I think Hayagriva is anxious inhaving his name printed in the publicationof Geetopanishad. I do not have any objectionsthat his name may be mentionedas one of the editors helping in the editingof Geetopanisad, just to encourage himand keep him in our camp, in case that hemay come back and accept our philosophyand resume his editing talent. He hascommitted a blunder, but just so that hemay be encouraged to come back you maymention his name also along with Rayrama's.He is not so convinced of his impersonalistphilosophy. It is only due toKirtananda's influence that he has left us.Yes, please send the $500.00 to theUnited Shipping Co. as I have instructed.When you go to India you may see themanager of Scindia and talk with her withthe letter of introduction that I shall giveyou. It is my decision that you do not leaveuntil the MacMillan agreement is completed.Your idea of manufacturing the incensein one center is my idea also. Herein S.F. Gargamuni has told me that he isarranging for it to be produced. From hereall the temples will be supplied, not thatevery temple should make it.I have received the Dwarkin and Sonsletter. I have not received any letter fromAchyutananda as of yet so please wait till Ihave received a letter before you writehim.Your ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Please deliver MSS. to Mls M&Co.as much as already complete.My Dear Balai dasi,Please accept my blessings . I thankyou very much for your letter of Dec . 26,1967 . In reply I am very happy to hear youare doing so nicely in executing thisKrishna Consciousness. Please go onchanting Hare Krishna, and typing, cooking,cleaning or whatever the engagementfor Krishna; that way you will always behappy.To answer you question regardingyour names: Balai is the name of Baladev,Krishna's elder brother. His wife is calledBalai dasi, or His girlfiriend is called Balaidasi. Baladev is not different fromKrishna. He is first expansion fromKrishna. All the incarnations and expansionsbegin from Baladev. Leelasuka isname of Bilvamangal Thakur; this BilvamangalThakur was a great devotee ofKrishna and he wrote a famous bookKrishna Kamamrita, recognized by LordChaitanya . Kanchanbala was one of theGopies in the association of Krishna. Indirawas also one of the Gopies in the associationof Krishna. Ekayani was thewife of a great sage who was in the SatyaYuga when all persons were paramhansasor liberated persons. Ekayani's husbandwas a liberated person.Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67- 12-1929th December, 1967My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I thank youvery much for your letter of Dec. 23(?),1967, and I am glad to hear you are doingso nicely in Krishna Consciousness.Regarding your questions: This incidenceis in the Srimad Bhagwatam. Bhismadev,when he was lying on his arrowbed before passing away, Lord Krishna,

268 Letters from Srila Prabhuptidaaccompanied with the Pandavas, came tosee him. Ordinarily, Bhismadev was worshipperof Lord Vishnu, but he knew alsothat Krishna is the same Lord Vishnu.When Krishna came to see Bhismadev onhis death bed, Bhismadev rememberedKrishna in His fighting feature at thebattlefield of Kurukshetra. Bhismadevwanted to see Krishna angry, he knew thatKrishna was very kind upon him, but tomake a front he displayed a chivalrousmood, pretending to kill Arjuna, althoughhe knew it very well that no power in theworld could kill Arjuna while he wasshielded by Krishna Himself as his charioteer.Yet he tried to agitate the mind ofKrishna, but Arjuna he almost killed. Actually,Krishna thought it that Bhismadevwas to see Him in His angry mood andsupposed to be broken in His promise, tofulfill the desire of Bhismadev. He gotdown from the chariot and took a wheel ofthe chariot, going forward as if to killBhismadev. Bhismadev, as soon as foundKrishna in that angry mood, he gave uphis fighting weapons and prepared himselffor being killed by Krishna. This attitudeof Krishna pleased Bhismadev verymuch, and at the time of his death he recalledback the angry feature of Krishna.He was a military man so he was pleasedto see Krishna in military spirit, as muchas the Gopies wanted to see Krishna as themost beautiful lover. There is no differencebetween the attitude of the Gopiesand Bhismadeva in the matter of exchangingtranscendental mellows between Godand His devotee. Krishna can be loved inany feature and because he is absolutethere is no difference to love Krishna as. amilitary man or as a simple Gopi.During the day the two sides wouldbattle, and at night they would visit oneanother's camps, just like friends, talkingand eating together. Bhisma was accusedof not trying hard enough to kill the Pandavas,due to affection for them. So, hesaid, tomorrow I will kill all five brothers,and these five special arrows I shall killthem with. For safekeeping Bhismadevagave the five arrows to Duryodhone, whohad accused Bhisma of too much affectionfor the Pandavas. Formerly, Duryodhonehad made promise to Arjuna that he couldsomeday ask for some favor, so Krishna,knowing all these things, sent Arjuna toDuryodhone for asking favor of giving thearrows to Arjuna. So as the promise wasmade, Duryodhone gave Arjuna the arrows,that night. Next day, Bhisma knewit was Krishna who arranged all this, andso he told Duryodhone, today it will be eitherArjuna or I, but one of us will die.And so he fought very hard to kill Arjuna,but with Krishna as Protector, no one inworld could kill Arjuna. Krishna's bodywas pierced, here and there, all over asyou like. As military man, Bhisma had noright to shoot the chariot driver, but heknew Krishna's body is not material, andwill not be harmed, so he took pleasure inpiercing the body of the Lord. Bhismadevbecame so pierced with arrows that helaid down and with the arrows all standingon end, all over stuck through his body.Yes, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva cameand were there in the sky with many demigods,and throwing flowers. You can consultSrimad Bhagwatam second part.The picture and contents of the articleappearing in Harvard Crimson is verynice. Krishna has already recognized youas one of the prophets of this missionarywork, and I approve this statement. Pleasego on in Krishna Consciousness and I'msure even in my absence you will be doingnicely acting as prophet.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I have received your Namakali wrapper.Thank you very much.ACB

DECEMBER, 1967 26967-1 2-20 San Francisco30th December, 1967My Dear Achutyananda and Ramanuja,Please accept my greetings. I have becometoo much anxious about you. Pleaseaccept my blessings and let me know thenews of Delhi affairs. I have sent you a letterto Vrndavana address but have receivedno reply. Here I am well anddelivering lectures with evenings meetings.Ye sterday I met Mr. B. K. Nelsonand he's arranging for my permanent visa.Yesterday I have also signed the agreementwith MFS MacMillan Company forpublication of Gita . Please reply to thisletter immediately and let meknow all thereports. Hope you are doing well by thegrace of Lord Krishna. Awaiting yourearly reply.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-12-21 San Francisco30th December, 1967My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedback the tape which you have typewritten.The inquiry about porce shouldbe fo rce. Today I am sending you twoKrishna Conscious lectures, tape recordedinto the dictaphone. Please writethem properly and send me one copy. Thebest thing will be as soon as you typewritethe two, send me one copy after editing asyou were doing formerly. I'll keep onecopy with me, you keep one copy withyou, and if further editing is required forwhich another copy should be kept withyou.You will be glad to know that yesterdayI have signed the agreement with McMillanfor publishing Geetopanishad, andalso, Mr. B. K. Nehru was met by me daybefore yesterday and he has promised tohelp me in getting the permanent visa.So far my health is concerned, Goursundaris keeping me quite fit by massagingand Govinda dasi is supplying meopma. Perhaps you have never tasted whatis opma. But if Jadurany can prepare it Ishall send the formula.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami67-1 2-22San Francisco31st December, 1967My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. My joyhas no bounds when I received your calendarso nicely imagined. Now I thinkKrishna has selected the right person forour propaganda department-Sriman RayramaBrahmachary! A sincere worker isalways recognized by Krishna. I do notknow how shall I thank you, but I am confidentof my future hopes in the sincerestudents like you, Brahmananda and others;& now if I die I will die blissful, thework will go on.Here, all the students, especiallyGoursundar and Govinda dasi are takingmy personal care. Upendra and Uddhavathey are personally cooking for me, andMukunda is personally looking after mypermanent visa. So I see all round hopes;there is nothing to be disappointed in myservice to Krishna. Let us go on with ourwork for Krishna for His satisfaction andfor the benefit of the whole world. Thankyou once more for your great service.I have already sent the contract signedby me and given Brahmananda full powerof attorney to do best as he likes.I think if they accept our philosophyin total , we can make some compromisewith Hayagriva and Kirtanananda. Butthey cannot interpret our philosophy intheir own way.

270 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaThanking you once more for yourgreat service. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure- Ithese beads from N.Y. with stamped envelope;if you sent it, that is all right. Otherwisesomeone has sent them and I ammissing his name. Anyway you can chanton these beads and inquire if anyone ismissing his beads. Then I can send another(if these are not sent by you).67-12-23San FranciscoDecember, 1967Hope your are well,Your ever well-wisher,My Dear Nadakishore,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to accept you. I am in due receipt ofyour letter of Dec. 24, and I am very gladto accept you as one of the servitors ofKrishna. You are right when you say thatour past life is a dream only. Just like atnight we see so many dreams and in daytimewe forget everything. Similarly weforget everything of our past life and assuch so long we do not be reposed to ourspiritual factual life, all these changes oflives one after another are considered tobe dreams. Less intelligent persons arevery much interested in dreaming life, butone who is intelligent dnough he searchesafter eternal life. The modern civilizationdoes not understand what is eternal life.They are busy with the spot life of 50 or100 years. Fools cannot think that one isnot for 50 or 100 years, but one is for eternity.Krishna Consciousness is the life ofeternity and I am glad you are interested init. So I am sending you beads chanted byme and your name is NandakishoreBrahmachary. Please follow the rules andregulations and ask Brahmananda aboutthese rules and regulations. He will helpyou.Krishna Consciousness is the processof eternal life. The process is simple andthe results are sublime. You follow it andyou will be happy in this life as will asinthe next.I do not know whether you sent me67-1 2-24December, 1967My Dear Leelasuka Dasi,Please accept my blessings. Your letterof Nov. 26, 1967, received along withyour beads. I have sanctified your beadslast evening when I initiated two otherboys Chidananda and Krishna das. I amvery glad to know that you are realizingKrishna Consciousness. The more youchant, the more you will realize.I think Krishna has brought me againin your country for the purpose of trainingyou perfectly. One must be educated. Theeducation may be taken either in schoolsor privately but one must be educated. Wewant many preachers to broadcast thismessage Krishna Consciousness. Withouteduction we cannot preach because apreacher has to meet many kinds of oppositeelements. One has to be engaged inone's specific occupation and at the sametime to advance in Krishna Consciousness.Herewith please find your beads.Get some Small Beads to be fixed up inyour neck. Have regularly the Tilakmarks. Brahmananda will assist you in alldetails. Be happy in Krishna Consciousness.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

DECEMBER, 1967 27167-12-25San FranciscoDecember, 1967My Dear Madhusudan,Please accept my blessings . I am sohappy to read your letter dated Dec. 28,1967. And I am very concerned that dueto your sincerity and service mood youhave improved in Krishna Consciousnessexcellently. Whatever allocation of dutythere may be, if we try to execute suchspecific duty sincerely, that alone canmake us much more advanced in KrishnaConsciousness. In the Bhagavad Gita, it isstated that for the fixed up devotee there isone duty. This duty is understood throughthe transparent medium via media of theSpiritual Master. It is better service toKrishna and Spiritual Master in a feelingof separation; sometimes there is risk inthe matter of direct service. For example,Kirtanananda was giving me direct serviceby massaging, cooking for me, andso many other things; but later on by dictationof Maya, he became puffed up, somuch so that he thought his Spiritual Mastera common man, and was existing onlyon account of his service. This mentalityat once pushed him down. Of course,those who are sincere devotee, they takedirect service as an opportunity, but the illusoryenergy is so strong that it acts onthis doctrine of familiarity breeds contempt.Kirtanananda was thinking I wasexisting on his service, instead of realizingI was giving him opportunity to do mesome service.My advice to you is to continue yourgood attitude that you are keeping nowand this alone will help you in advancingyour cause of Krishna Consciousness. Iam pleased that you are very diligently assistingRayrama. Rayrama is a sincereworker and by assisting him you will bebenefited. You are doing your best and Ishall advise you to continue this attitude.Regarding smearing on the Body ofLord Jagganath: You should always knowthat the Body of Lord Jagganath is spiritual. We are given the chance of servingthe Spiritual Body and according to RevealedScriptures, we should serve theTranscendental Body of the Diety just aswe try to serve our worshippable personalities.To continue a sense of devotion, itis better to wash the Body of Lord Jagganathwith hot water so that we may havethe feeling that Lord Jaggganath is morecomfortable. We should offer foodstuffsto the Diety and allow enough time to eatthem. These are all transcendental sentiments.At Vrindaban, the Dieties are offeredfoodstuffs and time is allowed as inthe case of others. Yes, before offeringanything to the Diety you must be satisfiedthat it is a first class offering and there isno objection if you taste it by smelling.But you should not smell for other purposes.The whole idea is that devotionalservice should always be immune fromsense gratification.I am very glad that you are prepared togo to Vrindaban. Many students, boysand girls, are also prepared here to go toVrindaban. I am just in negotiation for agood place for you and as soon as it isfixed up, we shall go to Vrindaban, atleast one dozen students. Achutanandaand Ramanuja had very good receptionand they are planning to preach KrishnaConsciousness and to open a branchthere, and I have encouraged them in thatidea. My dream is that at least one dozenstudents shall remain in V rindaban andtrained up nicely, and sent for preachingwork all over the world.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

1968

JANUARY68-1-1 Los AngelesI I th January, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. Perhapsyou know that I have come to L.A. on Saturdaylast and before coming here, I receivedone letter from you regardingpublishing of Gita. It is understood thatthe book is going to be published by themonth of August and it will be availablefo us in the month of Septemper 1968.But I have heard nothing from you aboutthe contract which I have sent you backduly signed. I am anxious to knowwhether Messrs. McMillan Company hasalso signed contract and have paid thepromised money $1000. I shall be glad ifyou will enlighten me on this point.Recently I received one unsolicited letterfrom Sri Hanuman Prasad Poddar, acopy of which is sent herewith for yourreference.Just yesterday Subal came here and hewas saying that your N.Y. center is goingon very nicely and attractively. I am soglad to have this report and I thank youvery much fo r conducting the center sonicely. I have also received one letter fromRayram, the reply of which is enclosedhere. Please hand it over to him.Awaiting your reply. Hoping you arewell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiGITA PRESSGORAKHPUR, U. P.(INDIA.)Dated 20- 12-67.Respected Sir,Really you are doing wonderful work.By successfully flying aloft the banner ofSri Radha-Krishna's sweet Name in sucha fa r off and strange land. Yo u have marvellouslyproved the glory and irrepressiblecharm of the Divine Pair and Theirsweet Name.I am sending some books and pictureswhich you would find useful for your nob!.!mission.With salutations to Sri Hari,I am yours sincerely,Hanuman Prasad Poddar68- 1-2Los AngelesII th January, 1968My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of January3, 1968, on ISKCON PRESS stationary.It is so nice and attractive and all the creditgoes to you and your assistants. Pleaseconvey my sincere thanks to your two assistants,JaiGovinda and Purushottam, fo rtheir sincere service in the cause ofKrishna Consciousness. Please take it forgranted that I have sanctioned for all yourschemes. Because you are sincere workerKrishna is dictating from within yourselfas He has promised in the Bhagavad Gita,and things are coming so nicely. MayKrishna grace you more and more and inyour advance service of Krishna Consciousness.You have very nicely statedthat I am your life. This means you are mybody and so neither life nor body can be

276 Letters from Srila Prabhuptidaseparated because on the spiritual platformthere is no such distinction. On materialplatform sometimes life is separatedfrom body, but in the Absolute platformthere is no such distinction. Dr. Radha­Krishnan foolishly makes such distinctionon the Body of Krishna, and thereforewhen Krishna says that one should becomeHis devotee, he commends that it isnot to the Person Krishna, but to the Lightwithin Krishna. He does not know that inthe spiritual platform, there is no such distinctionof life and body.I am very sorry that Satyabrata has leftus on some petty sentimental thing. Pleaseask him to come back and excuse me if Ihave struck his sentiment. I think heshould be permanently on the editorialboard and you can give him any seriousengagement as you please. He may be replacedin the place of Hayagriva if he isnot going to join us. Recently I receivedone letter from Hayagriva and I replied itpromptly. The thing is, everyone of usshould think as servant of Krishna. In theservice of Krishna there may be sometimestranscendental competition butthere cannot be any disruption. Please callSatyabrata and give him serious engagementas he likes to take. He is a good souland he must be satisfied.I wanted Teachings of Lord Chaitanyato be immediately printed, therefore I saidthat it may not be delayed by further editorialwork, but if you think that it needs furthereditorial work, please do it throughSatyabrata, and forthwith prepare themanuscript ready for printing.You will be glad that two parts of SrimadBhagwatam is already in the press inIndia, and I have sent money for purchasingthe paper. In my opinion the Bhagwatamwork should be immediately resumed.I am preparing tape recordingsand sending them to Satsvarupa for typing,and after his typing, the copies maybe edited, either by you or by Satyabrata,or combinedly, as you think best. And immediatelyfinal copy should be submittedfor printing in India, one after another. Infuture, if McMillan or any other company,takes our publication work, it is welland good, but at least one edition shouldbe printed without further delay. Kindlythink over this matter and chalk out programfor progressive work. I say oncemore that both you and Satyabrata maytake up this editorial work. I shall be gladto hear also about your health and how youare feeling now about your appetite andgeneral health. And I hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1-311th January, 1968My dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your statement regardingJivanuga, and it is clear that he is crazy. Ihave already advised Jayananda in thisconnection that we cannot make the societyan asylum for crazy people. It is notour business.Jayananda is a very sincere and intelligentboy and I think his decision should beaccepted as final in the matter. Not only inthis case, but in every other complicatedcase. the elected authorities in the managementof the temple should be the finalauthority in these matters. Otherwise, thesociety cannot be managed. Our mainprinciple should be to advance the causeof K.C.I am glad to learn that your cooperationfor this society is appreciated bythe authorities, We should learn to forgetand forgive minor incidence becausewhenever there are two men in a place,there is always some misunderstanding.Such misunderstanding happens even betweenhusband and wife-what to speak

JAN UARY, 1968 277of others. But we have to adjust things onthe basis of Krishna Consciousness. Weshould always remember that K.C. is achallenge to the modern misguided humansociety, and we have to meet manyunfavorable incidences.But of we are sincere to Krishna andthe Spiritual Master, combinedly, then everythingwill be favorable settled. Weshould always remember that K. C. canonly remain on two parallel lines ofKrishna and Spiritual Master. Chant HareKrishna sincerely and all good intelligenceconsultation shall come fromwithin. Krishna says that those who areengaged in My service, I give intelligencefor his progressive march.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1-4Los Angeles1l th January, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your very encouraging letterdated January 3, 1968. Because youare a sincere servant of Krishna, Krishnais giving you gradually facilities to advancein your engagement of KrishnaConsciousness. I am so glad to learn thatnow you have nice apartment of 4 rooms,and also a nice job for meeting your allnecessary expenses. Take them as benedictionfrom Krishna and utilize them forKrishna Consciousness business. If youcan provide yourself by independenthandwork then you can give up yourpresent job, otherwise you continue withyour job, even it is nonsense. The thing is,we must have sufficient time for executingKrishna Consciousness business, so youhave to select which one will be suitablefor you . If you think that by carving Jagganathsor painting you will have sufficientincome, it is very nice. Otherwisedo not give up your present job for somefuture hope. Rayrama's suggestion toopen an ashram is very nice. If it is possibleto keep sufficient number of cows inthe ashram, there can be very nice milkbusiness and that may make sufficient incomefor maintaining one institution foreducating children in Krishna Consciousness.Actually the modern educational institutionsare different grades of slaughterhouses. If you can open an ideal institutionfor the future children of our associates,it will be a great service. Actually asI have already discussed in my SrimadBhagwatam, for economic problem onerequires a little land and a few cows. Thenthe whole economic problem is solved.We should utilize our time for elevatingourselves in Krishna Consciousness thanfor so-called economic development. Ifwe are satisfied with plain living, withminimum time and the balance time is engagedfor elevating our Krishna Consciousprogram, then every man can betransferred to Goloka Vrindaban, just inthis very life. The modern civilization hasencumbered the mode of living and peopleare engaged all the time in the matterof eating, sleeping, defending, and mating.Both yourself, and your wife Himavatieare good combination. If you candevelop such an institution for future childrenof the society, or outside the society,it will be great service for the humanity. Iam sure Krishna will give you more andmore intelligence in this matter, if you seriouslythink on the subject by gradualevolution. Offer my blessings to yourgood wife and I pray to Krishna for yourall round prosperity. Hope you are bothwell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

278 Letters from Srrla Prabhupiida68-1-5 Los Angeles12th January, 1968My Dear Kirtanananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge reciept of your letter datedDecember 31, 1968, and I thank you foryour good wishes for the new year, Pleaseaccept the same from my side.So far as we are concerned, our newyear is every day because Krishna belongsto the nitya leela. Nitya leela means thatall of His Pastimes are going on in eitherof the so many universes. It is just like therising of the sun. In your country the sunis supposed to rise at 6:30 at the presentmoment, but at any time you can inquirein some part of the world and there is thesa,e 6:30 sunrise. While you are in thismeridan, in another country it may be6:30 AM, and the sun is rising.So you have now taken charge of thesunrise of New Vrindaban. Our programis there for constructing seven temples.One Rupanuga Vidyapitha-that is aschool for educating brahmins andvaishnavas. We have enough of technologicaland other types of educational institutions,but perhaps there is none whereactual brahmins and vaishnavas are produced.So we will have to establish aneducational institution for that purpose.A first examination will be held sometimesnext January on Bhagavad Gita AsIt Is , and those passing will have the degreeof Bhaktishastri. Next year we willhold an examination on Srimad Bhagwatam,and the person who passes will havethe title Bhaktibaibhava. And the nextyear we shall hold an examination onTeachings of Lord Chaitanya, Nectar ofDevotion and Vedanta Sutra, and thosewho will successfully pass will beawarded with the title of Bhaktivedanta.By 1975, all of those who have passed allof the above examinations will be specificallyempowered to initiate and increasethe number of the Krishna Consciousnesspopulation.Another important scheme is to start anice press next spring. So these duties arethere in New Vrindaban, and we shallhave to live there self independently, simplyby raising cows, grains, fruits, andflowers. I have already exlained thesethings to Hayagriva, and he is now marriedand a responsible grihasta. You ate ofcourse sannyas. Your duties will be moreto preach and supervise th activities there.But do everything jointly. Many grihastasand brahmacharies will join you for fullcooperation. Some of them have alreadyprepared to go there immediately, andperhaps you have received some lettersabout this. So everything appears verybright in the future. We have deal withthings very sagaciously and sucess willsurely be there. The immediate necessityis to construct som simple cottages for livingpurposed, and then everything willgradually come out, one after another. Ihope that you are already in touch withHayagriva, and he must have spoken toyou about these ideas.May Krishna bless you with long life inexecuting the idea of our New Vrindabanscheme. Thanking you once more.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1-6 Los Angeles13th January, 1968My Dear Andrea Temple,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of January 9, 1968, andI thank you very much for it. I have heardfrom Govinda dasi that you are such a nicegirl, and I appreciate your sincere interestin this Krishna Conscious philosophy andthis Samkirtan movement of Lord Chaitanya.I have also heard how you typed SriSri Brahma Samhita and I am very

JAN UARY, 1968 279pleased with your sincere service.Recently I have come to Los Angeleswhere the warmer climate is better for myhealth than in San Francisco. I am told theBahama Islands are very warm yearround, and I am very interested to comethere. If you can find an appropriate storefront,and decorate it nicely for a Temple,with altar, pictures, candles, incense,etc . , and begin holding Kirtan there, thenI will come there in February to the BahamaIslands, and give lectures there inthe Temple. You will be doing very goodservice to Krishna, and it is not very difficultto do. People will come, you will see.However, if it is not possible to do this,then I will be very happy to meet youwhen I go to New York in April, .and toMontreal afterward.Please go on chanting (16 rounds dailyif you can), reading Srimad Bhagwatamand our other literatures, and you will alwaysbe happy, both in this life and thenext. Hoping you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 -713th January, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your nice letters of Jan. 11, and13. I thank you for your kind appreciationfor the tapes received there. Also, thankyou that you are trying to organize all theartists, and doing so nicely. No, there isno color picture of Lord Chaitanya 's birthplaceand temple at Mayapur. You cancolor with your choice. Yes, try at yourconvenience to paint pictures from theBhagavat statement, in terms of the purportand explanation.So long we have got materialistic viewthe serpent is fierce. When Prahlad Maharajsaw Lord Nrsinghadev, he was not atall afraid of the fierceful feature of theLord. The big jaws and nails of the LordNrisinghadev and fiery tongue of theLord, and gigantic Lion's Head did notcreate any fierceful havoc before PrahladMaharaj . He said, "My Dear Lord, I amnot afraid of this your fierceful feature,but I am afraid of the repeated cycle ofbirth and death in the material existence."That instruction is very valuable. In ourmaterial existence, we are always in dangerousand fierceful condition, but by thespellof Maya, we do not take it very seriously.The Serpent-like feature of theLord is another expansion of the Lord, toprovide His Place on the Ocean. He is notat all fierceful to the devotees.Yes, the ecstasy of separation of SpiritualMaster is even greater ecstasy thanmeeting with Him.Please continue your excellent serviceand I will always be so pleased with yoursincereservice, as I am so much happywith you. Hope you are well, and I hopeyour injured thumb is now fully recovered.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Pradyumna,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your nice letter of Jan. 13, 1968.Your eagerness to render service to theLord is very much appreciated by me.Please get the copy of Sri Sri BrahmaSarnhita, and begin the transliteration. Ithink you know the diacritical marks fortransliteration; please use them. Pleasesend me full photostat copy of the originalBrahma Sarnhita. I shall begin writing myown commentation after my Guru Maharaj. Goursundar will be helping me preparethis Brahma Samhita. After you

280 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidafinish transliteration of Brahma Samhitathen we shall see for Srimad Bhagwatam .Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1-8 Los Angeles14th January, 1968My Dear Kanchanbala dasi,Please accept my blessings. I haveduly received your letter (undated), andnoted the contents very gladly. My sincereblessings are for you for your nice prosecutionof Krishna Consciousness. Whateveryou are doing at the present momentis approved by me and I think on accountof your becoming a sincere soul, Krishnais dictating from within and you are doingthings so nicely. There are two gurusoneinternal and the other external . Theinternal Guru is Krishna Himself seatedin everyone's heart, and the external Guruis the Spiritual Master. So a sincere devoteeis helped both externally and internally.To the sincere devotee the internalGuru Krishna dictates, but the thing has tobe conformed by the external Guru then itis all right. I am very glad that you don'tgo out, and keep indoors engaging yourselfin Krishna Consciousness activities.Regarding love affairs in the materialworld: they are only shadows or reflectionsof the real love with Krishna. If youlove Krishna in any capacity, you shallnever be frustrated because everything inKrishna is perfect, eternal, blissful, andfull of knowledge. So continue yourpresent activities and chant your beads;whenever there is some difficulty consultBrahmananda or write to me; and Krishnawill help you more and more on the pathof perfection. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 1-9Los Angeles14th January, 1968My Dear WoomapatiPlease accept my blessings. Since youtalked with me on the telephone, I receivedalso your letter of Dec. 30, 1967,but I could not reply the same on accountof my shifting to Los Angeles. I havecome here last Saturday the 6th of January.I am feeling well here because the climateis warmer. I thank you very much foryour acceptance of my guidance. Myguidance means Krishna's guidance. I amvery poor and therefore I can pray only toKrishna for your guidance. Krishna isAbsolute and we are all under His guidancebut the bonafide Spiritual Master isaccepted as guidance because he is transparantvia media between Krishna andthe devotee. The devotee has no access toKrishna without the via media.From your letter I can guess a firsthand knowledge of Kirtanananda andHayagriva. In the meantime I have receivedtwo letters from Hayagriva; one isalready replied and the other is pending.Our line of action is simultaneous serviceto the Spiritual Master and Krishna. Withoutbeing favoured by Krishna, nobodycan have the association of a bonafideSpiritual Master and nobody can have themercy of Krishna without being favouredby the Spiritual Master. It is so intimatelyconnected.Kirtanananda 's refusal to accept theParampara system and authority of thescriptures is the cause of his misfortune.His version that the sun and the sunshineare one and the same is right, but when thesunshine is in the room it is not correct tosay that the sun is in the room. His knowledgetherefore is imperfect and thereforehe cannot be a preacher. He is thereforecontemplating for starting nightclub of thepsychedelic type. His association is notdesireable for the present neither I can

JANUARY, 1968 281think of his future correction. Hayagrivahas fallen a victim and I am sorry for this.Anyway, my dear boy, please rememberthat Maya is very strong. Any one ofus can be arrested by her at any moment ifwe are not strongly attached to KrishnaConsciousness. So my request to you andall others is to follow the principles ofKrishna Consciousness adherently andthere is no danger however the Maya maybe strong. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 -10Los Angeles15th January, 1968My Dear Yamuna deviand Harsharani devi,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter, undated, and Ican understand that in some points youdisagree with Gargamuni but you have notclearly mentioned what is this point ofdisagreement. So far I know, Gargamuni's activities are approved by thepresident Jayananda, and so far I knowGargamuni, he has a business tactfulness,but his aim is to help the society financially.Whatever he does is not for his personalinterest but for the interest of thesociety. If you have any specific grievance,please let me know, but don't be disturbedby any sort of disagreement withyour God-brothers and sisters. Each andevery living entity is an individual souland as such disagreement is quite possiblein our dealings with one another but wehave to consider t.'l.e central point of interest.You are both very intelligent sobergirls and I have got good estimation ofyou; do not take at any time an attitude ofnon-cooperation because you may havenot agreed with another's point of view. Ihave heard about the incidents created bya new devotee, Jivanuga. He appears to bea crazy fellow. He should not have beeninitiated, but I have given him a chance toimprove. Next time I am not going to initiateanybody who has not attended ourclasses at least for 3 months, and is notrecommended by the leading members ofthe society. Less intelligent persons cannottake to Krishna Consciousness. Pleaselet me know what is your specific grievance,but I request you not to become disturbed.The plan of your husband andyourself, Yamuna, of going to India is approvedby me, I am simply waiting for theplace where you shall stay. I have alreadyinformed this matter to Guru das and he ispreparing for this. We shall require atleast one dozen students to go to India andstay there at least for 6 months , and becompletely trained up on our line of activities.The place which I am arrangingby negotiation with authorities will be sufficientof accomodating at least 50 studentsand if Krishna gives us that place itwill be a great sucess.Physically and mentally we may bedisturbed sometimes, but we have to standerect on the spiritual platform. I may informyou in the connection that I am at thepresent moment physically unfit; I amhaving always a buzzing sound in mybrain. I cannot sleep soundly at night, butstill I am working because I try to be in myposition of spiritual platform. I hope youshall try to understand me right, and dothe needful. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Guru das,Please accept my blessings. Achyutanandaand Ramanuja Brahmachariesare now at the following address. c/o N.Banerjea, 114 Elliot Road, Kampur 4, India.They are contemplating to open apreaching center at Kampur, and you can

282 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadaopen correspondence with them beforestarting for India.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Upendra,Please accept blessings. I have receivedyour two letters and they are verynice. By Krishna's Grace, you are doingwell and continue the same faithfully.Krishna will give you intelligence forproper guidance. Offer my blessings toUddhava & Krishnadas.Yours ever well wisherACB68-1-11Los Angeles15th January, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated January10, 1968; it is very nice. I do not find anybasi cal difference of philosophy. From thevery beginning I have always preachedthat basically we have no difference betweenthe Christians, the Mohammedans,the Hindus, or the Buddhists, the fourprincipal religionists in the world. Butthere is a class, Impersonalists, whom weconsider as atheists. The atheists directlysay there is no God, and the Impersonalistssay there may be God, but He has noform. It is indirectly saying that there is noGod. I am very glad to read in your letter anice line, "My main concern is seeingHim constantly in my daily life, that is, toconstantly remember Him and not to forgetHim." This is actually Krishna Consciousness.We can remember Krishna inevery moment. We can rememberKrishna while taking a glass of water becausethe taste of water is Krishna. We canremember Krishna as soon as we see thesunlight in the morning, because the sunlightis a reflection of Krishna's BodilyEffulgence. Similarly, as soon as we seemoonlight in the evening we rememberKrishna because moonlight is also reflectionof sunlight. Similarly, when we hearany sound we can remember Krishna becausesound is Krishna, and the most perfectsound, transcendental, is HareKrishna, which we have to chant 24hours. So there is no scope of forgettingKrishna at any moment of our life providedwe practice in that way. The societyfor Krishna Consciousness is meant forpreaching this philosophy throughout theworld and I was very happy to receiveyour cooperation and I am still hopefulthat the philosophy of Bhagavad Gita asScience of God can be preached by youand all your God-brothers.Regarding the manuscript: It is verydifficult for me to see it again, but I inquiredfrom Brahmananda whether themanuscript is already delivered to Mac­Millan Company or not. If it is not deliveredthen I shall try to see it again. Yourfear that the entire society will be in dangerby Raymond's editing of the Gita is notvery suitable remark. Rayrama may notbe as qualified as you are, but his onequalification that he is fully surrenderedto Krishna and his Spiritual Master is thefirst class recommendation for his editingany one of our literatures, because editingof Vedic literatures does not depend onacademic education. It is clearly stated inthe Upanishads that one who has implicitfaith in God as well as in the SpiritualMaster, to him only the import of Vedicliterature is revealed. I think Rayrama isdoing work in that spirit and his recentpublication of several booklets and Backto Godhead and a calendar are all firstclass proof of his sincerity of serviceAnyway, when I started Back to Godhead,it was my intention that your academic careerand Rayrama's sincere service wouldbe a good combination; unfortunately, I

JANUARY, 1968 283do not know why, you do not agree withone another. To me, English language isundoubtedly a foreign language, and Ithought your combination of editorshipwill help me a great deal . Anyway, whateveris done is done. I wish that the misunderstandingcreated at the presentmoment may be mitigated by mutual cooperationand we can start fresh with renewedenergy for service of the SupremeLord. I think you will agree with me.I am very much obliged to you whenyou write to say, to have some tasks to bedone by you under my guidance. Perhapsyou know that we have got to finish theSrimad Bhagwatam in 60 parts, out ofwhich we have published only 3 parts.Two parts are already in the press in India.So still we have to finish up 55 parts tocomplete the whole text of SrimadBhagwatam. I am now very much hopefulthat it will be done with your good cooperation.To finish the whole Bhagwatam Irequire about $40,000, out of which Ihave got about $12,000 contributed byBrahmananda, Jayananda, and others.Your statement "I took this job out inWilkes-Barre with intention to makeenough money to be able to join you in India,because, when you and Kirtananandaleft for India, I thought that you mightnever return to this country, and I washoping to join the both of you there." Yes,actually that was the program, but Kirtananandamade everything topsy-turvy.After we reached Vrindaban, Kirtananandabecame too much eager to returnback. He was daily insisting me forhis return back and once I told him that Ihave no money, how you can return? In replyto this, he said that he would go to theAmerican Embassy as American citizenand take money from there and he wouldreturn. Then I was obliged to arrange forhis return passage money and because hechanged his program the society practicallylost $1200 for his going to India andcoming back again without any purpose. Ithought that part of this money could berecovered if he would return to New York,stopping a few days in London to see theprospect of opening a branch there. Heagreed, and I gave him letter of introduction,and required money for immediateexpenses, but he had no desire to stop atLondon and he directly reached you. Hewas also very eager to take sannyas and Iawarded him the sannyas order; and I donot know, he wanted a certificate of hissannyas. We never took any certificate ofour Spiritual Master or anyone, but hetold me that it was required for facility ofpreaching, so I gave him the certificate,but unfortunately the whole thing wassmashed by different doctrine. Now it isunderstood from the letter of Woomapatithat Kirtanananda does not believe inparampara or in the necessity of scripturalauthority. He seems to feel that this is asort of tyranny. That means, after takingsannyas and understanding the philosophyfor more than a year, he has changed thewhole view, and I do not understand howyou would like this recent doctrine.Anyway, I am very much hopeful thatyou are eager to go to India and accept voluntarilythe task under my guidance. I amsearching out a very good place in Vrindabanfor the accommodation of myAmerican students. Kirtanananda hasseen the house known as Jaipur House.This house is in the hands of the Rajastangovernment and negotiation is still goingon, and from the correspondence, it appearsto favorable. Now I amawaitingthe final decision; as soon as I hear the decisionI shall again return back to Indiawith some other students. And I shall beso glad if you also come to India as originallyenvisaged. In Krishna Consciousness,if you stick to the principles ofBhagavad Gita, there is no question of disharmony;disharmony is created by somerascals of the Impersonalist class who try

284 Letters from Srila Prabhupiidato comment upon the Gita differently.Doctor Radha-Krishnan and company areof the same class. This class of men haveno right to touch Bhagavad Gita becausethey do not come through the paramparasystem. I shall be glad to hear from you; ifyou are prepared, to go with me when Inext return to India maybe within the next4-6 months.I shall be glad to hear from you howKirtanananda is recovering from injuriesof recent fall. And I hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1-1216th January, 1968Dear Guru das & Yamuna devi,Be good boy and girl and always chantthe HARE KRISHNA mantra and youwill be so pleased with the result.Yamuna you are little better thanJanaki but don't get puffed up and be goodto those a little less fortunate. Guru dasyour work is so nice and you are a very importantmember of our society. You andyour wife work so well there shall neverbe any problems.Your ever well wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1-13 Los Angeles16th January, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am in receiptof your letter ofJan. 11, 1968, alongwith the letter from Menno Hertzbergerand Co. I think this man will not be suitablefor printing of our books. I shall beglad to hear from you if you have receivedany reply from Dianippon Printers in Japan.In the letter of Mr. Krimpen it is understoodthat printing in India, HongKong, and such countries is cheaper.The suggestion of Mr. Kallman ofKrishna Consciousness Kit is very nice.Please try to fructify this idea as soon aspossible. As there is still time to get BhagavadGita ready published by MacMillanCo., Mr. Kallman may not come to S.F.so quickly. I am expecting to return toN.Y. by the end of March or beginning ofApril. At that time, he may take the recordingof Krishna Consciousness speechin 3 gramophone records.Regarding Brijbasi affair: You cansend the copies of letters and their acceptancereceipt of money may be sent to SrimanHitsaran Sharma, as follows: PanditHitsaran Sharma; Radha Press, MainRoad; Kailash Nagar; Delhi-3 1, India.You can write to him all details about thedealings of Brijbasi Co., and in my namerequest him to take it very seriously. Theyare respectable firm; why they are lingeringthis matter? If there is sinister motive,which we cannot believe they have, thenwe have to take steps against them. RequestHitsaran Sharma to deal the matterseriously and on his report we shall takenecessary steps. Hitsaranji may instructhis younger brother to take up this matter.I am also enclosing one letter herewith forHitsaranji which you may enclose withletter to him.Regarding Bhattacharya Emporiumletter: I have handed over the copy to Mukundafor necessary action. Bhattacharya'scharges are high; as I have alreadyinformed you, there is a complete arrangementfor supplying our goods fromIndia. I have already made them; there isno difficulty. First of all you decide whateveryou want to import, then I shall beginto give you directions. The arrangement iscomplete. There will be no difficulty toimport cloth, incense, musical instruments,and so on. The shipping element isthere, and the carrying arrangement isthere, now you decide what you want to

JANUARY, 1968 285import then I shall give you directions.I am anxious to know whether MacMillan has signed contract and paid the$1000.I received copies of Queens College inN.Y. article and their letter. It is very encouraging.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure-!P. S. Gargamuni is organising a centre inBerkeley & we shall open it very soon.68-1-14San FranciscoLos Angeles16th January, 1968My Dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am vcirymuch enlivened of your new KrishnaConscious enterprise and the whole proposalis very nice. I think immediately arrangefor this because we want youngergeneration to participate in this KrishnaConsciousness movement. I understandthe new place is quite suitable and it willbe very convenient for the students comingthere. I have got all agreement withthis proposal but still you consult withJayananda and Mukunda and settle upthings immediately. Jayananda is thereand Mukunda has also gone there.I am keeping quite fit under the personalguidance of Goursundar and Govindadasi. I think as soon as your new storeis complete, I shall return to S.F. and beginour new classes there. It is most gratifyingthat you say there is no financialworry, you will manage. I am sure Uddhavaand Upendra will join you in thisenterprise. You are sincere servitor andtherefore Krishna is giving you more andmore opportunity for service. Please organizethis center nicely, I think it is verynice for our purpose.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure-!.68-1-15San FranciscoLos Angeles16th January, 1968My Dear Uddhava and Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter of January 11, 1968,and am pleased with your sincere serviceattitude. We are all conditioned souls sowe are affected by Maya, but if we sincerelychant and serve, our attachment forKrishna will be revived and we will nomore have to come under this Maya. Eternallywe will be serving the Lotus Feet ofthe Supreme Lord.I am obliged to you for your sincereservice in Krishna Consciousness. Pleaseboth of you join with Gargamuni in thenew center and with greater enthusiasm.Hoping you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1-16Los Angeles17th January, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I haveyour letter of Jan. 9, 1968 duly in hand,and I thank you very much for it. Yes, Iwill make plans to appear there on May 1 ;and before I arrive there on May 1 , youcan please arrange some lectures in differentUniversities and Colleges, so that afterreaching there I will find all theengagements there.I thank you very much for your kindwords, and you can pray to Krishna that I

286 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidamay be for some time with you. That is mydesire. I have no objection to death, I amold man; still I wish to live because I wantto see that the mission and missionaries Ihave started may be still more stronger beforeI leave. So pray to Krishna for this.Krishna can be known by His Mercyonly as you will find in the text of the Kumaras.One thing you will mark that theKumaras considered themselves sinful aftercursing the 2 doorkeepers of Vaikuntha,and this was realized when they arefully conscious of the Supreme Lord. Ihave sent you one tape today. You will findthe explanation there, and enjoy it. Yes, ifit is possible to send carbon copies of SrimadBhagwatam tapes to other centers;please do so. Also, please send a copy toGoursundar of Bhagwatam tapes, andalso lectures if possible, c/o of this address.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiToday I have also received one letter of16th & a tape. I have also sent anothertape. ACBcan see it personally, along with you, andfinish the editorial work, within a week.Even after signing the contract, if themanuscript is not submitted, it is regrettable.If it is not inconvenient for you,somehow or other, it will be better if youcome here for one week absolutely for thispurpose so that we can finish this jobwithout further delay. If need be, it can beretyped also here. We have got two nicegirl typists. I wished that the editorial departmentshould be combinedly workedbut it has not been successful. You areoverloaded with so many works thereforeit is being delayed; I can understand this.Therefore, I wish that you may come herefor a week, suspending all other businessand finish this Bhagavad Gita in my presence.Hope you are feeling well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Please inform Brahmananda & Jayanandathat I have received their letters &it will be duly replied.ACB68-1-17Los Angeles18th January, 1968My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter of Jan. 11, 1968, andhave noted the contents carefully. I acknowledgereceipt of Kirtanananda's sannyascertificate. I have no objection to thesweatshirts and posters bearing MadhavaVishnu. And I am glad to hear that Back toGodhead will soon be ready for selling.Bhagavad Gita is nearing completion-Iheard this before I started from India.The editing has been too much delayed.Now I request you to come here fora week with the full manuscript so that I68-1-18Los Angeles18th January, 1968Jai Mazo600 East 21 StreetBrooklyn, New York, 11226.My Dear Jai Mazo,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your nice letter dated Jan.12, 1968, and have noted carefully thecontents. And because you are already acquaintedwith Krishna, I have no objectionto accepting you as my disciple.Practically, I do not have any disciples; Iselect so many masters to train them in theservice of the Lord. Your natural attractionfor Krishna makes it show that in your

JANUARY, 1968 287previous birth you have cultured this scienceof Krishna Consciousness. In yourPoetry, last line, I have changed the word"beautiful transforming Being" into"beautiful eternal Being." Krishna doesnot transform, but He has millions andbillions of expansions which are all eternallyexisting simultaneously. Just like thesun at noon, and the sun at morningtime,and the sun at eveningtime; they are simplyby names and they are eternal. To thesun there is no morning or evening ornoon, still we say morning sun, eveningsun, noon sun. There is a nice verse inBrahma Sarnhita-that Krishna is the SupremePersonality of Godhead and hasmulti-expansions like Rama, Nrisinghdev,Vamana, etc.Your letter is very interesting to me andwhen I shall meet you in N.Y. sometimesin March or April, we shall talk franklyand I shall officially initiate you. In themeantime, please go on attending classesin N.Y. as usual and do it regularly andyou will be benefited.I thank you very much for your appreciationof my disciples in N.Y. and youwill be glad to know all my disciples indifferent centres are being so trained. Thefour principles of restriction, namely, noillicit sex relations; no animal food; no intoxication;and no gambling, are acting ontheir character. Character building is thegroundwork for seating Krishna Consciousnessand the Vedic injunction is thatone can advance in spiritual life by followingthe rules of austerity and celibacy. Wedo not bluff our students that he has libertyto do all sorts of nonsense, and at thesame time advance in spiritual understanding.And because we are a little bitstrict in this matter, we have not a verylarge number of followers, neither do wewant any large no. nonsense followers.We want only one moon at night, and wedo not care for millions of stars. When wemeet we shall talk further on this matter,and I hope you shall be initiated. I thankyou very much for your nice letter, andhope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1-19 Los Angeles20th January, 1968Hari Bhaktanudas Sri Krishna Pandit4092 Kuncha Dilwali SinghAj mary Gate, Delhi 6INDIAMy Dear Sri Krishna Panditji,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated January13, 1968. I have noted the contents carefully,and I thank you very much for youreceiving my three disciples, Achyutananda,Ramanuja, and Harivilas whenthey were in Delhi.So far your coming here I think at thepresent moment it is impossible for thereason that the government of India willnot allow anyone to go to foreign countriesby spending Indian money. This timewhen I was coming back to the U.S. I hada great deal of trouble. Though when Iwent to the U.S. Consul General my visawas granted in 1 /2 hours. The gentle manin charge was an Indian and as soon as hesaw me he told me, "Swamiji, I'll giveyou your visa; simply wait here for half anhour." So it was Lord Krishna's Grace.My granting of the P-form was also delayed.My travelling agents had so manydifficulties in getting my P-form. Theform was sent to the chief controller inBombay and returned after a month afterseveral telephone conversations from Calcuttato Bombay. Then he sent instructionsthat if I had money from America Icould go. So with great difficulty I had toconvince him.So even if I say that you are required for

288 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidamy service, which of course, will be a kindof luxury for me, and even if I ask SethJaydayl to pay for your passage, the exchangecontroller will not allow you tocome. That is a fact. Now the only possibilityof your coming is there if you can influenceDr. Zakir Russin, convincing himthat we are spreading a great cultural organizationin the foreign countries, and heshould allow us to take parties from India forSAMKIRfAN in other countries. If youthink you can see Dr. Zakir Russin with ourpropaganda papers and if you think he willallow this cultural propagation, then there isa chance for your coming here.India government has cultural dept.and it is learned that Indira Gandhi is interestedin sending learned scholars tospread Indian culture in foreign countries.I am already doing this. It is accepted bythe highest authority here in U. S., namelythe Ambassador of India. If you can convinceDr. Zakir Russin, he also knows mewell. You can refer my name when youmeet him, that I am the same man whopresented him English Srimad Bhagwatam,and he highly appreciated it. At thattime, I requested him to give me facilitiesto go to foreign countries, and he promisedto do his best. Now, somehow orother, I am here and ask him if he will allowSAMKIRTAN party to come here.I have got many friends in India whohave got money to pay the expense for coming.So if your acquaintance with Dr. ZakirRussin can help you in getting a SAMKIR­T AN party to come here, then two strokeswill be accomplished at once. I shall beglad to know the result of your attempt.There is government cultural dept. for this;it is simply a matter of convincing him. Onhearing from you I shall be glad to give furtherinstructions in the connection.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 1 -20MontrealLos Angeles21st January, 1968My Dear Janardan,Please accept my blessings . I becomevvery much proud of nonsense rascal discipleslike you. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhurepresented Himself as a nonsenserascal to understand Vedanta philosophy.Actually, at the present day the people ingeneral cannot understand Vedanta philosophy.The other day I met here SwamiPravhavananda, and I talked with him. Tospeak plainly how I found him-a greatrascal. I know that this station is one ofRama-Krishna mission, beginning fromVivekananda, down to this age, all are livingin fool's paradise. Pravhavananda saidthat Rama-Krishna in his previous life wasLord Chaitanya. Similarly it is said that hewas formerly Rama and Krishna. If actuallyhe was Rama and Krishna and LordChaitanya, why there are so many contradictionsbetween Rama, Krishna, andLord Chaitanya one side, and the Ramahansa(Rama-Krishna Pararnhansa) on theother side. Do you think that the Ramahansawas Lord Chaitanya and just after400 years he changed the whole philosophy?Lord Chaitanya propagated worshipof Krishna; Krishna propagated that oneshould worship Him, Krishna; how is itthat this Rama-Krishna worships the materialgoddess Kali? Ask the question. So,such rascaldom is going on all over theworld. So we have to be very careful in understandingKrishna Consciousness andtherefore if we remain continuously rascalsand try to understand Krishna Consciousness,to understand Krishna as Hehas spoken in the Bhagavad Gita or inother Vedic literatures through the rightsources of disciplic succession, that is ourreal knowledge. The idea is everyoneshould try to pace himself as if he doesn't

JANUARY, 1968 289know anything. That is his position is secure.But as soon as he says that I knoweverything, and I was previously such andsuch, actually rascal. So I know that youare trying to know things from the realsource, and you are not puffed up likeother fools who think that they know everything.Your humbleness is very muchappreciated by me.Regarding your questions about EasyJourney: Purusha is Krishna, and VishnuTattwa, Vishnu expansions. In Gita , inlOth Chap., it is accepted by Arjuna thatKrishna is the Original Purusha or predominatingfactor or the Supreme Enjoyer.Stree is the enjoyed, or the energy,or the potency. God has got 3 energies inthe spiritual world. One energy is existential, one is cognition, one is enjoyment.The same energy when reflected in thematerial world is exhibited in 3 modegoodness,passion, and ignorance. Goodnessis manifested in proper maintainenceof the creation in the gradual developementof spiritual realization, passion isexhibition in the matter of production,and ignorance is exhibited in the absenceof real happiness. All these internal energiesare acting in favor of the Supreme Purusha;in the spiritual world they areacting harmoniously and in the materialworld they are acting in forgetfulness.Prakriti or stree is in forgetfulness is zero;and the living entities is also prakriti orstree, but he is in forgetfulness in the materialexistence. The living entities, thesame living entities in cognition, are liberatedsouls, residents of the spiritualworld. Daivi means pertaining to the SupremePurusha or Brahma. In everythingthere is Daivi influence; the Daivi influenceis beyond the control of the living entities.Therefore the Daivi energy isspiritual energy or internal potency. Ithink you can develop this idea and if youhave still any doubt you can put questions.Nirguna means untouched by materialcontamination. In Bhagavad Gita it is saidthat the Supreme Enjoyer is uncontaminatedby the material qualities of goodness,passion, and ignorance, but Hisqualities are transcendental without anytouch or tinge of material qualities. Forexample: sex life, the most prominent featureof this material world. This sex life isexplained in Srimad Bhagwatam, 3rdCanto, in the explanation of Vaikunthaworld, when it is said that in the Vaikunthaplanets, the women or the fair sex is manymany more times beautiful, well-constructed,their face and smiling more attractive,their breasts and hips are veryhigh, and they clearly and freely mix withmale devotees,, But their strong sense ofdevotion towards the Lord and being absorbedin Krishna Consciousness, all thefeatures of womanly beauty cannot stimulatetheir sex passion. In the materialworld the same reflection of beauty andbodily features at once stimulate sex passion.Therefore, the enjoyment of oppositesex in the Vaikuntha world has noaction of sex life whereas in the materialworld the perverted reflection of beautyhas resultant action of sex life which is thecause of dragging material existence. Sothe description of the Vaikuntha life isnirguna, and the description of worldlylife is sahaguna. Our devotional activitiesare executed by transferring epithet; oursenses are there, they are acting pervertedlyand putting us into difficulty. The 1mpersonalistphilosopher wants to stop thisdifficult reactions of the senses but theydon't know how to place the senses inhealthy life. For example: one may try toget out of diseased condition. This attemptdoes not mean that one should bekilled so that one may get out of miserablecondition of diseased life. The realmethod is to remove diseased conditionand be placed in healthy life. KrishnaConsciousness means to get out of the materialqualities and be reinstated in the

290 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadaspiritual nirguna activities. When one canunderstand nirguna he can understandnirakar, also. This akar or form of materialexistence is temporary. When we getout of this temporary changes of differentforms as we are transmigrating from oneform to another and be placed in our realspiritual form, or purified our existence,that is called nirakar. Or in other wordsnirakar means absence of material form.Praiidrabya is mentioned by Dr. Naik asthe counteracting agent of matter. I do notknow whether this word is in BhagavadGita , but praii means transcendental anddrabya means matter, that which exists.This praiidrabya is explained in Gita asparaprakriti or internal energy which isexhibited in the transcendental world.What interpretation I have replied Dr.Naik later. We have one difference ofopinion of the scientific statement of antimatter.I have interpreted antimatter asspiritual where there is opposite matter oreternal . Matter is temporary manifestationand I interpreted antimatter as eternalmanifestation or paraprakriti.Your attempt to present a nice articleon Krishna Consciousness on the basis ofscholastic understanding is very much encouragingto my mission, and I shall bethinking successful in my mission whenyou present your Krishna Conscious articlebefore the misguided philosophers andreligionists of the world. Vedanta meansultimate knowledge. Knowledge is neverperfect unless one comes to the point ofunderstanding Krishna. To remain inKrishna Consciousness is actual understandingof Vedanta. Anything which isnot Krishna Consciousness is pollutedprofane consciousness. Generally the philosophersare acting on the mental plane.The Bhagwatam clearly confirms it, unlessone is not situated in Krishna Consciousnesshe is sure to fall down tomaterial consciousness because he has noother platform. Just like one man flying inthe sky, if he doesn't get any supportingplanet, he has to come back again on theplanet from which he started. Similarlythose who are hovering on the mentalplane, they must come back to the materialmanifestation without being in knowledgeof spiritual life.The marginal position of voidness betweenBrahmajyoti and the material worldmanifestation is the destination of theBuddhist philosophers. Therefore thevoidness philosophy is worse than Impersonalistphilosophy. This voidness philosophyis simply nirvana, or absence ofmaterial manifestation, but actually it is amaterial stand whereas Impersonalistmonism is transcendental to materialmanifestation and voidness. Therefore theconception ofBrahmajyoti is advanced realizationthan conception of nirvana. Nobodycan be satisfied in void orImpersonalist philosophy ; they areagainst the nature of the spirit soul. Weunderstand from Vedanta philosophy thatthe spirit soul is by nature joyful. There isno joy in voidness or Impersonalism andbecause such imperfect philosophers donot know of the association of Krishnawhich is full of bliss and knowledge, theywill fall down repeatedly into voidnessand Impersonalism with the result thatthey cannot stay there and they fall downto the material atmosphere. In BhagavadGita it is said by the Lord that these people, void and Impersonalist philosophers,are in great trouble. If they are fortunateenough to meet a pure devotee of Krishnaand if they are sincere in their search forthe absolute truth, they will find KrishnaConsciousness as the last resort of theirphilosophical researches. Try to helpthese bewildered philosophers by presentationof your nice Krishna Consciousnessthesis which you have prepared, and I amsure Krishna will help you in all respects.Simply your sincerity of service is requiredand He will dictate from within

JANUARY, 1968 291you how to make your thesis. It will be agreat service to the humanity, especiallyto the Western world.Regarding Baha'i philosophy: I haveread the pamphlet you sent me, and I findin it that this Baha'i movement is more orless a humanitarian movement which hasno spiritual information. Generally peopleare attracted by humanitarian movementsand Swami Vivekananda was apopular figure of this platform but this humanitarianmovement of the material platformis always unsuccessful because onehas to counteract the 3 modes of materialplatform. I do not find any hint in Baha'iliterature where one can surmount the reactionsof material qualities. The idea ofBaha'i movement is more graciously presentedin our Krishna Consciousnessmovement. The Baha'i movement doesn'ttake any consideration of living entitiesbeyond the human society. But ourKrishna Consciousness movement includeseverything in the creation of God.As a scholar, you can read such books butI am sure it will not help very much in thematter of advancing our Krishna Consciousnessmovement. Humanitarianmovements is certainly very attractive forthe people in general, just like if you starta movement to stop war, it will be very attractiveto the poeple in general. But as amatter of fact, war cannot be stopped. Wearen't after stopping the war, but we areafter utilising war actions for satisfying ofKrishna, as Arjuna practically performed.War cannot be stopped from thematerial world, but it can be purified.Therefore, so called humanitarians areour target of Krishna Consciousness.Their statement about Krishna that He isan Individual chosen by God as His representativemeans that they have no knowledgeof God. They require to learn what isGod, then they will understand Krishna.Generally speaking everyone has got theconception of God, but actually they donot know what is God. That is explainedin Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagwatam, therefore our knowledge of God isfar better than any other one in the world.That means if the Baha'is do not acceptKrishna as the Supreme Personality ofGodhead, they have never read BhagavadGita as it is. Their claims of reading ofGita is false. You should try to convincethem of the Supremacy of GodheadKrishna. Whenever we are able to meetsuch opposing elements about Krishna,we should know that our Krishna Consciousnessis perfected. The Baha'i peopleif they are really sincere, they shouldtry to understand Bhagavad Gita sincerely.As soon as they say they have understoodBhagavad Gita and at the sametime accept Krishna as a chosen individualperson, their sincerity fails. Thereis less rational thinking in Baha'i philosophyas I can understand from the pamphlet.There is already contradiction thatthey accept Krishna as chosen person andnot as the Supreme Personality of Godhead,that is contradiction of BhagavadGita .I have received letter from PrabhansuChosal and I understand that they appreciateyour service very nicely. I understandthat your God-brothers are as your youngerdependent brothers; kindly treat themas your younger dependent brothers andtry to advance them in Krishna Consciousnessas good as you can.The new boy who is from England,Chris, may be kindly treated so that whenI go to Montreal in the month of May, Imay be able to accompany the boy to Englandand try to start a center there withhis help. I have another disciple here, Annapurna,she also comes from England,and I think we may be able to do somethingin England with the help of theseboys and girls. Please treat SrimansChris, Eric, and Ronald with goodkindness.

292 Letters from Srila PrabhupadaYes, anything of which we have noconception, the unknown particle, that isthe representation of Paramatma. Ye s,your interpretation is quite feasible, becausefrom the Vedic literature that spiritualparticle is measured as 1/10,000 partof the upper portion of the hair. So if thephysicist's conclusion about the measurementof the soul, that is I 00 times finerthan what they are already discovered.But however fine and smallest it may be,there is measurement of spirit soul,maybe beyond the experimental knowledgeof human scientists. The confusionmust continue because this measurementof spirit soul is beyond the range of experimentalmind, and understanding. Therefore, confusion. Therefore you have toaccept the experience of spirit soul fromVedic literature. If one tries to understandotherwise they will remain in confusion.Subject which is beyond their understandingby experimental knowledge, and ifthey try to understand it by the same experimentalknowledge, that means confusion.This has to be understood bydescending process of disciplic succession,or by deductive process, meaningfor instance, my mother says this man ismy father, I accept, there is no experience.God's name is therefore Adhoksajawhich means beyond experimentalknowledge. You can inform them thathere is statement in Vedic literature(Padma Purana) that the measurement ofsoul is 1/10,000 of the upper portion ofthe hair. You are meant for doing this and Ishall assist you as far as possible. I thankyou for your promise to send me one lettera week.We are trying to get U.S.A. Immigration,permanent visa, and I am waiting forthe result.Lord Chaitanya 's Birthdate is on thePhalgoonie Purnima between 15 of Feb.and 15th of March. The full moon day isLord Chaitanya 's Birthday. I think you cansend for Rayrama 's calendar which he haspublished. The exact day is 14th March,thursday, 1968. The procedure is that youshould fast from morning to evening(about 7 :00) after that there should be offeringto Lord Chaitanya and prasadamshould be accepted just like on Ikadassieday, and next day, Friday, full love feastingmay be provided to as many devotees asyou can.My dear Shivananda,I have received your letter. You areanxious to get my instructions of your activities.I think there is no need of getting adegree. If you can spare some time, youtry to learn Bengali, from SrimanPrabhansu. It will be a great asset for ourMission; and as you have decided to workto get money, I quite approve. Be underthe guidance of your elder brothersJanardanand you will progress nicely. Let Pradyumnalive there in Boston; I have givenhim some tasks and he will do them.Yes you can send the plant. I shall suggestyour vibrator to Goursundar; and hewill do the needful , because he takes careof my body. Hope you are all doing well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1-21New Yo rkLos Angeles2lst January, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 1/15/68.And I have noted the contents , especiallythe activities of Maya, carefully. KrishnaConsciousness movement is actually declarationof war against Maya. The conditionedsouls who wanted to enjoy thismaterial world are captivated by the sex

__JANUARY, 1968 293desires. If one wants to get out of this materialexistence, he must control sex desire. The whole scheme of Vediccivilization is based on this principle ofcontrolling sex desire. There were 4 ordersof life; Brahmachary, Grihastra,Vanaprasta, and Sannyas. The majority ofthe orders namely Brahmachary, Vanaprasta,and Sannyas are forbidden sex life.Only the householders are allowed sexlife. That is also restricted. That meanssex life is condemned throughout becausethat is the cause of material bondage.Feeling of sex life in young boys and girlsis quite natural, but one has to check suchsex life by reason, argument, and knowledge.The married boys and girls arethere-in our society sex life is not forbidden.If Jagatananda is feeling sex urge sourgently even at the age of 16 or 17, hemust be prepared to take the responsibilityof married life. When I was in India,Gargamuni wrote me plainly like that,and I at once allowed him to get married.Now I see that the boy and girl, Gargamuniand Karunamayee, are living happily.So if Jagatananda is after that nicegirl Leelasuka, he must arrange for marryingher. Otherwise where is the solution?I cannot allow in our society anynonsense like illicit sex life at any circumstance.Jagatananda must subdue his sexdesire by constant chanting of HareKrishna, and praying to Krishna to helphim. If not he must be prepared to marryand take the responsibility fully. As his elderbrother you will please instruct him ofmy desire.Actually the association of young boysand girls is very much disruptive forBrahmachary life, but in your country it isimpossible to stop free mixing of youngboys and girls. So voluntarily they have tocheck these sex desires until they are married.If they are strong enough in KrishnaConsciousness any amount of sex urgewill not disturb them. Even it disturbs, itwill come and go, Krishna is Madan Mohan,or the Enchanter of Cupid. And Cupidis the god of sex desire. So if anyonewants to enchant Cupid, instead of beingenchanted by Cupid, he must take shelterof the Enchanter of Cupid, Sri Krishna.So far I am personally concerned, Kirtananandawas doubtful about my existencebecause he thought that I am dependenton his massaging, so the thoughtthat there is no necessity of SpiritualMaster, because Spiritual Master isan ordinary man, and to depend on an ordinaryman is a tyranny. Therefore oneshould always think of Spiritual Masternot an ordinary man. You are intelligentand advanced in Krishna Consciousness,and you can understand what is the attackof Spiritual Master by Maya. Maya's dutyis to keep the conditioned souls under herclutches, so if there is any hindrance byanyone in the discharge of her duties, shemust attack the opposite party. ButKrishna saves his sincere servant inKrishna Consciousness. The Pandavaswere declared devotees of Krishnaand so many troubles in theirlife; but ultimately they were victoriousby the Mercy of Krishna. This is the processof understanding Krishna and hisdevotees.Subal is here __ have told him thatKrishna is helping him in the matter of_complete freedom from blood and bone.He is with me here and he is happy. IfKrishna devi comes and joins him again itis · better, otherwise, he will forgetKrishna devi and be fully engaged inKrishna's service during the rest of hislife. He is very sincere servitor and I amconfident Krishna is attracting him moreand more by His Causless Mercy. Do notbe worried about him.The answer (why Maya dealt me a neardeath blow) is that Hiryanakashipu theagent of Maya tried to give so many deathblows to Prahlad Maharaj , but in each and

294 Letters from Srila Prabhupadaevery case he was saved . There is morecredit for him on behalf of Krishna. Thisis replied in Bhagavad Gita , "0, my dearson of Kunti, just declare it throughout thewhole world that my devotee is never vanquished."So it will take some time to understandwhat Krishna's plan is, but restassured, a devotee of Krishna is nevervanquished.I am not going to write to Jagatanandaseparately, you inform him everything.I am negotiating with one place in Indiafor publishing Back to Godhead, atleast 10,000 copies per month, at a concessionalrate. Please consult with Rayramaand let me know your opinion aboutthis. Hope you are all well.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I am very anxious to deliver the MSSto Mac Millan Co & get the Contractsigned by them along with check of$1000.0068-1 -22 Los Angeles21st January, 1968My Dear Rayrama, Brahmananda,and Rupanuga,Please accept my blessings. I mustthank you all, especially since I have receiveda note from Adwaita Brahmacharyreading as follows, "Everything is goingvery well in New York. I am so fortunateto have such sincere God-brothers likeRayrama, Brahmananda, and Rupanugato help guide me in Your absence." Pleasecontinue this spirit of Krishna Consciousnessand you will be blessed by Krishnamore and more. I am so very happy tohave such report from an impartial member.Hope you are feeling well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 1 -23New Yo rk21st January, 1968My Dear Adwaita,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter dated Jan. 17,1968, and I quite approve your planningon becoming a householder, and at thesame time serve the cause of our society.A Krishna Conscious member eventhough he is a householder may spend atleast 50% of his income for the society.The Brahmacharies are dedicated theirlife and everything but the householdershould spare at least 50% of income forthe society. That is the standard distributionof money example set by our predecessors,Srila Rupa Goswami, and SrilaSanatana Goswami. We may try to followthe footprints of our predecessors. Sri! aRupa Goswami used to distribute hismoney as follows: 50% for Krishna, 25 %for relatives, and 25 % for personal emergencyexpenditures. I think this is verynice.Yes, it is correct as you have handledthe draft. As you have played the part ofcrazy, there is no necessity of reporting.That is quite in conformity.Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 1 -2422nd January, 1968My dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I haveduly received back the tapes from SanFrancisco. Herewith please find anothertape. I have received back the edited paperson Srimad Bhagavatam.Brahmananda & others cannot changethe style. They want to see if there is anygrammatical discrepancy.

JANUARY, 1968 295I understand that sometimes you feelsex urges and frustration. In the materialworld sex urge is the binding force for materialexistence. A determined person toleratessuch sex urges as one tolerates theitching sensation of eczema. If not onecan satisfy the sex urge by legitimate marriage.Immoral sex life and spiritual advancementare incompatible proposition.Your full engagement in K.C. & constantchanting will save you from all inconveniences.You have accepted me as father, so Ihave also accepted you as my dear and realson. Relationship of father & son on spiritualplatform is real and eternal, on thematerial platfom such relationship isephemeral and temporary. Although Icannot give you anything as father, still Ican pray to Krishna for your more & moreadvancement in K.C. Your sincerity &service mood will always help you in advancingyour genuine cause.Hope you are well,Your ever well wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 -25Los Angeles22nd January, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I acknowledgereceipt of your letter dated Jan. 16,1968, and noted the contents with pleasure.The idea of opening an ashram inthe near future is certainly a wish ofKrishna's. To develope our institution toits fullness, we require such an ashramwithout doubt. Child is the father of man,so the basic principle of any type of life isto instruct to the children from the verybeginning. Krishna Consciousness. Childrengrow to be the topmost leaders of thehuman society. In the Bhagwatam it is saidthat the Brahmins are the head of the socia!body, the Kshyatrias are the arms ofthe social body, the Vaishas are the waistof the social body, and the Sudras are thelegs of the social body. The legs may beplaced in a lower position than the headephemerically, but actually the legs are asimportant as the head for maintaining thebody as it is. It is not that the legs shouldnot be taken care of and just the headshould be cared for. But it is a fact that ifthere is not a head it is a dead body. Themodern civilization is a sort of a socialbody without a head, or actually it is adead body. The body is dead since thevery beginning of it's birth, and it is thespirit that keeps it moving. Therefore,spiritual enlightenment is the basic principleof civilization. The modern civilzationis lacking in that respect and there areso many disadvantages on account of thisdeficency. So we have to grow children tobecome the head of the human society andthere is great need for this. I pray Krishnathat you may give a starting to such anashram in full Krishna Consciousness. Inthe ashram there must be a grand templeas the diety of the ashram.Another proposal is I want to form asamkirtan party in which two memberswill play mridanga, eight will play thecymbals, two will play on tambora, andone harmonium, besides that there will bethe leader of the party. This party will beso trained that exibitions of our chantingand dancing along with distribution ofprasadam will be performed on a stageand for this performance we will sell ticketsto the public. It will be known as aspiritual movement. Suppose if we beginit fron New York and there is good responsefrom the public, then our attemptwill be successful prior to our traveling allover the world. We will earn money bystage exibitions and attract attention of theelite public and move from one station toanother. A shorter type of this exibitionwas held during our television show and

296 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadathe performance was very much appreciated.So I want to train such a party immediately.I do not know where such trainingwill take place, but I want to do it immediatelyin my presence. So consult withBrahmananda and others about this proposal.Give me your return suggestionsabout this proposal .I quite approve your plan for manufacturingJagganathas and do some profit outof it for maintenence of our temple. Hopeyou are well.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I think you can save money for thisAshram as much as possible. The Ashrammay be named as "ISKCON-Nagari" orNew Vrindaban and a separate alc may beopened in the Bank.68-1-26Los Angeles22nd January, 1968My Dear Pradyumna,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter dated January 20, 1968.Los Angeles is very pleasant with clearsky and plenty of sunshine.Regarding diacritical markings , youmay refer to the book First Lessons in SanskritGrammar and Reading by Judith Tybergof the East-West Cultural Centerpublished in 1964 . Each letter should betransliterated in a careful manner so thatone may be-able to know the Devanagaricharacter corresponding. Devanagri typecharacters will not be there in this newbook we are preparing. Markings are asfollows.Here follows the Sanskrit alphabet andEnglish equivalents as are found in BhagavadGita etc .[SANSKRIT CHARACTERS]You may use the facilities available toyou if there is no risk of making trouble.But so far as stealing is concerned, oneshould not steal except in the rarest circumstances.Moral principle is reccommendedin all scriptures as prerequisitefor spiritual culture. If the conduct of thepure devotee crosses the lines of ordinarymorality it is because he acts on the planeof Absolute Morality which is not knownto the conditioned soul and cannot thereforebe imitated. So generally we shouldbe careful to observe good moral conduct.Please clear any doubts you may haveabout what is to be done. You may beginwork of transliterating as soon as possible.Hope you are well.Your Ever Well wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1-27 Los Angeles23rd January, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your nice long letter of 1/19/68,and of 1 I 1 7 I 68, and have noted contentscarefully. We will phone Ravi Shankarand make some arrangements with him asis possible. Regarding Hanuman PrasadPoddar, he is not so formidable rascal, butyou can read his literature. He is a sincereworker in Krishna Consciousness. Hisdefect is that he is Impersonalist, but hecan not remain long an Impersonalist becausehe is devoted to Radha and Krishna.Recently he has sent me one letter of appreciationfor my activities here. There isno objection to reading his books. Regardingthe other books; keep them verynicely, and I shall see when I go there toNew Yo rk. Yo u might have received anotherbook perhaps, by BhaktisarangaGoswami. This book by mistake was sent,perhaps: it has to be returned.The proper form of address toBhaktivinode Thakur is Om VishnupadSrila Bhaktivinode Thakur. After my

JANUARY, 1968 297Guru Maharaj , all acharyas should be addressedas Srila. "Om Vishnupad Srila".Regarding Krishna de vi: You havebeen misinformed by Krishna devi. I havenever given permission for a new husband.Rather, I asked her to come backimmediately and join her husband, Subal .Subal might have informed her that if sheloves Krishna at all, then she may livepeacefully with her new husband, but lether conduct the Santa Fe center, and thatwill be proof of her love for Krishna. Ihave directly asked her to come join herhusband. If she doesn't come, Subal hasdecided not to accept any other wife, butto remain in Krishna Consciousness alonefor the rest of his life. Krishna devi is inthe strong clutches of Maya, and shewants to have a new husband under anypica. I have never allowed her in that way.But if she served Krishna's cause, I willnot disallow her, because that is our mainbusiness. My point is that she must conductthat center, not that I have encouragedher to accept this boy. If she wants tokeep this new friend, and keep up the S. F.center, I welcome it, but not that I am encouragingher to have a new husband.Regarding Buffalo center: Purushottammay be sent, but the planning of Rupanugato go to Washington D.C. may notbe changed.My Dear Rupanuga,Please accept my blessings. It is mydesire that you may not change yourpresent program for going to Washington.I have advised Brahmananda to sendPurushottam to Buffalo. In the meantime,I am also writing one letter to Mr. Goel ;the copy of my recent speech on KrishnaConsciousness I will send to him. Also, Iam sending you one copy of said speech,and it may be published in Back to Godhead.I have also sent this speech to WestGermany. Find herewith enclosed copy ofletter to Mr. Goel, and speech. Hope youare well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1-28New Yo rkLos Angeles24th January, 1968My Dear Madhusudan,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter brought to me by Rayarama.Yes, 15 minutes is sufficient timefor the offering to remain on the altar. Youdo not need to lay down Lord Jagganath ona bed, by mantra you say my dear Lordplease take rest. In temples, there are twosets of dieties, the big set is always on thethrone, and the smaller set is handled,taken out for a stroll, laid to bed, etc.There is no difference in the small andlarge set, of course.The prayer means: I offer my respectfulobeisances to my Spiritual Master who hasopened my eyes by the torch of knowledge,while I was in the darkness of ignorance.That book speeches by BhaktisarangaGoswami may be kept carefully. It has tobe returned. In mean time, if you like, youcan copy it by typewriter.My dear boy, lecturing for Krishna hasnothing to do with this body. Ifl would nothave lectured, how you would have come?So as far as possible I am taking care of myhealth, but Krishna's service must be executed,even at the risk of life. A living entitygets millions of opportunities to get atype of body, but hardly he gets opportunityto serve Krishna. The service ofKrishna must be executed at all risks, butdo not worry ; I am taking care of myhealth by the help of Goursundar. Hopeyou are well .Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

298 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiida68- 1 -29Los Angeles25th January, 1968My Dear Balai dasi,Please accept my blessings. Thank youfor your letter of Jan. 8, 1968, and I havenoted the contents carefully. Regardingyour questions: Yes, leave Krishna's platefor 15-20 minutes or more, not more thanhalf an hour. After offering the plate, thebalance in the pots should be distributedimmediately. The plate can remain on thealtar while the rest is being distributed.Any initiated girl can take part in preparationof prasadam, and even a boy whois not initiated cannot take part.Maya and living entities are differentenergies of Krishna and all of them areeternal . Maya is acting under the directionof Krishna but her task is to punish the revoltedliving entities; therefore, she has tobusiness in the spiritual platofrm. Mayacannot go to Krishna means that Maya'sinfluence cannot be active in the presenceof Krishna. The example of darkness canbe given herein. The darkness has no existencein the presence of sunlight, similarlyMaya cannot exist in the presence ofKrishna. As darkness and light exist eternally,similarly, Maya and Krishna existeternally, but Maya has no existence in thepresence of Krishna. Try to understandthis simile.The material body has got heart andKrishna is seated there with the jiva in HisParamatma feature. Krishna is so powerfulthat He can become smaller than thesmallest and greater than the greatest. Hecan keep millions of skies within HisBelly and at the same time He can enterwithin the existence of the smallest atom.He can enjoy eternally in Vrindaban withHis Associates, at the same time He canpresent Himself in every nook and cornerof His Creation. These are some of the inconceivablepotencies of Krishna and assuch living entity can never be equal withKrishna. The Mayavadi philosophers tryto keep Krishna and living entities onequal level and that is proof of their lessintelligence.I hope you will understand these explanations,and distribute them to your otherGod-brothers and sisters. Hope you arewell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 -3026th January, 1968My Dear Daughter Krsna devi,Please accept my blessings. Thank youvery much for your letter postdated Jan25, 1968, and I thank you very much foryour proposal to come here and see me . Ishall be so glad to see you and Danny personallyas soon aas possible. I requestedyou takecharge of the Santa Fe Center becauseyou were doing the job very nifely,and I still hope that your presence therewill solve all the problems recently created.Mistakes there may be in our life,but if we stick to Krsna Consciousness,Krsna will surely put cus on the rightpath. Your husband Sriman Subal das isliving with me very peacefully, and he iscarving Radha and Krsna, from hardwood. So this life of material existence isjust like hard wood and if we can carveKrsna out of it, that is the sucess of ourlife.So, at any circumstances you must notforget Krsna. I love you at my heart andtherefore I gave you the name Krsna devidasi. Don't forget Krsna even for a singlemoment; chant Hare Krsna loudly orslowly as it my be convenient. But don't

JANUARY, 1968 299fo rgetto chant the Holy Name. I hope everythingwill be all right as soon as youcome here with Danny, and I am awaitingyour arrival with great interest. Hope youare well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 1-31 Los Angeles29th January, 1968Manager, Trade Bank & Trust Co.2nd Avenue at 4th StreetNew York, N.Y. 10003Dear Sir,Please transfer by air mail three hundredand eighty .dollars and no cents($380.00), to the Bank of Baroda LTD .,Chandni Chowk, Delhi, India, for creditof my savings account No. 1432 Anddebit my savings account No. B 19282with you.My passbook is enclosed herewith,which please make up and return to mealong with your mail transfer receipt, andoblige.Thanking you in anticipation.Yours sincerely,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiBy registered post with A.D.Enclosure-Passbook68-1-32 Los Angeles29th January, 1968Manager, Bank of Baroda LTD.Chandni Chowk,DelhiIndiaDear Sir,I beg to inform you that today I haveadvised the Trade Bank & Trust Co. ofNew York to transfer by air mail threehundred and eighty dollars and no cents($380.00) for credit of my S.B. accountNo. 1432, with you .The purpose for transferring thisamount is to pay press bill in India, fo rprinting cost. The copy of letter fromRadha Press, Delhi, is enclosed herewithfor your reference.Please acknowledge receipt hereof andoblige. Thanking you in anticipation.Yours truly,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnc. 1 copy of letter68-1 -33 Los Angeles30th January, 1968Allston, MassachusettsMy Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am justin receipt of your letter of yesterday 'sdate, along with a copy of SrimadBhagwatam 316/ 1, beginning from page1708. I have sent 1 tape this morning,probably you are getting tomorrow. So farI have received your edited copy of SrimadBhagwatam it is very nicely done.For the last few days I am feeling a littletrouble in my brain. There is a buzzingsound always which sometimes disturbsme, and therefore my taperecordings indictaphone has become a little slow, but Iwill go on sending tapes as far as possible.I understand that some of our studentsare in Boston, and they are not attendingthe Temple or cooperating with you. Thismeans they are under the clutches of Mayamore or less. After all , Krishna Consciousnessis difficult job for less intelligentpersons. But one who understandsKrishna Consciousness and acts accordingly,he should be accepted as spirituallythe strongest man. In the ChaitanyaCharitamrita it is said that persons whotake to Krishna Consciousness are supposedto be the most intelligent man.I have received one letter from Krishnadevi and I have asked her to come here and

300 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadasettle up the misunderstanding. Her husbandSubal is here with me and he is verypeaceful sincere boy. If Krishna devidoesn't come back and live with himpeacefully, then his decision is to livealone without any wife. I think this boycan do so. Anyway, if Krishna devi comeswe shall see things nicely mitigated .Regarding Maharishi Mahesh: I donot know much about his activities, butso far I have heard that he has got his particulartype of mantra which he sells for$35. And there are hundreds of studentsfor being cheated by him. Anyone whodoes not know the science of Krishna is agreat fool, and if he poses himself asSpiritual Master, he must be cheating thepublic without any doubt. Your processof discouraging friends in the matter oftheir being cheated by such misnomer isvery good. You know that out of manymillions of people, somebody tries to bespiritually advanced. And out of manymillions of spiritually advanced men,hardly there is one who understandsKrishna Consciousness. So, in yourcountry there are many who may be spirituallyinclined, but because they want tobe cheated, Krishna sends them manykinds of cheaters to bewilder them. It isunderstood that Maharishi Mahesh saysthat one can drink, and at the same timemake advancement in meditation, isclearly a cheating process. But what canbe done, your countrymen also wants tobe cheated like that. They want to continuetheir illicit sex relationships, intoxicationhabit, meat eating, and all othernonsensical things, and at the same timethey want to make spiritual advancement.This is clear indication of being cheated;nobody can make any advancement inspiritual life keeping himself conditionedby the above sinful activities. So you canjudge yourself what is the position of theso-called Maharishi Mahesh, and try tohelp your friends in such a way. There isno need of talking with people who are interestedin the Maharishi Mahesh, but ifyou have any sympathetic friends, you canlet him know how the cheating process isgoing on. I do not think that his disciplesclaiming advancement in spiritual life isbonafide.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

FEBRUARY68-2- 1 Los Angeles1st February, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of 1129/68.Ye s, I very much approve of Mr.Kallman's idea for the book on "TranscendentalMeditation." Rayrama has begunwork on it already, and probably hewill bring it back to N.Y. with him. Mukundatalked to Ravi Shankar and he saidhe is too busy with recordings and movies, etc .The specimens of paper are all nice,any one of them will be suitable. But I prefer the 70 or 60 lb. Your letter to VillageVo ice is very nice, and is written right tothe point. I have made an Ishtagoshe file,and I shall go on putting the reports thereas you send them.Lord Jaganatha is one feature ofKrishna as so many features, as Lord Narayan.Jaggat means universe, and nathameans Lord, the Lord of the Universe.Today I have received one urgent letterfrom Achyutananda Brahmachary. He isdoing very nicely with preaching work atKanpur. He has held many seminars, atdifferent places, and the educated circle(lawyers, teachers, etc .) are taking part inhis preaching work. Kanpur is the nextimportant city after Calcutta and Bombay.Therefore his decision to start immediatelyone center at Kanpur is acceptable.As proposed previously, $10 from eachcenter should be contributed for the IndianAmerican House. Now, you can immediatelysent him at the followingaddress $100 from the book account. Andfor the next month we shall arrange tosend him $60, collected from each center$10. He is requesting me to send you,Rayrama, and Rupanuga for sometimethere for preaching work . Rayrama has alreadysent him a note that he may be goingthere, latest by April 1968. You hadthe program to go to India for some time,now you can arrange for your startingthere. Kanpur is very important center,and there are many big business magnets,and 4 or 5 Brahmacharies staying there forsometime and preaching this mission willcarry good effect. The bank should be advisedto transfer $100 by air mail to thefollowing address; Achyutananda dasBrahmachary, c/o N. Banerjea, 114 ElliotRoad, Kanpur 4, India.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-2 Los Angeles1st February, 1968Sri HareKrishna Aggarwal177 Prem KutiaMarine Drive, BombayIndiaDear HareKrishnaji,Please accept my greetings. I hopeyourare allwell with your associates. Youwill be glad to learn that I came here to theUnited States in 1965, and since then I ampreaching the Hare Krishna movementthroughout the country. The Society'sname is as above, and I have got sixbranches at the present moment, asfollows:

302 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaISKCON Radha Krishna Temple26 Second AvenueNew York, N.Y. 10003ISKCON Radha Krishna Temple518 Frederick StreetSan Francisco, Calif. 94 117ISKCON Radha Krishna Temple95 Glenville AvenueAllston, Massachusetts 02 134ISKCON Radha Krishna Temple5364 W. Pico Blvd.Los Angeles, Calif. 90019ISKCON Radha Krishna Temple3720 Park AvenueMontreal 18, Quebec, CanadaISKCON Radha Krishna Temple411 B. W. Water StreetSanta Fe, New Mexico 87501Now I want to send a batch of traineddisciples into India, and you will see howthey are absorbed in this SAMKIRT ANmovement. When I was in India, I hadsome talks with you and you were interestedin the matter of spreading theSAMKIRT AN movement, HARE KRISH­NA, HARE KRISHNA, KRISHNAKRISHNA, HARE HARE. HARERAMA, HARE RAMA, RAMARAMA, HARE HARE, all over theworld. I shall be glad to hear from you ifyou still maintain the idea, and if so, thereis ample opportunity now to spread thisBhagwat movement, backed by literatureslike Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagwatam,Lord Chaitanya 's Teachings, etc . whichare already published. You will be glad toknow also that my Gita under the title ofGeetopanishad, or Bhagavad Gita as it is,is going to be published by Messrs. Mac­Millan and Co. of New Yo rk. Graduallythey will take up my English version ofSrimad Bhagwatam, Brahma Samhita,etc .The younger section of this country,both boys and girls, are taking great interestin this movement. At present I havemore than 100 students already initiated,strictly following the Vaishnava regulations.They are freed from following badhabits, namely; illicit sex life, intoxication,gambling, and non-vegetarian diet.So there is ample opportunity for spreadingthis original Indian cultural movementall over the world, and because you haveinterest in it, I shall be very glad to hearfrom you by return of post how you cancooperate in this world wide movement.I shall request you in this connection tosecure a copy of "Illustrated Weekly ofthe Times oflndia", published on January21, 1968, and see on page 38 how ourmovement is going on. Many papers inthis country also, especially LIFE Magazine,Times of India, San FranciscoChronicle, and many other minor papershave printed articles about our movement.Many mayors of great cities, police officials,have also appreciated our movement.The late Ambassador of lndia, nowGovernor of Assam, Sri B.K. Nehru, hasalso great appreciation for these activites.You will be glad to know that we drawno distinction of caste, creed, or nationality.So if there is any possibility of unitingthe whole human race under one religion,under one scripture, under one mantra,under one activity, then this movementwill be active. Our mission is one God,Sri Krishna; one scripture, BhagavadGita ; one mantra, HARE KRISHNA,HARE KRISHNA, KRISHNA KRISH­NA, HARE HARE. HARE RAMA,HARE RAMA, RAMA, RAMA, HAREHARE; and one activity, namely to serveLord Krishna with life, wealth, intelligence,and words.I shall be glad to hear from you hawmuch you are interested in this movement.

FEBRUARY, 1968 303On hearing from you favorably, I shall arrangeto send a batch of trained disciplesof this country to exhibit in all importantcities of India how they are working.Thanking you in anticipation for anearly reply.Yours sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Acharya68-2-3New Yo rkLos AngelesI st February, 1968My Dear Madhusudan,Please accept my blessings. You are alwaysengaged in Krishna's service is thegreatest pleasure for me, and I am feelingtranscendental happiness. Actually bodilyI am not getting much strength, but spirituallyI am getting much strength becausemy spiritual children are growing in spiritualstength . That is my strength.That prayer "Jagganatha Swami, NayanaPathagami, Bhavatume." For the timebeing, the Jagganathas can be transferredthere, chanting this prayer. But if you canwait until my arrival that is better. It isnice to hold a special ceremony for thatpurpose. I would like to do it when I go toN.Y.Yes, when Jagganatha goes to sleepand when He rises up, to ring the bell isthe custom. Ringing of bell is requiredeven for offering prasadam. That is thesystem in all the Temples in Vrindaban.Your question; Does the Lord go to sleepso early and before everyone, and wake upso late, after everybody? The Lord is independentand complete. He has nothingto do with everyone. He is Lord. After Hewakes up He is washed, not before.Sri means opulence, auspicity. Andtherefore before remembering any friendor superior, the Sri word is vrefixed in somany forms . The real word is Sri; the othersare all different forms of Sri. Yes,Lord Jagganatha is in the Spiritual Sky;every form of Krishna is in the SpiritualSky. Ekadashi is observed for increasingthe strength of devotion.Yes, the analogy concerning the spiritualbody of the Sat-Guru is acceptable,but not in the material sense. In the materialworld, the gold box and the goldplated box may be different in price, but inspiritual world there is no such distinction.There the gold box and the goldplated box are the same. In material worldthere is difference between a sweeper anda cooker; in the spiritual world a personwho sweeps the Temple and a person whoworships in the Temple are all the same.That is absolute knowledge .Yes, the verse concerning Archa Vigrahais like this: "Acheaaseladhi GurusuNare Muti Vaishnave Jati Budhi ." Themeaning is that one should not think of theDeity as made of stone, wood, etc. Anotherverse is, "Archaiam Evam Paria JaPujan Sadraya Hatay." The meaning isthat one who worships the Deity withgreat devotion but doesn't show any devotionto the devotees of the Lord, or doesn'tpreach Krishna Consciousness for thebenefit of the general public, he is in thelower stage of devotional service.Yes, Sanskrit is spoken not only onKrishna Loka but also in higher planets,of the demigods. It is called the languageof God and the demigods. It was spokenalso on this planet, when people were allgodly, they used to speak in Sanskrit. Sanskritis the origin of all languages of thecivilized peoples. It is most perfect, notonly descriptive; the word "Sanskrit"means "the most perfect". Because not asingle word you can pronounce withouthaving a bonafide principle. It is not likethe English language, "but, put" with irrationaldifference in pronunciation, noprinciples. Sanskrit isn't like that. Thereforeit is perfect. It isn't whimsical. Englishpoetry has one line one inch long,

304 Letters from Srila Prabhupiidanext line 600 inches long. Sanskrit is notlike that. There are strict principles, and itis so beautiful. Therefore in Sanskrit languagenot an ordinary man can become apoet. No other language of the world canbe compared with it. No other language ofthe world is so perfect as Sanskrit. Anylanguage near to Sanskrit language (likeBengali) is nearer to perfection. Sanskritis pronounced same way here or there, itis standard.Yes you can sing prayers in Sanskrit,but prayers in English can be also pronouncedbecause the Lord accepts the motivenot the pronunciation of the language.He wants to see spiritual motive . Even ifsome effectiveness is lost in translation, ifthe motive is there, it will make no difference.Regarding your question about Gopala;yes, Krishna can do anything, that isthe principle.Foodstuffs can be offered at any placebut with devotion and formalities.I thank you very much for your inquisitiveness,and Krishna will help you to understandthe Truth from within andwithout. I am very pleased for your endeavor.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. You wanted to to to India. Now thereis opportunity. Achyutananda is opening acentre at Kanpur the third important cityin India. Rayrama and Brahmananda willshortly start for India. You can also gowith them. Ask your parents to pay for theexpenses.68-2-4New YorkLos Angeles2nd February, 1968My Dear Purushottam,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter (undated), and Ihave noted the contents carefully. Krishnais so sublime and transcendental that Hecannot be realized by mental speculationor by personal endeavor, education, ormaterial acquisition. He can only be approachedand understood clearly by ourservice attitude, engaging all our sensesin His service. The beginning of service isto engage our hearing organs, and receivethe transcendental message by aural reception.And whenever we are mature inreceiving the transcendental messagefrom books like Bhagavad Gita , and SrimadBhagwatam, via media the transparentbonafide Spiritual Master, then we areable to chant or engage our tongue in theservice of the Lord, being engaged in theservice of the Lord. The material coveringof our senses becomes inactive and actualspiritual form of activity becomes manifest.I very much appreciate your developementof this spiritual perception, andKrishna has given you a good chance inthe matter of your proposed dealings withthe U.N. Please immediately finish thejob by incorporating our association in theU.N. It is a very good opportunity. ConsultBrahmananda and do it immediately.In the future, we will have very greatscope for introducing our Krishna Consciousnessfor leaders amongst all the nations.I think it is a very great opportunityfor us, and we should utilize it.So far your going to Buffalo, Brahmanandawill see to it, and if it is alreadychanged I have no objection. We have toserve Krishna from any circumstance orposition. That shall be our mode of life. Itdoesn't matter where we live or where weserve.If possible, secure one copy of "IllustratedWeekly of the Times of India",Bombay, and you will find a nice articleabout ourselves on page 38. I think youcan get this paper from any magazinestore. It was published on January 21,1968.

FEBRUARY, 1968 305I have no overwork; I am not workingmaterially. Thanking you once more foryour kind letter. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-5New Yo rkLos Angeles4th February, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated JanuaryI, 1968; and I am so proud to havesuch spiritual sons and daughters like you,who are so humble in their dealings butwho are so high in their spiritual understanding.Lord Chaitanya instructed us tobe more humble than the grass on thestreet, and more tolerant than the trees,and to offer all respects to all, demandingno respect for ourselves. All these nicequalifications make one worthy to chantHare Krishna. Just try to follow theseprinciples and keep staunch faith inKrishna and in Spiritual Master, and yourlife will be successful without any doubt.Regarding Kirtan Party: My idea isthat at least one dozen persons shouldform a Kirtan Party. Two persons playmdringams, eight persons play kartals,one person playing timboura, and oneperson playing melodious harmonium.The person who will play on timbourawill be leader singer. You have just calculatedwhat I want, when you suggest thatthe leader should sing as I do, and the otherswill respond. That will be very nice.But all the members of the party will bepure devotees. None of them should beoutsiders. We do not want any outsiders asfar as possible. Mdringam playing as youare doing at present will make you moreand more expert as you go on playing.Here also I see Goursundar simply byplaying is improving. If all the memberskeep their faith in Krishna and tries toplease Him, certainly everyone will bepleased by hearing our Kirtan. It is sureand certain. When such Kirtan will bedemonstrated, only the harmonium playermay sit, and all the others may stand upand join the Kirtan, and dancing properlydressed. This is actual idea and I hope ifsuch Kirtans are performed even on publicstage, we can sell tickets. That will be asource of earning to maintain our activities.I am glad that Purushottam is trying toget our Society recognized in the U.N. asa non-government organization. And if itis successful, then we shall be able to performKirtan in the U.N. stage. And if weare recognized by the representatives fordifferent nations, then we may be invitedfrom different parts of the world, then ourSAMKIRT AN movement will be successful. Our process will remain the sameeternally, namely, to begin with SAM­KIRT AN and prolong it at least for 112hour, then speak something from BhagavadGita, Srimad Bhagwatam, BrahmaSamhita, etc . and invite questions and answerthem. Then again concluded bychanting. This is my dream or idea, and Ishall be glad if you, Brahmananda,Purushottam, Rayrama, and others cangive this idea a practical shape and life,then I shall be very much thankful to you .Please convey my blessings to your goodwife Himavati, and I hope to meet youvery soon. Hope you are both well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-6New YorkLos Angeles4th February, 1968My Dear Labangalatika dasi,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour nice letter of January 28, and I

306 Letters from Srrta Prabhupadathank you very much for it. The properspelling of your spiritual name is LA­BANGALATIKA . The meaning of Labangalatikais delicate, sometimesRadharani is addressed as Labangalatika.Please continue in your nice service attitudeand Krishna will always be pleasedwith you . Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Send through Hansadutta68-2-7 Los Angeles4th February, 1968My Dear William Odell,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your nice letter, and foryour inquisitiveness. You are Krishna'spart and parcel . As you love your handsand legs, as you feel when your hand is introuble, similarly Krishna feels for youwhen you are in trouble. The hand hasvalue when it is attached to the body. Similarly,we have values when we areKrishna Conscious. The hand has novalue detached from the whole body.Krishna is the Whole and we are His partsand parcel . Try to understand this philosophyof simultaneously one and different.The hand and body is created all at atime. It is not that the body is created firstand then the hand is created. Our relationwith Krishna is like the hand and the body.Therefore, Krishna and we both are eternal,and there is no history of eternity. Ithas no beginning and no end. Krishna isblue because He is all attractive. The skyis blue because it reflects Krishna's bluecolour in the spiritual sky as much as thesunlight is reflected through skylightglasses.I hope your questions are fully answered;if at any time you have got somequestions, please write and send them tome . Thanking you once more for yournice letter.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-8 Los Angeles5th February, 1968San Bruno, CaliforniaMy Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your nice letter postdated Feb. 3,1968, and have appreciated your very niceKrishna Conscious sentiments. My adviceto you is to continue your good attitudethat you are keeping now and thisalone will help you in advancing yourcause of Krishna Consciousness. Yes, itwill be great advantage if you can chant somuch as one lac of Names daily, and alsoread scriptures. This is good opportunityfor you to learn to sing all the verses in theSrimad Bhagwatam as you began to do sonicely in San Francisco. That will be verynice.Namacharya Haridas Thakur wastaken to the jail and he told the prisonersthere, oh , you are so fortunate to have thisopportunity to sit and chant the HolyNames without the Maya distractions ofthe outer world! So you should think likethat, and use your time in the prisonhouseto the greatest advantage for spiritual advancement.Please note that the other side of thispage was appearing in the very popularmagazine New Yorker, and even they arechanting Hare Krishna in mockery, still, itdoesn't matter. Just so long they are chantingHare Krishna, that is the success ofour mission. The Kazi's men were breakingup the Kirtan parties of the Lord, andin mockery some of them chanted HareKrishna, and thereafter, their tongueswould not stop singing Hare Krishna. Our

FEBRUARY, 1968 307tongues should be like that, unable to everstop singing the Glories of the Lord. Wepractice, and someday it will be like that.Hope you are feeling well. And I hopeyou are receiving proper food there also.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-9Los Angeles7th February, 1968My Dear Janardan,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter dated Feb . 5, 1968.Rayrama has already left for N.Y. onMonday night, so you can contact himthere . Regarding your proposal for openinga center in London: I am prepared togo there at any moment. Even I do notmind the severe cold there. I have askedHansadutta to organize a Kirtan party of12 heads, so I wish to go there with astrong party for Kirtan and lecture. Asyou will be free by April 8, you may cometo N.Y. just after discharging your reponsibilities,and by that time I shall alsoreach there. So we shall consult togetherwith Brahmananda, Rayrama, yourself,and myself, how to move all over theworld with a Kirtan party. I am very muchhopeful of being successful if only selectedpersons of my followers will form aKirtan party and have an extensive tour allover the world. In the meantime we aretrying to get membership (non-governmentorganization) in the U. N., and ifwe are fortunate enough to get this membership,then we shall be able to attract theheads of all nations in this importantmovement. Our program for KrishnaConsciousness is solid, and backed bymost authoratative literature-BhagavadGita , and Srimml Bhagwatam; there is noquestion of our not being popular to theworld. Simply we have to present ourselvesin true perspective. We can challengeany rascals of the world but thedifficulty is that it is folly to be wise whereignorance is bliss. Maharishi Mahesh hasgained so much popularity over Europe orAmerica, means the people of this part ofthe world are not very much advanced inspiritual science. What is there philosophyin the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh?He is very clever man to collectfund. He is proposing individual mantrawhich is complete nonsense, and he ischarging for mantra and allowing his disciplesto enjoy life as they like. So theseare all nonsense propaganda proposals,but people are blind in accepting his advice.One thing is, however, clear, that theWe stern people are searching after somespiritual enlightenment in the real sense ofthe term. Bhagavad Gita with the rightpresentation and the program of KrishnaConsciousness is the right prescription,simply we have to administer them withcool head and solid program. I think bythe Grace of Krishna my working has producedsome sincere souls like yourself,Brahmananda, Hansadutta, and others.Now we have to chalk out a solid programby consulting together. In the Westerncountries, there is no dearth of men andmoney, as well as intelligence, simply toget them together and our program will besuccessful. My present program is that Iam waiting for a little warmer climate otherwiseI would have gone to N.Y. withoutwaiting further. Therefore my presentprogram is that I shall remain in the WesternCoast, Cal., during Feb. and March.Then I shall go to New York in April.When I will come there and we'll meet together.Then I will go to Boston in May,then by the month of June I will go toMontreal. I think that is the best time. Ishall remain in Montreal for June andJuly, then we shall go to England and possiblyfrom England, we may go to Amsterdam,Paris, Berlin, etc. Now, manproposes, God disposes. I do not know

308 Letters from Srila Prabhuptidawhat is Krishna's desire, but I havechalked out my program like this. Pray toKrishna that He may give me strength torender some service to you and to the humanityat large.I have not yet received Ron Blackwell'sletter which you mentioned. Hope you areall well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. I hope youare continuing to study Bengali. I shall beglad to know how much progress you havemade by this time. Hope you are well.Your ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-10New YorkLos Angeles8th February, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. Your letterdated Feb. 5, 1968, is just in hand. It isvery pleasing to me to see how your heartis working in Krishna Consciousness. Iam very much hopeful of your future gloriesin the matter of propagating this transcendentalmovement. Your remark thatwe cannot make Krishna our order supplieris very appropriate. We should alwaystry to supply everything to Krishnaand we shall try to avoid any return byKrishna. That is Vaishnava philosophy.The Gopies and Radharani servedKrishna without any expectation of materialor spiritual profit. They never expectedany return from Krishna andKrishna remained ever indebted to theGopies. Therefore Chaitanya Mahaprabhuexalted the worship method of theGopies, and Krishna when He tries to understandthe heart of the Gopies, that isthe transformation of Krishna into LordChaitanya.I am very much pleased to learn thatthings in New York are going nicely underyour supervision, and I do not see any urgentreason that you shall go to India immediately.Yo u are sincere pure soul,Krishna will give you His transcendentalcounsel as you shall require from time totime.I have seen the Life Magazine article;the pictures have come very sublime, andimperceptively they have admitted our superexcellenceof chanting Hare Krishna.You have marked it that they have said:"The chanting of Hare Krishna continuesto vibrate the brain for several days." Wewant to inject this transcendental poisoninto the heart of the Maya-serpent bittenpeople in general . Krishna Consciousnessby the sound of Hare Krishna, it continuesfor a moment in the brain of the rascals,then certainly it will act in future to helpthem to become Krishna Consciousness.In the Bhagavad Gita it is said: "Sa/pamapi asya dharmasya trayete mahato bhawat."Bhawat means fearfulness. Even aslight injection of this transcendental vibrationcan save one from the greatestdanger. In future, of course, we shall notbe very cheap plaything in the hands of theso-called publicity leaders in the kingdomof Maya. We simply give them a littlechance to serve Krishna, but we cannotaccept their leadership. In future, therefore,we shall agree to such publicity ifthey publish about ourselves exclusively. Ithink the Television proposal as writtenby you may be utilized in that way. Yes, Isaw the late Ambassador Mr. B. K. Nehruat San Francisco Hotel and he and his wifereceived me well. He introduced me alsowith the Consul General , Mr. Bazpai. Sothe meeting was nice and I understand that

FEBRUARY, 1968 309he has recommended my case as a permanentimmigrant to the Immigration Department.His assistants and secretaries inthe Embassy and Consulate General havewritten me letters confirming this. Theyhave promised that they will do their bestin getting my permanent visa, but usuallyit takes 5 to 6 months to complete the process.We have, however, submitted theImmigration application by the first weekof January, 1968. So I think I shall have towait for securing the visa. I quite appreciateyour proposal that you cannot go outuntil the two books are published.I think you are missing the four pointsof Krishna's superexcellent qualities to beadded in the Teachings of Lord Chaitanya.The four points are as follows: 1. Hecan create continuous waves of TranscendentalPastimes which attract the attentionof everyone including His Vishnu Expansions,2. His super-excellent beauty in themidst of Radharani and Her Associates,3. His super-excellent sound of His TranscendentalFlute, 4. His super-excellentbeauty cannot be surpassed by anyone inthe three worlds, namely, the materialworld, the Vaikuntha Loka, and KrishnaLoka. I hope you will add these points tocomplete the vacancy.Yes, the essay for the booklet is alsothe script for the new record. I am veryglad that Jadurany is inspecting our finearts department. It is very much gratifying.Please offer my blessings to the newboy John. I am very much anxious to getour position as non-government organizationin the U.N. , please try for it yourbest.I have received leter from S. S. BrijbasiCompany that by the approach of HitsaranSharma, they have immediately executedthe order. And a copy of the letter is alreadythere in N.Y. , and the documentsare expected very soon. I have also receivedletter from United Shipping Corp.that the books, harmoniums, kartals, mridangas,etc., are already shipped on the14th of January, and expected to arrive bythe 20th of February.Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-1 1 Los Angeles8th February, 1968My Dear JaiGovinda,Please accept my blessings. I beg tothank you very much for your letter datedFeb. 5. Your attitude of humbleness ispraiseworthy. A devotee should always remainhumble and meek especially to theauthorities and devotees. Lord Chaitanya'sphilosophy is not to become God,but to become servant, servant, servant ofGod. The more one becomes the lowergrade servant of the Lord, the more he isdevoted nearer to the Lord. This is ourphilosophy. I have all my hearty blessingsupon you, please do your duties nicely,and Krishna will be pleased to shower HisBlessings upon you. He is very kind tosincere souls, and He gives intelligencefrom within to sincere devotees. We requireonly to become sincere in the serviceof the Lord, then everything is thereready for our convenience.Regarding lecturing by woman devotees:I have informed you that in the serviceof the Lord there is no distinction ofcaste or creed, color, or sex. In the BhagavadGita , the Lord especially mentionsthat even a woman who has taken seriouslyis also destined to reach Him. Werequire a person who is in the knowledgeof Krishna, that is the only qualification ofa person speaking. It doesn't matter whathe is. Materially a woman may be less intelligentthan a man, but spiritually thereis no such distinction. Because spirituallyeveryone is pure soul. In the absoluteplane there is no such gradation of higher

310 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadaand lower. If a woman can lecture nicelyand to the point, we should hear her carefully.That is our philosophy. But if a mancan speak better than a woman, the manshould be given first preference. But eventhough a woman is less intelligent, a sinceresoul should be given proper chanceto speak, because we want so manypreachers, both men and women.I have seen the Life Magazine publicationabout ourselves, and it is not bad. Iam glad that Rupanuga has gone to Buffalofor opening a center there. The organizer,Mr. Goel , is a very nice boy, and Ihad some correspondence with him.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami6'8-2-12New YorkLos Angeles12th February, 1968My Dear Bhakti Jan,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter dated Feb . 10,1968, and have noted the contents. Thestrong hand of Maya is insurmountable asit is stated in the Bhagavad Gita. But if onesticks to Krishna Consciousness withfirmness, then he can easily surmount.My instructions I have already given toyou, how to chant the beads, and how toprotect yourself from the offences. I shalladvise you again to chant always, increasingthe counting, namely, 16 rounds isgenerally prescribed, but for the time beingyou can stop all other activities and increasethe chanting to 64 rounds. Followthe rules and regulations strictly. If youwant sex life, you are at liberty to get yourselfmarried. But don't have illicit sexwith some Maya's representative. Thatwon't help you in your spiritual advancement.We don't forbid sex life, but we cannotallow illicit sex. For a young man it isvery difficult to check sex desire, thereforebest thing is for him to get himselfmarried, and live like a responsible gentleman.Irresponsible man cannot makeprogress materially, or spiritually. You'reintelligent young man, you can understandthings as we say, and you follow andyou will be benefited. Mistakes we maycommit because it is not out of human activity,but at the same time, we must useour good consciousness how to achievethe goal of our life, Krishna. Please stickto this chanting process, sincerely, withoutany offence, and everything will be allright with you . Thanking you once morefor remembering me. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP.S. Please try to assist Brahmananda tillmy arrival in New York in April 1968.When I shall meet you I shall give you aspecific duty and I hope you will be happyto discharge it. ACB68-2-13 Los Angeles12th February, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Feb. 8,1968. You want to counteract the activitiesof Maharishi, but you must know Maharishiis the agent of Maya. Our processof Krishna Consciousness and SAMKIR­T AN movement is already counteractingthe spell of Maya, but the Maharishi saysthat you remain under the spell of Maya.His preaching is that you enjoy, and simplyyou pay him $35, and purchase hismantra. People in general are already underthe spell of Maya. That is to say, theywant sense gratification. If anyone encouragesthe method of sense gratification,

FEBRUARY, 1968 311at the same time become a yogi, why peoplewill not prefer that method? We saythere is no illicit sexlife, no intoxication,no meat eating, no gambling, so if Maharishisays there is no restrictions, naturallylarge number of people will followhim. That means they want to be cheated,and Krishna sends them a cheater. Wecannot cheat people like him. We must saythe truth, as they are prescribed; in theBhagavad Gita there are 18 kinds of austerities,13th chapter. The restrictionswhich we are following are austerities.Without austerity, without celibacy, anyamount of nonsense meditation will nothelp. So there is no comparison of ourmethod with Maharishi's method. We arenot out to counteract any kind of vandalism.We must present the genuine thingbefore the public, and if they are intelligentenough they will take it up and realizeit. The followers of Maharishi are notintelligent class of men. If you have anyadvancement in the . knowledge of BhagavadGita, you can test any follower ofMaharishi, you will find he is nil.The idea for Japan is very nice, butwho will bear the expenses, that is theproblem. And who will take charge of thepavilion, that is the problem. If you canmanage to construct such pavilion, I haveno objection. But consult with Janardanand others in this connection. Your goodwish is very nice, and I can also go there,but it requires thousands of dollars to giveeffect to such proposal.If you can do so, you can join Achyutanandaimmediately, as you like. If youare able, you can go. You can correspondwith Achyutananda, his address is as follows:Achyutananda das Brahmachary,c/o Mr. N. Banerjea; 114 Elliot Road;Kanpur, 4; India.Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-14MontrealLos Angeles12th February, 1968My Dear Mahapurusha,Please accept my blessings. I am in receiptof your letter dated February 8,1968, and have noted the contents carefully.I am very glad to learn that you areholding Kirtan on the University campus,do it nicely. Do not bother your headabout that rascal Maharishi Mahesh. Hisactivities are like the waves tossing foamon the ocean. It will stay for some timeand then vanquish. For the time the oceanappears to be all devouring, but in propertime it is calm and quiet. Krishna Consciousnessisn't like that. It is a great science.It requires great spiritual asset toadopt the principles. You have desired tomeet with Maharishi Mahesh for argument,and as Lord Chaitanya arguedwith Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. SarvabhaumaBhattacharya was talking onthe basic principle of Vedanta. So therewas a via media interpretation. This mandoes not follow any Shastra or any authority.He is authority by himself, andhas manufactured his own meditation process.Therefore, he is not standard. Wecannot waste our time with a non-standardloafer class man. Therefore do not agitateyour mind in this way. We are followingthe footprints of Lord Chaitanya. We arenot going to become God, as Maharishisays every one of us is God. You should befirmly convinced in your own philosophy,Bhagavad Gita, otherwise you may bemisled. Why don't you try to convince thefollowers of Maharishi that they are followinga rascal, a cheat. Because he doesnot follow a standard process. So try tounderstand the followers of Maharishi,how far they have advanced in spiritualconsciousness, and get it corroboratedfrom the teaching of Bhagavad Gita as you

312 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadalearned. Lord Chaitanya talked with Sarvabhaumaon the basis of Vedanta Sutra.The Maharishi has no basic principle, heis manufacturing his own way. So it is uselessto talk with him. He has gathered thenot very intelligent class of men, and theywill not stay. We are teaching BhagavadGita as it is, that is called Krishna Consciousness.Why don't you try to understandMaharishi from the point of view ofBhagavad Gita.To stick to the principles advised bythe Spiritual Master and serve Krishnaunder the direction of the Spiritual Masteris the only hope of our advancing inKrishna Consciousness. The SpiritualMaster and Krishna are two parallelllines. You have to make your progress onthese two parallel lines, you cannot avoidone in preference of the other. The train,on two tracks, moves forward. The SpiritualMaster and Krishna are like these twotracks, they must be served simultaneously.Krishna helps one to find bonafideSpiritual Master, and bonafide SpiritualMaster helps one to understand Krishna.If one does not get bonafide SpiritualMaster, then how he can ever understandKrishna? You cannot serve Krishna withoutSpiritual Master, or serve just SpiritualMaster without serving Krishna.They must be served simultaneously.Ye s, you may ask them to bow down, ifthey have made offense, they should bowdown.Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-15 Los Angeles12th February, 1968My Dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Feb . 10,1968, and have noted the contents. Thematter is little more risky in the sense thatthe rent is $400 per month, but you haveassurance from friends and your own resourcesof $250, so balance is $150 whichI think you can collect from the meetingsvery easily. So far I am concerned I alwaystake risk for Krishna. I came here inyour country risking my life. And still althoughI am physically unfit, I am tryingto execute the orders of my Guru Maharajas far as possible. So to take risk forKrishna is very good. You know the historyof my starting the society in 1966, itwas all risky, and I was alone, but I took itdepending on Krishna. So I think if youtake the risk of $150, for Krishna's sake,Krishna will supply you the requiredmoney undoubtedly. It depends howeveron your personal discretion, but I amhopeful that if you take the risk it will notbe bad. In the meantime, Upendra is alsoreleased earlier from his internment, andI think if he takes some job he can alsohelp. So try to open this branch and let usdepend on Krishna's Good Will .Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-16Los Angeles13th February, 1968My Dear Guru das,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Feb.8, andhave noted the contents. I have receivedalso one letter from Upendra today, and Iam so glad he is released within 10 days.That was my expectation when he came tosee me , that he couldn't be incarceratedfor more than a week. This instance ofsuffering by a devotee should be carefullynoted. As Upendra was in the beginningincarcerated for 3 months, it was reducedto one week; similarly, when a devotee isseen in trouble, it should be accepted as

FEBRUARY, 1968 313God's Mercy. Just like Upendra's sufferingfor 3 months was destined by the law,but by the Mercy of God the suffering isreduced to one week only. So a devotee alwaysaccepts his distress as minimized byGod's Mercy, although he would have tosuffer many more times the suffering.Any one who accepts this philosophy ofGod's Mercy in suffering conditions, andstill makes progress in Krishna Consciousness,it is said that he is sure to goback to Home, Back to Godhead.Regarding Achyutananda's letter toyou : it is a fact that in BrahmacharyAshram no Griha, , 'Ire supposed tolive, but the Ameri' an House which weare now contemplating has no separate departmentfor Grihastras or Brahmacharies. Therefore for the present we cannotmake such distinction in the AmericanHouse. We are just beginning the AmericanHouse there and gradually we shallmake departmental division later on. Yourquotation from Lord Chaitanya that nobodyshould identify as a Brahmachary,Householder, Sannyasi, is quite correct.On the Krishna platform there is no suchdistinction. The only reason is that on thematerial platform sexlife is very predominant.Therefore a Brahmachary is advisednot to live with Grihastras. But if there'sstrong sense of Krishna Consciousness,this distinction of material world will disappearin spiritual light. Anyway, so faryou are concerned, I have received letterfrom Achyutananda which reads as followsabout yourself: "Yamuna and Gurudasare welcomed and they may comesoon so I must have your decision." Soyou can prepare yourself for going thereand keeping correspondence with Achyutananda,so that as soon as the house issettled there you can go with a car.I am keeping well . Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-17Los Angeles13th February, 1968Robert Pekala32 Grove StreetBurlington, Vt. 05401My Dear Robert,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your inquisitivenessshown in your letter dated Jan. 30, 1968.And I am sorry that I could not reply thisletter earlier, on account of being busy inmy preoccupation. I am glad that you attendedour class at Montreal and tried tounderstand the philosophy of KrishnaConsciousness. It is neither sectarian nordogmatic. It is the natural relationship ofthe living entities with the Supreme Soul .The Supreme Soul is Krishna, or the AllAttractive; one cannot be Supreme Soulwithout being all attractive. If God is Supreme,therefore the nomenclature of Godto be addressed is Krishna perfectly well.If you are inquisitive to learn this sciencepersonally from me, I have no objectionif you come here and stay with me forsome days. A school life isn't an impedimentfor becoming full time devotee, it isthe question of devoting oneself sincerelyto Krishna Consciousness. To prosecuteKrishna Consciousness there is no limitation,no material impediment can stopprogress of Krishna Consciousness. Thatis the symtom of spiritual life. Spirituallife doesn't depend on material conditions.We have got many instances fromthe history of devotee's life as Prahlad Maharaj. He was a small school boy, his fatherand teachers were all against GodConsciousness. Still he flourished andconverted all his class fellows to beKrishna Conscious in spite of severe trialsexperimented on his personal body. So itis only the question of understanding theprocess how to execute Krishna Consciousness.If you can therefore spare

314 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadasome time to live with me, it will be better.You appear to be a very intelligent boyand I hope you will learn the art quickly.Thanking you once more.Hope you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-18San FranciscoLos Angeles13th February, 1968My Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to hear that you are released now; thisI expected when you came to see me. I entrustedthe matter to Krishna to give yourelease. Anyway, Krishna has been somuch merciful upon you that He has takenyou out of the state laws. So in every kindof miseries we have to depend on Krishnaand we should not be too much disturbedwhen such miseries come upon us. Youhave shown very great example in stickingyourself to chanting Hare Krishna whileyou were in tribulation. Follow this practiceall along your life, and surely Krishnawill accept you into the Kingdom of God,Back to Godhead.So far going to India: For the time being,it may be postponed because there isgood prospect of starting a center atBerkeley, and Gargamuni is arranging forthat. I think Gargamuni and yourself andKrishna das may be the main figures inconducting this center. In the meantime,the Indian center may be organized byAchyutananda, and later on we shall haveto see where we shall have to concentratemore energy on the Brahmacharies.Your strong desire to serve me is verybeautiful; your serving me means servingKrishna. I am also your servant so I cannotaccept your service from you, or fromany of my disciples. I accept service frommy disciples on behalf of Krishna. Justlike a tax collector must collect for thetreasury, not for himself. If he himselftouches so much as a farthing it would beunlawful. So I have no right to accept servicefrom any disciple, but on behalf ofKrishna I can accept. Sincere service tothe Spiritual Master is service to the SupremeLord. As stated in the prayer,"Prasadad Bhagavat Prasadad". Thatmeans because Krishna accepts servicethrough the via media of Spiritual Master,therefore pleasing the Spiritual Master isequal to pleasing the Supreme Lord.There are four Sampradayas from thebeginning of the creation. One is calledBrahma Sampradaya, and is coming downby disciplic succession from Brahma; anotherSampradaya is coming down fromLakshmi, called Shree Sampradaya; anotheris coming down from the Kumaros,they are known as Nimbark Sampradaya;another Sampradaya is coming from LordShiva, Rudra Sampradaya or VishnuSwami. These are four bonafide Sampradayasthat are accepted by the bonafidespiritualists. The Impersonalist Sampradayais not original neither the ImpersonalistSampradaya or party can help us. Atthe present moment there are so manySampradayas, but we have to test themabout their method of disciplic understanding.Anyway, all the four Sampradayasabove mentioned, they are afterworshipping the Supreme Lord Vishnu, inHis different Expansions, and some ofthem are in favor of worshipping RadhaKrishna. In the later age the Brahma Sampradayawas handed down though MadhyaAcharya; in this Madhya Acharya disciplicsuccession came Isvara Puri. This IsvaraPuri was accepted as SpiritualMaster of Lord Chaitanya. Therefore, webeing in disciplic succession of ChaitanyaMahaprabhu, we are known as the MadyaSampradaya. And because Lord Chaitanyaappeared in Bengal, which country iscalled Gouda Dasha, our Sampradaya

FEBRUARY, 1968 315party is known as Madya Goudiya Sampradaya.But all these Sampradayas arenon-different from one another becausethey believe and worship the SupremeLord . Any other Sampradaya who are 1mpersonalistor voidist or non-devotee, theyare rejected by us.My Guru Maharaj was in the lOth generationfrom Lord Chaitanya. We are 1 1thfrom Lord Chaitanya. The disciplic sucessionis as follows: 1. Sri Krishna, 2.Brahma, 3. Narada, 4. Vyasa, 5. Madhva,6. Padmanabha, 7. Nrihari, 8. Madhava,9. Akshobhya, 10. Jayatirtha, 11. Jnanasindhu,12. Purushottama, 13. Vidyanidhi,14. Rajendra, 15. Jayadharma, 16. Purushottama,17. Vyasatirtha, 18. Lakshmipati,19. Madhavendra Puri, 20. IsvaraPuri (Advaita, Nityananda) 21. SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu, 22. (Swarupa,Sanatan) Rupa, 23. (Jiva) Raghunath, 24.Krishna dasa, 25. Narottama, 26.Viswanatha, 27 . (Baladeva) Jaganatha,28. (Bhaktivinode) Gourakishore, 29.Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati , SriBarshabhanavidayitadas, 30. Sri SrimadBhaktivedanta.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Upendra,Please distribute other devotees letterenclosed herewith.ACB68-2-19New YorkLos Angeles15th February, 1968My Dear Sudarshana devi,Please accept my blessings. In reply toyour letter, Jan. 31 1968, which I receivedjust day before yesterday, I have acceptedyou as initiated student and your spiritualname is Srimati Sudarshana devi. (Onewho looks forward on the Sudarsan wheelin the hand of Krishna)Please follow the regulations and chant16 rounds daily at least without any offence.The list of offences, 10 kinds, arein my apartment in N.Y. , and you askyour God-brother, Brahmananda, and hewill supply you. Similarly, there is anotherlist of the qualifications, as well asprayer for Spiritual Master, are also there.Try to secure them, and follow the regulations,and Krishna will help you in beingelevated to higher and higher platforms ofKrishna Consciousness. Thanking youvery much.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-20New Yo rkLos Angeles15th February, 1968My Dear Jadunandan das Brahmachary,Please accept my blessings. In reply toyour letter of February 8, 1968, I thankyou very much for it, and I have acceptedyou as my initiated student and your spiritualname is Sriman Jadunandan dasBrahmachary. (Jadunandan is anothername of Krishna)Please follow the regulations and chant16 rounds daily, at least, without any offence.The list of offences, 10 kinds, arein my apartment in N.Y. , and you askyour God-brother, Brahmananda, and hewill supply you. Similarly, there is anotherlist of the qualifications, as well asprayer for Spiritual Master, are also there.Try to secure them, and follow the regulations,and Krishna will help you in beingelevated to higher and higher platforms ofKrishna Consciousness. Thanking youvery much.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

316 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiida68-2-21 Los Angeles15th February, 1968My Dear Shyamsundar,Please accept my blessings. I am in receiptof your letter with designs of thethrone. I am so glad that somebody hasdonated sufficient funds to construct thethrone. Your design appears to be verynice, nicer than the design which I gaveyou drawn by Goursundar; but the formerdesign was made with the proposal of coveringit with silver foils. To make it lessexpensive because the whole thing has tobe covered by silver foils, I made itplainer. But your design is not so plain, itis gorgeous and if it is covered with silverfoils it will be still more gorgeous. Mypoint is: with this design or former design,it does not matter, but it must be covered,major portion, with silver foil. I amglad to hear that someone is going to donatesufficiently for this throne. Now youmake your own choice which one will besuitable for our purpose. If the friend whowants to donate is willing to pay anyamount of expenditure, then your designis very nice. You do it nicely for the serviceof Sri Sri Radha Krishna. But the silvercovering must be very prominent.I am returning the design as requested.I am feeling well so don't worry about me.As soon as you like me to go to San Francisco,I am ready to go. Hope you arewell.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-22 Los Angeles15th February, 1968Allston, MassachusettsMy Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your nice letters ofFeb. 8, and Feb. 10. As always, I am sohappy to hear about all the nice artworkyou and your associates are doing. Regardingyour questions: The airplanes inVaikuntha isn't exactly like the aiplaneshere, but it is something like the swanwhile flying, in shape, with a throne onthe back, bedecked all over with goldenfiligree works, and looking very brilliant.It isn't a bird flying, but the shape of theplane is like the swan bird flying.The demons could assume any giganticshape they liked. They can play jugglery; they are not ordinary humanbeings. You must know that a person withwhom God had to fight is not an ordinaryperson. He could play almost equally withthe Lord, but nobody can excel the Lord.Therefore, he was killed. To expand andto reduce the body is sometimes performedby a successful yogi.Yes, Viragha is very beautiful . Generally,the Boar picture is depicted as halfhuman, and half boar, but in Bhagwatamit is stated that full boar. You can make thefirst 2 legs as 2 hands, and the rear legsand legs, and make it as beautiful as possible.Printing in India is out of the questionnow, because we have no sufficient fund.If something can be done with cooperationof Mr. Kallman, that is the next possibility.Better to consult Brahmananda inthis connection.I am so please that you are guidingyour God-sisters in N.Y. so nicely. Butsome of your God-sisters in San Franciscowant you for 2 months. I have asked themto write you directly and if you can spareyourself for that time to organize aBrahmacharini ashram in S.F., pleasethink it over. I have seen the article put inBoston newspaper about your activitiesthere, and I am so glad to see your picture,just a Brahmacharini. The picture wasvery attractive for me, and I pray Krishnathat you may make further progress in

FEBRUARY, 1968 317Krishna Consciousness so your spiritualbeauty may come out more and more. Thearticle was very nice. And also, I amthinking if you go to S.F., then work inBoston may suffer for want of you . Becauseyou are only 3 in Boston, and underthese circumstances I cannot advise youdirectly to go to S.F., but if you think it ispossible then try to help them.My present plan is that I will have to goto S.F. most probably to open a center inBerkley, during the Advent Ceremony ofLord Chaitanya, and from S.F., I may goto N.Y. So if you come to S. F. , at least fora few days then, we can meet there and seehow the Brahmacharini ashram is goingthere.Regarding offering food: The customis to offer the foodstuff first to the SpiritualMaster; we cannot do anything directly.The Spiritual Master accepts theoffering on behalf of his disciple, and offersthe same to Krishna. After Krishna'seating, the Spiritual Master eats it, andthen the devotees take it as Mahaprasad.This is the system. Everything is offeredto the Spiritual Master first, with theprayer "Nama Om Vishnupadaya . . . ."If, in the cooking process, food falls onthe floor, if it is raw and can be washednicely, then it can be offered. But if it isprepared and cannot be washed, then it isnot to be offered, but can be eaten ratherthan be wasted.Brijbasi Co. are not ordinary businessmen,they are devotees. So their picturesaren't poisonous. Even it is poison, becausewe are paying for their goods,therefore if poison is there, it becomes ineffective.Just like we are buying so manythings at the market which are not fit foroffering to Krishna, but because we arepurchasing them, we can offer.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of Feb. 10,1968, and have noted the contents carefully.The article was very nice, as I havewritten in Jadurany's letter. And the radioshow man is very intelligent, this is goodpublicity for our movement. And I amhappy to hear you are holding Kirtan at somany places, and spreading Lord Chaitanya'smessage.I was very pleased to hear your statementabout the tape, and about Brahmacharylife. Yes, the anchor, as in thesketch-story "The Grand Procession" issexlife, and we are 50% liberated if wecan make it nil . There isn't any differencebetween chanting the Holy Name at thesame time washing the dishes of the Temple.So do not be worried when you are attractedfor doing other work in theTemple. There is variegatedness in transcendentalactivities. Sometimes we liketo chant, sometimes we like to washdishes. There is no difference on the Absoluteplane. I am sure Krishna will giveyou all intelligence to work transcendentally.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Please inform Pradyumna that I shallreply his letter later on. I have received thethings wanted by him.68-2-23New Yo rkLos Angeles15th February, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your last letter dated Feb.12, 1968, along with Dai Nippon PrintingCompany's material . Formerly, whenDwarkadish was in correspondence withthis company, they quoted price for 400pages of Srimad Bhagwatam of the same

318 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidasize of binding at $5,400 for 5000 copies.So far I remember, I requested Dwarkadishto make it $5000 and I do not knowwhat is the fate of the correspondence.But I remember that they quoted $5,4000for 5000 copies. Now even the pagesaren't so many. The pages are only 230,still they are quoting $6,390 for 5000 copies.Best thing would have been to searchout the correspondence with Dwarkadish.So far printing is concerned, 12114 Bemhoon the paper 70 lb. is approved byme. Now you can search out the old correspondencewith Dwarkadish if possible,and do the needful . Otherwise, as Mr.Kallman has said, you can find out somebodyin New York. If it is published inN.Y. it is better, but I am sure no N.Y.man can give competitive price than Japan.I leave the matter to your judgement,and do the needful . Shipping time isn'tvery important, if you get competitiveprice, we should place the order to Japan.As requested by you , I am sendingherewith the beads and respective lettersof Jadunandan Brahmachary, and Sudarshanadevi; which please deliver tothem with your good wishes and handover to them the requisite list of regulations,etc . Also, Bhaktijan is there inN.Y., he may be nicely treated as he hascome back, so he will understand the philosophynicely. I have asked him to chant64 rounds instead of 16.Regarding apartments: we are Indians,especially mendicant, we can adjustthings in any kind of place. But I shall stayin any place hell or heaven, if it is approvedby you. Of course, on behalf ofKrishna I am accepting your sincere service,but on the whole, I am servant of theservant of Krishna. Therefore I may be indesignation your Spiritual Master, but actuallyI am servant of the servant ofKrishna, and because you are all sincereservants of Krishna, I am your servant. Ishall be glad to stay whereever yourself,Rayrama, and others like me to stay.In San Francisco, everyone is desiringJadurany fo r at least two months for consolidatinga Brahmacharini ashram. If Iask her to come, she will surely comehere, but I am seeking your opinion, if hercoming here may hamper the cause thereshe is now conducting.In my opinion, if we could get 5000copies of Teachings of Lord Chaitanya at$5000, that would have been a nice bargain.If possible try to contact Dwarkadistiimmediately, and see the wholecorrespondence, and do the needful . Butdo it as soon as possible. The sample ofhardbound and the covering cloth, etc.,are very nice. The paper is also nice, andthe printing is also nice; now if they comedown to the nice price, it all will be nice.Hope you are well .Yo ur ever well-wisher,My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for sending me the latestcopy of Back to Godhead, which is sonicely decorated and painted. My specialthanks are due to Jai Govinda who-whohas so nicely sketched the story of theGrand Procession. I think in each andevery issue a similar story-sketch may beprinted, and it will be very interesting forthe American reading public. It is interestingand thought provoking. Therefore,the more we print such sketch-stories, itwill be greater in appreciation.You wanted to write me after sendingthe picture at the following address.: ShyamsundarMullick, 155/ A Mahatma GandhiRoad, Calcutta-7, India,. Hope youarc well . Please let me know if you havesent the picture in India as above mentioned.Your ever well-wisher

FEBRUARY, 1968 31968-2-24Los Angeles16th February, 1968My Dear Uddhava,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your nice letter, andhave noted the contents . I have alreadysent copy of the instructions for celebratingmy Guru Maharaj 's Advent Day, toShyamsundar, as of yesterday, and you canread it to all the devotees at Ishtagoshe.Similarly, Malati has just recently askedabout the 8 witnesses, and I have repliedin her letter the question you may ask ofRayrama. I have written Upendra recentlyregarding the Sampradaya, and disciplicsuccession, and you may have gotten theinformation from him by now.After killing the demon Hiranyakasipu,the Lord Nrismghadeva was pacifiedby Prahlad Maharaj , who offered prayersin hymns which are very instructive. Ishall be preparing these for you in my SrimadBhagwatam. I will simply cite onenice verse: "Oh Benevolent Lord ! Friendof the fallen! Oh the Tender-Hearted!bound by my own Karma I have beenthrown into the midst of these demonswho are destroying every thing of Yourdevotees! I am therefore extremely averseto the unbearable and terrible miseries ofthis cycle of birth and death in this worlddevoid of service and devotion to You. OhLord! When will You be pleased with meand call me to the shelter of Your LotusFeet which are soothing like the smilingbeams of ten million autumnal moons?"Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-25New Yo rkLos Angeles17th February, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of Feb. 8, 1968,and have noted the contents. I thank youvery much for your sincere appreciation,and for your feelings of imperfectness.The more you think as imperfect , themore you make actual progress in KrishnaConsciousness. This hankering after perfectionis seen in even the most perfectdevotees. So we should never think of beingperfect at any stage. Actually, KrishnaConsciousness is unlimited, becauseKrishna is unlimited, so we do not know atwhich point the perfection is there. EvenKrishna Himself thinks that he is imperfectto understand Radharani's feelings ofdevotion; and to understand the devotionalfeelings of Radharani, He becameLord Chaitanya, to worship Krishna in thefeelings of Radharani. So transcendentalactivities are so nice that it is all perfection,and still there is no perfect satisfaction.That is the duty of spiritual life.Please stick to your principles as you arenow doing and serve Krishna to your bestcapcacity, and Krishna will give you allprotection undoubtedly.I am very happy to hear you are makingnice arrangements for the KirtanParty; I am anxious to see the idea takeshape. Yes, the more you develop the attitudefor service sincerely, the more opportunitiesKrishna will give you to serveHim, in so many varieties of ways. And Iam so happy to hear that you are findingstrength to be determined to spreadKrishna Consciousness all over theworld; my Guru Maharaj wanted like that,especially the Western world, and myonly request is that you all sincere boysand girls, to spread this Krishna Consciousnessto every home, to every villageand town, and to take this mission very seriously.Please convey my blessings to yourgood wife. Hope you are both well.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. organisation of the Kirt.an party for

320 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadaworld tour should now be given our firstconsideration.ACB68-2-26 Los Angeles17th February, 1968My Dear Pradyumna,Please accept my blessings . I have receivedthe transliteration of BrahmaSamhita and also your letter of February14, 1968. I am very much pleased withthe nice job you have done.Presently I am using one copy of theGita Press version of Srimad Bhagwatamin connection with my translating work,but in due course I may send it to you andyou may transliterate the second and thirdcantoes at that time. So if you can do thistransliteration we have enough assignments.You may work together with Goursundarin this connection.Regarding the book list: "LordGauranga" by S.K. Ghose and Veder Panchayaby Bon Maharaj are useless and youmay not get them. The other books andthe Gaudiya paper are acceptable. If youhave free use of Xerox machine you maymake copies, of some of the smallerworks. Regarding Bhakti Puri, TirthaMaharaj , they are my God-brothers andshould be shown respect. But you shouldnot have any intimate connection withthem as they have gone against the ordersof my Guru Maharaj .I am glad to know that you are workinghard to expand the Krishna Consciousnesspropaganda in Boston. I may say thatthis practical devotion is the secret to understandingthe Shastras. My Guru Maharajused to say that for one who is notengaged in devotional service, reading allthe books is simply like licking the outsideof the honey jar. One who thinks thebooks is the thing is content in this way.But we should learn the secret to open thejar and taste the honey. In this way, if wecan simply understand one book, or onesloka, the perfection is there . LordChaitanya warned about reading too manybooks, although I see in America this isvery popular to get volumes and volumesof books and not understand one. Anywayby sincerely working by carefully executingthe instructions of the Spiritual Master,you will be all successful by Krishna'sGrace. I am always praying to Krishna foryour advancement in Krishna Consciousness,all of you, sincere souls. Hope youare all well.Your ever well-wisher,68-2-27Los Angeles17th February, 1968My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. Herewithplease find one letter from AchyutanandaBrahmachary, and read it carefully, andthen return it back to me for filing. Theboy is very much enthusiastic in openingan American House in India (Kanpur),and it is to be understood that the house isvery much comfortable and commodious.We have got another opportunity of cooperatingwith Pandit Hitsaran Sharma,who is anxious to publish ISKCON magazinefrom India, and he is prepared to takethe charge of it, and he wants our full cooperation.The copy of the letter receivedfrom him is also enclosed herewith,please find it .Now, I am anxious to know if you havedelivered the manuscript of the BhagavadGita to MacMillan and Co., and whetheryou are now prepared to go to India.Achyutananda is very anxious to see youthere and as you have already written himthat you are going there. He wants to seeyou there by the middle of March. I do notknow whether you are prepared to gothere by that time. But one thing is very

FEBRUARY, 1968 321encouraging, that if you go there and managethe publication, both Srimad Bhagwatamand Back To Godhead, print incooperation with the proprietor of theRadha Press, it will be a very nice proposal.Printing in India is undoubtedlycheaper than in any other place, becausethe labor is very cheap there . Gargamuniis very much hopeful for selling Back ToGodheads, even up to 10,000 copies. If allthese proposals are actually practical ,then it is lucrative to give it a try. If it issucessful then my program will be 6months in India and 6 months in this country; and if things go on nicely, we can preparesome preachers so that even if Iretire, the missionary work will go on underthe able guidance of some of my selecteddisciples, like you , Brahmananda,Rupanuga, etc . Please reply this letter byreturn of post. I am anxious to knowwhether the manuscript is delivered toMacMillan.Also, please send a copy of the newBack To Godhead to this address as soon aspossible: Secretary; Shri Radha MadhavaSeva Sansthan; Shri Krishna-Niketan; Rly.Circular Road; Gorakhpur; U.P., India.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure-2 .68-2-28San FranciscoLos Angeles18th February, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated Feb .1 5 , 1968, and noted the contents . I havealready instructed Jayananada not to occupythe storefront in Berkeley if it is toomuch risky. We should not accept anythingvery risky because that will hamperus in our program of Krishna Consciousness.Our motto is simple living, highthinking; we should think of Krishnawithout being hampered by material disturbances,as far as possible. So too muchrisky thing is not for us. If somethingcomes very easily for our manipulationwe welcome it. You have got already acenter in S.F. so it is better to make propagandaso that people may come there inthrongs. Gargamuni can make this propagandaby sellng Back To Godheads. Personally,I shall advise you to try for ourown temple, either in S.F. or in L.A. Youwanted me to talk to some persons whoare very rich and I am ready to go withyou . In the meantime, as you want to dobusiness and so also Gargamuni, now youcan order any amount of Indian goodsfrom Brindaban De, my younger son.And he has agreed to execute all your orderson 10% commission. I think youshould agree to allow him that commission,because unless he gets some profitfor his labor, it does not become very encouraging.So if you agree to give him10%, he will supply all your goods andyou may pay on presentation of the documents. If you confirm this then I shallwrite to him again and both you andGargamuni can send your order to himwithout any difficulty.The dicta phone affair is still lying pendant.Most probably Rayrama is going toIndia by the middle of March so I wouldlike that he may take with him the dictaphonesuitable for Indian electricity. Thiswill save me too much burden when I mayreturn . If the arrangement is made that theN.Y. office of the firm with whom you arenegotiating may deliver the dictaphonesuitable for India to Rayrama, it will bevery nice. Please think over this .Hope you are well, also your good wife.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure -1

322 Letters from Srfla Prabhupada68-2-29 Los Angeles18th February, 1968My dear Upendra and Krishna Das,Please accept my blessings. If ourBerkeley centre is not going to be fruitfuljust now, I think you may prepare to go toIndia where Achyutananda has opened acentre at KanpuJ. Gurudas is in contactwith Achyutananda and you can talk withGurudas. Our aim of starting a centre inIndia is to attract Indian youngsters byAmerican devotees. Combined togetherwe shall be able to make a wide circulationof the Krishna Consciousness movement.Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-30New Yo rkLos Angeles19th February, 1968My Dear Balai dasi,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for the Ishtagoshe notes,and also your nice letter of Feb. 14, 1968.I have read them over, and the questionwhich was asked about why people did notsee Krishna as blue, question no. 5; youcan't see Krishna with material eyes.Please continue sending the notes fromthe meetings; I am very pleased to readhow my students are relishing the discussionsof Krishna and His Associates.Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,P. S. All press cuttings and importantpublications from society speciallyB. T. G. , all should regularly be sent to thefollowing address. He will utilise them forsupporting our Indian center. Please dothe needful in this connection.Address where the above materialsshould be sent by First class mail educational.(Sri Hitsaran Sharma, RadhaPress, Gandhi Nagar, Delhi 31. India.)68-2-3 1 Los Angeles20th February, 1968My dear Krishna devi,I am very glad to receive your letter of2115/68. Please accept my blessings. I amexpecting you every moment. Krishna isvery kind. He does not let go anyone whomight have done a little bit of service. Sohow can He allow you to forget Krishna.Yo u may be dragged by Maya for the timebeing but by Krishna's Grace that willhave only temporary reaction; I am veryglad that you are doing so much for decoratingKrishna's temple. I thank Dannyalso because he is helping you in the serviceof Krishna. So I am also with you andI shall do my best to help you in advancingyour Krishna Consciousness. Hope youare well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-32New Yo rkLos Angeles20th February, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your nice letter dated Feb.15, 1968 . I can appreciate your advancementin Krishna Consciousness by thesentiments expressed by you . As I have repeatedlysaid, that Krishna Consciousnessis developed by following twoparallel lines, means service of Krishna,and service of the Spiritual Master. This isthe secret of success. The Spiritual Mastermust be bonafide, that is, he mustcome down from a bonafide Spiritual

FEBRUARY, 1968 323Master and must act according to the directionsof the Spiritual Master, and bydoing so, he gives proper directions aboutKrishna and the devotees serve Krishnaunder the direction of such Spiritual Master,and Krishna accepts service, and inthis way the whole thing becomes beautifuland successful . I am very muchpleased that you are following the sameprinciple and there is no doubt that youwill develope more and more in the serviceof Krishna. I always pray to Krishnafo r your advancement, and what I can domore than this.Regarding printing of the Teachings ofLord Chaitanya: Dai Nippon is a very bigconcern. In my last letter I requested youto refer to their past correspondence andin which you will find they quoted $5,400fo r 5000 copies of 400 pages. Now, thistime the pages are only 230, and why theyshould charge so much as $6,400. Theremust be that there is something missing.So if you consult them, or ask them toconsult their past files, they may reconsider.My idea is that their being a bigcompany, their workmanship will besurely nicer than any smaller company.Of course, the last issue of Back To Godheadwas very nicely done, there is notdoubt about it, but if the Dai Nippon Co.comes to $5000, that will be very nice.Best thing will be therefore to consult thepast correspondence, and if you find samething as I said, $5,400 for 5000 copies of400 pages, other details being the same,then they can come down to their originalprice. But if you do not find such opportunity,then you can hand it over to theprinter Mr. Kallman has suggested.Regarding Srimad Bhagwatam printing:It has already begun in India, andthey hav sent a specimen which I am enclosingherewith, please find. The $5000donated to me by Jayananda will be usedfor printing in India. So I don't think inA merica anyone can print cheaper thanIndia. But if you think Bhagwatam can beprinted in America, which I have tried forthe past 2 or 3 years and did not get opportunity,so I decided to print in India, so it isalready begun. I thank you very much,now you are very serious about printing ofbooks, so Krishna willing, we shall havethis year at least 5 to 6 books printed . Onevolume Bhagavad Gita, 3 vol . SrimadBhagwatam, I vol . TLC, I vol . TranscendentalMeditation, and maybe I vol . ofBrahma Samhita. Please do not forget toadd Thakur Bhaktivinode's writing,Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, in the TLC . Ithink you are already in knowledge of thisproposal .The Bhagwatam printing which is takingplace in India will be almost of thesame style and quality of the 3 volumes alreadyprinted . My special mission is tocomplete the Srimad Bhagwatam in 60volumes, so the most important thing onthe part of the International Society is toorganize the sales propaganda, of all thebooks that you are publishing. If there isless sales propaganda then the outlet ofthe books will be bottlenecked , andsmooth printing work will stop. You havenot only to print, but you have to sellthem. So please consult Mr. Kallman howto do it. In your previous letter it was informedthat some firm, European, is goingto take the sole selling responsibilityfor Europe. What happened to that proposal?We must find out some sellingagent.Regarding Krishna's being very kindupon us, should be on the principle as Arjunafollowed : the principle is, thatKrishna was Arjuna's most intimatefriend. He could have brought victory toArjuna, without any endeavor by Arjuna;neither was that principle advised byKrishna, neither Arjuna followed it. As amilitary man, A1juna fought to his best,but the victory was brought him byKrishna. Similarly, we should try our best

324 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidato our best capacity, and victory will comefrom Krishna. We should never sit idlyand ask Krishna to do everything. That isthe teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. It isclearly said in the Gita: "Yuddhasya camam anusmara." So ordinarily, we haveto try our best to our best capacity toachieve something, and by Krishna'sGrace, all of a sudden we shall see everythingis there. This sort of help fromKrishna is transcendental happiness. Ourprinciple should be therefore , that weshould work for the mission with great enthusiasm,with certainty for its success,and patiently follow the regulative principles,and associate ourselves with puredevotees, and work being completely inKrishna Consciousness, that will make ushappy and successful .I am glad that Krishna has sent $500when you needed them very badly. It is allKrishna's Grace. Please take care of theboy very nicely. I have received one letterfrom him, and I am enclosing a personalthanks for the boy. Even Krishna is preparedto give us more, we should not acceptanything from Him for our sensegratification; if anything is offered byHim, we should accept gladly for His serviceonly; for our sense gratification orpersonal benefit, we shall not ever ask anyfavor from Krishna, although He is alwayswilling to deliver such favor to anyoneamongst His devotees. I am glad that thedevotee has joined us who is a sculptor. Iam trying to carve one Radha Krishna SriMurti in wood, done by Goursundar, butGoursundar is not a sculptor, still he istrying to do it. But if this boy is actually asculptor, he may immediately begin tocarve one Radha Krishna Sri Murti inwood, 24" high. In San Francisco, Shyamsundaris preparing a nice throne, andin future we have to install Radha KrishnaSri Murti in all our temples. Regardingcracking of Jaggannatha, whether it is beingrepaired or replaced, I shall be glad toknow.The faith increases in Krishna Consciousnessby our voluntary increase ofserving Krishna. Serving Krishna is unlimitedand he can accept our unlimitedservice, and award us unlimited transcendentalpleasure in the unlimited service ofthe Lord. That is the meaning of unlimited.Ye s, you can arrange as many lecturesas is possible. The buzzing sound and theheadaches·has nothing to do with my activitiesor Krishna Consciousness, it is nomore so acute and I have consulted my Indianphysician, and it is no more suchpuzzling. I shall consult an Americanphysician here also probably. * Yes, askBob to arrange lectures at a Universityand I shall deliver. Yes, we can go to Bostonas you suggested and also to talk at theVermont University. Ask Mr. Kallman togive us his nice car.Hope you are feeling well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami* I have done it just this afternoon. Hisopinion is there is nothing wrong in mygeneral health. He will test my sugarblood tomorrow.68-2-33Los Angeles20th February, 1968My Dear Robert,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Feb. 15,1968, and you have done very good bystaying in N.Y. under the guidance of SrimanBrahmananda. In your last letter youproposed to come here, but Krishna hasgiven you good counsel that instead ofcoming here, you have stopped at N.Y.and expended the passage money for templeexpenditures. It is very good. It is asgood to see Brahmananda because he ismy representative, and he can inform you

FEBRUARY, 1968 325everything which I could have done bymeeting you. Anyway, please act underthe guidance of Brahmananda, so long Iam not able to see you, and probably itwill be possible to see you in the month ofApril next, when I am going to N.Y. Ithank you once more for your servicespirit to Lord Krishna, and I am sure Hewill bestow upon you more and more servicespirit.So far school is concerned, we knowthat modern education in schools and collegesis not very much helpful in advancementof Krishna Consciousness, but stillwe have to take advantage of such institutionsin absence of any other good organization.But I shall advise you that byleaving your school, you have got immensebooks and literatures for studying,so you should form the habit of studyingand understanding the philosophy verynicely and when there is difficulty in understanding,Brahmananda or Rayrama,or myself, will help you in all respects.School may be bad, but studying is notbad, it is very good. So we should not giveup the habit of studymg, especially BhagavadGita, Srimad Bhagwatam, andBrahma Samhita .Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-34Los Angeles21st February, 1968David ExleyChief NGO SectionExternal Affairs OfficeUNDear Mr. David J. Exley,With futher reference to your letterdated Feb. 16, 1968, I may inform youthat this Krishna Consciousness movementis not a recent movement, started afew months or a few years ago, but thismovement has been existing for a verylong time, dating back to the Vedic Age.Without tracing the history of this movement,we can safely say that at least 5000years ago, this movement was startedfrom the Battlefield of Kurukshetra. Lateron, it was organizedly recorded in thegreat voluminous literature, known worldover as the Srimad Bhagwatam, and thevery famous Bhagavad Gita , by the originalauthor of Vedic literature, Sri KrishnaDwaipayana Vyas. Since that time, thismovement is current in India, supportedby great Acharyas like Ramanuja,Madhya, and Vishnu Swami, and Nimbarka.Later on, about 500 years ago, itreceived great impetus from Lord Chaitanya,and since that time, there are millionsof supporters for Krishna Consciousnessin India. This Krishna Consciousnessmovement is still supported by conferences,seminars, and so forth, in severalparts of India. Recently, we have startedthis movement in America, making NewYo rk as our center, with a view that weshall be able to attract the attention of theUnited Nations for spreading this importantmovement throughout the wholeworld for actual benefit of the humanrace.It is not a sectarian movement meantfo r a certain class of men, but it is a necessarymovement for all humanity irrespectiveof caste, creed, or color. So far I amconcerned, I am a humble disciple of HisDivine Grace, Om Vishnupad Sri SrimadBhakti Siddhanta Saraswati GoswamiMaharaj , who was the original pioneer ofspreading this movement in the Westernworld. During his lifetime, up to 1936, hestarted 64 main centers all over the world,including centers in Berlin, Germany, andLondon, England. His Divine Grace entrustedme to spread this movement in theWestern countries, and since 1965, I am

326 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadatrying in my humble way to spread thismovement in this part of the world. I amrecognized Acharya of this movement, aswill be evidenced by the enclosed copiesof different branches of the Gaudiya Mathinstitutions . The certificates enclosedherewith are signed by my God-brothers,who have now different branches of thesame Gaudiya Math Institution which Iam now spreading in this country. So,originating from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,there are thousands of centers all over Indiafo r spreading this Krishna Consciousnessphilosophy. There will be a very bigconference at Mayapur, at which thousandsof people will attend, celebratingthe Advent Day of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,in March. So,by theUnited Nations, NGO Section, we shallate information about theUnited nations to millions of inIndia and all over the Eastern world. Wespreadious to sisseminate theideas of Krishna Consciousness ____ion with the United Nations, because itwill be a greatwards bringingpeace to the world .There are always two classes of men onthe surfacepious and impious.In Vedic language they are known asAsuras and Deveas . When there is an excessivenumber of Asuras the ___disturbances of tthe peace of the world isvery when there is an excessivenumber of the devas,prosperity,and tranquility on the surface of the__ any doubt. The Devas and theAsuras are createdmentality ofKrishna Consciousness, and ignorance.I do not know what further pertinentmaterial need of concerning ourorganization's qualification enteredupon the list of Non-GovernmentalOrganizations ____ simply assureyou that the enclosed copies of certificationsupport the fact that I am recognizedAcharya ofal Movement. Thepeople in this part of the world ____understanding the importance of this mostneeded __ present day. I may inform you in this connectioncourt case, in which one of my studentswas involved us. Before joiningour Society, he was condemned ____imprisonment. Fortunately enough, theboy was released as the court judgelearned that he is affiliatedution. the judge remarked, "This boy belongstoreligious order that isdoing much fo r the community ____against drug addiction, and for healthylife."This is only one instance among manyin whichin contact with ourphilosophy build nice character ____the basic principles of sinful activities. If__ for spreading this movement,and for understandingof thisphilosophy by the United Nations, weshall render the greatest serviceto the humanity in the establishingpeace and prosperity. The process__ is very simple, and is acceptableby any member ofirrespectiveof caste , creed, or color, ornationGaudiya Math Institutions,each of them havingareour sister establishments, and we can disseminateamounts of informationthrough them to vast numberin India, and throughout theEast.I hope you will do your best to enlistour the Non-Governmental Organizations,and in this renderingthe greatest service to the UnitedNations.Thanking you once more for your interestin ____ Krishna Consciousnessmovement.Sincerely yours ,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

FEBRUARY, 1968 32768-2-35Los Angeles21st February, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter Feb. 17, 1968,and have noted the contents. The sentencein question is, as you stated, SwayamBhuva Manu and his wife, Satarupa (notSatsvarupa).The reaction that the hunter wouldhave suffered , had he not received theMercy of Narada Muni, is hellish life.There are different kinds of hellish life fordifferent kinds of sinful activities. So, onehas to undergo such punishment if hedoesn't take to Krishna Consciousness. Itis only the devotee who can save the livingentities from falling down into hellishconditions, and by the Grace of NaradaMuni, the hunter was awakened toKrishna Consciousness and was saved .Ye s, the general principle is that one issent to the particular type of hell, andwhen he is practised to suffer the hellishcondition, he is given a similar body as re- .action. These hell planets are described inthe 5th Canto of Srimad Bhagwatam;there is no question of imagination. Onewho is particular about this may read thedifferent descriptions of hells in the 5thCanto of Srimad Bhagwatam .Ye s, it is as you say, therefore weshould keep always ourselves engaged sothere is no possibility of falling down. Sofar mistakes done imperceptively by suchdevotee engaged in Krishna Consciousnessact1v1tes, "Swapada MulamBhagwatam Priasya", they are excused bythe Lord as it is stated in Srimad Bhagwatam.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter dated Feb. 14, 1968,and I am happy to hear all the good newsfrom our fine art department. I think Ihave already given you instructions in thisregard . In my opinion your guiding thegirls working under you for painting isvery important, and if this businessdoesn't suffe r, you can think of going toS.F. fo r organizing the ashram. If all theBrahmacharini's gather together andwork under your guidance, at any place, Iwill prefer that proposition. If the majorityof the girls are in N.Y., why nothave the other Brahmacharini's from S.F.go there and work under your direction,either in N.Y. or in Boston, as it is best.Hope you are well. For the time beingdrop the idea of going to S.F. better concentrateyour energy in organising the artistgirls under your care . TheBrahmacharinis at S.F. may be called atN.Y. or Boston.Your ever well-wisher,Satsvarupa, please note:N.B. Please send all the propaganda materialso far published in rrlation to yourcenter, to the following address:Sri Hit Sharan SharmaRadha Press993/3 Main RoadGandhi NagarDelhi-3 1,INDIA68-2-36 Los Angeles22nd February, 1968My Dear Purushottam ,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Feb. 19,1968. I am glad to understand that everythingis very nice in New York Temple,and Krishna is attracting many new devoteeslately. The more you sincerely serve

328 Letters from Srila PrabhupiidaKrishna, the more He will send you similardevotees to assist you .Regarding the NGO section of theUnited Nations, I am enclosing herewith astatement addressing Mr. David J. Exley,explaining the very importance of ourmovement. You can inform him that theGaudiya Math Institutions in India and inEngland, are also part of this Institution.And as my God-brothers have establishedin different parts of India and the Easthundreds of institutions for this purpose, Iam also trying to open such similar centersin the Western countries. Our activitiesare related with Gaudiya Math on thebasis of Krishna Consciousness. Sothrough all these Maths and other variousinstitutions, we can disseminate all informationabout the U.N. in various parts ofthe world.Both of you shall go and try to convincethis gentleman about the importanceof our movement, and the rest willdepend on Krishna as He desires. Weshall try our best and the ultimate resultmay be dependent on the dispensations ofKrishna. These institutions are relatedwith us and each of the Maths are theheadquarters fo r hundreds of branches,and we can disseminate much informationabout the U.N. through them.Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. Because they are so desperate forpeace in the East, it may be a good idea toexpand on the point that we have verywidespread influence all over the Easternworld, and we can spread much goodpeace-propaganda for the U.N. there .P. S. I am enclosing herewith some of thecertificates of Godbrothers in Goudiyamathinstitutions. I think in my apartmentthere are photostate copies of them.If they are there please submit those photostatecopies them, the typed ones. Alsoplease let me know if Brahmananda hasreceived shipping documents from theUnited Shipping Corporation of Calcutta.Also from S. S. Brijbasi Co.68-2-37Los Angeles24th February, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of Feb. 22, 1968with enclosures. I am writing letter to SriHrishikesh Brahmachary giving him instructions.You also write them to workfor the Society in cooperation with Achyutanandawithout wasting time in sightseeing.Regarding Dictaphone, Aniruddha isdoing something.I am now scheduled to go to S. F. by thelOth March 1968. Why not come here afew days earlier try to see some millionairesin connection with our Society'scause.How Janiki is doing. My blessings forher.Your ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-38Los Angeles24th February, 1968My dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. Your letterdated Feb. 21st, duly in hand, both yourselfand Brahmananda are to be thankedon behalf of Lord Krishna for your tirelessendeavor to get the manuscript of BhagavadGita ready and for this grand workKrishna will certainly bestow His blessingsupon you both. I thank you verymuch that you are taking care of LordChaitanya 's Teachings and get it ready forpublishing as soon as possible. Regarding

FEBRUARY, 1968 329India, I have recieved letter from Achyutanandayesterday which is not very encouraging.The man who was negotiatingfor a nice house appears to be a con man.So, I have advised him not to open a centerat Kanpur at present. So, you may not behasty immediately for starting to India. Inthe meantime, I am negotiating also withHitsaranji. He is a little busy now a dayson account of two marriage ceremonies.His boss is a big industrialist and he is goingto get his son and grandson marriedvery recently. He is writting a letter thathe is going to write me details after he isfree from the responsibility of the marriage.Regarding buying a small printingshop, I am not very much optimistic . Ifyou can organize a regular press for printingall our magazines and books and engageall our boys and girls in the presswork that will be nice proposal, but if youpurchase a small printing work where Iunderstand even Back to Godhead cannotbe published, what is the use of that press.Better we are negotiating with Hitsaranjiand if we are able to open a nice center inIndia we shall purchase some machinefrom America and start a press there. InIndia the labor is cheaper extensively thanin America. My idea is that if we are ableto have a nice branch in India we can dothe printing works nicely under your supervision.But, if you can start afull fledged press in N.Y. that will be stillmore better. A full-fledged press meanswe must have two typographic machinesat least and engage some of the girls forcomposition and the boys may be engagedin printing and machine manipulating.That will be a great success. If Mr.Kallman purchases a big machine fo rprinting our books, then it will be verymuch helpful . I cannot advise you to purchasea small printing press because thatWill not help us. The same energy can betransfered to India when we are in possissionof a bigger house. There is every possibilityof Sharma's help in our publishingpower, but that is not yet settled. As soonas I hear from him favorably I shall askyou to make direct correspondence withhim. I am just waiting his favorable nextreply.I am enclosing herewith one copy ofthe letter recieved from United ShippingCorp. of Calcutta in respect of our goodsshipped via s.s. "Flying Enterprise" . Theship is expected to arrive by this time inN.Y. port so necessary action should immediatelybe taken. At last I beg to informyou that unless you receive definite letterfrom Achyutananda you may not be inhurry to go to India takin so much risk.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: 168-2-39San FranciscoLos Angeles24th February, 1968My Dear Jayananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your latest letter,and I am so glad to learn that you are makingnice arrangements formy lecturing indifferent places, and I expect to return inSan Francisco by the tenth of March, andwish to execute all programs within 20-30days from the date of my arrival beforestarting for New York. I shall be very gladto initiate girl friend if you recommendher actual mental condition. We shouldnot initiate anyone who is not willingto follow our regulations. In the meantimelet her attend our classes and join theSamkirtan program regularly. I am sopleased to learn that you are by the Graceof Krishna improving day by day in the

330 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiidamatter of Krishna Conciousness. Thankyou very much for your sincere service.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-4024th February, 1968San FranciscoMy Dear Chitananda,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter dated Feb. 20,and I have noted the contents. You can arrangeto supply prasadam only to our devotees.We are not in a position financiallyto distribute foodstuff for the poor class ofmen. Such men may take shelter of somecharitable institution. At the present moment,we are not in a position to makecharities but for the devotees we can sacrificeanything. So you can stop preparingprasadam for persons who are not willingto work neither to pay. Regarding your goingto India, that is already in my program.Please save some money, not onlyfor your passage but also for my passage. Iam coming back to San Francisco by thelOth of March. When we meet we shalltalk more of our Indian program. I think itis Krishna's desire that you should cometo India with me and help in establishing anice Indian center there.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-41 Los Angeles24th February, 1968My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my -blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter dated19 Feb. 1968, and am so glad to learn thatyou have delivered the manuscript of BhagavadGita to McMillan & Co. on the dateof my Guru Maharaj 's birthday ceremony.The questionnaires which you have sentme I am answering them on separatetyped paper and both the questions andanswers are enclosed herewith. Pleasefind and do the needful. I have also receivedthe letters from Mario Windisch.This gentleman appears to be a disciple ofmy German god-brother SadanandaSwami. He appears to be very much interestedin our movement and very shortly heis visiting Montreal. Perhaps I may meethim in June when I shall go there and thereis every possiblity of opening two centers.One in Sweden and another in Austria.Regarding glossy photo, I am writing toGuru das but I think Rayarama has gotmany specimens of my photograph. If youso desire, you can select one of them. I amalso writing to Gurudas in this connection.I understand that you have orderedsome books from Gaudiya Math and Mr.Kalman is cooperating.Regarding printing in India, I have alreadysent you a specimen copy of printingwhich is being done in India, and if sodesired, such printing work can be donein India without difficulty. But, if DaiNippon Co. agrees to your letter of whichyou have sent me the copy then you canhand over the manuscript to them as earlyas possible. Regarding the purchase ofpress, I do not know what is the conditionof the press but I want a full completepress where all kinds of books can beprinted. If our men can take charge of anice press either in New York or in India,that will be an ideal proposition, but thepress which you propose to purchase isnot equipped for printing our books. IfMr. Kalman can equipe the press forprinting our books, Bhagawatum esp., andother books also, and if our boys and girlscan efficiently take up the printing work,that will be very nice. If we have got a pressin our controle with full equipment it willbe a great boon. If such manipulation

FEBRUARY, 1968 331is not possible, then I wish to start a nicepress in our Indian branch and get all ourbooks and printing work done there . For anice arrangement of our Indian branch Iam already in negotiation with Indianfriends and I have proposed a big industrialistto become the president of the Indianbranch. In India labor is very cheap incomparison with your country, and especiallyif we have our Indian branch inV rindaban we can have labor there as ourinmates of our institution. There are manyVaishnavas who will be ready to workwithout any renumeration simply in exchangeof their food and lodging. If wetake American machines there and someof our American students to see the managementwe can get there labor practicallywithout any charges, but this idea can bedone as said when we get a nice house toaccommodate everything. The proposedbranch in Kanpur is not yet settled. I havereceived one letter from Achyutanandawhich is not very much encouraging. Rayaramamay not start for India until there isnice arrangement for our Indian branch.His going away from New Yo rk at presentwill be a great hamper for BTG work. Asintimated by you I am awaiting Rayarama's letter in respect of the press andprinting works in India. In the meantime,if you get confirmation from Dai Nipponagreeing to accept $5000 for TLC thenyou can get them printed without delay.Regarding the sketch cover of BhagavadGita, Govinda Dasi promises to send youby the next week.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-42Los Angeles24th February, 1968My dear Guru das,Please accept my blessings . I thankyou very much for your letter dated Feb.21, 1968, and I am glad to learn that youhad some discussions with some nondevotees.You can take it for granted thatnon-devotee class who is not in KrishnaConciousness as we are teaching are allgreat fools never mind how ever they mayadvertise themselves as meditators, yogis,philosophers, religionists , and so on.We are presenting a scientific program ofGod conciousness on the basis of the highestauthority, Bhagavad Gita. For apreacher there are four principles to befollowed . One , he must be fully surenderedto Krishna. Two , intimately infriendly relationship with devotees tryingtoelevate conditioned living entities toKrishna Conciousness and rejecting thenon-devotee class. So if you find a nondevoteeeager to listen submissively youcan show your mercy to elevate him toKrishna Conciousness, but a non-devoteewho is all ready poisoned by the serpent ofthe demon class swami or yogi is very difficultto be dealt with , so the best thing isto reject them and not waste time for theirelevation; but a person who is willing tohear us submissively must be givenchance to understand the philosophy ofKrishna Conciousness. I am very muchobliged to you for expressing your goodsentiments on account of my humble serviceto you all . Yo ur appreciation of myhumble service is thankfully accepted.Regarding your going to India thehouse is not yet settled, so unless I definitelyhear from Achyutananda and otherswho are trying to have a nice house for ourIndian branch you may not be very muchanxious to go to India but I am sure we aregoing to have a nice house very soonwhich I shall let you know in due course.Otherwise, when I return, you, your wife,and some other brahmacharies shall gowith me.I have received one letter fromBrahmananda asking for a very niceglossy photo portrait of me so if you can

332 Letters from Srrla Prabhupiidaarrange to send such a glossy photo it willbe very nice. He asked to receive thephoto as soon as possible. He has also advisedme to take help of a professionalphotographer if your assistance is notavailable immediately because I am awayfrom your place. Please let me know ifyou can send such glossy photo frommany negatives which you have got inyour possession. I understand also thatRayarama has taken some of the negativesfrom you in New York so if you like youcan adivse him to do the needful. Anywaythe mater is urgent and I ask you to do theneedful. I am expected to return to SanFrancisco by the 1Oth of March and I shalllet you know the exact time and date lateron.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-43Los Angeles25th February, 1968Mario Windischc/o Barbara JosephsonPyrolavagen 22/IIILidingo 3SwedenMy Dear. Mr. Windisch,I thank you very much for your letterdated Feb. 16, 1968, along with the enclosureof an older letter dated August 27,1967. I am very sorry to learn that mydear brother Sadananda is seriously illand the doctors have advised completerest for him. He is my intimate friend andGod-brother, so although I wanted to opencorrespondence with him, I voluntarilyrestrain myself from doing so, taking intoconsideration his present health. I pray toKrishna that he may recover very soon, sothat we may not only open correspondence,but maybe I can see him personally.In Bombay sometimes we livedtogether and he used to treat my little sonsvery kindly. His heart is so soft, as soft asa good mother's, and I always rememberhim and shall continue to do so. When youmeet him next, kindly offer my respectfulobeisances. And if there is any messagefor me, you can send me to my New Yorkaddress.Just after sending you my letter sometimesin the month of May, 1967, I alsofell seriously ill by heart stroke, and mydisciples here admitted me into the hospital.I tried to recoup my health here but Icould not do it properly, so I went back toIndia for some time, and I again havecome back here last December. First I wasin San Francisco, now I have come to LosAngeles, and from here I shall again go toSan Francisco, from where I shall go toNew York, then to Boston, maybe to Buffalo,and then I shall reach Montreal bythe month of June. If you come there bythat time, it will be a great pleasure tomeet you. Our Montreal Temple is situatedat the following address: 3720 ParkAvenue, Montreal 18, Quebec, Canada.The boy in charge of the Temple is JanardandasAdhikary, and he can be reachedat the number 849-4334 (his home telephone).He is a very learned scholar andis highly advanced in Krishna Conscious-·ness. I have good hope and faith in him,and when you meet him you will be verymuch pleased to talk with him. He isM.A. , and preparing for his Ph.D. , and isa good scholar in the French languagealso.Krishna Consciousness movement isthe need for the Western countries at thistime. The Westerners have sufficientlyenjoyed their material achievements andthey are now, especially the younger generation,seeking for something spiritual.That is quite natural. In the Vedanta Sutra,it is stated as "Atha Atho Brahma Jijnasa."When a person finishes his materialactivities, naturally, he becomes

FEBRUARY, 1968 333interested to search after spiritual realization.That is natural consequence. A livingentity is factually a spirit soul whoseeternal position is knowledge and blissfulness.Material knowledge, however advancedit may be, cannot award blissfulness,which is the demand of the spiritsoul . That blissfulness is being searchedfor by the materialist by advancement ofmaterial science, but they cannot find it insuch a way. Therefore, the younger generation,especially in the Western countries,who have seen much of materialamenities, are now feeling somethinggreater than that. Unfortunately, theyhave not received it. There are somemovements like the Beatles, or Hippies,among the younger generation, by realizingthe negation of matter. Their attemptis to forget matter by some hallucinationor mental concoction, with the help ofsome deluding matter. So their attempt isnice, but there is no guide. Therefore, theyounger generation in Europe and inAmerica require an authorized guide fortheir present urge for spiritual realization.The answer is there in the Vedanta inthe aphorism, "Janma Adyasya lntah."The answer is to search the AbsoluteTruth, Who is the Source of all emanation.This Absolute Source of emanationis explained preliminarily in the BhagavadGita , and explicitly in the SrimadBhagwatam. The Srimad Bhagwatam explainsthe very beginning of its startingthat the Absolute Truth is Sentient, andPerson, and Independent. The AbsoluteSupreme Personality of Godhead is distinctfrom all other living entities, in Hisbeing the Absolute Independent. Therefore, in the Vedas He is described as theSupreme Leader of all living entities.So if we are very serious to understandsequence of spiritual truth, then we musttake advantage of Bhagavad Gita and SrimadBhagwatam completely. LordChaitanya preached these two as essenceof the Vedas. His very life and teachingsare embodiment of the principles of BhagavadGita and Srimad Bhagwatam.Our attempt to spread Krishna Consciousnessis just in the line of Sri ChaitanyaMahaprabhu; I surmise that you havealready learned many things about the lifeand teachings of Lord Chaitanya, becauseof your intimate association with my GodbrotherSwami Sadanandaji. I shall bevery glad to talk more elaborately on thesubject matter when we meet at Montrealin the month of June.Thanking you once more,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-44San FranciscoLos Angeles25th February, 1968My Dear Karunamayee Dasi,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your nice letter dated Feb.15, 1968, and I thank you very much forit. I can see how you are advancing inKrishna Consciousness by the feelings expressedtherein, and I am so glad you arefeeling such transcendental pleasure inserving the Lord. This trancendental pleasureis unlimited and increases as we increaseour desire to give more and morevoluntary service. To surrender to Krishnaall at once is not generally possible, butas we serve Krishna more and more, wegradually become more and more surrenderedat His Lotus Feet. So you pleasecontinue to serve Krishna in these waysyou have mentioned, and do not feel thatyour service is any less valuable than thatof others. In the transcendental loving serviceof the Lord, it doesn't matter whetherwe are working, cooking, painting, writing,chanting, or whatever, they are all thesame. There are no such distinctions ofhigher and lower on the transcendental

334 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadaplatform. The important thing is that weare engaging our time and energy in theservice of the Lord. After all , we are sotiny, what can we do? Krishna sees simplythat this time is being spent in His service.Please continue to help Gargamuni in hisefforts to spread Krishna Consciousness,and chant, and continue your duties, andin this way you will be happy and successfulin Krishna Consciousness. I am happyto hear you are so much anxious in helpingto start a new temple. Your enthusiasmis very encouraging to me; there is greatneed for the spreading of Krishna Consciousness,and we need so many enthusiasticboys and girls for carrying on thisgreat mission of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.My Guru Maharaj wanted that thisKrishna Consciousness be spread all overthe Western countries especially, and nowin my old age, I am leaving this great responsibilityin the hands of all you my students.Regarding your questions: Once prasadam(water, or foodstuffs) is offered tothe Lord, His Plate should remain on thealtar for about 15-20 minutes (while theportion in the pots may be taken by thedevotees). Water need only remain therefor a few minutes. Once the prasadam isremoved from the altar, and touched byus, it should not again be placed on the altar.Whatever we offer should be as freshand pure as is possible.So long we are engaged in the serviceof the Lord, He has assured us all protection.But if we are attacked, of course wemust defend ourselves as best we can. Nobodycan compare with the Merciful Nityananda.He can defend Himself quitewell; He could have killed the sinners inan instant, but He had decided that Hewanted to save these sinners. He was settingan example that we have to preachKrishna Consciousness even at the risk ofpersonal violence. Just like the .childrensometimes become violent, but the fatherknows he can defend himself at any time,and so he tries to teach them correctly byreprimanding them.Ye s, it is respectful to circumambulatethe temple, keeping your right side to theDeities if possible. You may dance aroundthe temple in this way if you like.I have no complaints with my healthand I am feeling well. Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-45Los Angeles25th February, 1968My dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am in receiptof a copy of your last Istagosti datedJan. 27, and I am very much satisfied withyour replies on the questions made in theIstagosti. The meeting is called "lstagosti"and not "Istagoshi ". You mayknow also that Ramakrsna 's worship ofKali makes him a third class man. In theBhagavad Gita it is stated that one whoworships the demigods just like Brahma,Siva, Indra, Chandra or demigodesseslike Kali, Durga, Saraswati, etc., are describedas persons who have lost their intelligence.One person who has lost hisintelligence, how he can become an incarnationof God? A person who has lost hisintelligence, is not even counted amongstthe higher section of society. So, the Ramakrsnais a bogus man according to thestatement of Bhagavad Gita. Vivekanandawas also not even intelligent man becausehe accepted Ramakrsna as incarnation ofGold. This Ramakrsna, who is actuallyGadhadhar Chatterjee, declared himselfas the same Rama and Krsna. If he is acceptedas such by some person, is he veryintelligent man? Suppose a man comesbefore somebody and says he is Pres.Johnson. and the foolish man accepts thepretender as Pres. Johnson, is that man to

FEBRUARY, 1968 335be accepted as very intelligent man? Vivekanandawas not even an intelligent manbecause he accepted Gadhadhar Chatterjeeeas incarnation of God without anycredentials. We accept Krsna, the SupremePersonality of Godhead on the evidenceof Vedic literature. There is noevidence in the Vedic literatures that acommon unintelligent person by worshippinga demigoddess Kali can become anincarnation of Godhead. The goddessKali is divine mother for the conditionedsouls, not for the liberated souls. There isno direction in the Vedic literatures thatone can become liberated even by worshippingthe goddess Kali. She is superintendentof the prison house known asmaterial world. One can derive some materialfacilities by worshipping Kali orDurga, but nobody can become liberatedby worshipping such demigoddesses, sowhat to shpeak of becoming incarnationof Godhead. So the propaganda that Ramakrsnabecame incarnation of God byworshipping KDali is not accepted by anyauthorized acharya and therefore it is abogus propaganda. One who followstherefore, such bogus propaganda is alsomisled as far as his spiritual advancementis concerned.You have to meet many opposing elementsin the matter of preaching worktherefore you should always be careful tofollow the principles of Bhagavad Gita asit is. You will be glad to know that our arrangementswith MacMillin for publishingBhagavad Gita As It Is is alradycompleted, and the manuscript is handedover to them. We should preach clearlythat our Krsna Consciousness movementis surely on the basis of Bhagavad Gita asit is. Any other movement which does nottally with the principles of Bhagavad Gitaas it is, is considered by us as unauthorized.All these so-called yogic or otherspiritualist movements in this country importedfrom India are all against the principlesof Bhagavad Gita. It is ourmovement only which strictly follows theprinciples of the Bhagavad Gita, under theguidance of the authorities or acharyas indisciplic succession from Lord Chaitanyawho practically demonstrated in life andpractice the principles of Bhagavad Gita.The last word in the Bhagavad Gita is tosurrender unto Krsna and Lord Chaitanyataught us to surrender unto Krsna. Histranscendental movement of chanting theHoly name of Krsna and Rama in the sublimemovement, not only at the presentage, but for all the time past, present andfuture.68-2-46 Los Angeles25th February, 1968My dear Pradyumna,Please accept my blessings. I am verymuch satisfied with your transliterationand request you to transliterate the 2ndCanto of Srimad Bhagawatam, and theoriginal text is sent herewith . Please find.On your completion of the transliteration,the original copy may be sent directly tothe following address: Hitsaran Sharma,Radha Press, 993/3 Main Road , GandhiNagar, Delhi 31, India with the coveringletter as follows:"Dear Sharmaji,Please accept my respectfulobiesances. Under instructions from OurSpiritual Master. His Divine Grace, SriSrimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, I am sending herewith the transliterationof the 2nd Canto of SrimadBhagawatam with diacritic marks. Kindlyinsert this transliteration in place of simpletransliteration which is already withyou . Swamiji has already requested you tocollect some letters with diacritic marksand we wish you will kindly do the needful. Hope you are well . Thanking you in

336 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadaanticipation."One carbon copy of the transliterationmay be sent to me with a carbon copy ofthe covering Jetter to Hitsaran Sharma.The composition of the Second Canto isalready begun. Therefore , the morequickly you send the transliteration to theabove press is better.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-2-47 Los Angeles26th February, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your Jetter dated Feb. 24,along with two copies of letters, one fromPurushottam das Brahmachary at Vrindaban,another from Teen Activity Centerof Kings. This Jetter from the ActivityCenter is very hopeful for our Kirtanpropaganda. I am very much ambitiousfor leading a Kirtan party, especially allover your state, and Europe. Hansaduttais trying to organize this party. If you canmove with this Kirtan party, say a batch of12 to 15 heads, all over the States, as wellas Europe, I am sure we will be morepopular than the so-called yogi MaharishiMahesh. I have received another letterfrom Achyutananda in which it appearsthat he is not fixed up in staying in India.He is very seriously thinking of comingback, and this is very disappointing. If hecomes back then our dream of opening acenter in India is not very encouraging,because Kirtananda came back, Ramanujahas joined with the Buddhistcamp, and Achyutananda at the beginningshowed very encouraging hopes, but thatis gradually vanishing, and he is eager tocome back. The other two boys Jivingwith Bon Maharaj , they are not very muchhopeful, especially Harivilas. I haveheard about him lots of things from Ramanujaand Achyutananda, and you havewritten about him that he is little fanatical.Under the circumstances, how it is possibleto combine them together and open abranch in India? If I would have beenthere, I could manage, but I am here. I donot think Rayrama may prepare to go toIndia at the present moment. When I returnto New York, we shall consult togetherand do the needful. In themeantime, let us consolidate our energyfor bringing the books.My health is ordinarily good, but thathissing sound sometimes is disturbingme. I consulted a physician here, and hehas given me some medicine, but it is notimproving.I have written today one letter to Achyutanandato come back if he thinks seriouslyto do so. I have received the copy ofyour letter sent to DaiNippon and if theyagree to the proposal, it is all right.Regarding Purushottam Brahmachary'sletter from Vrindaban: if you think youare able to purchase 340 copies at 40%discount, then you can send one Jetter toNarayan Maharaj asking if he will take theresponsibility of receiving the books fromhim, and pack them and send to Calcuttato our shipping agent. If he wants to takethe responsibility and the trouble to dothis, then you can send him bank draft beingthe price of the books, and he will dothe needful . In the meantime, I am suprisedyou have not received the documentsfrom United Shipping Corporation.I have sent you copy of their last letterin which it is said the goods have beenshipped by S.S. Flying Enterprise on the14th of January, 1968. As such, the shipshould have reached by now New York, soplease take information immediatelywhether the ship has arrived and also sendimmediately one Jetter to the United ShippingCorp. I think nowadays it takes a longtime to arrive in New York from Calcutta

FEBRUARY, 1968 337on account of the Suez Canal beingclosed. Anyway, you should find out thelist of arriving ships from the port informationand do the needful . If the ship isarrived recently, send them a telegramwhy the documents not received.I am glad to understand that Lord Jagganathais being repaired, and after this hewill begin carving Sri Radha KrishnaMurti. I am getting one Pair carved byGoursundar. Please find out if this boyBob has got any knowledge or experienceof casting, or any such equipment. I wantto make 100 Murtis, probably in hard rubber,for our Temples. Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,N. B. You have asked about the printing ofSrimad Bhagwatam. The printing of thenext 3 volumes has already begun in India.But if it is possible to print it here,then, as you know, we have got 50 or somore volumes, and they can be printedhere if it can be arranged. But the next 3volumes have already begun being printedin India, and I have sent you the specimencopy of printing. If printing of Bhagawatamis done here and a Kirtan party is organisedthen I shall never go back toIndia. I shall stay here at your good caretill by death. Hansaduta will help me inestablishing a New Vrindaban in theWest. Please inform Hansaduta that I havereceived his encouraging letter: I am gladto learn that Sriman Woomapati is comingto see me . He is heartily welcome. Kindlycare of the shipping affairs from India.68-2-48Los Angeles26th February, 1968Andrea Templec/o General DeliveryFreeport, Grand Bahama Island,BahamasMy Dear Andrea Temple,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter dated Feb. 20,1968, and it is very encouraging to me. Iam so happy to hear that, by Krishna'sGrace, people in that place are taking interestin Krishna Consciousness. ThisKrishna Consciousness is the most urgentneed of the whole human society, and weneed so many preachers, both boys andgirls, to spread this message throughoutthe world. So it is very much encouragingto me to learn of your activities there inthe Bahama Islands.So far my coming to Bahamas, I amwilling to come there and continue thework of my Guru Maharaj of spreadingthis SAMKIRT AN movement all over theWestern countries. Chaitanya Mahaprabhuwanted that this Hare KrishnaMantra be sung and chanted in every villageand town of the globe, and I am simplytrying to carry out the order of myGuru Maharaj to give this Divine Messageto the people of the Western world.I am mendicant, and Sannyasi, and theguest of my students here in the Westernworld. If you wish for me to fly to Bahamas,then you please send me airplaneticket and I shall come at your bidding.Also, two tickets will be required for myattendents, but I think they may go on theyouth fare, which is less expensive. I havebeen told the weather is very warm there,and the sunshine may be very beneficial tomy health. Simply I require some quietplace so to continue my translating workon Srimad Bhagwatam, and that's all. Weare mendicant, and missionary, and canmake our dwelling place anywhere.Please continue your good work there,and I am awaiting your reply. I have gotplans to leave Los Angeles on March 9 forSan Francisco; the address there isISKCON, 518 Frederick Street, SanFrancisco, 94 117. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

338 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptida68-2-4926th February, 1968My Dear Uddhava and Chitananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letters sent on Feb. 26,1968. Ye s, the idea of finding a largehouse for all the devotees is very nice.Please do it. And, if it is available, I shallstay there also, but it must be a quietplace, as much as possible. If it is not yetavailable, then I can stay in the buildingabove the temple, provided the lift works .So far the speaking engagements areconcerned, they must be well-organizedand sponsored, so that there will beenough publicity and many people willcome. We are not cheap, we want to speaksomething, but there must be good accomodationsprovided . There must bespeaker system, and there must be goodpublicity beforehand so that many mayknow of us and come. This is very important.As it is presently planned, we shallleave this place on the 8th of March byPSA Airlines. The flight number is 977,and it leaves Burbank at 10: 10 a.m. andarrives at San Francisco at 11 :05 a.m. Soyou can make arrangements accordingly,and I will be very anxious to see all mygood San Francisco students again. Hopeyou are well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swamithat is very good . Please do it. I have receivedboth dictaphone machines, and thenew one is working nicely. The foreignone I have yet to test at some shop, which Iwill do this week. I have written in Uddhava's letter that I shall be arriving onMarch 8th, and we can discuss the meetingat the Immigration Bureau at thattime.I thank you very much for that nicesketch done by Janaki, and I shall have Jaduranibegin a painting from that pose. Sofar the spirit soul is concerned, if conditionsare for some reason not favorable insome place, he is forced to leave thatwomb and take shelter in another. And ifthere is chanting of Hare Krishna, eventhe soul is there for a short time, oh , hewill hear and become advanced. Thissound vibration is not material , it is spiritual, and powerful beyond our conception.So it cannot be hindered in any wayby something material ; it surpasses allthese material barriers. So you can knowit that when you are chanting, you are alsogiving benefit to even the child in thewomb . I hope you are feeling muchhealthier by this time, and I shall be veryglad to see you when I arrive in San Francisco.Hope you are both well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Please handover the enclosed letter toUddhava & Chitananda.ACB68-2-50San FranciscoLos Angeles28th February, 1968Dear Mukunda and Janaki,Please accept my blessings . I thankyou very much for your letters of Feb. 24and 25, 1968, and I have noted the contents. Ye s, if you can find out some distributingagent fo r our Back to Godhead,68-2-5 1 Los Angeles28th February, 1968Messers United Shipping Corp .1402 Old China Bazar StreetRoom 18Calcutta !Dear Mr. Mittra,Please refer to my last letter. It is understoodthat from my New Yo rk office

FEBRUARY, 1968 339five hundred dollars has already been remittedto you through the First NationalCity Bank of New Yo rk on the 3rd January,1968. Yo u were to ship the cases ofbooks and musical instruments on theII th of January, 1968, but I have heardnothing from you until now. Kindly enlightenme on this matter immediately as Iam anxious to know this matter. Pleasetake this as urgent and reply by return postto the above address.Yours sincerely,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

MARCH68-3-1Los AngelesI st March, 1968My Dear Achyutananda,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter addressed to Mukundaand Guru das, in which you write to saythat I may send you a telegram sanctioningyour red urn . This means that you have becomevery much anxious to return back toUSA, and I have become very much anxiousto return back to USA, and I have alsoalready sanctioned it, in reply to your lastletter post-dated Feb. 21. The real thing isthat you are feeling alone, and becauseyou are so to say, child, you have becomenervous. Otherwise for a preacher there isno difficulty anywhere, irrespective ofclimate and conditions. I came here in themonth of December, and as my country iswarmer to you, similarly your country iscolder to me . I am also in diseased condition.When di first came to your country Ipassed through practically all the seasons.I came here in 1965, Sept., and I remainedjin the Northern pordtion of yourcountry, namely N.Y., Penn., anddMass., etc., continually from Sept.1965 to Dec . 1966. And you know howmuch severe cold is N.Y.; I passedthrough snow on the dN. Y. street, so certainlyI wasn't very much in comfortablesituation. kStill I had the strength of mind .and I continued to stay. kSimilarly, if youhave strength of mind, you can stay alwaysin India eveen in the most inconvenientcondition. Another difficulty is that althoughyou are four already in Dindia.you cannot live together. Ramanuja leftthe camp as soon as I left you. You do notlike Harivilas. So you are living scattered.That is another difficulty. If you wouldhave lived together with mutual cooperation,ther would have been no trouble; butI think that is also not possible.In my plain opinion, Dl think if youcank all three at present moment, namelyyourself, DHarivilas, and Rishikesh, livetolgether, there will be no difficulty. Youare going to Vrindaban, so formerly youtold me that you selected a very nice houseat Rs. 50 per month, why not take thathouse and live together, all three, chantHare Krsna, and try to remain in transcendentalpeace. In Vrindaban, the system isthat during daytime one can live downstairsand with door closed, and electricfan running on. I was staying in Radha DamodaraTemple in my room in the sameway, by closing the door, making it completedark and running on the fan. I wasnever in trouble. So if one is jdetermincdto stay, things could be adjusted to live togetherin Krsna Conscious cooperation.I do not however, insist that you to stay,but if you like you can take that housej atRs. 50 permonth, and start an AmericanHouse there immediately. Or as you havedecided, you can come back to USA byend of March; I have no objection. ButBefore coming, you should keep myth ings properly in my room , and lock itproperly, and bring the keys with you anddeliver them to me when I shall be in N. Y.in the month of April . The cooking utencsils. blankets, and the typewriter, my bekept very safelyk in the room . The typewritermay be kept in the metal box . andthe blankets and wrappers may be hangedfrom the ceiling hanger. And the money

342 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadawhich you'ver got, may be deposited inmy account in the Punjab National Bank,account number 99 13.When you come back, you can pleasebring with you 2 lbs. of Triphala, and 2lbs. of Badailaich.I hope you are feeling better by thistime.Your ever well-wisher,68-3-2Los Angeles1st March, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter dated Feb. 27,1968, and I have already sent one letter afew days ago to Achyutananda sanctioninghis coming back, in consideration of hisdeteriorated health. Today also I am writingone letter to him, the copy of which isenclosed herewith , which will speak foritself. THis Maya will attack the body always,because the body itself is the sourceof all troubles. We try to make a solutionof our misfortunes, but at the same timewe want to keep this body. People do notunderstand the simple truth that if anyonewants real happiness, he has to get out ofthe entanglements of this material body,which is only possible by practice ofKrishna Consciousness.About going to India, via Europe, visitingseveral countries, like England, Amsterdam,Germany, etc., we shall confertogether when I return back to N.Y. inApril; I think Janardan will also come tojoin in the conference. So we have to makeour program for future activity jointly.There must have been some mistake. Ithink $395.00 is the total shipping chargesfor all the cases. These are some of thedifficulties of Export-Import business. Soyou have to go to the shipping office andsee the real things. I have not yet receivedyour copy of the letter received fromthem. Anyway, you have to clear thegoods and do it at your discretion. Becausehow can I know things from such adistant place.Remind the Brijabasi Co. in reply totheir last letter.Regarding press affairs: When I returnto NY, we shall talk together with Mr.Kallman, that if he invests only $10,000,we can have a nice press equipment forconducting all our printing works, includingbooks. In case Mr. Kallman is preparedto invest at least $5 ,000, then wecan also invest $5000 from the book fund.And I think investment of $10,000 will besufficient for starting a press just necessaryfo r our work.Regarding supplies from India: I haveinduced my younger son, Brindaban De,to supply all kinds of Indian craftsmanship,namely ornaments, cloth, fine arts,dolls, saris, wooden slippers, linen shirts,or, anything that is sellable here, on 10%commission, and he has agreed . Mukundaand Gargamuni have agreed, andthey are going to place orders to him. Ithink he may get 10% commission for hislabor, and he can supply everything youmay require from India. The terms is 25 %should be advanced , and the balance paidon delivery of the documents. This arrangement,I think, will help to import allkinds of Indian art without any difficulty,and you can arrange for importing thingsthat you may require.Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,P. S. Yo ur second letter of 2/28/68 is justreceived while posting this letter with enclosures.So far the shipping documentsare concerned you can clear the goods bypresenting the original letters of the shippingagents. In the meantime I am writingto the Punjab National Bank. India govt isworthless management. So there is someanomalies which will be rectified. In the

MARCH, 1968 343meantime get the goods cleared with IndemnityBoard if so required. I cannot applymy brain in everything. This taxes meso much that my heart begins to __ .Please therefore do the needful by seeingthe shipping authorities , and in the meantimeI shall read the letters calmly. In futureI think we shall have to change thisshipping agents and find out one better.You wiii be glad to learn that Jaiyanandathe President of San Francisco ispurchasing a nice house there as we triedin New Yo rk. The price is $50,000.00 ornear about and he has asked my approval .I think I shall send my approval with pleasureand as soon as the house's purchasedwe shall install Sri Sri RadhaKrishna Vigrahathere in a permanent place. Thecopy of Achyutananda 's letter is enclosed.I am leaving for San Francisco on the 8thMarch by 10 o'clock morning. Hope youare well.Your servant,68-3-3Los Angeles1st March, 1968My Dear Jayananda,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter dated Feb . 23,1968. The description of the house whichyou propose to purchase is very much attractive.And I think it is Krishna's arrangementby His inconceivable energy inexchange of your sincere service to theLord. I have gone through the whole letterand it is all encouraging, and therefore Ihave full sympathy with the transaction,and I approve of your good attempts topurchase this house according to the rightestimation; it appears to me all roundgood . The arrangement of payment is alsovery nice. I know that you haven't got topay the house tax , as it is owned byISKCON, which is tax free organizationall round.As you have desired to liquidate theloan in respect of this purchase, I am sureKrishna will help you in this direction.We are starting for S. F. on the 8th,flight no . 977 at 10: 10 a.m.; this informationis already sent to Uddhava. I thinkyou will do the needful . Hope you arewell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated February26, 1968, and I have noted the contents.No, when the Lord appears it ismentioned in the Bhagavad Gita that Hedoe" so in His Own Internal Potency. ThisInternal Potency is called Yoga Maya. AllPastimes and activities of the Lord are administeredby the Yoga Maya. Therefore,He is not under the influence of materialenergy, as the conditioned souls are. Bythe arrangement of Yoga Maya, the devoteessometimes forget the Presence of theOmnipotent Lord. Just like Yasoda Mayeetreats Krishna as her begotten Son, andforgets Krishna's inconceivable power.Therefore, she asks Krishna to open HisMouth to see whether He actually atesome earth. He showed her that He swallowednot only a bit of earth, but the wholecosmic manifestation. Yasoda Mata wasastonished to see this miracle, but stiii sheforgot that Krishna is God, that Krishna isthe Supreme Lord Himself, and not herordinary Son. In this way, reciprocationbetween the Lord and His devotees takesplace. The Lord doesn't forget but in orderto enthuse the Pastimes of the Lord,the action of Yoga Maya is prominent.

344Letters from Srila Prabhupiida68-3-4Los Angeles1st March, 1968My Dear Sri Krishnaji,Please accept my greetings. I receivedyour letter dated February 2, 1968 dulybut I am delayed to reply because I wasconsulting my colleagues about you andthe kirtana parties coming here at our expense.To call a man from India and to arrangefor his stay here at best for sixmonths in different branches of our citymeans rupees 20,000/-or $2,000 perhead, If we call for you and a party of nicekirtana singers, five men altogether, itmeans rupees 100,000/-the Society isnot in a position to spend such an amountat present period. I am therefore traininglocal boys and girls for kirtana and verysoon we shall be out on world tour withthis kirtana party. In India, however,many rich business men maybe ready tospend this amount to spread the kirtanamovement. But the Govt. will not allow usto spend Indian money in such fashionwithout special sanction. I have written toauthorities at the Govt. of India for sanction,but I have received no reply til now.You assured me that you would be able toget such sanction from Dr. Zakir Husseinbut you are now silent on this format. Whynot take sanction from him for this purposeand I will arrange money from India.Another proposal is that many Indiangentlemen request of me to sponsor themto come to U.S.A. In that connection, Imay inform you that if somebody is readyto spend rupees 20,000/-at least I can arrangefor his coming here U.S. A. and staywith us as our guest for six months in ourdifferent branches. If somebody is readyto deposit this amount in India then I shallarrange to send him a return ticket by airwith letters of sponsoring for six monthsas our guest and Mr Singh who you introducedto me in Delhi may be interested toaccept this proposal then you can talk withhim if he is serious about this. Not onlyMr Singh but anyone who is ready tospend like that will be sponsored by mySociety to come here and stay with us forsix months in different branches as ourguests. I hope you are well. I am going toSan Francisco on March 8, 1968. So youcan reply me there.Yours, etc.A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-5Los Angeles1st March, 1968ManagerPunjab National Bank, Ltd.Vrindaban, IndiaDear Sir:Kindly refer to your letter number153, dated at Vrindaban, Feb. 19th,1968, addressed to United ShippingCorp, 14/2 Old China Bazar Street,Room No. 18, Calcutta, regarding shipmentof 15 cases of books to New Yorkper S.S. "Flying Enterprise" a/c A. C.Bhaktivedanta Swami. With referenceto the above, I beg to inform you that theremittance of more than Rs. 13,000 aswas received by you for credit of my accounton 5/8/67 includes the price of thebooks shipment, by S. S. "Flying Enterprise."This was already declared byme to the shipping agent as it wasneeded by the exchange authorities. Assuch you can forward the documents immediatelyto me as it is needed that thedocuments should come through you. Ihope you will kindly do the needfulwithout delay.In the meantime, I have advised you totransfer Rs. 3,500 to your BrabourneRoad branch for credit of my accountthere, and I hope you have already done

MARCH, 1968 345this. A line in reply to this letter will bevery much appreciated .Thanking you in anticipation.Yours sincerely,A . C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-6 Los Angeles3rd March, 1968My Dear Hansadutta and Himavati devi,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your nice letters, onedated the 23rd of Feb. and the other undated.I have noted the contents, and yourattitude of service is so nice. I am pleasedto hear that you have begun practicing forthe Kirtan party; please keep me informedhow you are progressing. Yes, if you like,you can also arrange for costumes andwig; one boy may be dressed as LordChaitanya, another as Nityananda, as wellas Gadadhar, Adwaita with white beardand Sri Vas with shaven head. Responsivechanting is very nice; one good singermay lead, and the others may join in. Thatis the system in India. It is very good fortwo reasons especially: One, the chantergets to rest, so he does not become tired,and two, you get to chant and hear, that isthe process. You may also have melodiousaccompaniment instruments, and amplifiers.Blowing of the conch shell andhorns is very nice.Yes, to be determined that the childwill have his last birth into ignorance isvery good. It is true that one should becomea parent only if he can deliver hisward from the clutches of death. And thatis possible only with Krishna Consciousness.This is a very great service forKrishna, to give all opportunity for thechild to be trained up in devotional service,and it is very good that you are thinkingvery seriously on this.The more one feels imperfect inKrishna's service, the more he is advancingin Krishna Consciousness. Even thetopmost devotees feel they are inadeqatein their service to the Lord. So it is good tofeel inadequate, and to try harder to pleaseKrishna with better service. But oneshould never feel, oh , I have seenKrishna, and so I am reached perfectionthisis not Krishna Consciousness.Please continue your very good service,and do not feel any feeling of uselessness.It is true that Krishna has givensome the opportunity to serve Him by nicewriting, some by good business ability,some by nice cooking, and so on, butthese various services are all acceptedequally by Krishna. On the transcendentalplane, one service is as good as another.There is no question of higher or lower.We are very tiny, and so we cannot reallydo very much. Simply we can engage ourtime and energy, and that is all Krishnasees. He sees this boy or girl is spendinghis time in My Service, and He is pleased.I hope you are both well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I am going to San Francisco on 8thMarch 1968.ACB68-3-7New Yo rkLos Angeles3rd March, 1968My Dear Michael O'Leary,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Feb. 27,1968, and I thank you very much for it. Iam especially happy to hear your statement,"I have taken to the process ofchanting Hare Krishna-feeling theresults immediately." This is very good.Please continue to chant, and executeyour duties with thoughts and words ofKrishna, and you will be happy always.

346Letters from Srrla PrabhuptidaPlease try to follow the rules and regulations,and when I arrive in New York,we can talk together, and as you feel yourselfready, you can be initiated. If youhave any doubts or questions, your goodGod-brothers are always ready and willingto help you. Brahmananda can giveyou the lists of the qualifications for devotees,and the 10 offenses, and other informationsas you may need. If you have gotany questions, please feel at liberty towrite to me about them as you desire. I amalso very happy to learn you are a sculpturestudent; at the present time, I am tryingto carve out of wood Sri Radha andKrishna Murti . If you can carve out theseDeities, it will be very nice.I shall be looking forward to meetingyou when I shall return to N.Y. Hope youare well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-8 Los Angeles3rd March, 1968Sri Harikishandas AggarwalGupta Hills EstateBombay-10,INDIAMy Dear Seth Harikishandasji,I am so glad to receive your letter No.0248 1, dated Feb. 20, 1968, posted late,as on Feb. 27, 1968. I thank you oncemore for your appreciating my mission ofone God, Sri Krishna; one scripture, BhagavadGita; and one mantra, HareKrishna. This idea is not manufactured byme, but it is authoritative statement in theGita Mahatma Scandhapurana. You haveasked me to let you know about the concreteplan for Bombay and I beg to submitas follows.Some years before, when I was stayingin your Prem Kutir you expressed your desireto organize a SANKIRT AN party,and I wish that it may be done now to helpme in my mission. If you have got opportunityto purchase one copy of Life Magazine,published Feb. 9, 1968, you willfind there on page 56, how nicely theAmerican boys and girls are dancing andchanting the Holy Name of the Lord. ASAMKIRT AN party as they can be organizedin India is not possible here. Herethe boys and girls, they are very seriousabout chanting, but they are not trainedsingers, or singers in the tune we chant inIndia. Therefore, I wish that if you organizea SAMKIRT AN party there, completelytrained in spiritual ways, and theAmerican students combine with them, Ithink a very nice SAMKIRT AN party canbe organized to travel all over the world. Ihave tested it definitely that melodious vibrationof SAMKIRT AN, if they are performedby serious devotees, can attractpeople from the very spiritual platform,and it at once makes the spiritual backgroundvery smooth, when a spiritual instructionfrom the Bhagavad Gita can beimplemented very nicely. So my first concreteprogram is that if you agree to organizesuch a SAMKIRT AN party, a batchof American students may join, and I cancombine these American and Indian devoteestogether under discipline. TheAmerican boys are being trained upstrictly on spiritual line, which I have alreadyexplained to you in my last letter.Similarly, the Indian boys or girls must bespiritually trained; it is only by spirituallytrained vibration can implement spiritualseeds in the heart of the audience, not otherwise.So, if you agree to cooperate withme in this direction, then I wish to go witha batch of American students to your careand stay in Bombay for some time, and tryto open a branch in Bombay of our society.Here we have got six temples already, andthey are nicely being managed by theAmerican Vaishnavas under strict discipline,without their being born in any

MARCH, 1968 347Hindu family. Similarly, in Bombay, weare inviting all classes of men to join us;we have no distinction of caste, creed,color or religiousity. Anyone can join us,never mind whatever he is. (We shall entertainHindus, Muslims, Christians,Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, or whoever maycome. We shall have no restriction. In thatTemple, everyone will be welcome. Inother words, in our secular state and internationalfeelings of God-consciousnesswill be introduced, where no one will berestricted.) And I am glad to inform youthat this principle is accepted by everyoneworking under me. So, the sum and substanceof the concrete program is to organizea nice SAMKIRT AN party incombination of Indian and American students.I want your cooperation in this adventure.Regarding Vedanta and BhagavadGita . There is no doubt about it that BhagavadGita is real Vedanta philosophy.Lord Krishna says in the 15th chapter thatHe is the Compiler of Vedanta philosophy,and He is the Knower of Vedanta Philosophy.Lord Krishna says this, and who can•be a better Knower of Vedanta philosophythan Krishna? In another place of the 13thchapter, Lord Krishna had accepted theauthority of Brahma Sutra, which is alsoVedanta philosophy. So the question isonly how one explains Vedanta philosophyor Bhagavad Gita . We are trying toexplain Bhagavad Gita as it is, withoutany interpretation. And you will be glad toknow that we are publishing one Englishedition of Bhagavad Gita , about 400pages, through Messrs. Macmillan andCompany. Another thing you have writtento say, "If you keep the gates of names andforms open to ultimately realize the formless,would be entitling in a larger numberof persons to your mission."My point is one God . Ultimately youwant to merge in the formless, or you wantsome material facilities, or you want toserve Krishna as His personal associate.Never mind, whatever you want, you worshipone God, Krishna, and not botheringwith the ultimate gain. The ultimate gaincan be achieved as one desires. Krishna isall powerful, so if somebody wants materialgain from Krishna, it is not difficultfor Him to award such benediction. Similarly,if anyone wants to merge in the ImpersonalBrahman effulgence, formless,He can also award the facility. In the sameway, if anyone wants to associate withKrishna in five transcendental relationships,he can award also that facility. So,my point is, that whatever you want at theend, that doesn't matter, but you worshipKrishna, and He will award whatever youdesire. One God, Krishna, means that leteveryone come to one God , Krishna, andbe engaged in Krishna Consciousness,and the award will be as the devotee desires.This is also stated in the BhagavadGita ; "Chatur Bhida Bhajantemam".Also, it is stated in the Srimad Bhagawatam, as follows: "Akama Sarvakama MlMokshakama Udaradhih T!brena BhaktijogenaYaj eta Paramam Purusham."Akama means the devotees, sarvakamameans the fruitive workers or Karmis, andMokshkama means the salvationist whowants to merge in the formless Brahman.So there are three clases of men and all arerecommended to worship the SupremePerson Krishna with great energy of devotionalservice. So we invite everyone tojoin this movement, accepting Krishna asthe tangible God for all practical purposes,and the worship of God is madeeasy by chanting the Mantra HareKrishna, which is accepted even in farWestern countries. You will be pleased toknow that Hare Krishna Mantra is beingchanted not only in America, but also inEurope by my record albums, and followers.I have got already invitations frommany parts of Europe and they are appreciatingmy movement. Nobody feels

348 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidareluctance in joining the chanting of HareKrishna Mantra. Your good self also believesin the Mantra and certainly inKrishna as God. I have seen it that SwamiAkhandananda worships Krishna in hisapartment in Bombay. So we request everyoneto worship Krishna and chant theMantra, irrespectively, never mindwhether one is a devotee, a fruitiveworker, or a salvationist at the ultimategoal . We don't disagree with anyone,namely the Karmis, Jnanins, Yogis, etc,although we are devotees. We simply requesteveryone to worship Krishna as theSupreme Lord and join with us in thisgreat movement of Krishna Consciousness!Please therefore accept this concreteproposal for common platform of transcendenceand spread this movement byall means. Bombay is the most importantcity in India. There are many advancedgentlemen in Bombay interested in transcendentalelevation. Why not join thismovement which does not discriminatebetween human being to human being,and thus everyone, either Hindu, Muslim,Christian, Jews, Buddhists, Sikhs, oranyone also, all can join in this melodiousSAMKIRT AN movement and acceptLord Krishna Prasadam in Temple withgreat relish. I have begun this movementin this country America, and I think I amsuccessful. I have many hundreds ofKrishna Bhaktas in this country, and theyare increasing in number daily. And whynot in India and in Pakistan? We are tryingto get admission in the U.N. as nongovernmentalorganization. And whensuccessful, we shall introduce this culturalmovement in all countries, includingRussia and China.So, those who are aspirant of merginginto the formless effulgence of Krishna,they also can worship Krishna. That isrecommended in all Vedic literature. ButKrishna is the Supreme Lord. He has decidedlysaid in Srimad Bhagwatam,"Krishnas Tu Bhagavan Swayam". So, ifthe Indian transcendentalists, those whoare very serious about spreading this messageof Bhagavad Gita may join thismovement, backed by the SAMKIRT ANmovement as enunciated by Lord Chaitanya,it will be great success. And there isevery possibility of oneness all over theworld, without any communal differences.Hope you are well, and awaiting yourfurther reply.Yours sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-9Los Angeles3rd March, 1968My dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue reciept of your letter dated Feb. 29,1968. With reference to your Gaursundadas letter, "I am being overloaded withmail lately" is not meant for you. I musthave sufficent correspondence with themain pillars of the society. You are one ofthem, so you are at liberty to write me asmany letters as it is required. Sometimes Irecieve many letters from devotees withquestions which could be solved in the Istagostiemeetings.I am so glad to learn that you are nowediting TLC with keen interest. Please doit nicely and finish it as soon as possible.Regarding kitchen affairs, as a rule thosewho are not initiated may not enter intothe kitchen affairs, but uninitiated memberscan work under the guidance of anotherinitiated member when there isgreat need. So the direction which you aregiving to the willing girls to help with thekitchen affairs is not objectionable. Youcan go on doing that.Regarding Indian center, unless wehave full co-operation of Mr. Sharma, it is

MARCH, 1968 349not advisable to open a center there.Achyutananda is feeling sick and willingto return to his mother, so opening of Indiancenter may be set aside for the timebeing until I have the opportunity to returnback to India.In the meantime there is a good newsfor us that Jayananda, the president of ourSan Franicsco center, is attempting tohave their own house in San Francisco. Iam returning to San Francisco on the 8thMarch. I shall see how the matters haveproceeded there. Now, if somewhere weget our own house and start our own pressand we sit down together for publishingBack to Godhead and other books, howwill you like the idea? Most probably Iwill get my permanent resident visa, andif we sit together for concentrating our energiesin the matter of important publicationwork, it doesn't matter whether weare in USA or in India. Our proposal toopen a press in India was to get cheap labor,but here in USA, if our brahmacharieswork in the press, there is no questionof labor expenditure at all. Subal das hasgot some experience in working in thepress. Similarly, yourself, Purushottam,Madhusudan, and others have got someexperience. So how would you like theidea of starting a press in our own buildingat San Francisco? I shall be glad to hearfrom you after mature consideration.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-10Los Angeles4th March, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I offer thesame to my daughter, Himavati, and Ihope she is doing well. I am very glad thatKrishna is already dictating you how tomake perfect the SAMKIT AN party. Icompletely agree with you about the programof our traveling across the country,being booked in several places. And I amglad that our friend, Allen Ginsberg, ishelping you. There is no doubt about oursuccess if we can make this Kirtan partysuccessful. The most important point inthis connection is that we shall never beprofessional; that is to say, we shall try tomake the Kirtan party perfect from thepoint of view of Krishna Consciousness.The idea of introducing Pancha Tattwa inthe Kirtan party was also contemplated byme. Not only that, we have to prepare differentdresses for Radha and Krishna, andTheir eight confidential Associates,Sakhis. Sometimes you have to dresssomebody as Nrisinghadev and Prahlad;in this way, we shall have varieties of showalong with the Kritan, and all the varietieswill be picked up from Srimad Bhagwatamand Bhagavad Gita . We have to teachthe Brahmacharies and the Brahmacharinisto speak in Sanskrit some of theverses in this connection, and we explainthe verses by singing, chanting, andspeaking also. Sometimes in the middle ofchanting and singing, we shall speak also.So, all these varieties show will be so attractivewith melodious musical sounds,and above all our good behavior and advancedKrishna Consciousness, willmake this show very successful. In themeantime, you train the Kirtan party asyou are doing, and the responsive methodis all perfect. I have already written you inmy last letter in this connection, and againI say that the responsive method should bepracticed. There may be more than onesinger, just like you may take the leader'sseat, sometimes Jai Govinda may take theleader's seat, sometimes others may takethe leader's seat, but the method of chantingand responding, then chanting, shouldalways be followed. When I come to NewYo rk certainly we shall devise plans onthis touring program, not only travelingwithin the States, but also traveling all

350 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiidaover the world. And when we go to Indiain course of our travel, we shall collectsome Indian devotees also to join us. Notonly Indian, we shall gradually collectdevotees from all over the world withoutany discrimination. Our Krishna Consciousnessmovement must be allpervading,as Krishna is all-pervading.You will be glad to know that in SanFrancisco they are trying to purchase onehouse. I have already suggested Rayramafor a regular printing press for printingour books. And some of the Brahmachariesmay be engaged in the publicationwork, some of them may be engaged inthe Kirtan party preaching work, andsome of them in distributing our literature.That will make our mission perfect.Just today we had one meeting in theCalifornia State College at Long Beach,Cal. , they issued the enclosed pamphletwhich may be published in Back to Godhead.I hope you are both well and happy.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings . I am in receiptof your note regarding United ShippingCorporation; so you can unload thebooks, 15 cases, paying $242.00 from mybook fund, and after clearing the books,we shall see what is the cost of transporting.I see that United Shipping Corp. hasexplained in their letter, dated Feb. 22, acopy of which you have sent me, that theyhave not been able to pay the ocean farefor this consignment, and the money iswith them, and they submit account forthat. So, after clearing the books, we willsee to the account. In the meantime, ifpossible you can see the American ExportIsbrandtsen Lines, Inc., whose office issituated at 26 Broadway, New York, N.Y.,10004. I think you can see the manager ofthis carrying company and try to get someconcessional rates for things we importfrom India, and maybe we may export alsois one carrying company, American MailLines, and they have agreed to give us10% concession on the freight. When I goto S. F. , I shall see that they may grantsome more concession. You have to convincethe carrying company that our thisworld wide Krishna Consciousness movement,so everything required is for thehelp of this society. Government gives usall facility of exemptions from the tax, andas we have got to import so many articlesfrom India, and maybe we may export alsoso many things from America to India formaintaining the status of the institution,they may give us some concessional rates.You may also mention that Scindia SteamNavigation Co. of Bombay was giving usconcession all free, but recently, might bedue to their internal dissension, they havestopped this concession. So we can claimsome concessional rate from everyone becauseour society is for public welfare activities.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I am going to S.F. on the 8th morning.If possible send some Japamalas withbags and a Mrdanga there. The Japamalawith bag should be charged at $5/perpiece. And Mrdanga $50.00. Tambura$100.00 Harmonium $200.00 and allmoney along with book sets at $16.00shall be collected for my Book Fund. I require$40,000.00 for my Bhagavatam.68-3-114th March, 1968My dear Satsvarupa,Please accept blessings. And offer thesame to Jadurani & Pradyumna. I hopeyou are all doing well in the service ofKrishna. I am leaving Los Angeles for SanFranciso on the 8th March 1968 andtherefore from the 6th of March 1968 you

MARCH, 1968 351can send all mails to San Francisco. Yo uwill be glad to know that Jaiyanda is purchasinga nice house for San Francisco & Ihope I shall get the Permanent Visa also.At present I am feeling well may Krishnagive me strength to serve you more &more .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-125th March, 1968My dear Uddhava ,Please accept my blessings . I am justin receipt of your letter forwarded fromNew York. Please be happy in separation.I am separated from my Guru Maharajsince 1936 but I am always with him solong I work according to his direction. Sowe should all work together for satisfyingLord Krishna and in that way the feeling ofseparation will transform into transcendentalbliss.Hope you are well. I am very anxiousto know about the church. If they do notagree then take back the check.Yo ur ever well wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-13Los Angeles6th March, 1968Andrea Templec/o General DeliveryFreeport, Grand Bahama IslandBahamasMy Dear Andrea Temple,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter post-datedMarch 4, 1968, and I thank you verymuch for it. Your work in spreadingKrishna Consciousness there is verymuch pleasing to me, and I am alwaysglad to hear more from you. As I said inmy last letter to you, I shall come therewhenever you like; simply you must sendme plane tickets, and I shall come. If youcould arrange for speaking engagementsthat is very nice. I am leaving this placefor San Francisco on the 8th of March,and as you like, I can fly from S.F. to BahamaIslands sometimes in March orApril; we can make further arrangementsas to the exact day after I return to S. F. Youmay show the woman in charge of the clubour recent article in Life magazine if youlike, which was published on Feb. 9,1968, page 56.Yes, whoever you tell the chant to, it iseffective. Yo u have heard it from me andmy disciples, similarly I have heard itfrom my Guru Maharaj , and so on, andon. Because you have heard it from a puredevotee of the Lord, therefore it is transmittedfrom you to another. Just as an aerialmessage, is transmitted from one placeto another, similarly, this Guru paramparasystem is working. My disciples are myagents, my representatives, so by hearingit from them, you are receiving it fromme. And because you are a sincere soul,those who are hearing the Mantra fromyou are receiving it in disciplic succession,from Lord Chaitanya and from LordKrishna.Yes, I can perform spiritual weddingsfor my initiated disciples. I have gotten somany young devotees married, and theyare executing Krishna Consciousnessnicely. That is the real purpose of marriedlife; to live together peacefully, executeKrishna Consciousness, bring up childrenin Krishna Consciousness, so theywill not again have to enter into this worldof birth and death.Govinda dasi has read me your letterand your place sounds very nice. It is allright that you do not have a storefront atpresent time; simply we need some space,and your house will do very nicely. BeforeI come there, you should please make

352 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidalarge advertsing campaign so that manypeople may come to our Kirtans. Perhapsyou could order some fairly large quantityliterature and propaganda from NewYork, and distribute in your city. Also,maybe the radio or T. V. stations may becomeinterested if you approach themwith our various propaganda, news clippings,and so forth . You can write toBrahmananda in this connection, and hecan give you instructions how to do it. Wemust try to catch the attention of as manypeople as possible; so that some maycome and hear us, and be benefited . If it ispossible, perhaps you can begin this propagandawork as soon as possible, and haveregular scheduled Kirtans, so that peoplemay start coming even before my arrival .That would be very nice.Please continue your very good missionarywork, and keeping us informed. Ihope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP.S. We have received a large consignmentof books (Srimad Bhagwatam) andmusical instruments for Kirtan. You cannegotiate with Brahmananda at N.Y.ACBMy next addressc/o ISKCON Radha KrishnaTemple518 Frederick St. SanFrancisco, Calif. 94 11768-3-14Los Angeles6th March, 1968My Dear Janardan,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated March2, 1968. So far the temple is concerned,do what is easier, without too much implicatingyourself. The Indians there do notsound to be very reliable; that is my opinionalso. So concentrate more on the Canadiansand Europeans. Generally, theIndians who come to this country are formaterial gain only; they have not got verymuch serious interest in anything spiritual. So when I come there, I shall try toturn the Indians there to become sympatheticto our temple, but most of them beingnon-Vaishnavas, they may not take toour strict Vaishnava principles. Therefore, they are hopeless to the 80% . If youcan sublet the present house, it is better,because that way we can occupy later on ifneed be. I would like to maintain aKrishna Consciousness boarding housethere someday if it is at all possible. But asit is not very easy to maintain the bighouse at the present time, and you think itbest to move to the cheaper one, then Ihave no objection. It is better not to be toomuch bothered with rent, and getting intodebt that is not very good; so you take careof the matter in the way that there will beless difficulty.Yes, ifMahapurusha is more needed inNew York for his fine cooking service,then he may go there when necessary.Please convey my blessings for both Mahapurushaand Shivananda; they are verysincere souls working very hard to pleaseKrishna and their Spiritual Master. Youare all very good servitors of the Lordthere, and I am very much anxious foryour writings to begin, as they will be agreat aid in our spreading of this KrishnaConsciousness. Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP.S. I am leaving S.F. on the 8th March,1968. Most probably I shall get my permanentresidence Visa in U.S.A. ACB

MARCH, 1968 35368-3-15Los Angeles7th March , 1968My Dear Mahapurusha,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated March6, 1968, and I have noted the contentscarefully. Regarding the observance ofLord Chaitanya's Advent Day: No, thereis no need for any other devotional songsor chants; simply chant Hare Krishna,with Kirtan or beads, and sing the prayer"Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu Nityananda,Sri Adwaita Gadadhar, SriVasadi,Gour Bhaktavrinda." You can alsochant the prayer you asked about. Thiswas spoken by Lord Nityananda while Hewas preaching in the town. He was addressingthe people: "My dear brothers,you simply worship Lord Chaitanya; talkof Lord Chaitanya; speak Lord Chaitanya's Name, so anyone who does so, he ismy life and soul ." Thus spoke Lord Nityananda.So far the reading is concerned,you may read any one of the books youhave mentioned-Introduction to SrimadBhagwatam, Professor Sanyal's book,Srila Bhaktivinode's book Sri ChaitanyaMahaprabhu Life and Precepts, or Englishtranslation of Sri Sri ChaitanyaCharitamrita. Best thing is to take any oneof the above mentioned books and finishit, from beginning to end. You can do thatwith Srila Bhaktivinode's book, thatwould be very nice.At the meeting everyone should try tospeak something on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu'slife, teachings, and philosophy.You can take quotations from the abovementioned books, and have discussions.Fasting should be continued up to evening,then you may have food like on Ikadasee,fruits, milk, etc. On the next dayYou may observe festival . Janardan consuitedme and said he thinks Sunday feasting would be best, so you may do that ifYou like. Or you may do both days, as youfeel best.It is very good news that you are holdingkirtans at universities; I very much appreciateyour endeavors for holdingKirtans. Krishna has given you good opportunityfor serving and you are doing itsincerely, so there is no doubt about yourbeing promoted to the transcendental platform,of eternal life, bliss, and knowledge.I thank you very much for your goodenergy in the matter of executing KrishnaConsciousness. I thank you once more ,and I shall always pray to Krishna for yourmore and more advancement in KrishnaConsciousness. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I am leaving for San Francisco tomorrow.So you can write me there until Igo to New York in April .68-3-16 San Francisco12th March, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 3/9/68.Yes, I safely and pleasantly arrived in S.F.from L.A. on March 8th morning, and Iam keeping fit, lecturing in the Temple.The Temple atmosphere is very nice,when meeting takes place, the temple isfull to its capacity, and people are takingvery much interest in our philosophy. So Iam very much hopeful of this center underthe guidance of Sriman Jayananda. If youwant to put me in a separate place from theTemple, I would prefer to stay in the ChathamTower. This Tower is situated in theChatham Square, just on the junction ofChamber Street and Park Road. It is justafter finishing the China town. Sometimesback, when I was searching ahouse, and I didn't yet open any center at26 Second Avenue, I liked this ChathamTower very much. But at that time, I had

354 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadano means; neither I have means just now.So if you like to keep me in a nicer place,then please try for it. Otherwise I shall besatisfied to remain in my present place underyour care. If my apartment is verynoisy, presently, then of course, you willhave to find out some place, but it must benearer to the Temple so that I may attendTemple meetings without delay.The American Mail Lines has verballypromised 10% concession, but we haveno written letter. But we were getting freeconcession from Scindia Navigations;that letter I have got, and am enclosingherewith, keep it in your files.So far the musical instruments are concerned:If they pay, you may send to Bostonas you suggested; Montreal hasalready paid for their instrument, $100,but they owe N.Y. $500. In Montreal,who will play? There is no member. SanFrancisco has no mridanga, their's hasbeen transferred to L.A. Therefore, theyrequire one mridanga. Yes, you may keepthe one formerly intended for Hayagriva;when I go there to N.Y. , I will see aboutit. Do as you think best regarding JonathanAltman.So far Michael is concerned, he is beingforced to take meat, let him attendclass, and pray to Krishna for his futurerelease from the difficulties he is experiencingat home. But so long he has to eatmeat, he cannot be initiated. Let him attendclasses regularly, and render serviceas much as possible, and Krishna willhelp him to get out of this dilemma. Andwhen I come to New York, I shall see whatis the situation.I am enclosing herewith a letter fromKrishna devi which speaks for itself.Please reply her that she cannot takecharge of one of our centers because shehas violated the regulations of our society.In spite of having her duly married husband,she indulged in illicit sex life, sothis is willful violation of our rules andregulations. So far her Krishna Consciousnessactivities are concerned, shecan execute nicely wherever she lives, andI have all blessings for her, because thedoor of Krishna Consciousness is openfo r everyone, but when one has to takecharge of a center, he has to become completelyabove suspicion.Hope you are well.Yo ur ever well-wisher,N.B. I have received your second letterwhich I shall reply tomorrow along withyour previous note.68-3-17BuffaloSan Francisco12th March, 1968My Dear Rupanuga,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dat¢ March5, 1968, with enclosures. (I have comehere in San Francisco on the 8th morningof March. Here the Kirtan's performancesare going very nicely; there is good attendancein the meeting and dancing in ecstasyis often exhibited to the transcendentalpleasure of everyone present. Ithink S. F. center has been very muchsanctified by unalloyed devotional serviceof the members here. As soon as there aresincere devotees, immediately the situationchanges very favorably. So I haveread of New York, and I am so pleasedwith your honest endeavor to open abranch in Buffalo. Those who try to distributeKrishna Consciousness amongstthe general mass of people are very muchfavorite to Lord Krishna and Lord Chaitanya.So you have all the blessings of LordChaitanya for your laudable work in Buffalo.It doesn't matter whether there is anyfuture prospect for opening permanentcenter or not, but to attempt to distributeKrishna Consciousness in that part of thecountry is very much encouraging.

MARCH, 1968 355I understand that Sriman La! Goel withhis wife is taking interest in this movement,and if he is convinced, he can conductthe classes on our behalf in thefuture. It is very gratifying to know that atleast 30 students are attending twiceweekly meetings, and out of them, about10 are regularly attending. I have read themanifesto printed by you in mimeographmachine, and it is very nicely set up.Regarding your wife: I am very muchpleased to learn that your good wife istranslating our essays for Germany. I wasjust thinking of our literatures being translatedinto German, and I was finding outsome of our disciples to do it. Fortunately,by the Grace of Krishna, your wife is ableto do this service, and please keep her engagedin that way. As soon as one is engagedin the service of the Lord, the Lordwill reveal Himself to one without anyseparate endeavor. Krishna Consciousnessmovement simply depends on serviceattitude. So please keep her engagedin this work for which she has got naturaltaste, and let her translate small bookletslike Easy Journey, then gradually she mayattend all our other books, and eventuallyBhagavad Gita. Please offer my thanksand blessings for her in this endeavor.Omkara is the alphabetical representationof Krishna. This representation ofKrishna is impersonal, just like His lustreof the Body, Brahman effulgence. Impersonalistslike to chant Omkara, but wewish to chant His Feature of Pastimes, becauseHis personal feature is the ultimateunderstanding. Omkara is the symbol ofeternity, but there is no bliss and knowledge.Om Tat Sat: Tat means the AbsoluteTruth, and Sat means eternal .Omkara is also used denoting address.Om Tat Sat means, oh, the AbsoluteTruth is Eternal .Shanta rasa means appreciation of thegreatness of the Lord, but there is no activeservice of the Lord. The land, thegrass, the trees, the plants , fruits, or thecows in the transcendental world are supposedto be situated in the Shanta rasa. Asspiritual beings, they are all conscious ofKrishna, but they prefer to appreciateKrishna's greatness remaining as theyare.The next development from Shantarasa is Dasya rasa, which means voluntaryoffering of some service. Next developmentis Sakhya rasa, or service in spiritof friendship and well-wisher. The nextdevelopment is Vatsalya rasa, service aswell wisher and affection. The next developmentis Madhura rasa, service, friendship,affection and conjugal love . So inthe Madhura rasa, everything is complete;there is Shanta rasa, Dasya rasa,Sakhya rasa, Vatsalya rasa, and Madhurarasa. But each and every one of the rasas iscomplete in itself. A person in Shanta rasaor Sakhya rasa is as good as one inMadhura rasa because in the spiritualworld everything is absolute. But from theplatform of spiritual vision, where there istranscendental discrimination, one canappreciate Madhura rasa as complete asanything.In ther spiritual world there is no suchrelationship as God as the father. In thematerial world such conception is appreciatedvery much . In the material worldeveryone wants to take·from God becausethe conditioned soul wants to enjoysenses. And the concept of fatherhood isto drag resources from the Supreme. Butin the spiritual world there is no questionof drawing from the Supreme. Everythingthere is to serve the Lord, and service isrendered in 5 different rasas or transcendentalhumors as described above. In thetranscendental world instead of taking theLord as father, He is treated as son, becauseson derives service from the Father,whereas in the material world the fathermaintains the conditioned souls or sons ofGod.

356 Letters from Srfla PrabhuptidaRupa Goswami 's eternal rasa is conjugallove. He is one of the associates ofRadharani, and he helps Radharani whileengaged in the service of Krishna. He isknown as Rupamanjari in the spiritualworld.Tattvam asi means you are that. Youare that, means you are also Brahman.That means qualitatively you are one withthe Supreme Absolute. The Mayavadiphilosophers interpret this Tattvam asithat the living entity is the same SupremeAbsolute Truth. They do not make anydifference of quality and quantity, butVaishnava philosophers are very accuratein their estimation of the Absolute Truth .Therefore, we interpret this Vedic verse asTattvam asi means that the living entity isqualitatively one, as much as a particle ofgold is also gold .Thanking you once more for your veryexcellent work there, and hoping you arewell.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-18New YorkSan Francisco12th March, 1968My Dear Balai,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 3/10/68,and I thank you very much for it. Ye s, thewind, the earth, the water, and so forth,all have controlling personalities. Just likethere is a sun god, who is in charge of thesun planet; similarly, for each body of water,for the wind, there are controlling personalities.They are in control of somesmall part of the material creation, but theultimate Controller is Krishna. Thesedemigods all are servants of the SupremeController.I am very pleased to hear aboutKrishna's new throne of gold leaf and velvet.I am anxious to come there and see it,along with all you my students there whoare carrying on so nicely even in my absence. But you must know that I am alwayswith you all so long you areexecuting Krishna Consciousness; and Iam always receiving good news of theNew York Temple so it is very nice thatnow you have provided Krishna a beautifulnew throne.So far the Advent Day of Lord Chaitanyais concerned, I have written a full suggestionto Montreal, in which the mainpoints are that we should all observe strictfasting up till moonrise, and at that time,an offering is made to Lord Chaitanya ofEkadasi foods, fruits , peanuts , milk, andso forth. Then, on the next day, Friday the15th, a full-scale feast is held to celebrateHis Advent Day. On the 14th, chanting,reading of Srila Bhaktivinode's book, Lifeand Precepts and Chaitanya Charitamrita,Introduction to Bhagwatam, maybe held all the day in the Temple.Householders may wear dhoties in theTemple, or as they like, but not of the saffroncolor. They may wear white, yellow,or whatever. Outside the Temple they maywear American gentleman's dress, withTelok, flag, and beads. It is not requiredto wear dhoties, as this society does notunderstand, so outside the Temple dresssuit is more socially acceptable . If they sodesire, for ceremony, they can dress indhoties for Kirtan.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-19Los AngelesSan Francisco13th March, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter, undated, andpost-dated March 12, 1968. I am so

MARCH, 1968 357obliged to you for your hospitality withwhich you served me so long I was in LosAngeles; I was so much comfortablysituated in spite of my not very goodhealth. Krishna will bless you for yourstrenuous service single-handedly, restassured. Please continue your service attitudein the same spirit, and Krishna willbless you with all benediction.In the meantime, Mukunda and Janakihave come there, and I hope together youwill do service to the Temple to your bestcapacity. I have got very good impressionof the Temple in San Francisco, and bothyou and Mukunda may bring up the LosAngeles to the same standard. Don't be depressedbecause there is no sufficient audienceat present, but if you continue yourservice all in cooperation, in very near futureit will be a nice center. Please offer myblessings to Samkarshan das, and Baladevaand his daughter Haridasi, and etc.Today we had a very nice lecture at theSan Francisco State College; the attendencewas very nice, and the meeting wassuccessful, as it was in Los Angeles. Theyhave arranged many other meetings alsowhich I shall attend one after another.Regarding the casting of Sri Sri RadhaKrishna: As soon as the statues are finished,I shall send it for casting, at leastone pair. And as soon as you receive thisstatues, please do the needful .If Dayananda has left for Florida,please send me his address there . Hopeyou are all well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swamiwell there, and that Jadunandan and Johnare there helping in so many ways.So far the picture is concerned, Gurudashas recently taken some very nice photographs,and I shall ask him to send somecopies to you. Yes, to make posters as yousuggest will be very nice, please do it.Please continue to help all the younggirls, both in N.Y., and S.F. as well . Ifthey take to following your example of sincereservice, they will all be advanced inKrishna Consciousness very rapidly. Yourexample is very nice, using your artisticabilities to serve Krishna, and they mayall follow in your footsteps. I think there isno need for coming to S. F. , as most of thegirls are there, and recently Anapurnadasi has left for Boston, also. She is verynice young girl, and with artistic abilities,so you please help her as she arrives there .Ye s, there are two Boar Incarnations;one is reddish, and the other whitish.Baraha is the first, He is reddish just like aboar.The dishwashing occupation is open toanyone who wishes to help. There is norestriction. Also, non-initiates may helpin cooking prasadam under the directionof devotees. That is all right.Please keep me informed of the progressof your fine arts department; I am alwaysanxious to hear how they are doingvery nicely. Hope you are well, and I hopePradyumna is being well taken care of,and will be feeling better soon.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-20San Francisco16th March, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I am in duereceipt of your nice letter dated March 12,1968. I thank you very much for it, and Iam so glad to hear that everything is going68-3-21San Francisco17th March, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated March9, 1968. I have come back to San Franciscoon the 8th March, and while I was in

358 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaLos Angeles for two months, I receivedthe balance portion of Bhagavad Gitaedited by you. I am expecting the forewordalso, but I can understand that it wasnot yet dispatched. So, when it is preparedyou can send it to me here in S.F. Iam so glad to understand that you aremissing the atmosphere of S. F. which youso nicely enjoyed last year, and similarly, Iam also missing your company which Ienjoyed last year here. Whenever I go tothe class, I remember you, how joyfullyyou were chanting in the Temple, andwhistling the bugle so nicely. Whenever Isee the cornet lying idle because nobodycan play on this particular instrument, Iremember Hayagriva Brahmachary immediately.So, here the Temple has spiritually improved.Whenever there is Kirtan, eithermorning or evening, immediately there isa different atmosphere by the Grace ofLord Krishna. And all people, both devoteesand outsiders, begin to dance in ecstasy.I am very much encouraged byseeing the atmosphere from S.F. Temple,and when you come here you shall seepersonally how they are nicely executingKrishna Consciousness. I have some lecturesin the colleges, both in L.A. andS.F., and the other day I delivered lecturein San Francisco State College, and thestudents enjoyed the atmosphere verymuch. They heard our Kirtan very attentively,and although my lecture was a littleterse, on account of our prohibitory regulations,still the students heard me very attentively.And they stood around me evenafter the meeting was over. One girl questionedme why I am against meat eating,and she was very satisfactorily replied.Today also, in the morning, I lectured andheld Samkirtan in the local WMCA building,and there were small children, almostwithin 10 years, along with their teachers.And they very patiently enjoyed our companyfor one hour. All the teachers andstudents danced and sang with us and thescene Wds very pleasing. So I am verymuch hopeful that this movement can bespread all over the whole world if we organizesimply the performance of Kirtan,and a little lecture on the principles ofKrishna Consciousness.In your last letter you informed me thatyou are holding class and Kirtan in yourcollege, and I will be glad to know the reaction.You will be pleased also to learnthat Rupanuga das Adhikary has gone toBuffalo to open a branch there and his reportis also very encouraging. Althoughhe has started the class just anew, stillthere is assembly of 30 students twice in aweek classes, and out of them, 10 studentsare regularly attending and taking part inthis movement. There was press interviewalso with Rupanuga and they have reportedvery nicely in the paper, BuffaloNews.I hoped that Kirtanananda Swamiwould open some branches in many partsof the country after his return from Vrindaban,but I am sorry that he has left ourcompany. So I am missing also him. Butsince he is continuing to keep his name,Kirtanananda, which was given by me, Ithink I have got still some right to say[PAGE MISSING]68-3-22My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. Your letterof 3/12/68 in hand. The evening twilightfirst appeared as a beautiful girl to attractthe demons but later on turned to be eveningtwilight. There is no reality in thematerial beauty. What you think as realthat is also unreal because everything materialtransforms into matter at the ultimatestage. It is the spirit soul who isbeautiful and not the matter.I am pleased to learn that Rupanuga is

MARCH, 1968 359fully conscious about our movement andhe has full confidence in his spiritual master.To-day I have received one letter fromHayagriva and it is understood that he isfeeling our separation. I have replied himand have asked him to see me when I am inN.Y. Hope you are all well. Please keep intouch with Pradyumna 's surgical operationaffairs.Your ever well wisher68-3-23New Yo rkSan Francisco18th March, 1968My Dear Devananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated March 12,1968, and I thank you very much for it.Your sincerity and desire for doing someservice for Krishna is very much encouragingto me. Please go on chanting nicely,and steadily. Chanting 16 rounds is prescribed,but you can chant more roundsand hear them very attentively.If you are not satisfied with your cookingengagement, tell Brahmananda to giveyou some other engagement. But itdoesn't look well if you change from onecenter to another for some convenience.Everywhere service to Krishna is thesame, but if you are feeling some inconvenience,then you may inform Brahmananda,and get some relaxation bychange of duty.Thank you for the dried mango; I amso glad to receive it. I like it very muchand please go on sending it every weekand-a-half,or every two weeks . I likevery much.I hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,ACBMy Dear Michael,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter and I thank youvery much for it. Yes, by Krishna's Graceall obstacles have been removed. We allprayed to Krishna that your inconveniencesmay be removed, and by Grace ofKrishna, they have all been removed, sowe feel very much thankful to the Lord.You just remain fixed up in devotional service,and all impediments that may comewill be vanquished by the unlimited potencyof the Lord. We should have faith inHis Power, His Grace, and His CauselessMercy,Hoping you are well68-3-24 San Francisco21st March, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letters dated March14th, 18th, and 19th, and have noted thecontents carefully. So far the ChathamTower is concerned, you may drop theplan, and try to get the two-story housewhich you mentioned. Please check into itand keep me informed. Yes, it would bevery nice for Mr. Kallman to contribute1000.00 dollars for the printing; pleasetry to encourage that. I shall be expectingto receive the dummy publication whichyou described in a few days. You may keepthat bottle of liquid which you mentioned,and when I come there I shall see to it.By Grace of Krishna, Adwaita is beingtransferred to Bellevue; now try to get himout with the help of the psychiatrist whohelped to get out Kirtanananda. That willfinalize the matter, but we must find out away to take permission from the draftboard that our institution is a recognizedreligious institution of Hindu Vedic origin,and we are training students for

360 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidapreaching God-consciousness, and buildingup their character by strict moral principles.Therefore, these students cannotbe called for fighting. By temperamentthey are unfit for fighting, because theyare being trained to become perfect Brahmins.The business of the Brahmins is toteach people spiritual education. Fightingis means for the Kshatriyas. Therefore ,we must find out some means for protectingour students in future to save themfrom this unnecessary botheration. Youshould consult a suitable lawyer in connectionwith this matter, and do the needful.We can submit a copy of the remarkmade by a judge of a court here, in relationto the imprisonment of one of our students,Upendra das , in which the mansaid, "Be lenient with this boy, as he belongsto an established religious organization,which is doing much to combatagainst drug-addiction, and to promotethe general health and welfare of theyoung people." (These are not the exactwords, but we are presently awaiting acertified letter from the judge saying in essence,this statement.) And as minister ofthe association, I can give certificate thatall my students are ecclesiastical. Theyare neither fighting men, nor mercantilepeople, so they cannot be called for fightingfor unnecessary waste of time andvaluable energy. In this connection, thecaste system of the Hindus, in whichKshatriyas are trained up for fightingfrom the very beginning, in martial spirit.They are fighting with young men recruitedfrom the sudra class, enforced tofighting; so there is a gulf of difference .Anyway, Krishna will save Adwaita. Youjust take help of the psychiatrist.For the cable adress, I think "ISO­KRISHNA" will be very nice. This meansthe All-Attractive Supreme Personality ofGodhead. I think this will be nice, andwithin the limit of letters. If it is requiredto reduce the number of letters, the "I"and "H" in Krishna can be deleted-onlyif necessary, making it become"ISOKRSNA."So far thosebooks are concerned, Ishall see to cutting out the illustrationsyou mentioned when I come there. I donot remember, but so far I know, they arenot very authorized pictures. Please tellJadurany of this . They were presented tome by the authors in exchange for my presentingthem with some of my books . Butthey are not authorized.So far the order of photos in the Teachingsof Lord Chaitanya is concerned, theyshould go like this: My photo, Guru Maharaj's photo, Srila Gour Kishore, SrilaBhaktivinode, Lord Chaitanya, and lastly,Lord Chaitanya's Birthplace. For LordChaitanya's photo, you may use a photographof one of Jadurany 's recent paintingsof Pancha Tattwa. The other fivepictures will be with the reading matter.Two pairs of the kartals may be withAchutananda. The beads has to be sanctified,I shall do that when I come there.Keep them until then. For chanting onthem, they must be sanctified.There is no need of Krishna devi 's address.She is here and I have seen her, sothe matter is ended.Please send a copy of my lshopanishadas soon as possible. I believe it is lying inthe care of Rayarama. We shall have to arrangefor publishing it in a nice bookletjust like the Two Essays, and Easy Journey.Please see about how to do it. It willbe nice for our classroom instructions inKrishna Consciousness, in the colleges.We are beginning instructions weekly inSan Francisco State College, and there isprospect of having an accredited course toteach beginning next September. This is avery good opportunity.I want to sit down tightly with some assistants,and spend the rest of my timetranslating Srimad Bhagwatam, and otherbooks. And train students to do preaching

MARCH, 1968 361work on the outside. So, from now on, Iwould like to speak only at very importantengagements , and for most engagements,have my students preach. All of you mustlearn to preach; and for me , my most importantpreaching work is to finish up theSrimad Bhagwatam. So, please try tomake arrangement like this, as it is veryimportant that my books be finished, assoon as possible.I am especially interested in theSamkirtan party, for this purpose, whichis understood to be being molded up byHansadutta. We have got invitation from aBombay friend for our Samkirtan party,and if Hansadutta's Samkirtan party ismade up then, with whole party we willgo first to England, then to Holland, thento Germany, then to Bombay, and makethe program right and earnest from now.Those leaves are neem leaves; keepthem and when I come there I shall make apreparation of tooth paste. Neem tree isvery antiseptic .ISO KRISHNA has got two-fold meaning.It means International Society forKrishna Consciousness, and also, thatKrishna is the All-Attractive SupremePersonality of Godhead. So it is all-roundperfect.Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,68-3-25 San Francisco22nd March, 1968My Dear Terry, and associates,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated March16th, and I thank you very much for it. Iam so much pleased to hear the wonderfulnews of your Samkirtan meetings in N.J.It is very good. This sort of enterprise isthe most valuable spiritual attempt. And Ithank you from the core of my heart fordoing such a nice thing. Krishna will bepleased upon you, and bestow His Benediction.Similarly, we want to open hundredsof centers, so that people may takeup K.C.-that is our mission. It is an easyprocess, and appealing, and the highestspiritual realization simultaneously.Please continue your excellent work inKrishna's service, and when I come toNY, I shall come there to see how nicelythings are being carried on.I am happy to hear that you continuedto chant despite so many doubts and skepticism.That is the process. Even theremay be doubts and skepticism, if one continuesthe chanting process, the doubtswill all disappear, and real knowledge willbe revealed by the Grace of Krishna.There is the example given of the jaundicepatient. He is suffering from disease, andwhen given sugar-candy, which is thecure, he finds it very bitter and distasteful .But that does not mean the sugar-candy isnot very sweet and delicious; it is simplydue to his diseased condition that it seemsbitter. In order to be cured from his disease,he must take the medicine of sugarcandy,despite the apparently bitter taste,and as he becomes cured, the real sweettaste of the candy is gradually revealed.Similarly, we are diseased, and only if wetake to this chanting process may we becured. Maya may put so many doubts andworthless arguments into our minds, butif we continue the chanting, the curingprocess will go on, never mind the doubts,and gradually we will get a taste of thatsweet nectar of Krishna Nama Sankirtan.That is the process; and you may expalin itto all your friends, so they may understandthe nature of their doubts and skepticism,and be benefitted.Yes, your devotion will grow at "doubledrates" as you give more and moreservice to the Supreme Lord. Krishnastates in the Bhagavad Gita that the onewho is spreading KC is the one most dear

362 Letters from Srlla Prabhuptidato Him. So, you are doing the most valuableservice to the Lord by introducingyour class-fellows and friends to thisSamkirtan movement, and therefore, youwill feel more and more increase in yourdevotion to the Lord. Please continue todo like this, and Krishna will be pleased,and you will be always happy in this life,and what to speak of the next.Hoping you are well .Your ever well-wisher,ACB68-3-26New Yo rkSan Francisco22nd March, 1968My Dear Balai dasi,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated March19th, along with Ishtagoshte notes, I amalways so pleased to see how nicely theIshtagoshte meetings are being carriedon, so I am always anticipating your letters,along with Ishtagoshte reports .Thank you very much.Yes, Sri Tulasi is the eternal consort ofKrishna, and the most pure devotee, andtherefore, the Tulasi plant is worshippedby Vaishnavas.Yes, you may say the prayer to theSpiritual Master 3 times, and also theNamo Brahmanya . . . prayer 3 times,when offering Prasadam. That is verynice to say the mantra 3 times. Also, youmay, after offering to the Spiritual Master,offer to Lord Chaitanya by saying theprayer, Namo Maha Badanaya . . . 3times, and then offer to Krishna thrice.So far the singing of the prayers to theSpiritual Master is concerned, there is nolimitation on how many times it is sung.But it should be done three times daily,and morning it is required. Yes, you maysay this prayer at noon Prasadam if it ispossible, and sing again in the evening:And you may sing other prayers as youlearn them also.I am so pleased to hear of the activitiesof Jadurany and her artist assistants . Werequire this service, as we require somany pictures. Pictures, books, etc., allwe shall sell on world tour with ourSamkirtan party. So we require a lot ofpictures in stock; and wherever we openour centers, we must have at least PanchaTattwa picture, Vishnu picture, Samkirtanpainting, and Spiritual Master's picture,and Radha Krishna painting-theyare all required. Therefore , Krishna hassent so many devotees to work on thepainting department, so we have to utilizethem fully, so their service is fully utilizedfor advancing in Krishna Consciousness.Thanking you once more for your sincereservice, and I hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiNB So far Adwaita is concerned, pleasedo not be too much worried, becauseKrishna will save him. Krishna has promisedto always give all protection to Hisdevotees, so you may rest assured thatKrishna will take very good care of him.Please confer my blessings to Adwaita,and tell him to keep his faith in Krishna,and not to fear the people imprisoninghim. Fear personified cannot remain inthe prescence of Krishna. And the authoritiesthere are simply like wooden dolls,or puppets, in the Hands of the Dance­Master, Krishna. So there is nothing tofear, simply it is to be considered a botheration,nothing more. Encourage him tochant continuously, and not to notice theactivities of the prison-wardens. ACB

MARCH, 1968 36368-3-27New YorkSan Francisco23rd March, 1969My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. Regardingthe United Shipping Corporation, I havesent them the necessary 4 copies of invoiceand certificate, and asked them tosend one statement of account for our$500. In future, I think we have to selectvery nice shipping agent, because we haveundergone so much botheration this time.Please send one complete list of goods received.I am enclosing herewith one letterfrom Pradyumna, and you can let meknow what is to be done for his hospitalcharges. We are increasing our expansion,but we have to take account of theseemergencies. I have already written youabout taking steps for protecting our boysfrom the draft board; now, when we livetogether, somebody may fall ill. Now, findsome future main source of income forour institution, and ·main source is publications.So if we can organize a goodsales organization, thatis our main hope.Besides that, if the Samkirtan party isnicely organized, we can have demonstrationfor public. I do not know how far weshall be successful, but we must find out asource of our income. At the present moment,some of the boys are working andpractically it is going on under their workingstrength. Anyway, please think overwhat is to be done with Pradyumna. I havewritten also to Hansadutta about theSamkirtan party, and I think our books,paintings, and the Samkirtan party cangive us enormous help if we can organizeit very nicely. I want therefore a permanentresidential quarter at New York, sothat my personal supervision of thesethings may go on. For the present, I wouldlike to stay in my apartment at 26 SecondAvenue, if cooking for the Temple can bearranged elsewhere. If it is silent and solitary,I feel pleasure to live there, betterthan elsewhere. I shall prepare to start forN.Y. sometimes by the 1Oth- 15th ofApril. I think by that time the atmospherein N. Y. will be warm, and I will feel comfortable.So far Teachings of Lord Chaitanya isconcerned, everything has been very encouraging,and hopefully by the Grace ofLord Chaitanya, it will come out verynicely presented. Govinda dasi has sentthe cover picture today by special delivery,and other 5 pictures will be sent lateron. For the cover of the book, I think goldpaper will be very nice, with the letteringand drawing printed in black ink. Nicegold paper must be available in Japan verycheaply, and they may send us some samples.They can set the type for the title onthe cover, and you may give them somesuggestion, and maybe see their samples.So far inking of the lettering and drawing,no colored ink, it is not very nice. Pleasedo it all very nicely, as you have done sonice service for my books' publication.Hope you are all well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-28Allston, MASan Francisco23rd March, 1968My Dear Pradyumna,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated March 20,1968, regarding your illness. So long wehave got this material body, the miserieswill be coming and going, simply we haveto tolerate them and try to make advancementin Krishna Consciousness as best wecan. I am forwarding your letter toBrahmananda for taking care of your hospitalcharges; I do not know just what arrangementscan be made, but Brahmanandawill think how to take care of it.

364Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaYou mention that you have enclosedthe transliteration work of SrimadBhagwatam, but I do not find it here. Yo umay have missed it . Anyway, I am happyto hear you are steadily studying Sanskritand reading Srimad Bhagwatam-that isvery good .I shall be praying to Krishna for yoursteady recovery and continual advancementin Krishna Consciousness, and hopeyou will be feeling physically strongerwhen you come to see me in New York.Please keep me informed how you arefeeling.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-29New Yo rkSan Francisco23rd March, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated March 7,1968, and I thank you very much for yourencouraging news of the Samkirtan party.Please confer my blessings upon yourvery good wife, Himavati, and I am sopleased that she can sew nicely, and makethe costumes for the Samkirtan party. It isvery wonderful that you have secured alreadysome engagements for our party,and it is indication that it will be great success.It has just begun, and already thereare so many engagements. I am so gladthat you have organized the Samkirtanparty, and it is very satisfactorily progressing.And at present, I am countingupon you more than anything else, becausemy program is, after going to NewYork for some days, then I shall go to Boston,to Buffalo, and to Montreal, and Ishall take the Samkirtan party with me,and make an experiment how we get response.I shall then proceed with Samkirtanparty to England, then to Holland, toGermany, and to any other countries, and/ordirectly to Bombay. One of my Bombayfriends has written me as following:"I am pleased to receive your letter dated3rd March, 1968, and have noted the contents. We are already doing Kirtan on Sundaysand that is a part of our curriculum.This can be made extensive by your teamof followers from America arriving in India.The best place for continuousSamkirtan is Brindavan. Please let meknow when you would come to India, withthe devotees, so that we may arrange a receptionand have a suitable program.Yours sincerely, Hari Krishnadas Aggarwal." So, if we can reach Bombay withour Samkirtan party, and as promised bymy friend, some Indians join us, then weshall make an extensive tour of India withthe party, and we shall invite all kinds ofreligionists to join us. The Indian governmentis particularly secular government,and if we can present unified form ofKrishna Consciousness-one God,Krishna; one scripture, Bhagavad Gita;one mantra, Hare Krishna; and one work,His service, then certainly we shall getvery good encouragement from Indiansalso. My future contemplation is to havetours all over the world for 6 months, andsit down in a nice place for the balance 6months, for training boys and girls as wellas editing our publications. You consultwith Brahmananda and he may consultwith Mr. Kallman how this program maybe given real shape. But I think this programwill be solid one for propagating ourKrishna Consciousness all over theworld. And in spite of New York City's somany faults, I have got a natural inclinationto make my headquarters in N.Y. C.Most probably I am going to get my permanentvisa, from your government, and inthat case, I want a very nice place to stay inN.Y., and make it my permanent headquartersfor editorial office, as well astraining Samkirtan party and preachers.

MARC H, 1968 365So far the advertising is concerned,you can follow the example of the enclosedadvertisement, which is very nice.I hope you are both well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-30San Francisco23rd March, 1968My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated March 20,1968, and I thank you for it very much. Iam happy to hear you have finishedTeachings of Lord Chaitanya, and it is allturning out very encouraging. Brahmanandahas done nicely both the Gita andTLC, now he has to make sales organizationand that credit is awaiting him.You should take BTG as your life andsoul . Your work for BTG is first and foremostabove all. If you do not find any timefor other things, there is no objection, butI want to see that you make BTG a successfulmagazine like Life magazine or IllustratedWeekly of lndia. I am very muchambitious of the progress of the paper, andyou can use your discretion how to do it.You are at liberty to do it with full powerof attorney. So far discussions of politicalaffairs in BTG, it is not a very good suggestion.But if you can present politicalaffairs in spiritual light, as I wrote somearticles in the original BTG in the matterof political divisions of India, and catastrophiesthereof. That requires a verythorough understanding of the wholesituation, and if you can do this, it will bea great service. I wanted therefore a combinededitorial board. Unfortunately, youhave to do everything yourself. For thiswork I think you will have to invite cooperationfrom others who may help you.Anyway, BTG must be improved to thefullest extent, because it is the backboneof our society. Think over it, and do itnicely as far as possible, and if neccessary,you can stop any other activities. Butpeople like your lectures also, and I hopeyou are delivering your nice lectures in theclasses. For the time being, you stopthinking of Srimad Bhagwatam, and wewill make plan when I meet you in N.Y. Itis very nice that you are preparing a bookon the life of Lord Chaitanya. Also, if youcan get the Ishopanishad printed that isvery nice. Part of it is in the original BTG,and part is manuscript there. As forBrahma Samhita, I am not working on it atthe present moment, but I have thought ofit. But I will see to it later on.So far BTG is concerned, if Goursundaris not able to help in this matter, youcan take help from the other artists whohave been working in cooperation with Jaduranyfor now. You can suggest to themand I am certain they will be able to do it.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-31 San Francisco23rd March, 1968United Shipping Corporation14/2, Old China Bazar StreetRoom No. 18, Calcutta 1.Dear Sirs,In reference to your letter No. F-38/I-138, dated March 18, 1968, addressed tomy New York office, I beg to send youherewith four copies of invoices, as requestedby you, with certificate of statementthat previously I did not import anybooks against Rs. 33,705/86.Please let me know exactly what is theprocedure for exporting books from India,because I have to do it periodically.And unfortunately, due to ignorance of theprocedure, both on your part and on our

366 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidapart, so much botheration is undergone.For want of knowing the procedure, wehad to pay the freight charges here also, inspite of sending you in advance $500,(Ref: Your letter F/38/1-14, of January11, 1968.) Kindly therefore let me knowthe exact procedure to be followed in future,because books are being printed inDelhi and shortly, we shall have to getthem here in New York. Kindly thereforesend the exact procedure, and on hearingfrom you , we shall ask our Delhi agent tobook further goods.Also, please send me a statement of accountof $500 sent by us, and the balancewhich is still with you. Please also let meknow, besides the books sent by the Instituteof Oriental Philosophy for shipping,whether some loose Bhagwatams are stilllying there. When I was in Calcutta, I sentsome loose Bhagwatams. I do not knowwhether you have sent them or not. Pleaseenlighten me.Kindly send the statement of accountas soon as possible. Thanking you in anticipation.Yours faithfully,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-32Allston, MASan Francisco26th March, 1968My Dear Jadunandan,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated March 21,1968, and may inform you that the horriblescene in the hospital is certainlyghastly. But we should at the same timeknow that this ghastly scene is in the matterof bodily concept of life. This is Maya'sillusion, and although the spirit soulhas nothing to do with this horrible affairs,but due to absorption of one's consciousnessin the body, one has to sufferthe consequences of bodily identification.So far we are concerned, we shall neitherbe sympathetic or apathetic in the matterof such bodily concept of life. Of course,it is quite natural to become sympatheticwhen one's body is put into such horriblecondition, but if you are firmly convincedthat this body is separate from the soul,then we may not be distracted. That is notpossible of course in the preliminarystage, but when we shall be in a transcendentalposition not to be disturbed ever bysuch a horrible scene, then our position issecure. The suffering of the man and thesympathy of the other man, both are centeredon the body. But this we have to understandby knowledge. Then suchhorrible condition of body won't be disturbingto us . That is the position of liberation.It doesn't mean that we shall notbe sympathetic with one who is suffering,but we should always remember that suchsufferings are due to the bodily concept oflife. As you stated, that you simply want toleave the material world and be withKrishna, that is the best solution, ratherthan taking account of how things happenedthat you came here. Like that ourbest occupation is to get out of the sceneby constantly chanting Hare Krishna, andbe engaged in the transcendental serviceof Lord Krishna.I am very happy to learn that you arerendering a nice service to Krishna bycooking for him and distributing prasadamto others. The association of devoteesis the only solace for our existence. NewYork might have been a little busier thanBoston, but so long it is under the guidanceof an experienced devotee, the affairsin both the cases are all right. Thetendency for solitude is a kind of reactionon our past material activities, but solitudeis not very good for a neophyte. Mayais always trying to attack us, and as soonas she finds some opportunity she tries toinflict her poisonous effects. The bestthing is therefore not to seek solitude in

MARCH, 1968 367the beginning but to remain in the midst ofpure devotees so that even there is attackof Maya, their association will protect us.If you are, however, always busy in thematter of preaching work that is very nice.But to remain alone in a solitary place fora new man is not advisable.Vrindaban is of course, very impressivefor devotional service, but that also isnot advisable to remain alone. I am tryingto get a nice place at Vrindaban and whenthe place is there, I shall personally bepresent with some devotees, and appreciatethe atmosphere of Vrindaban. So longwe are engaged in devotional service withproper guidance certainly we are alwaysin transcendental position, and transcendentalposition is unlimited, it doesn'tmatter whether you are in Vrindaban orU.S.A. But still, for everyone, Vrindaban'satmosphere is very sweet. But solong we have not completely freed ourmaterial attachment, even Vrindaban residencebecomes uncongenial. Just like inthe case of Kirtanananda, it was so happened.This seeking for solitude is simplya reaction on our past nonsense activities,or it is negation, voidism. Our sound positionis always being engaged in service ofKrishna, that is the positive standing.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Satsvarupa,This morning I have sent you one noteof the tape regarding Pradyumna 's hospitalbill. I think I shall be able to send you$500.00 from this centre. I understandthat Hospital bills are also paid by smallinstallments . We have to make arrangmentfor future emergency and I wish toorganize a central board for such management.For me it is not possible to look afterthe administrative affairs. Some of youshould form a committee for this kind ofmanagement. In India the Brahmachariscollect alms and subscription But here it isnot possible to do like that: therefore allBrahmacharis may work at least part timeso that our financial difficulty may beminimized.Yours, etc.ACB68-3-33San Francisco26th March, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am sorryI am delayed to reply your letter datedMarch 14, 1968, which I received over aweek ago. I am very glad that you are repentanteven for some action which is notsanctioned by me. This attitude is verynice and improves one in progressing onthe path of devotional service. The RakhiBandhan cermeony observed by you underinstruction of Prasad isn't approved byour Vaishnava rituals. Of course, suchceremony is observed among the Hinducommunity as a socio-religious convention.But in our Vaishnava communitythere is no such observance. Now, forgetthe incidence, and in future don't be misledby some unauthorized person. Ournext ceremony is Lord Ramachandra'sBirthday, on the 7th of April. It should beobserved in the same way as Lord Chaitanya's Appearance Day, namely, fasting upto evening and then accept Prasadam, andall our ceremonies should be performedwith continuous Kirtan, of Hare Krishna,Hare Rama. That will make all our functionssuccessful.Anniruddha is here and he is waitingfor the statues of Radha and Krishnawhich is being expedited by Goursundar,and most probably he will be starting back

368 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadafor L.A. on Friday morning. How Woomapatiis feeling there? I have not heardanything from him. In the meantime Ihave received one letter from Hayagriva,and he was anxious to come to San Franciscoduring his summer vacation. Inmeantime, I have also received one letterwhich is very depressing from Hrishikesh.I understand that he has been inducedby Bon Maharaj to be initiated byhim for giving him shelter, and this foolishboy has accepted his inducement. Thisisn't very happy news, and I have repliedHrishikesh's letter in the following words,which please take note, and in the future,we shall be very cautious about them."My Dear Hrishikesa, Please accept myblessings. I am in due receipt of your letterof March 14, 1968, and I am greatly surprised.I am greatly surprised for BonMaharaj 's initiating you in spite of hisknowing that you are already initiated byme. So it is deliberate transgression ofVaishnava etiquettes and otherwise a deliberateinsult to me. I do not know why hehas done like this but no Vaishnava willapprove of this offensive action. I verymuch appreciate your acknowledgementof my service unto you and you will alwayshave my blessings, but you mustknow that you have committed a greatblunder. I do not wish to discuss on thispoint more elaborately now, but if you aredesirous to know further about it, I shallbe glad to give you more enlightenment.Mukunda is not here. He has gone to L.A.Hope you are well." If Hrishikesh writesyou letter I think you may avoid reply. I donot approve both Hrishikesh 's and BonMaharaj 's this offensive action. Hopingyou are both well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Please try to organize a very nicetemple in L.A.68-3-34Allston, MASan Francisco27th March, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated March 28,1968, along with enclosures of transliterationmade by Pradyumna, and I thankyou very much. Regarding your letterdated 17th March, it was within the tapereceived and I have just opened it. Thereis no question of changing Boston program.I am engaged here up to 8th ofApril, after that I shall be free to go toNew York. I do not know what is the programin N.Y., because I have not receivedany program of New York. So askBrahmananda to send me letter when Ishall go to N.Y. I can start for N.Y. after8th of April any day. So make your programconjointly but for me I am free after8th from San Francisco. I have alreadysent you one note about Pradyumna 's hospitalbill, and as soon as I hear from you, Ishall arrange to send you $500 from mypersonal book fund. I am told by some ofmy students here that it is very easy to paythe bills by small installment payments,and if that arrangement can be made youmay see to it, if it is possible.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-35MontrealSan Francisco28th March, 1968My Dear Mahapurusha,Please accept my blessings. I am in receiptof your recent letter, and I am so gladto receive notes of your different Kirtanfunctions. So far preaching work is concerned,I am expecting both you andJanardan to be very powerful preachers in

MARCH, 1968 369the near future. Both of you are sinceresouls, sincere servitors of Lord Krishna,and He will be very kind to bestow HisBlessings upon you. As you go on preachingyou will become expert. In everysphere of activity the more a man becomesactive, he becomes more and moreexpert. Your humble attitude is verypraiseworthy. You keep yourself in thatvery humble mentality and Krishna willbe very pleased upon you. All three of youare very sincere servitors, and you allshould become very good preachers,Janardan, yourself, and Shivanimda, sothat this Krishna Consciousness movementwill be spread all over the world.It is very good news for me that you areregularly chanting your 16 rounds; try toincrease the rounds, but don't decrease.Yes, if you can inject this Krishna Consciousnessto the young children, it will bea great service to the humanity and to theLord.So far the Advent Day of Lord RamaChandra, it should be celebrated as LordChaitanya's Birthday was done. Fastingup to evening, and then take prasadam,and chant Hare Krishna whole day, and beengaged in reading and chanting off andon, chant for some time, then read forsome time, then again have Kirtan, and soon, throughout the day. If you have not gota Ramayana, then you can read BhagavadGita or Srimad Bhagwatam, that is allright.Yes, a non-initiate can work under thedirection of a devotee in the kitchen. SoEric can certainly work under your directionin the kitchen for distribution of prasadam.That is very nice.Your are saying that you are a fool, andI shall be glad to get a number of fools likeyou. I want such transcendental fools andnot material intellectuals. May Krishnabless you.I shall be glad to know what specificfunction you want to perform, and I understandyou are going to McGill for performingKirtan. That is very niceengagement. That is the only specificfunction for everyone of us. I think youshall try your best to perform Kirtan successfully,and that is the greatest specificfunction for you. And you can teach someof your God-brothers-and-sisters the artof cooking, which you know best.Yes, I am going to N.Y. after the 8th(probably on the 9th) of April and I shalllet you know when I am exactly reachingthere. Janardan wanted to see me in NewYork, and I shall be glad to see you boththere before I go to Montreal. I wish to goto Montreal after the month of May after Ifinish my engagement in Boston.That is very good proposal, to get IndianPavillion for our Kirtan program.Please try for it. And we can exhibit someof our paintings, and pictures. When I goto Montreal, I shall take selected picturesfrom Jadurany and as well as some of thepictures by Goursundar and Govinda publishedin our BTG. Jadurany has now becomea nice preacher. I have report fromSatsvarupa that she gives lectures verynicely. If we open a pavillion I shall takeJadurany also at that time, so she will delivernice lectures. I shall probably becoming there to Montreal by first week ofJune.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-3-36 San Francisco29th March, 1968My Dear Nandaroni and Dyananda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your nice letter of March 25,1968, and the kind sentiments expressedtherein. I am very happy to learn that youhave a nice place in Florida, and you are

370 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadafeeling comfortable and your little Chandrais enjoying the sun and the atmosphere.Chandra's name is quite nice; youcan simply add another word to make itbecome Chandramukhi, which means,face resembling the moon. So sometimesthe associate Gopies are are also addressedlike that because all of the Gopiesare transcendentally beautiful . I am veryglad that you have invited me to Floridaprior to my going to Bahamas. So far wehave not received any letter from Bahamas,so my Florida program for the timebeing, is suspended. If I go however, tothe Bahamas, in the meantime certainly Ishall go to your place, and I shall informyou beforehand. But shortly I am visitingNew Yo rk, and from there I shall go toBoston, then I may go to Montreal; this isthe present program. But at the sametime, I am seeking a place which will beboth conducive to my health and comfortable.I understand that Florida is justprototype of Indian climate, like Bombayor elsewhere there. And I shall go, once,just to see how does it suit me. And fromNew York, it is nearer than San Francisco.I cna understand your feeling the absenceof devotees. The best thing will bethat you practice chanting, both husbandand wifetogether, and Krishna may sendsome friends, who may also take part inthe chanting. We have to create the atmosphereof Krishna Consciousness, andthus creat devotees also. I therefore adviseyou to begin classes as usual, morning andevening, sitting together, husband andwife, in the front of Krishna's picture, andchant Hare Krishna and read SrimadBhagwatam. When I was in Los Angeles,I asked Dyananda to speak, and I was veryglad that he speaks very nicely. So he cnaspeak, also, in the class, and if there isnone else there, he can speak to you. Sodon't feel lonely. Try to understandKrishna Consciousness mutually, and thiswill give you transcendental pleasure.Regarding your manner of behaviorwith your parents who are not in KrishnaConsciousness; I may inform you that youshould treat four different classes of menin four different ways. A devotee shoudlove God and God's devotees. A devoteeshould make friendship with devotees. Adevotee should try to enlighten innocentpersons, and a devotee should reject oppositeelements. As father and Motherthey should be offered proper respect accordingto social custom, but you cannotaccept their non-Godly instructions. Bestthing is, to avoid misunderstanding, to remainsilent without any affirmation or negationof their instructions. We should tryto keep our friendship with everyone inthe world, but we cannot sacrifice theprinciples of Krishna Consciousness onbeing employed by some relative of thisworld. Don't let them know that you donot approve your parents instructions, butat the same time you should be very carefulin dealing with them. If you object totheir instruction and let them know it,then they will feel sorry, sad.Please keep me informed of your activitiesther, as I am always very glad tohear from you both. Hope you are all threedoing well.Your ever well wisher,ACBS.68-3-37San Francisco30th March, 1968My dear Subal,Please accept my blessings. I wasjust thinking about you since you departedfrom this place and was anxiousto get your letter, and I am very glad toreceive it. By Krishna's Grace you arefinding everything favorable, and I hopegradually you will find the atmospheremore favorable. I understand in New

MARCH, 1968 371York it is still raining and little cold,therefore I am extending my stay here inSan Francisco, for a few days more. Wehad many engagements in radio andtelevision and similarly we are going tohave more similar engagements. Herethe kirtan performances are going on, asnicely, and people are taking interest inthem.The Radha Krishna statues preparedby Goursundar have been dispatched toLos Angeles through Aniruddha, and theyare going to be cast in yellow brass. If onepair is successful then we shall get manypairs and one of the pairs shall be installedin your Santa Fe temple.Please don't feel lonely. krishna isalways with you and I shall pray for youand to Krishna also that you may makeprogress more and more in this faithfuldischarge of duties in KrishnaConsciousness.Thanking you once more.Your ever well-wisher,ACB

APRIL68-4-1San Francisco2nd April, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letters dated march 20,25, 26, and I thank you very much forthem. I am glad to hear that the lawyer andpsychiatrist are going to help with Adwaita,and I am praying Krishna for hissafety. We are awaiting to receive thejudge's statement, and when we secure it,I shall send it to youToday I have received your dummybook, sent by Dai Nippon for sample, andit is very nice. I shall keep it with me, andbring it with me when I come to N.Y.I have written the preface, title page,dedication, and photo captions for Teachingsof Lord Chaitanya, and am sendingherewith. Please take care of it as need be.The photos will appear at the front on thebook. And the illustrations will appear atvarious intervals throughout the book, accordingto the text. Please inform me ifstill you do not understand about this.The mridanga has been duly receivedsome days ago, and it is a very nice one;the Kirtans here are very nice, with somany outsiders, as well as devotees, dancingin ecstasy.Yes, please have Rayrama finish thenecessary on Transcendental Meditationas soon as possible, so that it can beprinted and distributed. I am very muchpleased about the activities of that boyTerry, and you please keep me informedof further developments in Atlantic City.Yes, it is right that the community membersshould support the center if there is tobe one poened there.Yes, that rock is saffron dye; you cankeep it there. It can be used to dye the Japamalabags if you like.Regarding my departure for NewYork: Reservations are being made onFlight 14, American Airlines, on April17th, to arrive in N. Y. at 4:45 p.m. fromIndia. My ticket is already for AmericanAirlines, so you please refund the prepaidticket you sent for United Airlines, andsend the value in postal money order toGoursundar, in the name of GaryMcElroy, so that he can see to purchasingtwo student fares with discount cards.Please expedite the matter as it is very important,so that we can come together inone party.Hoping you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-4-1New YorkSan Francisco2nd April, 1968My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated March 28,1968, and I thank you very much for it. Iam pleased to hear that you are devotingyourself to the work on Back To Godhead,and it is all right by me if you discontinuethe articles on Haridas Thakurby Professor Sannyal . I know it is difficultto read because it is so presented in ascholarly manner, therefore it was notvery much sold.

374 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaThere is no need of sending the Ishopanishadhere; I shall be in N.Y. in 2weeks, we can discuss it at that time.So far my name is concerned, there isno need of adding Tridandi Goswami, butsimply have it as A.C. BhaktivedantaSwami, as it is already done in my otherbooks , it will be continued. I made the titlepage sent herewith, and you will see it.You have to make the contents page forTLC. I have not got any copy of the book,neither it is possible to mark page numbersuntil we get press copy from theprinter. But table of contents page is necessary,so please see to it. I do not like forSri Bhaktivedanta Swami, A. C. BhaktivedantaSwami is shorter, and nicer.Hoping you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-4 -3Allston, MASan Francisco2nd April, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated March19th, 1968, along with copies of SrimadBhagwatam and I thank you very much.The astronomical calculation is that every3 years, 1 month is added, so the year inwhich 1 month is added, that is alwayscalculated as consisting of 13 months.Otherwise, generally it is 12 months in ayear. At present I am keeping the copiesas it is, and I shall see again and do thenecessary corrections.I am very glad to see the Boston templephotos; and it gives me a nice idea. OfferPradyumna my blessings and congratulatehim on his coming back from the hospital.Please take care of him as best youcan. You have not said anything how hishospital bills has to be paid. I have alreadywritten to you that if need be, then I canpay something from my book fund. Otherwisethe bills may be paid by installment,as it is learned from here. I amgoing to N.Y. on the 17th of April, and Ithink I shall have to attend some meetingin the Philadelphia University on the25th, and then I shall be free to go to Boston,and you can make your programs accordingly.I am very glad that Jadurany is preparingsigns on account of my visits there.Please offer my blessings to Jadurany,Pradyumna, Jadunandan, Jai Govinda,and others who are there.The boy of the name John, who wassometimes in Boston, he came here tomeet me . I asked him to stay in the temple,but he's not in the temple, nor I have seenhim again.Hoping you are all well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-4-43rd April, 1968My dear Satswarupa,Accept my blessing. I am in due receiptof your letter of 4/1168 and I am gladthat you have solved the hospital bill ofPradyumna. I am so glad to learn that he istaking part in Istogosti. His answers arevery much intelligent. I have fixed up datefor going to N.Y. on the 17th .One thing you may inform all devoteesthat Maya cannot touch a pure devotee:When you find a devotee is supposed indifficulty it is not the work of Maya but itis the work of the Lord by His Personal internalenergy. The Pandava 's tribulationin so many ways, Lord Ramchandra's departureto the forest, His wife the Godessof Fortune's being kidnapped by Ravan,Lord Krishna's death being caused by the

APRIL, 1968 375arrow of a hunter, Thakur Haridasa's beingcanned in 22 market or Lord JesusChrist being crucified are all acts of theLord personally. We cannot always understandthe intricacies of such incidences.Sometimes they are enacted to bewilderpersons who demons. You should thereforediscuss in the Istogosti from currentreading matters from B.G. or S.B. Weshould only try to understand everythingfrom the standard of devotional service. Itis stated clearly in the B.G. that any onewho is cent per cent engaged in the serviceof the Lord is transcendentally situatedand the influence of Maya has no moreany action on such body. The Lord andHis pure devotees are always beyond therange of Maya's action. Even though theyappear like action of Maya, we should understandtheir action of Yogamaya or theinternal potency of the Lord.My blessings for you allI am feeling alright.Your ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-4-5San Francisco6th April, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 29th ofMarch, and I have noted the contents carefully.Your kind sentiments are very muchappreciated by me, and I thank you verymuch for them.Allen Ginsberg and Denise Levertov'sappreciation, they are all nonsense, but inboth the appreciations there is littlesubstance-that Allen Ginsberg haspraised my activities and has chantedHare Krishna. But the other one is stillmore rascaldom, but she has appreciatedmy students' behavior. That means indirectlyshe has appreciated our movement.If you think their names will actually increasethe sale of the book, and MacMillanalso thinks so, then never mind, youcan add their appreciation. So far theirstudy of Bhagavat Gita is concerned, thatis completely nil. Best thing is we shall doit personally when I go to N.Y.So far the quotation by the late ministerShastri is concerned, that statement isprinted up in the leaflet with picture on it;you know the one, where he is receivingthe Bhagwatam from me. He was verymuch respectful, and met me three times.He was to help me in so many ways, but hedied; he was my friend. In the beginningon the Srimad Bhagwatam volumes thereare some different appreciations writtenby some influential Indian gentlemen.Hanuman Prasad Poddar also has writtenseveral letters . I will enclose one copy foryou of a more recent letter, and also someother letters.The enclosed Acknowledgementshould be placed with or after the Preface,for Teachings of Lord Chaitanya .I am glad to hear you are handling Pradyumna'shospital situation but it is alreadysettled, don't worry about it. Theengagements sound very nice, and especiallyit is good if they pay us. We are notcheap, we are distributing bonafide process, so for travelling far distance theyshould especially pay us something. Fortelevision we should have at least one hourappearance; this 15 or 20 minutes, andwith nonsense questions by the intervieweris not very good. We should begiven time for Kirtan, and for lecture.That will be best. And if you can securesome payment from each place we visit,that will be very nice.I am pleased to hear that Damodara isreturning; please treat him kindly and encouragehim in all respects. So far theshipping is concerned, try to get a statementof account from them, as I think they

376 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidastill have some of our money from the lastbusiness transaction.Hoping you are well, and I am lookingforward to again being with you.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. Mridangas we can directly orderfrom Dwarkin. Please let me know howmany mridangas we may require.We aregoing to N.Y. on the 17th by American (?)Flight-9.A.M.68-4-6San Francisco8th April, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated April 2,1968, and I thank you very much for it. Sofar the 9 blocks are concerned, I do notmind a long walk, if it is flat land and nothills. Here I am walking at least 2 milesdaily voluntarily, so if the house is nice,you can keep it. If a car is available, fromNew York, then that will be very nice,otherwise, I can walk. So far as devoteesare concerned, if there is only one toiletroom, then not more than 2 devotees canremain with me. I must have a separate silentplace; if there was no noise, all the sixrooms could be filled up with devotees.For my personal service I require onlyone. So you can make arrangements inthat way.Whenever there is need of my lecture,I am always prepared to serve; it doesn'tmatter whether big or small. Probably asyou are making fine arrangements , manywill come to the Temple to hear me, so inthat case, I must come. Best thing will beto see people in the class, not in my privateapartment. Lecturing or meetingmust be done in the classroom, that's all.If the two girls, Ekayani and Sudarsana,want to be engaged in drawing forhelping BTG, let them do so. The simplething is they must be engaged in this artisticwork. It is very nice that they want tooccupy in every spare moment with theirartwork, it is very laudable, and it meansthey are anxious to serve. So I am alsoawaiting to see them very eagerly, and seehow nice they are.Yes, the Pancha Tattwa pciture is standard,no need of changing. Pancha Tattwabelongs to Nabadwip and it is authentic.In Vrindaban, there is Radha-Krishna,that you have got enough pictures of, andyou have got picture of Radha Madan MohanTemple. When you go to Vrindaban,you can take pictures of important places;wait for those days when I shall accompanyyou in all the important places ofVrindaban.You are already a great artist. Youdon't want to become a great artist to satisfythe senses of the public. If yourpresent paintings are not acceptable to thegeneral public, I do not mind; they arefools. You continue trying your best tomake your pictures as far they can be nicelooking, but not to satisfy the senses of therascal public. Yesterday I have been in aUnitarian Church and there I saw two picturesof only logs and bamboos, and I wasexplained by our great artist Govinda dasithat these are modern abstract arts. AnywayI couln't see in them nothing but combinationof logs and bamboos. There wasnothing to impel my Krishna Consciousness.So, if you want to be a great artist inthat way, I will pray that Krishna may saveyou. Anyway, if the public doesn't buy, wedon't mind. Why you are anxious for sell·ing? We shall distribute them to devoteeswithout any price. If our things have nomarket in the sense gratification societythat does not mean we are going to changeour principles. We are meant for satisfyingKrishna, not anybody's senses. Thatshould be the principle of our life. In thisconnection I may remark that you havesent one picture of Narada Muni which I

APRIL, 1968 377understand was copied from some socalledgreat artist, but Narada Muni'sbody appears to be very sensuous. He wasa first class Brahmachary. He cannot havesuch a sensuous body. So you will do wellnot to work from the so-called well knownartists. But you should follow exactly thedescriptions of the scriptures. The pictureof Narada Muni which you painted inN.Y. in my presence was very nice andgood looking, but this picture here doesn'tappeal to me. Better not to worry aboutthis sort of technique and style. Anywaywhenever I come there to N. Y. we can discussall this as you suggested.Hoping you are feeling well, I amYour ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Pradyumna,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated April 2,1968, and I hope by this time you havebeen checked by the doctor. I shall be gladto know how you are making progress,and I am anxious that you are still feelingpains. I am glad to know that proper careis being taken, and you are not going upany stairs, that is very nice. Your endeavorsto learn Sanskrit is very encouraging.We want somebody in our society to knowSanskrit well enough for reading, not tobe a great scholar, but just enough asneeded.So far the hospital bill, Krishna willhelp you to repay it. So do not be too muchconcerned over it. Please keep me informedof your progress.Your ever well-wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Did you send a copy of Bhagwatamtransliteration to India as advised by mepreviously?ACB68-4-7San Francisco9th April, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated April 5,1968, and I thank you very much for it. Iam very glad that you are taking responsibilityfor Krishna's sake, this is advancementof Krishna Consciousness. Krishnais full in Himself. He can exert His energyto do anything wonderful , but still Hepresents Himself as unable to do so. Justlike the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, Hesaid all these men are already dead by myarrangement, none of them are going backhome to live, the plan is already settled.And Arjuna was supposed to take responsibilityand the credit of being victorious.Krishna is so kind, He does everything,but He gives the credit to His sincere devotee.So the more you take responsibility,Krishna is pleased on you. I am very gladyou are feeling such responsibility andKrishna will bless you.Please work combinedly with respectto develop a very nice Temple, and Mukundahas the transcendental ambition toconstruct our own temple there, and try tocooperate with him. Stop the idea of castingfor the present, unless we see one pairnicely made, we cannot order 17 pairs. Ifactually he has made such statues nicely,never mind in other forms, made of yellowbrass, I shall be glad to see it.There are two kinds of dissolution.One is when Brahma goes to sleep, andanother is when Brahma dies. WhenBrahma goes to sleep, the highest planetarysystem does not dissolve, the lowerplanetary systems, beginning from heavenlyplanets downwards , everything isdissolved. And when the day comes out,they are again created. When the livingentities enter into Brahma, or into theBody of Narayan, they keep their ownspiritual body, that is very small,

378 Letters from Srila Prabhupada1/10,000 of tip of hair, and when there isagain material creation, they manifestagain with different kinds of body. Justlike a man sleeps at home without anydress, and when he goes out to work, hedresses himself. So similarly in creation,there is different kinds of bodies for working,and whenever there is no creationthey remain in their own spiritual bodysleeping. No, there is no complete annihilationat the end of Kali yuga, there may besome disturbances, but not complete annihilation.There are thousands of Kaliyugas in every day of Brahma, and theycome and go just like seasonal changes.For dishes, best thing is everyone whois eating Prasadam should wash his plate.Otherwise, one man has to do so manydishes. So even the guests should alsowash their dishes, that is the system in theTemple; not leave one man to do it.Milk and salt should never be mixed, itis improper, and will cause leprosy. Butsalt can be mixed with yogurt.As I am leaving on the 17th, please tryto send the kit before then, otherwise yousend to N.Y.Hope you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-4-8San Francisco9th April, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated March 29,1968, and am very much appreciating it.Please do all your nice proposals, do it economicallyand save everything forKrishna. Yes, it is very good idea to builda nice Temple for Krishna, apply all energyfor Krishna. How one is successfulin his work is tested by whether or notKrishna is satisfied. The Impersonalistscannot enjoy this bliss of how to satisfyKrishna. They make Krishna dead, sothey will remain dead, never to understandKrishna. They cannot understand.No, the Immigration dept. has notgiven any hint, but from the first hint formerly,it was to take 5 or 6 months, so wehave to wait patiently and let us see theresults. I asked Mrs. Thompson, but shesaid it is difficult to say exactly how long itwill take.It is very good news that Kirtan and allis going on nicely, that is our life and soul.And it will make us advanced. We haveheld so many meetings here. One at OaklandLibrary, and also at some Unitarianchurches. They very much appreciatedour presentation. Last night we had onelecture at Stanford University; it was notas good as last year, but not bad, the studentsall danced and made some contribution,and bought our literature. At oneUnitarian church on Sunday we sold$20.00 of literature. And in N.Y. we havenews that in the park many people arejoining in, and they are collecting verynicely. We are trying to purchase onehouse here, and most probably your S.F.branch will have its own house very soon.We are not interested in having our ownhouse, but we should always remember,why Krishna should remain in a rentedhouse? Although everything belongs toHim, still our energy should remain employedso that we can have many templesall over the country. I have asked quotationsfrom India about brass statues 24"high, and unless I get the quotations youcan stop for now the casting. But if possible,I may see a sample of his work.Achyutananda and Harivilas have informedme that Hrishikesh has taken thestep as a matter of diplomacy, but he willcome back again when I come back to India.I am not astonished for his behaviour,but I am sorry for my God-brother's

APRIL, 1968 379behaviour. He is a neophyte and so he maycommit so many mistakes, but Bon Maharajshould not have committed suchmistake. It is not approved by Vaishnavaetiquettes.Hoping you are both well.Your ever-wellwisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. How is Janaki? Please offer blessingsto her as also to Valadeva his family,Woomapati and Sankarsan. shall be gladto hear from them. ACB68-4-9San Francisco9th April, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated4/6/68, and have noted the contents. Sofar your being given work, there is noneed for you to feel concern; you are alreadyhelping on Srimad Bhagwatam, andpermanently you can do so. So you arecertainly included as worker and editorfor Srimad Bhagwatam already.Certainly we are not going to saythese things about the negro people publicly;we have no distinction betweenblack or white, or demon or demigod,but at the same time, so long as one is demonor demigod, we have to behave inthe proper way. Just like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu;He had no distinction betweena tiger and a man. He was so powerfulthat He could convert even a tiger todance. But so far as we are concerned,we should not imitate and go to some tigerand try to make him dance! But still,tiger is equally eligible like a man. So,you can understand that these talks arenot for the public, as they have not got theability to understand. Basically we havenot got hatred for anyone, but when oneis demoniac or atheistic, we should try toavoid their company. A preacher's businessis to love God, to make friendshipwith devotees, to enlighten the innocent,and to avoid the demons. This principlewe shall follow. But in higher devotionallife, there is no such distinction. The topmostdevotee sees everything in Krishna,and Krishna in everything. Generally, aspreachers, we are middle class devotees.So we should not remain as neophytedevotee. Neophyte devotee does notknow how to preach. He simply goes tothe temple, and offers everything withdevotion to the Deity, and he doesn'tknow anything else. So our devotees ofthe society should not remain in the neophyteposition; neither should they try toimitate the topmost devotee. Best thing isto remain in the via media of middle classposition, namely to love God, to makefriendship with devotees, and to enlightenthe innocent, and to avoid the demons.These differences of bodyaccording to Karma are there, but a devoteedivides them into the above groups,and so we have to divide them into thesedifferent groups and behave differentlywith each of the groups. It is true that weshould not be attached to the differencesof material bodies, but practically, inpractical field, the behavior should be asstated above.So far standard Sanskrit transliteration,that which Pradyumna is doing will be ourstandard. The spelling should also be standard,and based on his work. So far theword "Kshatriya", this is the correct spelling.All these discrepancies are happeningon account of my students being unaware ofSanskrit language. Therefore, I requestedPradyumna to learn Sanskrit very seriously.He has got the aptitude, and I hopehe may come out very successful.Yes, everyone of us should be ideal to

380 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidathe other so everyone can get impetus tomake progress more and more. The collegeengagements sound very nice; I shallreach there by the first of May. Hopingyou are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami"au" can sometimes go as "ou." Therest of the transliteration is standard.68-4-10 San Francisco12th April, 1968United Shipping Corporation14/2, Old China Bazar StreetRoom No. 18, Calcutta 1.Dear Sir. Mittra,I have sent you one letter dated March23, 1968, the copy of which is enjoinedherewith. I do not know why you did notreply this letter of March 23, and I amvery much sorry that in the absence of thestatement of account on our $500, and thebalance remaining with you, I am gettingreminders from the New York office. I amproceeding to New York on the 17th ofApril, 1968, and by that time I hope to receivethe reply of my letter of March 23,and the statement of account showing thebalance of money lying with you. Pleasetreat this as urgent and oblige.Yours faithfully,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-4-11San Francisco12th April, 1968My Dear Dayananda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter post-dated April 8,1968, and noted the contents with greatinterest. I am so pleased to know that youare trying to understand this nice philosophyof Krsna consciousness almost new toyour country. Krishna is so pleased thatHe has sent me so many nice boys andgirls to cooperate with my mission, and Iam feeling very happy for this Grace ofKrishna. Here in S.F. we are trying to purchaseone nice church, and the matter is innegotiation. We have offered them theprice which we can afford to pay, but theyare bargaining the matter, so, if need be, Imay ask you for some help in this connection.I am happy that you are satisfiedwith your family, and continue like this,and be more and more happy with yourgood wife and your good God-sent child,Chandramukhi. I am very much anxiousto go there to Florida, bercause I haveheard so much about this city, and becausemany retired men go there to settle. I amalways anxious to open a center there toattract these retired men, and convincethem about the utility of Krishna consciousness,but I know also that this retiredclass of men is very difficult to beconvinced because their life-long habit isdifficult to be changed. I am rather hopefulwith the young boys and girls who areattached to this movement.I am starting for N.Y. on the 17th ofApril, and I think I shall be engaged inN.Y. and Boston throughout the monthsof April and May. As desired by you Icould have gone to Florida by the monthof June, but I understand you are comingback to L.A. by that time. So we will thinkover the matter later on. But I shall be gladto know when the exact time you plan toreturn to L.A. You can write to me yournext letter to the New York address(ISKCON, 26 Second Avenue, N.Y.,N.Y.)Regarding parampara system: there isnothing to wonder for big gaps. Just likewe belong to the Brahma Sampradaya, sowe accept it from Krishna to Brahma,Brahma to Narada, Narada to Vyasdev,Vyasdev to Madhva, and between Vyasdevand Madhva there is a big gap. But it

APRIL, 1968 381is sometimes said that Vyasdev is still living,and Madhva was fortunate enough tomeet him directly. In a similar way, wefind in the Bhagavad Gita that the Gita wastaught to the sungod, some millions ofyears ago, but Krishna has mentionedonly three names in this paramparasystem-namely, Vivaswan, Manu, andIkswaku; and so these gaps do not hamperfrom understanding the parampara system.We have to pick up the prominentacharyas, and follow from him. There aremany branches also from the paramparasystem, and it is not possible to record allthe branches and sub-branches in the disciplicsuccession. We have to pick up fromthe authority of the acharya in whateversampradaya we belong to.Hoping you are all three well, andplease keep me informed.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-4-12Allston, MASan Francisco13th April, 1968My Dear Jadunandan,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to receive your letter, and I am veryhappy to learn that you are all coming toN.Y. to meet me on the 17th. We arestarting at 9:00 a.m., and will reachthere about 4:45 p.m., N.Y. time. Regardingyour questions, how materialthings dissolve, I may give you one example:Material manifestation is temporary,as it is stated in Bhagavad Gita, thatmaterial manifestation at times comesinto being and it at times vanquishes. So,when material variagatedness vanquishes,it does not mean that spiritualvariagatedness also vanquishes. Materialvariagatedness is perverted reflectionof the spiritual variagatedness, as itis described in the Bhagavad Gita, thatthis material manifestation is just like atree with the root upward. Roots upwardsof a tree means it is reflection. So also inBhagwatam it is stated like this, that thematerial world is a combination of earth,water, and fire; just like a beautiful girlmade of earth, water and fire, standing inthe window of a storefront. Similarly,this material world is imitation beauty ofthe spiritual world, as much as the dollgirlis imitation of the real girl. So whenthe doll-girl is broken, it does not meanthat the real girl is also finished. Materialmanifestation is just like occasionalcloud in the sky, so when the cloud disappears,the sky remains. Similarly, whenthe material world dissolutes, the spiritualworld remains. Krishna and HisKingdom, the spiritual world, are eternal.We have to understand things in thismethod. That is Krishna Consciousness.Do not misunderstand that after the variagatednessof the material world beingfinished, everything becomes impersonal,that is nonsense. Try to understandBhagavad Gita nicely. Your faith inthe Christian religion is very strong, Ican understand. So, when you want toconvert Christians into Krishna Consciousness,you should understand firstof all the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness.Without understanding thephilosophy of Krishna Consciousness, ifwe try to convert Christians into KrishnaConsciousness, it will be utter failure.We do not condemn any religion becausethe Bhagwatam says that the religiousprocess is the best by which one can attainlove of God. So we are teaching Loveof Godhead, not any particular type ofreligion. Our Krishna Conscious movementis not a religious movement; it is amovement for purifying the heart. Moderncivilization is defying the authorityof the Personality of Godhead; the more

382 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadaa man advances in his material adventures,the more he becomes covered bythe illusory energy.This conception that when one's materialconcept of life is finished, the materialvision ofthis also vanishes. Actually thereis one energy of Krishna, which is spiritual. Material consciousness of life meansforgetfulness of Krishna; when one isfully Krishna Consciousness, there is nomore any material existence in the visionof such advanced devotee. We have tolearn it step by step; just like we prepareprasadam, and ordinarily it is rice, dahl,and choppatties. But when it is offered toKrishna, it becomes prasadam. How ordinaryrice, dahl, and choppatties turns intospiritual prasadam is to be understood byadvancement of Krishna Consciousness,but actually anything in relation withKrishna is spiritual energy.The mind does not dissolve, it changesits quality, or rather, it becomes purified.No, thoughts of feelings of love forKrishna is not ego-projected, or emotional,provided it is conformed by SpiritualMaster[TEXT MISSING]great. Anyone who can understand howGod is great, automatically he can understandthat God is great. You can mentionsome parallels from Christian literaturewhile explaining Bhagavad Gita, but youcannot find in any other scripture in theworld the full information as given in theBhagavad Gita. We should not forget thatwe are preaching science of God fromBhagavad Gita, which contains all spiritualinstructions contained in other scriptures.But if the public is unruly, simply tochant and not speak anything philosophyis the best. At that time there is no usewasting time talking with them on philosophy.Better for both you and the audienceto chant and hear Hare Krishna.I hope your questions are fully answered,and I will be looking forward toagain seeing you all. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Please inform Pradyumna that I haveduly received the transliteration of B.S.Many thanks. ACB68-4-13Allston, MASan Francisco13th April, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter post-dated April11, and this is the first time I receivedyour letter finished in three lines, so I canunderstand that you have been depressedby receiving my last letter. The idea is thatthere is a story, "that, I have lost my casteand still my belly is not fulfilled." In India,it is the custom that the Hindus do notever take meals in the house of a Mohammedan,Christian, or anyone other thanthe house of Hindu Brahmin. But a manwas very hungry, and accidentally he tookhis food in the house of a Mohammedan.And when he wanted still more food, theman refused, as the man could not supply.So the Hindu man said, "Sir, I have lostmy caste, and still I am hungry!" Similarly,if artistic pictures as they are approvedby the people in general in thiscountry can be sold quickly, I have not anyobjection to present our pictures in such away. But I know that pictures in this countryare sold not on the merit of the picture,but on the reputation of the artist. Thatsystem is also current in India. But tocome to the point of a reputed artist willrequire long duration of time. And ourtime is very short. We have to finish our

APRIL, 1968 383Krishna Consciousness during our lifetime,and we should not waste a singlemoment for anything else. According toChaitanya Charitamrita, a man is famouswho is known as a great devotee ofKrishna. So if there is not possibility ofselling our pictures immediately on presentation,I do not think there is any necessityto improve our artistic craftmanship.We should be satisfied with ourpictures hanging in our diffe rent temples.But we may not sacrifice our valuabletime for becoming famous artists so thatpictures may be sold like hotcakes.Our institution is mainly for the devoteesand as it is the custom in India, devoteesare maintained by the general public,who are engaged in materialistic activitiesfor sense gratification. But in this countryit is not possible that the Brahmacaries orSannyasins shall beg from door to door, asit is the custom in India. But at the sametime we require some money for conductingour business of our society. Thereforethe idea was that we may sell some picturesbut so far I understand that even ifwe follow the principles of modern artists,still our pictrues like Narada Muni, PanchaTattwa, etc., will not have immediateprospective market. If there is actuallyany prospect for selling our pictures putup in this modern artistic way, then I haveno objection for putting pictures in thisway for selling them. But if that is not possible,then I think we should not wastetime in this way. Of course, I am not anartist, neither I have power to see from artisticviewpoint; I am a layman, so whicheverpicture appeals to me I say it is nice,and whichever picture does not appeal tome I say it is not nice. That is my commonsense affair. Therefore my remark has novalue from artistic sense. Anyway, don'tbe depressed; you can go on with yourwork, and we shall talk more on this subjectwhen we meet together. I have repliedJadunandan's letter, and I wish that you allshould read that letter, because it containssome valuable information about ourpreaching method, and many intelligentquestions by him have been replied in thatletter. Hoping you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-4-14 New York19th April, 1968Sri Shyamsundar Mullick155/A Mahatma Gandhi RoadCalcutta-?, IndiaMy Dear Brother Gabu,Please accept my blessings. I hope inthe meantime you have received the replyof your letter dated 27th March, 1968.Since I wrote you last I have come to NewYork. Regarding Business: if you sendgoods on our order then just on presentationof the shipping documents and yourbill, my banker, the Bank of America,will pay for it at once. The copy of thebank's letter is enclosed herewith; pleasefind it. If you agree to do business in thatway, you can send immediately 20 firstclass kholes, and immediately ship 10kholes to New York, and 10 to San Francisco.There is a shipping line, AmericanMail Service, or there. are many shippinglines regularly coming from Calcutta toSan Francisco and New York, and you cantake advantage of them. We have got somemoney, about 3000/ Rs., lying withUnited Shipping Corporation, at 14/2,Old China Bazar Street, Room No. 18,Calcutta. I have sent them several lettersfor statement of account and they are silentsince a long time. I am also enclosingherewith the copy of their letter as enclosedherein.So if you send the khole, then this shippingcorporation will ship the kholes,freight paid, because our money is lyingwith them. Please see them why they have

384 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadanot replied my letters, submitting statementof account. I am very much ashamedfor their behavior because here the peopleare surprised that they are not submittingthe statement of accounts of the money lyingwith them. And please let me know ifyou can help us in this matter.Yo urs affectionately,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-4-15New York19th April, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. Hope youare well . I am so much pleased that youare studying seriously our Krishna Consciousnessphilosophy. Please continuewith your sincere efforts for Krishna.Now, regarding your question aboutBrahma, he may be chosen either from theliberated or the conditioned souls. In thiscase Brahma is a liberated soul from thebeginning; therefore there is no contradictionthat Brahma can be Haridas Thakur.Those who are conditioned souls are eternallyso, which means that it is never possibleto trace out how long ago theconditioned existence began. We simplysay that misuse of the little independencewe have got creates so much trouble forus. But now by adopting Krishna Consciousness,we may finish this conditionedlife immediately. That is KrishnaConsciousness.Yo ur reasoning is all right that theBrahma energy must have conscious directionto manifest form. Therefore Hewho gives that direction is the UltimateController or Param Iswara. In BrahmaSamhita it is said: "Isvarah ParamahKrishnah sachchidanandavigraha, anadiradirgovindahsarvvakaranakaranam .''Krishna is the Supreme Controller of allcontrollers and therefore, He is the Originof everything including the Brahma Energy.This Govinda is the cause of allcauses, and He is without any cause. Thisis the beauty of the Shastras, that onesloka finishes billions of years hard laborof mental speculation. Just try to give evidencelike this.Regarding the Christian's Trinity, I believeit is called God, the Holy Ghost, andthe son. Person in Krishna Consciousnessaccepts this by the name Vishnu, Paramatma,and Jiva. God is a Person, theholy spirit or the supersoul is a person,and the living entity is also a person.Also, Mary is the representation of the energyof God. Either as internal energyRadharani or as external energy Durga,the energy of Godhead can be consideredthe mother of the living entities. But thereis no clash between the Bible and the Vedas,simply some people formulate theirpersonal ideas and cause quarrellings .Nobody can say the Bible was meant forthe same class of men as the BhagavadGita. And Bhagavad Gita is the ABC'x ofspiritual knowledge. Beyond that is SrimadBhagwatam. How great SrimadBhagwatam is nobody can imagine. Andbeyond that is Chaitanya Charitamrita.But beginning from the Bible or Koran,on up the principle remains the same. Justlike beginning from the pocket dictionary,up[PAGE MISSING]68-4-16New York2lst April, 1968My Dear Malati,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter dated 19th April,1968, and the incidence in connectionwith Krishna's sitting on your lap is veryinteresting. I am so glad to learn that youhave developed so much love for Krishna.This is the way of developing KrishnaConsciousness; and wherever you will be

APRIL, 1968 385rigid in your Krishna Consciousness, thetriumph will be yours.Yes, here everything is very joyous,because so many nice boys and girls havejoined the society, and they are joyfullydancing and chanting. You can let Shyamsundarknow that the calculation of Rathayatrawas made one month ahead. Theactual date is the 28th of June; beginningof Rathayatra is on the 28th, and it willcontinue till 8 days, and the general festivalmay be observed on the 7th of July,Sunday (because Saturday is Ekadasi).Hoping you are all well .Your ever well-wisher,P. S. I thank you very much for the beautifulpicture of Krishna which you havedrawn and sent to me. Please paint manysuch nice pictures of Krishna, and weshall use them in all our temples.68-4-1721st April, 1968My Dear Boys and Girls:Please accept my blessings and mymessage unto you is that this KrishnaConsciousness movement in your countryis the greatest boon to you all. Please takefull advantage of this movement and besuccessful within this life. Everyone of ushad to pass through many millions ofyears in the chain of evolutionary processfrom aquatic to plant life. from plant toreptile life, then to the species of birds,beasts, uncivilized human beings and nowthis is the golden opportunity with thesenice American bodies. You have high intelligence,opulences, birth in the familiesof the rich nation. Use this opportunity formaking life successful and go back toKrishna, back to Home. It is a very scientificmovement authorized by the Vedasand accepted by all great acharyas. I thinkthe boy Terry is God-sent. In his past lifehe must have cultivated this science ofKrishna Consciousness and therefore hehas automatically been attracted with thismovement and who knows if all the boysand girls joining me were not born by theSupreme Will of Krishna just to ehlp mein this great task of distributing KrishnaConsciousness in the Western World specifically.I am always at your service andwhenever you shall call me I shall come toyour place and enjoy your good company.Please try to open a center there as soon aspossible. I have instructed Terry aboutthis. Please co-operate with him andchant Hare Krishna and open a centerthere.Ever your well-wisher,68-4-18MontrealNew York26th April, 1968My Dear Janardan,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedApril 12, and postdated on April 24,1968, with enclosure of letter from KirtanandaSwami dated April 7, 1968. I amso glad to learn that your examination inM.A. is successful, and I hope very soonyou will have your Ph.D. degrees, both titlesengaged in the service of the Lord.There are four things desirable in this materialworld, namely, good parentage,sumptuous wealth, sufficient education,and good beauty. These things are sometimesimpediments in the service of theLord because such persons with great parentage,wealth, etc., becomes materiallypuffed up, and thus deviates from KrishnaConsciousness, but when they are employedin the service of the Lord, theirvalue becomes many more times greater.Just like zero has no value, but when zerois placed on right side of one, the value ofzero enhances to 10 times; similarly, our

386 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadalife, wealth, intelligence, and words become100 times 100 greater and greater ifthey are employed in the service of theLord . I shall always pray to Krishna thatyou may come out a successful and eminentscholar so that your writings andthoughts may be seriously taken by themundane wranglers. Our only business isto present Krishna Consciousness to theignorant mass of people, and if such peopleagree to hear in consideration of ourimportant position in the material world,it is a great opportunity to place our submission,and thereby our mission is fulfilled.Acharyas in the disiplic successionof Lord Chaitanya teach us that we shalltry to place the message of Lord Chaitanyavery humbly to the people in general andthat will make us successful in our serviceto the Lord. I sincerely bless you that yourfuture hopes to present Krishna Consciousnessin terms of French custom maybe crowned with success.Regarding the action of Bon Maharaj :We shall discuss the matter when wemeet. For the present, you may know thatthis gentleman is very much materiallyambitious. He wants to utilize KrishnaConsciousness for his material name andfame. Sometimes he greatly offended ourGuru Maharaj , and it so happened that atthe last stage, practically Guru Maharajrejected him. And the result, we can findthat instead of becoming a great preacherof Krishna Consciousness, this gentlemanhas become artificially a head of a mundaneinstitution. To become a very importantman in the mundane estimation is notsuccess in Krishna Consciousness. Hewas first deputed by my Guru Maharaj ,along with our late God Brother, BhaktiPradip Tirtha Maharaj , to open a missionarycenter in London, and they stayedthere for 3 years, but didn't make any appreciableadvance. Except that spentenormous money of my Guru Maharaj ,and later on they were called back to India.So that is a great history; it is not possibleto say everything in this letter, but forthe present, be satisfied with these words,and later we shall talk more and more. Onthe whole, you may know that he is !lOt aliberated person, and therefore, he cannotinitiate any person to Krishna Consciousness.It requires special spiritual benedictionfrom higher authorities.The statements of Thakur Bhaktivinodeare as good as scriptures becausehe is liberated person. Generally the spiritualmaster comes from the group of sucheternal associates of the Lord; but anyonewho follows the principles of such everliberated persons is as good as one in theabove mentioned group. The gurus fromnature's study are accepted as such on theprinciple that an elevated person inKrishna Consciousness does not acceptanyone as disciple, but he accepts everyoneas expansion of his guru. That is veryhigh position, called Maha-bhagawat.Just like Radharani, sometimes thinks asubordinate of hers as her teacher, to understanddevotion of Krishna. A personwho is liberated acharya and guru cannotcommit any mistake, but there are personswho are less qualified or not liberated,but still can act as guru and acharyaby strictly following the disciplic succession.It is the injunction of the shastrasthat anyone who sees the Deity in theTemple as made of wood or stone, or considersthe acharyas and gurus as ordinarycommon men, and discriminatesVaishnavas or devotees as belonging to acertain group or caste, are called hellish.Your question about Bon Maharaj in relationwith his disciple is very intelligentand intricate, and we shall discuss at longwhen we meet.Regarding Kirtanananda 's letter, I mayinform you that I always think of him andpray to Krishna for his good sense. That ismy duty. Anyone who comes to me formy help or wants advance in Krishna

APRIL, 1968 387Consciousness, and whom I initiate andaccept as my disciple, I must pray for himand his welfare always. So Kirtanandapersonally served me, especially duringmy illness, which I always remember. Butbecause somehow or other he has misunderstoodour activities that does not meanthat I am no longer his well wisher. I writeat the end of my letters to my disciples,"Your ever well-wisher", and as such, Icannot become otherwise than being everwell-wisher of my disciples, even thoughhe may leave me. So I was praying toKrishna that He may save Kirtananandafrom his misunderstanding and if ever hechanted Hare Krishna at least once in sincere1:\eart, I am sure Krishna would notallow I him to go out of his influence.Therefore , I believe that he can never forgetthe Form of Krishna, neither he candeny His Personality. It is good news thathe is trying to establish a new Vrindaban,which I suggested through HayagrivaBrahmachary, and if he is successful, inhis attempt, certainly it will be considereda great benediction upon him by LordKrishna. When I offered him Sannyas, Iexpected such great achievements throughhim and if Krishna desires, he will comeout successful in his great attempt. Yes, Iexpressed my desire to go there throughHayagriva Brahmacary, and if I am invited,to go there , by KirtananandaSwami, it will be my great pleasure to seethe place and enjoy his company.On the first of May I am proceeding toBoston. Last night we had a very nicemeeting at Temple University at Philadelphia,and there were nice kirtans andspeeches, and questions and answersfrom 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. They paid us$ 150.00 for transportation charges andmy lecture fees, and on the 30th of Aprilwe are going to hold similar meeting inLong Island, at the State University ofNew Yo rk, at Stoney Brook. They alsohave promised to pay us $200.00. Similarmeetings were held in different parts ofSan Francisco and Los Angeles, when Iwas there. So there is great possibility ofspreading our Krishna Conscious movement,and if we work conjointly, with serioussincerity, we are sure to come outsuccessful in this great adventure.I expected to meet you here in NewYork by this time, but I do not see any indicationin your letter under reply. Anywayon receipt of your letter I am verymuch satisfied and I shall be glad to hearfrom you I think at Boston. Hoping youare well.Your ever well-wisher,68-4-19Los AngelesNew York29th April, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated April 24,1968, and I thank you very much for allthe nice news. I am so much pleased tolearn that the Los Angeles temple is improvingin opulence. Please tell Janakithat I am so glad to learn that she hasframed the pictures very nicely and thatboth she and Mukunda are working to improvethe condition of the temple. This isall very nice.Ye s, the idea to make S.F. our headquarters,that is in my mind, but thatchurch is not yet settled. The man is prolongingit. Actually, if you get the church Ishall make that my headquarters, and Ishall come there to your temple occasionally.How is Samkarshan and Baladev? Ihave not heard anything from them.I have ordered one half dozen mridangasto be dispatched to San Franciscoport, so you will have good opportunity totake procession of Samkirtan with 2 or 3mridangas, kartals, etc.Regarding the Radha Krishna statues,

388 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadafor the time being, suspend it. Keep Themdressed nicely, as Janaki is doing. I havereceived the second transcribing set. OnWednesday, May 1, I am going to Boston,where there are so many nice college engagementsarranged. Just recently wewent to Philadelphia, to Temple University,where we held kirtan and lecture verynicely. And for our transportation and lecturethey paid us $150.00; similarly, tomorrowwe have got engagement at NewYork University at Stoney Brook, Long Island,and they are paying us $200.00 forour coming there. So we are spreadingthis Samkirtan very nicely here also.Please keep me informed of all your activitiesthere, and hoping you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-4-20 New York29th April, 1968My Dear Nandarani and Dayananda,Please accept my blessings. I am verypleaed to receive your letters of April 23,1968, and I am very thankful to you foryour nice sentiments. You are very intelligentand nice boy and girl, and trying tounderstand Krishna Consciousness, and Ican simply pray that you shall try tounderstand more and more about thistranscendental science, and wheneverpossible, try to talk about Krishna Consciousnessto your friends or whomeveryou may meet. Simply by this attempt youwill get superior strength and knowledgeabout Krishna Consciousness. It doesn'tmatter whether a man is convinced or not,but your sincere attempts to convince otherswill help you progress. Nandarani isvery intelligent girl, both of you executenicely and try to bring up your daughter inthe same spirit, and live nicely in KrishnaConsciousness.So far your question about Kama, thefirst son of Kunti; that Radha was not thesame Radha, as Krishna's Radha. Thatwas Kama's adopted mother. Kama wasborn before Kunti was married, so in orderto keep it silent, he was kept in a packageand floated in the ocean. And thiscarpenter father and his wife, Aniradha,took care of him, and he was brought upthere with them. So Kama was known asthe son of a carpenter; nobody knew thathe was the eldest son of Kunti, and aKshatriya. This was not known until hedied, and Kunti began to cry. Yudisthirasked her why you are crying, he is the enemy,and she said, he was my first son. Hewas born out of her ear, so he was calledKama. When she was very young, she gotsome mantra which could be used to callany demigod, so just to try it, as experiment,to see if it worked, she called thesun god. He immediately apeared therebefore her, and said, I will give you thebenediction of one son; she replied thatshe simply was experimenting with thismantra, that she did not want a son, andshe became afraid as she was unmarriedgirl. He said I shall give you a son anyway,and it will be born out of your ear. So asshe was virgin girl, she became veryfrightened that people may say things, soshe put him into the ocean. Ye s, Kamahad many extraordinary attributes. Hewas a great soldier, and a most charitableman. He was so strong that it was not possiblefor Arjuna to kill him; he had to takeunfair tactics and kill him. Kama couldhave killed Arjuna, but by KrishnasGrace, Arjuna killed Kama. In otherwords, Krishna killed Kama, otherwise,nobody could have killed him.I am very glad to learn that your nicechild Chandramuki is growing daily. Byyour care and attention, she will come outa Krishna Consciousness girl like Haridasi,the daughter of Baladev.We are selling our books, SrimadBhagwatam, 3 in a set for $12.00, but a

APRIL, 1968 389single book is $5 .00. I am leaving for Bostonon Wednesday, the first of May, andyou can send your care of the Boston address,(ISKCON Radha Krishna Temple,Glenville Avenue, Allston, Mass.02 134). Hoping you are three well.Your ever well-wisher,A .C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN .B. No, I think there is not any good Englishversion of Mahabharata but verysoon, we shall have the Bhagavad Gita,and the Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, andyou can enjoy reading them; they shouldbe ready by September.There is one small pocket edition publishedby Bharatiya Bhavan Bombay-7.68-4-21April, 1968[PAGE MISSING]dated April 17, 1968, and I thank youvery much for it. I am so much pleased tohear that you are not afraid to stand alone,and to maintain the temple there nicely;krishna is always there with you , and Hewill see to your success. Do not feel thatyou have offended me. Yo u have servedKrishna very nicely and are continuing todo so very nicely. There is no question ofyour falling from my grace: you have alwaysmy blessings upon you, and I am alwaysthinking of you, and praying Krishnato help you and give you more and moreadvancement in Krishna Consciousness.So please do not be disturbed in that way.Just continue with what you are doingthere, and Krishna will give you all facilitiesand all protection.I have arrived here in New York on the17th afternoon: the trip was very quicklypassed, and we were very nicely recievedat the airport, by both the press and thedevotees. Here there are so many newflower-like young boys and girls, and theyare all so much interested in Krishna Consciousnessvery seriously. I am surprisedat their great enthusiasm, and I am veryhappy amongst them. Just try to makeyour temple there as successful as this onein New York; just work sincerely, and itwill come.Please keep me informed of your activities:I am so much happy to hear youare contacting reproters and radio and tvstations; please send me a copy of thenews article whenever it appears. Andplease keep me informed at least once ormore in a week. Hoping you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

MAY68-5- 1Boston3rd May, 1968My dear Uddhava ,Please accept my blessings. I am justin receipt of your letter fo rwarded fromNew Yo rk . Please be happy in separation.I am separated from my Guru Maharajsince 1936 but I am always with him solong I work according to his direction. Sowe should all work together for satisfyingLord Krishna and in that way the feelingsof separation will transform into transcendentalbliss.Hope you are well. I am very anxiousto know about the church. If they do notagree then take back the check.Your ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-2San FranciscoAllston, Mass.3rd May, 1968My dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I am in receiptof your letter dated April 27, 1968,and noted the contents. Yo ur feelings ofseparation are very strong, and I thankyou fo r your kind sentiments expressedtherein.So far the date of the Rathajatra festival, it is to be on the 28th of June, and willcontinue for 8 days. There are two fe stivals;one going, and one returning. So youcan make plans like that.Yes, if it is necessary then you canmake a nice bed fo r Lord Jagganatha andLord Balaram , and keep them nicely untilI return . It is your responsibility to see tokeeping all the things which I left therevery nicely, so please see to it .Among the medicines I left there youwill find some small phials, with the nameon them "Bhasker Bajra Jog". Pleasesend me immediately by I st day mail 4phials entitled as above . Please see to it.Please keep me with information so farthe church is concerned, and try for it .Hope you are all wel l.Yo ur ever wel l-wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-3Allston, Mass.3rd May, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated May I,1968, along with enclosure of Achyutnanda's letter. On the day of our departureI was expecting you in the airport, but Ithink as you are young man, you weretired on the last night, on the 30th April ,on account of late arriving from the LongIsland meeting, and you could not get upearlier from your bed . In that sense, I ammore active than you because on that nightalso I got up from my bed at 4:00a.m. insteadof 2:00 a.m. as usually, and Iworked on my usual duties. So you youngmen should not simply eulogize my hardworking capacity, but I wish that youshould also follow my example.

392 Letters from Srrla PrabhupadaNow, it is understood that Achyutanandais on the safe side, and youmight have noted that my friend Seth Dalmiahas sanctioned for him 100 Rs. permonth through the Dalmia trust. So I shallhave less anxiety for him from now. Now,if he can open a center with cooperation ofHit Sharan, then we can send any numberof Brahmacharies there. Later developementswe shall have to wait. In the meantime,as I have already advised you, youplease arrange to send 1000 Mahamantrarecords (by seaship) as free gifts for Indianfriends and the documents may besent to the following address: SethJaidayal Dalmia; 4-Scindia House; NewDelhi-]; India. This may be done immediatelyand the price $500.00 may be paidto Mr. Kallman in cash. Mr. Kallman formerlysupplied us at 50c per piece whichwe meant for selling, but this time we arenow distributing free. So he should havereduced less than 50c; if not, let him notcharge more than 50c. Because this 1000records we are taking from the old stock.When he manufactures the new stock weshall pay him as he desires.I have already advised Achyutanandafor purchasing your store goods. Now ifyou can send him a list of goods you require,and he may submit you a quotationfrom the Delhi market. I hope you have alreadysent Mr. Kallman's letter to SanFrancisco, and I am very much anxious toknow the result of it. Also, I shall be gladto know the affairs in connection withMac Millan, and Dia Nippon. You will bepleased to know that yesterday we had avery nice meeting in the North EasternUniversity, and they presented copies ofthe enclosed letter for distributing. Thecopy is enclosed; please find.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure-268-5-45th May, 1968My dear Subal ,Please accept my blessings. I am indue reciept of your letter of April 30,1968, and noted the contents. So yourduty as you are doing, even nobody iscoming in morning, Lord Jaggannathawill hear your Kirten, because we are alwaysin company with the Lord of the Universe.But I think Krishna has sent youone nice boy to help you. Please try toconvince him rightly about the philosopyof Krishna consciousness and read SrimadBhagwatam and other literatures,from Back to Godhead, and I think thisboy will be helpful to your activities there.So far changing the place; we mustgive first consideration to the right place,not to the rent. Even the rent is high, weshall first pay for a place where many peoplecome and go. Our New York centerand San Francisco center is well situatedbecause many newcomers pass throughthe street in front of the temple. Similarlyif the present place is better, you may notchange to other place for cheaper rent.Please try to convince that college boywho is coming and I hope he will be verymuch helpful to your activities.Hoping you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-5Allston, Mass.5th May, 1968My Dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your very nice Jeter dated4/27/68, and the sentiments expressed inthat letter by you gives me more pleasurethat you are appreciating the importanceof our movement. I am sure that you must

MAY, 1968 393appreciate like that because I am always ofopinion that both you and your elderbrother are the result of a good mother. SoI very much appreciate both yours andyour brother's activities and it appearsthat both of you were in your previousbirth advanced in this line of KrishnaConsciousness, and here is anotherchance to complete it. So by the Grace ofKrishna you have got good intelligence,you are born of a great nation, and goodfamily; just utilize the opportunity to finishthe business of Krishna Consciousness,without waiting for further incarnartion.Srimad Bhagwatam says that weshould try for the highest achievement,and complete it before the next deathcomes. I think that your separation fromKarunamayee is Krishna's desire. Sodon't be sorry for it. In this connection Imay tell you my personal life experience.When I was married at the age of 21 with awife who was only 11 years old, practicallyI did not like my wife. And as I wasat that time very young man, and an educatedcollege student, I wanted to marryagain, inspite of my wife being present.Because amongst the Hindus one can acceptmore than one wife (of course the lawis now changed). So, whenever everythingwas all ready for my marriage withanother girl, my great father who was agreat devotee of the Lord, called me andinstructed me in the following words:"My dear boy, I understand that youare trying to get yourself married again,bit I would advise you not to do this. It isKrishna's Grace that your present wife isnot just according to your liking. This willhelp you not to become attached with wifeand home, and this will help you in thematter of your future advancement ofKrishna Consciousness."Now, I accepted my father's advice,and by his blessings, only, I was never attachedto my wife or home which resultedin my complete liberation from worldlyattachment and devote myself fully inKrishna Consciousness. Therefore I thinkyour separation from Karunamayee is alsothe same opporttunity for your being centper cent engaged in Krishna Consciousness.I thank you very much for your checkof $50.00, and I am very glad to learn thatyou are already in possession of a nicestoreroom for exhibiting your sellablegoods. There are samples of pictures inthe temple there, and whichever pictureyou like, to have in your store, I shall adviseJadurany to dispatch for selling purposes.Ye sterday your brother Brahmanandaaccompanied by Mr. Kallman and Purushottamcame here and I understand thatyou had telephone conversation with him.He is also doing nice business of the sameline as you are doing. I have advised yourbrother as well as I advise you to get experienceof the articles that are nicely sellingand then you may directly import themfrom India.You have got some infection, and I amvery much anxious about your cyst pain. Ido not know what is the actual position butif it is ordinary, then I think a little paintingof Sloan's Liniment may reduce thepainful reaction. But if it is within the skinthen you have to consult some physician,but you can try by applying Sloan's Liniment,and before applying the linimentyou can foment by heating some soft padin hot water, and apply on the spot. Afterheating you can apply Sloan's Liniment. Ihope you will be feeling better soon.Please keep me informed.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Regarding church negotiations, Mr.Kallman's letter of assurance shall be thelast word from us. They must reply it nowyes or no. If "yes " then t:lke in writing andsend it to me. If t3)"no" then take back

394 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidathe check for $1000.00; there is no needof lingering the matter. Please inform Jayanandaand Chidananda about my opinionin this connection. Please let me know theresult by return post.ACB68-5-6Los AngelesAllston, Mass.6th May, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your nice letter of April28,1968, written in your own handwriting.Yes, I am keeping well by the Graceof my Guru Maharaj , and I am workingalso on Srimad Bhagwatam as well as for anice edition of Chaitanya Charitamrita.The Teachings of Lord Chaitanya is beingprinted, 5000 copies in Japan; and theBhagavad Gita As It Is, is being publishedby MacMillan Co. very shortly. The arrangementis complete and things are goingon. Now you have to find out someperson who can distribute our literatureand other things. Sometimes you told meyou can find out some man who can takecharge of our distribution of literature,now please do it very seriously. Because ifwe have no outlet for selling the books itwill be a problem to get the new stock ofbooks. If there is nice distribution arrangement,then at least 2 to 4 books wecan publish every year.I am very glad that Janaki is busy decoratingthe temple; this is what I want, thatevery disciple should always remain busyin some work for Krishna. We shall not allowto remain vacant our mind, and if themind is always filled up with KrishnaConsciousness activities, there is nochance of Maya to sit on the mind andforce us to act under her spell. MaharajAmburisha he did like that and in spite ofhis becoming a responsible emperor ofthe world, he was a great devotee of LordKrishna, and he successfully winned thechallenge of a great yogi, Durbasa.I am so glad to learen about Haridasi,the fortunate girl in Los Angeles. She hasgot nice parents, and has the opportunityof being in Krishna Consciousness fromchildhood. It is therefore needed that wemay train some children in our KrishnaConsciousness movement, and it willcome out very successful. Yamuna devi isalso training 2 nice boys in S.F., and theyare getting very encouraging achievements.It is very good news that the girlHaridasi is dreaming about Krishna, andKrishna is playing with her; it is verymuch encouraging. It means she willcome out a great and successful devotee ofKrishna when she is grown up and young.May Krishna bless her, and her good parents,who are training her in that way.Please offer my thanks to Balaram and hisgood wife.I know that Woomapati is a very intelligentboy, and he tries in that way, he willcome out a nice preacher in the future. Ifhe has decided to remain a Brahmachary,and preaches our movement of KrishnaConsciousness, it will be a great successfor his life. Please inform him that his intimatefriend, Hayagriva, came to see me inNew York and we talked very frankly, andhe is still my good disciple, and I haveasked him to stay with me wherever I maybe, and he has agreed. I understand alsofrom him that Kirtananda Swami is alsoeager to see me, and we shall be very gladif they come back and work with us conjointly.I am praying for this to Krishna.It is very nice that you are keeping theRadha Krishna Murti so nicely there withyou . No, it is not improper to keep Themat your home, but it must be kept with dueveneration and respect. If we keep theStatue of Krishna in our room, we must

MAY, 1968 395know that Krishna is present, and as suchwe must be careful in our dealings, talkingsand behavior, as we are present beforeKrishna directly. The altar should beso made, with curtain, that it may beclosed when Krishna and Radha are takingrest. Dress them as nicely as possible,we have so many Radha Krishna pictures,you can take idea from them.Yes, your observation is perfect. If wespread this Krishna Consciousness movement,certainly there will be an atmosphereof purity and people will be happyboth and this life and the next.Please try for these things, draft deferraland tax exemption. It is greatlyneeded. You will be pleased to know thatRobert Kennedy heard Hare Krishna Kirtanfrom poet Allen Ginsberg. He is verykind to chant HareKrishna wherever hegoes, as I have requested him to do, andwhen he met me at San Francisco, he toldme that he chanted Hare Krishna beforeMr. Kennedy. So I think it is already in hisattention.That is all right, whenever you are ableto do so, then contribute 50% of your incometo the temple.Shyamsundar wanted to go to London;what is his opinion about this? I am verymuch eager to open a center in London. IfShyamasundar and Malati go there, thenone or two other Brahmacharies may gothere to organize a center in London; andas soon as it is in makeup then I may alsogo there for sometime, to deal with theBeatles who are so much anxious to understandabout spiritual knowledge. Anysincere person, never mind whether he ishippy or Beatie, if he is actually searchingfor something beyond this hackneyed materialsense gratification, surely he willfind the most comfortable shelter underthe Lotus Feet of Lord Sri ChaitanyaMahaprabhu, Who is non-different fromLord Krishna. We should try our best,begging every person to give us sometime to listen about this Krishna Consciousnessmovement, as it is taught byLord Chaitanya.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-7Juno Beach, FloridaAllston Mass.1Oth May, 1968My Dear Dayananda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your check which I begto acknowledge receipt herewith. I am sopleased to learn that you are constantlytrying to follow my instructions. Ofcourse, I have no particular instructions,save and except the instruction which Ihave also heard from my Spiritual Master.So all instructions in the disciplic successiondirectly comes from the SupremePerson. Therefore to follow the instructionsof a Spiritual Master is to follow theinstructions of the Supreme Person. Andas soon as we are accustomed to this habit,then all our misgivings of material existenceare over. Your ambition for chantingHare Krishna exclusively is very good.But sacrificing the results of action is asgood. A concrete example is Arjuna. Hefought very chivalrously under the instructionsof the Lord, and the Lord certifiedhim to be the best devotee and friendof the Lord. So there is no distinction betweenchanting and offering the results ofone's activity. Sometimes under the garbof chanting people take to the habit oflaziness,which is not required at all. Executionof devotional service is prescribedfirst with enthusiasm and patience. Onecan execute this transcendental activitiesstaying as he is, but he must follow and tryto apply in practical life the instructions as

396 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadathey are given in the Bhagavad Gita or SrimadBhagwatam, received through theproper channel.I thank you once more for your progress,in the matter of Krishna Consciousness,and I shall always pray to Krishnafor your steady progress more and more,along with your nice wife. Hope you areall three well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-8Allston, Mass.14th May, 1968My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated May 13,1968, and I noted thereof that you are a littiebit disappointed. There is no questionof disappointment in Krishna Consciousness.We shall try our best-success or nosuccess, we shall depend on Krishna.Now, I do not know what is the position ofsecuring advertisements. If advertisementsare also not available, then I thinkwe should go back to our mimeographmachine and put Back to Godhead outregularly. There is no scarcity of material,so we may distribute the message regularly,never mind it is not so highlyprinted. So far collections is concerned ofthe sales proceeds of Back To Godhead, Ithink you can entrust the matter to Gargamuniand Mukunda, and they will be ableto distribute and send you back the money.Regarding quality of chanting HareKrishna, we shall try to avoid the 10 kindsof offenses, that is the quality.You can write to your God-brothers indifferent centers that if they do not sendregularly the money for sales of the magazine,it will not be possible to continue thepaper.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Hayagriva has me article-Krishnathe Charioteer. When you are ready forpublication of B.G. I shall send you thesame.ACB68-5-914th May, 1968My Dear Subal,Please accept my blessings, I am indue reciept of your letter dated May 9,1968. It is very nice that Hal Pappa iscoming to our temple. Please hand overthe enclosed letter which I write to himout of my natural affection for him. I thinkif he joins with you you will feet more encouragedin the service of the Lord.I thank you one more for your endeavorsin the service of the Lord, and Wemust bless you and help you in all respects.Hope you a are well.Your ever weell-wisher,ACB68-5-10Allston, Mass.14th May, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated May 13,1968, and noted the contents. It is verygood news that you are getting one bus fortraveling with the Samkirtan party. Ourfirst plan was like that-that we shouldhave a nice Samkirtan party and travel allover the country. But since you said thatyou could not organize such a party, I requestedyou to go to open a center in Germany.Now our principle business andaim is to preach this Krishna Consciousnessmovement, and wherever we get the

MAY, 1968 397oppm tunity, we should take advantage ofit. Now, it is up to you, to settle upwhetheryou should go to Germany or travelabout here in this country. If you havegot at least 6 members for your party, thenI would advise you to travel in this countrywith the Samkirtan party. But if you haveno members to assist you, then you cantry to open a center in Germany, as ourgood friend Subal is trying, strugglingalone in Sante Fe , and still pulling on. Ouronly business is to spread Krishna Consciousnessto the best of our possibility,and Krishna has given us discriminationand judgment. So, Krishna is within you,you chant and ask Him, Krishna and Hewill give you proper instruction.So far from my side, I can say that ifyou have got a party who can travel withyou , then you can travel with them forsome time with the Samkirtan party. Ifyou go in the bus with your Samkirtanparty, then we must sell our literatures,magazines, books, records, etc . Thewhole institution is not in very sound financialposition, so we should always rememberthis position and try to sell ourarticles so that we may again publish ourbooks and literatures. Back to Godhead isalready in difficulty for financial matter.It is giving me some anxiety. Back to Godheadmay not be stopped publication-itwill be a great setback for our missionarypurpose.At any rate, we should accept that bus.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Himavati,Please accept my blessings. Today Iam using your beadbag. It is very nice, Ithank you very much for it. Hope you arewell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-11MoundsvilleAllston, Mass.23rd May, 1968My Dear Kirtanananda Swami,Please accept my blessings. I was soglad to receive your letter dated May 13,1968, and my gladness knew no bounds,exactly like that when one gets back hislost child.You have written to say that you thinkof me often and now it is confirmed thatyou cannot do without thinking of me, becauseI was always thinking of you . SometimesI silently cried and prayed toKrishna that how I have lost this child,Kirtanananda. But I am sure that youcanot be lost because you chanted verynicely in Vrindaban. Anyone who oncesincerely chanted the Holy Name ofKrishna cannot be separated from theKrishna Consciousness atmosphere. So Iwas sure that you were never lost and youwould come back. Anybody who askedme how Kirtanananda left me I answeredthat either Kirtanananda or Hayagrivacannot be lost because at least they havechanted sincerely the Holy Name ofKrishna. Anyway, Hayagriva came to meand was very glad to see him in New York,and I expected also to see you . You wroteone letter to Janardan, and I have repliedthat letter, and from the letter you can understandmy feelings for you.Krishna has provided you with a niceplot of land, and it is due to His causelessunlimited mercy upon you. You were inV rindaban but you did not like the atmosphereand you became disturbed, so immediatelyafter your arrival in Vrindabanyou felt uncomfortable-that I could understand,and therefore you came back toU.S.A. although it was settled beforestarting that you continue to live in Vrindaban.Krishna is so kind that you went toIndian Vrindaban, but you did not likethat particular place, somehow or other,

398 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadaand therefore He has so kindly awarded sonice piece of land, exactly resemblingVrindaban. We should always know thatVrindaban is not localized in a particulararea, but that wherever Krishna is there,Vrindaban is automatically there. Andwherever the Holy Name of Krishna ischanted, Krishna is present there becausethere is no difference between Krishnaand His Holy Name. So I am so pleased tolearn that you are chanting and meditatingof Krishna, and once only you are eatingsomething to keep your body and soul together.But my request is that as you have acceptedSannyas in this order of our disciplicsuccession, you must do some moreservice to Krishna than chanting and meditating,and the opportunity you have got. Iunderstand that the land is very big area; Ii}eard that it is 320 acres ofland, and in theletter addressed to Janaradan, you expressedyour desire to convert this beautifulpiece of land into New Vrindaban inU.S.A. I wish that you may try for thisNew Vrindaban to your best capacity, andKrishna will give you all help. And if thispiece of land is turned into New Vrindabanthen I shall forget to return to IndianVrindaban. I am getting older and older,so actually if I get a peaceful place as describedby you, the rest of my life will becontinued in translating Srimad Bhagwatamand other Goswami literature, assistedby some of my disciples like you. Soanytime you take me to your new hermitage,I shall be very glad to go there. So faryour cooking is concerned, you are myfirst student to learn Indian style of cookingand from you the disciplic successionhas spread and many of our students arecooking. But still your cooking surpasseseveryone's cooking. I shall be glad to participatein your nice and tasteful prasadam.I am here till the end of May, 1968, andthen I may either go to Montreal or mayreturn to New York. It is not yet settled.My permanent visa is not yet. granted;they are making so many implications. Itmay be that I may get permanent visa inCanada, but nothing is fixed up as yet, so Ido not know what is there in the future.But I know Krishna has something in Hismind, and whatever He does is the bes!. Ishall be much pleased if you kindly writeme at your convenience, and more, I shallbe glad to hear that you are chanting HareKrishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna,Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama,Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Hoping you arewell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Sriman Umapati's doing very well inL.A.68-5-12Allston, Mass.23rd May, 1968My Dear Gurudas,Please accept my blessings. A fewdays ago I received one letter from you inwhich you desired to send me one manuscriptfor Nemai Sannyas drama, writtenby some Mr. Chatterji. Generally thesedramas are sentimentalism. Those whoare devotees of Lord Chaitanya, they donot discuss much about the Lord's renouncingthe householder life, but thereare certain persons who floodlight the renouncementof Lord Chaitanya in a materialisticsentimental way. I have seen suchdrama, written by Mr. Diliproy, and thatwas nearly nonsense. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhudecided to accept this renouncedorder oflife in a moment, and thebusiness was finished in a day. But thesepeople, in order to create a scene, theyadulterate the Lord's renouncement in somany ways. so I guess in the drama of Mr.

MAY, 1968 399Chatterji similar such things may be included.Any drama or book written by unauthorizedpersons should not beindulged in. (In this connection I maymention that I have seen one copy of"N arada Pancharatra" sent here from SanFrancisco, and it is not good. Please stopcirculation of this book, which is not authorized.)A pure devotee is always freefrom the four principle restrictions, andhe has a telok on his forehead. At leastthese symptoms indicate one's purity inKrishna Consciousness. If one is not followingthese principles, he is not consideredto be a pure devotee.As a matter of recognition I am givingthe second endowment of initiation,namely the sacred thread to those who arechanting 16 rounds regularly, and havefollowed the four principles of restrictionsmay be awarded this sacred thread. Thefirst batch of six disciples are alreadygiven. When I return to San Francisco Ishall offer the same sacred thread to someof you.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Yamuna,Please accept my blessings. I receivedyour letter a few days ago and I am veryglad to learn that you are training the 2boys in Krishna Consciousness. I do notthink you require an academic degree fortraining such boys. We are trainingKrishna Consciousness, which has nothingto do with academic education; Itherefore wish that instead of wasting yourtime for 2 or 3 years for taking a degree,you may increase your scope of activitiesfor recruiting such boys and training themin Krishna Consciousness. But if yourstate laws do not allow it to hold any classwithout such degree then you must getsuch degree. On the whole you have got avery nice engagement for training childrenin Krishna Consciousness. And Ithink you are very fit for it. I am sure ifyou endeavor in this line of service,Krishna will be very much pleased andwill shower His blessing more and more.you are very nice girl and I have got fullfaith in you and I wish that you can developethis line of service to the society.If possible, please send me the addressof Prasad; I want to write him one letter.Hope you are both well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-13Allston Mass.23rd May, 1968My Dear Krishna das,Please accept my blessings. I am receivingyour twigs for washing my teethvery regularly and I thank you very much.What about Krishna's flute you attemptedto prepare? I think you can prepare onesilver flute and I am inserting measurement.It should be with golden reliefwork-raised embroidery-like designsonthe body of the flute. The length of theflute may be 5 inches, and it should be114" thick. Now I shall be glad to knowwhat is your credit balance in the bank. Itmay be that I may call you to go with me toIndia at any moment.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-14New Yo rkAllston, Mass.27th May, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I hope youhave safely reached N.Y. Till now I have

400 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidareceived no reply from the Canadian ImmigrationDepartment, and I have justnow received one letter from Janardanstating therein that even ifl go to Montrealpending my immigration application,there will be no difficulty. Therefore Ihave decided to start for Montreal just afterthe second of June anyday. I have sentGoursundar to the temple to contact himby phone informing this matter, as well asI have sent him one letter by airmail justnow. So my going to Montreal is nowfixed up.Now, so far American Immigration isconcerned; you will try for it after my departurefor Montreal. And if you comethere sometimes after the first week ofJune or by the 9th of June, then Janardan,yourself and myself may consult and thentake steps what to do in new chapter.So far purchasing the church it appearsto be hopeful. So if Mr. Kallman will advisehis banker to send a letter addressedto Mr. Muzzy of the Presbyterian Churchthat the bank will pay $270 per month,then I think the transaction can be finishedwithout difficulty. Of course we will regularlypay Mr. Kallman or his banker this$270 without fail, because we are alreadypaying everywhere more than $270 asrental. So there will be no difficulty to receivethe money from San Francisco, andif required, Jayananda can give Mr.Kallman in writing about the assurement.I am enclosing herewith the letter of Jayanandadated May 24, 1968, and I hopethis will clarify the whole thing. Please dothe needful.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,P. S. Let me know what you have donewith Dia Nippon, United Shipping Corporation& Dwarkin if possible send thecopies of letters addressed to them, ACB68-5-15Allston, Mass.28th May, 1968My Dear Harer Nama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated May 24,1968, along with the news article publishedin the Daily Californian, p.9, onWednesday May 22, 1968. The picturesand the statement are very appropriateand I hope this article will attract the Attentionof many students .Actually this Krishna Consciousnessmovement is the greatest need of thepresent day situation of the world. It is authorizedapproved and very old, and practical.It can be accepted by any person inany part of the world; that is alreadytested. Now each one of us has got a greatresponsibility to spread this movement asfar as possible and that is the greatest serviceto the suffering humanity. You are astudent of psychology, so you can studythis movement more clearly than others,and try to spread it to your best capacity.Regarding your 2 questions: For offeringprasadam simply prayers to the SpiritualMaster is sufficient. The process isthat everything is offered to the SpiritualMaster, and the Spiritual Master is supposedto offer the same foodstuff to theLord. When a thing is offered to the SpiritualMaster, he immediately offers to theLord. That is the system, and as we comeby parampara system, it is our duty to gothrough the right channel-namely, firstthe Spiritual Master, then Lord Chaitanya,and then Krishna. So when we chant prayers,we do this, Bande ham Sri Guru ...and gradually to the Goswamis, then toLord Chaitanya, and then to RadhaKrishna. That is the praying system. Butoffering the prasadam to present everythingbefore the Spiritual Master whosepicture is also in the altar, means that theSpiritual Master will take care of offeringthe foodstuff to the Lord. Therefore

MAY, 1968 401simply by chanting the prayer to the SpiritualMaster, everything will be complete.I think a copy of the Daily Californianin which the article has appeared may besent to each center of our society, and bythat they will be encouraged. If possible,kindly arrange this.I am going to Montreal, sometimesnext week after June 2nd. So you canwrite me letters at the Montreal address asfollows: ISKCON RADHA KRISHNATEMPLE; 3720 Park Avenue; Montreal18, Quebec , Canada. Also, please sendcopies of the news article to our differentcenters, the addresses are as follows:[PAGE MISSING]68-5-16Allston, Mass.28th May, 1968My Dear Malati,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of May 14,1968, and I have noted your kind sentimentswith appreciation. Don't wait fornext life for finishing up the business ofKrishna Consciousness; try to finish upthis business in this life. And pray toKrishna that if your Krishna Consciousnessbusiness is unfinished in this life, Hemay give you chance to take birth in afamily where the father and mother are inKrishna Consciousness. That is a greatopportunity. Similarly, the child who iscoming in your family is supposed to haveexecuted Krishna Consciousness in hisprevious life. I have not heard from yourhusband in many days. After your childbirth,does he propose to go to Germanyfor preaching work? We want to establishone center in Germany. As my permanentvisa in USA has not been granted, so I amgoing to Montreal for some time, then aftermy business in Montreal is finished, Imay go to London, and then to Germany.That is my desire. I do not know what isKrishna's desire. We can discuss this furtherat that time.In the absolute world there is no distinctionas me, or he, and I. Krishna andHis representative is the same. Just likeKrishna can be present simultaneously inmillions of places. Similarly, the SpiritualMaster also can be present wherever thedisciple wants . A Spiritual Master is theprinciple, not the body. Just like a televisioncan be seen in thousands of places bythe principle of relay monitoring.This seeing of "spirits" has no connectionwith Krishna Consciousness-it ishalucination.Yes, so far your coming child is concerned,I shall give name to it when it isborn. No, circumsision is not done inVedic culture, it is not required.Yes, to make a Krishna Consciousnesscoloring book for children is a very goodidea for serving and for spreading KrishnaConsciousness to the young children.Please do it. I will give you hints howtoddo it; just let me know when you areready to begin. It will be a great service.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-17Allston, Mass.28th May, 1968My Dear Uddhava,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of May 24,1968, and have noted the contents carefully.Sambhu is the principle by whichthe Lord impregnates the material Naturewith the seeds of living entities. Durga isexpansion of internal energy andRadharani is the quintesence of InternalEnergy. In that sense Durga is expansionof Radharani. Brahma is the father of Rudraor Sambhu, therefore Brahma is the

402 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadaoriginal creature for creation. GenerallySambhu is the creator of many many demons.Demons are therefore mostly worshippersof Lord Shiva.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-18Allston, Mass.28th May, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of May 27, 1968,and noted the contents carefully. As youare married, there is no need of separationas you are practicing artificially. You mustlive just like a respectable married coupleand earn money as a Grihastra, and spend50% for Krishna-that is the real program.If you have no sufficient men to formthe Kirtan party at the present moment,you can go on chanting as usual in the temple.There is no need of becoming hasty.One or two boys from S.F. can join you atany moment, that is not a problem. Butyou must have some men locally. The processshould be at least 4 to 6 men must becompetent to begin the chanting with instrumentsand the members of the audienceshould be requested to join them. Ifyou can make this practice successful,you can go anywhere. Four to six men,and the members of the audience will jointogether, and then it will be very successfulKirtan performance. Just try to practicelike this. I am going to Montreal nextweek and after reaching there I shall considerwhen and how to go to London, orany other part of Europe. At present it isnot yet fixed up.[PAGE MISSING]68-5-1928th May, 1968My Dear Subal,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated May24, 1968, and it is very encouraging. I amsure Krishna will help you more and morebecause you are sincere servant ofKrishna. He blessed in your endeavor andeverything will be all right gradually, andit will be a great enlightenment for youhow God helps those who help themselves,especially in the service of God.Read Srimad Bhagwatam and chantHare Krishna and all other things will beadjusted automatically. Offer my blessingsto Sriman Hal, who is taking gradualinterest in Krishna Consciousness.I am going to Montreal by middle ofthe first week of June, and I will stay therefor some days. You can send me letters atthat address after first of June:Hope you are feeling well.Your ever well-wisherACB68-5-20Allston, Mass.30th May, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated May 25,1968, and I have also received one lettersigned by three of you, Mukunda, yourselfand Woomapati, recommending thenew boy Stanley Broderick. I have receivedhis beads also, and I am sendinghim the beads properly initiated, and hisinitiated name is Sachisuta. Sachisutameans the Son of Sachi, or Lord Chaitanya.So I am very pleased that this boy isattracted to Krishna Consciousness andhe is being initiated by the Grace ofKrishna. Please try to save him from thehands of Maya.

MAY, 1968 403Regarding your personal sentimentsnot being in agreement with Woomapati: Iam very sorry that this thing has happened.We are preaching Krishna Consciousness,the greatest platform ofharmony, and if we dissent amongst ourselves,and disunite, it doesn't look verywell . You are sinceremost servant ofKrishna. I know that you have workedvery good for Krishna. I think you shouldnot be disturbed by minor disagreement.If you think that you cannot agree withWoomapati, you can stop discussing withhim, and if there is any point of judgment,you can refer to me. I am always at yourservice. So long we are individual souls,there must be disagreement also, becausethat is the symptom of individuality. Butwhen such individual is surrendered untoKrishna, there should not be any disagreement.Of course, Subal is working alone,and he is doing very nice to his best capacity,but if you want to go there, I haveno objection because it will be a great helpto Subal. But I know also that much dependson you about the L.A. temple, and Iam afraid if you go, the temple in L.A.may suffer. Therefore, I would advise thatyou should consult with Mukunda aboutthis because he is very calm andcoolheaded boy, and then decide whetherto go to Santa Fe or not. I am writing separatelyto Mukunda also, as well as toWoomapati in this connection, and I wishto know why there is disagreement. Therecannot be any disagreement in dischargeof duties in Krishna Consciousness.I am leaving for Montreal on June 3rd,1968, at 11:00 a.m. and you know Montrealaddress so that you can reply this letterthere. Again I say that don't be agitatedon some flimsy ground but cooperate onthe platform of Krishna Consciousness.Hope this will find you all right.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-21Los AngelesAllston, Mass.30th May, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your recommendation forinitiation to Stanley, whose name is nowSachisuta. In the meantime, I have receivedanother letter from Aniruddha thathe is in disagreement with Woomapati. Ido now know what is the basis of this disagreement,but when you are there, I requestyou to see to the matter and try tomitigate their illusory disagreement.Even there is disagreement, the platformshould be Krishna Consciousness, and inthat platform if there is disagreementthere is no inebriety.Perhaps you have heard that my applicationfor permanent visa has been deniedon the ground that I filed my applicationwhile I came as a visitor. So I am leavingfor Montreal on the 3rd of June, and secondchapter for trying for visa there willbegin. I do not know what is the result infuture, but this time I have desired that Imay go to London, and try to establish acenter there for European activities.I have not heard for many days aboutyour good wife, Janaki; I hope she is doingwell.Hoping you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-22Allston, Mass.30th May, 1968My Dear Sachisuta,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to receive your letter dated May 26,1968, along with beads, and I am sopleased that you are seeking for being initiated.So, after due chanting I am sendingboth your beads by separate first class

404 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidapost parcel . Receive it and chant withoutany offense. The 10 kinds of offenses arelike this:Blaspheming the Lord's devoteeConsidering the Lord and the demigodson the same level-orassuming there are many godsNeglecting the orders of the spiritualmasterMinimizing the authority of theScripturesInterpreting the Holy Name of GodCommitting sin on the strength ofchantingInstructing the glories of the Lord'sName to the unfaithfulComparing the Holy Name withmaterial pietyInattention while chanting the HolyNameAttachment to material things whileengaged in the practice of chantingSo you follow those principles as well asthe four restrictive rules, namely;No addiction to indulgence in any formof intoxication, including coffee,tea and cigarettesNo illicit sexual relationshipsMust be strictly vegetarianNo gamblingAnd the other standard practices for initiateddevotees:Must attend evening and morningclassesShould not extensively mix withnon-devoteesShould not eat food cooked bynon-devoteesShould not waste time in idle talksShould not become engaged infrivolous sportsShould always chant and sing theLord's Holy NamesChanting as enunciated by Lord Chaitanyais the only means for spiritual realizationin this age of dissention. So chant at least16 rounds daily, and for other help youcan ask assistance from your elderly Godbrothers.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,68-5-23Los AngelesAllston, Mass.30th May, 1968My Dear Woomapati,Please accept my blessings. A fewdays ago I received a nice letter from youin which you wrote nice things, and I wasso glad that now you are making progresspositively towards Krishna Consciousness.It is understood that Aniruddha andyourself are sometimes not in agreementin subjects concerning Krishna Consciousness,Of course, disagreementsmay be there, but there should not be dissention.I shall be glad to hear from youwhat is the point of dissention, and if itisn't very serious, I think you should askAniruddha not to be affected by suchflimsy disagreement.I am very glad to learn that L.A. templeis improving day by day. Similarly, thetemples in other places are also improving,especially Buffalo, Santa Fe, andBoston. I am starting for Montreal on the3rd of June, 1968, and I shall be glad tohear from you at our Montreal address.Thanking you.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-5-24San FranciscoAllston, Mass.31st May, 1968My Dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am in receiptof your letter post-dated May 27,

MAY, 1968 4051968, and I thank you very much for thecheck for $80.00 for my book account. Iam so glad that you are selling my booksnicely. Yes, always try to sell our booksand Back To Godhead, as far as possible.That is our main business.I am so pleased for your valuable lovingsentiments upon me and this will keepyou advanced in Krishna Consciousness,rest assured. Next time when I come backto San Francisco, some of the boys whohave regularly chanted 16 rounds at leastfor one year shall be initiated for the secondtime, and offered sacred thread to recognizethem as complete Brahmins.I am going to Montreal on Monday andshall see how things are going there .Krishna willing, I may be staying at Montrealfor some time to organize the Templeas well as some Indian visitors. And Ihave in mind to start 2 or 3 branches there,one in Vancouver. Vancouver is nearer toSan Francisco and if I get chance to go toVancouver, surely I shall come back toSan Francisco from there.Regarding your seeking permissionfor selling some leather goods and waterpipes: I say yes, you can sell. We havenothing to do with these things, but in specialcases, if somebody asks us to sell intoxicantsor similar things, we cannot dothat. The pipes are meant for persons whoare already addicted to intoxication. So ifwe don't sell it, it does not mean it willcounteract intoxication, even though indirectlyit is connected with intoxication.We are not having any connection withthese things, but you are selling for gettingsome profit for Krishna. You cannot dissatisfyyour supplier who are eager to selllike that. But anyway, in all such odd circumstancesas this, you should ask mypermission. But be careful that you maynot be attached to such business. If required,we can give up such business atany moment.I am always thinking of you, and I amalso feeling separation of you all. But wehave to work for Krishna diligently andwith faith and love.Hope this will find you all right, andkeep in good health.Thanking you once more,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

JUNE68-6- 1 Allston, Mass.I st June, 1968San FranciscoMy Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of May 25, 1968, and Ithank you very much for it. Ye s, I receivedthe medicine intact, and I thank you forsending it .I am going to Montreal on Monday, June3rd, and if I find Montreal quite suitable, Ishall call you and some other students to assemblethere to practice Samkirtan in a systematicway. Of course, chanting HareKrishna does not require any artificial artisticsense, but still, if the procedure is presentedrhythmically, then the people may beattracted more by the transcendental music.So, Hansadutta asked me about you and Ihave said that you will be able to come assoon as I call you, so first of all let me gothere, then I shall let you know what to do.For the present, you endeavor to makethe Rathajatra Festival grand successful .You should arrange the procession andprocedure so nicely that all the neighboringpeople may be attracted to join theprocession.Ye s. your question about will and theind ividual and the diffe rence betweenthem: Thinking, feeling and willing is thesubtle covering of the individual soul .This thinking. feeling, and willing is acceleratedby the individual soul . In materialcontact. they are manifested inperverted way. When the individual soulvoluntarily surrenders to Krishna and actsin a routine method, thinking, feeling andwilling becomes purified and at that time.there is no diffe rence between the individualsoul and will.Shyamsundar is a good servitor fromthe very beginning, and so is Harsha rani .I am very much obliged to you all that youare taking care of Jaggannatha so nicely.The more you make the Diety of Jaggannathaattractively dressed, the more youshall become spiritually attractive .If Jaggannatha desires, then I may alsojoin you, but the idea of making San Franciscoas New Jaggannatha Puri is my transcendental dream, and if you fulflll thisdream, I shall be so much obliged to you all .The example ofNaradji, that when he realizedKrishna in his previous life, that lifeand next life, there is no difference. The exampleis given sometimes in the coconutskin when it is dried up, the fruit within thecovering of coconut is hard. And if the coconutis shaken, it is found that the coconutfruit is moving within. Because it has driedup and broken away from the inner walls ofthe coconut skin. So it has nothing to dowith the outer skin, even though it appearsthat it is within that skin. Similarly, whenone is purely in Krishna Consciousness, itmay appear that he is within the material existence,but actually he has nothing to dowith it. He is dried up, like the coconut fruit;and that process of drying-up is forgettingall sense gratification, and executingKrishna Consciousness full time. So, whenone is purely in Krishna Consciousness, hispresent life and in future life are identical.Hope you are well.Yo ur ever well-wisher.A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

408 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptida68-6-2Allston, Mass.lst June, 1968My Dear Krishnadas,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your kind letter dated May25, 1968, and I am very pleased that althoughyou are the youngest of my disciples,amongst the boys, your sentimentsare very highly developed. Please continueto feel Krishna in the same way, andchant regularly, without fail, you will improvemore and more. By your graciousconnection with your family, all the membersof your family, namely, your sister,your two younger brothers, as well as yourmother, are coming in contact withKrishna Consciousness. As you are theeldest son of your mother, it is your duty toguide them properly so that they can alsobecome advanced in Krishna Consciousness.Certainly it is a fact that all of youare combined together in a family way bythe Grace of Krishna. And by His Graceonly you have come in contact with me.Personally I have no credit for myself, butI am trying to act as faithful servant of mypredecessors and just presenting withoutany adulteration the message which I havereceived from my Spiritual Master. Similarly,if this message is presented by youall who have accepted me as the SpiritualMaster, then all the people of the worldmay be benefited by receiving thistranscendent message of Krishna Consciousness.Try to execute this missionwholeheartedly and faithfully, and all ofyou try to broadcast the message to yourbest capacity. I am so glad to learn thatyour two brothers are growing verynicely, and I hope in future they will begreat help to this missionary activities,and so 1 think also of your nice sister,Saradia. Please try to guide them properly.I note that you have got now $700.00;keep it intact and increase it up to$1200.00 at least, so that in case we haveto go to India, you will have to purchase areturn ticket. I am going to Montreal andlater developments will be known to yougradually. Ye s, that shark is all right.Thank you very much for your offerings.Your humbleness is very much appreciatedby me. This humbleness is the signof progress in Krishna Consciousness. AKrishna Consciousness person thinks alwaysabout himself as the lowest creaturein the world, and the more one thinks likethat he becomes elevated more and more .A Krishna Conscious person is neverfalsely puffed-up; he is satisfied with hishumble position as the servant of the servantof the servant of Krishna. Hope youare all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-3New YorkMontreal5th June, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your five-pages letter datedMay 31, 1968, and I have been informedof your telephone conversation withLaNarden ablut my visa appeal. To tellyou frankly, I have no faith in the lawyers;they promise something but they do somethingelse. From my last experience withMr. Ypssalentin and the real estate lawyers,I cannot advise you to pay $200.00immediately to the lawyers and then dependon his good mercy. In the paper forwarded by Boston Immigration Department,it is clearly stated there that that thisdecision cannot be appealed, so I wouldadvise yiu to make a fresh case under section3, religious ministry. I am a bonafide

JUNE, 1968 409religious minister and I have got bonafidecertificates confirming my religious ministership,and I have got 8 centers who requiremy help in the current condition.And therefore, if it is possible, try to getmy permanent residence as religious minister.In our last attempt to get permanentvisa on the basis of religious ministership,it is not rejected. They have not decidedmy case by determination on my religiousministership-that is clearly stated. Somy religious ministership is not deniedand you can file a new case to have me asreligious minister for the institution,which is incorporated as religious society.I think that will be a strong case, and ifthey deny my qualification as ministership,then we can appeal on good groundswith proof that I am a bonafide spiritualmaster. Other section number C, in whichyou have mentiond that there is noAmerican to conduct this service, may berefuted on the ground that I have got somany American disciples, and why theywill not conduct; so this position is notvery sound in my opinion.For the time being, I am here, and ifyou think that it is possible to submit freshapplication under section no. 3, on thegrounds of my religious ministership,then do it immediately, and l shall waithere for three months. And if it is successfulthen the immigration will be very nice.Otherwise, I shall proceed to London andtry to establish a center there. My otherpoint is that my permanent vise in U.S.A.is not so important, as is the publication ofbooks, and circulating them as widely aspossible. I think therefore that you shouldgive more attention to the publication department.Even if I do not get permanentvisa, it is not very harmful .I understand that the government of theU.S.A. is disgusted with the so-calledSwamis because they have exploited thepeople in so many wasy. That is a fact.And if I would have been in the government,I would have also considered likethat. So, they have not got a very goodopinion about these rascal Swamis. Underthe circumstances, it will be difficult toget me admitted as a Swami, although Iam not a Swami of the rascal group. Butwe have to prove it by action that thisSwami is not like those Swamis. This remarkwas made by Mr. Alan Burke of thetelevision company; He introduced me tothe public as, "Here is a real Swami," andhe showed me all respectful compliments.Anyway, I am not after respectful complimentsby the public. But I am concernedmore about my disciples. I want to seethem quite able to preach this sublimedoctrine of Krishna Consciousness, andtherefore I wish to stay. Otherwise, I'mnot attracted for any place, either hell orheaven, Anyway, if some lawyer assuresthat this religious ministership which is sobonafide, can be established, then you canpromise him some sum of money aftercompletion of the attempt. But I do not adviseyou to appeal for the last decision.The letters which you have written toDwarkin and United Shipping Corporationis all right, and let me know what replyyou get.So far my visa application in this country,I do not know where I am. If you can,you can go to the Canadian ImmigrationOffice in the 5th Avenue, and you can inquirefrom them why they have not repliedmy letters. Do not disclose to them atpresent where I am, and then on hearingfrom you, I shall try to see the ImmigrationOfficer here, if you so advise. For thepresent, you can inquire that the files weretransfered from Los Angeles, to New York,which you undrstood from telephone conversationto loa Angeles.Hoping you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

410 Letters from Srila Prabhupada68-6-4San FranciscoMontreal7th June, 1968My Dear Shyamsundar,I am so glad to receive your letter datedMay 30, 1968, redirected from Boston.Don't mind very much that I have not receivedthe permanent visa. I think it isKrishna's desire and blessings; as a Sannyasin,I should not fix up at a certainplace and take your service comfortably.It is not the desire of Krishna. He wantsme travelling throughout the whole Westernpart of the world and therefore I thinkit is Krishna's desire that now I shall shiftmy activities at least for some time in theEuropean countries. So it is almost certainthat I'm going to London by themonth of August. And if you all wish tocome there, then you can prepare for thetrip. So far I remember that you knowGerman language as well as Dutch language,so after we have started our Londonbranch, you shall have to go toGermany and I think Hansadutta can helpyou there, because he also knows somebroken German. The whole idea is that ifwe can organize a nice Kirtan party whichMukunda can do, because he is musicmaster, and if we travel in the Europeancountries with this Kirtan party, supportedby our books and literature, I amsure it will be a great successful missionarywork. I know both you and your wifeare very sincere servitors of the Lord, andif Malati delivers her baby during the Rathajatrafestival, then she can take onemonth's rest in July, and may be able to accompanyyou with her newly bornKrishna Consciousness baby. For the timebeing, finish your work in the hands, andside by side try to chalk out a programhow we shall propagate Krishna Consciousnessin the European countries.Your letter under reply has very much encouragedme and I thank you once morefor this nice sentiments. Hope you areboth well, and offer my blessings to SrimatiMalati and others .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-5San FranciscoMontreal7th June, 1968My Dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am sopleased to receive your nice letter dated3rd of June, 1968, with enclosure of twochecks, one for $1000.00 and one for$30.00. It is so kind of you that you areinterested in publication of Srimad Bhagavatamfor the good of the entire humansociety. May Krishna bless you for yourthis magnanimous philanthropy for thehuman society. There are many philanthropists,humanitarianists, but the bestphilanthropist is he who can award thepeople in general Krishna Consciousness.Actually the sufferings of the whole worldor the entire universe in material condition,is due to lack of Krishna Consciousness.Therefore, the best service to ourbrother is to awaken Krishna Consciousness.Your judgment that because youthink that you cannot take part in the translationwork, therefore, you have decidedto contribute for its publication. This dictationfrom within your heart fromKrishna is quite in order. For serving theLord, we require to sacrifice our life, ourwealth, our intelligence, and our words.One can serve the Lord with these fourpossessions; if not, with three, if not, thenwith two or even one, and that is sufficientto please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.I wish that you can utilize your besttalents in business organization and theresult utilize for Krishna's satisfaction ison the absolute platform. To make theidea more clear, if I am translating Sri mad

JUNE, 1968 411Bhagavatam, and if you are contributingfor its publication and helping for its distribution,this means there is no differencebetween your service and myservice. In the absolute platform there isno such distinction. And service is alwayson the absolute platform. One has to makethe best use of his talent for the service ofKrishna. That is wanted. Best example isArjuna, that he utilized his talents , militaryscience, in the service of Krishna.Brahmananda has come day beforeyesterday here in Montreal to see me inconnection with Teachings of LordChaitanya, and about my visa. I have toldhim that do not bother about the visa. Forthe present, better utilize their energy inthe matter of publication work. OurTeachings of Lord Chaitanya is goingnicely and it will be out for sale by September,and as soon as I find this book isnicely printed, then I shall immediatelybegin printing our Srimad Bhagavatamfrom these printing companies. I findtheir printing work very satisfactory. Ihave therefore stopped printing in India,but I shall require at least $5000.00 forprinting each part of Srimad Bhagavatam.Five parts of Srimad Bhagavatam can beprinted immediately. That means I require$25000.00. Anyway, Krishna will providefor this, but I shall request you tomake your point either by selling or bycontributing, you try to finance as far aspossible for these great publications. I amadvising the Japan printing company tosend you directly 2500 copies of Teachingsof Lord Chaitanya. If you can sell2500 at $5 .00 each, that will be$ 12500.00, so there will be no scarcity ofmoney if we can sell our publicationsquickly after being printed. Then we canrepeat the publication one right after another.The best process for selling booksis to get them reviewed by various importantpapers. There are hundreds andthousands of influential papers in yourcountry, and if they are reviewed, thebooks will be very quickly sold. Verysoon you will get also six mridangas, andother musical instruments from India. Ithink you are keeping a separate accountof my books and as soon as you receivebooks, you just credit in the book accountand whatever you pay, you may debit inthe same way. That will keep clear thebook account.I am planning to go to London fromhere although for the present, the programis for two to three months in Montreal .Please make the Rathajatra festival as successfulas possible. I understand from theletters of other devotees that San Franciscois arranging to get at least 1000 to5000 people to participate in the procession.If they all chant Hare Krishna withthe procession, it will be a great success ofour movement. Try to fit some loudspeakersfor the principle singer whichwill be vibrated or answered by the wholeaudience.Thanking you once more for your kindcontribution. Hope this will find you ingood health and right Krishna Consciousness.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-6San FranciscoMontreal7th June, 1968My Dear Gurudas,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated June2, 1968. Gargamuni's remark that yourbook "SWAMIJI" may be interesting onlyto the admirers and disciples is right. . .so if you are preparing some book likethat, make it so nicely that it may be acceptedby general public. And for this

412 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptldapurpose, it is better to add with the picturesmy speeches, which are of public interest.There are so many tape records ofmy speeches, you can select some of themto be printed with the pictures. I think thatwill be better attracting the general public.It is better you take a little more timebut do it very nicely.Our London program is gradually becominga tangible fact. And I am receivingletters from California devotees whichare very encouraging. I think I shall bestarting for London in the month of August.Certainly, your conclusion is verynice; we should always depend onKrishna. But for service, we can makeour plan, and Krishna will help us.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Yamuna devi,Please accept my blessings . I thankyou for your letter dated June 3, 1968.The ISKCON RADHA KRISHNA TEM­PLE will perpetually continue as such.But in spite of that, San Francisco shall begradually transformed into New JaggannathaPuri. That is my plan, and try tohelp in that way. The sign on the templeshould read: ISKCON SRI SRI RADHAKRISHNA TEMPLE.Yes, please decorate Jaggannatha withvery attractive nice clothing and ornaments, helmets, as brightly and magnificentlyas possible. The sample ofdecorating Jaggannatha is already instructedto Harsharani, and in that wayyou can make arrangements . There shallbe sufficient flower garlands for themdaily also.The decoration should be so attractivethat people when seeing Jaggannatha willforget all attractiveness of Maya. Then itwill be successful, and actually, this is theprocess of decorating Jaggannatha. Oureyes are attracted by the beauty of Maya,but if our eyes are attracted by the beautyof Krishna, the Jaggannatha, then there isno more chance of our being attracted byMaya. In other words, when seeing Jaggannathnicely decorated, we becomefreed from the clutches of Maya.I am sure if you and your husband,Mukunda and Janaki, and Shyamasundarand Malati join, certainly the London programwill be a grand success. I have alreadywritten about this to your husband,and you can know from him about thisprogram.The report of the Brahmachary classesis very good; I do not mind that it is onlytwo boys; if you work combinedly andvery nicely, that is the program. We cannot expect that everyone shall becomeKrishna Consciousness, because only themost pious and fortunate living entitiescan join this movement. But we are givingchance fo everyone and it is up to him, totake advantage or not. You will be glad toknow that our the super most contributionto the world, namely, Teachings of LordChaitanya, is coming out very soon. Theletter composition is already complete,and I am seeing the final proof, and thebook will be ready by the month of September.So, if you can organize a nice Kirtanparty backed by this book, ourprogram will be a grand success. Let ushope for the best by the Grace of LordKrishna. I hope this will find you in goodhealth.Hoping you are both well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-7Montreal8th June, 1968My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I have notheard anything from you in long timewhat is the situation with publication ofour Back To Godhead. So I am anxious to

JUNE, 1968 413know when it will be again published, andif it can be regularly printed, even on ourmimeograph machine. It is too much importantthat it must be distributed regularly,as it is the backbone of our mission.So, even it is not printed very expensivelyand highly, still, it must be distributedeven in mimeograph copy. And then in futurewe can print it very nicely, whenthere is the money there to do it. So pleasesee to it, and please let me know the positionby return of post as soon as possible.I hope you are well there, and deliveringyour nice lectures for all to hear andenjoy.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-8lOth June, 1968My Dear Harivilas,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter dated June 10,after a long time, and I have gladly notedyour activities in that part. I think yourchanting of Hare Krishna regularly is beingresponded by Krishna and He is givingyou good sense how to make preachingpropaganda on behalf of His Lordship. Itis confirmed in the Srimad Bhagavatam,as you might have seen it, that one whohears about Krishna, for him, Krishnahelps in various ways and the first thing isthat He cleanses the mind of all dusty matterand by continuing such chanting andby reading regularly Srimad Bhagavatam,one becomes gradually freed from the influenceof passion and ignorance, andthus becomes situated in goodness. Insuch platform one can engage oneself inserious devotional service, and thus onebecomes illuminated with the transcendentalknowledge of Krishna. This stageis called liberated stage, and at this timeone becomes freed from all doubts andmaterial bondage, and thus his life becomessuccessful. Please try to follow thisprinciple, and I am sure you will be happyand successful in your execution of thisKrishna Consciousness movement.As you have liked the place Hrishikesh,why not try to establish yourselfthere and organize a center for ourISKCON there . I know that many Europeanand American students go in thatpart of India to search out real spiritual enlightenment,but unfortunately they fall inthe trap of so-called yogis and are misled.If you can draw such searching students tothis real platform, spiritual platform ofKrishna Consciousness, it will be a greatservice to the western students, as well asto Lord Krishna.As regarding the Deities, I may informyou that immediately I require one pair ofDeity for Montreal, and next, anotherpair for London. Besides that, we have gotalready 9 branches in your country ofUSA, and for each of them I require onepair for installation. I do not know how Ican get these Deities, but they are manufacturedin Vrindaban. I do not know howI can approach the Indian people, at large,but I am approaching Krishna only.If you can manage, I can send you1 000 record albums, and the price of suchrecords will be about $4000, whichmeans according to Indian exchange,about 40,000 Rs. Now if you can manageto sell these records and/or distributethem free to respectable persons, and takesome contribution for the Deity, that willbe nice, instead of appealing as suggestedby Mr. Poddar. Mr. Poddar or Mr. Lal orMr. Dalmia, all of them know about ouractivities, and Mr. Dalmia tid me thatthere is demand for the record albums andI already sent 5 record albums to him.Now, if you can arrange with their cooperationto exchange 1000 record albumsfor 20 pairs of Murtis, it will be a greatservice to the society. On one side, we

414 Letters from Srrla Prabhupiidashall be able to distribute our HareKrishna chanting, and the other side, weshall have 20 pairs of Deities for installingat least in 20 places. I think you can do thisservice conjointly, Achyutananda, andJayaGovinda and yourself. And then graduallyyou can develop two or three centersin India, one in Vrindaban, one in Hrishikesh,and one in Bombay. I do not botherabout Calcutta because there are manycenters of my God-brothers there. RecentlyI have received one letter from oneof our senior God-brothers, he is living inBombay. I have suggested him to open abranch of our society and if he agrees thenI shall ask some of you to go there. Manyother students are ready to go to India, andif you work conjointly, without quarrelingamongst yourselves, a tremendous servicecan be done towards the expansion ofour mission. Please therefore try to executethis program peacefully for the sakeof Lord Krishna, to Whom you have alldedicated your lives.Regarding preaching work: If you simplyreproduce verbatim the purportswhich I have given in the Srimad Bhagavatam,and chant Hare Krishna with ecstasy,that will be sufficient for yourpreaching work, and as you do it seriouslyand sincerely, Krishna gives you more andmore strength for this noble missionarywork.No, there is no need of sending the Kalyanbooks as you have mentioned, not yet.Just read Srimad Bhagavatam, our threevolumes, regularly and repeatedly. It is nouse reading many books, it is better to assimilateone book and that is sufficient.I have received no reply from Achyutanandafor a long time, and I have sent astrong reminder to JayaGovinda. Nexttime I will write about his cooperatingwith you in answering your letterspromptly, and sending you literature asyou require for your preaching work.I am so glad that your Kirtan is drivingaway the Mayavadi philosophers from thatpart of the country, and Hardvar andHrishikesh are full of impersonalists. Ifyou can drive them away by your vibrationof Hari Kirtan, Krishna will be so muchpleased and Lord Chaitanya will showerHis blessings upon you .Yes, in New York they are organizingvery nice Kirtan party and getting goodresponse from the public. They are collecting$30-$40 in each Kirtan performance,and selling Back To Godhead. Soyou try to execute this program andKrishna will give you necessary intelligencebe assured.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-9Montreal11th June, 1968Mr. J. A. Hamilton Jr.District DirectorUnited States Department of JusticeImmigration and Naturalization ServiceJohn Fitzgerald Kennedy FederalBuildingGovernment Centre, Boston, Mass.02203 USADear Mr. Hamilton,Replying your letter of May 13, 1968,Reference No. Al7 978 480, I beg to informyou that as per your direction I haveleft Boston before June 13, 1968 (3rd Juneby Northeastern Airlines) and now I amstaying at the above address as nonimmigrantvisitor for three months.In your Order of Denial, you haveclearly mentioned in paragraph 4 thatyour denial order was not on the basis ofmy qualification of Religious Minister,but on your discretion for the reason that Isubmitted my application just after a fortnightof my arrival in USA, and as such, Iwas not a bonafide non-immigrant. I did

JUNE, 1968 415not know what was the technical mistakeon my part in this connection, but I honestlysubmitted the application after consultingyour Calcutta American Consulateand our Indian Embassy in WashingtonD.C. and I have their letters of confirmationwith me.In your Notice of Denial of May 3,1968, you have mentioned that there is noappeal from this decision. As such, I didnot prefer to appeal in this decision, but Ileft USA as per your direction. Now I amsimply requesting you to give me your valueddirection what to do next.It is a fact that I am a recognized ReligiousMinister and in your country thereare seven branches of the ISKCONRADHA KRISHNA TEMPLES in different parts. This ISKCON organizationis duly incorporated in New Yo rk Stateand is registered as N.G.O. by the UnitedNations. I am the principal Acharya orChief Minister of the organization. Evenafter receipt of your Notice of Denial, Iwas called by you, and I have already submittedall the above mentioned facts foryour record.Now I simply wish to know what to donext. My presence in your country is essentialfor proper management of the Society,ISKCON, as mentioned above. Ihave sufficient means to maintain myselfin the USA, and my health is already examinedby your Health Department, and Iam fit. If you now consider my case as ReligiousMinister and allow me the permanentvisa, you can do so now because youhave not determined on this point. Or,otherwise, 1 am seeking your valued adviceonly as what to do next so that I canget immigration visa as Religious Minister.Thanking you in anticipation for anearly reply.Sincerely yours,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6- 10Montrealllth June, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter, (undated) and notedthe contents carefully. As Woomapati hasdecided to leave Los Angeles, I would likethat he may go to Santa Fe and help Subalthere, because he is struggling alonethere . I think you will also agree with meand try to send him there as there is greatnecessity of another Brahmachary to cooperatein that temple.Regarding my visa: I think it isKrishna's desire that I shall go to Englandfor the time being and start a center therewhich is long overdue. I wish to start forLondon latest by September 1 , 1968 and Ithink you should prepare to go there bythat time, otherwise it will be too cold inOctober and November. But if you gothere in the beginning of September, thenyou may be aclimatized gradually. Yourpresence in the London center with otherassistants will be great helpful , consideringthe fact that I wish to form a nice Kirtanparty consisting of 12 heads-2mridanga players, 1 harmonium player inmelody, 1 tambura player, and at least 6cymbal players. In this way 12 heads shallperform Kirtan very rhythmically andmelodiously. The harmonium should bepracticed just to follow the song; not simplyfor tuning. I think you can very wellorganize this Samkirtan party, and if wehave a successful Samkirtan party, withme, backed by our books and literature,we can make a nice propaganda of thissublime movement in all the Europeancities. And if we are successful in Europethen we may go to other countries also inAsia. In India also if we go with thisSamkirtan party we shall be very muchwelcome and there is great possibility ofcooperation of the richer section of India.So I am thinking of organizing this nice

416 Letters from Srila PrabhuptidaSamkirtan party very seriously and youmay also think in that way.I have already heard that in San Franciscothey are going to celebrate Rathajatrafestival very successfully. In New Yorkalso they will perform this ceremony, andmost probably here in Montreal the ceremonywill be performed. The Montrealtemple is very big and spacious, and thereis good prospect for organizing this temple.So I shall try my best to organize thiscenter with the cooperation of Indianshere, and then I shall start for London.You are learning some techniquesabout playing mridanga is very nice; thatwill help others also to know how to play.[PAGE MISSING]68-6-1 112th June, 1968My Dear Subal ,Please accept my blessings. I am indue reciept of your letter of June lOth,1968, and noted the contents carefully.Ye s, you can have the band play there inthe temple as you are in great need ofmoney to carry on there. When we are inneed of money to carry on Krishna'swork, then we can resort to whatevermeans there is available. So long it is alwaysfor Krishna and never for personalsense gratification. So you can try to getsome money in that way.You can observe Rathajatra Festivalthere on 27th june. Hope you are well .Your ever well-wisher,ACB68-6- 12Montreal12th June, 1968My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of June 9th,1968, and it is very kind of you that youare seriously thinking about Krishna Consciousnessmovement and trying to engageyourself more and more seriously.My blessings are always with you. You arevery sincere boy trying your best to serveKrishna and by His Grace you are quite fitfor this business, and considering all thesepoints, I have entrusted Back To Godheadin your hand. Because this paper is the beginningof my spiritual life. During thetime of my Guru Maharaj 's passing away,His last instruction was to me that "Youtry to preach whatever you have learnedfrom me in English, and that will do goodto you and the people who will hear you."This instruction was given to me in 1936,and I started this paper in 1944. So duringmy householder life I was printing this paperand almost distributing free, andsome of them were paying me subscription,and some of them not. But I was tryingmy best at my cost. You have seen theold articles about my tendency in this re"gard, and please try to follow this principleand improve the condition of thispaper as you think best. You have got fullliberty to make it acceptable to the generalpublic, keeping pace with our principlesof Krishna Consciousness. And as I havetold you several times that I am awaitingfor the day when this paper will take theshape of Life magazine or similar othermagazines, in the matter of its popularity.From India this paper has been brought toAmerica, with this hope that Americanyoung boys like you will take interest inspreading this sublime gospel of KrishnaConsciousness.By the by, I require you to find out theduplicate copies of Srimad Bhagavatam,2nd Canto, and a few chapters of the 3rdCanto, which are lying in my closet in myroom, and send to me immediately. I wantto prepare it for printing in Japan just afterthe printing of TLC is finished. I have decidedit now definitely that all my printingworks now shall be done in Japan. In

JUNE, 1968 417America it is too expensive, and in India itis too much botheration. Therefore in futureif there is money sufficient I wish toprint each volume of my book, 5000 copies. Now, very soon we shall get 5000copies ofTLC and we have to organize thesales propaganda. If there is sale, thenthere is no scarcity of matter for printing.Mukunda has written that he is acquaintedwith some man for selling Back To Godheads,and you can just contact him toknow further about it. I am sending youtoday the balance book sheets of TLC toBrahmananda. Hope you are well .Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiWhile posting this letter I have receivedyour second letter also. I understand thatyou are purchasing a printing machine.When you have the machine some bodymust join you to work anybody you likeand I shall arrange for that. If it is possibleto print Srimad Bhagwatam then you canimmediately begin it & I shall pay for thepaper, binding etc . We want to print themimmediately. If you can actually print ourbooks in your Iskcon Press there a greatproblem will be solved. And if not anyone I shall work with you provided youcan give me the visa to stay. Please let meknow how far you are ahead in this proposal.Yours etc .ACB68-6- 13Montreal12th June, 1968To whom it may concern:This is to certify that my disciples, SrimanAchyutananda Brahmachary, SrimanJayaGovinda Brahmachary, and SrimanHarivilas Brahmachary, are sent to Indiaunder my instruction to study Sanskrit,Hindi, and Bengali. Our institution isduly incorporated in the state of New Yorkas a religious society and is recognized bythe United Nations, being listed in theN.G.O. section. Our mission is to spreadthe gospel of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,love of God, throughout thewhole world; and by the Grace of theLord, we have established many centers inAmerica and Canada for spreading thisunique gospel of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,though Bhagavad Gita and SrimadBhagavatam specifically. In eachcenter we have got hundreds of disciplesand followers, and our initiated disciplesare strictly following the restrictions asprinciple, as follows: (1) no illicit sex life,(2) no intoxication, including coffee, tea,and cigarettes, (3) no gambling, (4) nomeat eating. We have got both Brahmachariesand Householders as disciples,and all of them are following the abovementioned principles. The students anddisciples are initiated according to authorizedPancharatriki regulations. Accordingto Srimad Bhagavatam and BhagavadGita , anyone, including so-called lowborn men, who may take shelter unto theLotus Feet of Lord Krishna or His devotees,is sanctified by initiation process.KIRAT AHUNANDHRAPULINDA­PULKASA ABHIRAKANKA YAV ANAHKHASADAYAH YE'NYE CHA PAPAYADAPASRAYASRAYAH SUDHYANTITASMAI PRABHAVISHNAVE NAMAH.How such thing can be possible is explainedin the Srimad Bhagavatam that byspecial all-pervading power of Vishnu thisis possible. So, my above students havebeen sent to India specifically to study inthe Bengali, Sanskrit, and Hindi languages,because we have to present to theworld so many English translated authenticliteratures on Vaishnavism. Some ofmy books are being printed in Japan andsome of them have been accepted to bepublished by Mssrs. MacMillan andCompany of New York. So we requiresome American assistance specifically

418 Letters from Srila Prabhupiidafor this translating work. And for this purpose,we wish to send a batch of intelligentstudents in India and graduallyestablish a center there for English translationpublication of all Vaishnave literatures.We have got many friends in India,like Seth Jaydayal Dalmia and others, whoare always very kind to us in spreadingthis movement all over the world. And Ihope if some of my students living in India,say 3 to 5 years, that there will be nodifficulty for them. Further, I wish thatmy students who are initiated and havechanged their former name into Vaishnav,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6- 14Montreal12th June, 1968Mr. MittraUNITED SHIPPING CORPORATION14/2, Old China Bazar Street,Room No. 18, Calcutta 1.INDIADear Mr. Mittra,I am in due receipt of your letter datedJune 5, 1968, and have noted the contents.I cannot follow exactly what the accountis; and a few days ago the president,Brahmananda, came to see me, and I understandthat he is regularly correspondingwith you about the statement ofaccount and other things. So I am busy inmy propaganda work and I cannot just divertmy attention in this account business.So far the 15 cases of books, I have severaltimes submitted the invoices and eachtime they are rejected. So I am fed up withthis business. The best thing is that youkindly send me a copy of the invoice asyou desire to be made and then I shallmake as it is, and send it to you immediately.Otherwise, my brain does not acthow to make the invoice which will satisfyall concerned.Yours sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-15 Montreal13th June, 1968My Dear Krishna devi and Dinesh,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of May 31 ,1968, which is duly in hand. I had notheard anything from you in long time, so Iwas very glad to hear that you are doingwell . I am pleased to hear that you have sonicely installed the Jaggannatha Deities atyour home, and that you are worshippingThem regularly with nice offerings ofprasadam,incense and flowers, and also sayingprayers before Them. That is verygood. Please continue chanting and readingSrimad Bhagavatam before the Deity,and you will progress nicely.Yes, the coloring book idea is nice, butfor now there is greater need of your serviceto Krishna in helping out the Santa FeTemple. You have requested me in yourletter to please advise you about your devotionalservice, and I shall tell youfrankly that the best thing for you to donow is to help the Santa Fe Temple financially.You were originally entrusted withthe responsibility of that branch, as youhelped start it, and so it is your duty nowto help maintain it, even you are notpresent there. If it is closed down, it willbe great shameful to you. So, at thepresent moment your former husband,Subal, is struggling alone there, and thereis urgent need of financial aid to him.Therefore, I request you to do this service;you and your husband should earnmoney nicely, and send to Santa Fe at least$100.00 a month. That will be good foryou both, and good for me, and good forSubal, and the best service for Krishna.

JUNE, 1968 419Krishna wants that you should do Him thisservice, to help maintain His Templethere, so I request that you shall do thisimmediately. And Krishna will be pleasedupon you, and will give you all aid in servingHim in this way. That is my desire .And, if after first giving service in thisway, then, if you have got extra time andmoney, you can execute the coloring bookidea, and I shall help you in the future onit. But the first duty is to help maintain theLord's Temple as I have instructed. Hopingyou are both well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-16Montreal13th June, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter dated June 8, 1968, aswell as for the booklet you have sent describingmy activities in Boston. Your endeavorto utilize energy 24 hours forKrishna Consciousness is a great qualification.I am very glad to know that you arerisking $350.00 a month for taking a niceraccomodation for our temple. I quite appreciatethis attempt. And Krishna willsurely help you. I have sent one letter toMiss Rose, and try to keep friendship withher. She will gradually become more andmore interested in our temple affairs. Everyonehas dormant love for Krishna andwe have to give one possible chance toawake it. Miss Rose was taking gradual increasedinterest in our temple and I thinkif you flatter her a little more, she willcome to Krishna Consciousness platform,and may be a great help to the center. I amso pleased to learn that the new temple locationwill be very near business district.In business circle there is a popular Englishsaying that you can earn by sitting inone place than by travelling in manyplaces provided you can sit down in aplace with due consideration. Similarly, ifactually you have selected a nice place,that place itself will act as advertisementfor popularizing our Krishna Consciousness.For the time being Devananda muststay with you; he should not come here forthe present. When we shall form aSamkirtan party for European tour, I shallcall him. Please show him this part of myletter and I hope he will understand. He isvery good nice sober boy, and he will be agood help to your activities. In meantime Ihave received one letter from James. I amenclosing his letter. I do not know whatdoes he want to know from me . This boyis a new boy, and he might have so manyideas within his brain and if you can trainhim for your purpose he will be a greatservice. We may always expect that we getalways untamed boys and girls, and wehave to train them up. That depends onour capacity. So if you can tackle this boy,he may be also good assistant. Our wholeprogram is to train the untrained. Nobodyis in Krishna Consciousness and we aretrying our best to bring people in that platform.Hoping you are all well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedant;l Swami68-6- 17Montreal14th June, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I was justexpecting your letter since I have comehere from Boston. I have already informedyou about my successful programin Boston, attending many colleges anduniversities, and the church meetings,practically throughout the whole month.And Sriman Satsvarupa is to be congratulatedfor his endeavor to keep me engaged

420 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidain such meetings. I thought that you weregoing to San Francisco as you informedme previously that during Rathayatra festivalyou would be there. The Rathayatrafestival is going to be held between 27thJune to 7th July, and they are makingbroader arrangement than last year, andexpecting people numbering from 1000 to5000 will attend the procession, chantingHare Krishna. They have been advised totum San Francisco gradually into NewJaggannatha Puri, and I have advised Kirtananandaand yourself to convert WestVirginia into New Vrindaban. I understandthe spot is very beautiful, and thehills may be renamed as New Govardhan.And if there are lakes, they can be renamedas Shyamakunda and Radhakunda.V rindaban does not require to be modernizedbecause Krishna's Vrindaban is transcendentalvillage. They completelydepend on nature's beauty and nature'sprotection. The community in whichKrishna preferred to belong was Vaishyacommunity, because Nanda Maharaj happenedto be a Vaishya king, or landholder,and his main business was cow protection.It is understood that he had 900,000 cowsand Krishna and Balaram used to takecharge of them, along with His manycowherdboy friends, and everyday, in themorning He used to go out with Hisfriends and cows into the pasturinggrounds . So, if you seriously want to convertthis new spot as New Vrindaban, Ishall advise you not to make it very muchmodernized. But as you are Americanboys, you must make it just suitable toyour minimum needs. Not to make it toomuch luxurious as generally Europeansand Americans are accustomed. Better tolive there without modern amenities. Butto live a natural healthy life for executingKrishna Consciousness. It may be anideal village where the residents will haveplain living and high thinking. For plainliving we must have sufficient land forraising crops and pasturing grounds forthe cows. If there is sufficient grains andproduction of milk, then the whole economicproblem is solved. You do not requireany machines, cinema, hotels,slaughter houses, brothels, nightclubsallthese modem amenities. People in thespell of maya are trying to squeeze outgross pleasure from the senses, which isnot possible to derive to our heart's content.Therefore we are confused and baffledin our attempt to eschew eternalpleasure from gross matter. Actually, joyfullife is on the spiritual platform, thereforewe should try to save our valuabletime from material activities and engagethem for Krishna Consciousness. But atthe same time, because we have to keepour body and soul together to execute ourmission, we must have sufficient (not extravagant)food to eat, and that will be suppliedby grains, fruits, and milk. So if youcan develop this place to that ideal life andthe residents become ideal Krishna Consciousmen, in that part of your country, Ithink not only many philosophicallyminded people will be attracted, but theywill be benefited also.So far I am personally concerned, theUnited States Immigration Departmenthas denied my application for permanentvisa on some technical ground. In otherwords, just to avoid a Swami, because thegovernment is disgusted with so-calledSwamis who exploit the innocent public inyour country. The difficulty is that thepeople in this country, they want to continuetheir practice of sense gratification,and at the same time they want to becometranscendentally advanced. This is quitecontradictory. One can advance in transcendentallife by process of negativatingthe general practice of materialistic life.The exact adjustment is in Vaishnava philosophy,which is called fukta J.flragya,means that we should simply accept thebare necessities of our material part of

JUNE, 1968 421life, and try to save time for spiritual advancement.This should be the motto ofNew Vrindaban, if you at all develop it tothe perfectional stage. And I am always atyour service to help you by practical suggestionand assistance also.On the other hand I was thinking that ifI get permanent visa in Montreal, I shallmake Montreal my headquarters and atthat time I may require your help in somany ways. As we passed correspondencepreviously, that we should live togethereither in India or in this part ofthe world for publication of so manyVaishnava literatures. But if you want todevelop New Vrindaban, I can spare youfor that purpose, and it may be that we canlive there together. For the time being, ifyou actually want to develop such idealashram, we must have sufficient land,and all other things will gradually grow.For raising crops from the land, howmany men will be required-that we mustestimate and for herding the cows andfeeding them. We must have sufficientpasturing ground to feed the animals allround. We have to maintain the animalsthroughout their life. We must not makeany program for selling them to theslaughterhouses. That is the way of cowprotection. Krishna by His practical exampletaught us to give all protection tothe cows and that should be the main businessof New Vrindaban. Vrindaban isalso known as Gokula. Go means cows,and kula means congregation. Thereforethe special feature of New Vrindaban willbe cow protection, and by doing so, weshall not be loser. In India of course, acow is protected and the cowherdsmenthey derive sufficient profit by such protection.Cow dung is used as fuel. Cowdung dried in the sunshine kept in stockfor utilizing them as fuel in the villages.They get wheat and other cereals producedfrom the field. There is milk andvegetables and the fuel is cowdung, andthus, they are self-independent in everyvillage. There are hand weavers for thecloth. And the country oil-mill (consistingof a bull walking in circle round twobig grinding stones, attached with yoke)grinds the oil seeds into oil. The wholeidea is that people residing in New Vrindabanmay not have to search out workoutside. Arrangements should be suchthat the residents should be self-satisfied.That will make an ideal ashram. I do notknow these ideals can be given practicalshape, but I think like that; that peoplemay be happy in any place with land andcow without endeavoring for so-calledamenities of modem life-which simplyincrease anxieties for maintenance andproper equipment. The less we are anxiousfor maintaining our body and soul together,the more we become favorable foradvancing in Krishna Consciousness.Hoping you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-18Montreal14th June, 1968My Dear Himavati,Please accept my blessings. And offerthe same to your good husband. I was soglad to receive the two caps which arevery nicely made fitting to my skull, and Iam enjoying it everyday in the morning,and when I walk on the street they all lookat me due to your cap. Not only your capbut also I am enjoying the shirt made byyou. And Lord Jaggannatha is also enjoyingsimilarly with cap and ghagara. SoKrishna has given you a very good talentand you are sewing expert.Regarding Kirtan party, I find that theMontreal temple is very suitable for training.So I am trying in Canada for visa, andif it is successful then I shall call you both,

422 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadahusband and wife, for beginning a trainingclass of Kirtan. In the meantime askyour husband to accumulate some moneyon this account because my next programis to proceed to London with a Kirtanparty. It is my duty to help you always inthe matter of understanding Krishna Consciousnessand whatever I am trying to bestowupon you all is the gift of LordKrishna directly-! am just doing thework of a bearer. There is nothing of mypersonal contribution and I ask all yourmercy so that I may be able to distributeKrishna's message as it is without any deviation.That will make Krishna, myself,and all others eternally happy. It is sonice, sublime and easy to perform.Teaching the girls to sew nicely is alsoa very good idea. Take some Indian samplesfrom Purushottam and try to makeexactly like that so that we may make verygood profit for the society. Our society requiresmillions of dollars for propagandawork, but Krishna has made us financiallypoor. I think it is good to remain financiallypoor because always we shall beable to pray Krishna, asking His help toexecute His service. If all of a sudden webecome very strong financially, Mayamay dictate us for sense enjoyment, andwe may fall a prey to her tactics. Thereforeto remain poor is one of the qualificationsfor advancing in Krishna Consciousness.Our predecessors, the Goswamis,they voluntarily gave up everythingfor advancement in KrishnaConsciousness. We do not require anymoney for our personal account, we shallalways be happy with anything Krishna ishappy to supply us for maintenance, butfor the preaching purposes, we can accommodateto receive all the riches of theworld. So let us try with sincerity, andKrishna will help us in the matter of ouradvancing the cause of Krishna Consciousness.Ye s, you can teach the Brahmacharinissewing very nicely, and it will be a greathelp to the society. Of course, if they canremain Brahmacharinis, it is nice. But it isdifficult also. It is not good for theBrahmacharinis to associate with householders;similarly it is not good also forthe Brahmacharinis to mix with Brahmacharies,but in your country the boys andgirls are accustomed to mix freely. Therefore,we cannot put any deadline restriction.In my opinion, if the boys and girlsget themselves married just like idealVaishnav householders, that is very good.But, if by the Grace of Krishna, both thegirls and boys can live separately, that isstill better, but it is not possible. If it ispossible to divert the whole attention forKrishna's service it is quite poossible toremain single even for the whole life. Soyou have got now good engagement so remainengaged in that work and train theBrahmacharinis also, chant Hare Krishnaand pull on your sewing machine.There is no need of separation. Livetogether and train up your mind, that isall . Artificial separation is never recommended.And when you see, living together,you have no desire for sensegratification, then that is the highest stageof perfection. Voluntary restraint is tapasya,austerity, and this is possible with advancementof Krishna Consciousness.Artificial separation is foolishness. Werecommend voluntary restraint, not artificialseparation. So you should understandthat there is no objection to live togetheras husband and wife. The tendency isthere, it is natural . But if one can check it,that is very good. But it is not compulsory.And not to be checked artificially, butwith advancement of strength in KrishnaConsciousness.Ye s, to call one another prabhu is allright, but not to become prabhu. To acceptothers as prabhu, and remain as servantis the idea. But because somebodyis calling you prabhu, one should not

JUNE, 1968 423become a prabhu, and treat others as servants. In other words, everyone shouldfeel himself as servant, and not to thinkhimself prabhu because he is being calledprabhu. This will make the relationshipcongenial.Hoping you are both well .Your ever well-wisher,A .C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6- 19Montreal14th June, 1968My Dear Purushottam,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to receive the copy of the letter fromUnited Nations information departmentand it is very hopeful for our future activities.I have handed over the letter to Janardanfor making some copies.In the transcendental world there is noinfluence of maya or time. So there is fullfreedom of activities but because there isno maya, therefore everyone is engaged inhis natural activities or spontaneouslyserving Krishna in different relationships.Just like hand is related with the wholebody for some particular purpose, the legis related with the whole body for someparticular purpose, the ear is related withthe whole body for some particular purpose,and so on. Similarly all living entitiesbeing eternally part and parcel of theSupreme Lord they are engaged in Hisservice for some particular purpose. Sothere are varieties of engagements butthey are all united with the central Figure,Lord Krishna. So this is in answer to yourquestion; ' 'On Krishna loka are all ofKrishna's pastimes with the living entitiescontrolled by Krishna, or do the living entitieshave choice in this matter? In otherwords, is one's rasa governed by strictlaws determined by Krishna or is therefree choice aside from the free choice ofchoosing Krishna or maya?"Your second question, "Why did Arjunaask Krishna to go to His four armedform rather than His two armed form afterKrishna had showed A una His Visvarupa?" Because he understood thatKrishna is the original Narayana. Afterseeing His Visvarupa, Arjuna was accustomedto see Krishna with two hands, butwhen he saw the Visvarupa, he understoodHim the Supreme Personality ofGodhead, and as such, he requested Himto revert to the original Form of Narayana.Then, Krishna after showing him theNarayana form, again to revert to Hisoriginal Krishna form . Krishna explainedthat Narayana form is not original, butKrishna form in two hands is the originaland even the demigods desire to see thisform.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-20Montreal16th June, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of June 12,1968. Yes, I am getting some good opportunitiesto meet here several learnedscholars. Last night we had a meeting inthe house of Mr. Abdul Rabbi, and therewere some University professors and aDr. Abbot, a Dr. MacMillan, and manyothers, two clergymen, and their wives.One Father Lanlais was without wife. Sothere was very good discussion and by theGrace of Krishna, I was able to give themsome impression of this philosophy, that itis nicer than anything. Professor Abdul isMohammedan, and is writing a thesis ofSufi religion. And he was also impressed.Unfortunately, I had to eat there, but I accepteda little fruits only, while they wereeating all sorts of nonsense, but at least

424 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadathey did not drink. We are the two personsonly, Janardan and myself, we avoided allkinds of nonsense.Brahmacharies and Brahmachariniscan live in the temple provided there isseparate arrangement. The restriction isthere because if they live together theremight be sex impulses agitated. Thewhole principle is especially for theBrahmacharies to avoid causes which maygive impetus to the sex desire. But in yourcountry it is very difficult to make aloofthe boys and girls because they are accustomedto mix together. So it is not possiblefor me to introduce this new system verystrictly, because they are trained differently.Someway or other, if you are intelligentboy, you should make arrangementfor the boys and girls to live separately;Brahmacharies at one place all together,and the Brahmacharinis all together at anotherplace. We should always rememberthat sex life in spiritual advancement isgreat impediment. So keeping this pointof view in front, we should intelligentlymanage things with great care. So that ouraim of life may not be missed.Maharaj Dasarath, although he was agreat devotee of the Lord, but because hewas a Kshatriya king, keeping one's promiseis inevitable for him. He preferred tobanish Ramachandra on the request of hiswife on the principle of keeping his promise.In higher states of spitual life, onecan break even promises also, but they aredevotees of comparative merit. In the caseof Vasudev, we find that he was spirituallymore advanced than Maharaj Dasarath.Vasudev was also in agreement withKamsa that he would deliver all his sons tohis hand, as soon as the child is born . Butin the case of Krishna-he broke his promise.The point is that Krishna appeared asthe full fledged Personality of Godhead.But Ramachandra appeared as an idealking. Therefore in the Lila of Ramachandra,principles of morality and ethics asthey are to be followed by ideal king andruler was followed. In the same sense, Hebanished Sita in order to prove Himself asan ideal king who wanted to make Hissubjects always happy. The whole programwas on the basis of an ideal king. Butin the case of Lord Krishna, He played asfull independent Supreme Personality ofGodhead. Apparently, therefore he transgressedso many moral and ethical principles.These comparative studies on thelife of Krishna and Ramachandra is veryintricate, but the basic principle is thatRamachandra appeared as an ideal kingand Krishna appeared as the SupremePersonality of Godhead. Although thereis no difference between the two. A similarexample is Lord Chaitanya. He appearedas devotee, and not as the SupremePersonality of Godhead. Although He isKrishna Himself. So we should accept theLord's mood in particular appearancesand we should worship Him in that mood.Sometimes Lord Chaitanya, because Heis Krishna Himself, somebody worshipsHim in the same manner as Krishna. ButKrishna was in the role of enjoyer andLord Chaitanya is in the role of being enjoyed.So the party known as GourangaNagari, they are considered to be deviatedfrom pure devotional service, on accountof Lord Chaitanya given the same facilityof Krishna, which He did not like. Ourservice mood should be compatible to theattitude of the Lord. Not that we shouldoverlap the attitude of Krishna to LordChaitanya, or Lord Chaitanya to Krishna,or Krishna to Ramachandra, or Ramachandrato Krishna. Therefore, in the Sastras,specific injunctions are there, justlike to worship Lord Chaitanya is by themethod of chanting Hare Krishna.Yes, it is true that Ramachandra banishedSita later on. Ayodhya is not boundup with any material worlds. Just likeV rindaban is not bound up by any materiallimitations, as much as Krishna is not

JUNE , 1968 415bound up by any material limitations. Sothe kingdom of Ayodhya historically was atract of land as we see at the present moment,but at that time the king of Ayodhyawas the emperor of the world.Yes, that is very nice, your statmentthat "I am offering special flowers andprayers to Lord Jaggannath every morningbecause I know He is liberal to crippledand mistake-making devotees of His LotusFeet." If we are always afraid of ourmistakes, Krishna will save us from allsuch misgivings and even imperceptivelywe commit some mistake, He will forgiveus. But we should be always very carefulnot to commit mistakes.You are trying your best at that center,and Krishna will help you certainly. I amvery glad to see that you are not disappointed.This is a good sign. One shouldwork with courage and patience, and certainlyKrishna will be pleased. For thetime being you have four or five devoteesthere, so you try to maintain them there,so that you can carry on your program.Hoping you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN. B. In the near future ifl get even CanadianPermanent Visa, I shall go at leastonce quarterly to your place & try to enlightenpeople there in Krishna Consciousness.Please offer my blessings toJadurani, ___ & --- ·ACB68-6-21Montreal16th June, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of June 5th,1968, and I thank you very much for it.Ye s, I have noted your questions about theserving of prasadam. The main thing isthat whenever prasadam is offered to theLord, everything should be very respectfullyand cleansly presented and prepared.In Jaggannatha Puri, the Lord eats56 times. So the Lord can eat as manytimes as you can offer. But only thing iswhatever is offered must be with respectand devotion. (He is neither hungry norpoor, nor unable to eat, but He accepts everything,when such eatable is within thegroups of vegetables, fruits, flours, milk,water, etc. is offered to Him with love anddevotion, and faith. He wants our loveonly, and that makes Him hungry for eatingas many times as you may offer. He isabsolute, therefore, all contradictorypoints coincide in Him. He is hungry andsatisfied simultaneously. So the purport isthat everything should be offered verycleansly and pure things should be given.)If a preparation is cooked all together,then offer all together. But if it is preparedseparately, then the milk, the sugar andthe cereal should be offered separately.But if the milk, sugar and grains are allcooked together, that can be done. (Everythingshould be prepared very carefullyand cleansly within the groups offoods listed. And nothing should ever beeaten before offering to the Lord. Bestthing is to prepare separately each preparation.No, food which has been offeredshould never be put back into the refrigeratorwith the unoffered foods, or broughtback into the kitchen. You should prepareas much as can be consumed, and after offering,nothing should be put back in therefrigerator, or kitchen. Refrigeratorshould always be very cleansed and pure.Everyone should be careful to make onlyas much as they can eat; they cannot keepany leftovers in refrigerator. I know this isa practice in your country, but in the templesor at homes of any Krishna Consciousnesspersons, a person should notindulge in such unclean habits. If there isany food extra, that should be kept separately;and if there is a separate refrigerator,not within the kitchen and not having

426 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupt'ldain it any unoffered foods, then you mayhave such special refrigerator for leftoverprasadam. But it cannot be kept within thesame refrigerator as the unoffered, unpreparedfoods. That cannot be. One shouldnever eat within the kitchen, there is ampleplace to eat so why should one eat inthe kitchen? Kitchen should be consideredas good as the Lord's room, and nobodyshould wear shoes in the kitchen,smelling and tasting of foods being preparedfor the Lord should never be done,talking within the kitchen should be onlywhat is necessary for preparing the prasadam,or about the Lord, and dirty dishes(those taken from kitchen and eaten from)should not be brought back into thekitchen (but if there is no other place towash them, then they should be put intosink and washed immediately.), handsshould always be washed when preparingprasadam, and in this way, everythingshall be prepared very cleansly and pure.)What is the difficulty of enforcingthese rules? They are rules, and they aresimple rules, and must be followed. Onemust be prepared to follow the rules forKrishna. Otherwise where is the proofthat he loves Krishna. And they are notvery difficult to follow.I am very happy to hear that your centerthere is progressing nicely, and pleasecontinue doing like that. Hoping you arewell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-22Montreall7th June, 1968My Dear Sachisuta,Please accept my blessings. I am verymuch thankful to you for your letter datedJune 12, 1968. The science of KrishnaConsciousness is transcendental sciencewhich is never understood by materialisticpersons. Therefore, the Vedas order isthat one must approach a spiritual masterto understand that transcendental science.And the qualification of a spiritual masteris that he has to have received the knowledgesimilarly from a bonafide spiritualmaster, and the result is that a spiritualmaster is completely convinced of the existenceof the Supreme Personality ofGodhead, and he is fixed. That is the qualificationof the spiritual master. In otherwords, this science is appreciated by serviceattitude only. It is never understoodby any challenging spirit. One who is submissiveand ready to give aural receptionof the transcendental message, to himonly the transcendence becomes revealed.So the more you become in serviceattitude for Krishna, Krishna willreveal Himself to you. Krishna is withinyou and He is awaiting your surrender andservice, and as soon as He sees that youare seriously in serving mood, you willunderstand everything about Krishna­His qualities, His form, His pastimes, Hisentourage, and His abode. I am very gladto know that you are gradually steppingupwards by your service attitude and Iwould request you to prolong this attitudeeternally, and Krishna will reveal Himselfunto you continually. In other words,Krishna is unlimited, but the more we advancein service attitude, we appreciateHim in newer and newer features. Thereis a verse spoken by Yamuna Acharya. Hesays, since I have begun to realize thenewer and newer features of Krishna, Ihave forgotten more and more about materialenjoyment. And the summit of materialenjoyment is sex. And YamunaAcharya says that whenever I think of sex,I spit on it. This is the state of KrishnaConsciousness. The more you forgetabout nonsense material enjoyment, youmust know you are advancing in KrishnaConsciousness. You haven't got to askanybody how you are making progress,

JUNE, 1968 427you will realize yourself by this test. Justlike a person taking lunch, he will feel satisfiedof hunger and strength, himself.Similarly, the more you serve Krishna,you will forget material hankerings andget spiritual strength. This is the test.I am glad to know you are feeling likethat, and keeping chanting Hare Krishnaand the answer is already received by you .Thank you very much.Regarding your question, how Krishnacan become a male: (your question," ... Iread from Srimad Bhagavatam, chap. 11,text 7, 'Oh, Creator of the Universe, Youare our mother, well wisher, Lord, father,the spiritual master and worshipablediety.' I was asked, 'How can Krishna bemother if He is the Supreme Male?"')You have to forget always material conceptsof existence for Krishna. Krishna istotally different from anything of materialconcept. In the material idea, we thinkthat how a male can be a female, or how afemale can become. a male. This is material.But you know the picture thatKrishna as Garbhodaksayi Vishnu is lyingon the sea, and a lotus stem is growing outof His abdomen navel, and Brahma isborn there. Vishnu's wife, Lakshrni, waspresent there. She was just massaging theLord's leg, and the Lord avoided her andproduced a child. Here in the materialworld, without the assistance of the wife,nobody can produce a child. But there isthe tangible example, thatVVishnu, withoutany sex life with wife He produced achild. In the material sense, we cannotconceive how a child can take birth withoutbeing born through the abdomen ofone woman. Therefore, Krishna beingboth father and mother, He can be addressedalso as mother. That is His allpowerfulstrength. He is full in Himself.He does not require anyone's help, therefore,He is both father and mother. I thinkthis will clear your idea.It is our material thinking that is hinderingus. You are thinking male, of thematerial world, and a male in the materialworld cannot produce a child. And if youthink also that Krishna is mother, againyou are thinking with material conception.So we have to avoid using our materialthinking and material concepts whenwe think about Krishna. Therefore, wehave to approach a bonafide spiritual masterin order to understand.Another example is explained in theBhagavad Gita, that Krishna begets theliving entities, within the womb of materialnature. The material nature is also expansionof Krishna's potency. Thepotency is not different from the potent.Just like the heat is not different from thefire. In other words, heat and fire is thesame thing; so if we talk in that way, thematerial nature is the mother and Krishnais the father. But material nature beingnon-separable from Krishna, Krishna becomesboth father and mother at the sametime. The heat is fire and the fire is heat.Although you can bear the intensity ofheat, but if you put into the fire, you willbe burned. The heat and fire are simultaneouslyone and different. That is thephilosophy of inconceivably one and different,expounded by Lord Chaitanya.Try to understand in that way.Your next question, ("In Srimad Bhagavatam,chap. 9, text 1, 'Suta Goswamisaid, thus being afraid of the act of killingthe subjects in the battlefield ofKurukshetra,Maharaj Yudhisthir went to that placeof massacre where Bhismadeva was lyingon a bed of arrows for passing away, forpassing away. Bhismadeva was endowedwith the power of leaving his materialbody at his will and his lying down on abed of arrows was his own choice.' DidBhismadeva get wounded by arrows at thebattle of Kurukshetra, or did he simplychose to leave his mortal body and thus laydown for passing on a bed of arrows")Bhismadeva was surely wounded by the

428 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadaarrows of Arjuna. But wounding is notalways the cause of death. In our ownpractical experience we know that manysoldiers become wounded in battlefield,sometimes very severely, but still one isnot dead-he recovers in the hospital. SoBhismadeva was certainly such severelywounded, but that was not the cause ofhis death. He preferred to lie down on thebed of arrows and all Pandavas andKrishna arrived there to see his passingaway. So his passing away was just on hisown will-that was the benediction givenby his father. In the battlefield Bhismadevaalso wounded very severelyKrishna. He was a great devotee ofKrishna. And Lord Krishna acceptedthose arrows piercing His body as ifsomebody is worshipping with soft roseflowers. That is Krishna's transcendentalbody. But those who are materialists,they are cheated by Krishna that He iswounded. The materialists will think thatKrishna was wounded, but one whoknows what is Krishna, knows also thatHe is worshipped by the arrows. So inthe battlefield, neither Krishna waswounded, neither Bhismadeva died dueto the injuries out of the wounds. He decidedto pass away at that time, thereforehe died. These things will be more andmore clear when you understand Krishnaby revelation. I think if you make progressin your present attitude, you shallsoon know all these intricacies of spiritualand material living conditions.I am very glad to learn that you are atLos Angeles temple. Please try to improvethe condition of the temple conjointly,and this service will be verymuch appreciated by Lord Jaggannath.Just now I received one telephone messagefrom San Francisco that a girl babyis born of Malati and Shyamsundar. Andthey asked me for registration of the baby's name, and she is named by me asSaraswati devi. Please pray for the newlyborn baby in Krishna Consciousness.Hoping you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-23Montreal18th June, 1968My Dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated Junell, 1968, and noted the contents. Yoursentiments expressed in this letter aretranscendentally relished. Certainly youare mine and I am Krishna's, thereforeyou are also Krishna's. In the KrishnaConsciousness activities that is the process.By following the disciplic succession,beginning from Krishna, everythingbecomes ultimately connected withKrishna. And Krishna being absolute,anything connected with Him becomesabsolute, without any duality of conceptlike in the material world. In the materialworld, it is called illusion because everyonethinks I or my. But in the spiritualworld, everything is Krishna. We beingpart and parcel of Krishna, when we surrenderfully unto Krishna with sincerity ofpurpose, through the transparent via mediaof the spiritual master. One who thinkshimself as Krishna's, he is non-differentfrom Krishna. So the attitude which youare mentioning is the Grace of Krishna,and I wish by His Lordship's Mercy youwill continue this aptitude of becomingmore and more progressed in KrishnaConsciousness. Thank you very much forthinking in such a nice way.Regarding the press, recently I havereceived one letter from Rayarama whichI am enclosing herewith for your perusal .You can open correspondence with himabout the press, and give him the details ofthe press materials. I think they are asking$5000.00 to make a bargain; if we can

JUNE, 1968 429purchase a press for $ 1 000 .00 as informedby Rayarama, why should wespend $5000.00. Anyway, you can opencorrespondence with Rayarama in thisconnection, and certainly as we need apress for printing our books and magazines,I think Krishna is presenting uswith the opportunity to purchase onepress of our own. Here also in Montrealthe temple space is very great, and part ofit we can very easily spare for running ona nice press. And Mr. Kallman is ready toinvest money. So far manpower is concerned,I think we shall be able to get it.There will be no scarcity of manpower. Soconsidering all these different angles, ifwe can have our own press, it will servethe greatest purpose of our mission.Please therefore send the details of thepress to Rayarama and if possible, sendme a copy of the details. But I guess theyare demanding not very reasonably. Itcannot be so much high priced. Hopingyou are well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-24Montreal19th June , 1968My Dear Purushottam,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter ofJune 15, 1968.I thank you very much for your feelingsabout me , but you should know that youare always with me. Because you are sincereservitor of Krishna and following mydirection sincerely, so you are always withme . In future , of course, I shall try to keepyou in my association as soon as there issuch opportunity; in the meantime, I shallrequest you to open correspondence withMr. Marcial Tamayo , or Mr. David J. Exley,chief of the NGO section of U.N., toget some appointment for meeting so thatwe can furthermore impress them aboutthe importance of this movement, andthereby seeking cooperation from theU.N. for disseminating our great philosophyto the responsible personalities ofeach and every nation. They have not yetcome to understand the importance of thismovement, but if they kindly hear patientlyabout the basic principles of themovement, they will feel obliged to getthis enlightenment. You began contactingthe U.N. and it has come to a little success,and with this clue, if we try more,then our purpose may be fulfilled in thevery near future. So kindly try for this. Ifthey want to see me personally, I shall bevery glad also to meet them. The idea isthat we want to get some facilities for presentingour formulas to the different nationsof the world. The formula is verysimple, but sublime at the same time. Ithink you shall try for this.How is your store going on, Krishna'sstore? You have not written anythingabout it. You can also remind Brahmanandawhether he has got the original letterreceived from Mr. Sahai of the IndianEmbassy in Washington. If he has got thatletter, please ask him to return it to me.Hoping you are all well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I have not heard anything fromBrahmananda since he has gone to N.Y.ACB68-6-25San FranciscoMontreal19th June, 1968My Dear Saradia,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter dated May 30,1968, and I was just awaiting another letterfrom your intimate friend Ali Krishna.I am so glad to learn that Ali Krishna and

430 Letters from Srila Prabhupiidayou are all living with Malati and Shyamsundar.We have recently got a newcomerbaby, Srimati Saraswati devi, and pleasedto learn that they are taking all care foryou . I am also very glad that your motheris also taking part in Krishna Consciousactivities. I have received one letter fromLilavati also, and I have replied her. I amvery glad to know also that the injury inyour hand is now cured.Yes, I am happy to hear that you aregoing to visit with Jadurany. She will bevery much happy to see you also.We are preparing for starting for Londonand very soon we shall go there. Andas soon as the newly born child is littlestrong, Malati and Shyamasundar, alongwith you, may come to London and startour Samkirtan movement there.Hoping you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-26Montreal20th June, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I am simplyremembering your face when youwere crying in the plane. Please don't beagitated in any way. Please remain fixedup in Krishna Consciousness and you willalways be happy. And now you have got avery nice assistant, Madhavi Lata devi,and she is also very good and sincere girl,so you will have good company to talk,and paint; wherever you may be, Krishnais always with you , as He is always witheveryone. But everyone who is in KrishnaConsciousness can know Krishna is withhim. Others do not know. In the BhagavadGita, Krishna says that I am the Supersouleverywhere. So Krishna is so kind that Heis always with us as Friend; if we can learnto treat Him with our friendly love and affectionthe reciprocation is permanent,and that is the highest success of our humanform of life. I shall be glad to hearfrom you at your convenience. And chantalways joyfully Hare Krishna. Thank youvery much. Hoping you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. Here, Anapurna and Govinda dasi,they are very nice girls, helping me in allrespects. Anapurna has gotten a letterfrom her father in London, and may be weshall be very soon going there, and formulatea Samkirtan party with the help ofsome San Francisco students.68-6-27Montreal20th June, 1968My Dear Madhavi Lata,Please accept my blessings. I am somuch pleased to receive your nice letter ofJune 11, 1968, all full with humility andlove and very nice sentiments. Your simplicityis a great asset for Krishna Consciousness.Krishna is very kind to themeek and simple, so dullness of the materialworld and consciousness aboutKrishna go well together. Too much intelligencein material activities are detractionfrom Krishna Consciousness. Betterto remain dull and simple as you are, andthus make advancement in Krishna Consciousness.There is a nice story aboutBharat Maharaj , who remained just like adullard, in order to avoid material association.And he was known as JadBharata, but when he was tested, MaharajRohugan found him highly advanced inKrishna Consciousness, and became hisdisciple.Yes, you stay in Boston . Please learnthis painting under care of Jadurany.Please always talk about Krishna amongstyou two sisters, and enjoy life. This isvery good opportunity that you are talkingand painting about Krishna, so that your

JUNE, 1968 431mind, hand, and attention are all absorbedin Krishna samadhi, and tongue chantingHare Krishna. This is first class samadhi,and the highest position of the greatestyogi. Try to continue this atmospherehappily.Now, Devananda and Satsvarup, andyou and Jadurany try to develope thetemple very nicely. Satsvarupa andDevananda shall live separately and youand Jadurany shall live separately, in differentcompartments , that will be verynice. And be always engaged in Krishnatopics, then Maya will never touch you .If you want you can cut your hairs, butthere is no need of cutting. It would benicer if you can put on sari, you can learnit from Jadurany. You must remain like anice girl . The dress and appearance is socialconvention of the society.Hoping you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-28Montreal21st June, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I have notheard anything from you since you leftfrom Montreal . I think everything is allright with you , and shall be glad to hearfrom you how far the DiaNippon Printingwork is going on. In the meantime, as Ihave already informed you, a boy, RanjitMullick, is prepared to export goods fromIndia, on the following terms:I ) If letter of credit is open, he is preparedto export goods for the present, upto $1000 .00.2) He will charge 20% on the purchasevalue of the goods, including all expenditure.That is, F. O.B., free on board . Thatmeans he will be free by boarding . thegoods on the ship, and we will have to paythe frieght here, while taking delivery ofthe goods . This is the technical terms,F.O.B.3) As he is my friend's son, I have requestedhim to contribute 50% of theprofit for delivering to our InternationalSociety Indian center, and he has agreedto this proposal.Now you can consult with Mr.Kallman and send him some trial order onthe above basis. His address is as follows:Ranjit Mullick7, Kalikrishna Tagore StreetCalcutta-7INDIAI am sending a copy of this letter forRanjit Mullick, for information, and youcan now open correspondence with himby asking quotation for the goods you mayrequire presently. And in receipt of thequotation, you can send him the order ifyou approve the prices. I think you shouldgive him a trial order, and if the transactionis successful, then you can increasethe volume of the business.Just now I am in due receipt of your letterdated June 18, 1968, and thank youvery much. I am replying separately toHamsadutta along with this letter. To theUNITED SHIPPING CORPORATIONyou can reply as follows: "Dear Sir, Replyingyour letter dated June 13, 1968,please be informed that the Institute ofOriental Philosophy, Vrindaban, aresending us the consignment of sales account.That is, the price of the book willbe paid after sale. So there is no questionof sending it through the bank for collection.We do not know why you have advisedthem to return back the items. Inevery transaction we are feeling some difficulties.You should clear up the thingsbeforehand. Otherwise, you and we areput into so many difficulties. Regardingthe former consignment of 15 cases,Swamiji has already written you that you

432 Letters from Srila Prabhuptldamake prima face invoice and send it andwe will return to you. Otherwise, he hassent you several times the invoice andeach time there was some defect pointedout by the bank or by you. So, we are fedup in this business. We are quite unawareof the Indian government export business;you should have let us know beforehand.But we do not feel such difficulty withother shippers. We are very much perplexedin these transactions."You can write them the letter as dictatedabove and I do not know if you havealready asked them to deposit the balancemoney with Dwarkin. The best thing willbe to get your goods exported through apurchasing agent like Ranjit Mullick. Wecan avoid so many botherations. I am alsoreturning herewith the letter of theUNITED SHIPPING CORPORATION,which was sent by you. Did you write anyletter to Dwarkin?Regarding the 1000 records: Please donot dispatch them until you hear from me.I have written several letters to Mr. Dalmia,Achyutananda, and JaiGovinda, butI have heard nothing from them still. So,unless I hear from them, do not export therecords. Please write to Achyutanandaand JaiGovinda whether they can distributethe records free to respectable Indiangentlemen, and collect some contributionsfor purchasing Deities, to be installedin our several temples. For the last2 weeks I have received no reply fromthem. I do not know what they are doingthere. I thought JaiGovinda would be intelligentenough to cooperate withAchyutananda, but he is also silent. I donot know what to do with them.The Canadian Immigration affairs isgoing on. After one week we shall knowwhat the actual position is.You have sent me two days ago copiesof your letters to UNITED SHIPPINGCORPORATION, and one letter to Mr.Renovick in Vancouver. But I have not receivedthese copies. I do not know if theyare missing delivery.Hoping you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. Please send a supply of ISKCONstationery as soon as possible, and envelopes.68-6-29Montreal21st June, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated June18, 1968, and I am so glad to note the contents.I think Krishna is giving you the requiredintelligence how to spread ourtranscendental movement. This is theright way, as you have adopted. To chantHare Krishna, very nicely, with musicalinstruments and mridanga, speak the philosophyof Bhagavad Gita, and sell our literatureslike books and magazines. Thatprocess will make our mission successful.Please try to do it very nicely.Regarding the bus, the best thing willbe to dispose of and get some money. Onething, you must be very careful that weshould not divert our attention for moneymaking too much. If we can make moneyby the process which you have nowadopted, that is very nice. But we cannotdivert our attention to such things as runningon the bus, etc . This is not good. Thebus should be sold to get out of the botheration.If the bus was in good condition, wecould have it to utilized to move ourselves,but that is not possible. Under the circumstances,better that you dispose of it athighest possible price and get out of thecomplication.Yes, that is all right, Himavati can sewnice things for selling. And your advicefor the boys in San Francisco is very nice.They can also go out everyday into the

JUNE, 1968 433Golden Gate Park and hold kirtan and somany people will come.Yes, Vamanadev can stay as your assistant,and can come here when youcome. There is no objection.Money making schemes should beeasy; we cannot divert our attention formoney making activities. We requiresome money for prosecuting our activities,and if we get that money by contributionthat is best, otherwise, we can sellour literature and books, etc . But if we directour attention like others, then itbecomes karma. And karma is very dangerousfor persons who want to go back toGodhead. Therefore, in Bhagavad Gitakarma yoga is advised. On the whole, wecan endeavor for money making if itdoesn't hamper our devotional service.And otherwise, we shall prefer to starveand chant Hare Krishna. That should bethe pivot of all our activities.Hoping you are both well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-30Montreal22nd June, 1968My Dea.r Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. Just now Ihave received one letter from one of myGod-brothers, whose name is as follows:His Grace Y. Jagannatham, B.A.81, Navrang, (8th Floor)Peddar Road, Bombay-26INDIAHe has heard about my activities andhe is interested in all our literature. I shallbe very glad if you send him all our BackTo Godheads publications, as well asnewspaper clippings at your earliest convenience.He is very influential man andhas rendered sincere service to my GuruMaharaj by translating many Goswamiliteratures in Telugu language, as well asin English. With his cooperation there ispossibility of opening a branch in Bombay.I hope you will do the needful immediately.Hop you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure 1 c.c. letter to Jaganatham68-6-31 Montreal22nd June, 1968Dear Jagannatham Prabhu,Please accept my respectful obeisancesat your lotus feet. I am so glad to receiveyour letter after a long time. I think Imet you sometimes in the year of 1950, inMadras Gaudiya Math, when I went withTirtha Maharaj to attend the JanmastamiFestival. I know you are a sincere servantof Srila Prabhupad and you have done excellentservice while He was present beforeus, and you have done similarly evenafter His Disappearance. I am very gladto learn that your children are well situated,but you are very much anxious to getthem in touch with Krishna Consciousness.You know very well that jadavidya isthe opulence of maya . So naturally, yourchildren being well educated injadavidya,are reluctant to receive enlightenment inKrishna Consciousness . But there is nothingto be disappointed , because they areyour children; they have got the initiativeseeds in them, and someday it will fructify.Don't worry about them; Krishnawill put them in right line in due course.As ordered by you, I have immediatelyasked my assistant, Sriman Rayarama dasBrahmachary, in charge of Back To Godheadmagazine, to send you all necessaryliteratures immediately. Besides that, Ihave some disciples working in Delhi.Their address is: Sriman Achyutanandadas Brahmachary; c/o Radha Press; 993/3Main Road; Gandhi Nagar; Delhi-31 ,

434 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaINDIA. And you can write to him, andwith my name, for sending you some copiesof Back To Godhead. I have publishedSrimad Bhagavatam, 1st canto, in 3 volumes,and they are available in Bombay atThackars Booksellers, Rampart Road,Bombay. Or, at Three Party CompanyBooksellers, Princess Street, Bombay. Ithink if your children take care to readthese literatures, and books, they will beconvinced of this Krishna Consciousnessmovement.Regarding our Gaudiya Math in Bombay: I am very sorry that you are disappointedin respect of their activities. Iknow this fact because in 1934 I was oneof the active members in starting thisMath. The Gowalia Tank center wasopened by me, and although I lived separatelyfrom the Math, practically I was incharge of the Math and under the instructionsfrom His Divine Grace. Then afterHis Departure, you know so many unhappythings happened, but, as I was ahouseholder, I remained always alooffrom those unhappy incidences. I have acceptedthis renounced order of life in1958, and since then I am completely devotedto the service of His Divine GraceSrila Prabhupad. You'll be very glad toknow that by the Grace of Srila Prabhupad,the duty which was entrusted uponme is being discharged as faithfully aspossible, and by the Mercy of His DivineGrace, I have got here many Americanboys and girls, who are sincerely assistingme. I have got 8 branches in U.S.A. andone in Canada, and probably my nextmove will be in European countries, beginningfrom London. As you are Prabhupad's old disciple and you have served HisDivine Grace so nicely, I would requestyou that you can make some attempt toopen a branch of this International Societyfor Krishna Consciousness in Bombay.And if you agree to this, then I can sendsome of my American disciples to joinyou. Your children and these Americanboys under your guidance may do verygood service to the cause of Srila Prabhupadin spreading this Samkirtan movement.I have trained my disciples toperform Samkirtan nicely and deliver lectureson Krishna Consciousness, and ifyour children practically see their activities,certianly they will be influenced. Besidesthat, they can talk on KrishnaConsciousness very nicely. I shall be veryglad to know from you if there is any possibilityfor such activity. Bombay is veryadvanced city in India in all respects.They have got money, and they have gotheart also to participate in such movement.Unfortunately the present workersin the Bombay Gaudiya Math are not at allcompetent to do any tangible work. Theyare staying there for the last 35 years, butthey have not done any appreciable work.it is simply a place "khabadavar addakhama."Srila Prabhupad used thisword many times in connection with inactivecenters. And when one was too muchengaged in buildings, He always warnedthat our business is not for becoming masonworkers, or becoming carpenters,neither to create a place for eating andsleeping. So these people are collectingfunds and eating and sleeping. The reasonis that they deviated from the disciplicsuccession from Srila Prabhupad. So, Idon't wish to discuss on this point, becauseyou know better than me; but I thinkyou are also old enough, and I am also oldenough. At any time we may pass awayfrom this world, but I wish that we may tryto do some service to Srila Prabhupaduntill the last moment of our life.I was thinking of opening a branch inBombay of this International Society forKrishna Consciousness, and if you cooperate,we can attempt this important activity.Your letter was addressed to myheadquarters at 26 Second Avenue, NewYork, N.Y., and it has been sent to me at

JUNE, 1968 435Montreal . I shall be glad to hear from youabout these suggestions in your next Jetter.Thanking you once more for rememberingme.Hoping you are well,Yours in the service of the Lord,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-3223rd June, 1968My Dear Subal,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedJune 17, 1968, and noted the contentswith great pleasure. Rest assured thatyour hard labor and sincere exertion toserve Krishna will never go in vain. I hopethat by this time you might have received acheck for $100 from Hare Nama Brahmachary.And I have advised him to send youat least $50.00 per month for the next 3months to help you. In the meantime, youtry to become self sufficient. I have alsoadvised Sriman Woomapati Brahmacharyto join you. He is now in San Francisco asin S. F. they will require his help duringthe Rathayatra Festival. I am advising himto join you just after the festival . I hopeboth of you will be good combination, becauseWoompati writes "Subal is mygood friend and it will give me great joy towork with him in your divine service."So you try your best with greater enthusiasmand krishna will send you moreand more help. Thanking you once morefor your good endeavor, and I hope youare well.Your ever well-wisher,ACBP. S. I have also asked Krishna Devi tosend you some holp. Set me see how doesshe respond. ACB68-6-33Los AngelesMontreal24th June, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. Just now Iunderstand from Mahapurusha das thatyou phoned here to inquire whether thetemple can be closed for your going to SanFrancisco on the Rathayatra Festival .Since the temple is started, the templecannot be closed on any day. This is theserious business of opening a center. In nocase, even in the most urgent case, thetemple cannot be closed even for a singleday. The Deities should be offered prasadamregularly, and worshipped regularly,so if you are going to San Francisco,somebody must remain to look after thetemple affairs.I am also in due receipt of your letter,dated June 19, 1968. And I am so glad tolearn that Sachisuta is doing very nicely.You will be also glad to know that our studentswho have gone to India, they arealso trying and nicely. Yesterday I receivedone letter from Harivilas, and Iwas so pleased to note his activities. Similarly,Subal is also struggling alone but heis doing nicely. Krishna Consciousness issuch a thing that it is so nice that it cannotkeep anyone idle. Because a consciousperson means a living force, and KrishnaConsciousness is the topmost consciousness.Therefore anyone who is actually injectedwith Krishna Consciousness isalways anxious to serve in whatever capacityhe can. So you can please give SrimanSachisuta all good encouragement,as I am very much pleased with his goodservice attitude . Similarly, I am verymuch pleased to read about Gargamuni 'ssuccessful store in S.F. Yes, he is using hisgood selling ability to serve Krishna, andKrishna is pleased with him so He is givinghim all aid to become successful .

436 Letters from Srfla PrabhuplldaI am glad to hear Dyananda and Nandaraniwill soon return to L.A. , andplease let me know when they come, andask them to write me. I am also very muchanxious to hear from them. They are goodsouls and sincere servants to His Lordship,Sri Krishna.Hoping you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-34Allston, Mass.Montreal27th June, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated June 23,1968, and I have noted the contents . I amvery much pleased to hear of your goodsuccess in the park on Sunday. This is verymuch encouraging to me, to hear so manypeople are hearing the chanting, and philosophy,and also taking nice prasadam aswell. Yes, it is very good, and you pleasecontinue with this sort of program! Thissystem should be followed and you will besuccessful. Because in New York alsoHansadutta is following this system, holdingKirtan at Central Park every day, andhe is collecting in the same way. All togetherhe is collecting 50 to 70 dollars bycontribution and by selling Back To Godhead.This is actually our successfulpropaganda. We want to distribute our literatureand books within as well as ourprasadam, and injecting our Hare Krishnamedicine within the ear. So, reading of theliterature and hearing of the chanting isthe medicine, and prasadam is the diet.So, if diet and medicine are properly administeredthe disease of maya will becured. But the physician must be alwayshealthy. People may not say, physician isill thyself. That means the preachers mustbe of highly elevated character, followingstrictly the rules and regulations andchanting regularly in the temple. Theremay be so many odds inthe progressivemarch of Krishna Consciousness, but ifwe pin our faith in Krishna, everythingwill come out successful in due course.Yes, Krishna didn't like that place, for$350, so you could not acquire it.Please convey my blessings to Jadurany,Madhavi Lata, and Devananda.You are all good souls; please work togethercombinedly for spreading KrishnaConsciousness there in that city. Hopingyou are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-6-35Montreal28th June, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of 6/25/68, ofMr. Kallman catastrophe. When I firstcame from San Francisco to New York,and when you informed me about the prospectivebusiness with Mr. Kallman, I wasso much doubtful about the success of theplan. And therefore I hesitated. Anyway,whatever is done is done, now try to separatefrom this botheration without breakingour good friendship with Mr.Kallman. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu especiallywarned His devotees to deal withworldly minded men. Therefore accordingto Vedic principles, only the Brahmacharies,the Vanaprasthas, and the Sanyasinsare recommended to take to KrishnaConsciousness seriously or to get freefrom the problem of earning money. 1beGrihastras are supposed to support the3 sections of the society. Anyway, thebest source of our income should be by acceptingcontributions from the sympatheticpublic, and selling our own books

JUNE, 1968 437and literature. That is also a sort of business,but it doesn't matter. And if we dobusiness we must do it independently,without any assistance from outsiders. Wecan take help from outside in the matter ofmonetary help, either by contribution orby loan, but not to enter into transactionswith outsiders. Because their aim of life isdifferent from ours.Please therefore do not be agitated atthe present situation. Tackle everythingcool-headed and if Purushottam is notfeeling well, then you can send him for afew days here, to live with me. And whilecoming here he may bring with him myyellow colored hand-bound Bhagavatambook. Now from the dealings of Mr.Kallman, we can clearly know that he isafter business for his own profit. And I amsure he is not going to help us with anymoney as you expected from him in thematter of publishing Teachings of LordChaitanya. Therefore, in the acknowledgement,his name should not be givenas it was suggested by you. I shall be gladto know what is further development inthis connection. But try to settle up everythingpeacefully, and in future, if possible,you can do business independently.I understand that you have not writtenany letter to Dwarkin, but they are awaitinga letter from us regarding the dispatchof goods. I think you noted down whatis to be written to them. They must beinformed to dispatch the goods immediately.* As Gargamuni is doing businessindependently, similarly, you can do sowithout taking any so-called cooperationof Mr. Kallman. Hoping you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami*Mr. Kalman wanted Gargamuni also inthis business but I stopped him to comehere. Let him do it independently andKrishna has saved him from Mr.Kalmans' plan.In Santa Fe they want incense. So if theincense consignment from India (as Idon't know from where) accepted by forcethen you can distribute them for sale indifferent branches. I am doubtful nowabout the records now. Better you takeopen delivery and dispatch yourself or dothings very cautiously.Kirtananda is in W. Virginia and he invites100 Brahmacharies there. I don'thow would you like this idea of when wehave got 100 Brahmacharies.ACB68-6-36MoundsvilleMontreal30th June, 1968My Dear Kirtanananda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated June22, 1968, and I have noted the contents.The suggestion of constructing New Vrindabanas I've suggested in Hayagriva's letteris the only method by which we canbecome successful in constructing theNew Vrindaban scheme. But if you havegot impediments in the matter, as you saythat the proprietor of the land is of differentviews, then I do not know how you'llbe able to construct it freely according toour idea. Mr. Rose may be very goodman, but he does not know what is sectarianand what is non-sectarian. But atleast you should know that Krishna is nonsectarian.Krishna claims that He is theseed-giving Father of all the 8,400,000species of life visible within the materialcreation. They may be of differentforms-some of them are aquatics, someof them are vegetables, plants, some ofthem are worms, some of them are birds,some of them are beasts, some of them arehuman beings. Krishna claims that all ofthem are His begotten sons. Neither

438 Letters from Srrla PrabhupadaKrishna claims Himself that He is an Indianor a Kshatriya, or a Brahmin, orwhite or black; He claims that He is theEnjoyer of everything that be, He is theProprietor of all the planets and the creation,and He is the intimate friend of allliving entities. He never claims that oneshould offer Him very valuable things tosatisfy Him; or very delicious foodstuffsshould be offered to Him-but He saysthat even a little bit of leaf, a little bit offruit, and water, you offer to Him with devotionand love, and He accepts and eatssuch things. So it is a fact that Krishna isuniversal. Krishna is non-sectarian, andtherefore if Mr. Rose actually wants tohave some institution, he must know howthat non-sectarian institution is possible.So factually, Krishna Consciousness isnon-sectarian movement. There is no sectarianquestion. But if somebody withoutunderstanding this non-sectarian philosophythinks otherwise, he himself becomesimmediately sectarian. I therefore thinkthat you should try to convince Mr. Roseabout our philosophy of Krishna Consciousness,and let him become actuallynon-sectarian. Without understandingKrishna everyone is sectarian, and combinationof such non-Krishna Consciousnesspersons will never create anyinstitution of non-sectarian nature. That isnot possible. If Mr. Rose is serious to givefacility for a non-sectarian institution inthat part of the country, he should understandKrishna and this philosophy thoroughly.Our Krishna Consciousnessmovement is no religious movement as itis generally understood. Our propagandais to make people feel for Krishna or God,and become engaged in His transcendentalloving service. Anyone who has a conceptof God will agree to this philosophy.There are many sectarian religions whereacceptance of God is there, but there is nolove for God. So we are teaching love forGod. That means Krishna Consciousnessis the post-graduate class for all religioussects. We do not protest the Christians, orMohammedans, or Jews, or any other religioussect, that there is no idea of Godconception in their religions. More or lessin every religion the God conception isthere. But, nobody tries to love God. Justlike in Christian religion, they go tochurch everyday and tries to exact breadfrom God, but they never try how toplease God . And because this love ofGod, and the process is not thoroughly instructed,therefore they have come to thestage of understanding that God is dead.At the present moment in many Christianchurches, this philosophy is being taught,that God is dead. But so far we are concerned,we cannot accept this philosophy,that God is dead. But we preach on theother hand, that God is not only not dead,but He can be approached finally face toface. And the method is very simple,chanting the Holy Name of God-HareKrishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna,Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama,Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This process isstandard, and tested. So far it's test is concerned,you know very well about it becausein this part of the world, all mydisciples are non-Hindu, and non­Indians. But still they have taken to thismantra, Mahamantra, very seriously andthey are deriving good result out of it. Sothere is no question about its genuine presentation.We should therefore push onthis movement in the same simple manneras we are doing. That everyone shouldcome and sit together and chant this HolyName Hare Krishna. If this system istaken as sectarian, then I am sure your attemptfor organizing New Vrindaban underthe care of Mr. Rose will not besuccessful. The best thing will be to chantHare Krishna, call all the neighbors, inthat part of the state, and gradually developetheir taste for it. Then try to endeavorto do something for developing New

JUNE, 1968 439Vrindaban. For the present, live as simplyas possible, without any endeavor to developethat part into New Vrindaban, or doit peacefully as you have mentioned, butyou must continue to chant Hare Krishna,at least you and Hayagriva, and ask everybodyto join you. At least Mr. Rose cannotobject to this performance of Kirtan becausehe wants to give facility to all sects.So even if he takes it that our KrishnaConsciousness movement is also a particulartype of sect, certainly he will nothave any objection. Therefore, the conclusionis that you must regularly holdKrishna Kirtan, now, and even as in ourother centers they are doing. And livepeacefully without any exaggeration, andtry to convince people about the nonsectariannature of Krishna Consciousness.I think that will make you successfulin this great adventure. Before the adventof Lord Chaitanya, nobody had exhibitedthe practical way of developing love ofGodhead, and the process is open to everyone,therefore this is simple, nonsectarian,and sublime.But, if the people are backwards andsuspicious, then how your scheme will besuccessful, in that part of the country?This movement is meant for intelligentclass of men, those who have reason andlogic to understand things in a civilizedway, and who are open-hearted to receivethings as they are. But apart from suchconsideration, I think there is not anycause of suspicion if somebody sings anddances. So without remuneration if somebodysings and dances at his place, what isthe cause of suspicion? But if the place isinfested with such suspicious men andbackward class, then how you can developea New Vrindaban there? The circumstancesas you have described them is notvery favorable. Therefore I think the attemptwill not be very successful. KrishnaConsciousness movement can be pushedforward in a favorable atmosphere. If theatmosphere is not favorable, then don't attempt,it will be failure. Precaution youmay take, but as you grow larger, if theyare suspicious then they may cause trouble.Because you can dress yourself andlive peacefully at your home, but if yourneighbors are always suspicious, thenthere may be always danger. Therefore,why should we make our residence insuch a place. And I think no Brahmacharywill agree to go there and live in such uncomfortablesituation, with suspiciousneighbors. Simply for land, we don'tcare . We simply want favorable place forworshipping Krishna. That is our idea.Anyway, please keep me informed howthe circumstances are, and I shall be veryglad to hear from you at your convenience,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP.S. Hayagriva has not yet replied my letter.Please ask him to write. He has manythings to do in the library cases and I wanthis assistance greatly in this matter. I amplanning to go to London in August. SrimatiAnnapurna's father. Mr. LouisWeble is trying to get a good house for us.I wish to go there with a party of not lessthan 6 and not more than 12 heads. I wishto establish a center there which is mylong cherished ambition.ACB68-6-37My Dear Rupanuga,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter dated June 30,1968, just when I was thinking of you, thatI have not heard from you since you metme at Boston-immediately I got your letterand it was so nice coincidence! At thesame time, 3 beloved devotees, namelyBrahmananda, Rayarama, and Gargamunialso arrived at the same moment. So

440Letters from Srrla Prabhupadajust now in Montreal it is very pleasing atmosphere.Last night we had meetingsand SamKirtan very nicely, and Brahmananda,Rayarama and Janardan, theyspoke each 1 5 to 20 minutes and theyspoke very nicely. And as you are alsomaking progress in Buffalo, which I canunderstand from the description of yourletter, so I am getting more and more enthusedthat my spiritual children aregrowing to Krishna Consciousness, and Ican hope each one of you in future will beable to propagate this transcendental message.I was so glad to learn that you arecoming here with your child, Mr. Eric,and I shall be very glad to receive himhere. I hope he is chanting Hare Krishnaas he is already accustomed to it. This isthe duty of father and mother to enlightenchildren in Krishna Consciousness andthus save them from the clutches of impendingdeath. The Srimad Bhagavataminstructs that no body should be comefather or mother if they cannot take thisresponsibility, namely, stopping the repeatedbirth and death cycle of their children.Yes, the new house sounds very nice,and you can decorate it as you have suggested.It is very nice.Yes, try to let James hear patiently thisHare Krishna Mahamantre, and he will betamed without delay. If somebody simplyhears very patiently, he will be altogetherconverted. In India, if a man is bitten by aserpent, it used to be, and still is in someplaces, that an expert man would chant amantra, and apply some herbs, and theserpent-bitten man would be saved fromdeath. Similarly, we are bitten by themaya-serpent, and the mantra to save us isHare Krishna. It in Lord Chaitanya 's mantra.Yes, Buffalo will certainly graduallygrow to a nice center, because there is asincere devotee like you . When Veduremet Maharaj Uddhisthi received him bysaying that, your good self can make anyplace a sacred place of pilgrimage becauseyou always carry within your heartLord Krishna. So that is the real truth.Anyone who carries Krishna within himself,constantly, can go anywhere andturn the place into a sacred pilgrimage.That is the verdict of Srimad Bhagavatamand blessings of Lord Chaitanya. LordChaitanya gave a plain order that anywherewe go, simply talk of Krishna Consciousness,and you wil become aspiritual master. So, if we simply do thiswork very sincerely, our life, and the lifeof those who will hear us, will be benedieted.It is very good news that you have gotgood prospects of the future of that centerin Buffalo. And you will be glad to knowthat in New Yo rk and Boston, by followingthis process of chanting in public placeslike parks and streets, they are gettingvery good response by contributions fromthe public, as well as by selling our literatures.Yes, I quite agree with you, on thismoney subject. This subject matter I havediscussed here also. The difficulty in thatin your country the Brahmacharies cannotgo and beg from door to door, thereforethe process which is now adopted by Hansaduttais coming to be very hopeful. Butboys who are not engaged in the templeservice during daytime must try to getsome money be working or some otherway. Without money it is not possible toexist in the material world. AlthoughKrishna is always on the background, stillKrishna advised Arjuna that you have tofight, at the same time, remember Me.The same principles we have to follow. Wehave to work, just like others, and at thesame time think of Krishna constantly.Outsiders should be educated to know thatwe are the most humble service of the humansociety.The word klin is significance of the

JUNE, 1968 441mantras being the root of devotionalactiviteis. Krishnaya, unto Krishna; Oovindaya, unto Govinda; GopijanaBallabhaya , unto the Pleasure Reservoir of thedamsels of Braja, and Svaha, offering oblationsunto Him. You will get in time thetranslations of all the mantras.Ye s, we have got all the qualities of theSupersoul . Therefore, unless the Supersouland got consciousness, how we canhave consciousness? We are the samples,therefore the origin must have all thequalities that we have . There is no suchthing as acceptance of rejection by themind of the Supersoul . Our mind is in thepresent material existence a nonsense. It'sbusiness is simply to accept or reject. TheSupersoul has no separate mind like that,but He has got mind also, and whateverHe thinks in His mind, also, that is a fact.There is no question of accepting or rejecting.In Sanskrit language it is calledSatya Sankalpa . And our mind is Vikalpa .The mind, body and the Supersoul is thesame Absolute truth, there is no distintionbetween Them. This is in answer to yourquestion, "is the 'conscience' the symptomof the Supersoul?"Your question, "could we use alchemyto make gold for Krishna's altar? " but-Icould not follow what you mean by usingalchemy for Krishna's altar, but if you canmake Krishna's sitting place made ofgold, either by alchemy or by purchasinggold, it will be a grand success. But I donot advise you take advantage of alchemyfor making gold, it it is not certain. Weshould not waste our time on that which isnot very sure. If you can manufacturegold, then we can very soon spread ourKrishna Consciousness, but I thinkKrishna will not give us that opportunity,because as soon as we get large quantity ofgold, we forget Krishna. That nature is incumbentin our character.Ye s, those twelve symptoms of thespiritual soul are correct, except for "allknowing".All-knowing it cannot be, butfull of knowledge.The scientists' anti-matter is differentfrom the anti-matter conception which Idiscussed in my book, Easy Journey toOther Planets . I think I have explainedthis by correspondence with Dr. Welk.Regarding your questions, "how thesimpler faith of a real Christian, that is notso advanced in know lege of the SupremePerson, differs in ecstasy or the end resultof God-consciousness," (1) and persons"a devotee who has experienced some ecstasyin the company of Christians suggeststhat if there be no quantitative orqualitative difference between the twoforms of Kirtan, then the simpler philosophyof Christianity has the advantage, andthat our philosophy is for the intelligentclass of men, true, but of what advantageis such intelligence if the end is the same?(2) There is no ecstasy in such simplefaith; there cannot be any ecstasy. TheChristian faith as it is now exhibited, theyhave simply a faint idea of God as ordersupplier.Certainly God is the Origin,Source of all supplies, and either Godconsciouspersons or demons, everybodyis enjoying the general supplies made byGod. It is just like a rich father maintainsall kinds of children; some of them may bea highly qualified, some of them are rascals.The father does not mind whether achild is rascal or qualified, but out of hislove for all of them he supplies the essentialsfor the children. Out of such manychildren, if someone of them feels gratefulto the father, and thus developes lovefor the father, as it is expected, his positionis better than the other children. Andthe father is also endeared to such a devotedchild. Similarly, God is equal to everyone,but one who developed love ofGodhead, and has practically employedoneself in the service of the Lord, he is inreal touch and favor of the Lord. That isthe difference. (2) We want ecstasy, it

442 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidadoes not matter one feels it in Christianshurch or in other church. But, one whofeels ecstasy in Krishna Consciousness orGod-consciousness, he finishes his ecstasyin material enjoyment-that is thetest. One cannot say he is feelingenjoyment-that is the test. One cannotsay he is feeling ecstasy in some company,and at the same time, he is trying to takeadvantage of material sense gratification.This is not possible. This ecstasy doesn'tdepend on the intelligence or nonintelligence;it is spontaneous response,without any cause. If one is fortunate tohave such ecstasy, it is to be understoodthat his life is successful . We do not advocateany sectarian religion. We are concernedto invoke our dormant love forGod. Any method that helps us in reachingsuch platform is welcome, but we findpractically that by chanting Hare Krishna,many students have come to the platformof ecstasy. But we have hardly found anyoneto come to that stage simply by followingthe religious rituals; that is thedifference. So, Krishna Consciousness ismeant for the most intelligent class ofmen.Your question, "if in the Vaikunthasecstatic love between Lord Narayan andHis devotees and Lord Krishna Consciousnessand His devotees on KrishnaLoka is qualitatively the same, then whatis the advantage of following the path ofKrishna Consciousness, whose philosophyausterity is difficult to understand?"Krishna Consciousness philosophy includesthe whole Vaishnava philosophy.When we speak Krishna, the very Wordmeans, Rama, Nrisingha, Baraha, and allother similar expansions and incarnations.So Krishna Consciousness includesVaikuntha consciousness, but Vaikunthaconsciousness does not include KrishnaConsciousness. Those who are strictlyfollowing the rules and regulations ofVaishnava activities, they are promoted toVaikuntha lokas. But those who have developeda spontaneous love for Krishna,they are pro,oted to the Krishna Loka.Therefore, although Krishna Consciousnessincludes Vaikuntha consciousnesspure Krishna Consciousness is spontaneouslove for Krishna without any regulativeprinciples. The idea can be explainedthat a young boy or a young girl are spontaneouslyattracted, without following anyregulative principles previously. Whenone developes such spontaneous love forGod, that is called pure Krishna Consciousness.In our conditioned life, wehave forgotten our relationship with God,but by regulative principles, we can makealert the inert activities. Just like a rheumaticcrippled man is gradually elevatedby some bodily exercises. Similarly, theregulative principles are to make us habit·uated to our dormant service, attitude, butwhen that is mature, it becomes spontaneous,and that is pure krishna Consciousness.And such highly elevated Consciousnessmakes one eligible to enter intthe Krishna Loka. The living example formuch spontaneous love are exhibited bythe Gopies and inhabitants of V rindaban.We can learn this from Srimad Bhagavatamhow much they love Krishna spontaneously.Your question, "what is the relationshipof sweethearts in Vaikuntha to eachother and to Lord Narayan? Is conjugallove, parental affection, and unalloyedfriendship there in the Vaikunthas?" No.In Vaikuntha there are two kinds of trascendentalmellows, dasya and the lowerhalf of sakya rasa. The lower half of Sakyameans friendship in adoration. And thehigher half of Sakya rasa is friendship onequal level . So in Vrindaban the reciprocationof transcendental humor is higherthan in Vaikuntha. It is there more freeand spontaneous without any restrictionarranged by yogamaya principle.Yes, other slokas in the Shastra that

JUNE, 1968 443refer directly to chanting the Holy Namesof God as the Yuga Dharma are mentioned,in Agnipurana, Kali ShantaramUpanishad, and many other scriptures.Yes, please decorate the temple with asmany pictures as possible. And Jaduranyis very kind and liberal to supply us pictures.She is never tired of painting, andthat makes her increased in Krishna Conxciousness.Hoping you are well , and thanking youonce more for your nice letter,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

JULY68-7-1Montreal3rd July, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated June 28,1968, and I thank you very much for it.Regarding Bali Maharaj : He is born in thesame atheistic family of Maharaj Prahlad.He happened to be the grandson of MaharajPrahlad, and as his great grandfather,Hiranyakasipu was very powerful,and as there was animosity between thedemigods and the demons, Bali Maharajalso defeated the demigods several times,and was occupying all the planets . At thattime Bamandev appeared as the son ofKasyamuni. Bali Maharaj was very charitablydisposed. Sometimes the atheists arealso very charitable. Persons who believethat we are doing pious activities, makingcharities and welfare work to the humansociety, why should we bother aboutGod?-such persons even though verymoral and pious in the estimation of thematerial world, are also demons, on accountof their apathy for Krishna Consciousness.So, Bali Maharaj was a manof that type. Under the circumstances hewas not averse to accept charity and otherpious activities. He was being guided byhis spiritual master, Sukaracharya. Sukarameans the semina. In other words,one claims to become acharya on the principleof being born of a Brahmin father.They may be called sukaracharya, oracharya or preacher not by disciplic succession,but on the right of heredity. In Indiathere are still superstitions that oneshould be initiated by such sukaracharyafamily. They are called generally as thejatigosain. Jatigosain means the castespiritual master. All over India, especiallyin Bengal, thisjatigosain spiritual mastershipis very prevalent. But really goswamimeans one who is master of the influenceof different senses, namely the influenceof tongue, the influence of mind, the influenceof anger, the influence of belly,the influence of genital, and the influenceof talking. So one who is master of theseinfluential webbs of sense gratification,he is called goswami. Goswami is not byhereditary chart. So Sukaracharya posedhimself as such goswami spiritual master.He had many mystic powers, therefore hewas considered to be very influentialspiritual master of the demons.So when Bamandev appeared, BaliMaharaj was attracted by His beauty as aDwarf Brahmin, and as he was charitablydisposed, he wanted to give Him somecharity. But Sukaracharya, being elevatedin mystic yogic powers, he could understandthat Bamandev was Vishnu. And inorder to favor the demigods, He had comethere to cheat Bali Maharaj in the shape ofbegging some charities. Bali Maharaj waspuffed up with his material vanities, andBamandev as He is Vishnu, all-peaceful,without interrupting his attitude, just approachedhim in the form of a Brahmin,Who has a right to beg something fromthe princely order. And the principle ordersalso are always disposed, to makecharities to the Brahmins.Question, para. 2, answer: Sukaracharyaas spiritual master of Bali taught himthat everything should be offered to

446 Letters from Srfla PrabhuptidaVishnu. But when Vishnu actually appearedbefore Bali, he was afraid of BaliMaharaj 's charitable disposition. Hewarned Bali Maharaj that this Bamandevhad come there to take everything fromhim in the shape of charity, therefore heshould not promise Him to give anything.This advice revolted Bali Maharaj becausehe was formerly instructed thateverything should be offered to Vishnu,now, why Sukaracharya was asking himnot to act by his previous instructions? Sukaracharyawas afraid of his own position.He was living at the cost of Bali Maharaj ,so if Bamandev would take away everythingfrom Bali Maharai, he was thinkinghow he would live. That is a materialistictemperament. The materialist does notwant to serve or to give to Vishnu, becausehe thinks that by giving away to Vishnu hewill be put into poverty-stricken condition.This is materialistic estimation. Butactually that is not the fact, as it will beevidenced by the dealing of Bali Maharajand Bamandev.Question 1, answer: That is the materialisticway of worshipping. Materialistsare always careful for maintaining his materialstatus quo first, and then pleaseVishnu. Although they profess to be devoteesof Vishnu. Therefore the KrishnaConsciousness persons are greater thansuch materialistic worshippers. Materialistperson perform all pious activities ordevotional activities for some materialgain, and as soon as there is any hindrancein the path of material gain, they at oncebecome demon. Therefore bhakti meanswithout any material desires. That is thesign of pure devotee. He has no motive tosatisfy his material desires by devotionalservice.Question 2, answer: That is just hismilitary spirit, that Bali Maharaj says "IfHe be the illustrious Lord Vishnu not desirousof foregoing His own fame, Heshall wrest from me this earth after slayingme in battle, or He shall be slain byme." The last portion of this question isnot very clear.Question 3, answer: Why Bali Maharajis considered a Mahajan: Bali Maharajis Mahajan because he wanted toserve Vishnu by disobeying his nonbonafidespiritual master. As explainedabove, Sukaracharya was hereditary spiritualmaster by seminic succession. ButBali Maharaj first revolted against thisstereotyped seminic succession spiritualmaster, and therefore he is Mahajan. SrilaJiva Goswami has described in his Karamasandharvhathat one should be anxiousto accept a spiritual master who is bonafidein spiritual knowledge. And if needbe one should relinquish the connection ofhereditary spiritual master and accept areal bonafide spiritual master. So whenSukaracharya advised him contrary to hisprevious instructions, specifically, hechecked Bali Maharaj in the matter ofworshipping Vishnu, and thus Sukaracharyabecame at once fallen down from theposition of becoming a spiritual master.Nobody can become a spiritual masterwho is not a devotee of Vishnu. A brahminmay be very expert in the matter of performingVedic rituals, accepting charities,and distributing wealth-all these areexalted qualifications of the brahmins, butthe Vedic injunction is, in spite of possessingall these qualities, if somebody isagainst Lord Vishnu, he cannot be a spiritualmaster. So when Sukaracharya advisedBali Maharaj against Vishnu, he atonce became unqualified for becoming aspiritual master. Bali Maharaj disobeyedsuch unqualified spiritual master, andtherfore, he is accepted as Mahajan. Mahajanmeans a personality whose footprintsshould be followed. So, hisexemplary behavior in rejecting a non­Vaishnava spiritual master being ideal tothe bonafide students, he is considered aMahajan.

JULY, 1968 447If Jadurany wants to paint the pictureof Bali Maharaj , it should be like this: 1)The hall must be very nicely decorated, &princely hall, 2) in one side of the hall, theroyal throne should be presented as vacant,and 3) Bali Maharaj should posehimself bowing down before Lord Bamandev,and Bamandev should be paintedwith one leg on the earth; and one leg highin the sky; and one leg coming out of hisnavel, and put on the head of Bali Maharaj. This means the charity of one's possessionsis not full for the SupremePersonality of Godhead, but when one'spersonal body and head is given to the serviceof the Lord, then one becomes perfectin offering everything to the Lord.This is called complete surrender ofeverything that a devotee may possess.Bali Maharaj may be shown as notmore than 40 years old, very nice lookingking, well dressed like the royal order, andwith mustache and no beard. Sukaracharyashould be wearing a Shaivite telok,and also Maharaj Bali can have a Shaivitetelok, until after he meets with Bamandev,and then you can change Bali Maharaj 'stelok into a Vaishnava one.Yes, Pradyumna is typing that 3rdcanto and will send you soon. Hoping youare :::11 well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. While posting this letter, I have receivedyour letter by 2nd July, 1968. I amglad to learn that Kirtan process in thePark is going on well as you received$50.00 last Sunday. This is very encouragingas in N.Y. also they are followingthe same process with success. I have receivedone letter from Rayarama as he isnot going to Boston but he is in L.A. Hewill write you. Regarding immigration, Iam sending here with the copy of the letteraddressed to Mr. Hamilton. I think youshould see Mr, Hamilton & take from himwritten letter advising me the right direction.I don't want to see the U. S. Council.68-7-2Montreal4th July, 1968My Dear Balai ,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of June 20,1968, and I am so glad to learn that youare living happily as house holders. I wantto see all my disciples to live such peacefullyand execute such Krishna Consciousness.That is the perfection of life.It does not matter whether one is Brahmacharyor house holder, the real test is howhe is executing Krishna Consciousness.Yes, we are in need of our own pressvery urgently, and as Advaita has in hisview to conduct such press, and he is laboringso hard for fulfilling this desire,certainly Krishna will be very pleased onhim and you also for such endeavor. It iscontemplated that we may start the presshere in Montreal, because there is amplespace. It is not yet settled up, but if we decideto start, then how Advaita can helpthis enterprise? Anway, unless Advaita becomesquite conversant with the matter ofconducting a press, I shall not try to start apress of our own. And when he is satisfied,then we shall start a well-equippedpress.Ye s, this is very nice sentiments . Allparents should think like that. MaharajPrahlad, Druva Maharaj , they are idealchild devotees and everyone's childrenshould be trained in the ideal of such greatpersonalities.Yes, during pregnancy you should livevery carefully.Hoping you are both well,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

448 Letters from Srila Prabhupada68-7-3San FranciscoMontreal4th July, 1968My Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I was indue receipt of your letter dated Sunday,June 23, 1968. And your vivid descriptionof the prearrangement of Rathayatraceremony was so nice and elaborate that ithas moved my heart. I thank you verymuch for grasping the momentum ofKrishna Consciousness, by your advancedservice attitude. I can only wishthat Krishna may give you more and morestrength in understanding His transcendentalnature. The only process for perceivingKrishna and His name, qualities,form is our sincere service attitude withour senses. Beginning from the tongue,all our senses are practically led by thetongue sense, whose business is to vibrateand to taste. If we can change the materialisticnature of the tongue, by changing oftaste and vibration, then automatically theother senses become purified. And wecan render sevice to Krishna with purifiedsenses. As such we should try to chantand eat Krishna prasadam as much aspossible.In the meantime, Gargamuni has comehere and I have heard from him the detailsof your procession and it is so muchengladdening to my heart. I thank you allvery much for making the Rathayatra festivalso successful. Please convey mygratitude to all the boys and girls who participatedin this great transcendental service.This is the second year, and you havemade a great stride from the first year, andin the third year, I hope it will be still moresuccessful.Regarding your pen-friend in SouthIndia: I have not as yet received any letterfrom him, but as soon as I receive anynews from him, I shall be glad to give himnecessary instructions. In the meantime,if you write to him you can convey thismessage to the gentleman. Any friend inany part of the world that you may contact,try to infuse him with this Krishna Consciousnessidea. Never waste your time inany other talks. I think our students havealready developed this attitude and theyare not interested in idle talks. AmburishMaharaj , he set very nice example by engaginghis mind always on the Lotus Feetof Krishna, and talking always about him.We should follow the same example.I think there is a chance of my going toVancouver and if I go there, I may callsome of you there to open a branch. I thinkyou shall be the first man to come there,and I shall be glad to know also how manyof you can go to Vancouver for performingKirtan.I understand from Gargamuni thatHayagriva has sent you a letter invitingsome of you to live with him in W. Virginiawhere they are attempting to open anew center, but I am not very much hopefulabout this center because there are somany impediments. I have already writtento Kirtanananda that in such suspiciousand unfavorable conditions, no Brahmacharywill be interested to go there. Ifthere is actually any invitation for goingthere, I send herewith instructions to all ofyou that for the present, there is no necessityof going there. And in future , also,nobody shall go there without getting mypermission.I shall be glad to hear from you aboutfurther details of our successful Rathayatraprocession. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-4San FranciscoMontreal6th July, 1968Dear Sriman Vinode Patel,Please accept my blessings. I beg to

JULY, 1968 449acknowledge receipt of your letter datedJuly 2nd, 1968 . The language was Hindi,and the script was Guzarti. I am not accustomedto read Guzarti script, but I canunderstand a little Hindi. Anyway, I havegrasped the substance of your letter thatyou are a devotee of Lord Krishna Ranchorji,of Dakore. You also desire to becomemy disciple. You have passed yourM.Com. degree; and you want to staywith my other disciples in San Francisco.These are all nice proposals. And I thinkthere is nothing objectionable. Gargamunicame here day before yesterday, andhe has gone back yesterday after noon. Hespoke to me about you, that you are comingin the temple and taking some activepart in the affairs of our temple. I understandalso that you have come to USA onstudents' visa. But you do not wish toprosecute your studies any more, but wantto do some business. I know also that youare a family man, and in India you havegot your wife and 2 daughters . The firstthing is that you may remain in the templewith the permission of Jayananda Brahmachari,the president of the temple, andas you are rendering some service to thetemple, I think he will be very glad to acceptyou as one of the inmates. Your desireto do something tangible for the templeand it is a very welcome suggestion.There are many things to be done in thematter of the temple. Perhaps you will appreciatethat this Radha Krishna temple isthe one only in San Francisco. And Iknow there are many Guzarti gentlemenin San Francisco to whom you can approachfor improvement of the temple. Ifwe get our own temple we can organize somany things, which will be appreciatedboth by the Indians and the Americans. Sofar business is concerned, Gargamuni isgetting goods from some importer oncredit, and he is selling the goods and thenpaying him the amount. So, he has not gotto invest his capital in the business, but heis a good salesman. And if you can importsome goods, according to his choice, andon your account, I think he will have noobjection to purchase from you on thesame system as he is doing with others.He did not talk with me about your businessproposal. Under the circumstances,if you want to do something, you can talkwith Gargamuni personally, and if he consultsme I shall give my opinion. I knowyour community Patels in Guzarti arebusiness community. And they can do lotsof lucrative business, for material benefit.But you should know that we are not doingany business for material benefit. Gargamunispends his profit for Krishna Consciousness.He is so much elevated that heworks very hard for doing business diligently,but the profit made out of it, hespends for Krishna. If you wish to do businessin that spirit, that will enhance yourspiritual assessment. Generally, peopleare inclined to do business or make profitfor sense gratification; such tendency isthe cause of material bondage. But to actfor Krishna is the cause for opening thedoor for liberation. So, I shall not try toimplicate you in business if you are notready to award the profit for Krishna'sbenefit. The best thing will be that if youcan come here for some days, say, at leastfor a fortnight, you can remain here withus in the temple here, and talk with me indetails before you become my disciple.Actually, I shall be very glad to accept aneducated and intelligent disciple like you,but first of all we must meet and youshould know whether you can accept meas your Spiritual Master, or I can acceptyou as my disciple. This is preliminarynecessity. I am therefore requesting you tocome here at least for a fortnight, and letus understand one another. I think it is betterif you reply me this letter in English,because I find it difficult in reading Guzarti,script, though I can understandHindi fairly well.

450 Letters fro m Srfla PrabhupiidaPlease convey my blessings to Gargamuniand all the boys and girls in SanFrancisco. Hoping you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-5Los AngelesMontreal7th July, 1968My Dear Dayananda,Please accept my blessings, and offerthe same to Srimati Nandarani, and toyour daughter. I hope you are all well inKrishna Consciousness. And I am so gladto learn that Krishna is endowing you withmore and more intelligence in the matterof understanding Krishna Consciousness.Krishna is very kind and any sincere devoteeis always taken care of by His Lordshipin all respects. Please regularly chantHare Krishna, read Srimad Bhagavatam,and very soon you will get other booksalso, like Bhagavat Gita As It Is, Teachingsof Lord Chaitanya, and always readand talk about Krishna between yourselves,and always remember that this lifeis but a flash only. We have to seek afterour eternal life in Krishna Consciousnessand be transferred to the spiritual world inthe association of Krishna. Continue tokeep your present attitude and certainlyeven within this life, you will be successfulin attaining perfection of Krishna Consciousness.Regarding Mr. John Fugate: This newsis very encouraging. As we are spreadingour Krishna Consciousness in your country,we need a center in Florida, and if Mr.Fugate cooperates with this movement,certainly he will be very much benefited.So you can keep him alive by correspondenceand send him our books and literatureto read. So the ten acres ofland whichMr. John Fugate wants to utilize for somespiritual cultivation center can well be utilizedin developing a New Vrindaban. InSan Francisco, they are developing a NewJagannatha Puri and in Florida we shalldevelope a New Vrindaban, and it maybe that Montreal can be developed intoNew Mayapur (The Birthplace of LordChaitanya) .So far I am concerned, I wish to livethe major portion of my remaining days ofmy life in the Western world to propagatethis movement, but I could not obtainmy permanent visa on some technicalground. Some lawyers advised me to appealbut I did not like the idea. Here inCanada, I may get a permanent visa butthe difficulty is that during the winter thesevere cold here may be unbearable forme or for my attendants. The male attendant,Goursundar, may agree, but the femaleattendant, Mrs. Goursundar, is notagreeable. Anyway-apart from this pointof view, it is sure that I personally cannottolerate the severe cold here. Under thecircumstances, if some arrangement ismade in Florida, then during the winterseason, we can work there, and as youhave said that many tourists and well-todomen assemble there, it will be a goodopportunity for preaching Krishna Consciousnessat that time. Another point isthat I would have preferred to have permanentresidence visa in USA rather than inCanada, and I have heard that if somebodyadopts me as a child or somethingelse, I can get the permanent visa. But ifyou adopt me as your old child, probablythe visa department will laugh, that whatyou will do with an old child who is goingto die very soon. But, if there is possibilityto adopt me as old father, then you can tryfor it. If there is any law that you can adoptany old man as your father, and take careof him, then you can inquire from the LosAngeles immigration department and tryfor it.

JULY, 1968 451Thanking you once more for your nicesentiments expressed in your letter underreply, and hoping you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN .B. Please deliver the enclosed letter toAnniruddha das.68-7-6 Montreal7th July, 1968Sri Mangalniloy BrahmachariSri Chaitanya Goudiya Math35 Sri Satish Mukhergee RoadKalighat Calcutta-26, INDIAMy Dear Mangalniloy Brahmachari,Please accept my blessings. I hopeeverything is well with you . I do not knowwhere you are now staying, but I hope thisletter will reach you . When I was in Indiathere was some talks with you about yourcoming to this part of the world, but thedifficulty was that even I had sincere desireto sponsor you, and if I sponsor yourcoming here through my society, the governmentof India would not allow you eitherthe passport or travelers exchange. Atthe present stage, sponsoring is possibleonly ifl guarantee to pay your expenditureso long you shall remain in the foreigncountry. My society will not agree tospend so much money for anyone whomthey do not know. I was thinking about yousince I have come back this time to thiscountry, how to get you here, becausethere is ample possibilities for preachingKrishna Consciousness movement allover western world now, because the peopleare wanting something real spirituallife. Unfortunately, so-called swamis andyogis come in this part of the world andthey exploit people and then go away. Sothe government here is also not very optimisticof such kind of swamis. But in spiteof all dificulties, there is ample possibilityof spreading pure devotional service of theLord, or Krishna Consciousness movement,all over the western world.If you want to come here, then I shallhave to arrange for your return ticket(round the world) which will cost$1200.00 or in Indian exchange, Rs.12,000/-. Similarly, if we guarantee foryour stay here for 6 months, that will alsocost you at least $200.00 per month,which means another Rs. 12,000/-. Ifyou, however, can arrange to spend thisRs. 24,000/- then it may be possible that Ican arrange for your sponsoring and sendingyou a return ticket. On hearing fromyou we can think of further procedure inthis connection. I hope you will reply thisletter forth with and oblige. Hoping youare well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S.[TEXT UNCLEAR]68-7-7Montreal7th July, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated July 2,1968, describing very briefly and emotionallyabout the nice success of ourRathayatra festival. When Gargamunicame here the other day he also describedit so nicely and now you can understandthe specimen of transcendental pleasurein which the human society as a whole cantake part and realize transcendental bliss.The Car Festival was very simple. Afterall, it is a car with 4 wheels, but it attractedthe people so enthusiastically becausethere was His Lordship, theJagganatha. Atheistic people may call itthat the Jagganatha Murti was made ofwood, and the car was also made of wood,but the spiritual bliss can be exacted from

452 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidaanything, simply in Krishna Consciousness.Even accepting the whole affair aswooden, a Krishna Consciousness personcan understand that wood is nothing butdisplay of Krishna's energy. So it is theKrishna Consciousness energy that givesus transcendental bliss, just like it is theelectric energy passing through coppercable which gives us electric light andheat. Simply the Krishna Consciousnesselectric energy can immediately be attractiveby developing our sense of KrishnaConsciousness, which I am sure you areexperiencing gradually how easily it canbe done. Now, it may be mentioned in thisconnection that India's electric energy ofKrishna Consciousness is gradually developingin your country, and prior to thismovement, anyone who came to thiscountry from India to give the Americanpeople spiritual enlightenment, simplyspeculated on the mental platform. In theBhagavad Gita it is clearly said that devotionalservice which is called Rajayoga, orthe king of all yoga systems, is transcendentaland very pleasing to perform. (Ihave received one letter from Dayanandaalso, and the reply is sent herewith, abouthis improved realization of Krishna Consciousness.)There is a good chance for opening acenter, in Florida, through the exigency ofMr. John Fugate, a friend of Dayananda.To implement this transcendental bliss tothe people of your country there is immensework to be done ahead and thisRathayatra festival is only a bit of sample.If we get opportunity we shall be able toover flood your country with waves oftranscendental bliss, by the Grace ofKrishna. We can introduce various otherceremonials in connection with Krishnaand His different expansions or incarnationsin such a nice way that people aresure to be attracted by such thing and becomeimmersed in Krishna Consciousness.So far your center is concerned, nowyou have also got to introduce such ceremoniesin Los Angeles. We have got altogethernow 7 or 8 centers, and if each andevery center endeavors to rise up to the requiredstandard, it will be a great success.Yesterday Janardan took me to a nicechurch here called Notre Dame, a verynice wooden structural workmanship withcolorful figures and windows, decoratedwith nicely painted pictures about theCrucifixion of Lord Jesus Christ. Everythingwas grotesque. Generally the RomanCatholic religion depends on thisCrucifixion incidence in the life of LordJesus Christ, but I think depictation of thisincidence simply stimulates the tensionsof difference of opinion, and difference ofreligious principles, between the Jewsand the Christians. My idea is that if simplyby narrating the Crucifixion incidentof Lord Jess Christ, the Roman CatholicReligion can spread to such a wide area ofthe world, how much there is great potencyof spreading our Krishna Consciousnessby depicting hundreds ofthousands of such incidences likeRathayatra. There is not one incidence likeRathayatra, but there are many hundredsof thousands of incidences in different appearancesof the incarnations of LordKrishna. In different cities and differentcenters we can introduce such multipastimeousceremonies of Lord Krishna.And certainly people will be engladdenedto observe such transcendental and happyceremonies. So in Los Angeles, as promisedby Mukunda, you try to construct agrand temple and then we shall introducegradually many ceremonial functions,which the people will be so glad to enjoy.Think of Krishna always and try towork sincerely, and everything will comeautomatically.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

JULY, 1968 45368-7-8Montreal9th July, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated June 27,1968, and my first thanks to you becauseyour picture has attracted the attention ofSwami Sat-chit-ananda's students. Thismeans your picture is helping us forwardin Krishna Consciousness so that wecould attract even the yogis like Sat-chitananda'sstudents. Actually this is thefact. There is a verse in Srimad Bhagavatamwhich was explained by LordChaitanya in 64 different ways beforeSarvabhouma Bhattacharya. In that verseit is stated that even the atmaramas or thepersons who take trascendental pleasurein their own self -actually people shouldbe trained up to be happy with one's ownself. So the yogis and the philosophers,they are trying to be satisfied with theirown self. But even such persons are attractedby the pastimes ofRadha-Krishna,because the transcendental qualities ofRadha-Krishna is attractive for personswho are already liberated from the 3 materialqualities. Anyway, the picturewhich you sent to Montreal is wellreceivedhere, and everyone is speakinghighly of your painting capacity and I amso pleased to see the picture. And youhave improved very much in your paintingcapacity also by serving Krishna so faithfullyby the talent which Krishna has endowedyou with. Yesterday there wasmeeting of the Indians and all of themspoke very highly of your picture. Pleasetry to paint the following pictures inquantity-namely, the "Mohan Madhuri"which you have sent here in Montreal,that is to say, Radha and Krishna with the8 principal gopies; the Samkirtan pictureof Lord Chaitanya; and Pancha Tattva.These pictures should be popularized inour movement and try to paint them verynicely. I am anxious about you becauseyou are conducting one of the importantdepartments of our activities, namely,painting of pictures and this will makeyour life successful. Keep yourself alwayshealthy because you have to work so muchfor Krishna, and whenever you feel somedifficulty, you may immediately informme. This girl, Madhavi Lata, has comehere to stay, for some days, and I learnedthat several girls have come from NewYork to you; I do not know what they aredoing, and I shall be glad to hear from youfarther in this matter.I have sent Satsvarupa instructions forthe story of Maharaj Bali. And you canbegin from that.Your questions aobut Lord Brahma:"Brahma is a great devotee of LordKrishna and Brahma Samhita, etc., revealhis knowledge of the Lord. So are these 2stories (namely, 1. He doubted Krishnabecame a cowherds Boy and stole Hiscows, etc. ; 2. Krishna showed him the 1 I 4part of His creation after Brahma had todesignate himself as 4-headed Brahma.),are these 2 stories just examples to weconditioned souls, who think we can putGod under restrictions?" Brahma is notamong the great devotees, but he is a devoteeof Krishna. All the great devotees ofKrishna are in the Krishna loka, constantcompanions of Krishna at Vrindaban.They are actually great devotees ofKrishna. Brahma is great devotee in thesense that he wants to serve Krishna thebest with some material power. Thatmeans that he has a tendency to enjoy somematerial opulence. So Krishna has madehim the number 1 living creature withinthis universe. But a great devotee does notwant even the position of a Brahma. Hewould prefer to become an insignificantliving creature like an ant or spider in thehouse of a great devotee, then to becomeBrahma, who has got the inclination ofbecoming powerful in the material

454 Letters from Srila Prabhuptidaworld. The great devotees are always libertatedfrom all material desires, big orsmall. That is the sign of great devotees.Brahma came to Krishna because hehas very exalted idea about Krishna, andhe was doubtful how his Lord could comeinto the material world and become a cowherdsBoy. This incidence is known asBrahma Bemohan lila, or the pastime ofbewildering Brahma. In the beginning ofSrimad Bhagavatam, it is stated that greatpersonalities like Brahma become bewilderedin the understanding of the AbsoluteTruth. So sometimes such pastimesare manifested by the Lord in order toteach the so-called mental speculators.Even Arjuna was bewildered, although hewas His constant companion. Arjuna alsowas talking from the material view pointof standing. All this bewilderment of greatdevotees are created by the Lord, for 2purposes: one purpose, is that even greatpersonalities like Brahma and Arjunasomtimes become bewildered, and therefore, unless they present themselves insuch position of bewilderment, the commonmen do not have the chance to understandKrishna. If Brahma would not haveposed himself as not knowing the wholetruth, then some truths about the transcendentalposition of Krishna would nothave been explained. Besides that, wecannot calculate even one day 's durationof the life of Brahma. So, Krishna appearsonly once in a day of Brahma, and thattakes a rotation of unlimited trillions of solaryears. So some incidences take placein one day, and other incidents take placein another day. Just like we do somethingtoday, and something else in a week, andwe forget today 's action tomorrow, and tomorrow'saction after a week. And that isthe nature of conditioned life. Therefore ,Brahma being a big conditioned soul, thisforgetfulness of one's affairs in the nextday are not uncommon. Just as we are forgetful,Brahma also is subject to forgetfulness.Our so much so-called knowledge isnothing in comparison to Krishna's fullknowledge. That is admitted by Brahmathere in that verse, that people may saythey know You very well, but so far I amconcerned, I admit I do not know even afarthing of You!I hope you will understand this explanation,and if you have got further questions,then you can put. Hoping you are allwell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-9New VrindabanMontreallOth July, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. Just on receiptof your last letter I sent you one detailedletter about the scheme of NewVrindaban. But since then I have not receivedany letter from you. In the meantimeI also received one letter fromSriman Kirtanananda Swami which also Ihave replied duly, but I have not receivedany reply from him also. So I am verymuch anxious to know from you also howmuch this scheme has advanced. So far Icould understand on the letter of Kirtanananda,that we had no freedom ofaction because the land belongs to Mr.Rose, who wants to develop an institutionappealing to all sections of seekers inspiritual enlightenment. Such ideal of impersonalviews can never be successful.That is the distinction between impersonalism and personalism. The impersonalistsultimate goal is something void, andtherefore, any attempt for self-realizationending in voidness is all the same for theimpersonalists. But we the personalists,we do not agree that all systems of selfrealizingprocess ends in the same goal. Inthe Bhagavad Gita, it is explicitly said that

JULY, 19684SSthe worshippers of different demigods ultimatelyreach the planets of respectivedemigods; the worshippers of forefathersalso go to different pitri planets, respectively;the worshippers of mammon remainin the mammonish world; and thepersons in Krishna Consciousness, ultimatelyreach to the planet of Krishna loka.So our mission is to reach the supremeplanet, in the spiritual sky, namely theAbode of Krishna. As such, we cannotcompromise that all sorts of meditationgives the same result. This sort of view ispracticed and preached by the impersonalistsmissionaries like the Rama-Krishnamission, that one may follow any path, buthe reaches the same destination. There isno Vedic evidence, neither any proof ofthe acharya principles. You know thatLord Buddha was Hindu, born in India, ina royal family, but because He advocatedvoidism, His philosophy was not acceptedby the leaders of Vedic principles. For thetime being, Lord Buddha's philosophywas accepted by emperor Ashoka, anddue to royal influence, it spread all overIndia. But later on, when Shankaracharyapreached the Vedic principle, the voidismof Lord Buddha was driven out of India.Similarly, when Ramanujacharya foundShankaracharya a second edition of Buddhistphilosophy, he also expungedShankaracharya as compromising theBuddha, and he established Personal worshipof Lord Vishnu. Later on, otheracharyas, including Sri Chaitanya, developedthe transcendental reciprocation ofdevotional service to the Supreme Personalityof Godhead and Lord Chaitanyapreached that loving service in the highestconjugal love with Krishna is also possible.So we are preaching the highest principlesof loving service to the SupremePersonality of Godhead, and as such,there is no scope for compromising withany of the kinds of philosophies of the impersonalistschool.If Mr. Rose wants something for thesatisfaction of all sections of spiritualists,I think your endeavor in that part of thecountry will not be very successful. Underthe circumstances, I would advise youto live with me, and try to develope thisline of preaching work as we have beendoing since the last two years. At thepresent moment, I am just organizing aSamkirtan party and if you come here,then we can make a rehersal of the Chaitanyadrama which you have already made.My idea is, Samkirtan with some dramaticdemonstration, by the members,will be attractive to the people in general .So I am trying to concentrate the idea atthe present moment here in Montreal, becausein the temple, we have got sufficientspace and if the Samkirtan party is successfulhere, as we shall try to make someexperiment in the local expo grounds,then we shall make a program to go to Europe,starting from London, and make demonstationsof this drama and Samkirtan indifferent places. I do not know how muchyou will appreciate this idea, but if youthink it proper, you may come and join ushere.The New Vrindaban scheme under thepresent inconveniences is not possible tobe successful ultimately.Hope you are well, and awaiting yourearly reply.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-10New YorkMontreal10th July, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedJuly 5, 1968, and regarding the Kirtancollection, I have talked with Hansaduttawho has arrived here last evening, and as

456 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadaproposed by you, that the contributionshould be divided 50 % fo r the temple,and 50% for the Samkirtan fund, is quiteall right.Regarding Mr. Kallman, I am enclosingherewith one letter addressed to him,and if you think it is wise to present myletter to him, and as requested therein, ifyou and Mr. Kallman come here I may beable to settle up your differences by theGrace of Krishna. But if you think thematter has gone too far, that there is nopossibility of settlement, then you do notpresent the letter and let the matter take itsown course as desired by Krishna.Regarding DiaNippon, please let meknow whether you have sent the correctedproof sheets, and advise the Japanesebank in New York of necessary credit letter.Regarding Dwarkin and Son: I thinkyou have sent one cablegram. If not,please send it now, and also ask UnitedShipping Corporation whether they havetransferred the money to Dwarkin &Sons. If not ask them to do it. And askDwarkin & Sons to send more tanpurascovering the value which they receivedfrom United Shipping Corporation.Also, if somebody is coming here inMontreal from New York, please send methe dictaphone transcribing set lying inmy closet. I think there are two sets-oneofthem may be sent. Also, please send theBhagavatam copy as I told you before.Hoping you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. I would like to know whether or notyou have collected the money for that Germanbook you took here from me. You canplease send one set of Srimad Bhagavatamsto this address, to Sri Bamandas:Walther Eidlitz-Bavergrand 18A/Ill­Uppsala-Sweden.ACB68-7-11Montreal12th July, 1968My Dear Chidananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated July 8,1968, and in the meantime, Uddhavadas,and Krishna das Brahmacharies have alsocome here via New Yo rk. Since I wroteyou about the stop payment instruction, Ihave received payment of both the checksand money order. So you need not worryabout it. When you go to Australia, youmust take with you one mridanga and atleast 4 pairs of cymbals to begin Kirtanimmediately there. When I came to yourcountry in 1965, I brought with me onlyone pair of cymbals, and it has increasedto so many pairs, at least 50 times. And Icame here without mridanga. So whenyou go to Australia, you have to similarlyincrease the number of cymbals proportionately,namely, 50 times 4. That shouldbe your mission, and I am confident thatyou can do it because you are a sinceresoul. If you can introduce this KrishnaConsciousness movement in such a distantplace, Lord Chaitanya will pour Hisincessant blessings upon you, and yourlife will be glorious. In this connection, Imay give you the example of the boy,Subal , who was struggling in Santa Fe .Although he is not very much qualifiedfrom the worldly point of view, still hisstruggle for existence in Krishna Consciousnessis advancing him more andmore in spiritual realization. So far Iknow about you, you are intelligent, qualified,and willing worker for KrishnaConsciousness, and I hope if you try to establisha center of our society in Sidney orany one of the important cities, of Australia,it will be a record in the history ofLord Chaitanya's movement. I hope withthis seriousness, you will go there, and alwayspray Lord Chaitanya to help you. Heis very kind, and He is always ready to

JULY, 1968 457help a willing worker. And as soon as youestablish one center, it may be that I maygo there for some time and try to help youin your organization. But before startingyou should make an estimate of the procedureof your working there, as well as youmust be assured of getting a job there.Here in America you are working and youare getting some money, but in Australia ifyou do not get immediately some ocupation,it will be risky. So you must considerall these pros and cons intelligently andthen, 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 weare not this body, mind, intelligence orego, but are pure consciousness or purespirit soul. This consciousness has beenpolluted by association with matter. Byassociation with Krishna this consciousnesswill be purified. This consciousnessis all throughout our body giving us thepower to think, will, and feel, but how isconsciousness interrelated with matter? Isconsciousness like mist that hangs arounda mountain? How do matter and spiritconnect and how do they work together? Ihope you under stand my question. Andwhat exactly takes place when consciousnessbecomes purified?" A living entityhas constitutionally mind, intelligence,and ego, but they are contaminated in contactwith matter. At the present moment,our ego is working under some designation.Somebody is thinking that he is anAmerican or Indian, and other is thinkingthat he is Brahmachary or Householder.This sort of ego is material but when oneis firmly convinced that he does not belongto any material designation, but, hispure identification is eternal servitorshipof Krishna-in Vedic language it is called,Aham Brahma asmi. That means I amspirit soul . The Mayavad philosophers onaccount of their negligence to serveKrishna, may sometimes come to this understandingof Aham Brahma asmi, butthey again fall down to the material platformon account of such negligence.Therefore, this chanting process is beingconstantly in Krishna Consciousness,there is no such fear of falling down of thedevotees. Your statement "By associationwith Krishna this consciousness will bepurified" is right. Consciousness is notrelated with matter. Just like the air is alwayspure, but when there is a mixture ofdust in the air, it appears to be a cloud.The cloud and air are different substances.Similarly consciousness is purespiritual, but when the consciousness desiresto enjoy matter, it becomes cloudyand dusty, or contaminated. And then atthat time, thinking, feeling, and willingeverything becomes polluted. The sameexample as I have given several times thatthe proprietor of a car and the car are differentidentities, but when the proprietorthinks that this car is for his enjoyment, hebecomes absorbed in such thought, and assoon as there is some loss or accident tothe car, he thinks that he is hurt. This consciousnessis fu.lse, but one suffers the consequences on account of false identification.Consciousness is not like mist, but whenit is materially contaminated, it looks likethat. Another example, that water fromthe sky falling down on the ground looksmuddy, but water is not muddy, it is clear.When the water is again filtered, andmuddy things are precipitated, the watercomes to its original lustre, crystal clear.So our Krishna Consciousness movementis that we have to clear our consciousnessby the transcendental addition of Krishnachemical. Then everything will be niceand clear, and we shall be able to see ouridentification without any designation. Ithink your questions are answered up tothe last part, when you inquired "what exactlytakes place when consciousness isbecoming purified?''

458 Letters from Srlla PrabhupiidaPlease keep me informed about yourplans and program for Australia, and Ihope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-12Montreal12th July, 1968My Dear Jayananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated July 3,1968. I have heard about your successfulexecution of Rathayatra festival in SanFrancisco from so many sources. And Iam so glad to hear the news. But till now Ihave not received any newspaper clippings,or photostats of news articles. I amvery much anxious to get them.Yes, this Jay boy has come here, and Ihave seen he is sincere in accepting thisprinciples. I have decided to initiate himvery soon. They have got a two days' engagementof Kirtan here in the expo pavillion,and they have agreed to pay $150.00per day. If the two days' program is successful,then they may get more moneyand more engagements.Yes, I have received Sriman VinodePatel 's letter, and I have replied the samealso promptly. He appears to be a greathelp to your temple, and please try to keephim nicely. This is the sequence ofKrishna Consciousness. He is a foreignerand belonging to a different country andculture, but Krishna Consciousness is sonice that one forgets his material designationsand one tries to associate with similarKrishna consciousness persons. Thisis a Sanskrit word, is called SwajatiSnigdha Saya. That means melted on thepure spiritual platform. We hope to bringeveryone to such spiritual platform so thateveryone will forget his material falseidentification and come to the real platformof becoming eternally the servant ofKrishna.I am so glad that your parents are realizingthe importance of Krishna Consciousnessthrough their worthy son,Jayananda. A similar incident was therewhen Lord Chaitanya was present, thatone father became a devotee of LordChaitanya through the exigency of theson. The son was prior a devotee than thefather. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu askedthe father whether he was father, or theson was father, and the father replied thatin his spiritual enlightenment, his son washis father. So you are acting like a good fatherto your parents . So Krishna Consciousnesswill spread nicely in this way.And Lord Chaitanya will be very muchpleased on your benevolent activites. Ihave seen your father and mother, andthey are very good souls, especially I rememberyour mother. And I hope by theGrace of Lord Krishna they will take tothis Krishna Consciousness very seriously.Hoping you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-13Allston, Mass.Montreal12th July, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated July 10,1968, and I have noted the contents aboutMr. Coomey, assistant district director ofBoston department of Justice. As you saythat within a day or two he is going to replymy letter, I shall wait for his reply, untillnext week, and then I shall take stepsas it may be needed. In the meantime Ihave noted his instructions as conveyed byyou .I understand that you are trying toorganize a Brahmacharini ashram. A

JULY, 1968 459Brahmacharini ashram is certainly a greatnecessity because there are so many girldevotees who are attached to our KrishnaConsciousness movement. Those who aremarried couple, there is nothing to besaid-simply to live together as husbandand wife. But those who are not marriedcertainly such Brahmacharies andBrahmacharinis should not live together.That is a special restricted term of ourcult. But because in your country there isno distinction between boys and girls, orman and woman, they can freely mixwithout any restriction, I did not give toomuch stricture on this point because bysuch stricture they might be annoyed, andwhatever Krishna Consciousness they aretrying to develope might have beenchecked. But factually if you can organizea Brahmacharini ashram, it will be verynice idea. And I think that our Jadurany orsimilar other girl students of a little bit advanced,they can manage such ashram.But there is another difficulty, that whenthe girls live together they will pick upquarrels. Anyway, that sort of quarrelingwill continue whenever there is a little bitindividuality. That is the nature. Evensuch quarreling is visible in the spiritualworld also. But the main thing is that inBoston, you are the only earning member.How you will maintain such a Brahmachariniashram separately unless there issome source of income. I expected thatthe pictures painted by the Brahmachariniswould be a source of income tothe society. If some arrangement for suchsales organization can be made, then itwill be a very excellent idea. The Brahmachariniscannot go, of course, for begging,but if some of them agree to go outand sell our books and literature, that willalso be helpful. Some source of income byhonest endeavor must be there, otherwise,how a nice Brahmacharini ashramcan be maintained? In the ashram we mustsupply all inmates necessary nutritiousfood. Especially in your country, becausethey were accustomed to take meat andsome protein food, just like regular supplyof dahl, chopaties, rice, fruits andmilk, must be properly administered.There is no need of eating more than necessity,but the minimum demands mustbe supplied. But if you can organize suchnice Brahmacharini ashram it will be agreat success of our society. There is agreat need for this. And I wish sincerelythat except for husband and wife, everyoneshould live separately, man separatefrom woman, and woman separate fromman. I shall be glad to hear from youabout further developments. But onething can be very nicely utilized, if theBrahmacharinis learn typographic machine.That will be a great help becauseprinting is one of our most important lineof activities. And if the Brahmacharinishelp us in the making of letter printingsheets for photo offset printing, that willbe a great help.Hoping you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-14Montreal13th July, 1968My Dear Woomapati,Please accept my blessings. I understandthat you have now gone to Santa Feand trying to get a job there. And I hopeKrishna will arrange for this. Do not beworried. Another boy, Christopher Fyyn,may be going there very soon. So three togethertry to live peacefully and alwaysdiscuss on the Bhagavad Gita and SrimadBhagavatam, chant Hare Krishna in regularclasses, and whenever the opportunityis there, go to the park as they are doing inBoston and New York, and getting goodcollection.In this connection you can consult

460 Letters from Srila PrabhupadaHansadutta in New Yo rk, and Satsvarupain Boston how they are successfully carryingon. Here also the Brahmacharies arechanting in the Expo, and the arrangementis they will get some lump sum ofmoney, and they have already gotten$300.00. Hansadutta has also collected,by chanting, $150.00. So if there is nojobs at all , then you can fully engage yourselfin Krishna's job by chanting in theparks and public places, and certainlyKrishna will send you salaries. Krishnaprovides all living entities and why not hissincere devotees? Therefore, we have tobecome simply sincere in our KrishnaConsciousness movement, and all otherthings will follow.Hoping you are both well,Your ever well-wisherACB68-7-15Montreal13th July, 1968My Dear Subal das,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter ofJuly 11, 1968,and it appears that things are not veryhappy there, in spite ofWoomapati 's presence.How is it that you do not get anywork? Woomapati knows some technicalwork. Is there only workin the resturants,and there is no other work?Another boy, Christopher Fynn, maybe going there very soon. And this lettercovered is addressed to him. He is, so far Ilearned from Janardan, he is educatedboy, and try to live together very peacefullyin Krishna Consciousness. The businessof Krishna Conscious persons is toenjoy by mutual association on the basisof understanding Krishna from BhagavadGita and Srimad Bhagavatam. So whenyou become three together, you shouldutilize your time by discussions onKrishna, and chanting Hare Krishna.Even you do not get some job, Krishnawillnot put you into difculty. But try to getsome job, and work for the improvementof the temple. And whenever there is opportunity,try to chant in public parks, andcollect some money from the gathering,and surely Krishna will help you inspreading this sublime gospel of KrishnaConsciousness.By the by, I require yo to find out theduplicate copies of Srimad Bhagavatam,2nd Canto, and a few chapters of the 3rdCanto, which are lying in my closet room,and send to me immediately. I want to prepareit for printing in Japan just after theprinting of TLC is finished. I have decidedit now definitely that all my printingworks now shall be done in Japan. InAmerica it is too expensive, and in India itis too much botheration. Therefore in futureif there is money sufficient I wish toprint each volume of my book, 5000 copies.Now, very soon we shall get 5000copies ofTLC and we have to organize thesales propaganda. If there is sale, thenthere is no scarcity of matter for printing.Mukunda has written that he is acquaintedwith some man for selling Back to Godheads,and you can just contact him toknow further about it. I am sending youtoday the balance book sheets of TLC toBrahmananda. Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,While fixing this letter I have receivedyour second letter also. I understand thatyou are purchasing a printing machine.When you have the machine some bodymust join you to work anybody you likeand I shall arrange for that. If it is possibleto print Srimad Bhagavatam you can immediatelybegin it and I shall pay for thepaper, binding etc . We want to print themimmediately. If you can actually print ourbooks in your ISKCON Press then a greatproblem will be solved. And if not any

JULY, 1968 461more I shall work with you provided youcan give me the visa to stay. Please let meknow how far you are ahead in this proposal.Your ever well-wisher,A.C.B.68-7-16Santa FeMontreal13th July, 1968My Dear Christopher,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated July 9,1968, and I thank you very much. Previousto this I think I received one letterfrom you when I was either in San Francisco,or Los Angeles, and whenever I receivesome letter, I reply it promptly, so itmay be that my reply is missing due toyour uncertain whereabouts .I can understand that you are mixingwith a crowd of hodge-potch men butnone of them will ever get the real thing bysuch hodge-potch philosophy. We are followinga standard philosophy, acknowledgedby standard acharyas, namely,"Harer Nama, Harer Nama, Hare NamaibaKevalam. Kalau Nasteva, Nasteva,Nasteva Gatir Anyatha." The people ofthis age are of short duration of life, theyare very slow in the matter of seriouslyunderstanding spiritual importance oflife, and even some of them are inclined,like yourself, by misfortune they associatewith hodge-potch men like those you havementioned in your letter-namely,Yogananda, Alan Watts, Maharishi,Leary, etc .-because they are unfortunateand severely disturbed in mind on accountof various frustrations and desires.I am glad to learn that still you have gotsome glimpses of understanding KrishnaConsciousness, and I hope this faint ideamay one day develop into reality, and yourlife become successful. So far the hodgepatchmen; they are gradually being defeated,and perhaps you may know thatMaharishi Mahesh has left your land withgreat disappointment-but his mission tocheat your people was successful . Hewanted to collect some money and hecheated so many people because theywanted to be cheated, and now he is in India,and so many western boys are still goingthere and paying some money forinterview and hotel charges, and still followingthe so-called yoga system. I canchallenge all this so-called yoga societiesin the western countries that they are notstandard in terms of Vedic yoga system.The preliminary processes of yoga systemis to control the senses, and practice somebodily position by which the mind can bemade fixed up on the point of VishnuMurti. But none of them do practice likethat, but generally they are attracted bythe bodily exercises only, haphazardly.And they take it as yoga practice. And others,they are addicted to sex indulgenceand intoxication habit. Our system iscompletely different from theirs. In thebeginning, we simply invite men to comeand join us in the trasncendental vibrationby chanting Hare Krishna. We do not saythat you pay me something and I give youthis chanting. But this chanting is openwithout any secret, and we do not ask anyoneto pay for it. But the chanting is transcendental,and therefore, simply byvibration, one gradually becomes spirituallyadvanced, and thus he offers himselfto become my disciple. In that discipleshipalso, I do not charge anything. Neitherdo I offer anything new. I offer thesame Hare Krishna beads, but it becomesspiritually powerful on account of beingdelivered in disciplic succession. Andpractically we see that the students whoare initiated in this way, they are advancingslowly and surely, and any one of my

462 Letters from Srila Prabhupiidastudents can challenge any student of socalledyogis, and that is practical evidence.So, I would advise you not to wasteyour time in such hodge-potch society, butfollow the principles rigidly, and faithfully,and your life will be successful. Yousay that you do not really know enoughabout what they are following, becauseyou have not assimilated the philosophy.But if you take the philosophy seriously,certainly you will be able to convince others.I am glad to learn that you are returningto Santa Fe, and I hope you will havegood association there and you will beprofited by some sincere workers in SantaFe. I am glad to learn also that you sometimesfast the whole day, and chant. It is avery good idea and you can follow thisprinciple rigidly two days in a month,namely the Ekadasis. I have got alwaystime to answer the letters of sincere soulsbecause my life is dedicated for their service.So you are always welcome to sendyour inquiries. And I shall always try toenlighten you to my best capacity. Youhave kindly asked me what you have to do.That I shall tell you later on, when you arefixed up in our line of thought. So it isKrishna's Grace that you are going toSanta Fe, and try to assimilate our philosophythere, and then, I shall let youknow what to do there.Thanking you once more, and hopeyou are well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-17Montreal14th July, 1968My Dear Kirtanananda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated July 8,1968, along with Hayagriva's letters. Ihave replied Hayagriva in detail-you willsee it. Our only life and soul is Kirtan, andby the Grace of Krishna, you are Kirtanananda.So the present activities whichyou are performing there, chanting andpreparing Prasadam for the Deity, is verynice program. This chanting of HareKrishna and our sincere desire to serveKrishna will make everything clear, evenif there is some impediments, becausefrom Srimad Bhagavatam we understandthat a system of religiousity is to be understoodas the most perfect if by followingsuch system, we enrich our tendency tolove God. Actually that tendency is in everyone,but on account of not being associatedwith pure devotees, our love isplaced on something non-God. The wholeprocess of Krishna Consciousness is to replaceour love to Krishna. So any processthat helps us to increase our love ofKrishna, that is the best system of religiousity.Such system cannot be checked byany material impediments, and such developmentof love of Krishna is withoutany cause. Chanting of Hare Krishna isnot meant for achieving any other betterthing than Krishna. But when we chantHare Krishna without any offense, we relishKrishna, the Reservoir of all pleasure.Now by the Grace of Krishna, you havegot a nice place, a nice atmosphere. So Iquite approve your present activities.Continue it sincerely, and when the timewill be favorable, people may come to youand take advantage of the transcendentalfacility for chanting Hare Krishna.Hope this finds you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. You will be pleased to know here weare performing kirtan in the Expo. Theyhave paid us $300.00. It may be they increasethe period. Yesterday it was[TEXT UNCLEAR]

JULY, 1968 46368-7-18Montreal14th July, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your two letters dated July 6and 8, 1968, respectively, along with oneletter from Kirtanananda Swami. My firstrequest to you is that as you are getting ajob again, in the Ohio State University,you must accept it without hesitation. Inthe Bhagavad Gita you have read that oneshould fully utilize one's talent for the serviceof the Lord. Arjuna was a militaryman and he utilized his talent fully forexecuting the purpose of Lord SriKrishna. So, by the Grace of Krishna, youhave got some educational talent, andwherever there is opportunity to get somemoney, you must accept it, but spend themoney for Krishna. As you are projectingto develop New Vrindaban, you will requiremoney and I would advise you topurchase land there instead of taking onlease. If you want to take on lease, then itmust be on long period, say 99 years; butfirst hand lease is better, that is from thegovernment. I do not understand what isthe position of Mr. Rose there, but I shalladvise you not to make any big plans onthe land of others. There is a Bengaliproverb that if one is a poor man, he cango to some friends' house and accept foodand then come back, but one should neveraccept residence in other's house. That isvery inconvenient. Of course, for a Sannyasinlike us, we can live anywhere andeverywhere, rather we shoud not have ourown place. But for the New Vrindabanproject, I would advise you to purchaseland as much as you can because it appearsthat the atmosphere and situation isvery nice there. Another thing, I shall notadvise you to purchase horses for conveyance.It will be a botheration for you, becausenow you have not got sufficientassistance. If you keep horses you have totake care for them and for a little convenienceof transportation, you have to takeso much botheration to keep the horse fit.I am so pleased to learn that you havegot a Deity Room and you are performingjointly Kirtan, assisted by a newcomer,Harold Olmstead. He may be calledHrishikesh, there is no objection, but generallya Holy Name after Lord Krishna isoffered to a devotee after his initiation.Anyway, you can call him Hrishikesh, andthe same name will be continued after hisinitiation also. In the meantime, let himbe trained up in our line of activities to observethe rules and regulations and chantHare Krishna jointly with you.In your letter of the 8th instant youwrite to say, "but it would be difficult tospread the Mahamantra to the inhabitantshere." Our principal aim is to preach theimportance of chanting the Holy Namesof God. And if there is no such opportunitythen the place will be specificallymeant for persons who want to retire fromactivities. To retire from activities is notvery good idea for the conditioned soul. Ihave got very good experience, not only inour country but also in your country, thatthis tendency of retiring from activitiespushes one down to the platform of laziness,and gradually to the ideas of the hippies.One should always remain active inKrishna's service, otherwise the strongmaya will catch him and engage him in herservice. Our constitutional position beingrendering service, we cannot stop activity.So the New Vrindaban may not beturned into a place of retirement, butsome sort of activities must go on there. Ifthere is good prospective land, we shouldproduce some grains, flours, and fruits,and keep cows, so that the inmates mayhave sufficient work and facility for advancingin Krishna Consciousness. In Indiaactually the Vrindaban has nowbecome a place of the unemployed, andbeggars. Kirtanananda has already seen

464 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadait; and so there is always a tendency ofsuch degradation if there is no sufficientwork for service of Krishna. Another suggestionis that if you can attract someretired men to live there peacefully andat the same time, make oneself advanced inKrishna Consciousness, that will be verynice. But I am afraid that retired menfrom this country cannot give up theirold habits, generally, intoxication, keepinga dog, smoking, etc., and it will bedifficult for them to give up such habitseven they are invited to live with us inVrindaban.Regarding Easy Journey to OtherPlanets: You can inquire from Mukundadas if he is going to print it or not. If not,then you can do it because you have nowsome money and spend for its publication.And regarding editorial work, I shall sendyou some manuscripts very soon.Regarding visa: I am not prohibitedlike that, that I cannot enter USA, but thepermanent visa ws denied only on sometechnical ground. There is no impedimentabout my bonafides. But they have raisedan objection because I submitted my applicationjust after a fort-night of my arrival,and they say that I entered USA notas a bonafide non-immigrant. But I submittedmy application, after consultingthe Indian Embassy, as well as theAmerican Embassy in Calcutta, but I seea different decision at the end. It is verydifficult to take the words of governmentservants, straightly. Chanakya Pandit hasadvised not to trust a polititian and awoman, so practically I consulted allthese polititians and they have given a differentdecision. I do not know what istheir intention, but for the time being Ihave not gotten the visa.My present visa for Canada is up to theend of August. Actually it is up to the thirdof September, but if I like to stay here, Ican extend it, it is not difficult. But I amintending to go to London, and it may bein the meantime I may go to Vancouver.I am very much anxious about yourhealth. Is it due to the place that you arehaving hay fever? It sometimes so happensthat moist places causes such disturbances.Are there many mosquitoes? Thebest thing I can suggest that you try tokeep your bowels cleared, and take morefruits and milk. That will keep youhealthy. I hope you will soon feel better,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-19San FranciscoMontreal15th July, 1968My Dear Shyamsundar,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter withthanks, dated July 8, 1968, and I must saythat the Rathayatra festival was so successfulfor your diligent labor only. If youwould not have constructed such a nice ratha(car) in such 9 short time, it would nothave been possible to perform the grandfestival. By Krishna's Grace you have gotthe talent of carpentermanship, and youhave fully utilized your energy in the serviceof Krishna. You have carved so manyJagganatha Murtis, and the car also, soKrishna must have been very much satisfiedwith your service. Srimad Bhagavatamsays that the highest perfectionalstage of everyone's talent is to satisfy theSupreme Personality of Godhead, Hari,by his craftsmanship, scientific knowledge,philosophical research, or similarany other energy. Please continue thisattitude of service and success of life isassured for you. I have learned the descriptionof the Rathayatra festival verballyfrom so many persons who came tosee me from San Francisco, and I have receivedthe photo album from Gurudas.But I have not received any newspaper

JULY, 1968 465clippings, which I am very much anxiousto see .I am so glad to learn that MissSaraswati devi is doing very well with hergood parents . Please bring her up nicelyin Krishna Consciousness and that is theduty of responsible parents.Regarding London-yatra: (like Rathayatra-yatrameans travel.) I am conemplatingof forming the following party :yourself and your wife, Mukunda and hiswife, Goursundar and his wife, Hansaduttaand his wife, Pradyumna and Upendra.Maybe we may have to change lateron a little bit, but this is my contemplation.Now, I do not know how to make thisprogram fruitful. Here I have gotten someencouragement by recent Kirtan performancesin the Expo. For two days theyhave paid us $300.00, and maybe theywill be required to perform Kirtan for afew days more. Similarly I have got oneencouraging letter from San Franciscowritten by Tarnal Krishna, that there isgood collection in the Kirtan performancesled by Mukunda. I have askedHansadutta to open correspondence withyou to make plans how to go to London. Iunderstand that he has got already 15 to 16hundred dollars in this account. The thingis that 12 to 15 heads will have to go there.First of all we have to accommodate ourselvesin a nice place. And I am so gladyou have already written to Anapurna'sfather, and as soon as some plan is fixedup, we start immediately. It may be thatwe may not wait even up to the end of August.My special instruction to you all isthat you practice Samkirtan very rhythmicallyand in a responsive way. That meansone should chant first, and others shouldfollow him. That is a very nice system. Iunderstand from Gurudas that you hadsome meeting amongst yourselves tochalk out the plan and I shall be glad toknow what plan you have made, as he hasmentioned this meeting in his letter,which I am replying herewith .Please convey my blessings to yourgood wife Malati, and to your new daughter,Miss Saraswati devi. And I hope youare all doing well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-20Montreal16th July, 1968My Dear Gurudas ,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter (undated), and I am soglad to see the photo album sent by you.But I have not received any newspaperclippings regarding the processionneitherI have received the 2 slides whichyou mentioned in your letter under reply.(you mentioned 2 slides, one of Lord Jagganathaand one of the car) You write tosay that there was one article in the SanFrancisco Examiner on July 1, 1968, but lhave received none till now. Please try tosend one copy as soon as possible. youwill know about my plan about Londonyatrafrom the letter which I am addressingtoday to Shyamsundar. I am so muchsatisfied with your successful performanceof Rathayatra festival and I amawaiting to see similar festivals in all ourother centers, including one in the prospectiveLondon center. Hoping you arewell,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Yamuna devi,Please accept my blessings . I thankyou very much for your letter dated July 9,1968, giving a vivid description of theRathayatra festival . I understand that Mukundaand Janaki are now living with you,but I have not received any letter fromthem. Anyway, I understand that Mukundais leading now a nice Kirtan party

466 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadain the streets , and there is good response.The time is fast approaching when we willhave to perform such public Kirtan in allthe important cities of the world. Herealso, in the Expo, they have performedKirtan for two days, and it is wonderfullysuccessful.Your appreciation of the Rathayatrafestival and realizing the beauty of Kirtanand Jagganatha as well as the magnanimityof Lord Chaitanya in His sublimeteachings, are some of the wonderfulthings that I mark in your progressivelyadvancement in Krishna Consciousness.Please try to continue this attitude andyou will be more and more happy in yourlife, and at the end, get entrance into theassociation of Krishna. Chant HareKrishna, both husband and wife, regularly,and worship Lord Krishna's SriMurti, as you are doing, and try to elevateothers in Krishna Consciousness,which has nothing to do with academiceducation; I therefore wish that insteadof wasting your time for 2 or 3 years fortaking a degree, you may increase yourscope of activities for recruiting suchboys and training them in Krishna Consciousness.But if your state laws do notallow it to hold any class without such degreethen you must get such degree. Onthe whole you have got a very nice engagementfor training children inKrishna Consciousness. And I think youare very fit for it. I am sure if you endeavorin this line of service, Krishnawill be very much pleased and willshower His blessing more and more. Youare very nice girl and I have got full faithin you and I wish that you can developethis line of service to the society.of Prasad; I want to write him one letter.Hope you are both well.Your I':Ver well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-21San FranciscoMontreal16th July, 1968My Dear Tarnal Krishna,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter dated July 12,1968 with the notes of your successfulperformances of city Kirtan movementand it is a very good plan. I think weshould not be worried about our expenditure,Krishna has given us good opportunityof service, and if we simply executethe service, by such performances of Kirtanand practice ourselves the rules andregulations rigidly and with faith inKrishna and service to the orders of thebonafide Spiritual Master, then there willbe no scarcity of our necessities of life,and very pleasantly we will be able to executeour Krishna conscious activitieswithout any anxiety for financial difficulties.Actually everything belongs toKrishna, and if He likes, He can immediatelygive us the whole U. S.A., but He isvery cautious because we are prone to theallurement of maya, so He does not giveus all of a sudden all the facilities, lest wemay fall prey to the illusory presentationsof maya. Just like a physician does notgive delicacies to a suffering patient, butas he recovers from the disease, the physicianallows him to accept palatabledishes. So we have to wait for the cure ofour material diseases, and proportionatelyas we become recovered from thedisease, the supplies of pleasant thingswill automatically come. But we must alwaysknow that there is nothing morepleasant than Hare Krishna. When wewill be able to relish the transcental pleasure,in chanting Hare Krishna, that willbe the sign of our recovery from materialdiseases. Please continue the method in

JULY, 1968 467cooperation, very faithfully and diligently,and Krishna will help you moreand more.Hope you all are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiPlease let us concentrate this integrationand I am sure our movement will be successful.Hoping you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-22Montreal17th July, 196868-7-23San FranciscoMontreal17th July, 1968New YorkMy Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter and check duly. Ihave already sent necessary instructionsthrough Hansaduta. You are all my limbsof my body. Unless you cooperate, my lifewill be useless. The senses and life arecorelative. Without life the senses cannotact and without sense, life is inactive. Ihave advised Hansadutta to cooperatefully with you. The 50% arrangement isagreed.Regarding Kallman affairs: please tryto get out of it, even at a loss. And for future,take lessons out of it. For us desiringto go back to Krishna, persons engaged insense gratification business is more dangerousthan poison. But rest assuredKrishna will save you from this entanglement.Have you sent the cable to Dwarkin?We want Mridangas very urgently becausevery soon we shall be going to London.Six devotees from the West coast andsix devotees from the East coast, 12 forKirtan besides my humbleself, and one ortwo Brahmacharies. Henceforward ourplan should be to push Samkirtan andsell our publications. For books, Brahmananda, for magazine, Rayrama, forSamkirtan, Hansadutta and Mukunda,and for suggestion, my humble self.My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter dated July 14, 1968,with enclosure. It is very nice. I am alreadyinformed about your Kirtan activitiesin San Francisco and its' success. Ithink Krishna is dictating us to adopt thismethod for propagating the Samkirtanmovement all over the different cities,towns and villages on the surface of theglobe, because that was the prediction ofLord Chaitanya. The exact words inBengali poetry are as follows: "Prithi viteacche yata nagaradi gram. Sarvatra pracharhaive more nama."I have already asked Hansadutta toopen correspondence with you. Please doexpedite the arrangement for LondonYatra by mutual correspondence. Here inMontreal there is postal strike. So I amposting this letter in Buffalo where oneboy is going tomorrow morning. I thinkunless there is very important businessyou can suspend correspondence to Montrealaddress. My visa is up to 3rd of September1968, and if by that time myLondon yatra is not completed, then I willhave to extend the visa period. I think youshould start for London as early as possible.The plan already made by you isagreed by me. So you can go ahead withthe plan. Our only plan should be henceforwardto spread the Samkirtan activitiesand sell our publications. Publication of

468 Letters from Srfla PrabhuptldaBack To Godhead is entrusted to Rayrama, and for publication of books,Brahmananda is entrusted. For businessGargamuni is entrusted. So let us combinedlyexecute the Krishna Consciousnessmovement in full swing.Hoping you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-24DelhiMontreal25th July, 1968My Dear Harivilas,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated July 8,1968, and regarding your previous letteror any other letters, it is my habit to replyeach and every letter. You have complainedthat in Canada your letters aremissing. This is not a fact. Of course,since the last four days there is a postalstrike, nation wide in Canada, and theremay be some irregularities now. But Ihave received all your letters in the pastregularly, and I replied them also, withoutdelay. The letters are missing somewherein your return address, because you aremoving very swiftly, from one place to another.And I think if you want to do somereal service to Krishna, and to the society,you should now fix up your mind to followmy instructions and do some tangiblework. Unless you fix up your mind toserve your Spiritual Master, Who is directrepresentative of Krishna, it is not possibleto approach Krishna. Krishna is approachedthrough the transparent viamedia, of Spiritual Master. Anyway, theletter which you sent me 3 weeks priorwas duly received by me and I have dulyreplied them point to point, and if youhave not received that letter, I am enclosinga true copy of the reply which willclear all the points raised by you. Regardingthe Murtis, the letter will explain.In your letter under reply, I find thatyou are now anxious to return to the USA.I do not think that you will be more serviceablein the USA than in India; I thinkif you try to remain in India in fixed upmind, you can do greater service toKrishna. The first thing is that many of mydisciples are always ready to go to India,but I do not encourage them to go there atthe present moment because practicallywe have no organized branch there.Achyutananda has formally opened abranch in Delhi, c/o Radha Press, but I donot think it is acting very nicely. Becauseyou are not combined. If you combine togetherthere, following my instructions,you can develop a branch in India anywherevery nicely. How to do it, that Ishall give you instructions. You have simplyto carry out my instructions in that respect.But at the present moment you arenot prepared to follow my instructions.You are simply visiting different places,for sight seeing recreation. This sort ofservice is not accepted by Krishna. Youare thinking of coming back to USA becauseyour sight seeing business is nowfinished. But now you should think whatservice you have rendered to Krishna bygoing to India. Sometimes back, whenyou were in Nabadwip, I asked you tosend some mridangas, but you declined toexecute the order. I asked you also to developone ashram at Mayapur, that alsoyou declined. Similarly, Achyutanandawas bent on opening a center at Kanpur,and the result is that instead of opening acenter, there, he bas lost two typewriters,taken away by force by some rogue there.So, so long whatever you have done,both you and Achyutananda, let us forgetthose things. Now if you decide to workrigidly on my instructions in India, then Ican give you necessary instructions. Otherwise,you can do whatever you like.

JULY, 1968 469Regarding your coming back, it is notvery good that you are begging moneyfrom Indians to come back. I understandthat you asked for help from Mr. Poddar,Rs. 5000 as loan for your coming back tothe USA. Such kind of begging does notbehove for the American students . It isagainst the reputation of Americanwealth, as well as our society. Eventhough you get some money by such begging,the government will not allow you toreturn to USA with Indian money. Youhave to take money from your country forcoming back, or you have to take helpfrom your ambassador in India for comingback. The Indian government cannotpay anything from the Indian exchange tooutside countries. So do not try to makecollection for coming back to the USA.For your coming back, either your familymembers or your government or somebodyhere must send you money or a ticketfor coming back. Last time when I wascoming back the same difficulty arose,and I had to pay my ticket fare as well asKirtanananda's ticket fare, amounting toRs. 11,000, from my book-fund, which Idispatched to USA. I dispatched 13,000Rs. worth books from India, out of whichI have paid that 11,000 Rs. So this is theexchange condition. I think therefore, thatwhen you have gone to India, for the timebeing you should forget your mothercountry, USA. A Krishna Conscious personis supposed to be without any designation.So why should you think yourself asa citizen of USA? You should always thinkyourself as servant of Krishna. And asservants of Krishna, you combine togetherand develop a nicer InternationalSociety in India. There are so many worksto be done there. The Radha Press was entrustedfor printing of my books, and hewas paid 2000 Rs . in advance for printingof the books, but they have informedAchyutananda that they are unable to printthe books. Now neither they are returningthe money, nor printing the books, and Ido not know what is the meaning. Pleasetry to settle up this matter. Ask HitsharanSharma to return back the money and depositin my bank so that I can pay themoney to some other press and begin theprinting of books immediately. I am verysorry that he has neither printed my booksnor is giving me the chance to get itprinted in another press. So all of you 3immediately settle up this thing and let meknow the result. I have already written toAchyutananda about this 3 times, but noeffect is there till now.In the concluding part of your letter,you write to say, ''All of the westernershere in Hrishikesh show keen interest inKrishna Consciousness and some even attendedlarge Kirtans at Gita Bhawan withus." From this one line you should knowand understand how much potency isthere for preaching our philosophy ofKrishna Consciousness to the westernpeople. The western boys and girls, actuallythey are frustrated in their materialopulence. They are searching after somethingspiritual. That is a fact. And youpersonally already know better than I canexplain. So if you can consolidate all thesewestern youngsters in search after somespiritual enlightenment, this will be agreat service to your country, to yourcommunity, and to the world at large inthe transcendental loving service ofKrishna. Try to organize this movementin India. Attract the western youngsters tothis Krishna Consciousness; have at least3 centers, one in Hrishikesh, one in Vrindaban,one in Bombay. I am stressing onBombay center for the fact that in Bombay,you will find a better atmosphere ofEnglish speaking people. In Bombay,99 % both men and women of all denominations,they speak English. So there youwill have better chance for mixing withthe Indian people. And in Hrishikesh, thewesterners are attracted for finding out

470 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadasome recluse, for practicing so-calledyoga. So if you can attract all the westernersin India in that way, it will be a greatservice, and I am repeatedly requestingyou to take up this matter seriously andcombine together.Yes, we are planning to go to Londonas a Samkirtan party of 12 heads, by themonth of September. And Mukunda inSan Francisco and Hansadutta in NewYork, they are combinedly planning thisscheme. But I think you have got better responsibilityin India than to come here andjoin them. As they are doing the Samkirtanprogram here nicely, similarly, youcan also combinedly do the same work inIndia to attract the westerners who gothere for some spiritual enlightenment. Ithink you will understand me right and tryto do your best to give a shape to this idea.Thanking you once more, and hopingyou are keeping in good health,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-25Montreal29th July, 1968My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. Krishnawill save you do not worry. Let us forgetabout our past incidences with Hayagrivaand Kirtananda. Treat Kirtananda asbonafide and address him as KirtanandaMaharaj . He should be first offered obeisancesand he will return the respect to hisGodbrothers. I am expecting you here asVamandas has informed me. The strike isstill going on. If you do not come then talkwith me by phone. Please be brotherlywith Hayagriva and Kirtananda. Theyhave come back with sincerity. Hope youare all well. I am fit.ACB68-7-26My Dear Gurudas,Montreal29th July, 1968Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your two lettersdated 21 and 23 of July, and I am very gladto learn that some new devotees, boys andgirls, are coming to the temple, and I requestyou to take care of them carefully.What about that boy, Patel? I do not hearabout him.Regarding l..ondon-yatra: Fifteen meansincluding you and your wife. The calculationis 3 pairs from San Francisco,and 2 pairs from here. These 5 pairs is 10heads . Myselfis I, so it is 11. And2or3,utmost 4, Brahmacharies. So your namewas never excluded; if you do not findyour name mentioned, it is a mistake. Sothere is no reason for you to feel disturbed.I am very happy that you are puttingthe London plans into "full gear"now, and please do it, and as nicely as possible.I very much appreciated your nice picturesand as well, the news clipping. It isall very much encouraging to me.I hope both you and your good wife arewell, and all is going nicely there.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-7-27My Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I am veryglad to receive your letter suggesting abranch in Vancouver, and it is very encouraging.Please negotiate with yourfriends as soon as this postal strike is over,and if there is a suitable place to open acenter, I am agreed to this proposal. In themeantime, Hansadutta is coming and I

JULY, 1968 471shall consult with him also, and if possiblewe will go to Vancouver. RegardingGargamuni's proposal: I am writing himseparately and you will know the resultfrom him. If Gargamuni 's business is goingin San Francisco nicely, he should notfor the time being divert his attention.There are two friends also known to me,in Vancouver, and I have written them lettersbut I have not received any reply fromthem, probably due to the postal strike.Anyway, I am anxious to open a branch inVancouver, and as soon as there is favorablecircumstances, either through you orthrough any other friend, it will be a greatpleasure for me to open a branch there. Ihope all is well in San Francisco, and youare feeling in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter via New York,dated July 23, 1968. The bicycle accidentmay be ignored, becaused even if there isa case against you, you can plead that theman was going, and all of a sudden heturned imbalance, and dashed with mycar. So it was his fault, he could not keepbalance with the cycle. And as soon as Isaw him dashed, I stopped immediatelyand what could I do more? In India suchaccidents is never taken seriously by thepolice, because in busy streets, cycling isprohibited. So your decision not to payhim any money is right. Besides that, if hewas to institute a case against you, heshould have at once reported the matter tothe policy nearby.Regarding your business: This ebb tideand flow tide of business we should alwaysexpect. But so far I know that you domore business by traveling. Under the circumstances,the showroom you are keepingis extra expense. I do not know wholooks after your store in your absence. Soyou can take action according to the necessityof business, because we must useour full intelligence in any matter. Anyway,if you find it too much inconvenientto stay in San Francisco, you can come toVancouver or London.I hope you are feeling well, and similarlyall your God-brothers and sistersthere.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiIMPORTANT: Note to Upendra:Please locate and send to New York,the following medicines: Triphala­(brownish powder, appears like earth, andwith faint sweet odor. ) Baraillaich­(ground up nuts, very pungent odor-youground up such nuts in S.F., after theywere sent from Achyutananda in India.)*ACB*you can send them here (Montreal) whenthe strike is overACB68-7-28Montreal29th July, 1968My Dear Madhusudan,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of July 17,and of July 25, 1968, and have noted thecontents carefully. Yes, by keeping engagedin Krishna Consciousness activitieswe can keep out of Maya's clutches, andthere are so many nice engagements, asyou have stated. By your sincerity and serviceattitude you are making good progress;by your letter it is shown.Regarding your question about the pictureof Lord Chaitanya with six arms: Thisform was shown to Ramananda Roy, andSarvabhouma Bhattacharya. This iscalled Sadabhuj Murti. This SadabhujMurti is worshipped also by the devoteesof Lord Chaitanya, and especially the

472 Letters from Srfla PrabhuptidaMurti is situated in the temple of JagganathPuri. Sometimes when you may goto India and visit the temple of Jagganath,you will find this Murti.Affection for God-brothers is nice, it isa good sign. Affection for God-brothersas well as for all other living entities, eventhey are not God-brothers, these signs areseen in the advanced devotees. There arethree kinds of devotees: The lower gradedevotees, they have high regard for theDeity in the temple, but not very muchregard for devotees or people in general .The second grade devotee takes compassionwith innocent non-devotees. In thatstage, he has got 4 kinds of vision: one isthat he always keeps Krishna as the mostLovable Object, second is that he makesintimate friendship with his devotee Godbrothersor any other devotees, third isthat he takes compassion with innocentnon-devotees, and tries to convince themabout the importance of Krishna Consciousness,and fourth is that he does nottake any serious interest for the atheistclass of men. The first grade devotee, ofcourse, sees everyone in relationship withKrishna and as such, he makes no distinctionbetween a devotee or non-devotee.His vision is high grade, because he seesthat everyone is engaged in Krishna's servicedirectly or indirectly. This position ofhigh-grade devotee should never be imitated.It was possible only in LordChaitanya or Lord Nityananda, or HaridasThakur. Thakur Haridas was so powerfulthat he could convert even a harlot.But we should not try to imitate HaridasThakur or Lord Chaitanya. Our positionis in the second grade platform. Weshould not be satisfied remaining in thethird grade platform. But we should try toelevate ourselves in the second grade platform.So far the first grade platform isconcerned, it is not attained by our endeavor,but it is possible when we have fullGrace of Krishna. It completely dependson the causeless Mercy of Krishna.Subhadra is yoga maya. The spiritualenergy is called yoga maya. And she has16 different expansions. Out of these 16expansions, Subhadra is one. The mahamayaof the material energy is also expansionof the energy of yogamaya; and bothyogamaya and mahamaya are equally importantto Krishna as much as any governmentdepartment is equally important forfunctioning of the government. The policedepartment may be horrible for the criminals,but to the government it is a departmentas good as university department.Similarly, mahamaya is horrible to theconditioned soul, but to the liberated soul,there is no fear of mahamaya, because heis protected by yoga maya. It is stated inthe Bhagavad Gita when Krishna said thefollowing: "I am not visible to everyoneon account of being curtained by yogamaya." So when a conditioned soul surrendersunto Krishna, the yogamayawinds up the curtain and Krishna is visibleto the devotee.Hoping you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

AUGUST68-8-1 Montreal3rd August, 1968His Holiness The Pope, Paul VIVicar of Jesus ChristState of Vatican CityRome, ItalyYour Holiness:Please accept my respectful humbleobeisances at Your lotus feet. I beg to introducemyself as an Indian monk, followingthe Vedic principles of religiouslife, and at the present, I am in the renouncedorder of Sannyas (aged 72 years)and preaching God consciousness all overthe world. I came to America in 1965, andsince then I have many followers belongingto both Christian and Jewish faiths.And I have established 8 centers ofKrishna consciousness temples in theUSA and Canada. In the month of September,1968, I am scheduled to go toLondon on this mission, and maybe I canvisit other cities of European countries.My mission is in the line of LordChaitanya, Who is Personified Love ofGodhead, and Who advented Himself 482years ago in India, and preached God consciousnessall over the country. His missionis to revive God consciousness allover the world, on the basis of SrimadBhagavatam (Science of God). The principleof Srimad Bhagavatam is that any religiousfaith which helps a man to developLove of God, without any motive, andwithout being hampered by any materialcondition, is transcendental religion. Andthe best process or the easiest process, inthis age especially, is to chant the Holyname of God . From this definition of religionas we find in the Srimad Bhagavatam,the criterion test of religion is how ithelps people to develop his dormant Loveof God, which is not artificially invoked,but it is aroused from within by bona fideassociation of devotees and hearing aboutGod.The human form of life is speciallymeant for this purpose, namely, to invokethe dormant Love of God, because betterdevelopment of consciousness is found inthe human body. Animal propensities forsense gratification equally found both inman and animals. But the special significanceof human life is to achieve Love ofGod as the prime perfection of life. Unfortunately,at the present moment peopleare more concerned about the principle ofsense gratification, or the animal part ofhuman life, and they are gradually declin·ing in God consciousness. This tendencyis very much deteriorating, and becauseYour Holiness is the Head of a great religioussect, I think we should meet together and chalk out a program forcooperation.The human society cannot anymore beallowed to continue a Godless civilizationat the risk of decreasing truthfulness,hygienic principles, forgiveness, andmercifulness. Because on account of predominanceof these principles at thepresent moment, duration of life,strength, and memory of the human beingis decreasing. The human society is graduallydegrading in the matter of religiosity,and justice; and "might is right" isgradually taking the place of morality andjustice. There is practically no morefamily life, and the union of man and

474 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadawoman is gradually degrading to the standardof sexuality. I understand it from reliablesources that people are trying to getYour Holiness' sanction for contraceptivemethod, which is certainly against any religionof the world . In the Hindu religion,such contraceptive method or abortion isconsidered equivalent to murder.Therefore, in the matter of sex, the humansociety is gradually degrading evenless decent than the animals. As a result ofunrestricted sense gratification, even inordinary dealing, a man cannot trust anotherman, because the cheating propensityof a man has increased beyondimagination. Attraction of young boys foryoung girls is no more as a matter of love,but such attraction is only on the basis ofsexual potency. As soon as there is slackeningof sex life, there is immediately thedivorce petition.In India, which was one day the land ofreligion and Brahminical culture, thingshave deteriorated to such an extent that aman in a higher caste is recognized simplyby putting a piece of thread on the body asa sign of sanctity. The so-called Swamisare cheating the public because the publicalso want to be cheated by cheap methodof self-realization. They are practicing socalledyoga performances for the matterof reducing fat, and keeping the body fitfor sense gratification. If somebody hasno sufficient money, it is very hard forhim to get justice from the court. And ifanyone can simply bluff by so-called advancementof knowledge, he is offered thedoctorate degree. If a man is poor, he is atonce accepted as non-civilized. If a man isfalsely proud, he is accepted as civilized.By frustration, people are gradually becomingcommunists and hippies, and theguardians of the society must now take upthe situation very seriously, without furtherdelay.The Krishna Consciousness movementis meant for overhauling the wholesituation. We are creating men of character,and we are training our disciples to becomeLovers of God, or Krishna. Fromthe very beginning, they are trained to refrainfrom the following four principles ofdegradation: 1) Sex life outside of marriage,2) Meat eating, or eating of any animalfood, 3) All forms of intoxication,4) Gambling and idle sports. The teachingsare based on authorized movement ofLord Chaitanya, on the principles of BhagavadGita, as the beginning, and SrimadBhagavatam as the graduation.I do not wish to prolong the body ofthis letter further, but if you think that ameeting with You will be beneficial for thehuman society at large, I shall be verymuch pleased if Your Holiness will grantme an interview. Thanking you in anticipationfor an early reply.Yours in the service of the Lord,ACB68-8-2Montreal7th August, 1968My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. Krsna willsave you do not worry. Let us forget aboutour past incidents with Hayagriva andKirtanananda. Treat Kirtanananda asbona fide and address him as KirtananandaMaharaja. He should be firstoffered obeisances and he will return therespect to his God brothers. I am expectingyou here as Vamandeva has informedme. The strike is still going on. If you donot come then talk with me by phone.Please be brotherly with Hayagriva andKirtanananda. They have come back withsincerity. Hope you are all well . I am fit.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

AUGUST, 1968 47568-8-3 Montreal7th August, 1968My Dear Nathan Baruch,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter, without date.(In future, while corresponding, pleasetry to put the date of writing.) I receivedyour letter a couple of days ago, but couldnot reply you due to the mail strike. It isexpected that the mail strike will end bytomorrow, as it is announced about theirsettlement, but still I am not certain. I amtherefore replying your letter by posting atBoston. Hope you will receive it duly.Your letter is very encouraging, and Ithink in future your enthusiasm and energycan very suitably be engaged in thetranscendental loving service of Krishna.Everyone of us has got a certain amount ofgood energy derived from Krishna, andwhen that energy is employed under theexpert direction of Spiritual Master, one'slife becomes successful. That is the secretof Krishna Consciousness. The SpiritualMaster must be bona fide representativeof Krishna, by disciplic succession, receivingorders from the superior, and thedisciple must agree to abide by the ordersof the Spiritual Master. This is the simplemethod of spiritual advancement; if youremember this principle it will be verynice. If you can carve Radha KrishnaMurti very nicely, it will be a great serviceto the society. There is a quality of wood,which is very hard and strong and blackand heavy ; in India we call it iron wood. Ithink it is called ebony here. If you cancarve Krishna from this ebony wood, andRadharani from another wood, one whichis very hard, and of golden color, andfrom this same golden wood, LordChaitanya (all of Them 24" in height, andRadharani a little less) then you can beginthis work immediately. I'm so glad tolearn that you are eager to serve Krishnain every way possible. This mentality isvery rare, and I guess that you must havebeen engaged in Krishna's service in yourprevious life. To begin eager to serveKrishna is the greatest achievement aftermany many duration of pious life. So I entrustyou to begin this work immediately.And concentrate your energy making thisart perfection. So far Radha Krishna Murtisare concerned, you have many picturesin San Francisco, and you can do accordingly,and so far Chaitanya MahaprabhuMurti is concerned, I am giving you arough diagram herewith. (Murari has gotone diagram drawn by Goursundar undermy supervision which you can also see.)So far Samkirtan is concerned, thatshould be continued in all circumstances.Chanting of Hare Krishna, Samkirtan isour life and soul . Side by side, if possible,then you can attempt for the ISKCON restaurantand Krishna Prasadam distribution,but this I think is secondary. I canunderstand from your letter that you havevaried energies, and you want to employall of them into the service of Krishna.Please try to do as above mentioned, and itwill be a great pleasure fo r me and a delightfor all others.Hope you are well and I shall be glad tohear from you by return of post. Pleaseconvey my blessings to all the disciplesand inform Krishna das that I have receivedone letter from his good mother,and I shall reply it within a day or two, andI am very much obliged to Krishna das'smother for her kind letter to me, and hopeshe is well and happy.Your ever will-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-4 Montreal8th August, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. You willbe pleased to learn that I have got now immigrationpermission and identification

476 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidacard in Canada. So there will be no difficultyto go to USA anytime. I have notheard anything from Gargamuni, whetherhe is already gone to Vancouver. By theend of this month we will have to vacatethis apartment, and I do not know whetherI am going to London or Va ncouver.Uddhava has taken the German book,and I do not know whether you wanted itback. What about the news of the mridangasfrom Dwarkin? I think from tomorrowthe postal work will begin, andnow you can reply by post all the news ofNew York.Hope you are all well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-5San FranciscoMontreallOth August, 1968My Dear Wendy Weiser,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your nice letter of August 4,1968, and I thank you very much for it .Ye s, this is a very nice proposal . It is verygood that you would like to go to Boston tothe Brahmacharini ashram under Jadurany's care. Please go there as soon as itis convenient for you, and Jadurany willbe very pleased to receive you there,along with the other Brahmacharinis.And when you are in Boston, it is notvery far from Montreal , so you can comehere to visit. And when you come here ,we shall talk together, and I shall initiateyou as my disciple if you so desire . And Ishall be very pleased to meet with you andalso Saradia, if she also comes here .Hoping you are all well ,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-6Montreal12th August, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings, and offerthe same to Kirtanananda Swami. I hopeyou are both well and your program forconstructing New Vrindaban is goingnicely. I am always very much anxious tohear how you are progressing in this connectionand please therefore keep me informed.Just on Saturday, several devotees havearrived from San Francisco: Mukunda,Janaki, Gurudas, Yamuna, Shyamsundar,Malati (and their little child, SrimatiSaraswati devi), and Saradia, all of themhave come here for two weeks to practicetogether as our Samkirtan party, then theywill all go to London and begin preparationsfor our center there. They are allready for opening up a center there, so weare going to try to make it as successful aventure as Krishna desires. While they arehere, we are having rehearsal of Kirtandaily, and I want also that they shall practicerehearsal of your play, about LordChaitanya's activities. So if you can send acopy of your drama as soon as possible,they will begin rehearsing how to do it.Please send it immediately if possible,and I shall keep you informed how theyare progressing in their presentation of it.Hoping you are both well,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-7Montreal14th August, 1968My Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings, and offerthe same to Gargamuni. I am in just receiptof your letter dated August 12, 1968,and have noted the contents carefully. Inthe meantime, I also received a letter from

AUGUST, 1968 477Mr. Renovich, which I have also repliedand as he is very much eager to receive methere , he writes to say that I can residewith him so long there is no place of ourown. As such, I have replied his letter thatI am prepared to start next week by the21st of August 1968, so you can let meknow by phone (our number of the templeis 849-43 19) whether I shall start orwhether you are going to arrange for thepassage money. So everything should beinformed immediately after consultationwith Mr. Renovich, and then I shall preparemyself also to go to Vancouver.When I reach there, other things will bediscussed and done it properly.Kirtan means both lecturing andchanting with music. The chanting withmusic is specially attractive for the massof people, but talking from philosophicalpoint of view on Krishna Consciousness isalso chanting. The whole Srimad Bhagavatamis full of philosophical discussionsand we are prepared to present ourKrishna Consciousness movement bothways, whichever is suitable in special circumstances.If Mr. Renovich is interestedonly in philosophical discussions, we areprepared for that. But at the same time weare concerned mostly with the mass ofpeople, there fore Hare Krishna kirtan isour life and soul. So there is no problem ifMr. Renovich is especially interested inscholarly philosophical discussions.As he has invited me to live with him,since immediately we have no apartmentof our own, you must see personallywhether my living with Mr. Renovich willbe suitable. Because you know that whereverI live, I live separately and my cookingand everything is done by mydevotees. And under the circumstances, ifthe apartment of Mr. Renovich is toocrowded, for Goursundar and his wife andmyself all,* still you will have to do everythingfor me . That is, I cannot eat withMr. Renovich, my food must be preparedseparately, etc. So whether such facilitiesare available at Mr. Renovich 's apartment,you must see personally all thesepoints, and then let me know, whether ornot I shall start.Hoping you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami*If so desired Goursundar and his wifemay wait till we have our own apartmentand I can go alone for the time being. Solet us know what to do.68-8-8Montreal17th August, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your note dated August 13,1968, with the copy of lease agreementand I have gone through it carefully. Whenyou were here I suggested to purchase theland out-right. But I think it has not beenpossible. But on the face of the lease, itappears as good as sale document.But the clause, "Excepting and reservinghowever, all of the coal within and underlyingsaid property, and subject to themining rights and privileges set forth inthe deed conveying said coal, made by JosephE. McCombs, et al ., dated March30, 1903 , recorded in said Clerk's officein Deed Book 98, at page 185," hascaused my headache. I do not know whatis written there in the Clerk's office inDeed Book 98, but on common sense, itappears that the area is coal mine oroilmine . Under the circumstances, if infuture coal industry is developed and if itis required, the government may at onceask us to vacate and no law can stop it.Even the government does not acquire ourland, if in our vicinity some such industry(coal or oil industry) is started, the whole

478 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidaidea of Vrindaban will fade away. Vrindabanconception is a transcendental village,without any botheration of themodern industrial atmosphere. My ideaof developing New Vrindaban is to createan atmosphere of spiritual life where peoplein bonafide order of social division,namely, Brahmacharies, Grihastras,Vanaprastha, Sannyasins, or specificallyBrahmacharies and Sannyasins, andVanaprasthas, will live there independently,completely depending on agriculturalproduce and milk from the cows.The life should be simplified without beinghampered by laboring day and nightfor economic development, without anyspiritual understanding. The New Vrindabanida is that persons who live therewill accept the bare necessities of life tomaintain the body and soul together andthe major part of time should be engagedin development of Krishna Consciousness.The whole Vedic principle is to developKrishna Consciousness, withoutcreating much botheration for the programof sense gratification. Industrial development(or mining industry) in theneighboring places will mar the wholeidea. Now you have to consider, yourself,looking forward to the future, of the land,and then decide, what to do. I do not liketo have New Vrindaban with industrial ormining areas. I have got experience ofthem in India, that the mining areas aresimply next to dungeon. The workers inthe mines are considered to be residing inthe hell. And we can never expect anygood behavior from such workers. So wemust think of the atmosphere aroundVrindaban. In India also our present government,they are trying to develop industriesin the vast tracts of land aroundVrindaban, and creating a hellish atmosphere.So I shall request you to be assuredof the future of the land, and then dothe needful. The summary is that the faceof the lease agreement appears to be allright, but I am thinking of a spiritual development.I hope you have received myprevious letter and I am expecting your replyas soon as possible.Last night we celebrated here Janamastamifestival very gorgeously, andmany Indians in large number attendedand they contributed also very liberally.One Madrasi gentleman demonstrated aKrishna dance by his two young daughters,and it was nice. At the present moment,many devotees from San Francisco,New York (specifically your intimatefriend Woomapati, is present here) havecome here. Today they will observe VyasPuja ceremony (my Birthday Anniversary),so from this day, I will be steppingon the 73rd year. I hope the remainingdays of my life may be utilized to serveyou all Western devotees of Krishna.Please pray to Krishna that he may giveme the necessary strength to discharge theduty entrusted by my Spiritual Master.Convey my blessings to Kirtanananda,and I hope you are all doing well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-9Montreal17th August, 1968My Dear JayanandaPlease accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated August 12,1968 and I have noted the contents . I amas much anxious to go to San Francisco asyou are always anxious get me to SanFrancisco, and receive me there. But immediatelyI never said to Pradyunma that Ican go to San Francisco, so immediatelydo not arrange for renting any apartment,because I am contemplating on going toVancouver. It is not yet settled, but there ischance of my going there and I wish to goto San Francisco from there. Yes I have inquiredfrom Govinda dasi that she and her

AUGUST, 1968 479husband can utilize the half ticket facility,so when I settle to go, certainly I shall askyou to send me the necessary money and Iam so pleased that you are always ready tosend us the required money and returnback to San Francisco. In the meantime,please go on as usual, and I am so pleasedto learn that the Patels are taking great interestin our temple affairs. Please conveyby blessings to all the boys and girls there.Last night we had very nice performanceof Janamastami ceremony and allthe San Francisco devotees and some ofthe New Yo rk devotees including Uddhavaare all now present here. The Indianpublic here also took great interest in thisprogram this year. And today they are performingboth the Vyas Puja and Nandotsavceremony.Regarding Murli Manohar Murti, Iunderstand that the Patels are ready topresent silver Murti, but we cannot worshipMurli Manohar alone, without beingaccompanied by His most favorite consortRadharani. You know that we worshipRadha's Krishna. We should always understandthat Krishna is sold to the lovingservice of Radha, therefore Krishna cannotbe alone. And the Goudiya Vaishnavasthey want to see Krishna as Radha 's property.Therefore , if Mr. Patel can present aPair ofRadha Krishna Murti, not less than18" in height, never mind even They aremade of yellow brass metal, that will bevery nice. And if They are made of silver,that is still more nice. And it will be mygreat pleasure to install the Murtis in thetemple as soon as They are ready. If it ispossible to rent a bigger place for our temple,even without possessing the same asour property, I think that will be a greatfacility. I understand that new men arenow coming in the temple. You may consultwith the Patels about this and do theneedful . Thank you all very much for yourdoing nicely in San Francisco.Ye sterday, Mukunda and Gurudaswere telling me that the man known asAsoka Fakir, now living in San Francisco,is advertising himself that the members ofour temple are all his disciples. This manhas written me letter also, from which Ican understand that he is a hodge-patchman. He is not a pure devotee of Krishna,neither his behavior is quite up to the standard.Therefore you should warn all ourdevotees not to mix with this man very intimately.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-10 Montreal19th August, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I was dulyin receipt of your letter dated 13th August,1968, and noted the contents carefully.The London party led by Mukunda andShyamsundar are going today to NewYork, and from there they will start forLondon. Please offer them good wishesand a nice send-off so that they can safelyreach there and make an attempt for startinga nice temple there. So far Shivananda'saffair is concerned, I have askedMukunda to write to him and he will dothe needful, or you can talk with him. Andregarding the meeting for future constitutionalform of our society, actually it isnow needed. So immediately I may not beable to go and meet and they are also inhurry for going to London, but becausethey will stay for a few days in New Yo rk,you can hold a preliminary meeting betweenyourself, Rayarama, Shyamsundar,Mukunda, and if possible, call Rupanuga,Satsvarupa, Kirtanananda Maharaj , becausethey are nearer. Your suggestion fora committee and the names you have

480 Letters from Srila Prabhupadasuggested, just like Jayananda, Subal,Gargamuni, yourself, Rupanuga, Satsvarupa,Kirtanananda, Dayananda, isvery nice. In this also, I think Mukunda'sname should be also added. Anyway, youcan hold a preliminary meeting and makea draft. Then we shall ratify it in our nextmeeting when I may be also able to participateand do it finally.Your prayer to N risinghadev is acting,because I am improving. When I came toUSA in December, I feel I am much improvedthan the position in which Ireached USA. And possibly I can improvemore and more, and if Krishna desires, Imay be able to work with renewed vigor,although I have stepped on the state of 73years of my life.The other day there was nice Janmastamifestival, and many Indians participatedin the ceremony and they had verygood collection. The meeting was verysuccessful. The next day also they heldNandotsav and Vyas Puja ceremony. Thatwas also very nice. Last night, on Sunday,there was marriage ceremony of Satyabhamaand Paramananda. Their parentsalso came, and it was very nice ceremony.By the by, I beg to inform you that Ihave applied for immigrant visa for USAalso, and in that connection, I have submittedone letter of appointment signed byPurushottam and by you with my permissionhere. Similarly, you can send me aletter reading as follows: The letter shouldbe addressed to the Consulate General ofthe United States of America, 800 PlaceVictoria, Montreal 3, Quebec, Canada,and the reading matter should be as follows:"Sir, I the undersigned president ofthe Inter. Soc. for KC beg to state thatSwami AC Bhaktivedanta is the appointedAcharya (chief minister of religion) of thisinstitution. This institution is incorporatedin NY under the Religious Act numbersuch and such and it has got thefollowing branches all over the country.Mention herein all the 6 branches inUSA, namely NY, NM, Boton, SF, Buffalo,LA."His presence is very urgently requiredto transact the religious activitiesof all the centers, and the society ispleased to provide him for all his expenditures,in the matter of living, expenses,traveling expenses, and the publication ofhis books . His books are already sellingvery nicely and one of his books is beingpublished by Mssrs. Macmillian Co. andso personally he has also a nice income,besides from our contribution for hismaintenance. So in all circumstances, hewill never be public charge. His servicesare profoundly needed by this religiousdenomination in the US and he will besimply carrying out the occupation of aminister of this religious institution.''So you send me the above letter signedby you as president along with the photostatcopies of certificates which you mayhave in NY. I have got the original, so ifyou have not got photostat copies then Ishall have to get them here. While signing,just stamp our society's seal whichyou have got with you.I have given instruction to Yamuna towrite one certificate form and in that connectionshe may require to see the seal dimensionso if she wants to see, you canshow or give her an impression of theseal .Hope you are all wellYour ever well wisherACBPS. As Jayagovinda is working on behalfof the Society, I think the letter of guaranteewhich he has asked for may be sent.What about the Mridangas and Harmoniumfrom Dwarkin and what about theUnited Shipping Corp?Is Kallan affair settled up?

AUGUST, 1968 48168-8-11 Montreal19th August, 1968My dear Balai dasi and Advaita das,Please accept my blessings. It was sokind of you that you have sent me a Birthdaycake, and you will be pleased to knowthat Govinda dasi and her husband Goursundar,decorated the bread with nice differentkinds of candles, and it was offeredto Krishna and then I enjoyed the bread,part of it, and the rest was distributed tothe devotees. It was very nice. The otherday they performed by Birthday Anniversary,very decently, there were good gatheringand people appreciated. And beforethat, there was Janamastami, at night allthe Indians here, they joined and they contributedalso liberally. So here the newsare very good, as you have in NY and theLondon party they are proceeding to NYtoday and will reach there and stay for afew days, and then will go to London.Give them hearty send-off and goodwishes.I again thank you for your nice cake.So far your work is concerned, now Iam serious about starting a press as soonas possible, and because there is no otheralternative, we must have a good press. SoI have already advised about these thingsto Uddhava, and he will inform you. And Ihave also advised Purushottam that hetrains somewhat in taking photographs,and some of the girl students, especiallyAnnapurna, she knows how to use typographicmachine, and her future husband,Ananda, he has also some idea of presswork. So, and your wife Balai dasi, shehas also some knowledge in typewriting,so I do not think there is any difficulty forconducting a press, and we must do it assoon as possible. Uddhava suggested thatto start a complete press, it will requireabout $5000.00 so I think Krishna will arrangeto supply the necessary money, butyou should try to start the press as soon aspossible. Of course, in Montreal there issufficient place, and more students arecoming here, being chased by the draftboard,under the circumstances, if itwould have been possible to have a nicepress here, then we could engage all thedraft-age boys in the press work. But yousay that NY is the best place, so we muststart the press in the best place. That isfirst consideration, and Krishna will giveus all strength, and printing of Bhagavatamand other Vaishnava literature is mylife and soul, so press is the biggest mridanga,recognized by my Guru Maharaj ,so I shall request you to qualify yourselffor such work as soon as possible, andwith Krishna's Name, let us start it assoon as possible.Thanking you once more for sendingme the nice letter and cake and offer myblessings to all other students, includingyour good wife, Hope you and Balai dasiare both well.Your ever well-wisher,ACB68-8-12VancouverMontreal19th August, 1968My Dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of our letter dated August 13,1968, and in the meantime I have also addressedone letter to Upendra, as well asto Mr. Renovich, * asking for the passagemoney to go to Vancouver, but I have receivedneither any letter nor any passagemoney from either of them. Under the circumstances,I can understand that thesituation in Vancouver is not favorable forstarting a center there immediately, so wecan stop that attempt, and you may do theneedful. But anything you do, that meansstarting a center must be first of all estimatedthat we must be able to continue it.

482 Letters from Srfla PrabhupiidaOtherwise, rather we should not open acenter in any place. Whatever centers wehave already started that must be maintained. The London party is going to NewYo rk today, and from there they will startfor London, as soon as possible. That centeris immediately necessary, because wehave no center in Europe. Anyway don'tbe worried if the Vancouver situation isnot good; stop the idea, and you may goback to USA, as it is already suggested.Hope you are both well , and be carefulof your health . And don't be worried.Thanking you once more for your kind letter.Your ever well-wisher,A C. Bhaktivedanta Swami*Having not received any reply from eitherof them. I am doubtful whether theyhave not received my letters . Kindly inquirewhat is the matter and let we know.68-8-13My Dear Purushottam,Montreal19th August, 1968Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedAugust 16, 1968, and have noted the contentscarefully. I thank you very much thatyou are always thinking of me; similarly,take it from me I also always thinkof you .I could not have allowed you to go to NewYo rk but your service was urgentlyneeded by Brahmananda, so I could notrefuse that. Anyway, your service toKrishna, either with me or anywhere else,is the same.Your writing of letter to JayaGovindain India is all right. But at any cost, if he isin difficulty and if the letter of guaranteeis absolutely necessary, then it should beissued in his favor, as requested by him.Regarding your inquiry into Japan for reprintingthe book, the best thing will be toarrange for our own press. Take quotationfrom the Japanese firm, but I do not think,unless we print in large quantity, it willnot be very cheap. Similarly, you can alsoinquire from Hong Kong as you have described,I have no objection, but our nextattempt should be to start our own press.As such, I have already instructed Uddhavaabout these things, and so far photographywork is concerned, you have gotsome experience and you can learn aboutit sufficiently in the meantime. As soon asAdwaita and Uddhava says the press canbe started now, we must start our ownpress. That I have decided. And here,Anapurna, she has agreed and her futurehusband, Ananda, he has also agreed towork on the typographic machine. Yo ucan inquire the price of the typographicmachine also. Last time we inquired fromIBM about the typographic machine, orvari-type machine, so I do not knowwhether Rayarama has already purchasedit, but our printing process should be onthe typographic machine and vari-typemachine, and get the photo of the prints.That will be the process of our printing.So you can inquire in the meantime.Today, the London party led by Mukundaand Shyamsundar will reach toNew Yo rk, and if Shyamsundar requiresthe copy of Bhagavad Gita, for translatingit into Germany. So if he wants it you mayhand over the copy, original copies, frommy closet, and he will translate into Germany.Hope this will find you in goodhealth; also, offer my blessings toBrahmananda, and others .Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-14Montreal19th August, 1968My Dear Sachisuta,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter dated August 9,

AUGUST, 1968 483!968, and I can understand your problem.The principle to be followed by devoteeis clear and nice. It is stated in the Bhagavatam,that one should be chanting theHare Krishna mantra in such a nice waythat he shall become completely disassociatedwith any other contamination. Thatshould be our point of view. Of course,that stage of reaching requires much time,still we should try to do it. So if you decideto stay in some place , with determination,without looking to the circumstances andconcentrating your energy in the serviceof Lord Krishna, that will make you steadfast. Anyway, as you have returned fromLos Angeles, and you are asking my adviceto go somewhere else. I may informyou, of course Rupanuga's association isvery good, and you want to go to Buffalo,but instead of going to Buffalo, if you cango to Boston and help Satsvarupa becausehe requires the assistance of a man likeyou , as he suggested in his previous letter,so if you have no any previous objection,then instead of going to Buffalo, you cango to Boston. That is my advice. But Ihave no objection if you go to Buffalo. Butwherever you may go , the point should bethat our main business is service toKrishna and awkward circumstances mayhappen anywhere, and we should be ableto hold up to all such circumstances,steadfastly we will go on with our businessof service to Lord Krishna.The Boston center is also very important,because there are many students andBoston is educational center, especiallythere are so many universities so if youconcentrate your energy and can organizethe student community to understand ourphilosophy it will be a great service. Fortunately,in our movement the youngstersare attracted. And in your country, I havestudied it thoroughly, that the youngergeneration is looking after some sort ofnew engagement, and they are not verymuch interested in the materialistic way asAmerica is professing. This is very natural. When one person, or one community,makes such improvement in material advancementthe next stage is the spiritualinquiry. So I have felt the pulse of yourcountry, not of your country, but throughoutthe whole western world, and youngergeneration, they are in need of thisKrishna Consciousness movement. And Iam therefore sending a branch to Europe,beginning from London, and so you arevery intelligent boy, and Satsvarupa is alsovery intelligent boy, and if you organizethe students to attract them to this movement,it will be great service to your country,and to the cause of Lord Krishna. Ihope with faith and dexterity, you will dothe needful , and I shall be glad to hearfrom you occasionally. Hope this will findyou all right.Your ever well-wisher,A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-15 MontrealMy Dear Tarnal Krishna,19th August, 1968Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedAugust 13, 1968, and noted the contentswith so happiness. I am glad to see in yourletter indication that within very shorttime, you have been entrapped by LordKrishna's Grace and you have expressedyour transcendental feelings in such a niceway, that I cannot but admire your capacityto grasp so quickly about the wholephilosophy and I must pray to LordKrishna for your more and more advancementin Krishna Consciousness, and behappy and successful even within thisvery life. That is my ardent desire.The Krishna Consciousness is certainlythe need for the western countries; Ithink timely I have come to your country,and if the younger generation like you will

484 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptldacooperate with me, I am certain thismovement will give the western youngstersa transcendental gift which will berecorded in the progress of history. I amso much grateful to you and other devoteesof the Krishna Consciousness society thatit gives me a great pride that Krishna hasgiven me association of such nice boys.So far the nectarine of Krishna Consciousnessis concerned, it is actually thethirst -quenching element of the dry materialadvancement. One Vaishnava poet,has sung so nicely, that this material worldis just like a desert, and to cover the desertoceans of water are required. But if somebodytries to water the desert of our heartwith such seemingly water, namely, theassociation which was aspired by Mr. AlexanderShellkirk, I think you have thispoetry, an English poetry which we readin our childhood in India, that one Mr. AlexanderShellkirk, he is lamenting, he wasthrown in isolated island, that society,friendship and love, divinely bestowedupon man. This is of course true. The society,friendship and love as we materiallyexperience have got some fascination, butsuch fascination is compared by the poetVidyapati as a drop of water of the ocean.His purport of singing is that, My dearLord, this drop of water which we derivefrom the association of society, friendship,and love, what it can do in the desertof my heart? But unfortunately, I am attachedto this drop of water only and haveforgotten You. Therefore my future isvery much hopeless, and I am seekingyou, My Master, as the only solution. Sothis is the process. The material advancementcannot give actual happiness to thepeople and the Krishna Consciousnessmovement will surely quench the parchedthroat of all materialistic persons, if theyare properly administered under the guidanceof disciplic succession of previousacharyas, beginning from Lord Chaitanyaintermediated by the Goswamins, and followedby us. So my request to you is thatyou are doing very nicely, I have heardfrom other students that your ·attempt tospread Krishna Consciousness movementin San Francisco is very laudable, pleasecontinue your energy in that way.About my coming to San Francisco, Ihave already written to Jayananda. I amalways hankering after going there, butbecause there are some other program,immediately, so please ask all the devoteeson my behalf to wait and in the meantime,enjoy chanting Hare Krishna. Thechanting Hare Krishna is our main business,that is real initiation. And as you areall following my instruction, in that matter,the initiator is already there. Now thenext initiation will be performed as a ceremonyofficially, of course that ceremonyhas value because the name, Holy Name,will be delivered to the student from thedisciplic succession, it has got value, butin spite of that, as you are going on chanting,please go on with this business sincerelyand Krishna willing, I may becoming to you very soon. I have alreadywritten to Jayananda about this, so don'tbe impatient. Pray to Krishna that I maymeet you very soon.Regarding the devotees headed by Mukundaand Shyamsundar, who are going toLondon, they are starting today for NewYo rk, and from there they will go to London.One boy from here, Shivananda, hehas already gone to Europe, probablyKrishna has desired that we should introducethis movement in Europe also,maybe we may require many hands, devoteeswho are being trained in USA, to goto all other parts of European countries.Your appreciation for the service of yourGod-brothers is very much laudable. Thisis actually a devotee's business that everyoneshould appreciate the value of otherdevotees. Nobody should criticize anyone.Because everyone is engaged in theservice of the Lord, according to one's

AUGUST, 1968 485capacity, and the thing is, Krishna wantsto see how much one is sincere in renderingHim service. Materially we may thinkthat his service is greater than his, that isour material vision. Actually on the spiritualplatform, the service rendered by acalf to Krishna and service rendered byRadharani and Her Associates, toKrishna, there is no difference. Krishna isso kind and liberal that everyone's service,when it is sincerely offered toKrishna, He accepts. This is the statementin the Bhagavad Gita. That He accepts alittle bit of flower, fruit, and water, offeredto Him in devotion and love . He wants ourlove and devotion, otherwise, he is theProprietor of everything, what can wegive Him? This position of our subordinationshould always be maintained and weshould always give respect to our puredevotees who are engaged, in devotionalservice, that will make us able to make aprogressive march in the devotional line.Thanking you once more, for yourvery nice letter, and hope you are all wellthere.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S . Please find out my stationary somewherein the basement kept by Upendraand send them here. Inform Jayanandathat I have received his check for $75 .00.ACB68-8-16Montreal21st August, 1968My Dear Krishna devi,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter dated August1, 1968, which I received just yesterday,after the mail strike. Anyway, I am somuch pleased to read the contents of theletter for your intelligent questions andmany other things, and all mentionedthere . The first thing is about your husband'sendeavor to produce films of ouractivities. I very much appreciate this attemptand try to help your husband asmuch as possible in this matter. When youhave no other engagement, at that timeyou can attempt to paint pictures if youhave got taste for such artistic work.I understand that you are sending$100.00 permonth to Santa Fe, and I shallbe glad to know for how many months, orhow many installments you have sentthere. Because I wanted you to send$100.00 say, for three mnths; I do notwant that a branch should be continuallymaintained by other branches. Everybranch should be self-dependent. AnywayI shall be glad to know how many installmentsyou have already sent there, then Ishall instruct you further. It may be that Imay ask you to send me some help becausemy next attempt will be to start apress of our own, in New York, or inMontreal, which will cost about $5,000. Iam so pleased to note that you are alwaysready to serve my cause and you areproper prepared to follow my instructionsin the service of Lord Krishna.Regarding the child problem: I may informyou that all our children born of theKrishna conscious parents, they are welcomeand I want hundreds of children likethat. Because infuture we expect tochange the face of the whole world, becausechild is the father of man. Anyway, Ihave seen Malati is nursing her child sonicely that she attended my meeting everyday and the child was playing and shenever cried. Similarly, Lilavati's childalso never cries or disturbs the meeting.Lilavati was always present with herchild, so it depends on the mother. How tokeep the childcomfortable, so that it willnot cry. The child cries only when it feelsuncomfortable. The child's comfort anddiscomfort depends on the mother's attention.So the best solution is that we shouldtrain our all first-day small babies in such

486 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadaa way that they are always satisfied andthere will be no disturbance in the meeting,and there will be no complaint. Butthere cannot be any hard and fast rules thatonly children who are grown up, 7 or 8years old, can be admitted and no otherchildren can be admitted. That is not possible,and I am not going to sanction anysuch rule. Rather I shall welcome a babyfrom the very beginning, so that the transcendentalvibration may enter into its ear,and from the very beginning of its life, itbecomes purified. But of course, the childrencannot be allowed to disturb in themeeting by crying; and that is the mother'sresponsibility to keep them comfortable,and not to disturb the meeting.Regarding your question about Chintamanidham, I may inform you that all theplanets in the spiritual world is known asChintamani dham. And Goloka Vrindabanis one of the planets. Regarding theQueens of Dwarka, mostly they were devotees,and some of them descended fromthe Vaikuntha planets, or they were manifestationfrom Goddess of Fortune, Lakshmi.The lump of iron stone which was deliveredby Samba, the members of theYadu family wanted to destroy it, by rubbingon a stone, and the pulp made out ofthe stone gridded down on the bank of ariver, and gradually it grew into log. So atthe end all the members of the Yadufamily when they were fighting, took advantageof the log and beat one anotherand thus the whole family was dead andgone.Your humbleness in the matter of becomingmy disciple is very much appreciatedby me, and keep this mentality,always, and you will be happy and advancein Krishan Consciousness. With allmy blessings, I beg to remain yourEver-well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-1721st August, 1968Dear Achyutananda and JayaGovinda,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedso many letters from both of youand I am replying today summarily, especiallyyour joint letter dated July 27,1968, and JayaGovinda's letter dated August19, 1968. The first thing, I warnAchyutananda, do not try to initiate. Youare not in a proper position now to initiateanyone. Besides that, the etiquette is thatso long the Spiritual Master is present, allprospective disciples should be brought tohim. Therefore if anyone is anxious to beinitiated, he should first of all hear ourphilosophy and join chanting at least forthree months, and then if required, I shallsend chanted beads for him if you recommend.As we are doing here. Don't be alluredby such maya. I am training you allto become future Spiritual Masters, butdo not be in a hurry. If the family of theboy who is so eager to be initiated certainly,are Vaishnavas, let them offer yousome place, because you are in need of aplace, first and foremost. In that placehold Kirtan daily, morning and evening,as we do, that will be the sign of their sincerity.So for the time being, hold Kirtanas I have advised above, and speak fromSrimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad Gita, andtry to serve the cause of the Krishna Consciousnesssociety. You don't be attractedby such cheap disciples immediately. Onehas to rise gradually by service. If you geta place in Patel Nagar, that will be verynice.Regarding printing: I have receivedone letter from the New 0. D. Press. He isagreeable to print my books, as I have alreadyadvised him, with new types, andeverything, desired by me. I understandthat you also saw the proprietor and youmight have talked with him. He wants

AUGUST, 1968 487some money immediately for purchasingnew type. But I do not find anything inyour letter whether it has been depositedby Hitsharanji into my bank. In every letterI see there is promise, but in no letterdo I find any news that the money is alreadydeposited. If the money is not immediatelydeposited, how can I pay to theNew O.D. Press and begin printingwork?? Please immediately arrange fo rdepositing the money by Hitsharanji in thebank so that I can issue check in favor ofthe New O.D. Press. This is very urgent,and let me know by return of post theresult.The next important thing is that if youboth, both of you , jointly work, then ourmission in India will be successful. Nowso far printing of the books, let me knowwhether you can take charge of doing thiswork nicely. Yo u can see also the followinggentleman who is also a devotee of myactivities, and you can show him this letterwhether he can spart a room for yourstay to supervise the printing work: GopalKrishna Babu; c/o Bhananull Gulzari La! ;Iron Merchants ; Chauri Basar; Delhi-6,India. It is near the O.D. Press, and if heagrees it will be a very nice thing for you .Regarding gramophone records:When I was in India, Achyutanandaknows that my record player was stolen.But when we went to Calcutta, one gentlemanloaned us his record player machine,and it was nicely played . This is known toAchyutananda. This means that our recordwas played in another gentleman'smachine. So there is no difficulty to playthe records in Indian machine.Now the summary is that you shoulddefinitely let me knowimmediatelywhether you can take charge of the printingworks , whether you can distribute orsell the records, and whether in exchangeof the records you can send me the Deities. These services are most important.Don't be allured by cheap disciples. Goon steadfastly to render service first. Ifyou immediately become Guru, then theservice activities will be stopped; and asthere are many cheap gurus and cheap disciples,without any substantial knowledge, and manufacturing new sampradayas,and with service activities stopped,and all spiritual progress choked up. Youhave already mentioned one such nonbonafidesampradaya, Jaya Krishna Sampradaya. So let me know immediatelywhat you are going to do, in respect to myabove three important businesses entrustedto you . JayaGovinda, you mayknow that I have already instructedBrahmananda to issue a letter of guaranteein your favor as you have desired.Please continue to send me one letterevery week, on Saturday, and this will facilitateour connection in a regular routinework. Hope you are both well,Yo ur ever well-wisher,68-8-18My Dear Subal ,Montreal21st August, 1968Please accept my blessings . I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedAugust 6, 1968. And I am very glad toknow that you are pulling on. But onething is that you must be selfindependent,because for the time being,the students from other centers are sendingyou money and Krishna devi also haswritten me letter that she is sendingthrough Dinesh a $100.00 a month . Buthow much you are spending and howmuch money you have received, please letme know. Because my next attempt will beto start a press. And I think in that press,your assistance will also be required. Thepress starting is very urgently needed , andin that case I shall be requiring at least$5000.00. So your center must independent,self-independent, I might ask the

488 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidastudents to pay me something out of theirincome for my press starting. So I shall beglad to hear from you what is the positionand how you shal be maintaining yourcenter. The idea is that local devoteesmust manage the local temple. In case ofemergency, the other temples may help,but that should not be continued, for allthe time. I think you will understand meright.Sachisuta also has written me that hewas in Los Angeles, now he is in SanFrancisco, and he wants to go to Buffalo. Ihave asked him to go to Boston, because inBoston there is necessity of such person tohelp Satsvarupa.What about your permission for chantingin the park? This process has becomesuccessful everywhere. So you must getthe permission, some way or other so thatthere will be no difficulty for collectingthe necessary expenses. If you can chantin the park and collect some contributions,and can sell our literature, that willbe very good propaganda.I think as soon as you become selfdependent,you should ask the boys whoare sending you money not to send moneyto you, but to me , because I will be requiringfor starting the press. I am glad tolearn that you are also looking for somejob, and if by Grace of Krishna, you getit, that will solve the whole problem.Hope this will meet you in good health,and awaiting your early reply.Yo ur ever well-wisher,68-8-19Mr. David ExleyChief, NGO SectionExternal Relations DivisionOffice of Public InformationDear Mr. Exley,Montreal22nd August, 1968I beg to thank you for your letter datedJuly 15, 1968, and I shall be very obligedif you kindly let me know whether we cantalk about Bhagavad Gita as ii is, in thechurch attached to the United Nations.Such meeting and discussions would be ofgreat interest to many persons, and wouldbe extremely beneficial to everyone involved. Please let me know if we can arrangesome lecutre engagement, at thechurch above-mentioned, at the earliestconvenience .I thank you once more for your kindletter, and fo r your interest shown in ourmovement, and I shall be awaiting yourreply at your earliest convenience.Sincerely yours,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, AcharyaInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness68-8-20 Montreal22nd August, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings . I beg tothank you very much for your note alongwith the paperback cover of the BhagavadGita as it is. And I have very much appreciatedthe whole thing. The design and thepainting and everything. So far SwamiBhaktivedanta, it is not very importantthing. The Swami title can be given, in thebeginning or in the end, that doesn't matter.So you need not be very much worriedabout it. So far my name being insertedjust on the left hand of the Lord , is alsovery much appreciated. It is not exactly onthe Head, but it is on the left Arm, so weare Arms of the Lord, because we arefighting against the influence of Maya, orthe non-devotees . Actually we theKrishna Conscious people are soldiers ofthe Lord , or Arms of the Lord, and becausewe are energy at the same time, becauseall living entities are energy of theLord , so energy is always kept on the left

AUGUST, 1968 489side. As you have seen, Radharani is alsoon the left side of the Lord, and similarly,Lakshmiji is also kept on the left side ofthe Lord, so we are also marginal energy,not exactly like Radharani or Lakshmiji,but we are superior energy than matter, ormaterial energy, so we should keep ourselfalways on the left side of the Lord, andlet us act as His Arms, or army. I've alsonoted with pleasure this description of thejacket for the hardbound edition, and I understandthat my photo will be there and itwill be sold at $6.95 . And you are expectingadvance copies by the end of October.At last in this connection, I must offeryou my heartiest blessing because it is dueto your endeavor that we are finding ourBhagavad Gita to be published by a greatpublisher. And through your grace alsowe are going to publish Teachings of LordChaitanya. So I shall be glad to know whatis the position with Dianippon. As soon asyou ask me I shall send them the letter ofcredit. Another thing, in India, it is thepractice that if we give orders for onethousand copies printing, they print 1 , 100copies. It is 100 copies they print withoutany charges. Of course, in India the processis, the paper is supplied by the customer,and the press prints a hundredcopies more without any charge. I do notknow if this arrangement is also applicableto the Japanese printers, but anyway,as soon as I hear from you I shall arrangefor the letter of credit.Regarding your letter dated 18th August,1968, in which you have describedabout the Radha Krishna Pastimes, Icould not understand whether it is a filmdemonstration, but the description is verynice. So does it mean that a film has beentaken of this demonstration? I shall beglad to know further about it.Hoping you are all well, and I remain,Your ever well-wisher,P. S. I have received Ekayani Oasis letter.Please convey by thanks for her parts .Radhahstami is on the 31st August1968.Please inform Shyamsundar that I havesent yesterday afternoon $1655.00 Dollarsto the Bank in London as desired byhim.68-8-21Montreal22nd August, 1968My Dear Daniel,Please accept my blessings. I am somuch thankful to you for your goodwishes, and your realization that you arethe eternal servant of Krishna. It is the primaryunderstanding of our constitutionalposition. Actually, we are servant, but inthe conditioned state, every one of us posingas the master. The sooner we forgetthat we are not master, we are servant; andif even though we are not inclined to serveKrishna, we have to become the servant ofour senses. So the sooner we realize thisfact, that our constitutional position isservant, that means we are liberated. Liberationmeans to be situated in one's originalposition. Just like a man sufferingfrom fever, so relief from fever means tobe situated in normal condition. So serviceis our normal condition, but this servicebeing misplaced·, we are not happybut as soon as the service is placed to theright person, the Supreme Personality ofGodhead, Krishna, everything becomeshappy and successful.Please go on chanting "Govinda JaiJai, Govinda Jai Jai, Radha Ramana Hari,Govinda Jai Jai", along with "HareKrishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna,Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama,Rama, Rama, Hare Hare." And in anycondition you shall be happy without anydoubt. Thanking you once more for yourpostcard, and I beg to remainYour ever well-wisher,

490 Letters from Srfla Prabhupada68-8-22Montreal22nd August, 1968My Dear Jayananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your note, alongwith the forms. And I thank you verymuch for this. The forms are alreadyfingerprinted because on inquiry it wasfound in the American Consulate here, soI have done the necessary fingerprints andsubmitted to them. And let us see whathappens. But I understand that you can geta personal certificate from the police officeror the police station nearby, if it is possible,get it. That will help us very much.And you may know that London party hasalready left Montreal and they are in NewYork, and from there sometimes withinthis week they will go to London.I understand from various sources thatour San Francisco center under your goodleadership is going on very nicely; I thankyou for your such transcendental activities,and Krishna will be certainly verymuch pleased and give you more andmore strength to understand Krishna Consciousnessand make advancement in thatline.I also beg to acknowledge receipt herewithof your letter dated July 13, 1968,which was not delivered so long due tomail strike. And you enclosed in that lettera check for $75.00 which has beenduly received. Regarding Tarnal Krishna,I have replied separately, I understandfrom different sources that he is doingvery wonderfully. And he has become agreat assistant to you. It is all Krishna'sGrace. Please ask him to enhance theSamkirtan party more and more, and thenthe whole San Francisco city will be followersof our Krishna Consciousnessmovement. It is so pleasing that more andmore boys are joining the Krishna Consciousnessmovement and I wish that thewhole group known as the hippies maytake advantage of this movement, andmake their life very successful.I have received one letter from VinodePatel also, and it is understood that he isliving in Berkeley School, and I am replyinghim separately. He appears to be sincereboy.Thank you once more for your kindletter, and I beg to remainYour ever well-wisher,68-8-23 Montreal22nd August, 1968My Dear Vinode, PatelPlease accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter dated17th July, 1968, delivered to me just yesterday,after a month, on account of themail strike. Anyway, I am very glad tolearn that you are approaching the Guzeratipeople in San Francisco, and askingthem for their support in the temple, thatis a great satisfaction for me. Next timewhen I go to San Francisco, I wish to visitpersonally all the Guzerati residents ofSan Francisco, through your exigency andI shall be glad to speak to them about mymission. My mission is to establish thatKrishna Stu Bhagavan Swayam. The InternationalSociety for Krishna Consciousnesswants to establish that oneGod, one scripture, one mantra, and oneservice. One God is Krishna, one scriptureis Bhagavad Gita, one mantra is HareKrishna, Hare Krishna, and one servicemeans everything for the Lord. So it ispleasing to me that the Guzerati ladies andgentlemen who are in San Francisco, theyshould take keen interest in this movementbecause superficially or from the historicalpoint of view, Krishna was a Guzerati.His father was a Guzerati, but His maternaluncle's house was in Mathura. AndHis foster father's house was at Vrindaban.So of course, these are superficial,

AUGUST, 1968 491so even we take Krishna as a historicalPerson, the Guzeratis must take more interestthan others.I thank you very much for your promisethat you shall try your best to cooperatewith me, and in my movement, and for thetemple, and for which all blessings andGrace of Krishna will be bestowed uponyou. I beg to remain,Your ever well-wisher,68-8-24 Montreal23rd August, 1968Jaya Om Vishnupad ParamhansaParibrajakracharya Astottara Sata(108) Srimad Bhakti SiddhantaSaraswati Goswami Prabhupad Ki JayaNamah Om VishnupadayaKrishnapresthaya BhutaleSrimate Bhakti SiddhantaSaraswati Iti NamineJaya Sriman Hayagriva BrahmacharyPrabhu Ki JayaJaya Sriman Kritanananda SwamiMaharaj Ki JayaMy Dear Kirtanananda and Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated August 20,1968, and was so much pleased to read thecontents carefully. Now I can understandclearly the mining position; anyway, as itis clear to everyone of us, now we canwork with great enthusiasm for constructinga New Vrindaban in the United Statesof America. People who came from Europeto this part of the world, they namedso many new provinces, and countries,just like New England, New Amsterdam,New York, so I also came in this part ofthe world to preach Krishna Consciousnessand by His Grace and by your endeavor,New Vrindaban is being constructed.That is my great happiness. Oursincere endeavor in the service of theLord, and the Lord's assistants, to makeour progressive march successful, are twoimportant things to be followed in spiritualadvancement of life. I think it wasKrishna's desire that this New Vrindabanscheme should be taken up by us, and nowHe has given us a great opportunity toserve Him in this scheme. So let us do itsincerely and all other help will come automatically.I am very glad to notice inKirtanananda's letter that he has realizedmore and more that the function of NewVrindaban is nothing physical or bodily,but purely spiritual and for the glorificationof the Lord, Sri Hari. If we actuallykeep this view in our front, certainly weshall be successful in our progressivemarch.I am very glad to learn, Kirtanananda,you are feeling so much happy in serving abeautiful Jagganath Murtis which youhave taken from Montreal. The aratrikceremony can be performed as follows:The first aratrik ceremony is performedas you seen in Vrindaban, at Radha DamodaraTemple, early in the morning, beforesunrise, at least one and a half hourbefore sunrise. The second aratrik is performedat about 8:00 in the morning, afterdressing and decorating the Deity withflowers. The third aratrik is performed afteroffering the luncheon to the Deity. Andthen the fourth aratrik is performed in theevening. And the fifth aratrik is performedwhen the Lord goes to bed. So youhave got practical experience, you haveseen how they are doing in Radha DamodaraTemple, and gradually, as far as possible,you can introduce them. JagganathSwami is very kind to the fallen souls, becauseHe is the Lord of the Universe, andall the living creatures are His subjects,therefore, Jagganath Swami will bless youwith all the required intelligence, how to

492 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadasatisfy Him. On the bathing ghats in India,generally, they install Lord Shiva 'sMurti, but that is not possible here, neitherwe want to divert attention in so manyperformances. Concentrate in one temple,and then we shall extend one after another.Immediately the scheme should beto have a temple in the center as you havealready taken the plan, and residentialquarter for the Brahmacharies, or Grihastras,and let us go ahead with that plan atfirst.Our next attempt should be to establisha New Vrindaban post office at our door,and if you can arrange for this. I think toestablish a post office nearby it will be requiredthat you get some letters from allcenters. So this will not be difficult if thatis the rule. First of all you know from authoritieswhat is the paraphernalia, rules,to get a post office, then we shall advise allour centers to send you letters, at least 6 orone dozen from each center, and this willbe sufficient to give proof that we are gettingletters plenty.The scheme regarding the will ofHayagriva Brahmachary, as well as thelease agreement between the society andHayagriva Brahmachary, the tax payment,all this scheme are very nicely made, andI have got all my approval and so far thetrustees are concerned, this is also required,and I can suggest that amongst thetrustees, your two names, Kirtananandaand Hayagriva, and then Brahmananda,and from San Francisco Jayananda, andMukunda, and Satsvarupa, Dayananda,Shyamsundar, etc . and such sincere boys,who are working with their life and soulfor the society, may be the trustees, and Ithink you should immediately make correspondencewith Brahmananda, and Ihave already advised him that we shouldmake a central committee for managementof all the centers. Or, if especiallyfor New Vrindaban, different trustees required,that I cannot say. In my idea, thereshould be one central body of trustees fordirecting all the different centers as wellas New Vrindaban, but there must be a localgoverning body for each center, that ismy idea. Now you are consulting withsome lawyers, you can take their suggestionalso, but do everything very nicely sothat we can serve Krishna without any difficulty.Regarding Bhagavat edition: I have alreadydecided that we must have a press.But it is understood that starting of pressin New Vrindaban may not be very feasible,because if there is something wrongin the press, it will be difficult to repair it.Adwaita, he is now working in some pressfor becoming our future press expert inrunning on the press. Adwaita, Uddhava,both of them are working. And I have alreadyadvised that as soon as they assurethat they can manage a press working, weshall immediately start the press.Regarding editing of Bhagavatam:Certainly it will be entrusted to you, becauseRayarama is engaged in the Back toGodhead. Hardly he will get some time.So I have decided to print Srimad Bhagavatamin 12 volumes, naming them differently.I have decided in this way ; 1stvol ., Creation; 2nd vol., Cosmic Manifestation;3rd vol., Status quo; 4rth vol.,Mercy of God; 5th vol ., Creative Energy;6th vol ., The Rulers of the Universe; 7thvol., Activities of God; 8th vol., Dissolution;9th vol., Liberation; lOth vol., UltimateGoal; 11th vol ., General History;12th vol ., The Age of Deterioration.You told me that you will arrange forthe electricity immediately, so as soon aselectricity connection is there, I shall goand stay in New Vrindaban for some time.Maybe, Krishna desiring, I may make myheadquarter there. Your suggestion thatPondicherry was made famous on accountof press work, it is good suggestion andmy Guru Maharaj 's opinion is that press isthe brihat mridanga, or the biggest, or the

AUGUST, 1968 493greater mridanga. The sound of pressgoes long long distance, long distantplaces, so the organization of press andliterature and public sales, should be ourmain business.The San Francisco devotees are inNew Yo rk, and so you may not send theChaitanya lila just now, better you finish itnicely. Then we shall see what to do.Ye s, Rayarama is trying his heart andsoul to improve the quality of Back ToGodhead, so this department should beexclusively managed by him, because hehas devoted his everything for this BackTo Godhead department. I have askedalso Janardan to join the editorial departmentof publication, and he will do translationwork in French, of all ourliteratures, and similarly Shyamsundarmay help in translating all the literaturesin Germany, and I am arranging to takethe mimeograph machine from NewYo rk, into Montreal, so that Janardan andother boy, Dayal Nitai, who is French Canadian,they can immediately issue, aFrench edition of Back To Godhead.I am so pleased to learn that Kirtanananda,you have already attractedneighboring devotees by your presentationof Prasadam. I am sure this Prasadamattraction will make our neighborsfriendly and surely they will come innumber in future so that New Vrindabanwill be ideal place for visiting from theneighboring provinces, counties, I thinkso and it will be done nicely. I am so gladto learn that you are feeling too much engagementin New Vrindaban, and this aspiritual inspiration. Our society shouldnever be a devil 's workshop, but it shouldbe certainly the most magnificent platformfor spiritual activities.You will be pleased also to know that Iam trying for religious minister's immigrationvisa in USA, and it is almost finished,and I am hopeful of becomingsuccessful. Hope this will meet you all ingood health, and complete Krishna Consciousness,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP.S. The goat can be namedsRevachhagi,and the cow can be named as Surabhigai.Also you will be pleased to note that I'veasked Goursundar to make a layout of thewhole land and I shall place 7 differenttemples in different situation, as prototypeof Vrindaban. There will be sevenprinciple temples, namely,[TEXT MISSING]68-8-25Montreal24th August, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your three letters, dated August19, August 13, and July 25. I beg tothank you very much for them. After thepostal strike is over, there are so many letterscongested and therefore, I am sorrythat I am late to reply your letter. But Ihave carefully seen the contents of thethree letters and I understand that you aremoving near Hollywood vicinity, andsome of the devotees from San Franciscoare going to your place to join Samkirtanand I am sure this will be a great successfulattempt. I also understand thatSamkarsam is coming to the temple, butBaladev has ceased to come on account ofinfluence of his wife. But if you let meknow his address, I can write to him personally.In the Bhagavad Gita, it is said thateven a very small attempt in the path ofKrishna Consciousness can save one fromthe greatest danger. Krishna Consciousnessis spiritual consciousness, and

494 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadawhatever is achieved in the matter of realizationof this spiritual progress, willnever go in vain. The fact is that there aretwo kinds of consciousness: Krishna Consciousness,and non-Krishna Consciousness.A man may perform KrishnaConsciousness to a certain percentage,and another man may perform KrishnaConsciousness to greater percentage orcent per cent progress. So those who arenot able to perform the cent per cent progress,they have to remain in the materialworld, but according to the percentage ofprogress, they are allowed to take theirnext birth either in a rich family or in avery pure family; in both the cases, one isgiven the chance to have human fo rm oflife so that one can make progress fromthe point where he ended in his last life.The best thing is that every intelligent manmust try to finish this business of KrishnaConsciousness in this life. Finishingmeans one has to conclude that he has nomore any necessity fo r material enjoyment.Spiritual enjoyment of life is the reality,and when one is perfectly preparedto accept spiritual enjoyment, and completelyunderstands the uselessness of materialenjoyment, that is the perfectionalpoint of view.I received letters from Dayananda, andNandarani, and I am going to reply themseparately. Our Bhagavad Gita as it is,which is being published by Macmillancompany will be ready by the end of October1968, and I think Teachings of LordChaitanya also will be ready by that time .So if Samkarsan can help us in selling ourbooks , Srimad Bhagavatam , BhagavadGita, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, it willbe a great service to the society. The statusof Back To Godhead is certainly improving,and I hope it will improve more andmore , and two boys, namely Adwaita andUddhava, they are working in a press, andas soon as they are confident that they arecompetent to run on a press, we shall startour own press at any place. Yo u will alsobe glad to know that Hayagriva Brahmacharyhas taken a 99 year's lease on a verylarge plot of land about 134 acres, fo r constructingNew Vrindaban . So Krishna isgiving us gradually fac il ities to makeprogress in Krishna Consciousness, and ifwe work sincerely, there will be no scarcityof help in every respect. I have receivedthe copy of the initiated disciples ofthe society.Chanting in the park and on the streetis our new movement and it is successful .It has become successful in San Francisco,in New Yo rk, as well as in Montreal. So if we adopt this means in LosAngeles, I am sure it will also becomesuccessful . In San Francisco, I understandthe Kirtan party collects sometimesup to $40.00 daily, and Monteral , theother day, Hansadutta collected $24.00,similarly I hear from Boston, they are alsomaking good collection. So if you can organizethis Samkirtan party chanting inthe parks and in the street , with permitfrom the authorities, there will be no scarcityof money, and people will be veryglad to contribute.The more we struggle for advancingour Krishna Consciousness movement ,the more we become advanced on thepath . Really, devotional service meansthat we have to employ our energies fo rthe purpose of Krishna Consciousness,and it does not matter what is the volumeof such energy, because diffe rent personshave got diffe rent type of energies, but thebest means is that one has to apply his energyas far as possible, that is the secret ofsuccess in Krishna Consciousness. It doesnot mean that one has to acquire the energyof an elephant or one has to becomevery learned or intelligent man , simplyone has to become sincere and employwhatever energy he has in his possessionin the service of the Lord. That is the secretof success in Krishna Consciousness .

AUGUST, 1968 495Hope this will meet you in goodhealth, and I shall be glad to hear morefrom you about the progress of yourSamkirtan movement recently adopted.Yours ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-26 Montreal24th August, 1968My Dear Dayananda, and Nandarani,Please accept my blessings. I receivedyour letter dated July 18, after the mailstrike as well as Nandarani's letter, alongwith it. And I thank you very much forthem. Regarding immigration: I have alreadyreceived immigration in Canada, sothere is no difficulty for my going to USA ,but still I am trying to get immigration ofreligious minister into the USA, and it isprogressing well. I think there will be nodifficulty in coming and going to USA, eitherfrom Canada or anywhere , so don'tbe worried about it . Krishna will help us .Now, regarding your question: "What isthe difference between Jagganath deitiesand Krishna Murti and why is the latternot fed and cared for as well as the formerand why are Jagganaths more tolerant? "Krishna means Himself and all His expansions,diffe rent expansions. So sometimes,Krishna appears as Vasudev,sometimes as Samkarsan, sometimes asJagganath, sometimes as Lord Chaitanya,sometimes as Rama, so all such differentincarnations includes the Name Krishna.So Jagganath is another feature ofKrishna, and He is especially favorable tothe people who are not strictly advancedto the Brahminical culture of Vedicritual s. Lord Jagganath is situated in India,at Puri: this place is one of the townsof Orissa province. And the people ofOrissa and Bengal , they are sometimesfish-eaters. why sometimes-about 90 %population they are fish-eaters . But JagganathSwami in Puri, He accepts servicefrom these people although they aresometimes fish-eaters. So in the Kaliyuga, the people are supposed to be not soclean, and therefore, service to JagganathSwami is preferred. So far service toLakshmi-Narayan , and Radha Krishna, itrequires highly elevated position, transcendentalto Brahmins. But still, eitherwe serve Jagganath or Radha Krishna, theeffect is the same. But to facilitate theworship of the Lord in the Form of Jagganathis more congenial than others. Butwhen anything is offered to Jagganath, itdoes not mean that it is not taken byKrishna. So in the temple, although we offerto Jagganath, it is also accepted byKrishna. Be rest assured of this fact.Regarding your question: "What is thecorrect sexual etiquette for a strict Grihastha;and what is spiritual family planning?"Unless one wants to beget a child,there should not be any sex life. The bestthing is to forget sex, but it is not possibleimmediately or all of a sudden, especiallyin the Western countries where sex life isso liberal . So under the circumstances,one should try to have sex life only forchildren, not for any other purpose. Spiritualfamily planning is that one should bedetermined to train up children in KrishnaConsciousness. According to Bhagavat,the spiritual family planning is that oneshould not become a father or one shouldnot become a mother, unless he is able tomaintain their children to the extent of liberation.It is the duty of the parents to seethat the children are growing luxuriantlynot only materially, but spiritually also.So spiritual training should be given fromthe very beginning. Koumaram acharikraghia-ln the Srimad Bhagavatam, Pra­Jad Maharaj has instructed that spiritualconsciousness or Krishna Consciousnessshould be taught to the children from thevery beginning as they are given educationfrom early childhood .

496 Letters from Srila PrabhupiidaThe next question, "will you pleaseexplain about the 28th mahayuga of thisManu, in which the treta and dwaparayugas are reversed?" The 28th mahayugameans that in Brahma's one day, there are14 Manus. And each Manu 's life is the durationof 71 mahayugas. And one mahayugameans 4 yugas combined. The durationof Sattva yuga is about 18 hundredthousands of years. And the duration ofTreta yuga is about 12 hundred thousandsof years. And the duration of Dwapara yugais about 800 thousands of years, and theduration of Kali yuga is about 400 thousandsof years. So all together, becomes amahayuga, and such 71 mahayugas takeplace in the life of one Manu, and thereare 14 Manus in the one day duration ofBrahma. So in the 28th mahayuga, of thelife of Vivasvata Manu, at the end of Dwaparayuga, Lord Krishna appears, and inthe next Kali yuga, Lord Chaitanya appeared. Previous to this Kal i yuga, therewas Dwapara yuga, when men used to livefor 1000 years. In the Treta yuga, theyused to live 10,000 of years and in the Sattyayuga, they used to live for 100,000years. Modern calculation of Sattya yuga,Treta yuga, Dwapara yuga, Kali yuga, asgolden age , bronze age , silver age , copperage, and other age, that is historical references.But the Vedic calculation is diffe r­ent from such calculation. But it can beaccepted to a certain extent to understandthat history is changing and repeating atthe same time.Yo u are always welcome to put questions,and it is my duty to answer all thequestions to my sincere devotees. Yo u willbe glad to know that our one of the Pra­.bhus, Sriman Hayagriva Brahmachary,has leased out a 99 year lease on one greatplot of land to construct New Vrindaban.So San Francisco is progressing as NewJagganath Puri and West Virginia plot ofland may be constructed as New Vrindaban,but I am still hoping that we can dosomething in Florida also. Yo u suggestedpreviously that you have got friend whohas got some land and in Florida, and hewants to utilize it for some religious purpose. So I still draw your attention, ifsomething can be done in the Florida.Hope this will find you both in goodhealth, along with your good child Chandramukhi.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami*That the people of Orissa and Bengal eatfish in their private homes is a fact. Butthey do not offer anything like that to theLord Jagganath. The Lord is offered allnice foodstuffs as we are striving to do inour all our temples here.The news of the Car fe stival of LordJagganatha of S.F. was published not onlyin the local papers but also in India as irtthe Yugavtar A.B. Patrik, Truth, andmany others on lOth July 1968.68-8-27We st BerlinMontreal24th August, 1968My Dear Son, Brahmachary Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter dated August21, 1968, and I declare herewith thatKrishna desired you to go to Amsterdam,and therefore, you are not admitted in England.I have seen also the description ofyour little activities in Amsterdam, but Icould not understand the language. Butone thing I observed in that article, thereis publication of my name, Swami A. C.Bhaktivedanta. So this indicates that yourtour in Europe is going to be very successful.I am glad that you are going to WestBerlin, and I hope you will duly receivethis letter, and be courageous and alwayschant Hare Krishna. Yo u will be successful.Similarly, I came in New Yo rk, in1965, in the same position, and gradually

AUGUST, 1968 497111any students like you have come to me .So don't be disappointed . Do and try yourbest and Krishna will give you all help.I understand that one Finland youngboy has joined you , similarly many otheryoung men will come and join, becausethe whole world is in necessity of KrishnaConsciousness. My Guru Maharaj usedto say that there is no scarcity of anythingin this world, save and except KrishnaConsciousness. Keep your present attitude, intact; have good faith in your SpiritualMaster and Krishna and everythingwill be all right. You have already takenthis secret of success, sincerity, and pullon with that mentality. And Krishna willgive you all help.Yo u write to say, "I really missSwamiji and my God-brothers' associationso much." But I may remind you that Iam always with you . And so wherever Iam there, and you are there, all your Godbrothersare there. Please remember alwaysthe humble teachings that you havereceived from me, and that will make youalways associated with me, and with yourother God-brothers .I hope this will find you in good health,and good Krishna Consciousness.Yo urs ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I have forwarded your letters toGargamuni in Vancouver so that he mayget courage by your example.ACB68-8-28 Montreal24th August, 1968His Excellency the Right HonourableRoland MichenerGovernor-General of CanadaGovernment HouseOttawa, Ontario, CanadaYo ur Excellency,ISKCON (the International Society ofKrishna Consciousness) is a nonlucrativeorganization, whose purpose isto promote the well-being of human societyby drawing its attention to God. We area non-sectarian society, and our membersinclude people from Christian. Jewishand Moslem as well as Hindu faiths. Theaim of ISKCON is not to found a new religioussect, but to invoke the living entity'sdormant love of God, and thus provide thehuman society of all faiths with a commonplatform of clear theistic knowledge andpractice. Members of ISKCON may retaintheir own respective religious faiths,as ISKCON is meant to establish a clear,practical common fo rmulation of thecommon ideal of all theists, and to defeatthe unnecessary dogmatic wranglings thatnow divide and invalidate the theisticcamp. This common ideal of theism is todevelop love of God .We are following in the footsteps ofLord Chaitanya to invoke the dormant loveof Godhead. The sum and substance ofthis teaching is that the living entity iseternally the subordinate servant of God ,but unfortunately, being sophisticated byillusion, everyone in the human society istrying to predominate over others withoutaccepting the Supreme Predominator. Acase in point is the recent Russian invasionof Czechoslovakia.ISKCON is trying to train people to besituated in that pure condition of life bysimple methods, encouraging them to associatealways in the matters of God consciousnessor Krishna Consciousness,and actually I have good results in thesense that since I have come to the Westerncountries to preach this cult, my discipleshave taken to this principleunhesitatingly although they belong todiffe rent faiths and cultures. So I thinkthis propagation of love of Godhead canbe pushed forward more and more withgood results .I came to Montreal in the month of

498 Letters from Srfla PrabhupiidaJune, desiring to stay here, and your Immigrationdepartment has kindly acceptedme as a landed immigrant. As such, I wishto make Montreal my headquarters forthis cultural or religious propaganda inthe Western world. I was in search of anice place in the city, fortunately, I havefound one at 722 Sherbrooke Street West,and it is understood that Your Excellencyis the ultimate disposer of this property.If by suitable arrangement, this propertyis handed over to my society, I canvery nicely organize its activities as follows:I. Establishing a press to publishbooks and magazines. Many of my booksare already published, and one BhagavadGita as it is is being published by Mssrs .MacMillan and Co., and is scheduled toappear by the end of October, 1968.Please see also enclosed photo of the latePresident L. B. Shastri of India acceptingmy Srimad Bhagavatam. 2. Chanting,dancing, playing devotional music.3. Feasting and distributing spirituallyprepared food. 4. Training preachers.5. Holding classes in the philosophy ofGod realization.I enquired from Mssrs. Crown AssetsDisposal Corporation of Ottawa, and I understandthat they have fixed the price ofthe house at about $400,000.00 (four hundredthousand dollars). So far I am concerned,I cannot pay the whole amount atonce, but I can accept whatever termsYour Excellency may be pleased to thinkproper. But as I am a missionary worker, Ican take the responsibility of paying$12,000.00 (twelve thousand dollars) peryear, each year in advance. If Your Excellencywould kindly consider my activitiesas very essential for the human society atlarge, you can do something by which Ican make proper utilization of the houseas above mentioned. This favor will be agreat deal of help to the cause of humansociety, and good name and fame for theGovernment of Canada.Thanking Your Excellency in anticipationof your kind reply, I remain,Yours truly,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-29Montreal24th August, 1968My Dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am justin receipt of our letter dated 21st August1968, and I have noted the contents. Ihope yesterday Goursundar talked withyou, in telephone, and whatever I had tosay, you have been informed. But today, Imay let you know that the idea of openingcenters in large cities in USA, is quitewelcome, and we have got opportunitiesto do that. But at the same time, as you twohave gone to Vancouver, I think youshould not come back defeated. That willnot be good. You try to open even a smallcenter there, and as you say, there is noother yoga society and Mr. Renovich is littlesympathetic, so don't be disappointed.I think you should try to open a center asfar as possible.I am subjoining herewith the letterswhich I have received from Shivananda,who is now in Amsterdam, and he is proceedingto Berlin. You will be pleased thathis little activities for a few days, is nowpublished in a local paper with his photo.And although he is alone, I think his journeyto Europe is a successful one by thistime. And similarly wherever we go, wemust not come back defeated. That is myidea. So I think Shivananda's enclosedcopy of letter will encourage you .Hope this will find you in good health,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. One thing, that, there is no necessityof my going there immediately, unless youfind it quite suitable, but if required, you

AUGUST, 1968 499may call one or two other devotees also,and to join in Kirtan, and it will be successful,if you chant in the park and inyour compartment, people will graduallycome. That is my opinion. Hansadutta isdoing the same thing here, and he got theother day, 24 dollars. Similarly, in BostonSatsvarupa is also doing that, and what tospeak of San Francisco. I think this Kirtanprocess will be all right.68-8-30San FranciscoMontreal26th August, 1968My Dear Jayananda, Kartikeya, Shamadasi, Dorothy, Vishnujana, Dan, Tom,Russell, Michael, Krishna devi, and allmy sons and daughters in San Francisco,Please accept my blessings. I am sograteful to you for your invitation to cometo San Francisco as soon as possible, andequally I am also anxious to go there, butfor certain unavoidable reasons, I cannotimmediately go to San Francisco. One ofthe reasons is that I may have to go to Vancouverand I am expecting instructions inthis connection at every moment. So if Igo to Vancouver then from Vancouver Ishall go to San Francisco, and if I do notgo to Vancouver, then probably by the endof September I must go to San Francisco.I am in due receipt of your letter,J ayananda, dated August 21 , 1968, and Iam glad to learn that one Indian gentleman,Sri Ranchhoubha Patel, is returningto India and upon returning they will sendtwo 18" marble Radha Krishna Murti,and certainly when you receive thoseMurtis, we shall have a grand festival. Inthe meantime, the Murti of Murli Manoharwhen arrives by the end of September,I must be present and do the needful niceceremony. When I go to San Francisco, Ishall deal with these Indian ladies andgentlemen, and in the meantime, keepthem alive in the activities of our temple.It may be that we may open another centerin San Francisco, near this Patel community.Anyway, let Murli Manohar come,then Radharani will automatically come.Regarding the Associated Press: It is avery good opportunity to push our publicitythrough this sympathetic press. Ihave got so many things to say to suchpress representative, and if you can seethe gentleman and arrange to send a representativehere in Montreal, so it will be anice opportunity to speak to them personally.You wanted to send me one certificatefor the police officer, and I also confirmedthis, but I have not received as yet the certificate.If possible, please send it immediately.I am so much pleased with the good reportsof your Samkirtan party there, andplease continue to spread our KrishnaConsciousness movement in this way, andyou will receive the blessings of LordChaitanya. I am very happy to hear of theso many new boys and girls taking a sincereinterest in this philosophy, and I amalso very eager to meet with them when Icome there to San Francisco.In the meantime, please continue yourvery excellent work of spreading thisKrishna Consciousness all over that partof the country, and try to attract more andmore new boys and girls to this greatmovement.Thanking you once more for yourmany kind letters of invitation, and hopingyou are well and happy.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. Please send my stationary (like thissheet), which is lying with you there, ifyou have not yet done so, as we will beneeding it very soon.

500 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptida68-8-3 1 Montreal26th August, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated August 22,1968, and so far Dwarkin is concerned, Igot one copy of the letter, dated 4th April,1968, in which for two different invoicesthey submitted total value, Rs. 2554,showing a balance in their favor, Rs.688.33., out of which if the value of oneDulcitina is deducted-So, $50.00 meansRs. 375 approximately. So they want87.71 , and the amount due to them may be433.33. So approximately it comes to thesame amount, namely, 87.71. Anyway, Ihaven't got all the papers with me. Youhave all these papers, so you can see whatis the actual position and do the needful .I hope by this time the San Franciscodevotees have already started for London,and I shall be glad to hear if there is anynews from them, or about them.Regarding the cover of the BhagavadGita as it is: I want to present before aConsulate General this cover when I maybe called to visit him, but because youhave wanted it back, so I am sending it toyou . If you can secure advance order, thatis more important business than showingit to a Consulate General . So I am returningit back to you .Hope you are well, and all is goingnicely there.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Please send some sets of Srimad Bhagavatam(2nd & 3rd) to Montreal withbill. The former books sent to Janardan ispaid to me here. ACB68-8-32 Montreal28th August, 1968Sriman Hitsaran Sharmac/o Dalmia EnterprisesNumber 4, Scindia HouseNew Delhi, IndiaMy Dear Hitsaranji,Please accept my blessings. Since avery long time I did not hear from you,and I do not know why you are silent. Inthe meantime, I was given to understandthat you are going to deposit Rs. 2000/­withing 20th of August, 1968. I have notreceived any news whether you have depositedthe money or not, but one thing isvery urgent, that I have to immediatelypay to Omkar Press for starting the work.I am surjoining herewith the copy of theletter which I received from the OmkarPress, as late as on the 25th July, 1968,but I could not pay him because I did nothear from you. But I wish to begin thework immediately. I handed over theprinting work to you, with expectationthat you will do it nicely, but you find itdifficult to do it, so please do not detainme any further, for making progress in theprinting work. I hope you will kindly replythis letter and let me know whetheryou have deposited the about Rs. 2000/- inmy bank account. If you find it difficultyto pay at a time, so you can immediatelypay to Omkar Press directly or deposit inthe bank at least Rs. 1000/- so that theprinting work may not be detained.Another thing, regarding Deities: I understandfrom JayaGovinda's letter thatSethji wants to contribute two Pair of Deitiesprovided the freight is paid by somebodyelse. So I agree to this proposal.Kindly arrange to send at least two Pairs ofRadha Krishna Deities, brass, as perspecification given to you before.By the by, also let me know whetheryou have received 5 gramophone records,which I sent to the address of Sethji, about

AUGUST, 1968SOl3 months ago . I am very anxious to knowabout you . And also I shall be glad to hearhow you and your family are doing.Kindly reply this letter per return of post,and oblige.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-33Montreal28th August, 1968My Dear Woomapati,Please accept my blessings. You willbe glad to know that I am starting for NewYo rk on the 31st instant at 4:30 p.m., andreaching New York at 5: 50. I wish to meetSatyabrata; if he does not like to come toour temple, then I wish to go there to hisplace. Please arrange for this sometimeson Sunday.I hope you will remember my requestto you about the press opening. The decisionis now complete and now I am goingto New York to arrange for it. Perhaps youhave already known also about the landleasing for New Vrindaban attempted byHayagriva Brahmachary and KirtananandaSwami.Hope this will meet you in goodhealth, and more when we meet.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-34Montreal30th August, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter after a longtime. I am glad that you are taking propercare of your health, and I wish Krishnamay bless you for your long life and goodwork. You will be pleased to know that Iam . proceeding to New \brk tomorrowafternoon, at 4:30 p.m. reaching there at5:50. And if possible I shall remain therefor one week before starting for San Francisco.The San Francisco devotees especiallysome of the Indian residents, whohave taken interest in our temple, since theRathayatra festival was performed, theyare very much anxious to see me, and theyhave proposed to cooperate fully with ourmovement. So I think I should go thereand encourage them. So I am going thereby the end of the first week of September.I have noted down the description of thepaintings that you have recently done, andI hope in the meantime Saradia hasreached under your care. This girl is veryinnocent, and nice student; please try tokeep her under your care, at least for oneyear. Then I shall get her married withVaikunthanath das Brahmachary. She isalso good typist, and if possible she canhelp the typewriting work and assist Satsvarupa.And I hope everything is goingthere well, and shall be glad to hear fromyou at the New Yo rk address.Hope you are now in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-35Montreal30th August, 1968My Dear Rupanuga,Please accept my blessings. I beg tothank you for your letter dated August 24,1968, with 2 pictures, photographs of ourtemple in Buffalo. You have written to saythat Buffalo is doing well, but I think Buffalois doing well because you are doingwell. Every place is expansion ofKrishna's material energy, and materialenergy being expansion of Krishna, inone sense there is no difference betweenKrishna and the material energy. The onlydefect of material energy is that it is somethinglike the prison department of the

502 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadagovernment. But it is not that all the personsresiding in prison are under prisonrules and regulations. Similarly, all conditionedsouls who are within this materialenergy, are supposed to be the prisonwalls of material nature, but those whoare officering on behalf of Krishna, theyare not members of the prison rules andregulations. So our members of KrishnaConsciousness all over the world who areengaged in preaching Lord Krishna's desire,that everyone should surrender untoHim, so one who has taken up seriously topreach this message in the world, he isconsidered as doing well. So my conclusionis that Buffalo is doing well becauseyou are doing well. I am so glad to see thatone of my sincere disciples has sacrificedeverything for spreading Krishna Consciousness,and I am so pleased upon youthat you are showing the example of anideal householder. Srila BhaktivinodeThakur was also a householder, but helived in so perfect Krishna Consciousnessthat he is better than many Sanyasis likeus. So far I am concerned, I could not livelike Bhaktivinode Thakur because I wasdisgusted with my family members and Iwas obliged to give up my family life. ButKrishna is so kind that although I left myfew children born out of this physicalbody, Krishna has sent many nice beautifulobedient children for propagating mymission. And you are one of them. So Iam very much obliged to you .The best thing that you are doing, thatyou are training our grand-child, Mr.Eric. I always see that he is always withyou and from very childhood, he is gettingthe Krishna Consciousness ideas, andsimilar opportunity was for me when Iwas a little boy, like your child. My fatheralso trained me and instructed me to hisbest capacity, and he prayed for me thatRadharani may be pleased upon me , and Ithink by my father's blessings and grace, Imay have come to this position, and Imight have gotten into relationship withHis Divine Grace, Om Vishnupad Sri SrimadBhakti Siddhanta Saraswati GoswamiMaharaj . So it is also Krishna'sGrace that I got good father, and a goodSpiritual Master, and in my old age also,Krishna has favored me with so manygood children. So when I feel I see thatKrishna is so kind upon me, so I offer myobligations unto Him.I shall be glad to receive a copy of thepictures taken by Joey, as you describe ithas come so successful.From the pictures of our Buffalo center,it appears it is very nice cottage and Ithink it is quite suitable for our purpose.Regarding your question: "about thesix-armed Lord Chaitanya you gave me(Krishna, Lord Chaitanya, and LordRama combined.) Why is Lord Chaitanyacarrying a fo rked stick? What do theShaivite-like teloks on His arms signify?And to whom was this form revealed? "The forked stick is a symbol of ekadandi.The mayavadi sanyasis, they carry ekadanda,one stick. As we Vaishnav sanyasiscarry 3 danda, or three sticks, combinedtogether. The one stick is the symbol ofunderstanding oneness. The monists onlyaccept chin matra, there is only one spiritsoul; they do not understand the varietiesof the spiritual world. And so far our threesticks are concerned, we take it forgranted that we have dedicated our life,for Krishna's service in 3 ways, namely,in our body, in our mind, and in ourwords . Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur hassung in a poetry that my mind, my body,and my home is surrendered unto You. Soa Grihastha or householder like you, youare also tridandi. Because you have sacrificedeverything, your life , your home,and your child, so you are a tridandi sanyasi,in fact. So continue this attitude seriouslyand sincerely, so you will be also asgood as a sanyasi even though you are inthe dress of a Grihastha. The Shaivite

AUGUST, 1968 503telok is three pundra , 3 lines, on thefo rehead, in 3 parallel lines. Our telokudra pundra, they are distinctive marksof diffe rent sections. There are two sectionsof the Vedic followers. Namely,the impersonalists and personalists . Sothe telok distinguishes one from the impersonalists.Our undra pundra, Vishnutemple, udra pundra means Vishnu temple,so we are distinguished from themayavadis who use the three parallellines, tripundra.Regarding my going to Buffalo: It maybe postponed for the time being. You willbe glad to know that I am proceeding toNew Yo rk tomorrow evening, at 4:30, andreaching there at 5: 50. I wish to remain atleast for a week in New Yo rk, and thenstart for San Francisco. Hope this meetsyou in good health,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-36Montreal30th August, 1968My Dear Shama dasiPlease accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your kind letter datedAugust 27, 1968, and I am glad to hearabout successful Samkirtan party's activitiesin Los Angeles. You will be glad toknow that very soon I am going to SanFrancisco, maybe by the end of the firstweek of September.The nice sentiments expressed in yourletter under reply is very much pleasing tome. When I initiated you, I accepted onthat very moment as my daughter. So youare eternally my daughter and I am yourfather. There is no doubt about it. And ourrelationship is based on Krishna Consciousness,so the more successful youpreach and help Krishna Consciousnessmovement, the more our relationship intranscendental platform is firm and fixedup. Our business is to chant and glorifythe Holy Name of Krishna and whereverwe may remain, Krishna is with us,Krishna is within your heart, Krishna iswithin my heart. So, spiritually there is noquestion of separation, even physically wemay be in far distant place. So I am veryglad that you are taking more and more interestin this movement, and I pray toKrishna that you be fixed up in that position,eternally.Thank you very much for your letter,hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-8-37New York3 1st August, 1968My Dear Krishna Das,Please accept by blessings. I beg to acknowledgereceipt of your letter of8.25.68 and I am so pleased to look in youa Divine Spirit for preaching the K. C.movement. It is very welcome. So if yougo to Germany and join Shivananda therewho is already there, you can immediatelyopen correspondence with him, hisaddress being as follows.If you can actually open a nice centrethere it will be a great service to LordKrishna. So you can make your solid planin this connection & I am coming to SanFrancisco by the 1st week of September.This afternoon I am going to New Yo rkand I may stay there for one week & thenstart for San Francisco when I may talkfurther on this subject.I understand your birth day is on the26th September and I offer my blessingson this occasion. When I go to San Francisco,I shall give you the required letters.Just now I do not remember the body ofthe letter given to Upendra but I shallcompose it again don't worry.Your sister Srimati Saradia has gone to

504 Letters from Sri/a PrabhupadaBoston. She is as nice as her nice brothersand she has expressed her desire to marrya nice boy. I agree with her proposal but Ihave asked her to wait for another year asshe is too young.When you start for Germany you mustgo there fully equipped with Mridangasand other instruments. More when wemeet. Hope you are well.Your ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. While I was to post this Jetter I havegot a Jetter from Shivananda and his addressis as follows: Open correspondenceimmediately and do the needful.Samuel GreerJugenher bergenKluckstrasse 3W. Berlin, Germany.I am enclosing here with the letterwhich I have received from. Please keepthis Jetter carefully and return me when Igo to San Francisco.ACB68-8-38West BerlinMontreal31st August, 1968My dear Shivananda,Please accepting my blessings andthose of Lord Krishna. I am sure Krishnais protecting you and your sincerity of servicewill bring Krishna and more andmore near to you. So have faith in Himand surely you will be successful in openingbranch in W. Berlin. Indications ofKrishna's help are very much hopeful.I am going to-day to New Yo rk and afterone week I shall start for San Francisco.Some San Francisco boys whoknow German language are eager to helpyou and join you with Mirdanga etc .Please let me know your opinion on thismatter. They can start immediately andthey have little money also. I have givenhim the address and most probably he willwrite you. His name is KrishnadasBrahmachary c/o San Francisco Temple518 Frederick St. San Francisco, Cal901 17.I see in your letter every thing very favorableand it seems that I will have to gofirst in Berlin then in London. Anywayjust depend on Krishna and he will do everythingin order. Hope this will find youin good health.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Other devotees from San Franciscohave already started for London. Mukunda's address as followsMichael Grantc/o American Express Co.Haymarket St.London. U.K.I hope you have also received myformer letter addressed to you c/oAmerican Express Berlin.ACB

SEPTEMBER68-9-1 New Yo rk City3rd September, 1968Sri Krishna Prasad BhargavaG. G. IndustriesAgra, IndiaMy Dear Sri Krishna Prasadji,Please accept my greetings. Since avery long time I did not hear from you,and I hope everything is going well there.The Society is so obliged to you for sendingus the two Sri Murtis Who are beingregularly worshipped by the devoteeshere, and they very much appreciate theattractive feature of these Murtis. You willbe glad to know also that in the meantime,we have established eleven centers, as follows;in these various cities: New Yo rk;San Francisco; Buffalo; Santa Fe, NewMexico; Montreal, Canada; Los Angeles;London, England; West Berlin, Germany;and Seattle, Washington; and Vancouver,British Columbia. And by theGrace of Krishna we may be able to establishmore centers in the very near future . Ido not know where from you securedthese nice Murtis, but I would like to havesuch Murtis at least 20 pairs, with heightof not less than 24 inches. So if you kind! ygive me the quotation for such Murtisfrom the manufacturer where from yousecured these Murtis, I shall arrange tosend you the required money, either directlyor by negotiation through somefriends in India. It is my ambition that IndianVaishnavas may contribute at leastone pair of Murtis, following your niceexample, and we can establish them ineach and every center of our Society. If wedo not find such persons to contributesuch Murtis, then the Society can arrangeto send you the required money.It is not that the Society cannot pay forthe Murtis, but it is my desire that IndianVaishnavas should be energetic in cooperatingwith this Krishna Consciousnessmovement in the Western countries. I amalready in correspondence with somefriends in India, and they may be agreeableto contribute one pair, each of them,so in the meantime, if you kindly give methe exact price for similar Murtis (onlywith greater height, of at least 24 inches),I will appreciate this very much.On the 8th instant, I am going to SanFrancisco, and I will be glad to receiveyour favorable reply to my San Franciscoaddress, as follows: ISKCON RADHAKRISHNA TEMPLE; 518 FrederickStreet; San Francisco, California; 94 1 17.I hope this will find you in good health,and thanking you in anticipation.Yours very sincerely,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-2VancouverMontreal4th September, 1968My Dear Anapurna and Ananda das,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour two long letters, when I was inMontreal; since then I have come to NewYork on the 31st of August 1968, on myway to San Francisco. I shall go to San

506 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaFrancisco on the 8th instant, and I shallsee what is the situation there, then I shallproceed to Seattle, and from Seattle, Imay go to Vancouver.So far your marriage is concerned, Iam very sorry that Ananda's parents arenot willing in this marriage ceremony;now it is up to you for deciding whetheryou should get married or not. But I thinkyou should, under the circumstances, thebest thing will be that you get yourselfmarried legally, according to the statelaws and get a certificate and I think,Ananda, you should try to remain in Vancouver,and work. And by your labor youtry to open a branch in Vancouver, andthat will be very nice thing. And when I goto Vancouver, from Seattle, I shall offermy blessings in observing the rituals ofour marriage system.I shall give you one engagement and ifyou secure one dictaphone then I shallsend you regular tapes for transcribing itinto English version, and you will maketwo copies. One copy shall be sent to me,another copy shall be sent to HayagrivaBrahmachary. As Govinda dasi and herhusband, is trying to help me in compilingessays and texts of Chaitanya Charitamrita,similarly, I shall give you a taskfor the Science of Devotion. So that willbe nice duty for you, because both of youare well versed in typewriting, so you cando that. At the same time, if you organizea center in Vancouver, simply by chanting.It is not very difficult to open a centerfor our activities. You can remain in anyapartment as husband and wife, and invitepersons there to hear your chanting andtopics, that is our center, and let it begradually improved . I think this programwill be very much suitable for you at thepresent moment.As for your going to London, I do notthink it is required. Because as Ananda'sparents have not approved of this marriage,it may be that Anapurna's fathermay also not like such combination. So inyour country generally the boy and thegirl picks their own consort, so if you havedecided to get yourself married, thenwithout any consent from your respectiveparents, you can get yourself married. ButAnapurna 's father is very much anxious tosee Anapurna, so under the circumstances,if you want to go there, then Ihave no objection. And I am also goingthere very soon, because I have receivedletter from Malati, that they have alreadyentered England, and they have got 6month visa. So it may be that I shall be goingthere very soon, but the fact is thatwhen you have decided to get yourselfmarried, I think without the formalities oftaking consent from your parents, you canget yourself married legally. And be establishedas husband and wife anywhere,wherever you like, it doesn't matter.So far your desire, especially Ana·puma's desire, to live wherever I go, Imay inform you that I am a Sannyasi, andthere is no fixity where I go. Under thecircumstances, if you establish yourself inone place, and engross yourself in transcribingthe tapes, so that a nice book willcome out in due course of time, that willbe a great service for the society, and tome also. You can reply this letter to SanFrancisco address, because I am goingthere on the 8th. Another thing, you mayinquire if there is any American Consulateoffice in Vancouver. If there is, pleaselet me know the address also.The conclusion is that in my opinion,both of you should legally be married, andAnanda may work to maintain the centerin Vancouver. That is my desire. AndAnapurna may go on with the typewritingbusiness. If this does not suit someway orother, then we shall later on discuss whatto be done. Hope you are both well,Yours ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

SEPTEMBER, 1968 50768-9-37th September, 1968ALL GLORIES TO SRI GURUAND GO URANGAApproved . . .Kirtanananda SwamiApproved . . .Signed . . .Brahmananda das BrahmacharyMEMO TO ALL DEVafEESRE : NEW VRINDABANI have just returned from a two daysstay at our newest center New Vrindabanin Moundsville, We st Virginia, nearWheeling. This New Vrindaban is underthe direction of Sriman Hayagriva andKirtanananda Maharaj and promises to bea great step forward for Krishna Consciousnessin America.It has a farmhouse and several otherstructures, well, streams, hills (govardarn,as named by Swamiji) pasturegrounds (a cow will be acquired soon),ghat, pond, woodland, all situated on 138acres.Prabhupada has requested that 7 templesbe established there. Its main activitywill be cow protection and to show theworld that simply by living with cows andland and chanting HARE KRISHNA aperfect society will prevail .A great deal of work is required andSwamiji has requested at least four devoteesto go there immediately. New Vrindabanlacks so-called necessities as hotrunning water and toilets, so that onlystout and sturdy devotees are needed, especiallythose with carpentry experienceand can do manual labor.New Vrindaban will be especially attractiveto householders who will want toraise their children in full K.C.So, all devotees who are interested inliving in New Vrindaban, either immediatelyor in the near future should pleasecontact me. Those with carpentry experienceshould especially do so.Approved . . .A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-4 New York7th September, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated September1, 1968, and I am glad that you are gettingsome encouragement in Berlin. I requestyou not to leave Berlin. I request that youplease try to establish a center there at anycost. In your last letter you informed methat there is good chance of your gettingwork on a salary of $600.00. So if you canget such job, or any job, somehow orother, you can simply maintain an apartmentand sit down there and chant HareKrishna. I do not want immediately a verylarge storefront or anything like that. Isimply want that a center may immediatelybe started in Berlin and gradually wewill try to develop it. In my last letter Ihave already informed you that some ofthe San Francisco boys are ready to go andjoin you . If required I shall ask Achyutanandato join you from India. So that wayyou can have several assistants to performkirtan, and that will be our success.I also had a letter from the Finnish boysent by you and it appears that he is enthusiastic. So you can also get some cooperation.On the whole, it is my desire thatyou establish one center immediately inBerlin. Don't go elsewhere for thepresent. Later one we can try to open centersin Zurich or Amsterdam or Stockholmas Krishna will desire. You will bepleased to know that Shyamsundar withwife and child has already entered Londonwith 6 month visa, and is to be followed by

508 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaMukunda and others, very soon.Hope this meets you in good health,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN.B. I am going tomorrow to San Francisco,and you can reply this letter there,at 518 Frederick Street, San Francisco,Cal. 94 117. I have received one letterfrom Shyamsundar, has arrived in London,and his address is 80 Herne Hill,London S.E. 24, England. (send c/oSamuel Speerstra) You can correspondwith your Godbrothers there.68-9-59th September, 1968My Dear Subal ,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedSept. 1, 1968, and I am so glad to learnthat you have got permission to chant inthe park. Previously you sent me the pressclippings, and I have seen that so therewas some difficulty, now by Krishna'sGrace, you have got permission Do notmind that the park is not visited by manypeople. But, if you chant many peoplewill come. That will make your attemptsuccessful. You will be glad to know thatjust yesterday I have arrived in San Francisco,and if you so desire, then I may gofor a day or two to Santa Fe , but it will bevery much expensive. Because I cannotstay more than three or four days there.Do you think that for three or four daysyou shall invite me, and spend so muchmoney while you are hard up? So thinkover, but if you desire I can go there.The San Francisco Samkirtan Party isdoing very wonderful work, and I understandthey are collecting also very nicely.And I have come here that a permanentSankirtan Party may travel all over thecountry. Let me see what happens. Herethe Indians who have come from theGuzrata province, they are generally devoteesof Lord Krishna. They are offeringtheir willing cooperation. Especially Ihave come for this purpose, how to engagethem in Krishna Consciousness.Hope this finds you in good health,Your ever well-wisher,ACB68-9-6 San Francisco9th September, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedAugust 30, 1968, and noted the contentscarefully. I have already written one letterto Valaram, as you gave me his address.Regarding Barry Major, I think I have alreadyreplied his letter from New Yo rk,and I am asking him to see me in SanFrancisco. You will be glad to know thatjust yesterday I have come to San Francisco,at 3:00 local time yesterday afternoon.And here the Indians are verywilling to cooperate with our temple activities.Regarding minor boys who wantto be trained by us; as Brahmachary. It is avery nice opportunity to train such youngboys, but there legal implication. Now,our society is a registered, recognized religioussociety. So we can consult somelawyer whether such religious institutionwhere we are teaching specifically how tobecome moral in character. We are teachingthem prohibition of 4 principle sinfulactivities, and we are teaching them Godconsciousness. Whether we can teachsuch minor boys as Brahmacharies andtraining them. I am very sorry that thesepeople do not want to see their sons develophigh character and knowledge inGod conciousness, but they want to pushthem in the stereotyped way of materialisticlife. But even we are prepared to helpthem, if the legal implications are there,

SEPTEMBER, 1968 509what can we do? You can however encouragethe boy as he is making progress, buthe may have to wait for initiation becausehe is not still habituated to give up meateating.Any person trying to serveKrishna sincerely, certainly Krishna willgive him all opportunity to overcome thedifficulties.This time, Back To Godhead is verynicely printed. Perhaps they will send youcopies as usual . But in San Francisco wehave brought some copies.You can inform Nandarani about herletter which she addressed me in Montreal, and I received that letter, redirectedfrom there . And I shall reply her in detail.In the meantime, I have requested Goursundarand his wife to go to Florida, assuggested by Nandarani, if they are able.If not, I shall try some other boys to gothere, as we must have a center at Florida.That is my great desire.In the meantime, I have received letterfrom Shyamsundar in London, and theprospects are very hopeful to open a centerthere. Similarly, we are getting goodreports from Seattle where Gargamunihas gone, and my next program is to go toSeattle from San Francisco. Hope you arewell,Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-7San Francisco9th September, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. And Ihope by this time you have reached yourheadquarters, at Wheeling, and I hopeyou are feeling well. And you have takenthe dictaphone. Now immediate task isthat you revise the 1st, 2nd, 3rd volumesof Srimad Bhagavatam. As soon as theyare revised, we shall immediately print inone volume. Just we are going to print,volume one means canto one. So then youtake up the second part, second canto, andkeep along with you Pradyumna; he willhelp you in marking diacritic signs on theoriginal verses, and be always in correspondencewith me. And be seriously engagedin this task, and it will be a greatservice to Krishna. And try to finish thelast act of Chaitanya Charitamrita also.So far your opening a center, in the ColumbusUniversity, that is also very niceidea. The three days you will be theremust be utilized in propagating ourKrishna Consciousness amongst the students,and I think in charge of that center,Pradyumna may be left so that when youare there, he will work with you. Andwhen you are not there, he will take careof the center. I think you will like thisidea. In this way, Kirtanananda may developeNew Vrindaban. He will have a niceassistant, Bamandev, and Hrishikesh, andI think everything will come out very successfulwithout delay. Krishna is givingyou intelligence and bestowing His Mercyupon you; continue this attitude, wheneveryou feel some difficulty, chant HareKrishna. Pray to Krishna to help you, andthere will be no difficulty. Be rest assured.I hope this will find you in good health andcheerfulness.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-8 San Francisco9th September, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. We havesafely reached yesterday after noon at3:00 and there was grand reception, arrangedby Jayananda, and Patty. Many Indianswere present, and I was very muchpleased to see the activities of San Franciscodevotees. They are doing very well.

510 Letters from Srfla PrabhuptldaIn the evening, some ofthe respectable Indiangentlemen came to see me, and theyhave offered one silver Murti of Krishna,to be installed today. So this evening, I amgoing to install that Deity, as well as initiatesome of the newcomers devotees, aswell as offer the sacred thread to Jayananda,Tarnal Krishna, and like that, oldstudents. So far our San Francisco businessis concerned, they are doing verynicely. I understand Tarnal Krishna hascollected $1,500 in two months. And peopleare gradually taking interest in theSamkirtan. They are selling Back ToGodhead also, and the whole situation appearsto be all Krishna's Mercy. And youmay convey my many many thanks to Rayaramafor his nice article, "Evolution-theGod that's failing." We should write similararticles in Back To Godhead. It is veryvery instructive, and it has appealed notonly to me, but to many others. In the airplane,some of the passengers were readingthat article with great interest. So Ithink Krishna is giving very good intelligenceto Rayarama. Let him be seriouslyengaged in improving the shape andquality of Back To Godhead, and I amsure in future we will have as good a positionas the other mundane magazines, likeLife, Time, Etc . It is very good.So far the press is concerned, let theboys, Advaita and __ , learn it verynicely, and it is now settled. As soon asthey think they will be able to conduct thepress, we immediately__ . So far you are concerned, youhave to see about the wide circulation.Yourself and your good borther, Gargamuni,shall be in charge for distribution.Now immediately, we are getting about$30,000 worth of books from Japan, andin from India, you have got Srimad Bhagavatamalso, so that is also over two thousanddollars. So if you can transform thismoney into chash, then we can start a wellequipped press. And I hope you will do it.I am contemplating also to publish onebook, Krishna in picture. One boy, hisname is Mark, he is very good artist. Ihave given him some ideas of drawingsome pictures about Krishna from SrimadBhagavatam. And ifl see he is successful,which I hope he will, be then we shallprint to many books of pictures. The picturebooks will be most appealing. Weshall give stress on this point.Regarding records: You must take quotationfrom different record manufacturingcompany, or from the same companyimmediately, from whom you took ourHare Krishna record. We shall ourselvesissue so many records. And so far this recordis concerned, in a suitable momentyou can talk with Mr. Kallman thatSwamiji was telling that he has not receivedany royalty of 5%. The agreementis there; you can see. So he must pay. Butif he does not pay we don't mind; we shallissue our own records and try to sell. Butyou can speak with him, that Swamiji isspeaking like that. At least, he must giveus the concession that whenever we shallrequire the records, he must give us atcost price. So far you have already paidhim $500.00 for one thousand records.Yo u must take delivery of them and sendthem to India. There to JayaGovinda. Becauseyou cannot get the money to keepthis man as our friend without any disturbanceand settle up things peacefully.You will be pleased to know that thismorning I experimented with my harmonium,and of course, it is just an experiment,still all the girls present here andTarnal Krishna also, they liked the tunevery much. Maybe such Samkirtan solosinging; I can give so many. I can give somany verses, just like Chintamani PrakaraSadmasu . . . and explain them inEnglish, so we can produce not only pictures, but also records, in so many ways .So you should be serious about takingquotation of the records as soon as

SEPTEMBER, 1968 511possible and immediately we shall printsome records. So far I know, that the records,small records, as Gargamuni toldme, it does not cost mor than 10 cents. Butthis big record will not cost more than 50cents, including everything, I am sure.Anyway, you seriously take quotationsabout the album, aboutprinting, and justsee what will be the cost. Then we shallimmediately invest some money from thebook fund, to print our second and thirdrecord.I hope you have already talked withMontreal, to Hansadutta, or Janardan,about the money dispatched from the CanadianNational Bank to London. It isvery important. They are in the foreigncountreis; if they do not recieve the moneyat time, how much difficulty they are in?!So the Montreal representative must immediatelyfinalize what happened. Andlet them drop a letter to me what has happened.I am very much anxious about it.I hope this will find you in good cheerfulhealth, and activity, and you will havealways Krishna's blessings upon you . Goon straight. Our Krishna Consciousnessmovement must be successful in the westernworld.Your ever well-wisher,68-9-9 San Francisco9th September, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings, and I hopeyou are doing well there . And Himavati ishelping you very nicely. You will bepleased to know that here the Samkirtanparty, led by Tarnal Krishna, is doing verynicely. I understand that within twomonths they have collected $1500.00, andpeople are taking this Krishna ConsciousnessKirtan very nicely. They go every dayto the business quarter and the respectablepersons they are appreciating that they arevery sincere and pure. So it is very encouraging.I think similar things you canorganize in Montreal . We have to improveso many things.Hope this will find you in good healthand cheerfulness.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. If my stationery has gone there pleaseredirect them here.68-9-10San Francisco9th September, 1968My Dear Janardan,Please accept my blessings, and I hopeyou are all doing well in Montreal. And Imay inform you that immediately you begintranslation work of our Srimad Bhagavatamin French, as well as BhagavadGita as it is, in French, and begin ourBack To Godhead in French languageprinted in the mimeograph machine. Soyou have got enough engagement; youmay not take trouble of attempting SrimadBhagavatam. I think this will be done byHayagriva. You take up the responsibilityof translating them into French, and assoon as our press is started, that meansAdvaita and Uddhava are expert in printingmatters, we start our press, and weshall print the French books, the Englishbooks, and as many publications as arepossible, we shall do. But I hope in themeantime you have talked with Brahmanandathat one remittance, $1,655.00,was advised to be dispatched to London.But I have received letter from Shyamsundarthat he has not received the money.Kindly go to my bank and my accountnumber, V269 A. C. BhaktivedantaSwami, and you see the manager, why hehas not remitted the money. Because thepeople are in a foreign country, and withoutmoney they will be in much difficulty.Kindly do the needful .

512 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaYou will be pleased to know that I hadno difficulty entering USA, with the Canadianimmigration card. First of all, theywanted from me to see my visa, I told thatI am Canadian immigrant. Then he said,oh yes, that's all right. So what for you aregoing; to visit there. How many monthsyou want to remain there? I said about 4 or5 months. So they did not make any etchin my passport. So I think even ifl am notable to get the American visa, there willbe no difficulty for my coming and going.Anyway, let us depend on Krishna. SoHansadutta is there, the Kirtan party isthere; please try to organize your centernicely. And I am also enclosing herewithone letter for Hansadutta. Hope this willfind you in good health and cheerfulness.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9- 11 San Francisco11th September, 1968My Dear Shama dasi,Please accept my blessings. I beg tothank you for your letter dated Sept. 10,1968, and your nice presentations, whichI have so gladly accepted. In the Vedas it isstated that simply by understandingKrishna, one understands everything.This means there are two departmentaleducational policy ; one departmentaleducation is spiritual education, and theother departmental educational system ismaterial education. One who is highly elevatedin material education, cannot understandabout anything spiritual. But onewho is elevated highly in his spiritual educationcan understand anything material .In other words, all material things are dependenton the spiritual soul. Just likeyour body, my body, this material body,they have developed on the basis of thespirit soul . Therefore, Krishna being theSupreme Spirit, one who tries to understandKrishna, he can understand everythingelse. From your statement of theletter under reply, I can understand that bythe Grace of Krishna, you are improvingin Krishna Consciousness. And if youcontinue to keep up your attitude in thisspirit, surely in this very life, you will besuccessful to reach the perfectionalstages. It is my duty to open your eyes, becausea Spiritual Master is he who cansave his disciples from the darkness of nescience,illusion. So I am trying my bestto do my duty, and if you cooperate withme, fully, certainly both yourself and myselfwill be successful in our missionarywork.You will note that the piece of paperwhich I have given you last night about themantras, the third mantra should be rectifiedas follows: Instead of DHIYO YONAH PRACHODAYAT, it sould beT ANNA GURO PRACHODAYAT. TheDHIYO YO NAH should be replaced bythe words, T ANNA GURO. Please notethis.Thanking you very much for your nicemango, and I beg to remainYour ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9- 1218th September, 1968My dear Malati,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 11 Sept.1968. And I am so pleased to hear of yourKirtan in Trafalgar Square and Hyde ParkCorner, and at the Hindu Center. This isgiving me so much pleaure to hear hownicely you are carrying on this movementin London. It was originally my Guru Maharaj's desire that there should be a centerestablished in London, and by His Mercy,now you have successfully begun this mission;so please keep me informed how you

SEPTEMBER, 1968 513are progressing there. I am very anxiousto hear in each letter. I hope you are well,and convey my blessings to your goodhusband and little child, Miss Saraswatidevi.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Gurudas,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of the 13th Sept. ,and I am so glad to learn that you are activein preaching Krishna Consciousnessin London. You all 3 couples are expert inthe matter of preaching Krishna Consciousness,and your last effort in the matterof performing Ratha Yatra festival wasso successful. So I am sure by your combinedeffort in London, there will be agreat successful center. I am so pleased tolearn about your staunch faith in Krishnaand your Spiritual Master. May Krishnabless you more and more in the matter ofadvancement of Krishna Consciousness.Hope you are well, and please convey myblessings to your good wife, Yamuna devi.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9- 1 3We st BerlinSan Francisco14th September, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. I am soglad to receive your letter dated September5, 1968, and I am so pleased to learnthat you are feeling well, and you have decidedto stay therein Berlin and open atemple. It is so much pleasing to me. Yo ualso write to say that you do not believemoney will be any problem there. In thelast line of your letter you say that youWish to write me very soon to tell me thatthe Berlin branch of ISKCON has beenopened . This is very nice .May Krishna bless you with all Hisblessings and be successful in your verynoble enterprise.In the meantime, I have just talkedwith Krishna das and the German boy, UttamaSloka das, and they are prepared tojoin you by the end of this month. SrimanUttama Sloka is already initiated, and heis a German scholar also. He has shownme his translation work on my essays inEnglish, and it appears that he will be agreat help in the Berlin center. I am tryingto inject in him the basic ideals of KrishnaConsciousness philosophy and this morningwe had one nice discussion. So theBerlin temple will be one of the most importantcenters in Europe, and I hope thatin the future we will be able to train manyGermans who are very intelligent personalitiesin the European countries. Youknow that I have got already one GermanGod-brother, and he has influenced anotherGerman scholar, Bamandas, whohas written a very nice book on LordChaitanya, in German. So in that greatcountry, people are very much interestedwith India's original spiritual and culturallife, and Krishna Consciousness is themost perfect order of such cultural understandingin India. Lord Chaitanya is thesymbol of India's original culture, andperfect Scholar for exposition of India'sphilosophical thoughts, based on theVedic knowledge. I hope our books, BhagavadGita, as it is; Teachings of LordChaitanya, and Srimad Bhagavatam willin the near future be translated into Germanlanguage and distributed to the noblenation of Germany. You may not think forthe time being of any other branch, at leastfor the coming one year. And as soon asKrishna das and Uttama Sloka go there,please make combined effort to popularizethis Krishna Consciousness movementin that country. They will take with them amridanga drum. And I understand that in

514 Letters from Srila PrabhupiidaGermany they make very nice harmoniums.Please take information of them andlet me know immediately, otherwise,Krishna das will take a harmonium fromhere, along with mridanga. This KrishnaConsciousness movement through music,philosophy, spiritual culture, and personalbehavior culminating in ideal characterof the devotees. All these heavenlycontributions combined together will certainlybring about a major change in thelife of Western people.You will be glad to know that the 6 devoteeswho started for London by the end ofAugust, 1968, have already met togetherin London and their address is as follows:Michael Grant, 80 Herne Hill, LondonS.E. 24, England. They are also verymuch hopeful for the Indian cooperationwhose number there is not less than200,000 to 500,000 Indians. So I shallstart for Europe, either fo r Berlin or forLondon as I may be required by the devoteesthere . And I shall be glad if you be inregular touch with me at least once in aweek, by writing me letters .Thanking you once more and I ampraying to Krishna to offer you all Hisstrength, in the discharge of His nobleservice. Hope you are well ,Your ever well wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9- 14 San Francisco14th September, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings . I am soglad to receive your letter dated Sept. 9,1968, and I have noted the contents carefully.Previously I received one letterfrom Shyamsundar as well as from Gurudas. I have replied Shyamsundar's letteralready and I am subjoining herewith alsothe reply to Gurudas .I know in London there are many Indianssettled as residents . And most of themown their own house also. Sometimesback when I was in Vrindaban, wehad talkwith Bon Maharaj and he gave me the ideathat in London the Indians want some nicetemple. So if you can establish one nicetemple of Radha Krishna with the cooperationof the Indians, I think there isgreat possibility for this purpose. I amconfident that you will be able to do thisbecause in the beginning of my startingthis International Society, you helped mein so many ways. The San Francisco centerwas also established by your endeavorand cooperation by Shyamsundar, andnow both of you are in London, so I amsure the London center will certainly beestablished.Annapurna's father, Mr. Webb , toldme that there are many old churcheswhich are not being properly used. So ifyou can secure one big church, that willbe very nice. I am glad to learn that inLondon there are 2 to 5 lacs of Indians.And if they cooperate with you, we canmaintain a very big establishment. If theycontribute one pound per annum perhead, that means a lot of money. And templeorganization is the best means to attractdevotees . Temple organizationmeans decorating the Deities very nicely,with flowers, lights, dress, decoration,offering nice foodstuff in good silverplates, five times arotik, with Kirtan, andlecturing. So you have got all these ideas,and you are six there . If you strictly followthe rules and regulations and becomeAmerican priests , of the temple, so the Indianhindus will be surprised and cer•tainly they will be attracted . Just like thehindus in San Francisco are being graduallyattracted due to our nice temple arrangementhere . They will hold a meetinghere with me tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. toconsider how to improve the temple. Oneof the Guzrati devotees has contributed a

SEPTEMBER, 1968 515silver Vigraha of Krishna, and has donated$5 1.00. I came here to San Franciscolast Sunday, the 8th, and there was anice function of installing the Deity in thetemple throne, and initiation of severalnewcomers devotees . I thought that Chidanandacould go to Australia, but that ideahas not been successful because the manin charge is an atheist, and as he scentedthat Chidananda is going to establish acenter of Hare Krishna, he has withdrawnhis cooperation and proved that hiscountry is very unfortunate . So I amasking Goursundar to go to Hawaii orFlorida. Gargamuni has already startedone center at Seattle and Ananda Brahmacharyfrom Montreal has gone to Vancouver.And New Vrindaban is being takencare of by several devotees.I hope that the money which I sentfrom Montreal to the Charter Bank in accountof Samuel Speerstra has alreadybeen received by him. I shall be glad tohear on this point. So the $1,655.00 andfurther $600.00 contributed by me andHansadutta may be conveniently depositedin London in the branch of CanadianImperial Bank of Commerce. And openan account in my name. And send thepassbook to me so that when I shall go toLondon there will be no difficulty therefor me . I hope this will find you in goodhealth, and offer my blessings to Janaki.Please keep me informed at least once in aweek .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Guru das ,Please accept my blessings . I was indue receipt of your letter dated Sept. 3,1968, and now I have received letter fromMukunda, and I am pleased to learn thatyou are now together, all six. So please tryto start the temple as soon as possible andcall me fo r your service. Offer my blessingsto Ya muna as well as to Malati andher husand and the little child. I have sentone newspaper cutting to Shyamsundar;that is a very nice article, if you get it photostated,you can use it for propagandawork. Hope this finds you in good health.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-15My dear Achyutananda,15th September, 1968Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your note along with JayaGovinda's. The Bengali which you 'vewritten are simply nonsense. They are fullof mistakes. And each and every word ismisspelled. Just like you have written,"Bhutale" as "Bhuthale." Is is not verymuch encouraging. Neither it is good thatyou do something wrong and at the endyou simply write please forgive us. Thebest thing will be that both of may go toBombay and begin a positive work undermy direction. Don't be carried away bywhims, and waste time and money. Asthere is no possibility of printing in Delhi,you kindly pack up the manuscript andsend it to New Yo rk.Hope you are well,Your ever well-wisher,68-9- 16My dear Parvat Maharaj ,15th September, 1968Please accept my respectful obeisances.Sometime back, I wrote you oneletter but I did not receive any reply. I amvery much obliged to you that you haveproposed to help Jaya Govinda about hisvisa trouble. But I don't know why youmake such condition that he has to remainwith you so long he is in India. He has towork for the society freely and sometimes

516 Letters fro m Srfla Prabhupadahe might have to go to Bombay or othercities, so how he can be confined to aplace? If you can help him without anycondition, it will be a great favor to me.I hope this finds you in good health,Yours affectionately,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9- 17 San Francisco15th September, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 9th September1968, and have noted the contentscarefully. And specifically about the businesstransaction of Messrs. MacMillanthrough Mr. Wade. Now, after readingyour letter under reply very carefully, Ihave decided to take 5000 copies fromthem, provided they give us 50 %, not4 7%. Then we shall take delivery of thebooks in three installments; first, twothousand copies; second, two thousandcopies; and, again, one thousand copies.And as promised by them, they must giveus 60 days sight for payment for each consignment.And we shall give them bankreference. I think this will be nice arrangement.The distribution arrangement shouldbe like this: That as soon as you get thefirst two thousand copies, you distributeto all the centers, according to the capacity,and I think the first distributioncan be made like this: 500 copies to SanFrancisco, 500 copies to New York, andbalance 1000 copies to different centers.We have got now about 14 centers: NewYo rk, San Francisco, Boston, Buffalo,Montreal, Santa Fe , Los Angeles, London,Berlin, Hawaii, and Florida, Seattle,and New Vrindaban. So if you distributeour books in that way, they can sell retail. Iam sending Goursundar to Hawaii, andprobably I shall send Chidananda toFlorida. And I have received letter fromShivananda that in Germany, there is goodprospect, and he is already trying to rentone very nice storefront, 300 marks rentper month. And two boys, Krishna das,and Uttama Sloka (a German boy) are goingthere very soon. So of course we donot expect to sell English books in Germanyvery much, but maybe somebodywill be interested. But in England we cansell some books. So in this way, try to distributeand let us risk. But they must giveus 60 days sight, and we shall take delivery5000 copies in three installments.And they must allow us 50%, discount,not 4 7%. On these conditions you accept.And bank reference I shall give.Regarding Mr. Wade's promise toGoursundar, to pay $225-$250, they mustkeep their promise. Otherwise, it will benot possible to do business with them, ifthey change their word of honor. Yo u mustsay Mr. Wade like that. In business principle,what is promised, that must be kept.If the promise is not kept, then we are notgoing to deal with them, with such businessfirm, even it may be very big. Thatshould be our principle also. So I think onthis principle we can arrange with them,and I shall give you bank reference whenthey require.We shall not sell a single copy to thestore. Our principle should be to sellbooks retail in the Kirtan, in our temple,or selling by going door to door, or, individualpersons. Not a single book shouldbe sold to the stores. The store selling theymay organize: we don't mind.Regarding my Deity worship: I can understandthat the regulative principles aretaking much of your time, but you can minimizeaccording to your convenience.There is no harm. But I am so glad to learnthat this engagement makes one developingthe Brahminical qualities. I thank you verymuch for appreciating this secret of worshippingthe Lord . Generally, we in the

SEPTEMBER, 1968 517conditioned state, we are contaminated.But, this worshipping system called "Archanvidhi" cleanses the polluted heart andone becomes actually fit for becomingqualified Brahmin. So at least you be engagedin that way. Where is that boy JayaRama, who was taking care oflt? So one byone , one should be engaged in that ''Archanvidhi" so that one may be fixed up inhis Brahminical qualification.Regarding Jaya Govinda 's letter: You canreply that they can remain in India, on thefollowing condition: That they must sell[PAGE MISSING]last evening, and also last evening thethread ceremony was observed and manystudents given the sacred thread, andsome were initiated . This morning I haveto go to one meeting amongst the Indiansand let me see how I can talk with them.As far as I can guess, that I may be calleddirectly from San Francisco to Europe. Inthat case, it may be possible that I maystop for a day or two in New York, andthen I start for Europe. What about the U noffice. Ask Purushotam and let me knowin detail what is the situation.Hope this will cover all your enquiresand you will do the needful. By the by, Iam inquiring that you know two addressesin Hawaii, one university professor, andanother gentleman who came to our templeand took records. So if you send theaddresses to Goursundar immediately, eitherby letter or by phone, then he can utilizetheri friendly connection. Hope youare well,Your ever well-wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9- 18 15th September, 1968Dear Jaya Govinda:Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Sept. 9.Previous to this I received one letter datedin Sept. The problem is that Rs. 2000/- liein the hand of Hitsaranji, and I don't thinkI'll receive back this money very soon.Therefore, your staying in Delhi has nouse for me. So far your studying Bengaliand Hindi, it is not at all important for thesociety. If you want to satisfy your whims,that is a different thing. Even if you studyHindi and Bengali so late in your life, Idon't think you can become a very goodscholar in those languages. So for studyingBengali and Hindi you needn't stay inDelhi. You can do some work in India onbehalf me definitely by selling our magazinesand our published books in India,and in no other way. The books and magazineswill be sent you in India for sellingand you can send in exchange Sri Murtisor musical instruments. And for all theseactivities, Bombay will be the best placefor your staying. There is already a friendin Bombay who is inviting you to stay withhim, so why don't you take advantage ofthis opportunity? I have already advisedBrahmanda to send you the letter of guaranteeso you will have it from him in duecourse, or by the time this letter reachesyou. In the meantime, I hope you mighthave received the six month extension residentialpermit. But you must prepare forgoing to Bombay. I am giving herewithone note to Parvat Maharaj which you willplease show him.You will be pleased to learn thatShivananda from Montreal has gone toBerlin for opening center there. Mukundahas gone along with Gurudas and Shyamsundarand their wives to London, to opena center there. Goursundar is going to Hawaiifor opening a center there. Gargamunihas already opened a grand center inSeattle. Similarly, Annapurna andAnanda are going to open a center in Vancouver,and you know also that Hayagrivaand Kirtananda, with the help of severalother devotees are developing New Vrindabanin 138 acres of land in West Va .

518 Letters from Srrla PrabhupadaAlso, Dinesh and Krishna devi are goingto Florida. In Florida we have 10 acres ofland arranged by Dayananda and Nandarani.So all my disciples here are doingmarvelously in spreading Krishna Consciousness.In San Francisco, Jayanandaarranged a grand meeting yesterdayamongst the Guzarati community hereand most probably we shall very soonhave our own gorgeious temple in SanFrancisco. So everyone is doing verynicely and I hope that you two also dosomething wonderful in India. And Bombayis the right place. As you don't like toreside in Vrindaban, but you prefer a citylike Delhi, then the best city in India isBombay. There, you don't require tospeak Hindi or Bengali, all gentlemen andresidents there speak in English. So youwill have better facility to work there andprobably to establish a center there. I donot know why you are hesitating.Hope this meets you in good health,Your ever well-wisher,68-9-1915th September, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedSept. 10, 1968,just after posting my replyto your letter dated Sept. 9. The coincidencethat as soon as you received my letterfor opening the Berlin centerimmediately, Krishna has sent you immediatelya check for 200 Americandollars-this is a good omen that weshould immediately open our branch inBerlin. The description of the storefrontwith 4 rooms and floor, kitchen, and bathroometc , appears to be very suitable forour purposes. And the rent is not muchand I am so glad that you can manage it.So my advice is that you can immediatelyoccupy the storefront for our branch , andlet me know the address so that we can enlistour Berlin center immediately in thelist of our several other centers.Please do not be very serious withSwami Omkarananda because they areimpersonalists. You can keep good friendshipwith different yoga teachers, butpractically our mode of Krishna Consciousnessis different from theirs. Perhapsthese people may not like ourSamkirtan movement, so you have to bevery careful in their association.The package said to be sent by you isnot yet received here. Anyway, I offer allblessings of Krishna onto you and be successfulin your noble adventure. I shall beglad to hear from you further, and hopingyou are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiN. B. The third mantra of your Gayatriceremony was stated wrong. It shouldread as follows: "AIM GURUDEV AYAVIDMAHE KRISHNANANDAYA DHEE­MAHI TANNAH GURO PRACHO­DAYAT." In other words, "TANNAHGURO" should be inserted, and"DHIYO YO NAH" should be removed.Please correct as need be.68-9-20San Francisco17th September, 1968My Dear Janaki,Please accept my blessings. With greatpleasure I beg to acknowledge receipt ofyour letter dated 13/9/68, and it is sonicely written that I have read the mattertwice, I am writing herewith in my hand,Hare Krishna: Please try to open the Londontemple as quickly as possible, and Iam ready to start for London at any momenton receipt of the news. You will bepleased to learn also that Shivananda isopening a center in Berlin very soon. Hisdifferent letters indicate that he is very

SEPTEMBER, 1968 519much hopeful for success of the centerand two boys, one of them a German boy,Uttama Sloka, and Krishna das, are goingto join him by the end of this month, ofSeptember. So I hope during the month ofOctober we shall open two branches inEurope. Hope this will find you in goodhealth,68-9-2 1 San Francisco17th September, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I hope youhave received my letter regarding BhagavadGita as it is, and Jaya Govinda's letter from India. In the meantime,I have received another letter fromJaya Govinda, and it appears that he isvery anxious to have the indemnity bond.He has given one note below his letter thatreads as follows: "N.B. Swamiji, If youwould like for Parbat Maharaj to do methe favor of signing himself the indemnitybodn, then please ask him that directly; ofcourse, then he will ask that I always remainhere at his Math. I am agreeable tothis proposition. Or; if you would like forhim to direct Mr. Om Prakash to sign,then please ask him that directly also.This is Parbat Maharaj 's request. (JayaGovinda)" This means that Parvat Maharajis canvassing to break them from thesociety and remain with him. He is anotheredition of Bon Maharaj , who hasbroken the poor Hrishikesh from the society.Besides that, you have sent me a notedated 9/ 10/68, which reads as follows:"Dear Swamiji, Please accept my mosthumble obeisances . Enclosed is a magazinepublished by Sri Srimad Parbat Maharajwhich Jaya Govinda sent us. Yo uwill be interested to see one article publishedabout the San Francisco Ratha Ya ­tra festival . (Brahmananda das) " Fromthis note it appears that Parvat Maharaj ismisrepresenting himself as the publisherof the paper "Truth." But actually he isnot so. It is published by one very bigDoctor, Medical Practitioner, Dr. N.R.Sen. I knew this gentleman in connectionwith my medical business. So in this way,it is clear that this Parvat Maharaj is tryingto entice Jaya Govinda. The letter which Ihave sent yesterday to Jaya Govinda, acopy of which is enclosed herewith. Nowyou should clearly write to him that if bothof them jointly work in Bombay, on behalfof ISKCON, and under clear directionfrom me, then they can remain in India,and you will give him the required indemnityletter. Otherwise they must return toGermany to assist Shivananda there. InBombay, they can work on behalf of oursociety by selling magazines, securing advertisementsfor Back To Godhead, andselling our books. That will be their mainbusiness. So far learning a new language,Bengali or Hindi, etc., this is simply awaste of time; they aren't scholarly boys.Had they been scholarly then they wouldhave prosecuted their mother tongue educationvery nicely. So anyone who is notscholarly cannot pick up any foreign languageso quickly. And even if he picks upsome broken words, that cannot be usedfor any purpose. So clearly advise themnot to indulge in childish frivolities.Achyutananda has already wasted 10months time by his childish frivolities;sometimes preacher, sometimes guru,and sometimes so and so. So you willkindly give them clear indication that theyshould stop all these things , and work asdirected in the above way -without fUrtherdelay. I think Bombay is the rightfield fo r their activities as I have alreadysuggested in the enclosed copy of the letter,which please find.Hope you are all well ,Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

520 Letters from Srfla Prabhupada68-9-22BerlinSan Francisco18th September, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedSept. 16, 1968, and although it is a bit of along letter, but is so nice to read . Regardingthe lease making: I think you are rightwhen you wish to take the apartment atleast for 3 years. This is all good. I can understandfrom your description as it wasmade formerly, and in this letter also, thatit is clear that the place is destined for ourtemple, and you can immediately take iton lease. In your center, there will be atleast 5 members of our society : your goodself, Krishna das, Uttama Sloka, and I amasking Achyutananda and Jaya Govinda tocome there, to return from India, and tojoin you. Uttama Sloka is a good Germanscholar, and if you all learn German andFrench, which will be easier for you thanto learn any Indian language, and Berlinwill be the center of our preaching workin central Europe. Yo u are a sinceredevotee and Krishna will give you timelyall good intelligence in this connection.Now please try to organize as quickly aspossible.Regarding collecting fund: TheBrahmacharies, Vanaprastha, and Sannyasinsare not supposed to earn moneylike Grihasthas. The Grihasthas or thehouseholders can engage himself in earningmoney, either by accepting job orsome professional work. But a Brahmachary,Vanaprastha, and Sannyasin is supposedonly to depend on Krishna and begfrom the Grihasthas. The same systemcan be followed if it is possible. You arecompletely right when you think that if bybegging alms we can provide ourself, weshould not accept any job. So far I can understandfrom the indication in your letter,that if you form a party of Samkirtan, andwalk in the street, I think you can get notless than 50 to 100 marks daily. If five orsix men who are sympathetic to you and assome of them has already assured that youcan count upon them, the best thing willbe to form a local trust party, includingthose gentlemen and yourself, of 12heads, and immediately start your work.In the meantime, we shall have our book,Bhagavad Gita as it is, and Teachings ofLord Chaitanya, ready. That will sell also.You are right that you propose to travelbecause you are alone. But there is an Indianproverb: that you can earn $12 bytravelling, but you can earn $13 by sitting,provided you know how to sit in a place.The same principle can be applied in thisconnection. Certainly you can preachwell by travelling, as I also came in yourcountry, but since I sat at 26 Second Avenue,in July 1966, the society has developedto its present shape. I came here inyour country in Sept. 1965, and because Icould not sit down at a nice place untilJuly 1966, I could not do very well in thematter of preaching work. So anyway,your travelling was not at all disturbing tome, but Krishna has given us good chanceto open a nice center now. Please utilizethis opportunity. I shall very soon write toyour mother, and I hope very soon yourdream of a religious congress in Berlin,sponsored by the Krishna Consciousnesssociety, will be fulfilled. I am asking immediatelyAchyutananda to return fromIndia to Germany, to you, and you can immediatelyarrange for the place and let meknow.Krishna das has already given notice tohis present employer for quitting, and heis expected to start by the next Wednesday,Sept. 25, 1968, via New York, and he willtake with him mridanga and kartal . Andwhatever you need, you can send a letterto Brahmananda immediately, and Brahmanandawill prepare it, and Krishna daswill carry it with him to Germany.

SEPTEMBER, 1968 521Hope you are well, and please keep meinformed at least once in a week.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Now you can know why Krishnadidn't like you to enter London!P. S. In London they are also doing well.Our London temporary address is as follows:Mukunda das Adhikary80, Herne HillLondon S.E. 24England68-9-2319th September, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated 11, and 13Sept. 1968, and I have noted the contentscarefully. Regarding Christopher Fynn: Ihave chanted his beads and am sendingherewith; please find. He is a nice boy.You and your wife should guide him in thematter of further progress and his spiritualname, I have fixed up, Chintamani dasBrahmachary. Regarding your press: IfChintamani das is settled to remain inMontreal, then you can start the press, asmall press immediately. I think youshould wait and see how Chintamani dasis settled up there. Because if you purchasepress, and if he goes away to England,then the investment will fornothing. I do not think that is adviseableimmediately. You continue to publishBack to Godhead in French language, inthe mimeograph machine, and when youfeel confident that it is going on, andChintamani das is fixed up then it willgreat success for us to start a small pressin Montreal . Regarding Peet Aarola: Ihave seen the picture, and it is a good ideathat he wants to be initaited, and so youcan send his also. I shall initiate him, becausehe is painting Radha-Krishna pictures.Let him render some service toKrishna. And if possible, try to open abranch in New Brunswick It will be agreat pleasure for me. I am glad that Kulashekarhas come back. I think he cannotgo from our society because he has alreadyrendered some service to Krishna.So Krishna is not going to leave him at anycost. So treat him nicely so that he can befixed up there. And his attention should bein the matter of painting. That's a verynice idea. Please offer my blessings tohim, and treat him very well. So far Mrigendradas is concerned, he will alsocome back; don't worry. Recently I havereceived letter from Shivananda; the prospectin Berlin is very bright. And two studentsfrom San Francisco are going on the28th to Berlin, and I am asking Achyutanandaand Jaya Govinda to come back andjoin him in Berlin. Similarly I have receivedreport from London; they are havingregular kirtans and feasts, althoughnot in our own temple, but in differentplaces.One most important thing is that themoney which I sent on Shyamsundar's accountwith Charter Bank, through mybanker, the Canadian National Bank, hasnot yet received. This bank is most thirdclass bank. Will you kindly personally goand inquire why are they so much callous,in foreign countries, they are withoutmoney and they are silent. It is very muchsurprising. So consult with Janardan whatsteps we can take . My account numberis-, savings bank. Please let me knowwhat is the result of your visiting the manager.If they have not sent the money, andif simply they say they have sent, thenwhat steps shall we take against them? It isvery serious matter. So kindly do theneedful in sonsultation with Janardan,and let me know. Most probably I am,coming Saturday, I am going to Seattle.

522 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaFrom Seattle my program is to visit Vancouver,and if possible, I may come backto Montreal again. Then I may be going toEurope.Regarding Deity worship: It is verymuch essential and in this conection youcan consult Brahmananda who is doingDeity worship in New Yo rk very nicly,and how is he feeling. One after another,Deity worship should be practised by everyone.That cleanses the contaminatedbody very nicely. It is really the customthat before entering one must be cleansedand bathe himself regularly. The wholeidea is that we must very much sincere inour activities to serve Krishna, and everythingwill automatically be convenient forprosecuting our Krishna Consciousness.And I hope you are doing very nicely, andKrishna will give you more and morestrength. Hope this will find you in goodhealth. Offer my blessings to all the students,and especially to Himavati. I ampleased to learn that Subhadra is lookingon you ; it is good sign, that she is favoringyou in your good activities. She is shaktiof Krishna, or the internal potency and byher mercy glance, you will be more andmore successful in your advancement inKrishna Consciousness. Thanking youonce more for your kind letter.Your ever well-wisher,A.C.B.68-9-24 San Francisco20th September, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your two lettersdated 8 and 17, 1968, and I am so happyto learn that you are proud of being husbandof Jadurany. Ye s, you should beproud of having a nice wife like that. AndI have handed over my daughter unto you,because I knew it that you will be the perfeetboy to take care of her. Recently shewas deteriorating in her health, so I wasvery much anxious about her, therefore, Idecided to give her in your charge. Ofcourse, even when you were not married,you were taking care of her always, butwhen the relationship is there as husbandand wife, there is the question of responsibility.So I wanted you to take that responsibility.Anyway, everyone in our societythinks that your combination is very muchappropriate. So be happy with your nicewife and take care of her properly.In your letter of the 17th instant, youhave very frankly inquired from me abouthouseholder life, especially in the matterof sex relationship. A Sannyasi is not supposedto be asked about anything sexual.But still , because you are so much dependenton my instruction, so I must give youinformation as far as possible. Marriedlife is not for sex indulgence. The principleof marriage is on the background ofgetting good children. So the householderis allowed to have sex life once in a month,just after the menstrual period. The menstrualperiod prolongs at least for 5 days,so after this 5 days, one can have sex lifeprovided he desires to get a child. And assoon as the wife is pregnant, no more sexlife, until the child is born and is grown upat least for 6 months. After that, one mayhave sex life on the same principle. If onedoes not want more than one or twochilden, he should voluntarily stop sexlife. But one should not strictly use anycontraceptive method and at the sametime indulge in sex life. That is very muchsinful . If the husband and wife can voluntarilyrestrain by powerful advancementof Krishna Consciousness. That is thebest method. It is not necessary that becauseone has got wife, therefore you musthave sex life. The whole scheme is toavoid sex life as far as possible. And if onecan avoid it completely then it is a greatvictory for him. Married life is a sort of

SEPTEMBER, 1968 523license for sex life on condition of raisingchildren. So you should try to understandthese principles of married life and useyour discretion. You should not imitategreat personalities like BhaktivinodeThakur, but you must follow His footprints.But it is not always possible to havethe same success as great personalitieslike Bhaktivinode Thakur achieved. So inall circumstances you should try to followthe footprints of authorities but never toimitate them. Unless Jadurany develops abetter health and strength, I do not adviseher to become pregnant. I think you willunderstand the instruction as I have givenand try to follow it as far as possible.Our relationship is eternal . But ifsomebody lags behind, so in spite of oureternal relationship one may not meetother at the destination. Just like a flock ofbirds-although very intimately related,everyone of them has to fly in the sky byindividual strength. If one is less strong,the other cannot keep him in the sky. Thatis the law of nature. So long everyone of usis strong in Krishna Consciousness, thereis no doubt, you can fly in the spiritual skyand meet together without failure. Therefore,individual strength is most important.And that individual strength is achievedin the association of devotees also. Soyou can make your own judgment.Anyway, please take care of yourhealth, and I hope you are both well andhappy.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP.S. Tomorrow I am going to Seattle.68-9-25San Francisco20th September, 1968My Dear Ananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedSept. 10, 1968, and I have noted the contentscarefully. I think your program isvery nice, and Anapurna is here. We had agood talk yesterday, and it is understoodthat her parents are agreeable in this marriageproposal, and she wishes that themarriage may take place in London, whenshe goes there. It is understood also thather father is impressed with our society'swork and her mother especially liked allthe members of our society who havegone in London. So you work very diligentlyand secure some money. I am comingto Seattle by tomorrow evening and ifyou can see me at Seattle it will be verynice. You can also inform Mr. Renovichand Mr. Windisch that I am going to Seattleby tomorrow, and they can correspondwith me for my visiting Vancouver and attendinglectures, so that I can make myprogram there and come to Vancouver fora few days. Hope you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-26 Seattle22nd September, 1968My Dear Kirtananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated New V rindaban,16th Sept. 1968. I am very glad tolearn that all the members there are doingvery nicely, and living happily. I hope thatNew Vrindaban will give shelter to somany unhappy men of this country andthey will be happy by working there, andliving there in good association of devotees.Pradyumna and Bamandev are verygood boys; keep them very nicely, andthey will be very much helpful. I havecome here to Seattle, last evening, andthings are hopeful here also. Yesterday,before coming here I was talking with one

524 Letters from Srlla Prabhupiidahippy boy. He came to see me in my apartmentin San Francisco, and was talkingthat hippies are in search after such peacefulplace, like you have got in New Vrindaban.And they do not like to live in thecities anymore. So if some of us go andmake some canvassing work among thehippies, that the thing which they aresearching after is here in Krishna Consciousness,and as soon as they come theywill understand, so somebody may be engagedin such propaganda work. RegardingRandy, I understand that he is addictedto heroin intoxication, and he is takingsome medicine to give it up, but I am surethat the best medicine is chanting theHARE KRISHNA mantra. For the timebeing, let him take the substitute medicineas he is taking, and at the same time lethim seriously chant HARE KRISHNA.And I hope he will be able to give up thatsubstitute medicine also. I have gotexperience-one of my God-brother, herelated about his past life , that he was addictedto all kinds of intoxication, and hewas distilling wine in his village withoutany license-he was such a great intoxicant.But later on, we found him completelyfree from all intoxication-even hewas not even smoking and was quite fit towork for Krishna Consciousness. So everythingis possible provided one is serious.In the Srimad Bhagavatam it is statedthat if somebody is not too much addicted,neither he is completely powerfulto give up some bad habits, this via mediastage is favorable. Immediately if he cannotgive up the medicine as he is taking,that doesn't matter. Let him chant HAREKRISHNA very seriously and he will.gradually be able to give up everything.I am very glad to learn that Harivilashas given you a Pair of Radha KrishnaMurtis, so it appears that Radha Krishnais very kind on you, because you went toVrindaban, to live there but circumstantially,you could not live there, and youleft. Krishna has given you New Vrindaban,as well as He has, out of His goodwill, He has come to you . It is very surprising.So please welcome the Deity andinstall Him in a nice throne. I think Bamandevwill be able to prepare a nicethrone, and you have seen the New Yo rkDeities' dress and process of worship, soyou can do in that way. There is nothing tobe added new. The same principle shouldbe followed, and the Deities should alwaysbe well-dressed in clothing andsome ornaments and flowers and incense.The Deities should always be attractive.And the more we are engaged in decoratingthe Deities, washing the room, themore we are engaged in Deity worship,the more we become purified. That ispractical. Brahmananda is also takingcare of my Deity in New York, and he ispractically experiencing and doing it. Soif necessary you can take some informationfrom him also.This Seattle city is undertood to bevery big in area, and appears to be verypeacefu l also, because the population isless, and they are little responsive also. Ithink gradually this center will also growvery nicely.I have sent Goursundar to Hawaii toopen a branch there, and I have receivedletters from London that the 6 devoteesthey are prosecuting their regular duties,namely kirtan in the morning, and on theweekdays as we do generally, and they arehaving love feast also, although not in ourown place, but in different places. Andthey are searching after a suitable placefor our temple. Similarly, in Berlin also,we are hopeful for starting a new branchthere . And Krishna das, and UttamaSloka (Uttama Sloka is a German boy)they are going there. And I have also advisedAchyutananda to return back to Germany.So I think 4 or 5 of them will dovery nice in Berlin, and the 6 devotees inLondon, they will also do very nice there.

SEPTEMBER, 1968 525And I think as soon as they are prepared totake me there, I shall go immediately, inEurope.Hope you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-27 Seattle22nd September, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedSept. 16, 1968, and I think everything isgoing well with you, both. Yes, from thevery beginning you just revise SrimadBhagavatam and now we shall print 12volumes, for 12 cantos, under differentnames, each canto. That scheme will benice. Regarding encroachment by Maya:There is every possibility, at every time,because we are living in the kingdom ofMaya. Her influence upon us is verystrong, but as indicated in the BhagavadGita, 7th chapter, that in spite of her verygreat influence over the living entities, aliving entity as soon as he fully surrendersunto Krishna, the influence of Maya willno more act upon him. This is a fact. Sothe more we become stronger in ourKrishna Consciousness, the more Maya isaloof from us.Your poetry is nice, and I am keeping itwith me for future publication in Back ToGodhead. I shall send it to Rayarama inmy next mail to him.If you can write a nice short article, invitingthe hippies, to take to Krishna Consciousness,and practice it in NewVrindaban, I think many sincere hippieswho are looking after something genuine,peaceful, they will come. So our movementif it is introduced amongst the hippies,because so far I can understand, theyare after such thing for peace of the mind.Not only for the hippies, but for everyone.Everyone is seeking after peace and happiness,but they are seeking in the materialplatform. That is not possible to beachieved there. One has to be elevated onthe spiritual platform and then his aspirationwill be fulfilled. I think you can writea nice article for publication in our BackTo Godhead. Hope this will find you ingood health. HARE KRISHNA .Yours ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-28Seattle23rd September, 1968My Dear Yamuna,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Sept. 15,1968, Sept. 21, along with the nice newsclipping, and I am so glad to note yourfeelings of Krishna Consciousness graduallyincreasing. It is all Krishna's Mercyupon you for your sincere mode of service;please keep this attitude and you willbe happy more and more.Regarding the lost certificate paper: Iunderstand from Govinda devi that youhave got it back. Pleae print is nicely.I have received one letter from Mukundathat your preaching work is goingon nicely, and so it is also confirmed byyou. I shall be glad to know how you'remeeting in the Hindu center, and how themeetings are being carried successfully.These people might be impersonalists, sofar I can understand from the handbill, butstill, we can perform Kirtan in any place.It does not matter what they are. By ourKirtan process we have to influence others.Now I am thinking of Kirtan withslides. If I get opportunity to preparesome nice slides from Srimad Bhagavatamand make tape records on the prayersoffered to the Deity in the slide, as well asexplain the whole slide in English, all taperecorded, this will be very nice idea. I

526 Letters from Srrla Prabhupddashall be glad to know your opinion also.Since I received letter in San Francisco,I have come here to Seattle, and onSaturday last, the 21st instant. And the reportis that in this place, our preaching ofKrishna Consciousness has a great potency.So I shall begin my classes today.And they have arranged some lecturesalso. Let me see what will happen.I do not know whether you are in receiptof the bank money which I have sentfrom Montreal , for credit of account withShyamsundar at Charter Bank. So I havewritten to the bank, to the Montreal bank,to take information, and shall be gladwhether you have received the money ornot. In case you have not received, takeone letter from the Charter Bank and sendit to me.Yo u will be glad to know our discipleSriman Dinesh is preparing another record,Chintamani Prakara Sadrnasu , andother songs and speeches, 20 min. eachside. And it will come out very soon. Regardingour former records , if you wantwe can send you for selling there. Hopethis will find you all in good health. Andawaiting your further letters about preachingwork.Yours ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-29 Seattle26th September, 1968Sri S. S. Sethi, Vice ConsulConsulate General of India215 Market StreetSan Francisco, Cal .Dear Mr. Sethi,Please accept my greetings. I hope bythis time you have received two copies ofphotos I have sent you through Sri SomnathDhar. Now with reference to your letterno. SANF/CONS/384/68 addressedto Mr. A. C. Misra, Attache, High Commissionoflndia, Otta,· ·a, Canada, I beg toinform you that they have sent me a wrongpassport and returned back the postal orderin order that I may receive the certificatesfrom your office . In this connectionthey write to say as follows: ''As you areno longer living within our jurisdiction,you are advised to contact our San Franciscooffice fo r police clearance and birthcertificate." Please therefore issue thesecertificates per bearer and he will pay therequired fees.I do not know what to do with thiswrong passport. The copy of the letterwhich I have addressed to Mr. Misra inthis connection is also enclosed herewith.Kindly therefore do the needful immediatelyas I want both the passport and certificatevery urgently, and I am simplywaiting for them. I am sending my discipleSriman Chidananda Brahmachary(Mr. Clay Harrold) to see you, and pleaseadvise him what to do .Yo urs sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-30Shri A. C. MisraAttacheHigh Commission of India200 Maclaren StreetOttawa 4, CanadaSeattle26th September, 1968Dear Sir,While thanking you for your registeredletter No. afT/428/2/68, I beg to informyou that on opening the registered cover, Ifind that the passport does not belong tome . I am very much surprised how thismis-delivery has been possible. The passportwhich I have got in my hand just nowis No. I-062636, in favor of CharammaSebastian, issued from your Bombay office,dated October 25, 1962.Please therefore find out immediately

SEPTEMBER, 1968527where is my passport and send it directlyto your San Francisco office care of Mr.Sethi, because without the passport I cannotget the police clearance and birth certificates.I have received back the moneyorder, but I cannot utilize it without gettingmy passport. I have been so long waitingfor the passport and twice I phonedyour office in Canada, asking you to sendit back, as requested by your San Franciscooffice, but when I got your registeredpackage, it is a different one. Pleasetherefore immediately arrange to returnmy passport care of Mr. Sethi, and on returnof my passport, I shall return thewrong passport which is in my possession.Yours faithfully,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-31 Seattle26th September, 1968My Dear Krishna devi andDinesh Chandra das,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of Sept. 24,1968, and have noted the contents carefully.Yes, you can accept this proposalwithout any hesitation and get the loanfrom him. For service of Krishna sometimeswe may agree to act in a way whichmay not be very agreeable to us. But in allcases, please do not agree to accept meat.Avoid such undesirable action very tactfully.Hope you are both well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-32 Seattle27th September, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknoweldge receipt of your letter datedSept. 24, 1968, and it is very encouraging.May Krishna bless you all . I am soglad to learn that Nandarani and her husbandare all so enthusiastically trying torender service to Krishna and you havegot very good assistants-Rarer Nama,and Baraha Murti. It is so encouraging tolearn that Baraha Murti has got permissionfrom his Hiranakshya-father. Perhapsyou know this story of Baraha Murti.Hiranakshya put the earthly planet withinthe water, and Lord Baraha lifted themerged earthly planet by His big tusks. SoKrishna has given you all a good chancefor developing Hollywood, and I hope inthe near future all the artists will take toKrishna Consciousness movement, andHollywood shall become a holy place.Regarding my going to Los Angeles: Ican go at any time, but I think if you areserious to call me you can do so by themiddle of October. I think that will benice. Now, my plan is that personally Ishall try to retire from active participation,but I want a place where I can livewith at least 15 devotees engaged in editorialwork, recording work, photographicwork, painting work, etc., so that I mayprepare materials for the preaching partywho will go with all these paraphernaliaand preach Krishna Consciousness allover the world. If you think that you canhelp me in this respect then it may be I canmake Hollywood as my headquarters. Inthe meantime, I have received letter fromHawaii, and it appears that a good centercan be opened there. So let us organize allthe centers which are already opened.And until we are fully organized, all theseplaces are fully organized, we shall notmake any more attempts .Dinesh is a good technician in the matterof film making, and gramophone recordmaking, and it is understood that inHollywood is a good place for such kindof activities. So somehow or other, youorganize your center nicely, and I shall be

528 Letters from Srila Prabhupadaglad to visit if necessary by the middle ofOctober.Hope you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-33 Seattle27th September, 1968My Dear Goursundar,Please accept my blessings. I was verymuch anxious to hear from you , and I amso glad to receive your letter dated Sept.24, 1968, and it is very encouraging. It isby Krishna's Grace that you have gotten ajob as desk clerk. This is another goodnews. Please continue in that job and tryto organize a center in Hawaii, whose descriptionappears to be very attractive likeIndia. The description you have given isexactly corresponding to the eastern andwestern coast of India. I think Mahapurushawill join you very soon. AndMurari is also arranging to go there, soyou will get the cooperation and help ofyour God-brothers, and you are also situatedin a job, and when Govinda dasi goesthere, I think she can also have a nice job.So, combined together, you will be able todevelop a very nice center, perhaps ourown temple of Radha Krishna in that goodspot, which is very attractive for me atleast.Regarding the mridanga: You shouldmake a statement to the authority that theydid not allow you to take it with you, andforced you to keep it with the baggages,although it was known that there wasevery chance of it being broken. And atlast they have broken it-so they must pay$200.00 damages. Claim it, and we shallfight with these nonsense people. I do notknow in future how we can take mridangathere. Is there any marine shipping servicefrom San Francisco or from India tothere?Please keep me informed of your activitiesthere, and I hope this meets you ingood health,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I am feeling your separation but thatdoes not matter we must do our duty inKrishna Consciousness.68-9-34 Seattle27th September, 1968My Dear Vamandas,Please accept my blessings. I see thatyou are feeling not well. I advise youtherefore to come and live with me so thatyou can be freed from the doubts . I hopeyou are chanting regularly at least 16rounds. Sometimes Maya disturbs us butthat does not mean any serious drawback.So if you feel too much uneasy, you cancome and live with me for some time, andeverything will be set up. I hope you arewell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-35 Seattle27th September, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of Sept. 20,1968, and it is very encouraging to noteall the informations. I think Krishnawill help you in all respects. And thecredit of opening our London branchwill go to the San Francisco boys,headed by you. Of course, the girls alsoshare the credit undoubtedly. And I amalways ready for going there as soon asyou shall call me .Regarding the bank affair: You write tosay "We are expecting a letter from theCanadian Bank any day as to whether the

SEPTEMBER, 1968 529money was credited back to your account."This means that you have not receivedthe money, and you are arrangingto get the money again credited in my accountin the Canadian National Bank, atMontreal . But I have received one notefrom Hansadutta who says like this: "Iwent to your bank and checked into that1655.00 for Shyamsundar and the gentlemanin charge of the affair said that is alltaken care of and that by this time theyhave got that money in London." I cannotunderstand what is the real position, but Irequest you to open correspondence withHansadutta and let me know convenientlywhat is the actual position. Hope you arewell, and offer to Janaki my blessings, andall others also.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-36 Seattle27th September, 1968My Dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedSept. 19, 1968, and thank you very muchfor it. Now, you have to print a large numberof Back To Godhead every month. Ithink only in California area you shall beable to sell 3000 copies per month. Similarly,in other centers also you can sell alarge number of Back To Godhead, sincethe Samkirtan party is moving and peopleare purchasing very gladly. So you can expectgolden days very soon. And you mustprepare yourself for this purpose.Regarding your assistant: I must helpyou in this connection, and I think Subalwill be one of your best assistants . He isstruggling very hard alone in Santa Fe . IfBrahmananda and yourself can arrange tosend somebody to take charge of Santa Fe ,he can immediately be called for your assistance.similarly, there is a new boy,Chintamoni (Christopher Fynn) who is inMontreal temple. I think he can also be agreat help to you . You can open correspondencewith Hansadutta in this connection,and if you think that boy issuitable, he can also help you . Please continueto send our Back To Godhead to allpersons, I have given you list-especiallyto Sumati Morarjee at Bombay, becauseshe is coming again to help our activities.You can send copies to Hawaii also toGoursundar to the following adress: GaryMcElroy ; room 5066; Armed ServicesY. M.C.A., 250 South Hotel Street;Honolulu, Hawaii, 96813.Regarding my stationary: It is almostfinished and you can arrange for printingnext copies to your good choice. Govindadasi doesn't like the setting of camp anddate . But I am moving everywhere, practicallyI am not fixed up at any address, soyou have to adjust as nicely as possible.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: I letter from Subal68-9-37 Seattle27th September, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. This is toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedSeptember 24, 1968, and I am so pleasedthat Devananda is doing marvelous workin propagating our Krishna Consciousnessmovement by lecturing in the BostonUniversity, and he is being paid $25 perlecture. It is a great credit for me also.And I feel proud that Devananda is sonicely representing my views. ByKrishna's Grace, everything is graduallycoming to the fulfillment of my dream.The Samkirtan party is walking in thestreets and is getting good response, from

530 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidathe public. They are selling Back To Godheadnicely, and getting good sympathyfrom the public by considerable collections.We are not after collecting money,but when people offer something out oflove and sympathy for our mission, it becomesa great asset. I am sure if you allmy beloved disciples combined togethertry to preach Krishna Consciousness inthis spirit, Krishna will give the necessarystrength. By the Grace of Krishna and theSpiritual Master, the dumb man can speaklike a great orator, and a lame man .cancross over a great mountain. So we musthave the necessary unflinching faith inKrishna and Spiritual Master, and thestrength will be supplied by Krishna. Afterall, anything which we experience isbut a fraction of the unlimited energy ofKrishna. And even by fragmental touch ofsuch spiritual energy of the Lord, we canmake our life successful.Regarding yourself and Jadurany : Youare both very sincere servitors to thecause of Krishna, and Krishna will giveyou necessary intelligence how to behavewith one another. I am glad to learn thatthe girls under the guidance of Jaduranyare doing nice painting work, and I amvery much inclined to have many manySamkirtan pictures painted like the onewhich was in your Boston temple, on thewall, while I was there. I have one photographof this picture and it is so nice that Ifeel my joys unlimited. (See enclosedsketch for identifying the exact painting Iam speaking of) . Our Madhavilata is alsoa good artist. She is painting a very nicepicture of Radha Krishna seated on aswing. But she is a little independent spirited,and wants to wander with me. Anyway,she is a sincere good soul, and let herdo the work in her own way. But it is agood asset for her that she has attraction tohear me. That will make her all right inthe due course of time, and it may be thatshe wil also come out a great painting assistantin our society.I am sending herewith the certificaterequired by you , and I hope Krishna willhelp you in your deire to get more help foryour executive function.Enclosed please find also one letter ofthanks for Devananda which please deliverto him with my blessings. Hope youare all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiI am a litte perturbed by hearing aboutyour accident, but I am sure Krishna willhelp you in your sincere service. I am gladto learn that Jadurany is improving in herhealth, and I shall always pray to Krishnafor her health and prolonged life.My Dear Devananda,Please accept my blessings. I am sopleased to learn that you are lecturing inthe Boston University class in mysticism,and they are appreciating your versions.Please always remain submissive in spiritto Krishna and Spiritual Master, and bytheir Grace you will get all strength tospeak and satisfy your audience. I rememberwhen you were walking with meon the New Yo rk street, you were proposingme to become lecturer in some University.And your honest desire has beenfulfilled by Krishna, that He has givensufficient strength unto you, that insteadof me, you are speaking there as my representative.This is all Krishna's Grace. Butone thing I may inform you , that the threebooks which I have already prepared,namely, the Bhagavad Gita As It Is,Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, and SrimadBhagavatam, all these books are the ultimatesource of knowledge. If you simplyreproduce what I have tried to explain inthose books, surely you will come out victorious,even in the midst of so many greatmundane scholars. The description givenin these books, are not mundane speculations,but they are authorized versions of

SEPTEMBER, 1968 531liberated souls, presented by our humbleself. So the strength is not in us, but thestrength is in the Supreme Lord. And wehave simply to present them without anyadulteration, in humble service spirit.That is the secret of success. Hoping youare well,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swamivery nicely. So please let me know whatyou are going to do in this connectionand I hope you are in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami*I understand stereo records are in greaterdemand than mono records. So you willhave to do stereo records.68-9-38 Seattle29th September, 1968My Dear Krishna devi andDinesh Chandra das,Please accept my blessings. In continuationof my last letter, I have takenquotation from New York about recordmanufacturing and Brahmananda has sentme the following quotation as per leafletenclosed herewith . Brahmananda says itwill be still not cheaper so far printing ofalbums is concerned, so if we get 5000 albums,I have estimated, it will be more orless round 2000 dollars, or about 45 centsper record. So if Dinesh and you thinkthat the record playing has come outvery successful, then we must print5000 copies. If you get $2000. fromyour father, that will be sufficient for5000 copies, and if need be, we can arrangeto invest one hundred or two hundredmore, if so required. So you askDinesh to open correspondence immediatelywith Brahmananda, and it willbe nice to print 5000 albums immediately.The Samkirtan party is selling BackTo Godhead nicely and if they displaythe record on a record player in thestreet, I think we can sell this albumvery nicely. * If you get a cheaper pricethan this rate, let me know, otherwisewe may get it manufactured in NewYork. So far album art work is concerned,I shall ask Murlidhar to do it68-9-39 Seattle29th September, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am justin receipt of your airmail special deliveryletter dated September 26, 1968, and I amvery much pleased to know that the studentsof different universities in Bostonare taking some interest in our missionaryactivities. You write to say that it appearsthe students are more discontented thanever and are openly stating that they donot have any solution to their discontentwith the present civilization. It is verygood opportunity therefore for presentingour manifesto, on the basis of BhagavadGita As It Is, and Teachings of LordChaitanya. These books are also comingout very soon, by the end of next month. Ifthere is good opportunity for agitating thestudent community in Boston, I must takeadvantage of the opportune moment if actuallythey are eager to know about it. I amsure they will appreciate the techniques ofour movement if they patiently hear forsome time. If they are ready to spare suchtime, I am prepared to deliver lectures onthe Bhagavad Gita As It Is, as well asTeachings of Lord Chaitanya, once in aweek in different colleges and universities.But I shall appreciate their genuinedesire if I am invited directly-so that Ican know they are actually eager about it.In that case, I can cancel all my engagementsin the western part of your country,

532 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidaand may spare one to two months in Bostonfor executing this urgent and importantwork. The thing is that if they areserious, they must hear the philosophy fo rsome time, and I am prepared to spare mytime for this purpose. So I shall be glad tohear from you further in this matter, andthen I shall chalk out my program.Regarding the Deities: the quotationby Overseas Exporters appears to be veryhigh. I have enquired several other placesalso, so let us wait. Don't put any orderjust now unless you hear from me . Harivilasbrought two pairs of small Deitiesfrom Vrindaban. One pair is with me , sothey are also very nice. So you can askHarivilas and he will give informationwhere to get, and what was the price. Inthat case, you can immediately write toAchyutananda and JayaGovinda who arenow in Delhi at the following address: c/oIndraprastha Goudiya Math; Dina-ka­Galab, Malkaganj ; Subjimandi; Delhi 7,India. And arrange to take supply fromVrindaban directly, not only one pair but afew pairs.Hope you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-9-40My Dear Gurudas,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter dated9/23/68, and thank you very much for it.Now, because you are on the field work,you have to meet so many opposite elements.And you have to satisfy them orfight with them with conclusive statementsfrom Bhagavad Gita, and SrimadBhagavatam, and as such, it is needed thatyou should be thoroughly conversant withthe truth.Regarding the Hindu community:Don't expect anything very wonderfulfrom them, as we have got experience inMontreal-they have come in the foreigncountries to earn money. As such, youcannot expect any cultural contribution.So you will tactfully deal with them, andwhenever possible, vehemently protestagainst their foolish ideas. But you shouldtry to support your statements on thestrength of Bhagavatam and BhagavadGita. Best thing will be to avoid them asfar as possible. I am concerned to preachthis gospel amongst the Europeans andAmericans, and I am not at all interestedto preach amongst the Indians, becausethey have now become hodge-potch, dueto so many years of subjugation by foreigners,and having lost their own culture.Hope you are well with your goodwife, and please offer Yamuna devi myblessings.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

OCTOBER68- 10-1LondonSeattle1st October, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am gladto receive your letter dated Sept. 26,1968, and it is very much pleasing to learnabout your nice activities there. I am littleconcerned about your attempt to formISKCON Ltd . My idea is that we shouldnot form a separate organization in London.The same International Society forKrishna Consciousness as we havebranches in different places in USA, asimilar branch may be opened in Londonor in Germany. The basic principle of ourpreaching work, methods and managementmust be the same. I do not know whya separate registration is required. To bemore clear, I may say that if the managementgoes to other hands, then it will bedifficult for preaching our principles. Ourmain principle is Krishna Consciousnesson the basis of Bhagavad Gita As It Is, andLord Chaitanya's Teachings. So far differentparticipants in London are concerned, they must agree to our principlesor they must follow our principles. Youshould be careful on this point. We cannotagree to make a mixed up associationwithout any authorized principles. So faras Hindus are concerned, they are notfixed up in one principle. Under the circumstances,do not be misled that becausesome of the Hindus are taking interest inthis movement, they are of the same opinion.You have seen the affairs in Montreal .So my final desire is that whatever you do,you must do it strictly on the principles ofour society as we are doing in the US. Inthe management of the London branch, ifthe local Englishmen come forward, thatis welcome. So far Indians are concerned,there are so many varieties of split-upHindu society. So I hope you will takenecessary precautions in the matter ofregistering ISKCON Ltd. ISKCON is theshort cut of our society's name, but whenyou actually register the full name, theaims and objectives as they are stated inour prospectus, must be mentioned. Anyway,I am so much pleased that your programof Kirtan and Krishna Consciousnessis going on well there although youhave not got yet our own temple. Whydon't you get Back To Godhead from NewYork? Here the Samkirtan party, headedby Jayananda and Tarnal Krishna is doingvery nice. They are collecting an averageof $45 daily, as contributions, and sellingan average of 100 copies of Back To Godhead.So try to get immediately copies ofBack To Godhead from New York and tryto sell them in large quantities. That is ourbackbone. In meantime, our BhagavadGita As It Is, and Teachings of LordChaitanya are also coming out by the endof this month. So Kirtan plus distributionof our books and literature is the basicprinciple of our success. Even if we do nothave our own temple it does not matter,but if we can hold Kirtan 24 hours, anddistribute our publications, that is ourgreat success. I have now received one letterfrom Shyamsundar about the bank affairs,and will reply him shortly. Ireceived also one letter from Malati, andone from Yamuna, which are very nice,and I shall reply them in my next. If there

__534 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidais no immediate program of my going toLondon, then I may go next either to LosAngeles or Boston. Hope this finds you allalright.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. BhaktivedantaMy Dear Shyamsunder,Please accept my blessings. I am sopleased to learn about your slow but sureprogress in the matter of your most gloriousLondon yatra. I am sure Krishna willhelp you fully and do it seriously. I hopethe letter of Alan Ginsberg will help yougreatly. If you think so right you can opena/c external sterling scheme with theLondon and let me knowthe a/c number. Hope this will find you ingood health. Offer my blessings to GurudasYamuna, Janaki & Malati. ACB* but if need be you may not do it immediatelybut do it when I shall go there.P. S. Yamuna has sent me a copy of letteryou have received from Alan Ginsberg.Please utilise this letter properly. I amsure this will help you greatly.68-10-21st October, 1968My Dear Hansudutta,Please accept my blessings. I have notheard anything from you since last fewdays; hope everything is going on well.Now regarding the house which you sawon 772 Cherbrooke St. , in front of McGillUniversity, do you think I shall seriouslynegotiate for securing the house? Thecondition is that we have to pay a lease$12000 down and $100 per month. Youassured me that by opening PrasadamRestaurant downstairs you will be able toraise this. If you are confident about this,then let me know immediately, so I shallrenew negotiation with the party. You maysee the house once more inside; the processto do so is as follows:[TEXT MISSING]68-10-3Seattle3rd October, 1968My Dear Yamuna devi,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your nice letter of 9/27/68,London yatra, and it is so much encouragingto me . Your appreciation is so nice, ofSrimad Bhagavat Gita and Teachings ofLord Chaitanya, and please continue tostudy and preach in this way to all youmeet. I am very happy to learn that youare going to various homes and lecturehalls, and holding kirtan and deliveringlectures from these transcendental literatures.This is very nice. And if you continuein this way, gradually so manypeople will be attracted, and our Londoncenter will be very soon successful. I havereceived also your handbills, and they arealso very nice. All this good news is verymuch encouraging to me, and I thank youall six sincere souls for carrying on thismission so enthusiastically.The drawings for the certificate are enclosedherewith, and you can place themin proper position, as they look best.These recommendations may also helpyou : "Best use a 15x20 or similar proportionpaper (hopefully you probably alreadyhave used similar size) Be sure thatafter pasting in each corner, that the edgesare kept clean, so that they do not showwhen photographed. For printing they canbe reduced some, to about an inch or twolarger than a piece of typewriting paper(with whatever exact proportions are convenientto use in the reduction) ."Murlidhar das has drawn these pictures,and they are very nicely done.Today there was a television station interviewin my apartment. They came with

OCTOBER, 1968 535big cameras and microphones, and Iplayed harmonium and one lady interviewedwith a few questions. They tookalso pictures of my altar with RadhaKrishna Deities, and Lord Jagannath, andthe cover pictures of my Bhagavad Gitaand Teachings of Lord Chaitanya. So itwill be on the newscast at 5:00 this evening,in color, and we will go and see howthey have done it. They also came to ourclass last night, and took pictures of ourstudents dancing in ecstasy. So this shouldhelp our movement here in Seattle, as somany people will see, and come to ourtemple. You can try for television appearancesthere also if possible.I hope you are all well, and I am alwayslooking forward to hearing your good reportsof the activities of the London yatra,and I shall be happy to come there whenyou are prepared for me. As ever I remain,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 10-4Seattle5th October, 1968My Dear Chidananda,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedacknowledgement of my letterdated 26th Sept., 1968, from Mr. S.S.Sethi, whom you saw. So I am replyinghim and the copy of the letter is enclosed,herewith. You can immediately go and seehim and deliver the wrong passport, andtake receipt signature on the copy of theletter. And keep the copy of the letter withthe receipt signature, carefully.Before delivering the wrong passportto Mr Sethi, you keep in your diary thenumber of the passport, the owner of thepassport, and the issuing office etc., inyour notebook. And after delivering thepassbook to Mr. Sethi, please let me knowwhat does he say. And I hope you willcarry this nicely, and I shall be also glad toknow how your San Francisco branch isgoing on. Here everything is all right; wehope we shall get very good responsefrom the student community here, becauseone of the representatives of the studentnewspaper came to see me and therewas nice discussion, and I hope a good reportwill come out.I have not heard anything about the negotiationof the new temple house, and Ishall be glad to hear about this from you.Hoping you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-5Seattle6th October, 1968My Dear Advaita,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated October 2,1968, and noted the contents very carefully.I am so glad to learn that the NewYork devotees are all feeling my separationand you are feeling also; this is veryblissful. In the transcendental platform,actually separation is more relishable thanmeeting. But either separation or meeting,the state is always absolute . Actuallyin the spiritual platform, there is no separation,but it is a different stages of rasas.So far service to Krishna is concerned,it is variagated. Krishna has got multienergies,therefore , He can receive servicesfrom us in multi-forms. So anyonecan render loving service to Krishna byhis talents, that is the technique of KrishnaConsciousness. So by the Grace ofKrishna, you have got the talent and youhave got the opportunity also to serveHim, and I wish that Krishna may giveyou more and more such opportunity tomake your progress in Krishna Consciousness.I have already written to Uddhavaabout binding and size of the book,

536 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidaand again I am repeating that all my booksshall be printed in the size 6 I /2 x 9, butnext printing, I am willing to do it, cantoby canto. That is to say, the three volumesalready published of Srimad Bhagavatammaybe printed in one volume. And the papershould be that Indian thin paper. Andthe pages shall not be less than 1000 . Ofcourse, the composition all in Romantype, we shall avoid now the Sanskrit type.Simply we shall put transliteration, translation,and purport. In this way volumes1, 2, 3, 4, etc . 12 volumes, of SrimadBhagavatam will be published. So we cando the needful . And so far Back To Godheadis concerned, it is already known toyou how to do it.Regarding binding: Some of our studentsalso may learn the art, and so far Iknow, binding cost should not go beyond40C. Please inform Balai dasi with myblessings, that I have received the reportof the Istogosti , and it is very nice. Especiallythe portion in which Rayarama andPurushottam 's presentation to deal withnewcomers is very nice. We should notdisturb the newcomers immediately withopposite proposals, but tactfully we shalltry to teach him in our ways, and graduallyhe will come to understand this policyis very nice, and approved by me.Hope you are both well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-6Seattle6th October, 1968My Dear Uddhava ,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedOctober 3, 1968, and I am so pleased tolearn that you are now going to be photographicexpert also for our press. It is allKrishna's arrangement. Please learn theart very nicely. So far financial assistancefor starting our press, I am sure Krishnawill help us. Don't worry about it. Simplyjust become expert in conducting thepress.Regarding binding: The cost of bindingshould not be more than 40C. And thebest thing will be some of our studentslearn binding also. The book size of SrimadBhagavatam will be exactly as it is, atpresent, but it may be that the pages maybe increased. Because next printing I amthinking three volumes in one. And thepapers may be just like Bible paper, thin,and pages will be not less than 1000, andwe shall print in one volume; the bindingshould be very first class, and similarly,part by part, we shall have to print 12parts, altogether. So if some of our studentsbecomes expert in binding, that willbe very nice. I think Devananda, who is inBoston, he has some knowledge in binding.Binding is not very difficult task.Anyone can do it, but I do not know how itwill be successfully done. But the cost ofbinding must not be more than 40C .The Seattle center is going on verynicely, and most probably with our nextcenter will be opened in Florida. I am somuch thankful to you for your affectionfor me, and I pray to Krishna that you maymake progress more and more in KrishnaConsciousness. Thank you once more forwriting me,Your ever well-wisher,A. C., Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-7Mr. Alan GinsbergR.D. 2 Cherry ValleyNew Yo rkSeattle6th October, 1968My Dear Ginsberg,Please accept my blessings. HAREKRISHNA! Mukunda has sent me a copyof the letter you have sent him on Sept. 23,

OCTOBER, 1968 5371968, and I thank you very much fo r yourso much sympathy for this Krishna Consciousnessmovement. And Krishna willcertainly bestow His Mercy upon you, andI pray that you will live long for chantingHARE KRISHNA continuously. Hopethis will find you all right in your healthand other things .Yo urs ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 10-8My Dear Dinesh,Seattle6th October, 1968Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Oct. 3,1968, and have noted the contents . I ampreparing for going away from this placefo r somewhere else by the end of the nextweek. So you can come and see me atonce on receipt of this letter and we shalltalk in detail. Bring the following thingsalso along with your film tapes, namely:I. My passport and two certificateswhich are lying with Chidananda . Theseare very important documents and bringthem within your inside pocket carefully.2. Some files and large brown envelopesthat are lying in San Francisco.Krishna devi may not come with youbecause she is in mature condition. If youthink your absence at this stage will not beadvisable for Krishna devi 's mature stage ,then don't come.Hoping you are both well,Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-9 SeattleMy Dear Brahmananda,6th October, 1968Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Oct. I,1968, and some of the important pointsthat you have tried to discuss, I am replyingas follows: The first thing is that in themeeting of Dr. Spock, you should eatthere . But you simply eat vegetariandishes, like fruits, nuts , boiled potato,biscuit, milk, etc., and rememberingKrishna. As you will pay for the dinner,for the fooding, you can offer them toKrishna within your mind, then eat themas Krishna Prasadam. Any foodstuffwhen it is paid fo r, it becomes purified .There is a verse in Vedic literature , DrabyamulyenaSuddhati. The source of receiptof the thing, may be not very good,but if one pays fo r it, it becomes purified.So, vegetables diet when it is paid fo r, youcan offer it in your mind to Krishna andtake it. But this Drabya means eatables,and eatables meaning vegetables, grains,milk, flowers, fruits; meat is not consideredan eatable-it is considered untouchable.Just like if somebody purchasessome stool , that does not mean it is nowpurified . So meat is like that. This Drabyameans vegetables, etc. And this DrabyamulyenaSuddhati is only in specialcases like this. It is not to done ordinarily,or unless in special circumstance. Weshould prepare our own foodstuff and offeras much as possible, of course.The next point is that you should dressjust like perfect American gentlemen, butthe sikha and telok must be very prominent.Coat, pants, necktie, and everything,Brahmachary and Grihasthas, theycan put on, because you are not Sanyasi.In the temple, you can dress as Bahmachary,but in order not to become ridiculourin the eyes of others, outside youshould dress just like a very nice perfectaristocratic American. So there is no objection.But we must have always our telokand sikha and there is no compromisefor this purpose.Regarding Kirtanananda 's payment of$100, that is known to you and me also,

538 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadabut why they forget that they have takenalso $500? This is known to Janardan andeveryone. So I paid I think $200 from SanFrancisco, and $300 from New Yo rk,what about this money? Anyway, if theyare financially weak they may not pay immediately,but they must pay that $500. Soin this way, try to adjust things. In future ,of course, whenever books and otherthings will be supplied from New Yo rk,you should immediately supply a bill, sothat you may know how much out of thebill they have paid-not only to Montreal,any center-that should be the system.The next point is what about Achyutanandaand Jayagovinda? I have not heardfrom them since a very long time. Youshould immediately write to them whythey have become silent all of a sudden. Itis not good for them to remain in India asguests of this person or that person, withoutdoing something tangible for our society.Achyutananda wanted to come back,so it was very welcome suggestion. But Ithink he might have changed his decisionagain. I do not know what to do with thisboy. And if they want to remain in India,they must do something tangible work forour society. If not, they may come back.There is vast work here. And recently Ihave received letter from Mukunda thatfrom South America, Guiana, it was underthe possession of British, one Mr.Dindayal is very much anxious to get usthere . So we have to open so manybranches all over the world. So why theyare sitting idly in India? Please write tothem also.And what about United Shipping Corporation?Have you placed order for mridangasand other things, covering themmoney due from them?Regarding the dust cover of Teachingsof Lord Chaitanya : I have found out twomistakes. One mistake is on the first flap,when Bhagavat reference is given, thecanto is 11, not 9. So it should XI, not IX.So please rectify this. Another is on thelast page of the flap, there's one word asraptuous, in the recommendation of Mr.James Howard, Life; I do not find anyword as raptuous. The real word is rapturous. So you consult the dictionary, and doit nicely.I think Seattle branch will come outvery successful , because we have drawnthe attention of the students of the universityhere. One girl came to see me, as representativeof the student paper, and wehad a nice discussion. But another thing,that the priestly class of Christian andJews churches, I think they are becomingenvious of our movement. Because theyare afraid of their own system of religiosity,because they see so many youngboys and girls are taking interest in thissystem of Krishna Consciousness. Naturally,they are not very satisfied. So wemay be facing some difficulty by them infuture . So, we have to take some precaution.Of course, this priestly class couldnot do anything very nice till now, butdogmatic way of thinking is going on. Soany way, we shall have to depend onKrishna, and I think the new center inUnited Nations, if we make nice propagandafrom there, then this tendency maybe diminished. In the United Nations center,I have already suggested Purushottamthings to be done there, and if possible,we shall hold meeting and kirtan in thechurch center and distribute Prasadam,invite the prominent members of theUnited Nations, this is, I am thinking likethat. I do not know what Krishna desires.Ye s, your thinking about my health;yes by the Grace of Lord Nrsingha, I amnot in bad health. Rather I have improvedsince I have come from India back. So Nrsinghadevsurely will save me from anyattack of Maya, because I am engaged inHis service. But after all, the law of naturemust be obeyed, in spite of our very nicecare, this body must be ended. And before

OCTOBER, 1968 539ending this body, we must have to finishour business to serve Krishna.Regarding Florida: There is very goodchance to open a branch there, and theyhave invited us, and 10 or 15 people areready to attend our meetings, so I amthinking of sending Mahapurusha there,with some other assistant. Another thing,this is of course, private, that Hayagrivamay be willing to marry some of ourBrahmacharinis. So I shall be glad to hearfrom you which Brahmacharini you maysuggest suitable for Hayagriva. In fact,unless our Brahmacharies are very adamantremaining as Brahmachary, I shallrecommend everyone to marry. Becausethese girls generally come to our societyto find out a suitable husband, so there isno harm to live as husband and wife, asMukunda, Gurudas, and Shyamsundar,they are living very nicely. Similarly, othersMurari also living. So this is not bad .But if one can live as Brahmachary, that isvery good. So you can suggest me privatelywhich girl can be suitable for Hayagriva.I am glad that you have sent Back ToGodhead to Sumati Morarjee, I have alsosent here two copies from here.Hoping you are well,Your ever well-wisher,P. S. I hope you have talked with Gargamuniabout DiaNippon affairs. Do thingsnicely and tactfully. You are the son of agreat businessman so I have nothing toteach. May Krishna save you. Hari bole.68- 10-10Seattle6th October, 1968My Dear Jayapataka,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter Sept. 25, 1968,and I have noted the contents carefully. Iam very much concerned about yourselfthat you have been injured, by working; Ido not know what sort of ougre-karma youwere doing, but whatever you do, youmust becareful. Your body is dedicated toKrishna, therefore you should not be neglectfulabout your body. You should alwaysthink that your body is no more yourbody, but it is Krishna's body. Thereforeyou should take care of it. So far studyingBengali, of course if you can do withspare time, I have no objection. But Idon't think there is any importance instudying Bengali. It is too late now tostudy Bengali and become a scholar, neitherBengali is very useful in your countryand this part os the world, but there aremany literatures in Bengali. If you canstudy conveniently, then spare your time;otherwise, do not waste your time. If youhave got some time, the best thing wouldbe to chant Hare Krishna more and more.Because our life is very short, and we haveto finish our Krishna Consciousness thislife very quickly. We do not know whenwe shall meet our next death, our next exitfrom this platform. But before going outof this platform, we may try to finishKrishna Consciousness. That is our mainbusiness.I have not heard anything about publicationof our Back To Godhead in Frenchlanguage. What about the printing inmimeograph machine? I am very muchanxious to hear about it. Please issue themimeograph copies of Bacj To Godheadas soon as possible. And Hansadutta wewrote me about starting some press, but Ihave not heard anything about the pressstarting. I am interested in starting thepress, so if you can manage it will be verynice. Another thing, you ask Janardanwhy he does not write me since I havecome back to New York from Montreal . Ihave not heard anything from him. So Iam also interested to know whether he isdoing translation work or not. Please askhim to write me. And also, I have writtenone letter to Hansadutta that please ask

540 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadahim to reply me as soon as possible.Here in Seattle, things are goingnicely, and it may be from here I may go toFlorida. There is some friend in Floridawho wants to help us to open a centerthere . All of you please chant HareKrishna, and hear the sound vibration,and serve Krishna and Spiritual Master toyour best capacity and everything will beall right. Please offer by blessings to allthe devotees and I am expecting letters especiallyfrom Hansadutta and Janardan.Hope this will find you in good health,Yours ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-11Seattle6th October, 1968My Dear Purushottam,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Oct. 2,1968, as well as your telegram dated Oct.3, 1968, reading as follows: Have obtainedUN office. $100 monthly. Letterfollows. Isokrishna Purushottam. In themeantime it is understood that everythingis complete, and it is all Krishna's Gracethat we have got a center in the United Nations.And you shall be in charge of the officeas the secretary, and if possible, I maybe living with you for conducting this officespecifically. The activities of this officewill be simply to educate the UnitedNations people, the leaders of all nations,and the representatives of all nations,about our missionary activities, analyzingthe present society's position, and howthey can be elevated to the right position.So we have to make vigorous propagandawork from these centers to people of thewhole world. So let us see how Krishnahelps us, but I think by getting this office,we have opened a new door to our KrishnaConsciousness movement. So you shouldlearn in the meantime typewriting verynicely because you have to write so manyletters till we get some other assistant.Another proposal is if it is possible to get anice apartment nearby, then it will begreat facility, because if I live there, withyou, we can attend the office and live inthe apartment. I do not insist this proposalimmediately, but I am thinking in thatway. Anyway, we have to utilize this officevery nicely for pushing forward the causeof Krishna Consciousness. I am enclosingherewith also one letter for Brahmananda,which please deliver to him.Hoping you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I have very much appreciated yourdiscussion in the Istogosti and so also Rayrama's. We have to collect men forKrishna Consciousness & therefore wemay not be harsh to them.68-10-12 Seattle7th October, 1968My Dear Tosan Krishna,Please accept my blessings. I was indue receipt of your letter dated Sept. 30,1968, but for want of time I could not replyearlier. I am pleased to learn that youare finding association with Subal verynice, because he is a sincere devotee ofKrishna. Certainly you will find a goodassociation.Regarding your question about thisplanet and Krishna's coming here, youmay note that Krishna comes within thisuniverse once in one day of Brahma. DurationofBrahma 's day is very very long, itis stated in the Bhagavad Gita-432 croresof years forms the duration of 12 hours ofBrahma's day. And similarly, there are 12hours of night, so after 864 crores ofyears, Krishna comes in this universe,and whenever He comes, He of course,appears on this planet, that is the fortune

OCTOBER, 1968 541of the people of this planet. We shouldknow very clearly that Krishna is the SupremePersonality of Godhead. He is neitherIndian nor American, as much as thesun is neither Indian nor American. Theoriginal name of this planet is calledBharata Varshya, and before that it wasknown as Elavati Varshya. Now since theday of Emperor Bharata, this planet isknow as Bharata Varshya, but in course oftime, the human race divided, thereforewe find so many other names. But the originalname of this planet is BharataVarshya, and in the Vedic literature, it isstated that anyone who takes birth on thisplanet, they are very fortunate. Because itis the special planet where Krishna descendswhen He comes.Regarding your proposal to become adoctor, because your mother wants toprosecute your education, I think if youcan learn Krishna Consciousness perfectly,by reading our different literatures,and books, you will be a better doctor thanthe ordinary physician. The ordinary physicianmay cure the disease of the body,but if you become advanced in KrishnaConsciousness, you will be able to curethe disease of the soul for many many persons.And that is more important than adoctor or medical practitioner for curingthe disease of this body. However we maybe expert for keeping this body fit, it issure and certain that this will end. But ifyou can protect the soul from being fallena victim of this material existence that is agreater service. In some of the Vedic literatures,it is said that Atmanan SarvatoRakshet, that means one should give firstprotection to the soul. Then he should takecare of his particular type of faith, then heshould take care of the material things,namely this body, and anything in relationwith this body, or wealth. Please try toread all our books very carefully, andwhenever there is any doubt, you ask me,and be expert preacher. That will makeyou a great doctor for protecting the humansociety from being fallen a victim tomaya. I hope this will meet you in goodhealth,Yours ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I am sorry I could not mention anyactivities here in Seattle activities are goingvery nicely. The Samkirtan party isselling daily 50 to 100 copies of Back ToGodhead, and they are collecting 30 to 50dollars, and the students of the WashingtonUniversity, they are little bit attracted.I heard that yesterday in the love feast,there were attendance about 20 guests,and so the affairs in this branch is goingvery well. And I hope that you can also tryto ad vance the cause of the center at SantaFe. Because Subal may go to New Yo rk tohelp Rayarama in the Back To Godheadactivities.ACB68-10-13Seattle7th October, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated October 2,1968, and I am very much pleased to learnthat you have secured a very good apartmentof 5 rooms, and it is very near toyour office. I have received one letterfrom Pradyumna as well as KirtananandaMaharaj , from New Vrindaban, and I amenclosing herewith the replies of Pradyumna'sletter; I hope he has be this timecome to you .Your statement "within the month Ihope to have some students chanting" isvery encouraging for me. Sanskrit is themother of all languages; there is no doubtabout it. In our childhood, we read onegrammar made by two English professors,Mr. Rowe and Webb, in Calcutta,Presidential College, and they have given

542 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidatheir statement that Sanskrit is the motherof all languages. Besides that, we understandfrom reliable resources, that Sanskritis the spoken by the higher planetarydenizens. It is therefore called Devanagari.Devanagari means the cities of thedemigods. This language is spoken there.And so far, AUM is concerned, actually,the AU, the alphabet A, is the basic principleof all languages. And Krishna says,Aksaranan Akarasmi the A amongst all alphabets,is Krishna. Because A is the beginningof all language. A or Au. So yourrepresentation that Sanskrit is the originof Indo-European languages, is quiteright, but our main concern is how we canimpress people about the importance ofKrishna Consciousness, and your scholarlypresentation of the Anglo-Saxon languageis very much pleasing to me; I hopein future you have to move amongst thescholars, representing our Krishna Consciousnessmovement, so I am glad thatyou are thinking in that way for our futureprogram.Regarding your enemy, Mr. Lust: Ihave noted the difficulties, but we shouldalways remember that Krishna is strongerthan any demon, and Mr. Lust, or his fatheror his grandfather, nobody can doanything provided we take shelter ofKrishna very tightly. Now so far your personalmatter is concerned, you are aBrahmachary, you can marry at any time,and in New York, all the nice girls, theyare actually very suitable for our students,and I encourage that all the Brahmachariesmay be very responsible, and marryone of the girls. Because generally thegirls desire good husband and a goodhome, children, that is their natural propensity,so we want to show some idealhouseholders also. But the proposal thatmarriage will solve the question of lust, isnot practical. Neither wife should be acceptedas a machine for satisfying ourlust. The marriage tie should be taken asvery sacred. One who marries for subduinglust is mistaken. Because lust cannotbe satisfied simply by indulging in sensegratification. It is compared with that extinguishingthe fire with large amount ofpetrol. For the time being, the fire mayappear to be extinguished by pouring alarge quantity of petrol, but the petrol itselfis so dangerous that at any time, it canbe in flame. So to subdue lust is a differentprocess. Then you have to take to Deityworship. I am sending herewith one copyof the process of Deity worship. Krishnais Madan Mohan. You have already statedin your letter, it is very nice, that youwould much prefer to channel all your desiresto Krishna, and you ask me how isthis possible when enveloped in maya,seeing only material forms. You have alsowritten to say that if you can see the AbsoluteBeauty which is all-attractive, thenyou could not help but be attracted andwould scorn mundane beauty. This is actuallythe remedy. So you may take immediatelyto the Archan, the Deity worship.Kirtanananda Maharaj has also begunDeity worship in New Vrindaban, andPradyumna knows how he is doing, andsimilarly, in New York, Brahmananda isalso engaged now in the Deity worship,and the process is a little difficult, in thebeginning, but one habituated, it is not atall difficult. So apart from the marriageproposal, you may immediately take toDeity worship. I am sending herewith onecopy of the process of Deity worship, andcompiled by Brahmananda, that will helpyou and Pradyumna also knows, so combinedtogether, you immediately begin Deityworship as Kirtanananda and Brahmanandais doing, and I am sure this process, helpedby your regular chanting, will kill Mr. Lust,rest assured. Of course, when you begin, Iam at your service always, and give you suggestionsand ways and means to make progressin the Deity worship, but you canimmediately adopt this principle.

OCTOBER, 1968 543Now so far teachings to the students, Ithink in New Vrindaban we shall have ourown institution for teaching some boys, andI think you can be recognized principle ofthat institution. So far I understand, that thelaw of your country is that nobody can keepyoungsters without being sent into theschools, so there are many juvenile Brahmachariesin San Francisco and their mother isperplexed where to send them. So I shall requestyou to think on this matter how we canorganize a small party of Brahmacharies'school, so that government may recognizeit, and that will be a nice program.Regarding hippies, I know hippies haveno money. But in New Vrindaban, our programis that the inhabitants should producetheir own food, somehow or other theyshould be self-independent. Otherwise,what is the use of occupying such great tractof land. If we can think of starting a smallinstitution, I think we shall get help fromgovernment and many foundations, if theyunderstand that we are actually a trainingpeople for building up character and healthalong with imparting education.The Free University program is a goodproposal, and if we can introduce study ofour books, Bhagavad Gita As It Is, andTeachings of Lord Chaitanya, that will be agreat success for our missionary propaganda,as well as financial help to our NewVrindaban scheme. In conclusion I may informyou that you can marry anytime, andany one of the girls in New York shall beready to marry you as soon as I say. There isno problem in that matter. And each andevery girl there are very nicely trained, andyou will be happy.So far Srimad Bhagavatam is concerned,now Pradyumna and yourself immediatelyrevise the 3 volumes already published. Mynext attempt will be to get them in 1 volume,as I have already suggested. And we shallnow avoid the Sanskrit slokas, but simplygive the transliteration, translation, and thepurport. Pradyumna is there he will help intransliterating the verses, and translation isthere, and purport is there; there is no use ofgiving synonyms and equivalent of Sanskritword in English, simply transliteration andtranslation, as it is now adopted in Dr.RadhaK.rishnan's Bhagavad Gita, and purport.In this way, we want to print each cantoa book. So you begin preparing immediately.The present three volumes shall onlybe revised to see the spelling mistakes or ifthere is any grammatical discrepancy, otherwisethere is nothing to be added or subtracted.Please try to organize the students in theState University, that will be a great serviceto the cause, but do it very tactfully so thatthe administration may not be disturbed.Hope this will find you in good health. Iam sure by the Grace of Krishna you shall beable to meet the challenge offered by yourenemy.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-14Seattle8th October, 1968My Dear Murari,Please accept my blessings . While Iwas in San Francisco you were arrangingfor going to Hawaii. Now I understandthat you have gone to New York, so I donot know whether you have changed yourprogram . If not, I shall be glad to knowwhen you are going to Hawaii. I understandfrom the letter of Goursundar thatexpert carpenters can get immediatelygood job there, at least $5.00 per hour. Soif you go there, I think there will be no difficultyfor you . Anyway, I shall be glap toknow your program, whether you are goingto Hawaii in the near future or not.

544 Letters fro m Srfla Prabhupadc.Goursundar is doing there some work ,but that is not sufficient even for maintainingan apartment. He is of course searchingfor a better job, but I do not thinkalone he can start a center there . He writesto say that the rents there are very expensive. So I shall be glad to hear from you .Mahapurusha is going today toFlorida, and will reach there by tomorrow.But anywhere, one man show is notvery prospective. So if you go to Hawaiiand try to open a center, please let meknow what is your program .Please offer my blessings to Lilavatiand your daughter. Hope this finds you ingood health,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-159th October, 1968Dear Dayananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter and noted thecontents. In reply, I may inform you that Ihave got very good appreciation for youand your good wife, Nandarani, as well asfor Anniruddha. I can understand thatNandarani is little displeased with Anniruddha,but I think this is a family quarrelbetween brother and sister, and you maytry to mitigate it. If it is not possible tomitigate, then I shall ask Anniruddha toleave and join the Samkirtan party, whoare going very shortly in Los Angeles. Iam sorry to learn that you have to removefor the present station, on account of displeasureof the landlord and the tenents.All right, Krishna will give us better opportunity.I am very pleased to learn thatyou have taken complete charge of the LosAngeles center, and do it very nicely, andif Anniruddha is a displeasure to NandaraniI will ask him to join the SamkirtanParty who are going there within 10 or 12days. In the meantimes, if possible, youtry to mitigate this misunderstanding ofbrother and sister.Mr. Fugate in Florida has refused toaccept Mahapurusha das Brahmacharywho reached there yesterday. Most probablyhe will come back or he may go toHawaii to join Goursundar there. In fact Iwish that our students, busband and wifemay take charge of each center, as youhave taken charge with the Los Angelescenter. I am trying to entrust the Hawaiicenter to Goursundar and his wife Govindadasi, assisted by Brahmacharies andother householders also, most probablyMurari and Lilaviti will go there. So weare trying to organize a nice center inHawaii.It may be I shall go with the SamkirtanParty to Los Angeles, and from LosAngeles to Hawaii, if I do not go to Europewhere my going is not yet fixed up.Please offer my blessing to Nandaraniand your little child, and also Anniruddha,and I bet to remain,Your ever well-wisher,68-10-16Seattle9th October, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept by blessings. I have receivedyour letter without date, statingabout the situation in Boston. On the statementof your letter, I can understand that itis a political situation. Of course, althougheverything includes in KrishnaConsciousness, we do not wish to takepart directly in controversial politics. Wecan take part in politics only which issanctioned by Krishna. This politicalstruggle by the students is different thing.It is reaction of the karma. Because boththe opposing parties namely, the studentswho have taken shelter in the churches,

OCTOBER, 1968 545and the government force , which is comingto arrest them, both of them are on thesame category, because when there willbe question of meat eating, or supportingthe slaughterhouse , both of them willagree. So the present situation is reactionof man's sinful activities. We , speciallyrecommend to restrain from four kinds ofprimary sinful activities, namely, illicitsex, intoxication, meat-eating, and gambling.But all these fighting people, theyare cent per cent addicted to all thesehabits. So if they are serious of mitigatingthe unpalatable situation of the society,they must agree to accept Krishna Consciousness,otherwise, there is no possibilityof peace in the world. Anyway thesituation in Boston as you have describedis not very much favorable for preachingour Krishna Consciousness, but if there ispossibility of selling our Back To Godheads,that is very nice. Yo u can take advantage.So far my going to Boston, unless thestudents agree to hear patiently for sometime, Bhagavad Gita, Teachings of LordChaitanya, the casual lectures will not bevery much beneficial . So they are not verymuch interested, otherwise they wouldhave come to our classes. But I told youpreviously that I am prepared to go providedthey pay the expenses. But I thinkthat is also not possible. So why shouldyou take the risk? of getting me there andwith great difficulty you shall maintainmy expenses, I think it is not very muchfavorable, so we shall see later on what isto be done; for the time being let it bedropped.Students' prayers 24 hours a day to listento the political talks and desiring thewar should stop is useless. God cannot betheir order supplier. First of all they actsinfully, and when there is reaction of war,pestilence, famine, and so many other nature'sdisturbances, they pray to God forstopping them. This is not possible. Justlike a criminal first of all commits theft ,burglary and debauchery, and when he iscaptured, by the police force , if he praysto the government to stop, that is not possible.So they are engaged in all sinful activities,and by natures' law, there must bereaction. I am encouraging now cow killingor animal killing, and when by nature'slaw, the turn comes upon me to bekilled, ifl pray I want to stop it , how it canbe stopped? So their process is not verygenuine. They want to make God as ordersupplier. So God is not order supplier. Heis order giver. He orders everyone to surrenderunto Him, and the fools and rascalswho do not surrender unto Him, they wantto order God in the form of so-calledprayer, that He should ask material natureto stop her legal activities. That is not possible.So the situation is not very favorable,but if somebody agrees to hearBhagavad Gita and the Teachings of LordChaitanya, continually for some time,even they do not pay me anything, I amprepared to go and lecture. But not to takepart in some political agitation. So I wasawaiting your letter if I was to go to Boston,now I shall prepare my next program.I think for going to Los Angeles. And mygoing to Europe is not yet fixed up.Regarding Jadurany: I am very gladthat you are taking all precaution, and allcare for the poor girl, whose health is verydeteriorated , and you first of all see thatshe is quite strong enough, she has improvedin health, then there is question ofKrishna Conscious baby. Otherwise, forget,better you and Jadarany becomeKrishna Conscious children directly, thanproducing Krishna Conscious baby at thepresent moment.Hope this will find youin good health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP.S. Most probably we shall have our secretarialoffice in UN Church Center by the

546 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadanext month. I shall require some nicepaintings for this important office.68-10-17Seattle1Oth October, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. I was indue receipt of your nice letter dated Sept.29, 1968, and I was so glad to read as youwrite to say, "I opened the temple onThursday and am in the process of fixingit up." It is so much pleasing to me andwhat can I give you?! I can simply pray toKrishna for your long life and prosperousservice to Krishna. Please do it nicely andif you think that I shall go there, I am prepared.I do not mind for the severe coldthere, but if you think that my service willbe helpful to you, you can call me, I shallgo. But I am very much anxious to knowabout your further progress, and whetherthe boys, namely Krishna das, and UttamaSloka, have already arrived there. Iam expecting your letter containing allthese informations any moment, but tillnow I have not got any letter. Please thereforewrite all details by return mail. If yourequire help from Shyamsundar for carvingJagganath Deity, you can ask him andhe may go there for a few days. He knowsGerman language very well. So do everythingnicely. So the boys and girls fromSan Francisco who are in London, theyare doing their best but till now they havenot been able to find out a house on rent. Iam surprised that in Germany you couldfind out a place without any difficulty, andwhy there are so many difficulties in London?So that, in spite of there being astrong group of 6 persons, headed by Mukundaand Shyamsundar, they could notfind out a house in London, whereas youalone have already opened ISKCONRADHA KRISHNA TEMPLE in Berlin.Anyway, please do it nicely with help ofother two boys, and let me know how youare making progress.Regarding Achyutananda, as you donot require their help, I am writing tothem in India not to come at present. Perhapsyou know the address of Shyamsundarin London; it is as follows: SamuelSpeerstra; 80 Herne Hill; London S.E.24; England. So keep in correspondencewith them, and also with me regularly andmake the Berlin center a first class templeof our society. We have to do so manyworks there. Especially translating inGerman language all our books and magazines.I think in cooperation with Shyamsundarand the German boy, UttamaSloka, there will be no difficulty so farlanguage is concerned, and Krishna daswill work there as jeweler, so there will beno financial difficulty also. Do everythingnicely and let me know.I am trying to get one office in theChurch Center of the United Nations,with an idea to confer with the heads of allchurches and nations about our KrishnaConsciousness movement.Here in Seattle, things are going verynicely. Last night, there was one radioprogram for two hours, and the Kirtanparty sang so many songs and prayersvery nicely. As I have no indicationfrom European side for my going thereat present, I am thinking of going to LosAngeles. But I am very much anxious togo to your newly opened center in Germany.Hope this finds you in good health,and in full Krishna Consciousness. MayKrishna bless you.I beg to remain,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

OCTOBER, 1968 54768-10- 18SeattlelOth October, 1968My Dear Shyamsundar,Please accept my blessings. Since I receivedyour letter dated September 26,1968, I have not heard anything from eitherof you , so I am very much anxious toknow about the London affairs. You willbe glad to know that Shivananda has alreadyopened our Iskcon Radha KrishnaTemple in Berlin. The copy of the letterwhich I am sending just now to him is alsoenclosed herewith, please find. I do notknow why there is so much difficulty infinding out a house on rent. I was in correspondencewith Mr. Webb, Annapurna'sfather, and he informed me that there wereso many vacant houses , churches etc.,simply he wanted that somebody from ourside should go to London, and see whichplace was suitable. So, if possible, youcan see Mr. Webb. I understand that someof the Indian people there are sympathetiC'with you, but can they not help you infinding out a place?Regarding the money, $1655, dispatchedfrom Canada: I am very glad tolearn that you have traced out the moneyand it is now safely lodged in your externalsterling account. In my last letter, Iasked you to deposit the money in my accountin London, expecting that I may becalled to visit London, but I can guess thatimmediately there is no such prospect ofmy going to London, therefore I am askingyou to transfer the money to New Yo rkfo r being deposited in my account No.0420160131, with the First National CityBank, Grand Street Branch, Grand Streetat Bowery, New Yo rk, 13, N.Y. I immediatelyrequire about $10,000 for payingbills of DiaNippon in Tokyo, and Mac­Millan in New Yo rk. So please transferthe money to the above account, and letme know when you have done so. As youinformed me that you are going to depositthe money in the Charter Bank which hasbranches all over the world, it was niceproposal, but as I need the money immediatelyfor paying my bill, you can transferthe money to the above mentioned bank.Here the Kirtan party headed by TarnalKrishna and others are doing verynicely. They are selling Back To Godhead, sometimes more than a 100 copies,minimum 50 copies, and collecting donations,30 to 50 dollars everyday. So areyou getting some collection by holdingKirtan in different places of London?There must be some source of income,otherwise, how you can maintain yourselfthere.I am also trying to get one secretarialoffice in the Church Center of the UnitedNations, with a view to confer with theheads of the United Nations, both politicaland ecclesiastical, to propagate ourKrishna Consciousness. Please let meknow replies for all the points raisedherein, and offer my blessings to Mukunda,Janaki, Malati, Ya muna andGurudas.I have sent some drawings to Ya munadevi for the certificates, and I hope she istaking proper care. I understand Malati ishaving some rheumatic condition, and itis causing pain and numbness. The bestthing is to take hot baths, and massagewith camphor oil, and if it is too muchpainful, use Sloan's liniment. Best thing isto consult with some expert physician.The Ayervedic medicine which I couldrecommend is probably not available inLondon, but if there is any Ayervedic shoplet me know and I shall recommend somemedicine. The best thing is to chant HareKrishna loudly.Hoping you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

548 Letters from Srrta Prabhupiida68-10-19Seattle1Oth October, 1968My Dear Janardan,Please accept my blessings. I am surprisedthat since I have come back fromMontreal I have not heard anything fromyou . Why you are silent? Please reply thisletter immediately because I am verymuch anxious to hear from you . Are youdoing French translation work of ourbooks? What about the program of Frenchpublication of Back To Godhead? I wroteyou from San Francisco, but I have notheard any reply from you . Please takecare of this business with the AmericanConsulate, as you will find described inHansadutta's letter, as soon as possible.Hoping you are well, and convey myblessings to Muna, hoping that she also isin good health,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-20Seattle1Oth October, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings, and offerthe same to Himavati and all other boysand girls in the temple. I sent one letter toyou on the 1st Oct. , but it appears that youhave not received it, because there is nomention of this letter. I am therefore enclosingthe copy of the letter herewith . Ishall be much pleased if you see the houseNo. 722 Sherbrooke Street. And give meyour report in terms of my letter as percopy enclosed herewith. This is very essential.Regarding the Sikh gentleman's requestto use our temple fo r performingsome Sikh religious ceremony : Yo u knowthat we have refused even the Hindu peopleto hold demigod worship in our temple,and what to speak of the Sikhs, whoare not to the standard of Vedic principle.As a matter of fact, we should not allowanyone to hold any function in our temple,otherwise than Vaishnava principle. Inyour temple, if your finances condition isgoing on nicely then there is no need forallowing anyone to hold ceremoniesagainst Vaishnava principle. If anyonewants to hold some function, they shouldpay to the temple at least $50.00 and weshall prepare Krishna Prasad, offer to theDeity, and as we do generally, and thesame Prasad may be distributed to anyone,may he be Hindu, Christian, Sikh,etc . So if Mr. Singh agrees to this principle,then he may pay you the requiredmoney to prepare Prasad, which after offeringto the Deity, you can hand over tohim, and he can offer to Guru Nanak oranyone else, and then you can distribute tothe devotees . There cannot be any separatedistribution of foodstuff save and exceptKrishna Prasadam according to ourown principles. I understand that you aremoving to a separate room because Himavatiis feeling inconvenience, but whateveryou may do, I have no objection, butthe temple now is in your charge. I want todevelop the Montreal temple under yoursupervision. Why Janardan is not writingme letters? Does he come to the templeregularly or not? What about the Frenchedition of Back To Godhead printed in themimeograph machine which is alreadythere. I am very anxious to know all theseitems. Please reply me as soon as possible,on all these points . I am enclosingherein one letter to Janardan also, whichplease hand over to him, and ask him togive me reply as early as possible. I amvery much anxious to hear from him.I am so glad that Krishna is enliveningyou in your service attitude. This is thesecret of success in Krishna Consciousness-unflinchingfa ith in Krishnaand in the Spiritual Master enlightens adevotee in the progressive march of

OCTOBER, 1968 549Krishna Consciousness, and keep this attitude,and I am sure Krishna will give yousufficient intelligence to make your lifesuccessful.Diwali ceremony can be observed inthe temple by illuminating IOO's of candles,in different parts of the temple, andoffering special Prasad to the Deity. Thisceremony was observed by the inhabitantsof Ayodha, the Kingdom of Lord Ramachandra,while Lord Ramachandra wasout of His Kingdom due to His 14 yearsbanishment by the order of His father. Hisyounger step-brother Bharat, took chargeof the Kingdom and the day on whichLord Ramachandra took back the chargeagain from His brother, and seated on thethrone, this is observed as Diwali function.This is the original idea of Diwali,and Deepabali. Deepabali means thesame thing-Deepa means candles, andbali means numerous. When numerouscandles are lighted it is called Deepabali.In India, this Deepabali function is celebratedin a special auspicious occasion.This Deepabali function can be observedon 21st October, and Prasad can be distributedon the 22nd October, during daytime,which is known as Govardhan Pujaand Annakuta Ceremony. In India, in allVaishnava temples, this ceremony is observedand 100's of people are given Prasadaccording to the capacity of thetemple. So I understand that last year theDeepabali Ceremony was held in the temple,and there was collection of $130.00.So you can do the needful.Hope you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I have received one letter from theConsulate General of the United States ofAmerica, letter No. MTL-V-14 (CAN)10'C , giving me appointment date on October25 , at 9:30 a.m. at Montreal . So inthat connection I am enclosing herewith aletter addressed to the Consulate Generalthere. This letter may be personally borneby Janardan, or if he is busy, your self.And get the papers transferred to theirVancouver Consulate Office, and let meknow the result immediately. This is veryURGENT, and should be done immediately.Let me know immediately the resultof your meeting with the Consulate General,by return of post.You can see in this connection oneyoung gentleman Mr. Peter R. Jones U.S.Vice-Consul and he will help you.Enclosure 368-10-21Seattle11th October, 1968My Dear Ananda,Please accept my blessings. I may informyou that I may go to Vancouversometimes in the next week or so. Whenexactly I shall go there, I shall inform youin my next letter.In the meantime, you please drop thisenclosed letter in the mail box, after puttingon it an airmail stamp (Canadian),immediately. This letter is very UR­GENT, and should be posted immediatelyupon your receipt of it.And please reply this letter immediately.Hoping you are well ,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 0-22 Seattle13th October, 1968My Dear Achyutananda and Jayagovinda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your joint letterdated Oct. 4, 1968, redirected from NewYo rk, and along with another separate letterfrom Achyutananda explaining yourdesire to come back to USA and fight the

550 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadacase of draft board. It is a good suggestion,because if you won the case on theground that you have adopted a differentorder of life, in search of the AbsoluteTruth, then that will be a great precedentfor all our boys who are victims undersuch act. But still it is doubtful becausethe government is bent upon recruitingyoung men for the military purpose. Thisis one side. Another side is that your missionwas to serve the cause of the societyand if both you and Jayagovinda comeback without doing anything in India, itwill be a mark of defeat on your part. Ithink you should try once more on the followingline of action to work for the society:That is, you make your headquarters inVrindaban, because as there is no possibilityof printing my books under your supervisionin Delhi, why should youremain in Delhi without any society'swork? If you find Vrindaban inconvenient,you go to Bombay because Mr.Karambar is ready to receive you. Jayagovinda's idea that if you go there to Bombay,Mr. Karambar may force him tomarry his daughter, is simply imagination,because his daughter is only 9 or 10years old. How she can be married in thistender age? I do not know who has suggestedall these nonsense ideas.Bombay is a place where there aremany many rich merchants who will beglad to donate money simply for our BackTo Godhead magazine. There are manysuch magazines published from Bombay,and they collect Rs. 200-5-as donationfor each page, simply for the advertisementsof their name-that the page is donatedby such and such person. You candistribute the magazines to such personsand very easily collect Rs. 100-200 daily,if you are good workers. If you find inconvenienceat Mr. Karambar's place, then Ishall give you many other friends namesin Bombay who will be glad to help you .There are many Vaishnavas in Bombay,and they are very rich and charitable also.And if they are convinced that KrishnaConsciousness is being propagated in foreigncountries, and you American studentsare working in India, surely you willbe welcome. As a matter of evidence, youhave seen Seth Dalmia's attitude, how hehas helped you with monthly allowancesand all. So you have to pick up such manypersons, and if you work combinedly together,strictly following my instructions,I am sure you will be successful . So beforereturning either to Germany or USA bothof you should give a try in Bombay. If youfail there, also, however, then there willbe no other alternative than to return backto your own place.But before going either to Bombay orcoming back to your country or Europe,please try to realize Rs. 2000 from Hitsharan,because if you come back withoutrealizing this money, and I am here, thenthe money will be swallowed up by him,as you have already given me hints that heis a debtor. I am enclosing herewith thecopy of the letter in which Hitsharan acknowledgereceipt of Rs. 2000 for purchasingpaper for printing my books. Butnow it appears that he has spent thismoney for personal expenditures, and hasnot returned the manuscript to you . Youshould see Seth Dalmia at his home: No.2, Tilak Road, New Delhi, and explain tohim and try to realize the money throughhis influence, and purchase the Deities asI have requested. I have already writtenyou about this in my last letter, that we requiremany Deities fo r our temples as wellas for our many devotees who want toworship Radha Krishna at home. So wewant to introduce thie Deity worship inthis country and as such, we may require100's of pairs of Deities of different sizes,and many other goodies in this connection.So if you remain there as our representativesthere will be tremendouspossibility of working for our society.

OCTOBER, 1968 551After ali you have to work with confidenceand faith in Krishna, under my direction,and I am sure you will come out successful.Anyway, my last request is that is youhave decided to come back, please helpme in realizing the money from Hitsharan,through the influence of Seth Dalmiaor Hanuman Prasad Poddar. Andpurchase some Deities with the money,and then come back, and what can I saymore? In case you have to take legal proceedingsagainst Hitsharan then I have gota lawyer friend at Delhi, whose name is asfollows: Bepimbehari Misra; 7 DeputyGung; Sadar Bazarre. You can see him.The thing is you have to become a little enthusiasticand give up the idea of beingguest of somebody and live peacefully.Jayagovinda, your article "Rishikesh"is published in Back To Godhead. It hascome out very nice. If you send such articlesof different pilgrimages, that will bealso a great service. You have got artisticidea, so please take courage and act enthusiastically.Do not depend on somebody,and become confined there. So onreceipt of your reply of this letter I shallgive you my final decision about your returningback.Hope you are both in good health,Yo ur ever well-wisher,68- 10-23LondonSeattle13th October, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedOctober 7, I 968. And I have noted thecontents carefully. I think the processwhich you have adopted is quite all right.Now everything is clear to me; you can goon with your procedure. So far the originaltext of our aims and objects of the society,I have read it and I don't think there isany need of changing the preamble. But sofar section of the law is concerned, thathas to be altered according to the Englishlaw. So do it and execute the document assoon as possible, and I think Krishna ishelping you in the proper channel, and asyou were the first signatory in the documentwhich was registered in New York,and you shall be the first signatory in thedocument which is to be registered in England,along with your good wife. Sothree male members and four Englishmenmembers, it is nice. I want Englishmen tojoin more than from the Indian communitybecause they are not fixed up, neitherthey are very serious about Krishna Consciousness.They are more interested insomething else.In the meantime, I have received oneletter from Ginsberg, and he writes to saythat he has written to some friend in England,to help you and one of his friendshe names, Mr. Tom Driberg, M.P., andhe has promised to help you, and sent letterto Mr. Ginsberg. So you will contacthim. He is a prominent member, Mr. TomDriberg, M.P. Mr. Ginsberg says that hecan help you in ali matters of official andlegal implications. So try to meet him assoon as possible, and do the needful .I hope in the meantime you have receivedmy letter addressed to Shyamsundarand I may be going to Vancouver fromhere for a few days to take my immigrationvisa. And they have called me on the 25thOctober, they have called me from Montreal, but I am requesting to dispatch thefile to Vancouver and let me see whatKrishna desires .If Anapurna dasi can be includedamongst the preliminary floaters, that isvery nice. She is English girl, and hermother and father is also interested . SoAnapurna is included then we shall havesolid four members from our side andgradually we shall do the needful . Similarly,Anapurna 's brother also can be included,because he is also interested. He

552 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadacame to our temple, both in New Yo rk andSan Francisco, so if need be you can callAnapurna from San Francisco immediately.She wrote me letter that she is preparingto go .In Columbus University, Hayagriva isdoing very nicely. He is trying to haveclasses in the University, and the situationis very hopeful. Similarly, here also theWashington University students, theyhave taken interest in our movement, andone Christian gentleman, he did not likeour men to speak at the University, becauseUniversity is a secular. But he hasbeen very strongly criticized by the studentcommunity.Here is a note for Janaki:My Dear Janaki,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter, very nice letter.You have expressed very nice sentimentsand this shows that you are positively advancingin Krishna Consciousness. Yourtalk with the Indian ladies and gentlemenis very interesting. They inquire fromyou, and they are astonished that you arevery serious. That means they are not atall serious. They take Krishna Consciousnessas something fictitious. Sothey are not very hopeful combination,but try to make them interested as far aspossible, it is our duty. We do not mindwhether he is Englishman or Indian orany man; our duty is to impress KrishnaConsciousness as far as possible. Answeringyour puzzle, it may be said that apure devotee is he who loves Krishna,without any material desire . People aregenerally engaged in karma. Karmameans work and get the result and enjoylife. And jnana, jnana means speculatingprocess to understand the AbsoluteTruth. So one who does not indulge inspeculating habit, neither tries to gainsomething by his work, but simply engageshimself in the service of the Lord,he is called a pure devotee. Such puredevotees are very rare . But by the Graceof Krishna, practically all the devoteesand disciples who have kindly joined me,they are, their symptoms are pure devotees.Even if they have got some ulteriordesire, that will be removed very soon,because they have taken to the pure processof Krishna Consciousness. Hopethis will meet both of you in good health,and awaiting your good news by nextmail . Thanking you once more for writingme,Yours ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 1 0-24SeattleOctober 14, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings . Your letterof Oct. 10, 1968 with press cutting isvery much encouraging. When a devoteeis seriously prepared to serve Krishna,the Lord gives him both intelligence andopportunity to serve Him more andmore, so that the serving devotee may ultimatelyreach the Lord without anydoubt. The symptoms appear to be asabove mentioned. Please therefore utilizethe opportunity of service diligentlyand it will be a great spiritual achievementfor you and a great service to yourcountry and community.My programme for European tour isnot yet fixed and as such I shall be glad togo to Columbus as soon as you call me. Iwish to see also New Vrindaban verysoon. I hope you have received my letterprevious to this. Hope this finds you all ingood health.Yours ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

OCTOBER, 1968 55368-10-25Seattle15th October, 1968My Dear Rupanuga,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your two lettersdated October I 0, and II, and noted thecontents carefully. My first thanks are dueto my dear gandson Mr. Eric, who is sokind to pray for my good health. So offermy blessings and thanks to the good child,and I am also praying to Krishna for hislong life and prosperity.Regarding Mr. Fugate in Florida: Ihave read the letter, the copy of which youhave sent to me, and I am forwarding it toNandarani. Because she is also very muchsurprised at the behavior of Mr. Fugate inconnection with Mahapurusha. After all,this class of men, they are falsely puffedup that they know something about mysticism,but actually they want to be flatteredby somebody. So they are keeping somespiritual master or instructor, means tokeep them as pet dog and cat. I think Mahapurushamay not have spoken anythingwhich is very offensive, but he was so intolerantthat he could not give him sheltereven for one day. So he was so angry. Thatis not the sign of a mystic. Anyway, pleasetry to deal with him softly because he hasgot some tendency tor spiritual upliftmentof his life, but he is misguided or withoutany knowledge in the line. Neither he isready to accept any bonafide instructor,this is his position so far I can understand.There is a proverb in Sanskrit that youspeak truth but don't speak unpalatabletruth. When you speak the truth it must bevery palatable. So this social conventionis not applicable to a person who ispreaching the Absolute Truth. AbsoluteTruth is not dependent on material pleasureor unpleasure . I think Mahapurusha's personality did not impressupon him, but so far I know, his behaviorcould not be anything offensive. So forgetthe incident, but our mission is to preachKrishna Consciousness, and if possible,try to tackle this gentleman. Because hehas got some inclination toward KrishnaConsciousness, so let us try, to help himas far as possible. So continue correspondencewith him, and let us see how we candeal with him later on.Preaching in this center, Seattle, isalso going on nicely. The students are tryingto understand our philosophy, and inspite of some counter-propaganda by oneMr. Miller, a Christian minister, that weare trying to impress some religious principles.Still they have invited and they arehearing, so things are going on nicelyhere . And so far London, and Berlin isconcerned, things are progressing nicely,and Mukunda is trying to establish a bonafidebranch of our society in London, withcooperation of Englishmen; Mr. AlanGinsberg, he is also trying to help Mukundaby inttoducing with some influentialmen there, so I think this future ishopeful. So far your Buffalo center is concerned,you are trying your best, andKrishna will help you . Go on doing likethat, and our business is to try our best.Result we leave it for consideration ofKrishna, and we shall not be disappointedwhether the result is favorable or unfavorable.Actually there cannot be any unfavorableresult, because we are servingKrishna. One person may be or may notbe inclined to accept Krishna Consciousness,but that doesn't matter, but if we tryour best to make one person Krishna Conscious,then our duty is carried nicely.That is recognized by Krishna. In Sanskritit is said liltne Krite Ya dina Sidehati KotraDosah . That means, in spite of our bestefforts, if things do not come successful,then there is no fault on our side. Thatshould be the principle of our preaching,we shall try our best to convince others inKrishna Consciousness, and Krishna willbe pleased, that is our gain.

554 Letters from Srrta PrabhuptidaFrom Seattle, for a day or two, or utmostfor a week, I may go to Vancouver,then I shall go to Los Angeles. Perhapsyou know that we are trying to take one officein the Church center of the UnitedNation, with an idea that we may try topropagate our Krishna Consciousnessmovement, amongst respectable leadersof the nations who are attached to theUnited Nations, so Purushottam is correspondingand trying to arrange for this, letus see, how Krishna helps us. I hope thiswill meet you in good health, I amYour ever well-wisher,P. S. Srimati Rupamanjari will certainlybe pleased upon you as you are engaged inKrishna's service.68-1 0-26 Seattle15th October, 1968My Dear Chidananda,Please accept my blessings. I am in duereceipt of your letter dated October 11 ,1968, and I have noted the contents carefully.I also thank you for sending my passportalong with the two certificates which Ihave duly received yesterday and I am utilizingit for my medical examination, andother activities in connection with my permanentvisa in USA. It is so much encouragingthat your Samkirtan party is goingeveryday collecting some money and encouragingalso that you are selling Back ToGodhead. Similarly the Samkirtan partyhere also led by Tarnal Krishna is doingvery nicely. I understand that the son ofTulasidevi, Karnapur, has chosen coins in hisAnnaprashan ceremony. It is very nice. Ithink this boy will earn enough money forspreading Krishna Consciousness.Hope this will meet you in goodhealth, I amYour ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 0-27Seattle15th October, 1968My Dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your two letters,dated September 30, 1968, and the otherone, October 9. I am very sorry I couldnot reply you earlier, because there are somany letters, and I have to reply them oneafter another. Anyway, the issue of BackTo Godhead which you have sent me isvery very nice, and Krishna is helping youfor your sincere efforts. I hope you willcontinue this attitude and improve thequality and writing of Back To Godheadboth nicely. It is also gratifying that Subalhas joined you and so also Bhakta jan hascome back to assist you. Now I think youhave got sufficient staff, and you may notrequire the help of the boy, Chintamoni inMontreal. I think that he's required thereto assist Hansadutta. I have received letterfrom him.I have noted with great attention yourstatement that you are sitting at one deskin a tiny office, room, which is ferociouslyhot in summer and freezing coldin winter. So people might think you madif they heard of your crazy work. So spiritualactivities are like that. Sometimes mycontemporaries from India, they alsowrite that in this age, the age of 73, whenpeople would naturally like to retire, and Iam working here. So this is all possible byGrace of Krishna. Krishna can adjust opposingelements. In the material world,yes and no are two opposing element, butby Krishna's inconceivable power, yes canbe no. and no can be yes. That is the law ofKrishna. And austerity, Krishna Consciousness,there is some austerity. So weshould not be afraid of any condition.Narayana Parasarve Na KutaschanaViryati-that means, those who are inKrishna Consciousness, they are notafraid of anything. Either they are in hell,

OCTOBER, 1968sssor heaven, for them, they are all equal.They do not make any distinction in thematerial world; this is good, or this is bad,this is hell, or this is heaven.Your idea of issuing a special issue concerningthe Varnashram dharma, and Gandhi'smovement; it is very good idea. Andactually India's position is now degraded;it is not advancing. They have lost their originalculture, and now they are beggingfrom outside. So actually they have notgained by sacrificing their original culture.Of course, this superficial loss of originalculture is visible only to the so-called educatedperson at the present moment, andthey have become befooled as it is stated inthe Bhagavad Gita: Mayaya Prihatajnana,their knowledge has been taken away. So ifyou try to criticize that will be of somevalue because you are outside purview ofthe Indian government, but do it very carefully,so that you may not offend anyone.But you must speak the right thing. I shallsend you some matters also, that how manyrascals and fools are employed in the governmentservice who deride at Krishna,because they think that He was black,therefore low-born. In this way, how muchthey have become degraded. Jayagovinda 'sarticle on Rishikesh, is very nice. If hesends such articles from India, it will helpyou very much.Regarding your constitution making:don't be very much hasty, immediately, astry to do it slowly. Because your first businessis to organize Back To Godhead.And besides that, whatever you do, first ofall send me a copy and then distribute.Regarding my letter heading: Don'tcomplete it now. Because if we get our officein the Church Center of the UnitedNations, I'll have to make a different bodyof letterhead. So I shall let you know wheneverything is complete.Hoping this meets you in good health,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Please send Back To Godhead complimentarycopies regularly at the followingaddress.(1) His Holiness B.R. SridharMaharajSri Chaitanya-Saraswat MathaP.O. Nabadwipa, Kolergunge, Dist:Nadia W. Bengal IndiaHari Krishna AgarwalPresident-Vedanta CentrePremkutir, Churchgate reclamationBombay68-10-28LondonSeattle15th October, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your two letters dated Nov.8, one addressed to Jayananda, and I ampleased to note the contents. So far Mr.George Harrison is concerned, he promisedto call Dayananda, but he has notdone so. Therefore I think it is not probableto meet him. It doesn't matter, let usgrow slowly but surely. Let us try our bestto spread this Krishna Consciousnessmovement with sincerity. And Krishnawill give us all facilities. After all, it isKrishna's business. We are simply servitors.Our sincere desire is to serve Himand this is our bonafide position. Krishnasays that we should give up all engagementsand be seriously in Krishna Consciousnessand surrender unto Him. Webelieve in this philosophy and we try tofollow the principles and we instruct othersalso to follow the same path. That isour bonafide position. We are representativeof Krishna because we presentKrishna's order as it is. And therefore weare bonafide representative. If somebodyinquires whether we are as good as

556 Letters from Srrla PrabhupadaKrishna, the reply is that it does not matter.We may not be as good as Krishna,and that is also not possible anyway.Krishna is great and we are minute particles.So how we can become as good asKrishna. This is false theory of the Mayavadphilosophers. But we sincerely serveKrishna, we are sincere servants of HisLordship, and we present things as presentedby Krishna, and that is the test ofour bonafide position and our bonafidepresentation. So don't be worried, doyour best and success or failure does notmatter. Krishna is absolute, so there is nosuch thing as success or failure in KrishnaConsciousness, or in other words, there isno question of failure in Krishna Consciousness,whatever we do it is success.Whatever one may do in the materialworld, if he is even Rockerfeller, it is allfailure, defeat, because it will not exist beyondthis body. He does not know thatnext life I may be dog or cat. But whateverservice we can do for Krishna, even ifsomebody is not able to execute fullyKrishna Consciousness, whatever amountof service he does it never goes in vain. Itwill eternally remain. And it will act.Even somebody does small amount of service,and not even very willingly, still, heis assured to get human body in next birth,and chance to execute some service further.So there is no question of failure inKrishna Consciousness. It is only success.Krishna says, My devotee is nevervanquished . So we must try sincerely,that's all.68-1 0-29Seattle15th October, 1968My Dear Nandarani,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedOctober II, 1968, and I am glad to notethat you are arranging for my lectures inLos Angeles in several places, so the boysand girls in the Samkirtan party they arealso going very soon to Los Angeles, perhapsby the end of this week, or in themiddle of this week, so far I understand.And for myself, I shall go to Vancouverfor a few days by the 24th of October, andfrom there I shall go to Los Angeles; thatis the present program. And the futurerests on Krishna. So far Mr. Fugate isconcerned, I can understand that he is littleproud of his becoming advanced inmystic understanding. But actually by hisbehavior, he does not appear that he isvery much advanced in spiritual matters.Anyway, he is good friend and he mighthave been angry on plain speaking of Mahapurusha,because he has not learnedany social convention, so his talks mighthave injured Mr. Fugate's sentiment. Soyou try to pacify him. In the meantime, Iam enclosing one letter which he addressedto Rupanuga, and from this letterit appears that he is willing to help us, sodon't reject him. Try to keep contact withhim. And as he has got some inclination,for Krishna Consciousness, in future, hemay come to the right understanding.I am very much pleased with yourpreaching enthusiasm, when you say, "Ifpeople won't come to us, here, we will goto them." And this is the process ofpreaching, and this is required. I thankyou very much for your this spirit. Justlike I have come to your country, with thesame spirit. Actually, still even in so muchfallen condition of India, if one has tolearn spiritual science, then he must consultsome bonafide spiritual master, in India.That is the opinion of a great Chineseauthor. So people are not going there, neitherGovernment has any arrangement toeducate this spiritual science. So thereforeI have come to your country, andthose who are eager to receive, they arecoming to us. In this way, we have to forwardour mission. We may not expect

OCTOBER, 1968 557good behavior from people where we goto preach, still we have to do that . The bestexample is Lord Jesus Christ, he was crucifiedby the people who were not verymuch advanced. From their behavior itmay be known that the people at that timeor at least the place where Lord JesusChrist preached, they are not very muchadvanced, otherwise they would not havedared to crucify such a nice saintly person.So preaching work is always likethat. But one who is real preacher, he shallbe undeterred , and go on keeping his objectiveto the satisfaction of the SupremeLord.Regarding your question: The spiritsoul of Krishna's entourage, all the associatesof Krishna or anyone situated inVaikuntha the spiritual sky, nevermind,either in Vaikunthas or in Krishna I...oka,they have no separate body. Just likeKrishna has no differentiation betweenbody and soul , similarly, those who aretransferred or living eternally in the spiritualsky, they haven't got also such distinction,between spirit and body. The body isalso spiritual and the soul is also spiritual.Not only the body, everything, all spiritual.The spiritual world is expansion ofKrishna's spiritual or internal energy. Sothere is no difference of body. But ifsomebody comes from the spiritual worldfor material activities, he has to accept thematerial body, but that is not applicable inthe case of the Supreme Lord. Because hedoes not come to the material world forsome material enjoyment. Mayavadi philosophersthey also say that when Godcomes also in the material world, He hasto accept the material body but that is not afact. Because even God accepts a materialbody, apparantly, still He does not act materially.Because both material energy andspiritual energy are under the control ofthe Supreme Lord; as such, He is completelypowerful to transform matter intospirit, or spirit into matter. That is the position.So far associates of Krishna, theyare expansion of His spiritual energy.Regarding your question about Ravana:It is not a fact that everytime wheneverKrishna comes in this material world, thedemons are, like Ravana, are always associateof Krishna who come here to fightwith Him. The Jaya and Vijaya incidentwas a specific only. Not that everytime theycome. For them, the Lord's order that theywould continue only three births, and thencome back. So they went back; not thateverytime they have to come back and playthe part of a demon. In this material worldthere is no scarcity of demons. There are somany demons, so Krishna has opportunityto fight with them. But that was a specialcase, .vho played the part of Ravana, Jayaand Vijaya.Although I am very busy, still it is myduty to answer all inquiries from my disciples,so you never hesitate to write me letters,and whenever there is some inquiry,you must ask me, and it is my duty to explain.In the Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu it isstated that the inquisitive disciple advancesvery quickly in Krishna Consciousness.So I am very glad that you areso inquisitive, and trying to understandthings in proper perspective. So I am alwaysat your service, and you are welcometo write and inquire from me at anytime. I hope this will meet you in goodhealth, along with your child, Chandramukhi,and husband; please convey myblessings to them.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: 168-10-30Seattle16th October, 1968My dear Chandrabali,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of

558 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaOct. 16, 1968, and I thank yo•J verymuch for your questions. You are alwaysat liberty to inquiry from me about allsuch questions in the Srimad Bhagavatam,Bhagavad Gita, and I am so gladthat you are reading all these books socarefully. That is our business-we shallchant Hare Krishan or read Srimad Bhagavatamor or associate with devotees inthe temple, so that program shall go oncontinually for constantly rememberingKrishna, and we shall not forget Him,even for a moment.Regarding the question (In vol I,First Canto, Ch. 1, Text 1, pp . 59 of SrimadBagavatam, it is stated "anyonewho hands over a charity of this greatwork on the full moon day attains to thehighest perfection of human life by goingback to home, back to Godhead."Does this mean that by giving the Gayatrimantra, only vol. one, or the completework?) it is not the Gayatri mantra,but the Srimad Bhagavatam. The idea isthat in olden days there was no press. Sobooks were not available printed. Formalygreat aristocartic families kings,and rich men, they used to engage aqualified brahmin to copy SrimadBhagavatam in handwriting, and thenpresent it to a suitable person, especiallybrahmins, n a gold casket. Thatwas the system. But since printing machinehas been introduced, Srimad Bhagavatam,and other liyerature are beingprinted. So therefore, this reference, inthe Skandha Purana, is in connectionwith giving Srimad Bhagavatam inhandwriting. That was a great work ofcharity. This charity, however, includedthe complete Srimad Bhagavatam, andneither vol . one nor two . That was theprocess. Still there are many rich men inIndia who have engaged learned brahmainsto copy Srimad Bhagavatam inhandwriting, and they give in charity, toa qualified person, in the above way.Hopr this will satisfy you, and I hopethis meet you in good health .Your ever-well-wisher,ACB68-10-3 1Sri B. N. JariwalaWindsor Hotel20-6th StreetSan Francisco, Calif.Seattle16th October, 1968My Dear Jariwala,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your kind letter, datedOctober 14, 1968, and I have noted thecontents carefully. The humble servicewhich I am rendering to the Americanpeople, in the matter of Krishna Consciousness,is undoubtably being respondednicely by the American youngergeneration, and recently we are gettingfrom educational circles also, from thecollege students and professors good response,so there is good potency forspreading Krishna Consciousness in thewestern world. And you know that wehave got already fifteen branches asfollows: New Yo rk City ; Boston; SanFrancisco; Vancouver, B.C.; Canada;Honolulu, Hawaii; New Vrindaban, anideal Krishna Consciousness community;and London, England; and Berlin, Germany.The London branch and the Berlinbranch are doing very substantial work,and most probably I shal be going therefrom America to the European countries.Regarding your good suggestion aboutpermanent organization. This institutionis already incorporated in New YorkState, and we are opening differentbranches under different states. So I shallbe glad if our Indian frienda in San Francisco,also come in the management of thelocal organization; I welcome it. So Iwould suggest that in your presence, a

OCTOBER, 1968 559l-Ommittee may be formed, combinationof Indian and American, and a temple ofour own may be organized, RadhaKrishna Temple. So in your presence, if itpossible to organize, I shall be veyr glad.And as soon as you call me I shall come toSan Francisco. Because I have got an engagementin Montreal, from here I shallgo there, and from there I can come. Thisis one point. Another point is that from India,I am not getting sufficient encouragement,either from the government or fromthe people. Noe you have personally seenmy activities and responces from theAmericans, and if you kindly organize anIndian branch of the International Societyfro Krishna Consciousness, it will be agreat help. I am enclosong herewith acopy of the letter from Hanuman PrasadPoddar, which is sent to me unsolicited.He appreciated my activities here. Andsimilarly I get many letters from unknownpersons, but when I say some practical cooperation,they do not come forward . Andso far government is concerned, they arenot at all interested, that we have got ourswaraj ; But Hindus cannot make propagationof their religious activities, even outsideof the country we are so muchcrippled. The Christians and Buddhists,they are making so much propaganda inIndia, and they are spending lots ofmoney, but here although the response isso nice, there is no help from the peoplenor from the government. So after returningto India, if you can organize someopinion, at least the Vaishnava sect, inyour Guzrat, there are so many Vaishnavas.All over there are so many Vaishnavas.So they should come forward tocooperate with me, then it will be avery nice organization. We want to establishthat one God, Krishna; one scripture,Bhagavad Gita; one mantra HareKrishna; and one work, service to theSupreme Lord. And people are responding.So please try to cooperate with me.So far government is concerned, they willnot copperate. They have become secular.But even the people do not cooperate, howit will be successful? Please, therefore,try to organize Indian opinion to cooperatewith me, that will be a great help. Andso long you are here in America, just tryto induce our Guzratin friends to cooperate,and have our own temple, at least inSan Francisco.So far the piety of my disciples is concerned,you know they are strictlyViashnava. They are restricted from illicitsex life, all kinds of intoxication, they donot eat anything except Krishna Prasadam,and they do not participate in anykind of gambling. So far piety is concerned,I think you will find them moreadvanced than some of our IndianFriends. And if our Indians friends willalso cooperate in this way, it will be a greatsuccess.I thank you veyr much once more foryour nice letter, and appreciation of myactivities, and if you kindly cooperatewith me, I shall be still more encouraged.Thanking you,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-32Seattle16th October, 1968My Dear Gurudas,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your nice letter dated Oct.11 , 1968, and by reading the contents itwas so much encouraging, for me. Previousto this I received one letter fromMukunda and that was also very encouraging,so I am sure combined together youwill have a great success in starting theISKCON temple in London. I have alsoreceived one letter from Ginsberg, thatMr. Tom Driberg is an intimate friend ofGinsberg and he has already written to

560 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadahim promising all help to us. So by Graceof Krishna there you are meeting nice gentlemen,interested gentlemen, and I hopeit will come very grand success. And sofar I am concerned, I may be going backagain to Montreal, because there is an interviewwith the Consulate General inMontreal on the 25th Oct. , and from thereI may be going to Santa Fe , and from thereI may be going to Los Angeles, so my programis going on here. Here also in Seattlethere is working going on. And similarly Iam receiving report from New Vrindabanand Columbus that our Hayagriva Brahmachary,Professor Howard Wheeler, he isalso doing there preaching amongst thestudents. So by the Grace of Krishna thismission is going on nicely, and I shall beglad to hear from you further good news.Please offer my blessings to your goodwife, Yamuna, as well as all other devotees,Mukunda, Shyamsundar, Malati,Janaki, and Saraswati devi. I hope thiswill find you in good health. Thankingyou once more for writing me.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-33HonoluluSeattle16th October, 1968My Dear Mahapurusha,Please accept my blessings . I thankyou very much for your letter dated 11thOct., along with Goursundar's. So I amenclosing one letter for you received fromNandarani. The incident in Florida is tobe forgotten. Now, with new energy, andin good cooperation with Goursundar,please try to establish a nice center inHawaii. In the meantime, Murari mighthave gone there, so combined together,please try to establish a nice center there.Regarding your requirement, I am handingthe note to Upendra, and I hope he willdo the needful . Hope you are well .Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Goursundar,Please accept my blessings. I am verymuch glad to receive your letter dated theII th Oct. , and it is good news that youhave got a nice room for residential purpose.And you have got now good assistant,Mahapurusha, so combined together,try to establish a very nice center inHawaii. You organize the center in such away that we can in future open centers inHong Kong, Tokyo, Figi, Bangkok, Sydney,and New Zealand, and all neighboringPacific islands. And Hawaii will beour center for spreading Krishna Consciousnessin the Pacific.I may be going to Vancouver or Montrealfrom here, for a day or two to take myimmigration visa, and then I may go toSanta Fe , and from there, I am going toLos Angeles. Please send me at least oneletter in a week, the report of your activitiesthere, and I hope Krishna will helpyou in your nice endeavor.Hoping you are well, I beg to remain,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: l68- 10-34 Seattle16th October, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedOct. 10, 1968, and I am so much gratefulto you for your kind sentiments for me. Itis all Krishna's Grace that He has sent

OCTOBER, 1968 561such a nice assistants to me, for executingthe mission of my Spiritual Master. Personally,I am nonentity; I have come hereon the order of my Spiritual Master, andHe has kindly sent you all boys to assistme . So whatever is being done, there is nocredit for me, but all the credit goes to mySpiritual Master, because He has arrangedeverything, and I am simply toabide by His order.Regarding Gargamuni: All of a suddenI thought that he should go and takecharge of his father's business. And assoon as I proposed, he phoned to his fatherand he also was very much anxious toreceive. So this is also another chance forus, that we can show a model factory. Actuallyas you say, that we want to perfecteverything with Krishna Consciousness.Our policy is that without Krishna, everythingis zero. But zero by the side ofKrishna, is 10, 100, and so on. So thewhole Vaishnava philosophy is like that.The Ravana class of men, they want Sitawithout Rama, and therefore there ishavoc . Ravana kidnapped Sita from theclutches of Ravana, and the result was thatthe whole nation, whole family, was vanquished.And Hanuman's policy was tobring back Sita and let her sit down by theside of Rama. So we do not neglect anything,because everything is manifestationof Krishna's energy. Krishna's energymeans Sita, and Krishna is Rama. So allmaterial energy that are working in thematerial world, can be engaged in the serviceof the Lord. Actually, if your fatherfortunate, and I think he is fortunate, becausehe has got two nice sons, so Krishnais certainly pleased on him. His presentdemoniac qualification is no bar for gettingmercy of Krishna, because you aretwo sons present for his salvation. Justlike Prahlad Maharaj-his father wasatheist, and he was always inimical to hisgreat son, but still the son was so good thathe arranged for the salvation of his father.So Vaishnava son in a family can give thebest service to his family members, andyou are ideal two brothers in this country,and you show the example how everythingcan be adopted , in the service of Krishna.So I am glad that you have got all theseideas, and Gargamuni has got the energyand your father is also willing, that youshould cooperate, so let us take this goodchance, and try to utilize it for KrishnaConsciousness movement.I am glad that MacMillan Companyhas agreed to give us 50%. Now out ofthis, 50% , 40 % should be given to all centers.Immediately as you receive consignmentof books, you immediately distribute,allowing the 40 % and the shippingcharges should be borne by them,and you take care of 10% for our investment.That is business like . And with thesupply of books, immediately bill shouldbe submitted and you have to see that thebill is paid duly. Regarding bank reference:I am sending herewith one copy ofthe letter of the First National City Bank,in which the balance is there. I think thebalance is little more, so you can send thecopy of letter to them. Besides that, I havegot some money in the Trade and TrustBank, and some money in Bank ofAmerica. In the Bank of America, HaightClayton Branch, San Francisco, Cal., myaccount number is 262101746. I thinkthat is sufficient reference for them, andthey can draw the bill at 60 days sight, andsupply the books to us.Regarding Hayagriva: I think you canopen direct correspondence with him inthe matter of his willingness to marry, andI think he is serious about rendering serviceto the society. Recently he has sentme one press cutting that is very nice, andI am enclosing herewith the press cutting.If possible, you can get some copies photostated.And send me some copies.Regarding Achyutananda and Jayagovinda:I have already written them

562 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidaagain, that do not be lethargic; be enthusiastic. And do something for the society.So you can also write to them that theyhave gone there on a mission to work forthe society, so they should try their best toremain in India and work for the society.Simply if they approach big businessfirms in Bombay, I think they can collectnot less than 100 to 200 Rs. daily. But theymust be enthusiastic. If they become deadbodies, then it is not possible. I do notknow why American boys should be somuch lethargic. And I don't think Achyutanandacan be engaged as leader in anygroup. He can work only as assistant. Soyou write them as far as possible. Otherwise,let them come back-what can bedone? I have already written to them.I think also that Gargamuni alsoshould be supplied with another bride.Because karmis without association ofwoman, cannot work. So as he is going tobe a karmi-not exactly karmi, karmayogi,so if he likes, he can marry again.But he cannot be a very strict husband,otherwise the same thing will happen. Becausein America, the girls are not sotrained that they will be very much obedient.So you think over, but if he likes, hecan marry again.I have not received any reply as yetfrom Purushottam, but I have sent him adetailed letter about the condition onwhich we can occupy the office room inthe Church Center.Most probably, I will have to go fromhere to Vancouver or Montreal to take myimmigration visa, and from Vancouver Imay go directly to Santa Fe, and fromSanta Fe, I may go to Los Angeles. Then Ishall prepare my next program . Let us seewhat Krishna desires. I hope this willmeet you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: 268-10-35Seattle17th October, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. Enclosedplease find one copy of the letter which Ihave sent yesterday to the Consulate Generalof the United States of America, atMontreal , sent by special delivery airmail, so that they may keep the file thereas I am going to meet them on the appointmentday as they have set up, Oct. 25,1968. I hope you have already made thisarrangement. Hope everything is allright. I am coming there on the 23rd ofOctober, 1968. I am starting from here by7: 15 air flight to Vancouver, and fromthere I shall catch another plane at 8:30,and reach Montreal sometime in the evening,they say 6:30 Montreal time. So theflight number is No. 04, of Canadian PacificAirlines-date, Oct. 23, 1968. So,as I am coming there alone, I think Himavatiwill have to cook for me while I amthere.Hoping you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-36Seattle17th October, 1968My Dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your long letter dated October11, 1968, and I am trying to reply thisletter in two ways: The points of humancivilization as well as about our constitutionalprogram. The first thing I may informyou that I am going to Montreal bythe 23 or the 24 of October, because I havegot an appointment engagement with theConsulate General of United States in thematter of my permanent visa on the 25 ofOct. in Montreal. I tried to transfer my

OCTOBER, 1968 563file to Vancouver, but that will take anothermonth, so instead of waiting anothermonth, I am going there to make the mattereasier. So if some of you come to Montreal,to see me there, then we can talk indetail about the constitutional proposal aswell as other things, because from MontrealI may go to Santa Fe. That is the program.And while coming, somebody maybring my overcoat which is hanging in mycloset in the apartment.Regarding your present edition ofBack To Godhead: I have already informedyou in my previous letter that ithas become very nice, and try to continuethe effort improving the quality and Ithink you are getting good advertisementalso. And if the advertisement income isincreased, you can increase the pages andreading matter along with it. You shouldsimply accept advertisement collectionfor publication costs-namely, the paperand printing costs. So at present if you tryto get more advertisement I think therewill be no difficulty. Similarly, induceJayagovinda and Achyutananda in India toget advertisement. If they try, people willbe very glad to give advertisement in ourpaper, even they will be glad to mentiontheir name only, that this space is donatedby such and such. They will pay. They areprepared to pay like that. Many people arepublishing nonsense magazines as theyare collecting money in that way. So this isa Vaishnava magazine, and in Bombay especially,there are many Vaishnavas richmen, merchants, they will be very gladthat Krishna Consciousness is beingpreached in America, and they will donatespace. They have got money. So letthese two boys work in that way, and distributeBack To Godhead free, and simplycollect money for donation of space, andincrease the volume of writing. I thinkboth you and Brahmananda will requestthem that instead of sitting idly and talkingsometimes to become this or become that;so far Jayagovinda, he can also write nicearticles, his article "Rishikesh" is nice.People will be glad to read such articles inthis country. At the same time, people inIndia will be glad to learn that KrishnaConsciousness is being preached in westemcountries. In this way, we have to formInternational Society. So practically nowwe are in the making of, so you go ondrafting the constitution, but don't distributenow. Whatever you do, you first of allshow me, and the final copy will be distributed,then we shall call for a meetingand then we shall adopt. Don't distributeimmediately. Anyway, try to do it conveniently,there is no haste. But don't distributeanything without showing me. So farthe constitution goes, my instruction forthe present is this.Next-regarding your point: programfor a spiritual world civilization-it isvery nice suggestion. And practically ourKrishna Consciousness movement is builton this idea, that we want to make a worldcivilization on the basis of spiritual understanding.So I am giving you some pointswhich you may expand or do it for understandingof the people in general. But thepoint should be as follows: 1st point, thatany civilization devoid of God consciousnessor Krishna Consciousness, is no civilizationat all. It is simply a polished typeof animal society. This is the first point.So at the present moment, the modemcivilization on the basis of so-called scientificknowledge and economic developmentis trying to avoid God consciousness,or Krishna Consciousness-that isthe defect of the modern civlization.Therefore, in spite of all advancement it iszero. So zero has no value. And millionsof zeros put together does not make anyvalue. But one is put on the left side of thezero, it increases the value. Then one zerobecomes 10, two zero becomes 100, threezero becomes 1000 , so it is very nice.This point should be clearly discussed,

564 Letters from Srrta Prabhupiidathat without God conciousness, KrishnaConsciousness, any attempt of humancivilization so-called philosophical or politicalor economical or labor, they are allzeros . The human society should be dividedas a social order, as the intellectualmen, the administrator class, and themercantile class, and the laborer class.And so far spiritual order, they should bedivided as the renounced order of life, retiredorder of life, householder, and studentlife. Third point, all these 8 divisionsare meant for understanding the SupremePersonality of Godhead, and this KrishnaConsciousness movement is meant forteaching this necessities of human civilization.Fourth point, so far the administratorclass of men, or mercantile class ofmen, and laborer class of men, there aremany institutions but to train a first classintellectual man, there is no institution allover the world. And there is no institutionfor spiritual training also. So this KrishnaConsciousness movement is trying to helpthe human society on these two points,which they are lacking. So we have thereforetaken a large tract of land to beginwith, in W. Virginia, the place is calledNew Vrindaban. So we want to train studentsfor becoming the first class intellectualperson, and instruct the whole humansociety about the aim of life, and KrishnaConsciousness or God consciousness. Sowe are inviting the desiring or intendingstudents to join in our institution and weinvite the public and government to cooperatewith our movement. The fifth pointis that in whatever division one may besituated , this very aim of life should be tosatisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead.It is the duty of everyone , it doesn'tmatter in what status of life he is situated,but if he wants to have a successful life,then he must learn to see how by his activitiesthe Supreme Lord is satisfied.That should be the aim. Then it does notmatter what is the position and occupationof the man, but he is in the right order ofcivilization because his very aim is to satisfythe Supreme Personality of Godhead.Next point, And in order to learn this art,how he is able to satisfy the Supreme Personalityof Godhead, one has to take instructionor education in the art ofKrishna Consciousness, by reading BhagavadGita as it is, by reading Srimad Bhagavatam,which are calculated the scienceof God , and following the Teachings ofLord Chaitanya, such practice should beperformed 24 hours. It is not that one maymeditate for 15 minutes, and he becomesspiritually advanced, it is not possible. Sothe Krishna Consciousness movement istraining people how to be absorbed in thethought of Krishna, 24 hours. Take forexample, the Bhagavad Gita: the instructionof Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita arejust suitable fo r a perfect human civilization.So one should learn this teachings ofBhagavad Gita as it is. Next point, in orderto understand this teachings of BhagavadGita and Srimad Bhagavatam, thereshould be centers where people can assembledaily, morning and evening, andtry to understand this Krishna Consciousnessor God consciousness movement. Sowe are trying to open branches all over theworld in every city, in every town, in everyvillage, and people should take advantageof it. There is no question of monetarytransaction to enter into these centers andinstitutions, but because we have to maintainsuch institutions, public should voluntarilycontribute and that is very gladly accepted. Next point, when people are accustomedto associate with these differentcenters, of Krishna Consciousness movement,they will one day come out of thematerial concept of life. Just like one becomesawakened from sleep. While sleeping,one sees so many nonsense dreams,but as soon as one is awakened, he becomesconscious that oh, I was seeing somany nonsense dreams, actually it has no

OCTOBER, 1968 565existence . Similarly, when a person becomesKrishna Conscious, he can understandthe falsity representation of thismaterial civilization. Next point, andwhen he is awakened, he becomes completelydetached from the so-called affectionfor designations, namely, society,friendship and love. Next point, by suchunderstanding, one is not so much materiallyactive. One is satisfied with incomewhich can simply maintain his body andsoul together and he is no more interestedto increase the bank balance unnecessarilyfor sense gratification. The defectof the modem civilization that everyone isearning money undoubtedly in large volumes,but he does not know how to spend.He is spending simply for sense gratificationand the last word of sense gratificationis sex, therefore all money is beingspent up for intoxication and sexual life,nudey dance, nudey theater, in so manyways. That means they are spoiling theirhuman source of energy. Next point, oneshould be so trained up that within theheart he will be freed from all material attraction,but so long the body is there, tokeep the body and soul together, he has towork like ordinary man. Next point, thesociety, friendship and love of materialexistence may be accepted without any attraction,and whatever the so-called society,friendship and love wants to takeservice from us, one should simply say,yes, it is very nice, but actually he shouldgive more importance for spiritual advancementof life. Next point, one shouldknow it certain that material resources,either in this planet or in other planets,either in the sky or within the earth ,namely in the mines, all the propertiesthat is being utilized at the present momentas economic development, oneshould understand definitely that all theingredients supplied or all the ingredientsstocked, for example, the petroleum nowstocked within the earth, and people areutilizing it for so many power machinery-oneshould know that this petroleumbelongs to the Supreme Personality ofGodhead. It is not man-made . Nor the scientistscan manufacture . Similarly everything,all commodities, all things, allproperties, they are made by the SupremePersonality of Godhead . This understandingmust be there. Next point, one can enjoysuch properties but with thisunderstanding, that they belong to the SupremePersonality of Godhead . Just likeone is situated in the public park in a verynice garden , public park, but one shouldalways remember that the public parkdoes not belong to him, personally. But itis the property of the government or thestate . Next point, therefore, the propertiesmade by the Supreme Personality of Godheadcan be utilized by all living entities.Every living entities, not only the humanbeings, but also the animals, they have gotright to live on the property of the SupremePersonality of Godhead. Nextpoint , nobody can encroach upon theright of other living entities. Everyone issupplied by the Lord, the fooding, shelter,by natural arrangement, so nobody shouldencroach upon the right of living of others.As such, the human being consideredto be the highest developed conscious animals,so if they utilize this consciousnessin relationship with Krishna, that is calledKrishna Consciousness. Next point, aKrishna Conscious person does not encroachupon the right of other living beings,as such they do not approveorganized slaughterhouses for killing animals.Next point, if you manitain slaughterhousesthen you have to suffer theconsequence, because in the law of nature,there is no distinction between onelife to another. Every living entity isequally valuable. Next point, every livingentity is claimed as the son ofthe SupremePersonality of Godhead, they may bedressed differently, because the body is

566 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidadress, the body is not identification withthe living entity, therefore the living entitymay be dressed in 8,400,000 of differentdresses, and the living entity as he is,there is no qualitative difference betweenhuman being and animal. Therefore, theirmaterial necessities are the same, namely,eating, sleeping, mating, and defending.Next point, the foolish idea that animalsor plants or other living entities have nolife, is the basic cause of human sinful activities.Next point, one should be satisfiedonly to fulfill the belly, that is theeating process. If you can satisfy yourbelly by such things as grains, vegetables,fruits and milk, you have no right to killanother animal for satisfying the taste ofyour tongue. The human society is meantfor living on the natural production,namely, grains, fruits, vegetables, andmilk. They should not indulge extravagantlyfor other things. And if actuallythey are Krishna Conscious, they knowthe art of how to prepare thousands of palatabledishes only from the varieties ofvegetables, grains, fruits, and milk. Ifanyone takes more than he requires thenhe is to be understood a thief. Nobodyshould accumulate for future consumptionof family, society, or nation, moremoney or more grains or more vegetablesor more eatables, one should have only asmuch as he requires. If there is greaterproduction, that should be distributed topersons who need them. Because foodgrains, especially, they are meant for allliving entities, they should not be spoiled.Next point, therefore, one who spoilsfood grains unnecessarily, he is criminal.And one who accumulates more moneythan is actually required, he is also criminal. And according to the law of nature, oraccording to the law of God, such personsare surely to be punished.This punishment may not be visible inthis life, but because life is eternal , it iscontinuity, one must be prepared to acceptsuch punishment in this life or next life,and because they are taking the risk,therefore, the living entity is transmigratingfrom one body to another, and that ishis problem of life. The human life ismeant for solving this problem. All animalslike deer, camel, ass, monkey, evenflies and snakes, none should be illtreated. Even they enter into the house orin the fields and take their eatables, theyshould not be stopped . Because they havealso got the right to eat, eatables suppliedby the Lord. And they will not eat more,neither they will take at home, They arebetter than human beings. If a human beingis allowed to enter into the field or intothe garden, he will try to take away somethingfor selling or stocking, but the animalsdo not. So the innocent animalsshould be accepted as children of thehouseholder.Nobody should take to very hardshiplabor. The modem civilization has discoveredsevere types of dangerous industries,and laborers are attracted for highwages. But they should not accept suchwork. Then naturally there will be lesscapitalistic idea. Because the laborer cooperates,therefore demoniac personsthey take advantage and make unnecessarilyincrease of artificial demands of thebody. Better one should be satisfied withagricultural produce than go into largecities to be engaged in industry. Peacefullife depending on agricultural produce,can bring him real happiness and prosperity,not otherwise. The more persons willbe satisfied at their home, with home economics,not to go outside the home, that ispeaceful life. In India, Mahatma Gandhitried to organize villages in that way sothat not to drag the people to the town. Sopeaceful atmosphere can be attained onlywhen there is large scale village organization,actually village life. Not to borrowthe ideas from the cities in the village life;poet Cooper said that country is made by

OCTOBER, 1968 567God, and the cities and towns are made byman. So that is the distinction.There are many such nice ideas, forpeaceful living on this planet and executeKrishna Consciousness, so that one maybecome completely freed from contaminationof material existence, and get eternallife, just after quitting this body. Thisis confirmed in the Bhagavad Gita, TaktvaDeham Punar Janma Na Eti Mam EtiKaunteya . By simple prosecution ofKrishna Consciousness, one goes back tohome, back to Godhead, just after quittingthis present body.If people cooperate with this Krishnaconsciousness movement, certainly a bettertype of civilization can be introducedfor permanent peace and prosperity of thewhole world.Hope this will meet you in goodhealth,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure: 268-10-37Seattle17th October, 1968My Dear Nandarani,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedOct. 13, 1968. I am so glad to learn thatyou appreciate my mission in the UnitedStates as without any rival. Actually this isa fact, because I am presenting nothingmanufactured by me. I am presenting thegenuine thing as it was given by LordKrishna Himself, or Lord Chaitanya Himself,approved by the Great Acharyas, sothe activities which we have adopted,Krishna Consciousness, it is authorizedand in the disciplic succession fromKrishna directly. I am trying to live inyour country permanently, and I have alreadyapplied for my permanent visa atMontreal, and they have called me for interviewon the 25th Oct. 1968, so I am goingthere on the 23rd instant, and I will seethe Consulate General there on the 25th.So if I get my permanent visa, certainly Ishall try to live in your country and spreadthis unique message of Krishna Consciousnesswith your good assistance.The engagement which you have fixedup on the 25th Oct. is not possible to acceptbecause on the 25th I shall be inMontreal, and on the 26th I shall be startingfor Santa Fe, and from Santa Fe I amcoming to Los Angeles. Perhaps you havealready known this fact from your husband,because Jayananda talked with him,about the program.Regarding vegetarian movement,practically we are not very much interestedwith such partial movement. Wehave taken the supreme sublime movement,Krishna Consciousness, which includesall other subordinate movement.Although we are not interested in the vegetarianmovement, but because we eatKrishna Prasadam we are already vegetarian.So any good thing all over theworld may be brought before us and wecan say that we have already accepted it.That is the postion of Krishna Consciousness.Krishna Consciousness is all including.Just like if a man has got one milliondollars, so 10 dollars, $20, $50, or $500,or $5000, everything is included, in thatone million dollars. So we have acceptedsomething which is all including so don'tworry about this vegetarian movementifthey are not inclined to understand whatis Krishna consciousness. We have noquarrel either with the vegetarian or nonvegetarian,because according to BhagavadGita both of them are sinful.Anyone who is not eating Krishna Prasadam,either vegetarian or non-vegetarian,he is a sinful person. That is stated in theBhagavad Gita, Bhunjante Te Agham Papamle Pachyante Atmakaramak. Anyonewho is cooking for himself, he is eating

568 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadasimply volumes of sin. So in the materialworld, either a man is vegetarian or nonvegetarian,they 're eating simply sin, andthey will have to suffer the consequence.But so far we are concerned, we are eatingremnants of foodstuff which was offeredto Krishna, so we are not afraid of anything.If Krishna wants vegetable foodstuff,therefore we supply Him vegetablefoodstuff, and if He wants non-vegetarianfoodstuff, we can offer Him also, but Hedoes not want it, as it is explicitly stated inthe Bhagavad Gita. So we are concernedwith Krishna Prasadam, neither vegetarianor non-vegetarian. You can say yourfriend who has invited us that Swamiji isnot very expert at speaking about nutritionalvalue of foods, but whatever wetake as Krishna Prasadam, there is nocomparison of nutrition with any otherfoodstuff all over the universe. If thisgroup however is ready to hear somethingabout Krishna Consciousness, the philosophyof Bhagavad Gita, it is not religious.It is essential information forhuman life. So all these old men andwomen, they should be interested in thevalue of life. There are many vegetariansanimals also; the monkeys are vegetarians,the pigeons are vegetarians, so to becomevegetarian is not very good credit.But to become Krishna Consciousness isthe most important business of life. Youshould try to convince your friends in thatway. They should try to learn aboutKrishna Consciousness. But because theyare vegetarians, there is great possibilityfor them to understand this philosophy.I am enclosing herewith one letter re­. ceived from Rupanuga for forwarding to. you . This letter is from Mr. Fugate ofFlorida.Hope this will meet you in goodhealth, and thanking you once more,Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I have just received one letter fromAnniruddha who is now staying in SanFrancisco, and he has asked my permissionto stay there, and I am therefore advisinghim to stay there at least for thetime being or if you want him to assist himyou can call him back.My dear Dayananda,Your letter, Dt. 10/17/68 just received.Please accept my blessings. My programmeis already above mentioned. Regardingthe idea of Prasadam restaurant, Iam advocating it since very beginning. Ifyou can manage such Prasadam eatingplace and the temple at one place it willsuper-excellent. I shall personally assistyou in this affair because I like this ideavery much. Our chanting is medicine andour Prasadam is the diet for curing materialdisease. So I fully agree with your thisscheme and you may accept the place asdescribed in your letter dated 17th Oct:which I have just received.ACB68-10-38 SeattleMy Dear Harer Nama andTosan Krishna,18th October, 1968Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedOct. 12, 1968, and I thank you very muchfor your invitation. Please offer my blessingsto other members of the temple whoare residing there. And I have decided togo to your temple by the 26th October. Onthe 23rd of October, 1968, I am going toMontreal to keep one appointment withthe Consulate General of United States,and then by the 26th instant I wish to go toSanta Fe directly. I hope you have alreadytalked with Jayananda in this connection.And now you can arrange for that.

OCTOBER, 1968 569I thank you once more fo r your assuranceof service to Krishna and it is veryenlightening for me that we have got somany nice souls to serve the cause ofKrishna, and in the matter of pushingKrishna consciousness in this country andall over the world. I beg to remain,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-39 SeattleMy Dear Krishna devi,18th October, 1968Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your long letterdated Oct. 13, 1968. I am so glad to read itthat you are writing your letter from hospital, and I thank you very much that youare so much enthusiastic that even in hospitalbed, you are thinking of servingKrishna in different ways.When I received the news sent me byyour husband to Jayananda that you aregoing to be operated, I was little bit perturbed,but immediately I submitted myprayer to Krishna, and I am so glad thatKrishna is so merciful. He has saved yourlife and your baby, it is very much pleasingto me . So I am so much grateful toKrishna, and you should also know thathow much grateful we should all be toKrishna. Actually, your case was life anddeath, without Krishna's Mercy you couldnot be saved. At least one life was at risk,either your baby's life, or your life. ButKrishna is so kind that He has saved bothof you. Now feeling this obligation toKrishna, you should be more enthusiasticto serve Krishna and I am very pleased tolearn that you have got a nice beautifulKrishna Conscious child, so raise her tofull Krishna Consciousness, and engageyourself, your husband, then the familywill be very beautiful happy family. Youwill enjoy in this world, and in the nextworld. So it is all very nice by the Grace ofKrishna.I am going to Montreal on the 23rd October,1968, and from there I shall go toSanta Fe , and from there I shall go to LosAngeles. I understood that Dinesh was tosee me this Sunday, but if it is not possibleto see me on Sunday, then the next chancewill be to see me at Los Angeles. Ithink the Samkirtan party can sell therecords very nicely, and you can directlycorrespond with Tarnal Krishna. They arealso going to Los Angeles just after mydeparture .Hope this will find you in good health,and pray to Krishna for your quick recovery.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-40Seattle18th October, 1968My Dear Woomapati,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedOct. 11 , 1968, and I am so glad to noteyour very nice sentiments . I am so pleasedto note that you are getting attraction forSri Gopalji, and that will save you from allkinds of opposing elements . I am glad thatSachisuta is living with you and if both ofyou are feeling some inconvenience, thenyou are welcome to live with me for somedays. I am going to Montreal on the 23rdOctober, and I shall again start from Montrealto Santa Fe . If you so desire, you cansee me in Montreal on the 24th instant,and I shall be glad to know what is yourparticular difficulty. If Sachisuta is findingdifficulty to cope with his Godbrothersin the temple, he can travel withthe Samkirtan party. That will be verynice. Anyway, both of you may not leaveus. Each and everyone of you is very importantassistant for me, so do not try toleave us, but try to adjust things as far as

570 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidapossible, but my last request to you both isthat if you find such difficulty to live withyour God-brothers, you can live with me .Hope this will meet you in goodhealth. And thanking you once more fo rwriting me.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-4 1 Seattle19th October, 1968My Dear Anniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I am duly inreceipt of your letter of Oct. 16, 1968, fromSan Francisco. You have asked my permissionwhether you can stay in San Francisco,but I think your service will be required inLos Angeles. The Samkirtan party is goingto Los Angeles very soon, and I shall decideabout you when I go there. In the meantime,you stay in San Francisco, and help Chidanandaas secretary.Regarding Dr. Bagchee-we must alwaysknow that we are executing thetopmost yoga system, Krishna Consciousness,and we do not require any inferiorquality yoga system. Yo u must haveread in Bhagavad Gita in the 6th chap.,last verse, that one who is constantly inKrishna Consciousness, he is the topmostyogi. So the process which we haveadopted cannot be compared even withany other yoga system. That is a fact.Hope this meets you in good health ,and more when we meet.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-42Seattle21st October, 1968My Dear Makhanlal ,Please accept my blessings . I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter withoutdate, but I am sorry that I am late inreplying to your letter. I have received areport of KrishnaDevi giving birth to atiny daughter, and I have already sent mycongratulation to her. Krishna has savedher child and herself also, because it is thepromise of Krishna that his devotees arealways protected by the Lord .I am very glad to learn that yourSamkirtan party in San Francisco is doingvery well, and similarly you will bepleased to nkow that here Samkirtan, ledby Jyananda and Tarnal Krishna, they arealso doing veyr nice. Average, they arecollecting about $50 a day, and sellingabout 50 to 75 copies of Back to Godhead.Similarly, you also yry to sell copies ofBack to Godhead. This is propaganda. Ifwe can sell some copies of our publications,books and literature , and we canmaintain our establishment, somehow, weshall think it is a great success. We don'twant anything more. Neither we want anybig bank balance. Our mission is thatpeopkle should understand their relationshipwith Krishna, and thus let him becomeKrishna Consciousness so that hemay be releived from the three-fold miseiriesof this material exsistance.So far crying for Krishna is concerned,it is very nicely explained by Lord Chaitanya.He says that a moment is appearingto me as 12 years, and my eyes are tearingtorrents of rain, and I am feeling everythingvacant in the absence of Govinda. Thething is that as we go on chanting HareKrishna, in the pure status, we shall be onthe loving platform and at that time, weshall feel the greatest separation from theLord; but that feeling of separation fromthe Lord is more relishable than meetingthe Lord. These are all transcendental exsistentialunderstandings and as we grow inKrishna Consciousness, we understand everything,gradually, by the Grace of the SupremeLord. The Supreme Lord is situatedin everyone's heart, and He reveals Him-

OCTOBER, 1968 571self to the devotee with the progress ofKrishna Consciousness. Thank you verymuch for your writing me .Yo ur ever-well-wisher,ACB68-10-43Seattle21st October, 1968My Dear Murlidhar,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter undated,but I know this letter was received afew days ago , and I could not reply earlieron account of heavy pressure of so manyletters . Anyway I may inform you it doesnot matter that you cannot paint one picturedaily, but you go on doing it as manypictures as you can finish in a month or ina week. Do it nicely and I don't press uponyou . But the idea is that I wanted so manypictures from Srimad Bhagavatam but Iwish that some of my disciples, either individuallyor collectively may produce atleast half a dozen pictures daily. Any wayI think Krishna will give you strengthmore and more. Do not stop your work,go on painting as far as possible.Regarding your question, what coloris the ocean of milk, it is white. Yo u canmake it bluish shade in order to distinguishthat it is water. Vishnu's color issky blue, and Lakshmi 's color is just likegold, molten gold . Lakshmi is not alwayswith Vishnu , there are many Vishnuforms Who is alone. That fo rm is calledVa sudev Vishnu. No demigod remainswith Vishnu. Demigods are destined tolive within the material world. In thespiritual world there is no place for thedemigods, but who are elevated to theposition of pure devotee, they can be promotedto the spiritual world . In the materialworld, either ordinary living entitiesand the demigods , they belong to thesame category of jiva tattva , the marginalpotency of Vishnu. The marriage ceremonyof Vasudev and Devaki , the daughterDevaki was offered by her fathernamed Devak, to Vasudev, and Devakhad eight daughters , and all the 8 daughterswere offered to Va sudev. The marriageis performed generally by priest.Sacrificial fire you have seen in our ceremonies,it is in the same way, but thereare some decorations, just like a canopyis made with 4 pillars and it is decoratedwith green foliage and flowers, and waterpot, under each stand, and in this way, itis decorated. And just outside the canopy,the relatives and other Brahminsthey sit down to see the marriage ceremonygoing on. The omen was heardwhile Kamsa was carrying his sister andbrother-in-law in the chariot. There werehundreds of other chariots also, given indowery. The omen was heard that it wasaddressed to Kamsa that My dearKamsa, you are so joyfully carrying yoursister but you do not know that a son, the8th son of your sister will kill you . The8th son of Devaki was Krishna Himself,and before Krishna, all the sons ofDevaki were taken by Kamsa and killed.I am going to Montreal on the 23rd andfrom there I shall go to Santa Fe , then Ishall come back to Los Angeles . I shall beglad to know what is your program. Yo upropose that you shall go to reside withGargamuni . Is that idea still going or haveyou changed your ideas . I shall be glad tohear from you .Thanking you once more fo r writing me,Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 10-44Seattle21st October, 1968My Dear Shama dasi,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter undated, but I

572 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadaam sorry I am late in replying it due to somany letters I have to reply every day, soplease excuse me my delay.Regarding your questions, you wantto offe r something in the evening toKrishna besides fruit and milk, so thereis no harm. Because Krishna can eat asmany times as you give Him to eat, becauseHe is unlimited. He can eat unlimitedly,provided we can supply foodstuffunlimitedly. But that is not possible forus. Therefore , we limit the supply. Butanyway, if you can increase the offeringsit is very nice. But one thing is that whateveryou make routine work to offer Himfood stuff, that should be continued. Donot change it. So if you can continue tooffer foodstuff like fruits and milk in theevening, you can introduce that system.There is no harm. Yo ur second question,ice cream purchased from the marketmay not be offered. Because such icecream contains sometimes undesirablethings, which we should not offer. Wemust offer to Krishna only first class preparedfoodstuff, especially made athome. We shall try to avoid as far as possiblegoods purchased from the marketand offer to Krishna. Regarding yourthird question, morning lecture is alsoallowed . Lecture is also kirtan, and so asmorning kirtan is there, similarly morninglecture can also be delivered . In NewYo rk , or even in San Francisco, when Iwas present I was giving lectures inmorning also. So far as girls or boys lecturingin the morning, that doesn't makeany difference . Either girl or boy devoteesmay deliver lecture if they choose todo. We have no such distinction of bodilydesignations, male or female . KrishnaConsciousness is on the spiritual platform.As such, anyone who is a devoteeof the Lord, following in this line of disciplicsuccession, can deliver lecture , onthe teachings of Bhagavad Gita, SrimadBhagavatam, etc .Regarding your question no . 4, Gayatrimantra means it is chanted by a qualifiedBrahmin. A devotee of Krishna isunderstood to have surpassed the stage ofbecoming qualified Brahmin, so Gayatrimantra can be chanted by qualified Brahmin,and the meaning of Gayatri mantra isGayat-Gayat means sin, and tri meansdeliverance. Gayatri. And mantra, manmeansmind, tra means deliverance. Sothe things chanting which one is deliveredfrom the mental platform is called Gayatrimantra, or mantra. So all mantras are likethat, but this is the meaning of Gayatrimantra.I am so grateful for your nice sentimentsfor me , and Krishna will blessyou . I am very poor and I have nothingto return for your loving service, but Ican simply pray to Krishna for yourgradual advancement in Krishna Consciousness.I think that is the best blessingwhich we can have in this materialexistence . Thank you very much foryour writing me,and occasionallyplease try to write such letters wheneveryou find convenient. I am going to Montrealon the 23rd, and from there I shallgo to Santa Fe , and then I shall comeback to Los Angeles. Maybe I may go toSan Francisco also, or you may comethere to see me. Hope this will find youin good health.Regarding Karnapur's poetry, it isnot available now. There is a book ofKarnapur, and that is written in Bengalitype, partly Sanskrit. When opportunityprevails, we may translate it intoEnglish then we shall get the poetry ; forthe time being there is no possibility ofgetting the poetry of Karnapur.Thanking you once more,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

OCTOBER, 1968 57368-10-45My Dear Krishna das ,Seattle21st October, 1968Please accept my blessings . I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter dated13 Oct. , 1968, and I have noted the contentscarefully. In the beginning you writeto say that you have written at least 3 lettersto me, but this is the first time I havereceived any letter from you. I do notknow how they are missing. Anyway, Ihave also received one letter fromShivananda, it is understood that you aretrying your best to secure a place in Hamburg,but still you have not been able tofind out. In the meantime, before this,Shivananda wrote me a letter that he hasalready opened a branch in Berlin. Andthis news was spread by me to others.Now it is understood that you havechanged your idea and you want to openour center in Hamburg. It is nice so far Iget information that Hamburg is verymore important than Berlin, but if youfind difficulty in locating a place fo r ourcenter in Hamburg, it is better go back toBerlin and take whatever place is available.To feel separation from the SpiritualMaster or Krishna is very good position.That means one who is in pure love withKrishna and His Representative, SpiritualMaster, he thinks always of Them. Andthis thinking process is Krishna consciousness.If we can think a! ways ofKrishna even in separation, that isKrishna Consciousness. And in the absoluteplatform, there is no difference ofseparation and meeting. The separation isalso meeting, rather in separation one relishesthe loving relationship more tasty.So don't be disappointed that you areseparated from me, I am also alwaysthinking of you how you are making progressthere. And I am always expectingyour letters that you have already opened acenter there, and you are working verynicely.So far Seattle is concerned, we haveopened here a branch about one monthpast, and it is well established. Peoplehave known it and students are corningfrom the university community, and takinginterest. I've gone to the universtiyand delivered lecture. And last Sunday weinitiated 3 devotees, and 2 or 3 are stillwaiting. So this branch is going nicely.And the kirtan party led by Tarnal andJayananda, they are also selling Back toGodhead daily, at least 50 to 75 copies,and collecting money also, average of 40or 50 dollars daily. So this branch is verynice. I hope I shall hear soon that you aredoing the same thing in Hamburg.In London, although they have notopened a banch, but they are doing Kirtanperformances daily, twice or thrice, andin the parks, schools, colleges, clubs, societyand private houses, so our propagandais not stopped. So even you have notfound out any place at Hamburg, youthree together you can chant HareKrishna, Kirtan in the same way as theyare doing in London and other cities. Weare more or less concerned for preaching.It does not matter even if we have got atemple, but ifthe preaching work goes onthat is a great satisfaction. I understandfrom Shivananda's letters that you are gettingengagements in Berlin, but I don'thear that you have got any engagement inHamburg. So please try to find out someengagement and perform kirtan . You arenow three. One can play mridanga andtwo can play cymbals and chant nicely,and so even you are not yet found a place,you can go on with your work, ask NewYo rk to send you magazines and go onwith Kirtan. So far your long letter, I amvery much pleased to have your long letter.I can see from your writing that youhave got capacity to write, this is a greathelp. Yo u can write articles for Back to

574 Letters from Srfla PrabhupiidaGodhead, so writing capacity is not discouraged.And I shall always be glad to receiveyour long letters .Yo u can inform Shivananda that I havereceived his last letter and he has severalquestions and he wants some letter address.So you can send me the language orthe body of the letter which I shall typeand sign and send to youSo my request to you is that eventhough you are unable to find out a suitableplace, you can go on with performanceof Kirtan, and other Kirtan partiesare doing. They are doing like this in Seattle,San Francisco, even in Montreal .Hope this will find you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Tomorrow I am going to Montreal .From there I will go to Santa Fe on the27th, stay there fo r a week and then go toL.A.68-10-46 SeattleMy dear Kirtanananda,22nd October, 1968Please accept my blessings . While Iam packing my goods for going to MontrealI have received your letter of Oct. 18,1968. Ye s, when Krishna has given usNew Vrindaban, it must develop rest assured. You have got very good engagementby the Grace of Krishna, do it nicelyand your life will be glorious and successful. So also Hayagriva's. When you go toColumbus take Radha Krishna with youand teach Hayagriva also how to worshipthe Deities . If required , ask Achyutanandaand Jaigovinda to send you anotherpair of Deity fo r Hayagriva .Radhakrishna shall be your life companionand thus you will be always securefrom the attack of Maya . So also Hayagriva.The present mode of worship isquite alright, don't worry. Yo u have seenin Vrindaban so do follow as much as possible.Decorate the Deity as nicely as possiblewith nice flowers and dress. Yo u willfo rget all other false beauty. Open the Columbuscenter gorgeously along withHayagriva and Pradyumna. The boys willlike it . Carry Deity with you . Krishna isso nice. He is carying the whole planetarysystem as Samkarshan, but at the sametime, He agrees to be carried by His devoteesas small as a devotee can carry Him.He is greater than the greatest and smallerthan the smallest. His greatness is thereeven when He becomes small to be carriedby a devotee . The Mayavadis cannotunderstand how the greatest can becomethe smallest as it is impossible on materialunderstanding. I am going to Montreal tomeet the consulate of USA for my permanentvisa. Let me see what Krishna desires.Hope you are well. Offer myblessings to all .Your ever-Well wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-47My Dear Gargamuni,Montreal26th October, 1968Please accept my greetings and blessingsof Lord Krishna. I am in due receiptof your letter of 10/18/68 . I am very muchperplexed to know that you are not feelingcomfortable at the care of your parents. Ifyour parents don't receive you as their belovedson, I don't wish to keep you in thatblazing fire . I thank you very much for thestrength of your mind and Krishna willcertainly help you . Yo u will be pleased toknow that I have now immigration visa foryour country and ifl get the church-centreroom in U.N. I am going to make myH.Q. in N. Yo rk. If your parents don'ttreat very well & want to make your lifemiserable , then you shall live with me. Atleast I shall not make your life miserable

OCTOBER, 1968 575even though I am not as rich as your parents.If your father does not give you facilitiesfo r a car and good apartment. Idon't advise you to live in that balzingfire . Hope this will meet you in goodhealth . I am going to-morrow to Santa Feand then to Los Angeles.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-10-48Santa Fe29th October, 1968My dear Yamuna,Please accept my blessings . I thankyou very much for your nice letter of Oct.21, 1968. I received your letter in Montrealbut I have come here just day beforeyesterday. I am going to Holywood fromhere and my return post address is givenover leaf.Regarding certificate you can add thefollowing words within bracket after theword Acharya.Acharya (ordained Minister of Religion)you will be glad to know that I havebeen admitted in your country as permanentresident (Immigration Visa) underordained Religious Minister and it islearnt that my initiated students may besaved from the military service. Please informthis matter to all others . I am herewithgiving a note fo r Shyamsundar andMalati which please show them. Offer myblessings to your husband, Mukunda,J anaki & all others .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

NOVEMBER68-1 1-1My Dear Satsvarupa,Los Angeles1 st November, 1968Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter of Oct. 28, 1968,along with Jadurany's. There is some difficultyof our temple here, therefore myreturn address is given to my residentialapartment, as above . So you can write meletters to this address. I hope the enclosedstatement of certificate of your being anordained Brahmin will help you .As mentioned in the letter, you will bepleased to know that I am now admitted asordained minister of religion in the USA.Now there is no difficulty of my staying inyour country and if the students in differentuniversities and colleges want to hearfrom me about the teachings of LordChaitanya , Bhagavad Gita As It Is, andSrimad Bhagavatam, I shall be glad to acceptsuch invitation, provided such studentspay reasonable contributions . I amgetting gradually older, therefore even if lremain in your country, I shall restrain mymoving and my main business will behenceforward to train you all my disciplesfo r preaching work. I think you will approveof my program . Hope this meetsyou in good health,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swam " iMy Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings . I am soglad to receive your handwriting letter afterso long a time, and from your handwritingI can understand that Krishna iskeeping you in good health . You must takecare of your health , and under the directionof your good husband . I have especiallyentrusted you in his hand so that hemay take proper care of your health , andeveryone is pleased about your nice combination. Both of you are very serious studentsin Krishna Consciousness and onaccount of your service ___ , Krishnaalways will help you in all respects .I confirm herewith my statement thatthe wife is the shareholder of the husband's pious activities . So you shouldknow it well that Sriman Satsvarupa, lifebeing fully dedicated to Krishna, whateverhe desires you to act , you shouldkindly follow his instruction. Actually hecannot check you in the matter of your serviceeither to Krishna or to me , but becausewe have to work with our presentbody, we must take care of it by followingthe ordinary rules.Regarding casting of Nrisinghadevmurtis, I could not follow what you meanby this. I know Rukmini can paint, so ifshe paints Nrisinghadev pictures, let herdo this as many copies as she can. So farcasting in metal or in any other solid materialis concerned , if she is able to do it, lether do the job in casting Radha Krishnamurtis. We require many Radha Krishnamurtis both in our temples as well as inprivate household homes . Ye s, that is anice idea to copy photos of lotuses andflowers.Ye s, because in our temples there is nopicture of Srila Gour Kishore Das Babajior Srila Jagganath Das Babaji, so you canpaint Their pictures. If you have no pictureto copy from , you can write and requestGurudas to send you some . I am

578 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadaenclosing herewith a small picture ofMudhvacharya, if it is too difficult towork from, you can send it to Gurudasand he can make clearer and larger printsfrom it.Hoping you are in good health,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 1-2 Los Angeles2nd November, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your note of Oct. 28, 1968,along with a letter to you from Jaigovinda.His letter appears not very clear and yourremark on Achyutananda's attitude is alsonotable. You write to say "Rayrama willforward one letter from Parvat Maharajetc ." I have not received any letter fromRayrama. I think both Achyutananda andJaigovinda have been poisoned by thisParvat and thus it is useless to requestthem to work for the society. Neither theyhave shown any capability till now. Underthe circumstances, I think there is no hopeof getting any service from these boys regardingour mission.I wrote one letter jointly addressed toAchyutananda and Jaigovinda but theyhave not replied the same. I think as BonMaharaj poisoned the mind of Hrisikesh,similarly these boys have been entrappedby Parvat. This Parvat is one of the disciplesof my God-brother but he is so salientthat he has not replied to my letters, but,instead of replying my letter, he has theimpudency of writing to Rayrama. Rayramamay not reply this letter until I haveseen it. He appears to be as venomous asBon Maharaj . They are all envious of myactivities here. As Jaigovinda has not yetleft for Bombay, there is no need of issuingindemnity letter in his favor. I do not understandwhy he has requested to addressthe indemnity letter to Parvat Maharaj .These are vel)' doubtful things. I do notknow how to deal with these boys. Both ofthem are silent about my letter of Oct. 13,1968 which I wrote them about realizingthe money from Hitsaran. I am really verysorry for them. I am enclosing the copy ofthe above mentioned letter.Hope you arc well; I received the BhagavadGita hardcover jacket.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I have not heard anything fromPurushottama about the church center.ACB68-11-3LondonLos Angeles3rd November, 1968My Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I have notheard anything from you in about a fortnight,and I am anxious to hear how youare doing there. It may be there is somemail delay due to my leaving Seattle, forSanta Fe, and then coming here to LosAngeles. You can write me at the aboveaddress, my residential apartment. Andyou will be pleased to know that I am nowaccepted with the USA Immigration Departmentas Permanent Resident, withoption to apply for citizenship. And yesterday's report of the activities of Samkirtanparty is that they sold 175 copies ofBack To Godhead, and collected 130 dollarsin donations.Hope you are all well there, and I shallbe expecting to hear from you by return ofpost.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

NOVEMBER, 1968 57968-11-4 Los Angeles3rd November, 1968My Dear Purushottam,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedOctober 31, 1968 along with the letterfrom the Methodist Church. I suspectedin the beginning that they would not allowus to work with freedom and, therefore ,inspite of their promise to enter into leaseagreement I wanted to clear up the situation.Now they have shown their real faceso don't feel sorry for this. We know verywell what is the world situation. It is mypersonal opinion that at the present momentexcept for afew persons, practicallythere is no man in the world who is strictlyreligionist, Hindu, Moslem, Christian,Buddhist.In the ten commandments of the Bibleit is clearly stated that, "Thou shalt notkill, Thou shalt not indulge in adultery,thou shalt not covet their servant or animals,but practically we see the so-calledChristian world is full of the killing processreflected with adultery in every stateencroaching upon other's property veryorganizedly. Similarly we find in India theso-called Hindu are doing all sorts of nonsense.So practically the whole world iswithout religion. Officially they claimsome sectarian identification. Therefore,it is a fact that the religious principles ofKrishna Consciousness which we aretyring to preach under the direction ofLord Chaitanya inducing people to chantHARE KRISHNA is the only panacea forthe animalistic human society at thepresent moment. A man without religionis nothing but an animal and being everyman is irreligious, therefore, the wholehuman society is certainly animalistic.We do not mind because we could notget any place in the Church Center andthere is no cause for your being sorry forthis. You have tried your best in the serviceof Lord Chaitanya. This is sufficient.We do not calculate the so-called successor failure we are simply to discharge ourduties in Krishna Consciousness andchant HARE KRISHNA loudly.Now as you are free you can come andjoin me here. When I was in Montreal youwent there to join me but because youwere negotiating with Church Center affairsI sent you back to New Yo rk. I wasalso calculating if that center is obtainableI shall make my Headquarters in NewYo rk. Now that chance being lost you arewelcome to come to join me here.Yo ur ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Two original letters, returned herewith.68-11-5 Los Angeles3rd November, 1968My Dear Pradyumna,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Oct. 20,1968, and I understand that you are beginningto learn Sanskrit grammar which Ithink will be a great difficult task for youin these late hours of life. It is very nice tohear that Dr. Singh will conduct a specialcourse of Panini 's grammar. But our immediatetask is to prepare the transliterationand correction of the 1st Canto fornext publication. But if you have to do thesame after learning Sanskrit grammar, itwill take a long time to finish it. I have notheard anything how far yourself and Hayagrivacombinedly finishing the editing ofthe 1st Canto which we are going to printnext. If you can learn Sanskrit grammarconveniently it is very nice. But the modeof teaching in the schools and colleges areso slow that it will not be practical to learnSanskrit grammar there and then prepareour transliteration. Of course, the grammarhelps in analyzing the combined

580 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadawords, but I think it will take a very longtime.Regarding the diacritic marks, there aremany systems and I do not know which oneof them is the standard, but I think the systemfollowed by Dr. RadhaKrishnan intransliterating the Bhagavad Gita is the approved. You are reading Hitopadesa, andyou will know from this that the author ofthis book, Vishnu Sharma, compiled thisbook for some grown up princes in order toteach them Sanskrit in a short cut way. Soyou have to follow that way and do our mainwork and at the same time. I shall be glad tolearn how Hayagriva is taking Samkirtanclasses amongst the University students .And I shall be glad to hear from you.Hope you are both well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-6 Los Angeles3rd November, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings . I have notheard anything from you in about a fortnight,and I am anxious to hear how youare doing there. It may be there is somemail delay due to my leaving Seattle forSanta Fe , and then coming here to LosAngeles, California. You can write to meat the above address, my residential apartment.And you will be pleased to knowthat I am now accepted by the USA immigrationdepartment as permanent resident,with option to apply for citizenship.Ye sterday 's report of the activities ofthe Samkirtan party is that they sold 175copies of Back To Godhead, and collected$130 in donations.Hope you are all well, and I shall be expectingto hear from you by return of post.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-7Los Angeles6th November, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknoweldge receipt of your letter October3 1 , 1968, and I am so pleased to knowthat you are now quite able to work. MayKrishna bless you with good health andcontinue your prescribed duties verynicely.Regarding the picture, Pancha Tattwa,I do not think there is necessity of puttingthem in perspective. Actually they arestanding on the same line. Just like agroup photo is taken and nobody lookssmaller or greater. That is the system. Butthe thing is that if you make Lord Chaitanyasmaller, that would not be nice. Heshould be larger, and actually he was verylarge and broad shouldered . So better topaint as you have been doing, and withLord Chaitanya a little larger.Murti means a worshippable statue.Hoping you are in good health always,Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-8 Los Angeles6th November, 1968My dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter along with DiaNippers. I cannot understand why theyshould increase the price & supply goodsnot to the former sample! You use yourbest discretion & do the needful .My dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. There isno need of replying Pasvat Maharaj 's letter.He did not reply my letter & why hewould expect a reply from you . Do yourduty nicely & go Back to Godhead .

NOVEMBER, 1968 581My dear Uddhava,Please accept my blessing. I am in duereceipt of your letter. I think you shouldconsult your Godbrothers in this connection.So I have no abjection if you decideto marry as a matter of necessity. Hopeyou are all well. Please convey my blessingsto all boys & girls.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swaminamed Lakshmidasa. If it is possible,maybe you can make an editorial column,with letters to the editor or to our variouscenters, and use it in that way. It is verynice letter and I would like to have itprinted in our magazine.Hope you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-9My Dear Rayrama,Los Angeles6th November, 1968Please accept my blessings. I have receivedone letter from Guyana, and onegentleman, Sriman Petambar Dindayal isvery much interested in our Krishna Consciousnessmovement. He has invited meto go there, so first of all I want to sendhim some various literatures and pamphletsabout our society. So you pleasesend him some Back To Godheads, ournew prospectus, and press cuttings, etc .which will be of good information forhim. Also, please send here to LosAngeles some of the new prospectus, agood amount, as they are very nice.Hoping you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiAddress of Sriman Dindayal :Sriman Petambar DindayalRosignol BerbiceGuyanaSouth America68-11-10Los Angeles7th Novemeber, 1968My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I have receiveda very nice letter from England,sent to Mukunda, by an Indian gentleman68-11-11My Dear Hayagriva,Los Angeles8th November, 1968Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedOct. 31 , 1968, and I am so much pleasedto read the contents . I understand that youhave started to firmly initiate a campus society,called OSU Yoga Society. It wouldhave been better to name it as Bhakti YogaSociety, otherwise the society may be understoodas one of the many yoga societies.Anyway, whatever the name maybe, it does not matter. If you are successfulin capturing the students for chantingin the auditorium, it will be a great success.I think you have already been informedthat this time I entered USA onImmigrant visa, that is to say, I have beenadmitted as permanent resident on the orderof ordained religious minister. So thiswas a great problem, and Krishna has nowsolved it. I have got also my landed immigrantvisa in Canada, but I think I shallsurrender it.I also understand that you do not wantto get married now, but if you marry at all,you should marry now. Because after theage of 30, marriage is not so pleasing.Practically I am giving in charge of thedifferent centers to the Grihasthas. If youdecide to marry, there are many devoteegirls, and one of them may be a very nicecompanion fo r your devotional life. Youprefer to be free, but a devoted wife is as

582 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadagood as freedom. The Grihasthas disciples,just like Shyamsundar, Mukunda,and Gurudas, with their wives , are doingvery nicely in London. Similarly Dayanandaand his wife Nandarani are doingvery nicely here. Similarly Satsvarupaand his wife Jadurany are doing very nicein Boston. Another Grihastha, Goursundar,has gone to Hawaii, and his wife maygo there also, and he will organize the PacificRegion. So we have taken this NewVrindaban scheme, and it has to be developedvery nicely. Now because I have gotmy permanent visa there is no question ofmy convenience. Whenever you think Ishould go to New Vrindaban, I am preparedto go there. But I think I shall gothere when there is electricity, because Iwant to work my dictaphone with me, andI understand the electricity is not connectedthere still. And I shall be glad toknow when you expect to have electricityconnection. I have already left Montreal,and fom Montreal I went to Santa Fe, andthen I have come here on the 28th of Oct.Regarding the Bhagavad Gita , yes youmust get a considerable discount. You willget 40 % less than the list price, and I wishthat you will distribute at least 1000 copiesamongst your students, and therebyyou will be able to save at least $1000 fordeveloping New Vrindaban scheme.There are 42,000 students in your university,and if 5% of them purchased ourGita, then we can sell at least 2000 copiesthere. So I hope you will try for this, as faras possible, and it will be both propagandaas well as income for the New Vrindabanscheme. When you order toBrahamanda you can mention this statementof mine, and in the meantime when Iwrite to him again I shall also inform himabout that discount. In the meantime, recentlyI have received 40 complete sets ofSrimad Bhagavatam, and if you so desireyou can order some sets immediately. Ihave not heard from Kirtanananda formany days and I have received from Pradyumnaone letter and I have replied him.I am anxious to know also when I shall getthe I st canto of Srimad Bhagavatam completelyrevised. Then we shall begin our2nd canto. The New Yo rk boys are verymuch anxious to start our own press immediatelyand we must have sufficientmatter to print in the press continually.The Deity worship must be continuedby everyone. Another secret of success isthat when one is very much sexually disturbedhe should think of Lord Krishna'spastimes with the Gopis, and he will forgethis sex urge. To think of Krishna'spastimes with Gopis, but not to try to imitate.Hoping you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-12LondonLos Angeles8th November, 1968My Dear Yamuna, Mukunda,and Shyamsundar,Please accept my blessings. I haveduly received your letters dated Nov. 1,Nov. 2, and Oct. 25, respectively, and Ihave noted the contents carefully. I amconfident that you are all trying your bestso there is no question of doing thingshastily. You can execute your respectiveduties peacefully and I am confident thatyou will be successful. I understand fromYamuna's letter that one English boy hasgiven you rent-free a four story smallbuilding for living accommodations. Thisis all Krishna's Grace.Regarding the challenge in the InternationalTimes, I am sorry to read the letterof a rascal advertising himself as SwamiGitananda, but from his letter it appearsthat he is neither a Swami nor has everread Bhagavad Gita. He is so rascal that he

NOVEMBER, 1968 583describes the River Yamuna as metaphysicalin lower consciousness, although theRiver Yamuna is flowing so happily allover the Northern India. He is claimingyogi, but he does not know that the greatestyogi is the devotee of Lord Krishna. Sowe can reply him in so many ways to teachthis rascal a good lesson, but the more wecontinue such corespondence, we giveunnecessarily some publicity to a rascal.Mukunda has already protested such rascaland we have to go on with our ownwork positively. Fault-finding men willalways be there, that is the history of theworld, but one has to execute his prescribedduties.Regarding meeting Ravi Shankar orMr. Harrison, Dayananda is trying hisbest to contact them, so also Nandarani isalso trying, but so far there is no traceabout them. I do not know how far this attemptwill be successful.So keep me informed about your activitiesweekly. You sent me one letter, anice letter, from Lakshmidasa, and I havereplied him. Encourage him to cooperatewith you. He appears to be a good boy.Keep contact with him.Regarding giving protection to our studentscalled by the draft board, I think thebotheration may be stopped in future asthere is a clause under form No. Cal-301(REV. 12FEB 60L) ; Budget Bureau No.33-R 140.3, the "Questionaire for RegistrantsClaiming IV-D", which when filledup with my certificate of teaching, ourmen can be saved. As experiment I amgiving certificate to Kartikeya who is alreadycalled, and let us see the result. Ithink it will be fruitful because anotherstudent, Dindayal das, he is also fightingon this point. I think Krishna will help usin this connection.Hoping you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta68-11-13 Los Angeles11th November, 1968My Dear Woomapati,Please accept my blessings . I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedNov. 1, 1968, and with pleasure I havenoted the contents. When you were inMontreal I told you that you continue towork at present and give me $400.00 permonth for my literary propaganda work. Irequire so much money for purchasing aprinting press as well as paying the bill ofDiaNippon. So do not quit your job, buttry to earn some money for feeding ourmissionary activities.Regarding your proposal to open acenter in Paris, it is very very nice idea.But for the present until we have openedtwo centers, one in Hamburg and one inLondon, I think it will be premature tothink of opening a branch in Paris. So youcan accumulate some me tey for this idea,or keep the money with me as I have alreadyproposed, and as soon as there willbe opportunity I shall ask you to go toParis and open a center there.It takes a little time to understand thephilosophy of Krishna Consciousness butI am glad that now you are prepared to doanything for Krishna's sake, this is a greatcauseless mercy of Krishna upon you.Please continue your present attitude ofserving Krishna and His cause, and certainlyyou will be successful in the matterof Krishna Consciousness even in thislife. You know that your intimate friend,Hayagriva, is devoting his whole energyand money now. Similarly other studentsthey are also doing that and the more wedo so, it is better for us. Exactly if we supplynice nutritous foodstuff to the stomach,it is better for all the senses.Similarly, to serve Krishna more nicely isbetter for our own interests. Krishna is notin need of our service but if we sacrificeeverything for Krishna, that is for our

584 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidagood. You should always remember thismaxim.Hope you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. You can deposit your contribution inmy ale SIC 430K0131 with the First NationalCity Bank, Grand St. Branch,Grand St. at Bowery. New York 13 N.Y.ACB68-11-14 Los Angeles11th November, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedNov. 1, 1968, and I am glad to inform youthat as directed by you I have sent the 3 lettersto the following personalities: Ministerin charge of cultural and religiousaffairs, Mr. Michael Weyl, and Dr. Irvin.The body of the letter is the same as youdrafted. Now you can do the needful andinquire whether they have received theletters. I hope very soon you will find outa suitable place in Hamburg and start thetemple and if required you can take assistancefrom Shyamsundar for the Deities. Iam glad to learn that Krishna das has got ajob in a jewelry shop, similarly both youand Uttama Sloka may also find out somejob and immediately take a nice apartment.If storefront is too costly then youcan start the center in some apartment andtry to invite people there and live together.Regarding your question, about livingalone, living alone is a general tendencyfor a person who wants to get disassociatedwith the materialistic persons. Thatis also recommended by the Goswaminsin their instructions. It is better to remainalone than to mix with materialistic persons.But this is not applicable when wehave the opportunity to get the associationof pure devotees. Our program is negativeand positive simultaneously. We want tonegate the materialistic side and makepositive the spiritual side, it is not onesided. If you have no positive standing,negating only will not make you successful.Therefore it is better to remain positivelywithin the society of pure devotees.That is also recommended by theGoswamins. That one should be occupiedin activities in the modes of goodness andassociate with spiritualistic persons, thatwill make one's advancement very quick.Persons who want to take advantage ofcheap reputation they imitate great personalitieslike Haridas Thakur, who wasalone chanting 300,000 of Holy Namesdaily. By such chanting, lonely chantinghe got so much spiritual power that hecould convert even a harlot to become agreat devotee whereas an ordinary personfalls easily a victim to such allurement. Soone should not imitate such great personalitiesbut one should try to see how muchtaste he has developed for chanting, sothat one can remain alone simply beingengaged in chanting. If one can remainalone simply being engaged in chanting, thatis very good, but it is difficult also. A conditionedsoul in conditioned life it is verydifficult to concentrate our mind in chantingabsolutely. Better to be engaged inpreaching work, that will make one graduallysuccessful. Besides that, when we areactually engaged in with the preachingwork, we gradually acquire our spiritualstrength without failure.Regarding Radha Damodar temple,because it is one of the most importanttemples in Vrindaban, I took shelter inthis temple, just to improve the dilapidatedcondition. The present proprietoror the men in charge of this temple, theyare most materialistic men, and simplyutilizing the temple and its property fortheir sense gratification. If Radha Damodarlikes, in future, I may be able to dosomething for this temple, but until I have

NOVEMBER, 1968 585got the opportunity probably I am not goingagain into that temple. I have now NewVrindaban scheme and I shall try to developeall the important temples of Vrindabanincluding Radha Damodar temple inour New Vrindaban site.No, the moon's phases has nothing todo with spiritual. Yes, the students shouldagree to be malleable by the SpiritualMaster, then his success is sure. In yourwestern part of the world, people arefalsely taught not to become slavish. Everyonewants to assert his personal viewsand opinions, without following any authority.That is the general tendency. Butalthough such persons claim not to beslaves, actually they are slaves to thesenses. So instead of being a slave of thesenses, if one voluntarily becomes theslave of Krishna, or His representative,that is good for him. This is maya, thinkingthat we are independent. We areslaves-every moment we are serving oursenses. We are slaves to so many abominablethings, to drugs, intoxication, sex,doing the most abominable things in theservice of the senses. So it is not slavishwhen one agrees to become slave ofKrishna and His representative, then thisis liberated position, liberated frombeing slave to the senses. Yes, SrilaBhaktivinode Thakur said, My DearVaishnava Thakur, Spiritual Master, letme become your dog, and I shall remain atyour door, and I shall guard against anynonsense persons trying to enter, andwhatever food you will give me, I shalleat, and I shall remain as your dog.Your specific talents are to be engagedunder direction of the Spiritual Master.Everything, every talent can be employedin Krishna's service, and how to do it isknown to the Spiritual Master. You havethe tendency for botany, you can grow niceflowers and fruits for Krishna, that is theutilization of your natural tendency. If youhave got specific training in this connection,then after establishing this center inHamburg you can come to our New Vrindabanand grow things, or you can growthings in Hamburg also. Fruits andflowers can be produced anywhere.Yes, these your questions are very intelligentquestions. Hoping you are allwell.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-15 Los Angeles12th November, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your two letters dated Nov.5, 1968, and previous to this I receivedyour other letters along with Rayrama's,with enclosure of Parvat Maharaj 's letter,and I think I have replied that. I have writtenalso a separate letter to Achyutanandarequesting him first of all to go to Bombaywith Jayagovinda, and if their trial inBombay failed then he can stay in Vrindabanwith determination. But I think if theygo together to Bombay there will be goodsuccess. And as Jayagovinda is going toBombay, I think you should send him a letterof indemnity. When you write to Jayagovindaplease acknowledge receipt of 6phials of medicine which I have thismorning received intact, forwarded byyou. This packing was very nice, andthere was no loss of medicine. But remindhim that 12 phials of medicine which hesent previously by surface mail to Montrealaddress is not yet received. Ask himto lodge a complaint to the post officethere, referring to the parcel registrationnumber, and date.Regarding press, if the DiaNipponCompany has not come to conclusion andthe matter is prolonged so much then wecannot wait any more, in that case, the6000 dollars which I have kept aside for

586 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadatheir payment may be invested in presswork, and the book printed in our ownpress. Please think over this matter seriously.Regarding book commission , if youthink 30% to the temple is suitable youcan allow such 30% instead of 40 %, keepingaside 20 % for the book fund . I havereceived a Jetter from Gargamuni. It isvery much depressing. I thought that yourfather and mother will receive him as belovedchild, but instead they are ill treating,or at least not treating as belovedchild. I am very much sorry for this behavior,and I do not think Gargamuni willbe able to do anything good in that situation.When he comes next in the temple,you can inform him about my opinion inthis connection. As he is not very comfortablein that position there, I think hemay come back and join you again. Hehas got his own independent talents, andhe can very easily become a big businessmanhimself. We shall try to help him inthat way, instead of pushing him into theblazing fire of karmies' activities. I wasinduced to send him there because yourfather was so anxious to get him as his assistant.But he is not prepared even to givehim a good apartment and what to speakof a good car. So I don't think the situationis very favorable.Hoping you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. Reagrdingyour calendar dates, I have already writtento the following Sannyasins to sendyou the calendar dates. If you have not receivedthem, then please remind them.Their addresses are as follows:His Holiness Shraman MaharajSri Chaitanya MathP. O. Mayapur Dist. NadiWest Bengal, INDIAHis Holiness B. V. Trivikram MaharajSri Devananda Gaudiya MathP. O. Nabadwipa Dist. NadiaWest Bengal INDIAHoping you are well,Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. The new prospectus may be sent inlots in all centers and charged for the cost.ACB68-1 1-16LondonLos Angeles12th November, 1968My Dear Shyamsundar,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedNov. 4, 1968. The description of your letterreveals that you want to serve Krishnamore and more. This is very good sign.Service of Krishna is so nice that one becomesenthusiastic to serve more andmore. That is the nature of spiritual service.I can understand also that becauseyou could not start a temple in London youare feeling little disappointed, but there isno cause for such disappointment. I canunderstand that you are doing very wellthere even though we have not got our owntemple. The pictures which Malati hassent me are nice, very very nice. From thepictures I can understand how sincerelyyou are working there. So even we couldnot establish a temple, there our preachingwork is not in vain. So there is nocause of disappointment-you go on withyour work as you are doing and everythingwill come successful in due course.Ye s, it is your good fortune that youcan serve Krishna in so many ways-towork, to write, to speak, to paint, tobuild-all of these talents must be employedin Krishna's service. That willmake you perfect. We are so fortunate to

NOVEMBER, 1968 587be in this human form of life, and to havethe opportunity and the capacity to serveKrishna, and as there is very little time,we must do as much each day as we possiblycan to serve Krishna, and to becomealways engaged in thoughts and activitiesof Krishna. Maya may try to pull us fromKrishna's service, and try to engage us inher service, but we must simply persevere,and try to do as much as possible forKrishna each day, and gradually it will beeasier and easier to keep engaged inKrishna Consciousness activities. Andpray to Krishna to please keep us alwaysengaged in the service of His Lotus Feet.Krishna is very kind, and He is never ungrateful,and will give you more and moreopportunity to serve Him. That is HisMercy.I hope this meets you all in goodhealth,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Malati,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your nice letter of October29, 1968, and I have noted your nicesentiments. Yes, we should always thinkourself as the most fallen, the most ignorant,and it is simply by the Mercy of LordChaitanya that we have even the opportunityto serve Krishna. We have no qualificationof our own; it is simply by themerciful glance of this Most MunificentAppearance of the Supreme Personalityof Godhead, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,that we have been given the chance toserve Radha and Krishna.Your questions are very nice. Ye s, theSupersoul and soul both are unchanged.The difference is that in material contact,the soul appears to be changed. But theSupersoul is not affected by material contamination,therefore there is no sign ofchange. The change of soul is like that waterbecomes ice in contact with refrigerator.And as soon as there is temperaturethe ice again becomes water. Similarly thechanging nature of the soul is just likechange of water to ice. The tendency of iceis to melt and become water again. So dueto contamination of matter, the soul by illusionidentifies with material existence.But the tendency is to melt again toKrishna Consciousness. So when there issufficient temperature in contact withbonafide Spiritual Master and devotees,the soul again becomes Krishna Conscious,like the water.If someone is fortunate enough to findout a bonafide Spiritual Master, his life issuccessful. And to be fortunate, theremust be sincerity, and Krishna will leadhim to a bonafide Spiritual Master.Purusha means God or Krishna.Atma, there is Paramatma and jivatma.Both are atma because they are spiritual,but the living entities are called jivatma.Jivatma means the small particle of atmawhich has tendency to fall down in the materialatmosphere. He is caled jivatma.And Atma or Supersoul, Who never fallsin material contamination, is calledParamatma or Supersoul. And becauseHe does not fall under material illusion,His another Name is Achyuta-Achyutameans never fallen.I hope you are well with your goodchild,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Mukunda, and My DearGurudas,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour respectful letters dated Nov.7, 1968, and I have noted the contentswith great interest. I shall reply themseparately. Dayananda has told me thatMr. George Harrison is interested to see

588 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadame , and he is going to stay one weekmore, and so let us see what happens.Hope you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-17My Dear Kris,Los Angeles13th November, 1968Please accept my blessings . I thankyou very much for your nice letter andhave noted the contents carefully. Ye s, youwere very kind to massage when I wasthere in Santa Fe , and I thank you verymuch for this.I have noted your questions carefully,and regarding your question about thePrasadam recipes; Krishna is offeredfoodstuff in goodness. The foodstuffs inthe modes of goodness are wheat, rice,pulse (beans, peas), sugar, honey, butterand all milk preparations, vegetables,flowers, fruits, grains. So these foods canbe offered in any shape, but prepared invarious ways by the intelligence of thedevotees. The ingredients are always thesame as above, whether you fry them, boilthem, bake them, powder them, or whateverway they are combined or cooked,the idea is that they must come from thisgroup of foodstuffs . So you can make yourown recipe if you like, so long as the ingredientsare within this group. Thisfoods group is stated by Krishna in theBhagavad Gita, and we follow accordingly.Now the thing is that you must considerby whom you are being taught whatis healthy and what is not healthy. What istheir authority? Actually, this healthy andnon-healthy is a material consideration,and we are simply interested in whatKrishna wants , so we offer to Him to eatwhatever He wants . And He asks for foodpreparations from within this group . Ihope this will clarify the questions aboutPrasadam preparations for you to understand.Regarding your question aboutYogananda, you write to say that you "receivedthe impression from his autobiographythat he was a genuine saint whodedicated his life to serving God." But thething is that you do not actually knowwhat is a genuine saint, and what can youunderstand about saintly life from readinghis autobiography. I may inform you thatjust recently I visited his so-called ashramretreat, and it was simply a hodge-podgeof all nonsense. There was a Buddhastatue , a Christ statue, a Gandhi's memoriumlabeled as "World Peace Memmorium"-and what world peace he hasbrought? None. And what does Gandhihave to do with spiritual realization anyway?Gandhi was simply interested to getthe Britishers out of India-what hasthis to do with self realization, the primegoal of life? And here and there, therewere signs of all sorts, like "Be still andrealize I am God"-what is this, by becomingsilent and still one becomesGod? ! The stone is silent for millions ofyears , does that mean it has become God?This is all conglomeration of nonsenseideas. Practically, this Yogananda has nophilosophy or authority, he simply dragsin Buddha, Jesus Christ, Gandhi , andwhoever else he can think to put, so thatwhatever you like it is in his shop. He isjust a good shop keeper.Krishna says-Give up all nonsenseengagements and come here and surrenderunto Me!-that is real philosophy.Krishna says that anyone who is worshippingany demigod, it is all nonsense, andjust give it up and come to me. Our philosophyis to worship Radha and Krishna.We don't make any hodge-podge or anycompromise. If you like you can accept it,and if you are fortunate you will accept,

NOVEMBER, 1968 589and be happy, but this hodge-podge nonsensewill never help you . Just like weprescribe certain rules and restrictions forour disciples so that they can makereal advancement in spiritual life. ThisYogananda gives no restrictions or regulativeprinciples to his disciples,andthereby collects all nonsense class of men.But if you put restrictions then not somany men will come, but sincere oneswill come, those who are actually sincerelysearching after real spiritual life.This Yogananda accepts everything asbonafide, because he simpy doesn't knowwhat is bonafide and what is nonsense. Sothere is no need to waste your time .I can understand you are planning to goon world tour, but I think there is no needfor wasting your time on such world tour.Better you chant Hare Krishna sitting inone place, that is far better. What for youwant to go on world tour-people everywhereare doing the same thing, eating,sleeping, mating, and defending-each insome slightly different way, but same substanceis there. There are the same streets ,same people, same cars, same trees, etc .everywhere, somewhere a hill, somewheresandy, somewhere some waterbutwhat is the profit of seeing so muchscenery? It is better if you want to travel ,you can travel to preach and spread thisKrishna Consciousness to the sufferinghumanity at large. You can travel with ourSamkirtan party if you like . They arepresently here in Los Angeles, and theyare making program to go to London, thenover Europe, then eventually on to India,etc . So if you want to travel I recommendyou travel with them , and chant HareKrishna with them wherever you go . Andyou will profit by this sort of travel ,whereas the other is a waste of time practically.So that is my opinion, that youwould do far better not to waste your timein this way.Thanking you once more for your letter,and hoping this meets you in goodhealth and I remainYour ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-18 Los Angeles13th November, 1968My Dear Harer Nama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter, undated, andthank you so much for it. Ye s, your placeis very nice, don't try to change it, but tryto improve it. Better try to have Samkirtanand get one mridanga from New York bypaying them, and in this way try to improvethe attendance of the temple. Yourideas you mention are very good. Try tosearch out jobs, and eventually if you canestablish your own means of income thatwill be very nice.Please keep me informed at least oncein a fortnight of your progress there, and Ishall be looking to hear from you all, andhoping you are well,Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Patit Pavana, now,Patit Uddharan,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter, and thank youvery much for it. That you are chantingand reading with great delight is verygood. Please continue this practice andthe delight will continue to increase themore you increase sincerity. I understandalso that your family is now reading BackTo Godhead, and this is also very good.Just try to explain this philosophy to them,and convince them in this way.I understand that there is also a devoteein N. Y. with similar name, so I am herebychanging your name to Patit Uddharan.The meaning is practically the same. Patitmeans fallen, and Pavana means deliverer

590Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidaof, and Uddharan means to lift up. SoPatit Uddharan means One who lifts upthe fallen souls, or Deliverer of the fallensouls.I hope you are all well, and just continueand try to make the temple therevery successful. There are many youngpeople searching after the real path ofspiritual realization, and you simply haveto make it readily available to them.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-19Los Angeles13th November, 1968My Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your nice letter of Nov. 7,1968, and thank you very much for it. Regardingyour question, Sayamrupa meansthe Original Form. Sayamprakash meansBalaram. And Tadekatmarupa is the Purusha,just like Mahavishnu. It is not necessaryto remember or fully understandall these different forms, at the present,but it is like if you simply stick to the masterfaithfully that is very good, but if youknow that my master is so great, and sorich, and great in this way and rich in thisway, and that way, then your venerationfor your master will increase. To knowKrishna is great, how He is expanded intodifferent forms, that enhances our attachmentto Krishna more rigidly.You ask about the desire for fame.Fame is a material desire , but to desirefame in Krishna Consciousness is notbad. If you think that people may know meas a great devotee of Krishna, that theymay acknowledge me a nice devotee ofKrishna, that is not at all bad. But evenone is highly elevated in Krishna Consciousnesshe should not think himself agreat devotee, he should think himself alwayshumble.You can celebrate Rasalila by havingnice kirtan and prasadam distribution,that is our way of celebrating.Your question, "When one has becomepure enough, Krishna conscious,does one take regular dictation from one'sGuru Maharaj? I know You to confirmyes, but how is this so? Understandingthat each individual has a certain particularrasa with Krishna, how would one relatewith another soul of a different rasa?Especially between that of the Guru anddisciple? " That doesn't matter. The SpiritualMaster's position is to train the disciples.Just like a teacher, he may be a veryexpert mathematician, but in the lowerclass he is teaching English. The SpiritualMaster's duty is to train him, but when hecomes to the perfectional stage of training,then he realizes his position. That isnot a gift of the Spiritual Master, the SpiritualMaster helps him to realize his relationshipwith the Lord. Just like thestudent in lower stages has to study somany things as preliminary education,English, history, math, etc., but in higherstage of education, he has got a particulartaste for a special subject, so he specializesas a mathematician or a historian,etc. So that special qualification reveals inthe higher stage. So these topics are not tobe discussed in the conditioned stage, andwhen we come to the liberated stage wecan understand. This is useless talks in thepreliminary stage. In the beginning let usdo the preliminary routine work verynicely, and be cured of the disease (out ofmaya), then we can know what taste youhave for what particular type of food. Sothese things are not to be discussed at thepresent moment.Yes, you can pray to Krishna-Krishnamay be prayed that I am unwilling to becomeKrishna Conscious, so you canforce me to become so. You put me undercertain circumstances so that I may beforced to accept Krishna Consciousness.

NOVEMBER, 1968 591You can pray like that. It is Krishna's specialfavor and mercy that He sometimesforces a devotee to surrender fully to Him.Hoping you are well,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-20 Los Angeles13th November, 1968My Dear Tosan Krishna,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your Jetter (undated) andthank you very much for it. Your sentimentsare very kind, and I very much appreciatethem. Regarding your questionabout what determines our fortune, generallywhen we are in the material world,we try to be prosperous by material opulence.Just like a common man tries tohave a good house, a good wife, a goodproperty, good social prestige, and thisway, go on increasing the bodily conceptoflife, and possess more and more in relationshipto the body. This is unfortunate.All living entities beginning from Brahmadown to an ant, everyone is trying to increasesuch materialistic way of happy lifewithout knowing that any amount of materialcomforts of life cannot make the spiritualJiving entities happy. Therefore,when a Jiving entity becomes very seriousto become really happy and gets intotouch with Krishna Consciousness by theGrace of Krishna and the Spirtual Master,that is the beginning of his fortunate life.And the more one becomes advanced inthat fortunate way of life, the more he becomeshappier and happier. This is thedifference between fortunate and unfortunate.The beginning of contact withKrishna Consciousness is the beginningof good fortune. That some people maycome and others may not, this is also dueto association. Suppose a man accidentallycomes in contact with our societyand gives some service willingly or unwillingly,that is the beginning of his fortunatelife. We go from door to doorcanvassing people to join Krishna Consciousnessmovement means that we aretrying to make them fortunate. Anyonewho gives some service to this KrishnaConsciousness movement is fortunateproportionately. At least the seed of hisfortunate life is sown there. Whether hegives service of some sort, willingly oreven unwillingly, the seed is sown, and thefortune will come proportionately. Even ifsomebody looks shabby and unclean, if hesimply says this Krishna Consciousness isvery nice thing, even he is not able to takefull advantage of it at the time, still he isfar more fortunate than any Rockerfeller.And your question about Bhisma deva,after he left this planet, he went to Vaikuntha.Because he was Narayana worshipper.In Bhisma 's prayer, it is clear that heis worshipper of Four Handed Narayana.Although he knew that Narayana andKrishna are non-different, but his affectionwas for Narayana. Therefore he enteredthe Narayana loka.Those who are devotees of Narayanaor Krishna, they are not afraid of anyplanet, even they are sent in the heavenlyplanets or the hellish planets, becausethey have Narayana within their heart,they are equally situated.Hope you are well,Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-21 Los Angeles14th November, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of Nov. 9,1968, and I have noted the contents carefully.It is good to hear that the temple isgoing on nicely, and you are selling Back

592 Letters from Srrla PrabhupiidaTo Godheads also 400 per month. I understandyou are trying to get more lecturesat colleges, also in sociology andpolitical classes and philosophy classes.Yo u should not give political or social discussions,while speaking on KrishnaConsciousness philosophy from BhagavadGita and Srimad Bhagavatam youcan simply touch on some socio-politicalimplications. Krishna Consciousness isso broad and all inclusive that naturallywhen speaking in Krishna Consciousnesswe get so many oportunities to deal inpolitics although that is not our subjectmatter. To do so requires expert handling.You can take part in such classes andpresent the subject matter in such a waythat it may at first appear like sociopolitical-philosophicalaffairs, but actuallyintroduce our Krishna Consciousnessphilosophy. That requires tactfulhandling. You can give it a political etc.,headline, and then end it with our philosophy.This is Visokumbham Payomukhan .That means to give somebody a jar of poisonwith a label of nectarine or milk preparationon it. So we have to becomepolitician in this way, just like in old politicsthere was presentation of Visokanya .This visokanya is a poison beautiful girl .The idea was that a baby girl was from thevery beginning administered little dosesof poison everyday, which she could tolerate.And gradually increasing the doses,culminating in large doses when she wasyouth . Such girls were engaged in killingenemies. The enemy will be received as aguest, and this girl will be engaged forlooking after his comfort, and when theyare friendly, as soon as the enemy will kissthe girl in the mouth, the poisonous effectwill immediately affect, because withtongue the poison is very quickly effective.And the enemy would die. Similarly,we have to introduce Krishna Consciousnessin such a way that through politicsand sociology they will be injected andbecome Krishna Consciousness. But insteadof being a victim, they will be immortalized.That is the difference.The story of Ramanujacharya as statedby you is not disobedience. It was a greatfervor for the disciple to advance the missionarycause of the Spiritual Master.Such rare instances are sometimes visiblein many places. Just like there[TEXT UNCLEAR]lying on the floor. The story is like this:Chaitanya Mahaprabhu after taking Hislunch would rest for a while and Govindawas daily massaging His feet. So one dayChaitanya Mahaprabhu fell asleep verysoon and keeping His head on the threshold.So while He was sleeping, Govindacame crossing the body of Chaitanya andmassaged His Feet. But he was sittingthere , so when Chaitanya Mahaprabhuwas awake He saw that Govinda was sittingthere although it was too late. So Heinquired, "Govinda, you have not takenyour Prasadam, you are sitting here? " Sohe replied, "Yes, I shall go now to takePrasadam." Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inquired,"Why so late? " He replied, "Icould not go on the other side because Youwere lying on the threshold." ChaitanyaMahaprabhu said, "How did you comein? " He flatly replied, "By crossingYo u." Then He inquired, "Why did younot go out by crossing Me?" Govindasaid, "That I cannot do. I came crossingYo u inside the room for Your service, but Icannot go out crossing You for taking mylunch. That would be for my sense gratification."The idea is for service of the superiorsometimes such violation appearsto be in the scene. Ramanujacharya violatedthe order of the Spiritual Master toadvance the cause of the Spiritual Master.The Spiritual Master's mission was to deliverfallen souls, therefore Ramanujacharyaconsidered that if the mantra was sopowerful to deliver the persons, why notdeliver it to everyone as soon as possible.

NOVEMBER, 1968 593That was a little tactic to advance thecause of the Spiritual Master. So everythinghas to be judged by the motive, andas the motive of such apparent violationwas very good, Ramanuja's SpiritualMaster embraced him. This is not actuallyviolating the order of the SpiritualMaster. But such actions are very rarely tobe done .Yes, there is definitely a vast differencebetween initiated and non-initiated. Onewho is initiated is authorized, and onewho is not initiated is not authorized . Justlike, for example, Pradyumna is attendingclass in Sanskrit in a college, he is givenchance to learn Sanskrit, but he is notequal with the regular students. One whobecomes initiated is channelized to the authoritiesin the disciplic succession. Onewho isn't initiated may chant HareKrishna (and should certainly be encouragedto do so) and serve in his own way,and gradually by doing so he may want tobe initiated. But otherwise he may fallaway from following the rules and regulations.The clothing is already painted on theJagganathas, even there is no cloth. Andeven Krishna is naked, that does not makeany difference.But when we dressHim, our service is appreciated. FromKrishna's side, naked or dressed, He isKrishna. And from our side , if we nicelydress Krishna and nicely feed Him, He isappreciating our service and we are certainlybenefited . Krishna is the same; Hedoes not require us to dress Him, or feedhim, etc., but the more I serve by dressing,feeding and caring fo r Him, He appreciatesthe service, and I become moreKrishna Conscious.Yes, it is all right to continue paintingLord Chaitanya and the Gopies as youhave been, in flesh tone .It is not mentioned how many handsthe diffe rent Brahmas from the differentuniverses have . Maybe four hands. Ye s,they ride on swans .I am sending herewith the tape, so youdo the work on your dictaphone and sendme regularly the typed copies . Don't stopsending them, it makes me stop also. UnlessI get back the typed copies it doesn'tencourage me. So you send me the typedcopies regularly and I shall send you thetapes regularly. What about the 3rdCanto? I know that I have made up to the3rd Canto 7th chapter and the present tapeis continuation, but I am in darknesswhere are the papers. So give me an accountwhere are the papers.I am concerned about Jadurany 'shealth condition-has she got any fever?If she has feverish condition, she shouldsimply lie down and do no work.Hope you are well , and please keep meinformed of your temple affairs, as well asabout Jadurany's health condition.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I hae received the Indian letter ___ you .68-11-22 Los Angeles14th November, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings . I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedNov. 7, and I am very glad to know thatyou are working in San Francisco equallywith the same enthusaism as I saw youhere when I was in Los Angeles last year.Perhaps you have heard it that for the timebeing we have no temple. The landlord inHollywood Blvd. did not like our devoteesto stay there, and he returned $450 so thatwe would move our articles there from thestorefront . So the Deities are here in myapartment, so I do not know how we shallfind out a suitable place. And when thereis a nice suitable place for our temple,

594 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidathen I shall consider whether you are tocome back. For the mean time, you workin San Francisco, and try to organize salesof our Back To Godhead as many as possible.I have not heard anything from Chidanandasince a long time, and I hope healong with the other devotees are all well.I understand that on the average you arecollecting $22 a day, so this is nice, just goon trying to increase.Whenever the Indian community invitesyou to go and take Prasadam, be alwayskind with them, and go there andchant Hare Krishna. They are vegetarian,so whatever Prasadam they prepare youoffer to the Deity and enjoy it.Regarding your questions: Your firstquesiton, "Are great sages put underyogamaya or maya? Also are all the eternallyliberated souls under yogamaya? "Yogamaya means the mercy of the SupremeLord which connects a devotee inthe transcendental loving service of theLord, and mahamaya means the externalpotency of the Lord which puts a conditionedsoul into illusion that he will behappy by material adjustment. So greatsages who are impersonalists are also underthe spell of mahamaya, because a conditionedsoul in the material world wantsto improve his material position as exaltedas possible, and the concept of becomingone with the Supreme Lord is the greatestillusion for them. Because it is a fact thatnobody can be equal or greater than theSupreme Personality of Godhead, and assuch, anyone desiring to become one withthe Supreme means that he is still in thetrap of maya. On the other hand, a humbledevotee who may not be a great sage, butsimpy by his implicit acceptance of theLotus Feet of the Lord as the goal of hislife means that he is under the protectionof yogamaya. I think this will clear theidea.Your next question, "Is there a differencebetween Arjuna's body and his soul,and how does this apply to all Krishna'seternally liberated souls described in thescriptures. Is Arjuna always the same inhis appearances with Krishna or is a newsoul taking his body each time?" Yes,there is difference. Therefore he forgetshis past activities. Just like we forget ourselveswhile dreaming because our subtlebody acts at that time differently from thegross body. Similarly, by changing thisbody or transmigrating from one body toanother, we forget all the activities of ourprevious body. The associates of the Lord,even though they have a different body, oreven though they forget the activities oftheir past body, still they are associates ofthe Lord. These explanations are given inthe Bhagavad Gita as it is.Your next question, "Is a pure devoteeeternally liberated and if so is he at anytime a conditioned soul? We are eternallyconditioned, but as soon as we surrenderto Krishna do we then become eternallyliberated? When Lord Christ appeared heseemed to be conditioned in his growth.Was he a specific incarnation or a conditionedsoul who became liberated?" Youare not eternally conditioned. You areeternally liberated but since we have becomeconditioned on account of our desireto enjoy materialistic way of life, fromtime immemorial, therefore it appearsthat we are eternally conditioned. Becausewe cannot trace out the history orthe date when we became conditioned,therefore it is technically called eternallyconditioned. Otherwise the living entity isnot actually conditioned. A living entity isalways pure. But he is prone to be attractedby material enjoyment and as soonas he agrees to place himself in materialenjoyment, he becomes conditioned, butthat is not permanent. Therefore a livingentity is called on the marginal state,sometimes this side, sometimes that side.These are very intelligent questions. AndI am very glad that you are putting such

NOVEMBER, 1968 595intelligent questions and trying to understandit. It is very good. But best thing isthat one should know he is in conditionedlife and try to cure it. When a man is indiseased condition he should try to get outof diseased condition without harassinghis brain when the disease has begun. Butit is to be understood that the disease is notour constant companion, it is temporary.So the best thing is to cure the disease, andnot waste our time to find out the datewhen it began. Forgetfulness of Krishnais the disease, so let us keep ourselves alwaysin Krishna Consciousness, and getout of the disease, that is healthy life. Ye s,Lord Jesus was jivatattva. He is notVishnu tattva. When ajiva tattva becomesspecifically empowered by the Lord, he iscalled Shaktavesh avatar. Lord Buddhaand Lord Jesus Christ were in this groupof Shaktavesh avatars. But they were notin conditioned state when they appeared;they came to teach here.You should all read very carefully SrimadBhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita, andyou should be able to answer all questionslike this, and only in rare cases approachme. But it is important that our studentsmust be able to answer all questions forbecoming preachers.Arati is performed at 1 1/2 hour beforesunrise to awaken the Deities. Each offeringis made by moving it in 7 big circles,starting at the Lotus Feet of the Lord, andgoing clockwise round. First of all, burningcamphor or ghee (5 fires if possible) isoffered in this way, slowly circling thembefore the Lord. With left hand bell is beingrung, and with right hand the offeringsare made by circling. Next burning dhoopis offered. Then water is offered in aconchshell. Then a nice handkerchief isoffered. Then a nice flower, as a rose.Then the Deities are offered a fan, nicepeacock feather fan. And the last item isthe blowing of the conch shell three times.Throughout arati there is bell ringing,cymbals, mridanga, gong, harmonium,etc .Hope you are all well, and please keepme informed on the progress of the templethere .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-23Los Angeles15th November, 1968My Dear Gurudas,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Nov. 7,1968, and I very much appreciate yoursincere endeavor for preaching ourKrishna Consciousness movement. I havereceived one letter from Dr. Athvalewhom you met in Amsterdam, and he wasso much pleased with your behavior andtalk that he has been induced to see meat Los Angeles. A qualified disciple increasesthe importance of the SpiritualMaster. So I find in you some good qualities.You think yourself as very humblebut you appreciate the services of yourGod-brothers and I am very much pleasedon your such behavior. I have received thenews cutting. This is also very nice attempt,and by your sincere endeavor youhave now got a nice house to stay free ofcharges till it is sold. So all this encouragesme that you are doing your best, andKrishna will bless you for your noble attempt.Hope this will find you in good health,along with your good wife Yamuna devi.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiI hope his meets you in good health, alongwith Janaki, and Malati and Shyamsundar,and Miss Saraswati. Please continueto keep me informed,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

596 Letters from Srfla Prabhupada68-11-24 Los Angeles16th November, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedNov. 11 , 1968, and I have noted the contents. Later on I heard from TarnalKrishna that Purushottam has decided tocome here and I also heard that Gargamunihas got a nice apartment by hisfather. So I am little relieved that Gargamunihas now a good apartment. Butabout him I have already written to you inmy letter dated Nov. 12, 1968, and youshould inform him about my opinionwhen he comes to New Yo rk. If he feelstoo much inconvenience at the care of hisfather, he may come back to you and helpyou there in New Yo rk.Regarding DiaNippon publication, Ithink if we disregard them and printTeachings of Lord Chaitanya at this maturemoment, it will not be very much toour own good credit. They have advancedso much already and they have investedmoney to some extent, and if we stop atthis moment, this will not be very goodfor us. They have got good regard for usand we must maintain this position. Thebest thing is therefore that you send theman urgent telegram that we must get thebooks by the end of this month, and otherwisewe will arrange for printing elsewhere.So we must give them a notice towarn them before we take up the work forprinting ourselves.Regarding opening of the press, myidea is that unless we are fully independent,in all departmental works of thepress, we should not attempt it. Your suggestionthat the papers may be sent to Hollandfor binding is completely utopian. Ifwe print we must bind ourselves also.This is not practical proposal that we shallprint in our press, and send for binding inother countries. Therefore it is essentialthat some of our boys may learn aboutbinding also. When we start our ownpress, we must simply print our ownpublications and magazines and books .We shall not accept any outside work , andby selling books and magazines, we shallhave to maintain the fa mily of our devotees,or the brahmacharies. That shouldbe the ideal work . We shouldn't dependfor maintaining the workers by acceptingoutside job works . So fo r the time being,the DiaNippon business must be finishedimmediately. Then after getting Teachingsof Lord Chaitanya, along with BhagavadGita, we will try to start our ownpress by the sales proceeds.Regarding Rama Krishna's book reviewing,I am not very much in favor ofthis unnecessary publicity to a personwhom we do not like. We know that thisinstitution is a bogus humbug only withoutany substance, and why should webring them in prominence by criticizingthem. They are not very much popularin America. They are working for thelast 75 or 80 years in this country, since1893, but I think our ISKCON institutionis better known in your countrythan the RamaKrishna missionary activities.If you actually make progress inthe constructive program of our KrishnaConsciousness movement very soonwe shall surpass all nonsensical activities,including RamaKrishna mission,Yo gananda ashram, or so many yoga societies.Simply we have to push on theSamkirtan party and organize themnicely. And increase the sale of ourBack To Godhead .I understand that you are still planningto send order to the United Shipping.You should immediately send themthe order to execute if you have not doneas yet. We shall require so many kholesand kartals fo r spreading this Samkirtanmovement .I understand that JayaGovinda has sent

NOVEMBER, 1968 597the Bhagavatam, 2nd canto, by registeredsurface mail. But I do now know when itwill come. He sent a packet of medicinesome 3 months ago, by surface mail, tothe adress of Montreal temple, but it is notyet reached. The best thing would havebeen to send the package to United Shippingcorporation for being dispatchedwith the kholes.Regarding Purushottam, both you andRayarama have inquired from me whatspecific duty he will have to execute here.My intention of calling him is that he expresseda strong desire to live with me inMontreal, so I wish to keep him with meat least for some time and train him to actas secretary. Of course, he will work inother spheres also, to secure advertisement,but in case Govinda dasi goes toHawaii, I shall require a secretary.Govinda dasi is quite competent to act andshe is doing very nicely, she is willingworker, educated and intelligent, everythingcomplete, but the only thing is thatshe is young girl and I am a Sanyasi. Atthe present time of course Goursundar hasgone there without any money, so he hasno sufficient means just now for her to gothere. At the present moment she is livingat night with Nandarani and in the daytimeshe is assisting me as my secretary.Formerly when Goursundar was with me,she was living at night here also, but sincehe has gone with great responsibility fororagnizing a Hawaii center, he cannot becalled, although I am feeling his separationbecause he was always helping meday and night. So ·after all it is an experiment,I do not know how the futureprogram shall be fixed up, but ifPurushottam 's service is absolutelyneeded in New York, then he may go backagain.Hope this meets you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-25Los Angeles17th November, 1968My Dear Rayrama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Nov. 12,1968, and I thank you very much for thecopies of Back To Godhead, no. 20. It isvery nice. Please send the copies veryquickly to different centers. I have receivedletters from Hawaii also that theyare eagerly awaiting the consignment ofBack To Godhead.Another important point is that youcan enlist the following name for sendingcomplimentary copies of Back ToGodhead.Niranjan Samanta, Assistant TeacherHarasankar GarkillaSantamayi Higher Secondary SchoolP. 0. HarasankarDist. MidnapurWest Bengal, INDIAHope this meets you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiNote to Brahmananda:I understand from the letter of Satsvarupathat they have received a Pair ofRadha Krishna murti from India, sent byJayagovinda, and they want to worship theDeities so you can send him the necessaryinstructions how to do it.ACBP. S. The current issue of Back to Godheadis better than all previous ones. So you aretangibly improving the quality of B.T.G.May Krishna bless you improve it more &more. Tarnal sold yesterday 87 copies at alength. He is very much satisfied with thisissue. Hayagriva is also doing nicely. AtColumbus fighting against Frog Philosophy.

598 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptida68-ll-26Los Angeles18th November, 1968My Dear Pradyumna,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedNov. 12, 1968, and I thank you very muchfor it. Now you are in good opportunity todo the transliteration work and in cooperationwith your professors and Hayagriva,make the Srimad Bhagavatamrevised edition in such a nice way that itmay be accepted in any scholarly society.In the last editions, because the transcriptionwas not there, some of the universitiesin the western countries refused tostock them. Of course, the AmericanCongress library purchasing departmentin India are pleased to purchase 18 copiesof my Srimad Bhagavatam, as soon as it ispublished and they have open order for it.Still we want it to be done so nicely that itmay not be refused by any scholarly section.So the transliteration and divisionsshould be so nicely done that it will go toyour credit when they are accepted everywhere.I think by Krishna's Grace Hayagriva'sattempt to revise it nicely and yourattempt to fix up transliteration perfectlywill make the next edition as perfect aspossible. Do it very sincerely, and alsopray Krishna to help you, and I am sure itwill come out successful.I hope this will meet you in goodhealth.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-ll-27Los Angeles18th November, 1968My Dear Kirtanananda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your short note alongwith Hayagriva's letter. I am so glad to receiveyour note because I was a little restlessfor not receiving your letters since afew days. I have written already to Hayagrivaabout New Vrindavana how I amthinking of this place. And let us jointlyendeavor for fulfilling this purpose. Ye s,this climate of California, especially LosAngeles is very nice. I am always anxiousto go and see the Govardhan hills in NewVrindaban and I hope Krishna will fulfillmy desire as soon as possible.I hope this meets you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-ll-28Los Angeles18th November, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of Nov.12, 1968, and I am very much pleased tonote the contents. The handbill of Dr.Frog, Ph.D. is very funny, and we shouldtry to fight with these frog philosophersovercrowding all over the world. Yoursuccess in kirtan performances in the Universitycampus is also very encouraging.New Vrindaban should be taken upvery seriously because actually I want todevelop a replica of Old Vrindaban. I havegot ambition to construct there 7 templesas follows: l. Radha Madan Mohan, 2.Radha Govinda, 3. Radha Gopinath, 4.Radha Damodara, 5 . Radha Raman, 6.Radha Gokulananda, 7. Radha Shyamsundar.The whole modern city ofVrindabanwas established originally with thesetemples, started by different Goswamins.And later on, many kings and princesstarted their own temples and thus thepresent Vrindaban is now full with smalland big 5000 temples. We have to makesuch scheme in our New Vrindaban,gradually expanding to an area of one milelong and one mile broad. Bamandev is

NOVEMBER, 1968 599still here, and I have advised him to constructsome thrones fo r Radha andKrishna, because NaraNarayana is attemptingto get some pairs of RadhaKrishna Murtis 24" high. We shall requireso many pairs of Radha KrishnaMurtis at different temples. Anyway, donot feel discouraged. As soon as NewVrindaban is connected with a link roadas well as electricity, very soon it will developinto our idea. I shall personally goand stay there and see it is developed.Regarding Srimad Bhagavatam, pleasesend me the chapters which you have alreadyrevised. I want to see it, how it isbeing done. I am glad that you are notomitting anything, but just making gramaticalcorrection, and phrasing for forceand clarity, and adding Pradyumna 'stransliteration, that is very nice.Ye s, henceforward, as I have alreadytold you, that Srimad Bhagavatam will beultimately seen by you, before beingprinted. That will keep consistency, Iquite agree with you. My present plan is tostay in Los Angeles, perhaps at least formore than a month , which will coverChristmas holidays. And so, during thattime, if you come here, it will be verynice. In January I may go to Hawaii, ifGoursundar takes me there. As you havegiven up the idea of marriage, I think youcan give up the idea of seeing your parentsannually. You just prepare yourself forfurther advanced spiritual life. After all,our mundane relationships with fatherand mother, or wife and children, can notprotect us from the trap of maya. It is saidby one Vaishnava poet that in every formof life, one gets a father and mother, becausewithout father and mother, nobodyis able to get a material body. So fatherand mother is possible in any form ofbody, but only in this human form of bodyone can get in touch with Krishna and abonafide Spiritual Master. That is thehighest gain of our travelling in differentspecies of life in different planets.I am so pleased that you are feeling forme and listening to my old tapes with pleasure.As you are remembering our oldmeeting days on the second avenue, whenI first started my lectures there, similarly Ialso remember the incidents and speak toso many friends and disciples. So ourmeeting was Krishna's desire. Apparentlyit was accidental but actually it wasKrishna's plan. So we should always rememberthis plan of Krishna and mustcontinue to work jointly for advancementof Krishna Consciousness movement inthis part of the world. I shall always prayto Krishna to give you more and morestrength and confidence in this great responsibilityand I shall pray for your longlife to execute this mission.Thank you once more for your nicesentiments, and I hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I would like to know whether if twoyoung boys come there, if you can takecharge of them as teacher for them. Theyare very nice young Krishna Consciousboys, and their mother is very much in favorof them being trained up in our philosophy.They are between 10 and 12years about. By teaching I mean teachingthem The Teachings of Lord Chaitanya,Bhagavad Gita, and Srimad Bhagavatam,not preliminary education; preliminaryeducation they already know. Please letme know about this.ACB68-11-29Los Angeles18th November, 1968My Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter and noted reportsof work there at your center and with greatsatisfaction. Please do it nicely. You are

600Letters from Srfla Prabhupadaintelligent and Krishna will give you moreand more intelligence to serve Him. Ishall ask Jayananda for the permit and hewill send it to you, along with the informationrequired.You will be glad to know that we lostour Hollywood temple, but by Grace ofKrishna we have got a better place at acheaper rent already on the Melrose avenue. And we are going to occupy the samewithin a day or two if all goes as planned.Everything is going on nicely here, andplease keep me informed with regular reportsof your activities there . If you thinkso, Gary can be initiated by post and youcan arrange it for him.Hope you are all well there,Your ever well-wisher,68-11-30My dear Rayrama,Los Angeles19th November, 1968Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknoweldge receipt of your letter datedNov. 15, 1968, and noted the contents. Ihave already sent news to Mr. Barkley andGehring to see me here . It appears thatthey want to start some magazine on religion.So I asked them to see me here . AndI shall talk with them and see what is theiridea. Regarding Press: I have alreadywritten to Brahmananda how the pressshould be started. The following principlesshould be followed strictly in ourpress: All the works of the press, includingbinding, and everything should bedone by our men. We shall not accept anyoutside job for maintaining of this press.We will print simply our books and magazines,etc . And the boys and their familiesshould be maintained by the salesproceeds of books and magazines .Brahmananda told me that binding inN.Y. is very expensive, and he is thinkingof sending the papers to Holland for binding.These proposals are not at all practical.Yo u write to say that Purushottam isdesperate to come here , and stay with mefo r a while, so let him come, and if needbe he will go back again.Regarding your prediction of cataclysmicearthquakes in this side of your country,your fear of my life is certainlynatural . I was pet child of my father whomI lost in 1930, and since then nobody wastaking care of me as affectionate son. ButKrishna has sent me so many fathers totake care of me in a far distant place inUSA. So I am fortunate enough that youare all so anxious, but we must always dependon Krishna. Rest assured that thisnonsense idea of cataclysmic earthquakeswill never take place. And even if it takesplace, why should we be afraid of it? Assoon as there is sign of such earthquake,we shall sit down together and chant HareKrishna. So it will be a great opportunityof meeting death while chanting HareKrishna. If one dies on sound condition ofbody and mind chanting Hare Krishna, heis the most fortunate man. There is a proverbin which it is said, "My dear royalprince, please do not die.My dearBrahmachary, you die immediately. Mydear saintly person, you die or live it is allthe same. My dear butcher, you do not dieand do not live ." So we are neitherbutcher nor royal prince, some of us areBrahmacharies, and some of us are supposedto be saintly persons, so if theBrahmacharies die, he immediately goesto Vaikuntha, and if the saintly persondies, he is all the same-he is engagedhere in Krishna's work, and he will be engagedin Krishna's work there also. Sodon't bother about this earthquake business.Chant Hare Krishna peacefully anddo your duty nicely. Of course, if there issuch danger, I must take care like others .It is not good however unnecessarily riskmy life, but I think the predictions givenby so many astrologers are not very

NOVEMBER, 1968 601sound. I take your advice that as soon asthere are senes of minor tremors I mustleave for your shelter.Regarding propaganda against animalslaughter in BTG. Please do not print anypicture showing how a cow is being murderedin our BTG. This will pollute thewhole atmosphere. We are not meant formoving anyone's sentiment against animalslaughter, we are neither Buddhists orJains, whose main propaganda is againstanimal slaughter. Even the so-calledvegetarians who do not take KrishnaPrasadam are as much sinful as thenon-vegetarians. Our propaganda is different,to make people Krishna Conscious,which automatically makes themsympathetic against any kind of animalslaughter. According to Srimad Bhagavatam,one living entity subsists on the lifeof other living entities, either vegetarianor non-vegetarian. But we are neither ofthem. We are not vegetarian nor nonvegetarian.We are transcendental. We areconcerned with Krishna Prasadam . Try topopularize Krishna Prasadam as you havealready done. People will naturally becomevegetarian without any ghastlypropaganda. The pictures of a Mahajan orsimilar pictures for propagating theBhagvat conclusion should be our objective. Other pictures, there are so manysubject matters, just like we follow 4 principles,say for example, illicit sex life, wecan publish so many pictures of illicit sexlife, but that will not advance our cause.Similarly we may make propagandaagainst animal slaughter, but that will notadvance our real cause. KC is based onpure understanding, not by any sentimentalprovocation. People must be intelligentenough to catch up this KC movementwithout being carried away by any sentimentalwave . We should always rememberthat we do not belong to any group likethe karmies, jnanins, or yogis. We belongto pure devotional service group, followingthe footprints of great Mahajans. Ourpurpose should be that we are in one sideand all others they are on the other side.We deprecate everyone, even one who isagainst animal slaughter. In the ChaitanyaCharitamrita, it is clearly said that thereare two classes of activities. Pious and impious.We do not favor any one of them.Neither we favor any philosophical speculation,we simply stick to Krishna, andwish to render loving transcendental serviceunto Him. That should be our mainobjective, and the policy of BTG must bepursued on this line of action. I hope youwill understand me rightly. Everyone whois not a KC person is a butcher. Even theso-called pious man, who is not in KC , heis also a butcher. Because he is killing hisown self. So in our view, everyone isbutcher, and everyone is theif also, becausehe is enjoying Krishna's property.So how we can discriminate who is honestand dishonest and butcher and notbutcher? Our only test is how one is takingto KC : Even a so-called butcher comes wewelcome to chant Hare Krishna.Hoping you are well.Your ever well wisher,68-11-31 Los AngelesMy Dear Satsvarupa,18th November, 1968Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter dated Nov. 16,1968, and it is very encouraging thatDevananda is combatting with Mr. Jarvisrepresenting Maharishi Mahesh. Ye s, ineach and every such meeting you shouldgo and challenge these persons, but youmust be equipped very strongly with conclusionsof the Bhagavad Gita. In the BhagavadGita it is clearly said that the firstclass yogi is he who has in his heart alwaysthe eternal form of Krishna. I could notfollow what Devananda said to the Jerry

602Letters from Srrla PrabhupadaJarvis when he said that he was also worshippingKrishna. It is very good to arguewith him even at the suspension of meetings,and it is very good enthusiasm.Your question, "Is it to be understoodthat once the yogi sees the Narayan Form,his desires for travel and material perfectionscease? (as did the desires of DruvaMaharaj) Or do the yogis still persist indesiring to do wonders even after seeingNarayan Form? You say, in your essay, SuperConsciousness, that the topmost is tosee Narayan Form and take dictation. Inshort the question is, is it true that the yogiwho is travelling to planets and performingsiddhis-has never seen Narayana? "The example of Druva Maharaj , he was adevotee. The yogis are not devotees. Theyare more or less after some material perfection.But generally one who sees Narayana,he becomes a devotee. Andsometimes such devotee before enteringthe Supreme Abode of Krishna or Narayana,they want to see some of the wondersofthis material world. Just like I havecome to your country, and I have no interestfor sight seeing, but my main businessis preaching Krishna Consciousness, butstill, when I go to a new place, sometimesdevotees take me to some important sightseeing place. Similarly, a yogi after becominga devotee sometimes go to otherplanets also and Narayana fulfills suchmaterial desires. In other words, a devoteeeven if he wants to fulfill some materialdesires, he is given the chance by theLord, but a pure devotee in higher statusdoes not desire like that. They do not carefor any siddhis.I am glad to learn that Jadurany is feelinga little better and I hope you will takeproper care fore the girl . I understand thatGovinda dasi has recommended Jaduranyto take Iron pills and almost all the girlshere are taking them. It is compensatingthe deficiency due to their past habit ofmeat taking. This is a good recommendationand I hope Jadurany is trying tofollow it. Here it is understood thatNandarani, Shama dasi, and others, aswell as Govinda dasi are feeling betterfrom taking iron medicine .I hope also you have received my tapeand are doing the needful. Hope thismeets you in good health,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-32 Los Angeles19th November, 1968My Dear Dinesh and Krishna devi,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Nov. 17and 14, respectively, and I have noted thecontents carefully. I understand thatDinesh 's present job is very tedious andhampering, but because you are now afamily man, you must have some steadyincome. So unless you find out a betterjob, how can you give up the present one?We step forward when we understand thatthe forward step is on a sound basis, thenwe get on the rear step. Your record andfilm business is not yet started so there isno certain income . The scheme which youhave submitted is very nice and appears tobe very practical and sound, and you arealso very intelligent. Your idea is alsovery glorious. You want to serve Krishnawith all your energies and intelligence, soI have got all support and approval of thisscheme, but until you have got some income,how can I advise you to give upyour present job, especially when you area family man. Of course, if you find it toomuch tedious, then there is no other alternativebut to give up the job and depend onKrishna, and He will do the needful.Regarding Kallman: The contract is inNew York, there in a file, but this Mr.

NOVEMBER, 1968 603Kallman has failed to abide by the contract.He printed 10,000 copies of the record,but he did not pay a single cent. Althoughthe contract was that he would payme 15C per record. You can consult yourfather what is the position. I think Mr.Kallman has broken the terms of the contract,but Brahmananda told me that hehas taken a letter from Brahmanandaadjusting this account. Of course,Brahmananda had no power to adjust thisaccount without my sanction. So you caninquire from Brahmananda what is theposition. Otherwise, the contract is alreadybroken. So by joint consultationwith your father and Brahmananda youcan do the needful. I understand you arecoming here by the 23rd instant, and whenwe meet we shall discuss on this pointbroadly. But Mr. Kallman is very intriguing.But when he comes before me, hepresents himself as a great devotee. Sothis is the position. But he has not paid mea single cent, that is a fact.Hope you are all well, and I shall beexpecting to see you very soon,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-33 Los Angeles20th November, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of the 17th ofNov. , and I have noted the contents carefully.Yes, get the books from Japan assoon as possible, and I have also writtenthem one letter which you will find enclosedherewith. They have agreed to goldprint on the cover, that is all right. So get itas soon as possible. I think the binding isall right. So not delay, just try to get themas soon as possible.Regarding Uddhava, I am very gladthat he is going to marry Leelasuka. She isa very nice girl . I approve. They can waitand finish school as her mother desires.But they can become bethrothed, engaged,now.Find out whether Woomapati cantranslate Back To Godhead into Frenchlangauge. He knows French language. Orany other boy or girl who can help intranslating Back To Godhead into French.It is very nice that you shall speak onthis at the yoga group program. Subalshould read carefully that Hathayoga receivedin the Bhagavad Gita is very difficultin this age. Yoga system is approved,but nobody can follow the rules and regulationsstrictly, neither there is suitableplace for executing it, and everyone is alwaysfull of anxiety, so how they can concentrate?So best thing is to chant HareKrishna which is forced meditation. Inthis way make nice speech, and concludewith declaring that the topmost yogi is hewho surrenders to Krishna, and worshipsKrishna with all thoughts, activities, andintelligence.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Bali Mardan,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your nice letter and I havethe noted the contents with great care.Yes, it is a very good opportunity forspreading our KC movement. We requireunlimited money for constructing NewV rindaban and other schemes in KC . So ifit is possible to get some money from yourfather's business and employ it in KC , itwill be glorious both for your father andyour self. It is a very good opportunitythat he has supplied you car and does notobject to KC . So gradually turn your fatherto KC . Not immediately, but gradually.In the meantime you can serve yourfather working at his business and live likean aristocratic American gentleman, use

604 Letters from Srila Prabhuptidahis car, chant Hare Krishna, and live withthe devotees at the temple. Anyway, yourtemple attendance must continue. So if itis possible that you shall live with the boysat the temple, then that is very good diea,and work also with your father. Pleasekeep me informed how you are arrangingfor this matter, as I will be anxious to hear.Hoping you are well, Your ever wellwisherACB68-11-34 Los AngelesMy Dear Madhusudan,20th November, 1968Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter of Nov. 16,1968, and have noted the contents carefully.Your sentiment is very much appreciatedby me, and your service attitude isvery nice. It is very good that you arehelping to put our our magazine Back ToGodhead, and whenever I see the newmagazine mailed to me each month, I amso pleased to go through its contents andsee all the nice work you have done, andyou are always in my thoughts as I readthrough it, as well as Rayrama, and allyour other co-workers. To make thismagazine a great success is very very importantto the mission. And you alongwith your co-workers are doing it verynicely. And Krishna will bless you, pleasecontinue to do it.Regarding your questions, "I read in abook sent from India that SrilaBhaktivinode Thakur was sent directly byLord Sri Chaitanya from the spiritual sky.I am not sure if the book was bonafide. Isthe above true? Someone, a God-brotherbrought up that he heard that SrilaBhaktivinode was at one time an impersonalist.Was he ever? '' Ye s, what youhave heard is all right. Just like Arjuna isconstant companion of Krishna, as it isconfirmed in the 4th chapter, Krishna saysthat both Arjuna and He apeared manytimes on this world, but he had forgottenhis past appearance and Krishna did not.Krishna is like the sun, and maya is justlike darkness. Where Krishna is presentthere cannot be any darkness of maya. Soas Arjuna although always in the presenceof Krishna as eternal companion infriendship, still he had some illusion inthe battlefield of Kurukshetra, andKrishna had to disipate that darkness bythe teachings of Bhagavad Gita. The purportis, sometimes even a liberated personlike Arjuna plays the part of a conditionedsoul in order to play some important part.Similarly, Bhaktivinode Thakur forsometimes was associating with the impersonalists.And then he exhibited himselfin his true color as pure devotee,exactly in the same way as Arjuna exhibitedin the beginning as a conditionedsoul, and then as a liberated soul. So thereis nothing to be misunderstood in this connection.Krishna and His devotees sometimesplay like that, as much as LordBuddha although an incarnation ofKrishna, preached the philosophy of voidism.These things are conducted in termsof place, audience, time, etc . In theChaitanya Charitamrita it is said that theactivities of the Vaishnava cannot be understoodeven by the greatest scholar. Sowe have to understand everything throughthe transparent via media of the SpiritualMaster. So there is no doubt about it thatSrila Bhaktivinode Thakur is eternal energyof Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.And whatever he did, was justto suit the time, place, circumstances, andetc . Thereis no contradiction in his activities.Yes, also, what you have learnedabout Sukadev is correct. He stayed in thewomb of his mother for 16 years becausehe was fixed on the Brahman conception,and then on hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam,he became realized and decided to

NOVEMBER, 1968 605come out and be active in the service ofthe Lord, to enjoy blissful varieties.Ye s, it is good that your parents cometo the temple, and you engage them howeveryou can in Krishna's service. Hopeyou are well .Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-35 Los AngelesMy Dear Patit Uddharan,20th November, 1968Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your nice letter of Nov.17, and I have noted the contents withcare. Ye s, I have noted that you would liketo go to the New York center for sometime. If you think that program is nicethen I have no objection to your goingthere and living with the devotees in thetemple there . Ye s, try to convince yourbrothers gradually to come to the templeand take up this Krishna Consciousness.It will be a great service.Please keep me informed of yourjourney, and when you arrive at theNew Yo rk temple, write to me and let meknow how you are doing there nicely.You can arrange for staying there withBrahmananda and he will take care ofyou . Hope this meets you in good health ,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP.S. The enclosed note was sent to me by error,so you can hand it over to Harer Namaand he will do the needful , as it is urgent,and has to be done before the 29th of Nov.68-11-36 Los AngelesMy Dear Joy Fulcher,21st November, 1968Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your nice letterwith some poems, as well as a nice pictureof Radha and Krishna, by separate mail.Unfortunately, in transit the glass is brokeninto pieces, but still I have kept yourpicture in my working room, and everyonepraises your artistic sense. It is verynice. I am very glad to learn also that youare attempting to paint similar pictures inlarger size, that is very good idea. Youhave got some poetic sense also, and allthese talents, the artistic sense and poeticsense, can be engaged in the service ofKrishna. All devotees are more or less poets. Out of 26 qualifications of a perfectdevotee , one is poetic sense. So we canwrite so many poetries in praise of theLord, or about His pastimes. Similarly wecan draw so many nice pictures about Hisdiffe rent activities, and such engagementswill give us chance to elevate ourself tothe perfectional platform of spiritual understanding.By Grace of Krishna I am keeping wellnowadays, but Govinda dasi is not keepingvery well. As she has to go to Nandarani's house and again come, so it is alittle troublesome so she is a little sick.But by Grace of Krishna everything willbe all right. Please offer my blessingsto all the devotees there, especiallyHarsharani, who I understand is cookingvery nicely for the love feast. She is a nicedecorator of the Deity and a nice cookalso for preparing Krishna Prasadam.Hope you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-37My Dear Gurudas ,Los Angeles22nd November, 1968Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of Nov. 14,1968, and have noted the contents carefully.And I thank you very much fo r your

606 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiidagood reports from London yatra. It is allvery much encouraging to me. Ye s, I havereceived a letter from Mr. Dindayal, and Ihave replied it as follows:"My Dear Sriman Petambar Dindayal,Please accept my hearty greetings andblessings of Lord Krishna. I am verymuch encouraged to receive your invitationand I shall consider it a great opportunitywhen you actually arrange to receiveme at your place. When I was in India Iheard there that many Indians, speciallyHindus, are residing in that part of theworld, (South America), even for generations,and they require spiritual guidanceby their original Vedic culture. I believeyou have read Bhagavad Gita very welland you may remember that in the 15thChapter it is said that the Lord in His Incarnationas Krishna Daipayana Vyasacompiled the Vedas. The objective of theVedas is to know Krishna and the BhagavadGita is the essence of all Vedic instructions.Lord Chaitanya made it still easier byintroducing the Holy Name of Krishnaand it has now become so easy that the cultof Vedic knowledge can be preached allover the world without any difficulty. Asevidence of this statement, you may knowfrom me that the Hare Krishna movementis spreading like wild fire all overAmerica, Canada, England and Germany.If you kindly join this movementand help this inundation overflood SouthAmerica, it will be a great service to theLord. I am very glad to receive your letterand I accept your invitation. Now you canarrange for it and in the meantime I amsending herewith some papers in this connection,which you may please gothrough."I sent this letter on Nov. 6, but still Ihave not got any reply from him, so youcan open correspondence with him. Iknow you are all trying your best there,and Krishna will help you. Even thereisno temple, still your service to Krishna isrecognized, temple or no temple-wehave to do our work. Hope you are allwell,Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-38 Los Angeles22nd November, 1968My Dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedNov. 20, 1968, and previous to this letter Ireceived another letter from you, datedNov. 7, and instead of replying you directlyI have said the following words in aletters addressed to Brahmananda datedon Nov. 12, and Nov. 16, that "If he feelstoo much inconvenience at the care of hisfather, he may come back to you and helpyou in New York." I was very much perturbedwhen I received your letter of Nov.7, 1968, and I prayed to Krishna that Hemay put His merciful glance upon you. Soby Krishna's Grace, I learned from TarnalKrishna that your father has already givenyou a nice apartment. So it is a sort of tugof-warbetween your material father andspiritual father. And you are the rope inbetween. So in the first test I think I havecome out successful. But this is a sporting.I have already told you that your fatherand mother are very good souls. Theymight be under the illusion of maya butstill I must say that they are good souls,otherwise they could not have producedsuch nice children like Brahmananda andGargamuni. We are trying to educate ourdisciples to produce Krishna Consciouschildren, but your father and mother,without being Krishna Conscious, haveproduced such nice Krishna Consciousboys, so I am very much obliged to them.The facilities which your father is giving

NOVEMBER, 1968 607you is going to his credit in Krishna Consciousness.The more he gives you facility,the more his balance in KrishnaConsciousness. He does not know howhis Krishna Consciousness balance is increasing,but one day will come when youwill see that actually your father is a goodsoul. So you try to win the love and affectionof your father some way or other. Yo uare very intelligent boy and Krishna willalso give you extra intelligence how todeal with your father. But you must treatyour father as respectful as myself; even ifyou are sometimes ill-treated, you shouldtolerate . You should follow the example ofPrahlad Maharaj . His father continuallytortured him in so many ways, but henever protested against his father, but henever agreed with the opinion of his father.That should be your policy also, thatyou will never agree to your father's demoniacprinciples, but still you will try toserve him as faithfully as a nice obedientson. I am sure your father will be responsiveand gradually our mission may besuccessful. I am always praying toKrishna to protect you because I knowpurposefully I have sent you in a fiery conditionof maya. But our philosophy is different.We do not hate maya because weknow maya is also a faithful agent ofKrishna, but her task is very thankless.Our mission is to dovetail everything inthe service of Krishna because everythingbelongs to Krishna. Your father or anyother businessman may think it improperlythat the business belongs to him, andhe is entitled to enjoy the profit, but wethink everything belongs to Krishna, andKrishna is entitled to enjoy the property.That is the version of Bhagavad Gita.When the Lord says, I am the SupremeEnjoyer of all the results of sacrifices,austerities, fruitive actions, etc . Peopletry to be a renouncer of this materialworld, but we do not see the materialworld in that angle of vision. We seeeverything is the product of Krishna'senergy and how everything can be dovetailedfor serving the purpose of Krishna.Please try to follow this principleand always remember the vivid exampleof Arjuna, how he utilized his specialtalent in the matter of warfare to serveKrishna so lovingly. He sacrificed all hisgood sentiments for his kinsmen, but heaccepted the order of Krishna and thus hecame out victorious in the fight. We aretherefore neither renouncer nor enjoyer,we are simply servitor of Krishna. Pleasefollow this principle and you will be neverdisturbed in any frightened condition offeredby the maya.I am glad also to learn that your fatherhas also increased your salary to $100.00per week. Chant Hare Krishna regularlyand see the pictures of Lord Chaitanya andKrishna and you will be happy. Thankingyou once more,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-39 Los Angeles22nd November, 1968My dear Satswarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of Nov. 20, 68along with the 1st tape of this term. The2nd tape is already sent to you and the 3rdtape is enclosed herewith please find.When typing, please mention the tape No.I hope to send you new tapes regularly & Ihope you will do the needful.I understand that the 3rd Canto full and4th Canto up to date are with you . Pleasekeep them with you & let me know whenthey are ready. Most probably we shallstart our own press very soon. And assoon as the press is started we shall immediatelybegin printing of Bhagawatam &other books.

608 Letters from Srila PrabhupadaPlease let me know if Devananda hasany binding experience. Whether he canteach some boys here to bind nicely. UnlessI am certain that everything in allpress department will be done by ourselvesI am not inclined to start the press. Ihave duly received the copies of prospectl:lssent by you.Thanking you once more, Your everwell wisherA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-40 Los AngelesMy Dear Nayana Bhiram,23rd November, 1968Please accept my blessings . Regardingyour article in Back To Godhead aboutAyurvedic Medicine, I do not think this isvery worthwhile endeavor. You haveshown nice ability for writing so it will bemore appreciated if you continue to studySrimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gitaand express the same by your assimilation.We have enough Krishna Consciousnessmatters to discuss so there is no needof wasting time with such topics as AyurvedicMedicine .Hope this finds you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-41 Los Angeles23rd November, 1968My Dear Devananda,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter of Nov. 18, and Ihave noted the contents with great satisfaction.It is very much encouraging tome.I can understand from your letter thatyou are working nicely for the spreading ofLord Chaitanya's mission. Just keep thisyour attitude of sincere service and withouta doubt Krishna will give you all intelligenceto serve Him nicely. Krishna is notungrateful but rather He sees all our effortsand appreciates our sincere service.Krishna is interested in how we engage ourenergies in His service. We are very small,very insignificant, so what can we do?Simply He wants to see that we are engagingour time and energy in His service.And you always remember to abide by thelaws of Krishna as described by His bonafideRepresentative, and the passage of goingback to Godhead is assured. This isKrishna's Mercy. But pure devotees do noteven want to go to Krishna's abode. Simplyour prayer should be, My dear Krishna,please remind me to always chant YourHoly Name, please do not put me into forgetfulness.You are sitting within me asSupersoul, so you can put me into forgetfulnessor into remembering You. Soplease do not put me into forgetfulness.Please always remind me to chant, evenYou send me into the hell, it doesn't matter,just so long as I can always chant HareKrishna. Lord Chaitanya and Nityanandaare singing one very nice song in whichthey are requesting everyone to pleasechant Hare Krishna, and come along withThem. So that is our request to everyone .Regarding the prayer from "SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu", yes it is verynice, and approved by me .Hope you are all well there, and offermy blessings to Satsvarupa and Jadurany,Rukmini, Saradia, and all others.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-42Los Angeles23rd November, 1968My Dear Malati,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your nice letter of Nov.15, 1968, and I have noted the contents

NOVEMBER, 1968 609with great satisfaction. Your humble sentimentsare very nice exposed herein, andyour sincere desire to serve the Lord is thereal perfection of life.You have asked if I found it difficult tocarry on devotional service when in myhousehold life, and yes, I did. In myhousehold life I was strictly following theregulative principles but my wife was reluctantto assist me properly. Therefore Iwas obliged to give up their company. Youtry to take care of Lord Jagganath as far aspossible after doing your household duties,but you should be strict only in completingthe 16 rounds of chanting. Thatwill save you from all discrepancies. As ahouseholder even there is some flaws infollowing the rules and regulations, itdoesn't matter. You should try your bestand with Krishna's help-Krishna willhelp you. If you keep your heart in that attitude,that you want to become a pure andsincere devotee, you must be a sinceredevotee. And Krishna will help you . Youhave to keep your heart in that way, that isyour business. I hope you are well, withyour child.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami[TEXT MISSING]and I thank you very much for it. You saythat you met the wife of Ravi Shankar, soif you meet again you can speak to her inthis way ; Shri Ravi Shankarji is a world famousmusician, and Lord Chaitanyawanted to preach His mission of love ofGod through music and dancing. Peoplegenerally welcome dancing and musicvery much. So he being an authority in theart of dancing and music, why not distributethis science of dance and musicthrough the principles of Lord Chaitanya .Then a great benediction will be bestowedon the human society by utilizing the art ofmusic and dance for spiritualization of thewhole world. So if he cooperates withSwamiji then we can make a combined effortfor this great service to the humanity.That is our request.At the present moment, Ravi Shankarjimay be getting huge amount of remunerationin exchange for his nice musical art,but that will be finished with the end ofthis body. Many men come here and bytheir talents, earn huge amounts ofmoney, but it remains here, and he goesalone with his works only to accept anotherdifferent kind of body, forgetting everythingbehind . But if he acquires somespiritual assets it goes with him, and evenit is not perfect in this life, it begins againfrom that point in next life. So we wishthat Shri Ravi Shankarji may understandthis spiritual technology, and utilize histalent for benefit of the human society. Weare interested for the highest benefit of thehuman society. We are interested for thehighest benediction of the human society,otherwise we do not expect anything fromanyone in monetary consideration. Simplythat these influential men come alongand chant with us .Regarding arati : There is no need toworry that you do not have sufficient timeto do it many times daily, etc., simply dowhat you have got time for doing, that issufficient.Our lives are devoted toKrishna's service, and you are performingkirtana so it is the same thing. So do ithowever you can schedule it. ACB68-1 1-43 Los Angeles23rd November, 1968My Dear John Darsinos ,Please accept my blessings . I have readyour letter (undated) and am very pleasedthat you are appreciating this movementof Krishna Consciousness. Please continuethis attitude of appreciation for

610 Letters from Srfla PrabhuptidaKrishna's mercy and your life will be successfulwith no doubt.In answer to your question about theimportance of initiation, it is to be understoodthat initiation means that power iscoming from the Supreme by the bonafidedisciplic succession. This is required. Ofcourse, for anyone to hear the message ofSrimad Bhagwatam will produce a favorableresult but formally one should receivethis knowledge from the disciplicsuccession. For example, Arjun andKrishna were friends but still Arjuna submittedhimself formally as Krishna's disciple.This is essential. We should takeexample from these great Personalities.Arjuna was hearing Krishna speakingBhagavad Gita but still he submitted asKrishna's disciple. Now I submit untoYou, please teach me." So this is the process.I hope this will clear up your questionsufficiently.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-44 Los Angeles23rd November, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated November19, and have noted the contents. I am verymuch pleased by your renewed and seriousefforts to help me in my service to myGuru Maharaj . Please continue in this attitudeand Krishna will save you, you needhave no doubt.Regarding your question as to obtain ahouse or a storefront for holding kirtans, Ithink that you may use your own good discretionas to which will be most effectivein popularizing Krishna Consciousness inOhio.Now that you will be coming to visitme soon, we shall discuss your plans ofmarriage. I think this is a good idea andyou will require a wife who is an experttypist to be your secretary. Such a wifewith good typing ability will be a great assetin your writing activities. So when youarrive we can discuss this further.Hope this finds you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Please try to finish up 1st and 2nd Cantosof Bhagavatam as soon as possible.68-11-45 Los Angeles24th November, 1968My Dear Shyamsundar,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of November20th and it has given me great satisfactionto see how the London center is progressingnicely. All six of my disciples which Ihave sent to London are very sincere servantsof Krishna and you simply rememberto continue in this way and youractivities will continue to bring niceresults. When we remember always tohave unflincing faith in the spiritual masterand the message of Krishna then automaticallywe become free from theattacking Maya. In the material conceptalso everyone is trying to avoid the onslaughtsof Maya but with no success. Tothe sincere devotee, however, this oceanof maya is easily crossed by the coolbreeze of Krishna's Grace. So this is ourbusiness, to submit to Krishna's desire tohave us back with Him in the eternal skyof Krishna l..oka. And when we are determinedin this way we become transcendentalto the so-called hardships of placeand circumstance.I am pleased to learn that you are singingthe Chintomoni prayers of BrahmaSamhita. This Brahma Samhita containsthe highest of all spiritual knowledge. Inlecturing too if we sing a verse from

NOVEMBER, 1968 611Brahma Samhita and then nicely explainthe meaning it will be very much appreciated.Just as Krishna is the All-Attractiveprinciple so, similarly, these Krishna kathasof the Brahma Samhita are All­Attractive and will gain favorableattention from listeners.Also your description of progress inkirtan performance with Gurudas playingsitar and Mukunda playing khols is encouraging.Practically we see that as wesincerely try to improve our chanting forthe pleasure of Krishna, Krishna reciprocatesand we feel our greatest pleasurewhich is devotional service to the Lord .So, you may continue with this method, itis very nice and approved by me.I have enclosed the letter to Mr. S. S.Dhawan which you have requested.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. The names you have suggested asfloating members, are welcome.68-11-46 Los Angeles24th November, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessing to yourselfand your good wife, Himavati. I have readwith pleasure your letter of November18th and have noted the contents carefully.You describe that you are seeing moreand more how Krishna is your friend andthis is very nice. The more one understandsthat Krishna is my friend and myduty is to serve my Dearest Friend, themore one can know that his is advancingin Krishna Consciousness.Regarding your question about Supersoul,we take it from Bhagavad Gita philosophythat the distinction betweenSupersoul and individual jiva soul mustalways be there. The Supersoul never willfall under the clutches of this illusorymaya and the jiva soul has this tendency.So there is distinction, yet, the two, Supersouland jiva soul are also the same asmuch as the sunlight and the Sun arequalitatively the same. So this isKrishna's message that we are simultaneouslyone and different from Krishna.When the jiva soul accepts the dictates ofthe Supreme consciousness Supersoul,his activities will no longer be for the sakeof personal sense gratification but will beonly for the purpose of gratifying thesenses of Krishna. This attitude of serviceis the perfection of the living entity.Please continue to try for the printingof Back To Godhead French addition. Wework so that men of all languages and culturesmay join us in chanting HareKrishna and for this we need so many literaturesin so many different languages.So please try for this. As you are His sincereservitor Krishna will provide youwith the intelligence to do this nicely.Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-47 Los Angeles24th November, 1968My Dear Hayagriva,Please accept my blessings. Just yesterdayI received your tape. I could nothowever play it immediately because thetape recorder that Govinda Dasi haswasn't big enough to hold the tape. Sothis morning I got Dayananda's largertape recorder and heard with great enjoymentyour speech and kirtan. Myself,Purushottam, Kartikeya and GovindaDasi joined with your kirtan clapping andwe enjoyed transcendental bliss. Thankyou very much for your endeavor and allblessings of Thakur Bhaktivinode andBhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati will be bestowedupon you because you are trying to

612 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidapush on their life long mission. ThakurBhaktivinoda, in the year of my birth,first attempted to introduce these missionaryactivities in McGill University and thesame attempt is being renovated by yourcombined efforts. I am sure that LordChaitanya and His eternal Associates ,Bhaktivinode Thakur and BhaktisiddhantaSarisvati, will be pleased to bestowtheir mercy upon you . Please try to continuethis attempt and I am sure you shallbe successful. I shall keep this tape for afew days more and then return it to you. Ihope you have received my previous letters.Your ever well wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-48 Los Angeles25th November, 1968My Dear Krishna das,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of Nov. 14,1968, and I have noted the contents withgreat satisfaction. It is all very much encouragingto me. Your humble attitude ofservice is noteworthy, and this will helpyou more and more in advancing yourKrishna Consciousness.I am so much pleased to note the addressof our new ISKCON RADHAKRISHNA TEMPLE in Hamburg, Germany.Krishna is giving you all facilitiesfor spreading Krishna Consciousnessthere-good storefront, and good job, andplenty of financial support-so it is verymuch encouraging to me! It sounds ongood street, if train runs down that street,so many people must come there . Withsuch good location it will soon be verysuccessful. And you have very good enthusiasmthat you shall make it the mostattractive storefront in all Germany, or inthe whole universe. Ye s, do it nicely.So far Shyamsundar is concerned, ifthey come, I have no objection. You arrangewith them by correspondence, andif they agree to come that is very nice. Ithink they will agree. So you can makecorrespondence with Malati and Shyamsundar.I understand you are going to apply forlegal recognition of Krishna Consciousnessas a bonafide religious organization,and try to obtain a tax franchise also. Theyhave done this in London also, using thesame preamble has been registered as wehave done in New Yo rk, so you can do thesame in Hamburg. And I am sending twoseparate letters, one to the Mayor of Hamburg,and the other to the chief of the policeat Hamburg, as drafted byShivananda Brahmachary.I am very glad to learn that you areendeavoring to make Hamburg as ourcentral place for European activities. AlthoughLondon was formerly very importantplace in Europe, I think at present it isnot so. So if we try to centralize our Europeanactivities in Hamburg, it will be verynice. I am asking also Achyutananda andJayagovinda to come and join with you immediately,and if Shyamsundar alsocomes, you can all learn German languagevery nicely with the help of Shyamsundarand Uttama Sloka, and preachvigorously this Krishna Consciousnessmovement in Germany. Our BhagavadGita as it is, is now published, and I havegot copies of it here. It will sell verynicely, and it is very attractive . So you canask Brahmananda to send you copies. Ifyou want mridanga and harmonium, youcan immediately order directly fromMssrs . Dwarkin and Son, and refer to oursociety's name, and they will allow 20%discount . Their address is as follows:Dwarkin & Son Private Ltd.; 812 EsplanadeEast; Calcutta- 1, INDIA. Ithink youcan order Dulcetina, model number30501 . This is very nice, and I am usingthis kind personally. And it is very handy

NOVEMBER, 1968 613also.So far Uttama Sloka's draft situation,by the time needed I shall give him certificatefor being minister of religion student,as I have given to Kartikeya. And I thinkwhen a boy is under religious ministerialorder he can be saved. Please inquireabout it, and if required, I shall immediatelyissue him certificate. I am recognizedordained minister of religion, andour society is religious society incorporated,and we are teaching our students topreach religion and theological concept oflife.So, Krishna is so kind that He is givingyou all financial facilities also to start theHamburg center as perfectly as possible.And I shall await your invitation withgreat interest. And I hope this meets youall in good health.Your ever well-wisher,cultivate this talent and I know you will begiven all intelligence to do this.Regarding the prayers of NarotammadasThakur, you will be pleased to knowthat we have taped these prayers and thistape shall be reproduced by Danesh for allof the centers along with others and also tobe sent out is the transliteration and translationof these prayers. So I think you maywait for these. It is nice that you are tryingfor recipes of Krishna Prasadam to beprinted in local newspapers and if you canalso have them run some of our articlesfrom Back To Godhead this also shall bevery beneficial .Hope this finds you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-50 Los Angeles26th November, 196868-11-49My Dear Upendra,Los Angeles26th November, 1968Please accept my blessings . I have receivedyour letter of Nov. 22 and havenoted the contents.I think that the troubles you describe inyour letter are due simply to misunderstanding.Do not worry because next weekGarry shall return to you and Krishna willcertainly help you in your endeavors.Jivananda shall remain with the SamkirtanParty and similarly Harsharani shallstay with him in Los Angeles.We must always remember that theleader in charge of a temple must learn tosuccessfully deal with the other personsthere. No one is working as a paid servantso if the dealings are not friendly everyonewill decide to leave . The leader of thetemple must try always to be sober andtolerant and at the same time manage everythingnicely. Please continue to try andMy Dear Hrishakesha,Please accept my blessings . I have readwith pleasure your recent letter (undated) .From it I can understand that you areadvancing very nicely in Krishna Consciousness.You are correct in your estimationthat all activities, even so-calledfrustrations, become a great joy when isworking for Krishna. This is the clue tosuccessful work which is revealed in BhagavadGita, that we should concern ourselvesonly with giving everything toKrishna and all the frustrations of sinfulreactions will be no more. The reasonmen are suffering and frustrated is becausethey are accepting the sinful reactionsfrom their sinful activities, so inKrishna Consciousness we are free fromall such botheration because we have donatedall of our fruits and reactions to theservice of the Lord . When we keep our associationwith Krishna every activity isproper and liberating but if we should dissociateourselves from the Lord's Mercy

614 Letters from Sri/a Prabhuptidathen like a hand which is severed from thebody we become ugly and useless. Pleasecontinue your efforts to improve NewVrindaban along with your god-brothersthere and no doubt Krishna will help youto make further progress in perfectingyour life in Krishna Consciousness.Regarding the Christmas Day mealwith your family, I do not think you shouldpartake of the food prepared by nondevotees.Better you should prepare yourown foodstuffs and offer to Krishna andthen, if you like, you may offer these remnantsto Lord Jesus. I think that Lord Jesuswill also appreciate this. Of course youmay sit down with your family and takefruits and milk which they offer but ratherthan taking the foods which they have prepared,you may prepare and offer yourown prasadam for Lord Krishna, and thenoffer the same to Lord Jesus.So far as your studying the art of blacksmithgoes, I do not see the necessity.Better is that you should develop your carpentryskills as this will prove a morevaluable skill in the development of NewVrindaban.Hope this letter finds you in goodhealth.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swamibooks in the Spanish language will be atremendous service to our Krishna Consciousmovement. It is most encouragingnews that you have begun this activity andby all means continue with it. If you willcomplete the first three volumes by June,1969, as you have proposed, it shall be amost welcome asset for propagation ofour society. Also, your carving and paintingLord J agganath deities is very nice, weshall require such deities in all of our temples.Regarding your opening a center inMexico, I think that if some otherbrahmacharinies are available to go alongwith you that there will be no objection tothis idea. However, where shall thesebrahmacharinies come from? For the timebeing, I think you may concentrate uponimproving the temple already establishedin San Francisco as you have describedthat this temple is already short-handed .So kindly continue to work sincerely indeveloping your Krishna Consciousnessand please keep me informed as to theprogress of your translating work.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-52 Los Angeles26th November, 196868-11-51 Los AngelesMy Dear Chandrabali,26th November, 1968Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of November 23and have noted the contents carefully.Your plan of translating the three volumesof Srimad Bhagwatam is a great encouragementto me . We require that menof all tongues may know of the great messageof Krishna and your rendering ourMy Dear Kirtananda,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of November 20th andhave noted the contents carefully. Also Ihave seen the newsletter of November20th regarding the progress of our centersin New Vrindaban and Columbus. Boththese centers are progressing nicely and Ihave no doubt that under your able directionthe New Vrindaban will become amost prosperous endeavor in spreadingKrishna Consciousness and attracting the

NOVEMBER, 1968 615attention of many new people. There is noneed for discouragement because you areworking sincerely and according toKrishna's plan your activities prove to beof great use in propagating our movement.So far as your life insurance policy isconcerned, I do not think that you needsign this over to your father. The father'sduty is to maintain the son so there is nonecessity of you giving up this money toyour father. You are serving the greatestFather and therefore all other fathers areautomatically served. This money will beof greater profit if you keep it to furtherdevelope New Vrindaban. Regarding thesix year old cow, it is too old and I do notadvise you to purchase. Please thankRandy for the gift which he has sent alongwith your letter.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-53 Los Angeles27th November, 1968My Dear Gopal Krishna,Please accept my blessings. ______ great satisfactionyour letter of November 20th along withyour very kind gift of one pull-oversweater. This gift is very much appreciatedby me as the weather in Los Angelesis little bit cold lately and I had need of justsuch a sweater. Also please thank Satyabhamafor her good taste of selection. Iam pleased to learn how you are spendingyour time in meditation with LordKrishna and I request that continue tochant Hare Krishna so that Krishna willsurely bestow all blessings upon yourself.Once again I thank you for your goodsentiments and thoughtfulness. I hopethat you are well and shall continue to advancein your service to Lord Krishna.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP.S. Please try to improve the condition ofthe temple in cooperation with the membersthere. ACB68-11-54 Los Angeles28th November, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of Nov. 28, 1968, and Ihave noted the contents carefully. I thankyou for your kind sentiments for me, it isvery nice.So far Janardan is concerned, I amanxiously awaiting to hear somethingfrom him. I consider him as one ofthe pillarsof our society, so please request himto write to me and to inform me of the activeinterest he is taking in our society. Heis very sincere thoughtful member andplus he is good speaker, so with thesequalifications he can render most valuableservice to Krishna Consciousness. Soplease ask him to be kind upon me andhelp in the venture of translating our variousbooks and magazines. When Janardangoes to France, if he is willing to takecharge of printing Back To GodheadFrench edition in France, rather thenCanada, it will be very nice. Also inFrance he may open one center and manyof my students may come to help him. InEurope I require 3 centers, one in London,one in Paris, and one in Hamburg.In New Yo rk, Advaita and Uddhava arepreparing to start press to print our booksand magazines, so in this endeavor theywill require more manpower. I think thatVaikunthanath is suitable in this connectionso he may make arrangements tocome to New York to work in bookbinderyestablishment and also take classes in

616 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadabookbinding to be paid for by Advaita andUddhava. The money he earns for his laborshall be utilized fo r our new press program.Regarding the "Inside Iskcon" journal, if it is not very troublesome the idea isall right. Since you describe a necessityfor warmer shoes, leather may be utilizedand their is no harm.So far as it goes in Los Angeles, everythingis going very nicely with theSamkirtan Party and soon we are expectedto have a new temple location.Hope that you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiShe is presently here in Los Angeles,along with one of her sons, Birbhadra dasBrahmachary, and her other son, Girishdas , is in San Francisco under care of Anniruddhadas Brahmachary.Thank you once more for your letter,and I shall be looking forward to your visitsafter December 13th, and shall be veryhappy to see you . Please keep me in formed of your activities there, and I hopeyou are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-11-56Los Angeles30th November, 196868-11-55 Los AngelesMy Dear Hayagriva,30th November, 1968Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter of Nov. 24,1968, and I have noted the contents carefully.I am very much pleased to hear ofyour good reports of OSU Yoga Societyitis very much encouraging to me . I havealso appreciated your tape, and I shall returnit to you in due time. I have only one .Regarding the press you are thinking topurchase, yes it appears to be a very goodopportunity. It may be that in the future weshall also purchase one offset press, but inany case, this is a good opportunity forbuying this sort of press, so I think youshould purchase it.So far your marriage idea, I think youshould marry, and all questions concerningthis we shall discuss when you comehere to visit me on the 13th of December.It will be very nice that you shall visit herefor your vacation, and I shall be veryhappy to talk with you again.Regarding the boys, I shall ask theirmother, Sheelavati, to open correspondencewith you , and you write to her also.My Dear Himavati,Please accept my blessings . Ye sterdaymy deities were dressed with the clothingyou made and it appears so nice. I do notknow whether you have time to makesimilarly a few other sets . It will be verynice. I know that you are the most expertin making dresses than all others sotherefore I request you that you maymake at least two or three sets of dressesas you have already made.I hope that everything is well with you .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of the check for $321Canadian dollars and I thank you verymuch for it. Just now I am going to sendcredit to Dai Nippon in Japan for $6,000so I require some money for the bookfund.You are thinking of accepting a job butyou are already in the job of Krishna, sofo r the maintenance of Krishna's templeyou can contemplate as Krishna desires.But I will suggest, why do you not start

NOVEMBER, 1968 617the prasad program? It was in our contemplationfor a longtime and you andyour wife are expert cooks. There's amplespace in our temple. Why not organizethe prasad program. That will beboth spiritual propaganda and monetarygain also.Besides that I'll suggest instead of acceptingjob outside, why not try to sell ourbooks? Bhagavad Gita is already published.If you want to sell, immediatelyask Brahmananda to send you as manycopies as you can sell and there also is asource of income.Next month we are getting Teachingsof Lord Chaitanya. Dyal Nitai knows howto sell books, so both Dyal Nitai, yourselfand the others, if you attempt to sell ourbooks that will be the most glorious job.Plus if you can distribute prasad[PAGE MISSING]68-11-57Los Angeles30th November, 1968My Dear Kirtanananda,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your letter of Nov. 7,1968, and I have duly noted the contentswith great satisfaction. It is very goodnews that so many students are attendingyour kirtan programs in Columbus, and Ithink this will develop into a very prosperouscenter very soon.So far your question whether youshould stay at New Vrindaban, or helpHayagriva at Columbus, the best thing isto consult with Hayagriva, and workjointly. And do whatever needs to bedone. That is the best program.I think by Krishna's Grace everythingis improving nicely with the New Vrindabanidea, and please continue to makeyour program in this way.I hope you are all well there, and conveymy blessings to Ranadhir, Hrishikesh,and Pradyumna and any others; there alsoI think Mahavishnu das and Rama devi arealso, and please convey my blessings tothem along with their little son, Haridas. Ivery much appreciated also the nicecartoon-advertisements for your OSUYoga society, and I think Ranadhir musthave done them so nicely. Please thankhim and encourage him to do much moresuch nice artistic work.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP.S. Please offer my blessings to Dr. Henderson.He is our old friend and let us jointogether to spread K.C. all over the world.ACB

DECEMBER68- 12-1Los AngelesI st December, 1968My Dear Gurudas,Please accept my blessings to yourselfand to your good wife Yumuna Devi. Withthe greatest satisfaction I have read yourletter of November 25th and just yesterdayI received our published pictures ofPrahlad Maharaj . I thank you very muchfor your sincere endeavors and I am surethat Krishna will bestow upon you allblessings for your notable service attitude.This is the key to progressing inKrishna Consciousness that one learns toserve Krishna and the Spiritual Master inhumble attitude and this attitude in youshall certainly bring you fu rther and furtherin perfecting your life. In humblesubmission the devottee finds such sweettranscendental pleasure that no more he isinterested in the nonsense material worldand no more he is affected by the influenceof the inferior energy, the maya.Your idea of arranging meeting with allof the influential people who are interestedin your activities is excellent suggestionand may prove very good results. Socertainly Krishna is guiding you in yourthoughts and activities. This is very nice.and all very encouraging to me. As youmay have heard, our Bhagavad Gita As ItIs is now published and can be orderedfrom the New Yo rk temple by writing toBrahmananda. Please try to popularizethis book throughout England as much aspossible. Because if these books are read .there is no doubt that many sincere soulsshall be attracted and will join you in yourwork tor Krishna. So please try for sellingthese books, it shall be considered as thegreatest service.Yo u have requested of me to write oneletter for opening the "board meeting" sowhen the meeting is arranged definately Iwill send the same. So far as the dictionariesgo, the Niruktih is the better of thetwo. I think that you may send me fewmore of the published Prahlad Maharajprints so that other temples may be inspiredand also may try to republish themin some American papers.Once again I thank you for your nicelabors and hope that you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-2Los AngelesI st December, 1968My Dear Jayapataka,Please accept my blessings. Withmuch satisfaction I have read your letter ofNovember 24, 1968 and I thank you verymuch for this. From it I can understandclearly that you are making nice progressin your devotional service attitude. Yo ursincere and humble outlook is very nice. Iam always praying to Lord Krishna to bestowHis Causeless Mercy upon you .So far the phenomenon which you havequestioned me about, I think that it is allKrishna's Grace because you are sincerelyworking fo r spreading His Cause.Yo u needn't disclose this phenomenon toeveryone, you have disclosed to me andthat is sufficient. But you may know that itis a good sign. Continue to work sincerelyand you shall be blessed in this life, there

620 Letters from Srila Prabhupiidais no doubt.Regarding the money which you shallsoon attain, I think that the book fund mayuse it very well as we have so many newexpenditures due to our new books, BhagavadGita As It Is (already published)and Teachings of Lord Chaitanya (to bepublished next month). So if you can sendthis money to me it will be very nice.Also, when these books arrive to yourMontreal temple, it will be great service ifyou can help your god-brothers in arrangingfor widespread sales of these books .We are writing so many literatures andthis is very good, but also we must makearrangement for distribution to the publicat large. So jointly you may prepare fordoing the needful in this matter.Once again, I thank you for your encouragingletter and I hope you are allwell .Yo ur ever well-wisher,elevate not only ourself but similarly wewill elevate those with which we come intoassociation.So far as explaining my letter to Kris, Ihave listed the ingredients which may usefor preparing prasadam but these variousvarieties of foodstuffs may be prepared eitherin the given recipes or if you like youmay invent nice new formulas fo r offering.The important thing is that your preparationsbe palatable for Lord Krishna andthat the ingredients be within the groupsof ingredients already listed. You haveasked me about sassafras and yes, it maybe offered. Mushrooms are generally notoffered, but there is no prohibition, thereis no harm in them.I hope that this has answered yourquestions. Please keep me informed as tothe progress of your temple. Hope you areall well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-3 Los Angeles1st December, 1968My Dear Harer Nama,Please accept my blessings . I have receivedyour letter dated November 22,1968 and I thank you for it. It is very nicethat you are preparing these puppet storiesof Srimad Bhagavatam. Such programwill not fail to have an uplifting effectupon the viewers as well as the players. Sodo this nicely, it shall be very good. I alsounderstand from your letter that you andTosan working outside to support the SantFe temple. This is allright and you shouldcontinue with this. Our program is that nomatter what our engagement may be, weshall perform it in Krishna Consciousness,chanting Hare Krishna and thinkingabout something of Krishna, His Name,His Form, His Beauty, etc . This willbring the highest benediction of our lifeand by executing the same we shall68-1 2-4 Los AngelesMy Dear Goursundar,2nd December, 1968Please accept my blessings. I have justtoday received your most recent letter ofNovember 30th, 1968 and have noted thecontents with pleasure. We have registeredthe Hawaii address given by you.I am pleased with the progress thatyou, Mahapurusha, and Maurari are makingin establishing our Hawaii temple andalso I have noted that you are making arrangementsfor accomodating me in January.You are making arrangements for mebut also I think you should make arrangementsfor calling your wife. The husbandand wife must live togehter for helpingone another in developing Krishna Consciousness.So I think that you may writeto your wife and request that she join youin your temple at Hawaii.

DECEMBER, 1968 621I thank you so much for your regularreports of progess you are making. I hopethat this finds you all in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Your drawings on Prahlad Maharajare being published in London papersregularly. It hasnice. I hopeyou have received the copy. ACB68-1 2-5 Los AngelesMy Dear Jeffrey Hickey,2nd December, 1968Please accept my blessings . I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of November28, in which you request to be initiatedas my student. I have noted by yourletter that already you are progressingnicely by associating with devotees andchanting 22 rounds daily so there is nomore any need to wait . Yo u may send tomy Los Angles address your chantingbeads so that you may receive initiation.I hope that this finds you along withRupanuga, his good wife, Bhurijana, andMr. Eric and all the others in good health .Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Please order Brahmananda to sendyou books for selling. I have Dia Nippon$6000.00 dollars-T. L.C. now we mustsell them to get money for the next publicationNectar of Devotion ( 400 pages).68-1 2-6My dear Blanche,Los Angeles2nd December, 1968Please accept my blessings . I am soglad to receive your letter appreciatingKrishna Consciousness movement. Asstated by you , it is truly a happy movement.Lord Chaitanya said that the oceanof Krishna Consciousness increases dailyand it is never experienced in the case ofmundane ocean. In other words, nobodyis static in Krishna Consciousness and everyonebecomes a dynamic force forspreading the movement. It is understoodthat you have been in the Temple for not avery long time and still you have appreciatedvery much the spiritual movement.Try to read our books and you will advancemore and more . Hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,68-1 2-7 Los AngelesMy Dear Kirtananda,2nd December, 1968Please accept my blessings. I have receivedtoday your letter of Nov. 30th,1968 and have noted the contents .I can understand from your letter thatyou are little concerned with remainingin New Vrindaban while the others areaway, but in this connection you must rememberthat factually, you are not alonebecause you are always being protectedby Lord Krishna. So I think that it is bestthat you stick to New Vrindaban, chantHare Krishna, worship the deities andKrishna will send you help in men andmoney. So do not be agitated . If no onewill come then you may live alone withKrishna and I am sure that Krishna willgive you all facilities for progress in thevery near future . Of course, you are alwayswelcome to come see me, butwhile there is no one else to remain andto tend the deities, I think it best if youshall stay.So far as your question about arrangingtime, our first business is to regularlycomplete our chanting 16 rounds eachday. Then we must offer to the deitiesmangalartik in the morning, and the otherparaphernalia and activities shall be executedas time permits. If there is no timethen we must disregard .

622 Letters from Srfla PrabhupadaWhen George Henderson shall becomingthere try to keep him there toassociate with you . Try discussing andconvincing him of the principles ofKrishna Consciousness. He is a goodsoul, I know, and if he can help you inNew Vrindaban, it will be very nice. If hecomes to see me in Los Angeles, I shalltalk with him. In the beginning, he wastaking Krishna Consciousness seriouslybut because he left our association he becameslackened, so if again he may associatewith us it will be so nice.Hope this letter finds you in goodhealth.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swamiare planning to make .Hope this finds you all in good health .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiNB: Yo u may send each month one copyof Back To Godhead to the following address;Asoke Kumar Datta97, R.B. Ghosh RoadKhoshbagan,P. O. Burdwan ,West Bengal,INDIAP. S. I wish to publish continually Nectarof Devotion in B. T. G. Please let me knowabout it. Did Hayagriva send some articleabout N. V. ? If there is any __ of N. V.it may be published. ACB68-12-8My Dear Rayarama,Los Angeles2nd December, 1968Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of November 29th,1968 and have noted the contents . I am encouragedto read how Advaita, Uddhavaand Subal are all doing nice work inspreading our Krishna Consciousnessmovement. This is very encouraging tome and please thank them along with yourother press men assistents for the nicework and accomplishment they are doing.The answer to your question about themarginal energy is that the jiva soul is alwayscalled marginal energy whether heis in the spiritual world or in the materialworld. There are instances where marginalenergy jiva souls have fallen fromthe spiritual world, just like Jai and Bejai.So the potency to fall under the influenceof the lower energy is always there. Andthus the individual jiva soul is called asKrishna's marginal energy.So far as the letterhead is concerned,yes, you may go ahead with this, but firstyou may send me a drawing of what you68-1 2-9My Dear Upendra,Los Angeles2nd December, 1968Please accept my blessings . I have receivedyour letter of November 30th,1968 and have noted the contents carefully.I have noted with pleasure that youhave spoken before a group of the CatholicChurch. Yo u should know that as far asour Krishna Consciousness movementgoes , we are better Christians than thosewho proclaim that they are following theorders of Christ. This is because we arefollowing and generally they are not. Justlike the 10 Commandments order thatthou should not kill. But these so-calledChristians are performing so much killingby meateating and wars . So how are theygood Christians? Yo u may ask them this inyour meetings and try to convince them oftheir position. Also, we do not commitadultery, we do not take the Name of Godin vain, in fact we practice that the Nameof God is just as good as God . So accordingto the 10 Commandments , nobody is

DECEMBER, 1968 623Christian, but in our own way we are followingthe principles of the 10 Commandmentsstrictly. So I think you may explainto them how this Krishna Consciousnessmovement will help them advance to bebetter Christians.I have also noted that you write to saythat you are having trouble with sex agitation.Why you do not marry then? Eitheryou become grihastra or what otherchoice is there? Either you train yourselfand pray to Krishna, begging that you mayremain brahmachary or else get yourselfmarried.On the Disappearance Day of my GuruMaharaj , you may hold meeting to discussHis activities and offer respect to HisMemory. Practically, this movement isHis because it is under His order that Ihave come to your country.So continue to chant your full 16rounds daily, even there is effort and I amsure that you will be helped by Krishnathrough the difficulties of this inferior energy,maya . I hope this finds you all ingood health .Yo ur ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Gary is __ yesterday and hisname is Gajendra das-ACB68-12-10 Los Angeles3rd December, 1968My Dear Mahapurusha,Please accept my blessings . I was soglad to receive your letter which was writtenby hand (undated) . I had just beenthinking of and wondering why you do notwrite to me. Although I am overcrowdedby so many letters from my beloved spiritualsons and daughters, still if I don't receivea letter from one, I become anxiousfo r it. So you and Murari should more oftenwrite to me . That will very muchengladden me to my heart.I know that you are a sincereVaishnave , and every one of your godbrotherspraises you nice Vaishnava qualities.Chant Hare Krishna and always livepeacefully.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12- 11 Los Angeles3rd December, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. Thank youfor your letter of December 25, 1968. Iam awaiting your pictures of the housewhich might be used for prasadam program.So far as the press utilizing thisplace it is not possible because the press isto be set up either in New Vrindaban or inNew York.Here in Los Angeles we have a verynice place. The rent is very high, but if wecan maintain this establishment it willsurely have great future prospects. I amglad to know that you now have a niceapartment. Live comfortable there and tryto improve the temple conditions to yourbest capacity. If there will be an opportunityto purchase the new house you havefound , try your best for this.I thank you so much for having nicelyappreciated the Bhagavad Gita As It Is .This book should be read by all of my studentsat least one chapter per day, and inkirtan class it should be discussed slokaafter sloka. Practically, we have tried toexplain in this book all of the basic principlesof Krishna Consciousness. If you cansimply cram Bhagavad Gita then you willsurely become a very good preacher.Next January there will be an examinationon this Bhagavad Gita. Papers will besent by me to all centers, and those securingthe minimum passing grade will begiven the title as Bhakti-shastri. Similarly,another examination will be held on Lord

624 Letters from Srrla PrabhupadaChaitanya 's Appearance Day in February,1970 and it will be upon Srimad Bhagawatamand Bhagavad Gita . Those passingwill get the title of Bhaktibaibhava . Anotherexamination will be held sometimesin 1971 on the four books, BhagavadGita , Srimad Bhagawatam, Teachings ofLord Chaitanya, and Nectar of Devotion .One who will pass this examination willbe awarded with the title of Bhaktivedanta.I want that all of my spiritual sonsand daughters will inherit this title ofBhaktivedanta, so that the family transcendentaldiploma will continue throughthe generations. Those possessing the titleof Bhaktivedanta will be allowed to initiatedisciples. Maybe by 1975, all of mydisciples will be allowed to initiate and increasethe numbers of the generations.That is my program. So we should notsimply publish these books for reading byoutsiders, but our students must be wellversed in all of our books so that we can beprepared to defeat all opposing parties inthe matter of self-realization.Please keep me informed as to theprogress of the prasadam program. I hopethat this finds you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Offer my blessings for Smt.Haimavati my beloved daughter.68-12-12 Los Angeles4th December, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings . I have receivedyour most recent letter (undated)and have noted the contents. I am sohappy that by next week you will moveinto our new temple site and that you andKishna das shall both be working so therewill be no difficulty in financing. It is allKrishna's Grace.So far as Achytananda and Jayagovinda,yes one of you may write to invitethem to your temple in Hamburg. Inthis connection I have already dispatchedone letter to them and I am still awaitingtheir reply.Regarding your first question, is it offensiveto think of Krishna's Pastimeswhile chanting, I think you should knowthat it is not offensive, but rather it is required.One must try for the point whenhe simply hears Krishna and immediatelyall of Krishna, His Pastimes, His Form,His Quality, are in his thoughts . So to alwaysbe immersed in thoughts of Krishnathis is our process. When we are full inKrishna then where there can be anychance for maya in us? So this is our dutyto remember Krishna's Pastimes. Onewho cannot remember Krishna, let himalways hear Hare Krishna and then whenhe has perfected this art, then always hewill remember Krishna, His Activities,His Qualities, etc .The answer to your second question isthat when one becomes accostumed to inoffensivechanting, then his fruit is that heis promoted to the stage of pure Love ofGodhead , or prema. This prema is theperfectional stage of consciousness andthe most blissful by very far.So far as singing of the Christianhymns, if others sing this we have no objection,it is very nice, but in these hymnsthey have no definate idea of what is God .We are directly approaching and prayingto Krishna for the highest benediction ofeternal devotional service so we do not requireto repeat the Christian hymns. Ourpoint is to always follow the example ofthe acharyas and this will bring us to theperfectional stages with no doubt. For theChristian hymn you describe, the examplemay be given of where one person is appreciatingthat water is very nice and anotheris tasting water. So when we tastewater the appreciation automatically isthere and when we have taste fo r chanting,

DECEMBER, 1968 625automatically the appreciation is there forGod .I hope that you are well along withKrishna Das and Uttama Sloka. Pleasekeep me informed of progress with ourHamburg center.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiNB : Yo u may write to Jayagovinda atlndraprastha Goudiya MathDina Ka Talab ,MalkaganjDelhi-6IndiaAlso Achyutananda at Radha Damodartemple Seba-Kunja, P. O. Vrindaban Dist:Mathura India.68-12-13LondonMy Dear Annapurna,Los Angeles5th December, 1968After long time, please accept myblessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt ofyour letter dated Oct. 30, which hasreached me after travelling over the wholeworld. It was addressed to Montreal , sentto Hollywood Blvd. , then to Orange Driveand finally it has come to me . So it hastaken so long time and i am very glad tolearn that you are now in your father'scountry and feeling very nice. Mukundaand all the other devotees are trying theirbest to start a temple in London and a templeis already there by Krishna's Grace.The landlord has offered them the placefree of rent until the house is disposed ofso I think that they should try to influencethe landlord to donate the building for ourgreat cause. At least he should let us conductour business there fo r the benefit ofall of mankind. It is undersood that thelandlord belongs to the hippie group andhe has purchased the house for hippiepropaganda but now wishes to sell thehouse and property. If some concessionalrate is offered then we can also try to purchasethe property. So consult with yourgodbrothers and Gurudas is the best manto tackle with this landlord and appeal tohim to donate this house free for this greatcause of spreading Krishna Consciousness.So again I thank you for your niceletter and the sentiments expressedtherein and please keep me informed as toyour well-being.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Mukunda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of Nov. 30, andhave again noted with encouragement theprogress of your activites in London. Foryour sincere efforts in spreading thismovement in so far away country as London,I am certain that Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhuis most pleased and will surelybless you for your nice work. Regardingmy meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury,please arrange for this. We willtalk with the Archbishop on a religiousbasis and we may also invite many respectableelites of the city to participate inthis important meeting.Actually, we are not preaching a particulartype of faith. We are teaching thepost graduate studies of all religions: weare teaching people how to love God andwho is the man that will deny this principle?This basic principle we can talk withany religious head and any sincere religiousman will appreciate it. We simplywant people to become God consciousand that will bring forth real peace in theworld. So if the Christian heads of the dif ·ferent churches will cooperate with us, wecan render very valuable service to the

626 Letters from Srila Prabhuptidawhole of human society.I have received one nice letter fromMalati Devi and please convey my blessingsto the others as well.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy dear Yamuna,Please accept my blessings. Just on thepoint of posting this letter I have receivedone package from you containing the certificateform and letter. It is very nice. Iam replying your letter separately. Hopethis will find you in good health.Your ever well wisherA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-14 Los Angeles5th December, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter dated Nov. 30, 1968 andI thank you for the report of progress atyour temple.Now it is understood that you are takingcharge of Girish and I think that youmay teach him very nicely the principlesofBhagavad Gita As It Is. Then, when thisis learned you may go on to Srimad Bhagavatam.In this way we wish to train all ofthe boys of his age who come to our temples.If you can take charge of this teaching,we can immediately open a teachingdepartment where such instructions cango on. Hayagriva has agreed to takecharge of such a teaching department andwhen he comes to see me soon, I will talkwith him in detail. We want such teachingdepartment to teach and raise children tothe standard of Krishna Consciousness.You can make trial with Girish and let meknow how it is progressing.Ye sterday, we have contracted one nicetemple site on La Cienega Boulevard. It ispreviously a chapel but now I wish to organizeit to be one nice temple for KrishnaConsciouness. Let us see how Krishnawill help us. But there is good possibilityto develop it into a nice temple. The rent is$500 each month but they have agreed to$400 for the first year.So far as the lady psychiatrist makingtests with our children, you should knowthat our children are fireproof and waterproofdue to Krishna Consciousness sothere is no harm for them. Let them test ifthey wish, we shall come out successful.I hope this meets you in good health.Please also convey my blessings to theother devotees there.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-15Los Angeles5th December, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I washappy to read your recent letter (undated)and to see how you are working hard andnow you are sending your finished paintingsto our various centers to be appreciated.You will be pleased to know that ourLondon center has managed to have onelocal newspaper devote a two page spreadto a comic book feature of the story ofPrahlad Maharaj as depicted by Goursundarand Govinda Dasi. This is very nicepropaganda so as much as possible weshould try for overflooding publicationswith similar of our stories. We have somany artists now in Boston and also NewYork so if someone can work on this ideait will be very nice.In answer to your question, let me saythat Lord Vishnu is served by Sesa who isalso an incarnation of Vishnu. His businessis to supply all bodily comforts toLord Vishnu. Sesa, or Anant, servesVishnu as His Mattress and protects Himfrom all atmospheric disturbances by

DECEMBER, 1968 627making His heads like a canopy or umbrella.In this way, He supplies umbrella,bedding, slippers, and everything elsepersonally required by Lord Vishnu. Thisinformation we get from scripturalsources. So keeping pace with this scripturalinjunction, you may paint nicely asKrishna gives you instruction.I hope this finds all of you well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Inform your husband that I am seriouslycompiling one book "Nectar of Devotion"about 400 pages. Therefore I amlittle slack in sending tapes of S. B.ACB68-12-16 Los Angeles8th December, 1968My Dear Kirtananda,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedtoday your letter dated 4, December1968 and have carefully read thecontents.You have asked whether you may usecharcoals to use for fuel during the winterand since this is the simplest thing to usein your present situation certainly it is allright. In all such questions as this youneed only use your good common senseand depend upon Krishna as always toguide you nicely. So far as the governmentmaking repairs on the roads, If they arewilling to do it this is very good. With niceroads we can invite many people to NewVrindaban as well as facilitate our own activitiesthere so such proposal is welcome.For construction of ponds I dont know ifyou will be able to use them for bathing inthe cold winter so it is better if you canconstruct a well if this can be more used inthe winter. So if you are pressed now fortime, the ponds may be constructed in thespring.I have noted from your letter that youhave available a Lincoln automobilewhich you are able to donate to us in LosAngeles. At the present we are requiringjust such a car so I think you may makearrangements to have it brought here. Thisis all Krishna's Grace so as you are ableplease make arrangements for this. So faras your utiliz ing machinery at New Vrindaban,if such machinery is helpful thanyou may take advantage of them. We arenot enemies of machines. If they can beused for Krishna's service then we welcomethem.You will be glad to know that we havenow signed lease for a new temple for theLos Angeles center. It is very large, finechapel and now there is program being organizedhere to set everything up verynicely and invite many new people to participatein our programs. Krishna hasbeen very kind to grant us such facilitiesand now there are many efforts to be madeto use it nicely.Please convey my blessings to Hrishikesaand I hope this letter finds you ingood health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-17Los Angeles9th December, 1968My Dear Janaki,Please accept my blessings. With thegreatest satisfaction I have just now readover your nicely composed and handwrittenletter of December 12, 1968 and Ithank you so much for the kind sentimentsyou have expressed therein. I had alsobeen thinking of you because you werethinking of me, but as your letter has arrivedfirst it is for me to answer it. Actually,I always think of you as my naughty

628 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadadaughter and from the start of this movement,you and your very good husbandhave always shown to be very sincere andimportant members of our society. So Iknow that both of your services are mostsincere and I will always appreciate this.So far as you writing you are lonely Ithink that there is no need for this. Suchsentiments of wishing for me to be there isnice but a girl is meant for living with herhusband and not her father, such girl isvery lucky who can live with her husband.And you have specially nice, beautifulhusband and not only that but he is devoteealso so you are very fortunate. So continueto faithfully help your husband inexecuting the mission of his life to spreadKrishna Consciousness and surelyKrishna will bless you and grant you allhappiness. This is my blessing upon theboth of you.I think also that it is good sign thatKrishna is delaying to give us a nice Londontemple because when it finally willcome it may be the most ideal temple forour purposes. So none of you be discouragedbut go on with your engagements andeverything will come automatically verynice.I have noted that you describe yourselfas being just a "lump of ignorance" . Actuallythe devotee should always think likethat. That the devotee should feel himselfso lowly is the teaching of Lord Chaitanya.Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu alsorepresented Himself as a very foolish discipleeven though He proved Himself asthe greatest scholar and was actuallyKrishna Himself. So one who feels humbleand meek has the door for the Kingdomof God opened for him or her. So Ithank you again for your nice letter andplease continue to inform me of your wellbeing.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-18Los Angeles9th December, 1968My Dear Gurudas,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter of December 4, 1968and I have noted the contents carefully. Ihave seen how you have planned the boardmeeting to be held and it is all very nice. Iunderstand that the MacMillan Companyis distributing our book, Bhagavad GitaAs It Is, in London also, so if you can alsoretail this book to friends at the meeting itmay prove very helpful in deepening theirinterest in this science of Krishna Consciousness.If we can present the peoplewith our literature and with the process ofkirtan then certainly many will be attractedand will come join us in our activities.So please convey my blessings toShyamsundar and Malati to whom I amnot enclosing a letter herein, and I hopethat you are all very well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Please let me know when you wantthe open letter or if possible you can sendme the form of the letter which I shall edit& send you the fair copy.ACBThe photos that you have sent are duly received.Just yesterday I have received anotherletter from Pitamber Dindayal ofGyana.68-12-19Los Angeles9th December, 1968My Dear Yamuna,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou so much for letter of November 30,1968 and the glorious sentiments you haveexpressed therein. I am so glad to readthat you are doing very well and keeping

DECEMBER, 1968 629always engaged. This is the key to elevatingin Krishna Consciousness that we alwayskeep our thoughts, our words andour actions centered around our life andsoul, this being Krishna. If we rememberto practice this process then automaticallyall distresses and botherations will becomenil. So I am very encouraged that allof you are progressing in learning thistechnique.So far as the certificates are concerned,they are very beautiful and nicelydone. But I have noticed that there is onesmall spelling mistake which you may beable to correct. "Srimati" you havespelled as "Srimate" . Srimate is used foraddressing someone, but Srimati is the titlewhich is appropriate on the certificate.So if you can change this on all of the certificatesit will be better.Regarding your question about arti, nothere is no special prayers to be said just inthe morning. Also you have asked aboutthe compiler of Shree Brahma Samhitaand the four-headed brahma of this universeis the compiler.So thank you again for your letter andplease convey my very hearty blessings toMalati also who has written one very niceletter which I have seen last week. I hopethat this finds you all in very good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I have received the newspaper cuttingsfor Prahlad __68-1 2-20Los Angeles9th December, 1968My Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of December 6, 1968arriving last night and I have duely notedthe contents. In your letter you have madeit clear that you are finding some difficultywith sex desire and have asked guidancefrom me to instruct you how tohandle this problem of the material body.First of all I think you should know thatsuch problems are not very unnatural becausein the body the conditioned soul isvery prone to failure. But also we must rememberthat such failure will not discourageus from executing the most importantmission of our life, to become fully inKrishna Consciousness. So whateverfalldown has been, you should be regretfulabout it, but it is not so serious nor is ita permanent disqualification. But youmust try to check yourself from such artificialthings and take full shelter of the LotusFeet of Krishna. I think that for suchchecking marriage is the only solution. Itis understood that everyone has somenasty habits but by sticking to KrishnaConsciousness, chanting our requiredrounds loudly, and tending the deities,these items will surely save you. So alwaysbe seriously engaged in servingKrishna and pray to Krishna to help youwith your frailties. But I think that marriageis the solution with no other alternative.If you are married you can continueto practice all the items of worship andwith more peace of mind, so such solution,along with redoubled efforts to servenicely and be very pleasing unto Krishna,these things will help you. I hav e alwaysknown you as very good, sincere boy sowith utmost seriousness you must considerthese points and act upon them. Ishall hope to be hearing again from yousoon on this matter.Hoping you are always well .Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. It is my open advice for everyone thatone who is disturbed by sex, must take theresponsiblity of married life

630 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptida68-12-21 Los AngeleslOth December, 1968My Dear Goursundar,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of 7, December 1968and have duely noted the contents.Regarding my plans for January I cannot as yet give a definate answer because Ihave recently been invited to visit theSouth American country, Guyana at thebeginning of the new year. So this too isundefinate and I will have to see whetherthey provide for our visit or whether willnot before I can decide if I may go toHawaii in January. I am sending the letterout today asking for confirmation of thisinvitation and just as soon as I hear word, Iwill let you now so you may make your arrangements. I have included a copy of myletter to Mr. Dindayal who is the personwho has extended our invitation.So I am pleased that you are all workingvery hard to help us in this great mission.Please convey my blessings toMahapurusha, Maurari, Lilavati and totheir child Subhadra. Hope you are allwell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swamimentioned as being the sound representationof Krishna, the Supreme Personalityof Godhead. Similarly the Hare KrishnaMantra is also the sound representation ofKrishna. So, practically we do not makeany distinction between the omkar andHare Krishna but the spiritual path is tofollow the footprints of the path of thegreat acharyas. Lord Chaitanya encouragedthe Sankirtan Movement, or thechanting of Hare Krishna, is the means forGod realization for this age and it is inpursuance of the revealed scriptures.Actually this movement is now becomingvery popular in the Western countries.Our followers in the West are neither Hindusnor belonging to any principle sectfollowing the Vedas but, by Krishna'sGrace, they are accepting this very nicely.Some of them are very advanced as youmight have seen from the characteristicsof our devotees in London.I was very pleased to read how thesestudents were very well received by yourorganizations there. Please extend mythanks to all concerned for cooperatingwith my students in London. Thankingyou once more for your interest and I hopeto hear again from you soon.Yours very sincerely,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-22Chagan Govind74 Arodene RoadLondon S.W.2.Los AngeleslOth December, 1968Dear Mr. Govind,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your very kind letterof December 3, 1968 along with threeomkar buttons. I thank you very much forthese.In the Bhagavad Gita, this omkar is68-1 2-23 Los Angeles11th December, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of December6, 1968. Also I have received theduplicate copy of the letter of credit whichyou have returned.So far as dealing with Mr. Kallman, Ithink that you should have no more businessdealings with this man. At every turn

DECEMBER, 1968 631he tried to cheat us so we must considerhim as very dangerous cheater and avoidany future business dealing. We shall continueto be polite with him but this is far asit is to go because his only thought for us ishow to exploit. You must remember this inany future contact with him. He now owesme $ 15,000 for the record album royaltythat I recorded and yet he claims that oursociety owes him so much money for insenceand records. This is all a bluff becauseunless he pays me how can he insistwe owe to him. So it is best that we have nomore schemes with this Mr. Kallman. Noteven should we buy records from him. Weshall rather make our own records.I have seen the recent dummy you havesent of Teachings of Lord Caitanya and itis very much approved by me. I think thatall of the devotees should purchase onecopy of all of our books for study and futurepreaching activities.I have also heard from Purushottamthat you have now obtained one beautifultemple on second avenue that can verynicely be compred with a palace. So this isall Krishna's Grace. You have tried sohard to find a new temple there butKrishna did not approve so there was notemple. But now that Krishna wills it withsimply a flick of the eye a temple has cometo us, better even than we were hoping for.So this is what is meant that Krishna isController and we are controlled. Whenwe simply remember to accept the controlof Krishna and not to act independentlythen all fortune is automatically present.We have received from Yamuna Devi inLondon some completed certificates soplease send a list of all initiated devoteesin New Yo rk so we can send out. Hopeyou are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiEnclosure- I68-1 2-24 Los Angeles11th December, 1968My Dear Krishna Das,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your very nice letterdated November 5, 1968 and I thankyou very much for the kind sentimentsthat you have expressed therein. Becauseyou are very nice, sincere boy so Krishnais now giving you very good facilities bywhich you can serve Him and at the sametime perfect yourself for going back toGodhead. So if you try to continue in thehumble attitude you have now, with littletime you will have wonderful success infurther developing your Krishna Consciousness.Actually the Krishna Consciousnessis already there, but it is nowcovered up so we must wipe away the dirtof maya from our consciousness so thepure essence of consciousness, or love forKrishna, may once again shine forth. I amalways praying to Krishna to help youmore and more so if you remember to alwaysincrease your efforts to make progressin spreading this movement, thenKrishna will certainly save you, rest assured.I have noted with much pleasure thatyou are planning to mimeograph our essaysin the German language. This is goodnews and please do it nicely. These literaturesmust be made available to all peoplesso they may take interest in Krishna andseek to learn more. This will attract manypeople to begin chanting and learning thisphilosophy. So try in this way, it is veryimportant endeavor. In the United Stateswe have now published Bhagavad Gita AsIt Is and by next month we should receivethe Teachings of Lord Chaitanya. So ifyou can also present our literatures in theGerman language it will be very successful.You will be glad to learn that we arehaving very good success in improvingour temples here because Los Angeles has

632 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidaacquired an excellent, large chapel suitablefor living quarters and kirtan andNew Yo rk has also acquired a grand threestory building for a five year lease and thisbuilding is being described to us as being apalace. So with our new books this is allvery encouraging and I am al.ways thankfulto all of my students for their sincereendeavors in this mission.So please convey my blessings to UttamaSloka and Shivananda. I have notheard from Uttama Sloka so if he willhave time, please ask him to write. I hopethis letter finds all of you in very goodhealth.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Address of JayagovindaIndraprastha Goudiya MathDinaka Talab, MalkaganjDelhi-7, India.Achyutananda's Address,Radha Damodara Temple,Sebakunja, P. O. Vrindaban,Dist: Mathura, India.68-1 2-2511th December, 1968My Dear Nandakishore,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your nice letter ofDecember 5, 1968 and thank you verymuch for this. From your letter I can understandthat you are anxious to becomehouseholder and this is very good. We requireso many householders to set exampleto others how in Krishna Consciousnesswe can live peacefully and sanely,even in married life. Also, we require somany Krishna Conscious children to showhow nicely and beautifully a child can developwhen he is following the principlesof God Consciousness.So your decision is very good, but atthe moment we have many girls and eithertoo young or they are engaged or they aretoo old. There are a few nice girls who areavailable, specifically Tulsi Devi andAnna Radha Devi but both of them alsohave little babies and Tulsi Devi is, Ithink, a little older than you are. So if youlike we may ask these girls if they are justnow desirous of marrying. Or else youmay wait for an eligible girl who I am notthinking of, or who will show up soon, soas soon as she shows up we shall make arrangementsin this regard.Also, we are planning to open a schoolfor teaching our Krishna Conscious childrenand I understand Satyabhama Devihas some qualificationsas a teacher. Thisschool may be set up either in NewVRindaban or Los Angeles so please askher to tell me about her teaching qualificationsand she thinks of this idea.Please convey my blessings to all devoteesthere, exspecially Paramananda,Dyal Nitai and Satyabhama whom I havenot heard from in some time. I hope thisfinds you all in good health.Your ever well-wisher,68-1 2-26VancouverLos Angeles12th December, 1968My Dear Ananda Das,Please accept my blessings. I haveheard from Upendra that you have hadsome success in arranging for a temple inVancouver. This is most encouragingnews, but why you are silent? Please informme of your progress there as I am alwaysanxious to hear from you.You will be very glad to know that ourMontreal center has mimeographed avery fine edition in French language ofBack To Godhead. I think that in Vancouverthere may be good opportunity to circulatethis publication so you may write to

DECEMBER, 1968 633Hansadutta in Montreal to make arrangementsfor ordering copies.I hope that this finds you very well andthat you will notify me immediately ofwhat is happening with you .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Are you getting B.T.G. from NewYo rk? We have now Bhagavad Gita As ItIs published by Macmillan Company.Copies can be had from New Yo rk.68-1 2-27 Los Angeles12th December, 1968My Dear Joy Fulcher,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter dated December 6,1968 and have considered the contents.I know that now there is a shortage ofhands in our Seattle center, so why not remainthere to help out Upendra and theothers. Also your services to attractbrahmacharinies will be very valuable inSeattle. I know that you are very nice artisteven without the guidance of Jaduraniso for the time being you should remain inSeattle and paint independently. Youshould work to paint very quickly andvery beautifully because we have need ofsuch talented artists. When Jadurany firstbegan to paint she was slow but now thatshe has practiced she has become very expertand quick. So this practice is whatwill improve all areas of your already verynice art work.[TEXT MISSING]ger size, that is very good idea. You havegot some poetic sense also, and all thesetalents, the artistic sense and poetic sense,can be engaged in the service of Krishna.All devotees are more or less poets. Out of26 qualifications of a perfect devotee, oneis poetic sense. So we can write so manypoetries in praise of the Lord, or about Hispastimes. Similarly we can draw so manynice pictures about His different activities,and such engagements will give uschance to elevate ourself to the perfectionalplatform of spiritual understanding.By Grace of Krishna I am keeping wellnowadays, but Govinda dasi is not keepingvery well. As she has to go to Nandarani'shouse and again come, so it is alittle troublesome so she is a little sick.But by Grace of Krishna everything willbe allright. Please offer my blessingsto all the devotees there , especiallyHarsharani, who I understand is cookingvery nicely for the love feast. She is a nicedecorator of the Deity and a nice cookalso for preparing Krishna Prasadam.Hope you are all well,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-28 Los Angeles12th December, 1968My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letters of December4th and December 7th, 1968 and also Ihave received the beautiful first edition ofBack To Godhead in the French language.This is a great joy to me to see such publicationbeing printed so nicely and myheartfelt thanks are due to Janardan,Dayal Nitai, Vaikunthanath, yourself andyour wife, along with all the others whohave helped to make this publication comeso expertly. Such French edition was mygreat ambition and now that you haveachieved success, I request you all to improveit continually so the French speakingpeople will have opportunity to takeadvantage of our Krishna Consciousnessmovement.So now there is plenty engagement foreveryone at the temple and if you can securefunds simply by selling our literature,by prasadam program and by some

634 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadasewing labor, then it will not be necessaryto take karmijobs outside. So Krishna hasgiven you very good facilities to be engagedand make profit at the same time forthe temple so even though you may Jivepoorly, if you can support yourselves simplywith these activities it will be verygood.You have expressed some new ideas toimprove B. T. G. of the English Back ToGodhead, but I think that there is no needto interrupt their way of thinking. Nowyou have chance for your own edition sodo it nicely and according to your ownideas. You are artist, so you have facilitiesto make a very nice edition to sell to theFrench public. Since in Montreal 75 % ofthe populace are speaking French I thinkyou have very good chance to popularizeand improve this magazine.So far as my book fund is concerned,you have said that you do not wish to takeprofit from this fund so as you like youmay take the commission as Brahmanandahas proposed and then you can returnthe profit to me in Los Angeles. Thatwill keep the accounts clear. But somehowor other see that our books are soldvery quickly. My book fund is nowdrained by $7 ,000 and I should fill up thisgap very soon. I require to keep this fundbecause it is helpful in acheiving the immigrationpapers as well as credit for suchitems as temples and books from MacMillanand Dai Nippon. This account shouldtherefore always be kept for an emergency.Also, I next wish to publish a newbook entitled Necter of Devotion. So ifyou can help with these funds it will bevery appreciated.You have asked about singing theprayers of Narattom Thakur and yes, theyare very much approved in any language.Please convey my thanks to Janardan forthe fine work he has done on the magazineand also request him to write to me abouthis future plans of going to France. He is amost sincere, important member of oursociety and I think that in France he maybe able to do much to popularize ourmovement and to circulate our newFrench magazine.Kindly convey my blessings to allmembers there and I hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Improve the Prasadam program as niclelyas possible.68-1 2-29Los Angeles12th December, 1968My Dear Himavati,Please accept my blessings. I am indue 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 oftenthinking of you also. So if you can rememberto always remember Krishna and theinstructions of your Spiritual Master thansurely this will bring the highest benedictionto yourself and to those with whomyou come into contact. To the extent weare thinking of Krishna, to that extentMaya has no influence. But as much as weare desiring to forget Krishna and tryingto enjoy for ourself, so to that extent wemust suffer the pains of Maya. So ourremedy for material life is very simple,simply to chant for Krishna, to dance forKrishna, to work, prepare nice foods forKrishna and then cent per cent we becomefully free from all other influences.Please always remember this secret andshow by example to all others.Please convey my thanks to Satyabamafor her nice work in sewing the clothes formy deities. These deities will require severalmore sets of such excellent dresses soSatyabama or youself may supply as youare able.Your sewing proposal is very nice and

DECEMBER, 1968 635such idea is given by the Grace ofKrishna. Try to utilize your profits tomaintain the temple with your husbandand the others . With much pleasure I haveseen the French edition of Back To Godheadand I thank you all for this endeavor.With such engagements as this magazine,we can live to propagate Krishna Consciousnessand that is the success of ourlives. Actually, our living conditions canbe minimized as far as possible. Simplywe should live for propagating KrishnaConsciousness. That is our life.In conclusion to your letter you haveasked as to where is the ocean of love?And I think that you may know that it is inyour heart.So please convey my blessings to allothers there and I hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-30Los Angeles12th December, 1968My Dear Saradia,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your recent letter and I havenoted the contents with pleasure. Yourkind thoughts which you expressed arevery nice and encouraging to me. Alsoyou have asked some intelligent questionsand I am answering them here.You have asked how Krishna is withthe spirit soul in the spiritual world andthe answer is that Krishna is the heart ofthe spirit soul, or spiritual body, SoKrishna is never apart from us. Either Heremains in the heart of the material body,or He remains in the heart of the spiritualbody. This is Krishna's Causeless Mercyto all of His beloved children, or living entities.To answer your second question, youshould know that Arjuna and Kunti Deviare not in Krishna Loka. They are eternallyassociated with Krishna only in £hematerial world. Just like Krishna is alwaysin the spiritual world, so similarly He isalways in the material world and His Pastimesare going on there also. In the materialworld, Krishna also has eternalassociates, such as Arjuna and KuntiDevi. There is a difference between thebody and soul of Arjuna and Kunti Devi.But although Arjuna is with Krishna in innumerabledifferent material universes atone time, still there is only one spirit soulwho is Arjuna. This spirit soul expandsinto many different bodies and thus youcan understand that there are also incarnationsof devotees as well as incarnations ofKrishna. This is the power of the spiritsoul, that it is unlimited. Such conceptioncannot be understood while one is still inthe conditioned state.Regarding your third question, bothincidences are correct. I hope these shallanswer your questions. Please conveymy blessings to Satsvarupa, Jadurany,Devananda, Rukmini and all others.Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-31Los Angeles13th December, 1968My Dear Girish,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of November 30, 1968and have noted the contents with pleasure.So far as your question about theKrishna stories, you will be glad to knowthat soon we will begin working on a bookcalled, "KRISHNA'' which will have storiesand illustrations of all of Krishna'sPastimes. These stories come from the1Oth canto of Srimad Bhagawatam. Youhave also written that you wish to obtainsome pictures of Krishna in his childhood

636 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiidaand such pictures can be obtained by writingto Brahmananda in New Yo rk aboutprices and which pictures he has available.I think that now that you are going topublic school that you must study hard especiallykeeping in mind to learn how toread and write and do arithmatic. Perhapsafter the summer we will have our ownschool in New Vrindaban and you will bea student there. But in the meantime, tryto acquire these skills. They shall be agreat asset to you in reading our literatureand so many other services. So now thatyou are in school, you may make the bestof it and become expert in these abilities.Thank you again for your nice letterand I hope that you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-32Los Angeles13th December, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of December 9, 1968and have noted the contents.Regarding the material for canvas protectionI think that there is a tar which ismade from coals* which may be used. Orelse if this is not available or cannot beused then you may use any material whichwill do the job nicely.I have just received a copy of Back ToGodhead number 21 and please conveymy appreciation to Satsvarupa for his excellentarticle of Lord Ramachandra.Such articles give enjoyment and spiritualbenefit to all readers so he should do moreof such writing as he is able.As soon as possible, I will requiresome artist who will paint pictures fromthe Bhagwatam as I give hints on what topaint. But the artist must be very quick.Two or three pictures must be done everyweek. These pictures will be used for mynew book, "KRISHNA" , which I will beginas soon as I get the assitance of a quickpainter. I am sure that you could do thisbut you are already engaged with so muchwork. There is one girl in Seattle, Joy Fulcher,who is nice artist. Would you likeher to go to you to do this work under yourguidance? I think that you know this girl.If you think this idea is allright, you cancall her at Boston. As usual, I shall send"KRISHNA" tapes to your husband withhints for you about the pictures so you andyour husband can send me the completematerials for the final printing. Pleaseconsider these suggestions and do theneedful.Kindly convey my blessings toDevananda, Saradia and Rukmini. I hopeyou are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami*coal-tar68-1 2-33Los Angeles13th December, 1968My Dear Jagadisha,Please accept my blessings. Enclosedplease find your prayers which I havechanted one round upon and initiated youwith. Your spiritual name is Jagadisha dasBrahmachary. Jagadish means Lord Jaganath,the Lord of the Universe.So please continue to be very sincereabout developing your Krishna Consciousnessand Krishna will give you allfacilities to return with Him to His SpiritualAbode. Take instructions from yourgod-brother Rupanuga, chant your sixteenrounds daily, follow all regulationsstrictly, and you will have all blessingsfrom the disciplic succession to advancenicely. So now you have this all importantopportunity so I request you to take fulladvantage and perfect yourself in Krishna

DECEMBER, 1968 637Consciousness. This is my request to allof you . This will be great servcice notonly to yourself, but also to all the livingentities 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 SwamiP. S. I have not heard anything fromRupanuga since a long time.ACB68-1 2-34 Los Angeles13th December, 1968My Dear Paramananda,Please accept my blessings. I was sopleased to receive your letter of December8, 1968 and I have noted the contents withgreat pleasure. Such attitude of humblenesswhich you have so nicely expressedalong with your very good service attitudeis very beautiful and will take you far toadvance more and more.I am happy that you and your verygood wife, Satyabama, are finding suchsatisfaction in executing your KrishnaConsciousness activities and such pleasurewill only increase more and more asyou continue to advance further. This ismy blessing upon you both that your livesmay become happy and successful. So myone request to you is that you keep yourselfalways engaged in Krishna's servicesincerely and that you help your wife inthis matter also. Now there is enough engagementwith popularizing our booksand magazines so you will have enoughwork to utilize all of your time in this importantendeavor. You are strong, intelligentboy so there is so much of suchservice that you can render and be a greatasset to this Krishna Consciousnessmovement.In the future there may be facilities tostart schooling in our New Vrindaban andwhen this is begun I think that Satyabamaand yourself may consider to go there toteach and assist with the work going onthere . So as Krishna desires we will seewhat happens.Please convey my blessings to all othersand I hope that you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-35Los Angeles14th December, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your nice letter of Dec. 4,1968, and I have noted the contents verycarefully. I have looked at the two smallpictures you sent, and I approve of both ofthem. This is called Rajasthan style, and itis very nice. These two pictures, if nicelypainted, will look very good in our temples.Also, there is one very nice photographof my Guru Maharaj which I wantyou to paint, and I will send it to you there.It was found by Gurudas in London and hehas sent me two copies of it. It was takenjust after His acceptance of sanyas, andwith the Srimad Bhagavatam opened beforeHim. So I shall send it. So far LosAngeles temple is concerned, we have justnow leased a very big church, with largemeeting hall and various compartments,so here we shall need many very largepaintings for making the hall attractive. Ifit is possible, you can paint very largeones, as large or even larger than the oneyou sent to Montreal of the Gopies. Regardingthe gesso sizing of the canvases: Ifthey last for 20 years that is fine and plentylong enough. The other process soundstoo complicated, and this plastic sounds tobe very nice.Deity worship is for such persons whohave ample time. The thing is, Deity worshipis compulsory, and you can increase

638 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidaif you have got time to do so. But Mongolaratrik is essential (morning arati), andSandharatrik (evening aratri) is essential,and offering of Prasadam to Deity is essential.And nice dress, decorating theDeity with sweet-smelling flowers, colorfuland very opulent dresses, jewels, incense,etc, to make Them very brilliantand attractive, that is real Deity worship.I hope you are all well there, and happyin Krishna Consciousness,Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-36LondonLos Angeles14th December, 1968My Dear Gurudas,Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your nice letter of Dec. 9,1968, and I thank you very much for it. Itis very much encouraging to me to hear ofso many activities of performing kirtanthere. Kirtan is the universal principle,therefore, if you chant Hare Krishna offenslessly,that is to say, avoiding the 10kinds of offenses, the vibration is sure toact. And anywhere this vibration is made,it will be liked bcause it is done on thespiritual platform. And on the spiritualplatform, there will be certainly agreement.So long one is on the material platform,there is no agreement. So ourmovement is directly taken to the spiritualplatform. So do it nicely, offenselessly,and it will be successful anywhere.It is just like that in the milk, there isbutter, but if you want concentrated butter,you have to churn milk and take outthe butter. Similarly, Krishna is spreadeverywhere by different potencies butwhen there is question of love, we have tobe in direct touch with Krishna. That ispersonalism. The heat of the impersonalistsunshine and the heat in the sunglobe isfar different. One who is in personal touchwith Krishna, their spiritual bliss is incomparable.The spiritual bliss derivedfrom impersonalist realization is just likea drop of water in the presence of the AtlanticOcean. That is the difference betweenpersonalism and impersonalism.Your question, "How did PrakasanandaSaraswati see or think that LordChaitanya was the Lord Narayan Himselfwhen he only realized Brahman?"-bypersonal audience of Lord Chaitanya theycould realize Him as Narayan becausethey were sincere in searching out the AbsoluteTruth. As it is confirmed in theBhagavad Gita, that an impersonalist, ifhe is sincere in searching out the AbsoluteTruth, then ultimately such impersonalistcan reach to the point of the Personality ofGodhead. So Prakasananda Saraswatiwas submissive to Lord Chaitanya, becausehe begged Lord Chaitanya to occupysuperior seat, while ChaitanyaMahaprabhu out of His extreme humbleness,was sitting in a place where theywere washing their feet. A Vaishnava is alwayshumble, and if a person does notmisuse this humbleness of a Vaishnava, hegets a chance to be elevated. But if somebodymisunderstands the humbleness of aVaishnava then he is doomed. Just like inthe Chaitanya Charitamrita, the authorKaviraj Goswami says that he is lowerthan the stool, and Sanatan Goswami saysthat he is born and associated with mostdegraded persons. If such humbleness ofVaishnavas are taken verbatim, then weare misled. Prakasananda Saraswati appreciatedthe greatness of Lord Chaitanya,even though He was humble, and thereforeLord Chaitanya 's Mercy was bestowedupon him, and thus he couldaccept Him as He is.The Mayavadi philosophers even theydo not follow Shankaracharya becausetheir philosophy itself is offensive .Shankaracharya has accepted Krishna as

DECEMBER, 1968 639the Supreme Personality of Godhead, butthe Mayavadis take Krishna as a great personalityonly. That is their misfortune. Onaccount of successive offensive attacks onthe Supreme Person. So therefore the subsequentresult of Mayavadi philosophy, onaccount of their rigidity to this misleadingphilosophy, they cannot make progress.Besides that, as it is confirmed in the BhagavadGita, the Personal Feature ofKrishna is very difficult to be understoodby the non-devotee class of men. So theMayavadi philosophers are, as a class,non-devotees. Naturally they are misledalmost in all occasions. But some of themwere extraordinary to come out and acceptKrishna's personality. This is explainedby Arjuna also in the BhagavadGita.We are sending you a tape record also,of a short paper entitled "Manifestos ofKrishna Consciousness" which I havewritten.Yes you negotiate for the buildingthere. And if you have got a temple thenyou can write for Deities. The installationwill take place when I go there . But if youorder Deities, order Them not less than20" high for Radha and Krishna. I havealso written them about this.The thing is, what for you will contactthis Vinode Vani dasi?* What kind of helpdo you want from them? They are alreadynot cooperating. The history of this Vanidasi is that she is an old lady, and has ahouse and has hung a sign, GoudiyaMath, but that is all. So make clear to meexactly what sort of help you want to getfrom her, and I will advise you duly. In themeantime, you can one day make a courtesyvisit to her, and see what is the situationwi her, if her place can be used forour purposes. But I do not think that placeis very nice or suitable for our purpose, asit is outside the city I think, so far I know,and we want a place inside the city. Still ifyou let me know what kind of help youwant from them, then I can advise youwhat to do.I hope you are all well there, and executingKrishna Consciousness happilyalso. Please convey my blessings to yourgood wife Yamuna, and also to Shyamsundarand Malati, and Janaki and Mukunda.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami*Did she accept your invitation? did shecome to dine with you? If not how you canexpect any co-operation with them?Etad nirvidyamananam ichhatamakutobhayamyoginam api nirnitam Harernamanukirtanam68-12-37 Los Angeles17th December, 1968My Dear Goursundar,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedDecember 12, 1968 and I have noted thecontents. I am glad that you have also receivedmy previously sent letters. I havealso handed over your letter for GovindaDasi.I am very sorry to learn that this girlMadhavi Lata has gone there and createdsome disturbance. If she is still there, askher to live separately and she may comeonly during kirtan performances. Thisgirl appears ver disturbing and everyplace she goes there seems to be sometrouble. Please try to keep her away carefullyand ask her to come back here becauseimmediately there is no chance ofmy going to Hawaii. Just today I have gotone press conference in the temple and afterthis there will be more propagandawork. There is scheduled another pressconference by January 22, 1969, so atleast for one month more there is nochance of my going to Hawaii. If I leaveabruptly now the program here will be

640 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadadisturbed. Better is I wait until we finishthe engagement in Los Angles. In themeantime I will try to pick up some devoteesto join you. I am glad to not that anashram will attract interested studentsfrom all over the world. Please try to organizethis ashram in cooperation withMaurari. I am asking Purushottam andothers to search out some brahmachariesto go there to assist you.I am also still more encouraged thatyou propose to build a temple and securesome land in the main island of Hawaii. Ithink that my presence in Hawaii will benice when you are still more in sound footingthere. So you arrange your program inthat way.Better would be that you and my otherdear disciples try to manage all centers asfar as possible independently. For me, inmy old age, moving constantly does notsuit my health. The Los Angeles climate isnot unsuitable for me so I am thinking ofmaking my head-quarters here because itis very important city also. But as soon asthere is the need of my presence someplace I must go where I am required. Onthis principle please prepare to work. RegardingGovinda Dasi, she can immediatelystart for Hawaii if you send her thepassage fare.Please convey my blessings to the otherswith you and I hope this finds you all ingood health.68- 12-38Los Angeles17th December, 1968My Dear Ananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated December13, 1968 along with the Hare KrishnaMantra card.I am glad that you have already starteda center in small scale and please try toimprove it as far as possible. There is noquestion of doing anything very hastily soplease try to make steady, even if slow,progress. So far as the Indian populationis concerned, I think that the Sikh are uselessfor our purpose. They do not understandour philosohy nor are they interestedin spiritual advancement of life. Wehave no such discretion that we have topick our members from a particular groupof people. Everyone is Krishna's part andparcel and wherever we find it convenientwe will pick up a person to be trained inKrishna Consciousness who is interestedin going back to Home, back to Godhead.I think that the Canadian people especiallywill be suitable for your membership.Try for this as far as possible. Forthe new souls who have already joinedyou, try to encourage them as far aspossible.Thank you again for your letter and forthe important service you are rendering toLord Chaitanya's movement. I hope thisfinds you in very good health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-39 Los Angeles17th December, 1968My Dear Leelasuka,Please accept my blessings. With greatpleasure I have read your letter of December9, 1968. I thank you for your kind sentimentsexpressed and your nice attitudeof humbleness and devotion.It is very good that you and the othergirls are preaching in school to your classmates. This will bring the greatest benefitnot only to them but also it will help you toprogress more and more in your devotionalservice. Krishna Consciousness isso nice that when one makes some gain itdoes not detract from anothers' gain, but,rather, it means that there is gain for thewhole world. When one is chanting or

DECEMBER, 1968 641speaking of Krishna or working forKrishna then so many living entities hearhim or help him in some way and thus findbenefit also. This is why the devotee isdear to all creatures and to Krishna. So alwaysbe engaged as you are doing and withyour all good qualities Krishna will surelybestow his full mercy, rest assured . So allof the girls you have mentioned, such asEkayani, Kanchanbala and Indira are similarlyvery good souls and I am alwayspraying that Krishna will help you allmore and more.I was pleased to note that you arehappy with your plans for marriage to Uddhava.He is a very good boy and pleasealways serve him nicely as a good wife.You are fortunate to obtain such a nicehusband and he is also fortunate to obtaina nice wife. So all in all it is very nice arrangementand certainly it is Krishna'sspecial mercy upon you both.Please convey my blessings to all otherof my students in the New Yo rk branchand I hope this finds you all in goodhealth.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-40 Los Angeles17th December, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. I have justreceived your letter dated December 14,1968 and I have noted the contents withsome surprise.You have written that you will soon beleaving Hamburg and this news hascaused me some distress. I have alwaysbeen glad that you were in Germany totake care of the temple and you have writtenthat Krishna Das is also disturbed atthis sudden turn. From your letter it is unclearas to where you are going, to Montreal, to New Vrindaban, to work for yourmother, it is all unclear as to your plan. Ithink that you must stay in our Hamburgcenter until you write to me why you areleaving Germany, and where you are expectingto stay. It could be that you are experiencingsome difficulty in Germany, inwhich case please inform me of the sameso we may solve the problem. You mentionedthat leaving is the best thing foryour devotional service, but you shouldknow that without the instructions of theSpiritual Master that there is no questionof devotional service. So I think that youmust remain in the Hamburg center until Iadvise you further. I am anxiously awaitingto hear your reply. I hope you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-41 Los AngelesMy Dear Gargamuni,19th December, 1968Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedDecember 5, 1968 and I have notedthe contents . I have also heard fromPurushottam who has spoken to Brahmanandaon the telephone yesterdaythat your father has made it clear that hewill not confide in you or trust you tomake advancement very easily in his business.Also I have heard that you have decidedto leave back to the New Yorktemple. This idea is alright under the circumstancesand I think that your fatherwill one day come to regret that he has notcooperated with your plans.Purushottam has also heard that youare considering to open a store of Indianimports in the new temple on 61 2nd Ave .This idea is approved by me and please tryto do it nicely to help support and makeimprovements in the new large temple. Ifthis temple can be made very attractivethen surely it will attract many people to

642 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidajoin us in kirtan and to take interest inKrishna Consciousness. Also you may resumeyour job as circulation manager, wehave a much improved Back To Godheadsince you have last done this job in NewYork and I know that you may do verygood service in this regard. If you canhelp your god-brothers in selling ads also,it will be very nice.So I think that Krishna has seen thatyour services can be better utilized in thenew temple and all the other work that isgoing on and He has seen fit to give youclue to leave your father's business andcome back to the temple. So because youare sincerely in Krishna Consciousnessthere is no loss. Actually, for the devoteewho is working for Krishna there is onlygain of spiritual advancement. The fruitsof our work is always given to Krishna andso Krishna accepts the responsibility ofwhat these fruits shall be. So this is ourprinciple of work and I request you to alwaysremember this.I have also received one nice letter__ from you several weeks ago andjust now I am taking the opportunity tothank you for this. I hope this finds you ingood health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 1 2-42Los Angeles19th December, 1968My Dear Janardan,Please accept my blessings. I beg tothank you for your letter of December 11 ,1968. I have already acknowledged receiptof the French Back To Godhead andI have sent my hearty thanks for you all.May Krishna bless you to advance this attemptfar and wide.It is encouraging to me that you are goingto France and will acquaint yourselfwith theistic philosopher's on a PersonalGod. Actually when one comes to realizethe Personality of Godhead, only then ishis theistic knowledge complete. We havediscussed this point very elaborately inthe Bhagavad Gita As It Is and your highintelligence will help you to present thisidea befor the learned scholars of Francewho are already inclined toward a Personalityof Godhead. Please impress themlogically and scientifically and it will be agreat achievement for our mission.France is considered to have the most culturedpeople in Europe and if we can havesome footing in France in the matter ofKrishna Consciousness certainly this willbe a great success. I am very glad that thissubject matter is entrusted with you and Ihope you will do it to your best capacity.Although I could not read any of yourarticle, I have learned from Purushottamthat they are written very nicely. He is notfully conversant with the language but hecould read most of it. So far as reviews Ithink that there is no need to review nonsensehoods and give them publicity at ourcost. The sincere theists and philosopherswill surely appreciate our presentation ofBhagavad Gita As It Is so you can writesome articles on the basis of our discussionsin this book or in Srimad Bhagavatam.Regarding the six Goswamis of Vrindaban,actually they are our guidance inKrishna Consciousness. Sanatan das Thakurhas said that anyone who follows thefootprints of the six Goswamis he willwish to be his servant. So we should alwaystry to follow the footprints of the SixGoswamis and it will be easy to understandthe Krishna Conscious philosophy.Dyal Nitai is a very nice boy, a sinceresoul so please try to train him as your assistant.I am very glad to learn that he isautomatically improving in Krishna Consciousnesson account of his sincere servicespirit to Krishna and the SpiritualMaster. That is the secret of success in

DECEMBER, 1968 643Krishna Consciousness.I you want, I can send you the theisticvedanta interpretation which you can editand translate into the French language forpublication in Back To Godhead. Thereare four chapters of Vedanta Sutra and thefirst one called Janmadyasya I have explainedin my Srimad Bhagawatam at thevery beginning. You can see it and if youthink it is nice then I'll try to explain theother sutras in the same way. I am enclosingherewith the sanskrit tranliterationsand meanings as requested by you.Please try for your Ph.D. very seriouslyand I am sure that Krishna will certainlyhelp you in this matter. I hope thatthis finds you in good health.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-43Los Angeles19th December, 1968My Dear UddhavaPlease accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Dec. 17,1968, and I have noted the contents carefully.From your letter it is clear that as of yetyou have no idea of how much the pricewill be to print our books. This is a veryimportant factor and I think that now thatVaikunthanath and Patit U ddharan are inNY to help you you should utilize their laborto arrive at some figure . As you know,Dai Nippon is printing our books for aprice of approximately $1.20 per bookwith shipping paid so I do not know if ourown press will be able to compete withsuch price. I there is good milk availableplentifully in the amrket place there is noneed to keep a cow. So similarly, if we canget our books printed and cheaply andwith no trouble of labor then it is an adeqhatearrangement. From the beginningAdvaita and yourself have been very sincereand enthusiastic about this projectbut now I think we must be very businesslike in investigating the price which willbe required to print our books. So immediatelyyou should look seriously into thisquestion and inform me of your findingsas you are able.I am so happy that you are looking toyour marriage with Leelasuka and shealso is happy with this arrangement. OnChristmas day, Hayagriva and ShamaDasi are to be married in LA and this isvery encouraging because we will welcomethe arrival of nice KC children tocarry on this movement for which we arelaying ground.Please convey my blessings to the othersand I hope that you are well.Your ever well-wisher,ACBNB: Please convey my thanks to Patit Uddharanfor his nice letter. I will be lookingforward to seeing the epic poem which hepromised to be sending me soon.P. S. I have asked Hayagriva to invest somemoney in purchasing press and he has almostagreed. Apart from labor and othercost you can give me an estimate of priceof the materials required.ACB68- 12-44 Los Angeles19th December, 1968My Dear Aniruddha,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of December 17,1968 and I thank you so much for it. Fromthis letter I can see that you are taking seriousinterest in the welfare of Girish. andthis is very nice. You are quite right inyour estimation that engagement inKrishna's service will help him to progressmore and more. And keeping him

644 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptidaengaged will similarly keep you engagedso I can see that there is all round benefitfor you both. I do not think that at this timeit will be necessary for you to obtain ateacher's certificate. Yo u have so manyother important duties to perform in yourcenter. Also, I understand that in WestVirginia that the qualification for beingteacher is simply that one has graduatedfrom high school so there will be no necessityof such teacher's certificate. Beforelong we are hoping to obtain aschooling program in New Vrindabanwhere our boys may be trained up in theprinciples of Krishna Consciousness aswell as reading, writing and arithmetic. InLos Angeles, Vishnujahn is taking care ofBirbhadra and this boy is also doing verynicely. Certainly this boy is very goodsoul to be in contact with Krishna Consciousnesseven at such an early age so bepatient with him and I think that he willcontinue to progress very nicely.Please convey my blessings to Chidananda.I have received his letter and amencouraged that he is taking interest inselling our Bhagavad Gita As It Is . Youmay all try to distribute this book as far aspossible and it will be a great service toour movement. If any sincere personreads this book I think that he will be impressedby the solid footing on which ourKrishna Consciousness is based. All ofthe nonsense Bhagavad Gitas that denyKrishna are simply bluffs so if one is intelligenthe is sure to get some inkling of theauthorized nature of our Krishna Consciousphilosophy. So try to promote salesas far as you are able and Krishna willsurely help you in this important endeavor.Please convey my blessings to all othersat your temple. I hope that you are allwell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 1 2-45 Los Angeles19th December, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of December15, and December 17, 1968. Ihave carefully noted the contents of bothof these.You have requested my suggestion forthe neon signboard outside of our newtemple and I think that the bigger sign maysay "International Society for KrishnaConsciousness" and the other may say theHare Krishna Mantra if it is not too muchexpensive.Regarding the listing of the BhagavadGita in the religion catolaogue of Mac­Millan, they have spelled it Bhagavid Gitaand not Bhagavad Gita As It Is . I do notknow why they should commit such mistake,I hope that this will not hamper thesales. Please point out this discrepancy toMr. Wade. The list of names you receivedfrom MacMillan of reviewer copiesshould be kept carefully so you mayaproach them with copies of Teachings OfLord Chaitanya . Try to convince these reviewersthat these literatures are verybadly needed at the present time whenpeople are becoming confused on accountof godlessness. Our Krishna Consciousnessmovement is a re-orientation movementfor reviving the dormant KrishnaConsciousness so these reviewers shouldcooperate and help our movement as faras possible.I have seen the Teachings of LordChaitanya documents as and as requestedby you I am returning them for your files.I am also sending back the voucher of thebank duly signed by me for debiting myaccount for the charges. But one thing Imust inform you is that out of my accountalmost $7,000 has been withdrawn in somany ways. Now this should be filled upas soon as possible because a bank

DECEMBER, 1968 645balance in my favor is reqired in this country.Due to this bank balance I got my permanentvisa and also due to this bankbalance we have got the nicest temple inLos Angeles. So in case of a need I mayrequire to show this bank balance underdifferent circumstances and especially becauseI am a foreigner. Therefore the bankbalance's blank or vacancy already createdby drawing out about $7,000 must befilled up by selling books as far as possible.My only suggestion for this selling isto get the books widely reviewed in differentpapers and that is the only standardmethod of promoting this publication. Bysuch reviews as soon as there is some demandall the book sellers will purchasefrom the publisher at least three copieseach. That is the way of propagating salesorganization.Regarding my apartment, if it is possibleto keep it with no strain on your financialcondition it is alright. Otherwise I amnot very serious about retaining the apartment.Everything should be performedwith no strain because too much financialstrain will hamper our progress inKrishna Consciousness.Purushottam is helping me since hehas come and I think that he should remainwith me always. I require a malesecretary because there are so many letterscoming daily and which require expertmanagement. At the same time hewill be securing advertisements for BackTo Godhead so I hope that you will notfeel very much inconvenience because heis not there in New York. Regarding myhealth, I am glad to inform you that it is inbetter condition than that last year when Ireturned from India. I am feeling no moreheadaches nor any severe buzzingsound-but still some buzzing is goingon. After all it is a broken house and I cannotexpect all the comforts of a newly builthouse in an old broken residence.I thank you once more for your noblesentiments about me and I can simply saythat for this nice attitude Krishna will certainlyhelp you . I am fully aware of yoursincere service and therefore I pray alwaysto Krishna for your all-round welfare. Youhave got a nice temple by the grace of mySpiritual Master. It is very encouraging tome . You should always pray to His DivineGrace because naturally He will be moreaffectionate to you than to me. Generallyone is more affectionate to the grandchildrenthan to the children directly. So I amsure that my Guru Maharaj will be easilyinclined to your prayers than that of mine.You will do good always by offering yourprayers to His Divine Grace BhaktisiddhantaGoswami Maharaj .Please convey my blessings to all of thedevotees in New York and I hope that youare all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiNB: So far as you performing the marriageceremony in exchange for a nice rug,the idea is alright and if you request I willsend you instructions.Enclosures.68-1 2-46Los Angeles19th December, 1968My Dear Rukmini,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of December16, 1968 and I thank you verymuch for it.Regarding marriage with Nandakishore,the situation is simply that he isdesirous of marrying and I had askedPurushottam to see if you are agreeable tothis proposal. In your letter you have writtenthat you are desiring to remain asbrahmacharini for a few years longer andthis idea is alright. In India the marriagebetween a boy and girl is arrangedby the parents but in this country such

646 Letters from Srila Prabhupadaarrangement is not possible so we neverrequest our students to marry if they arenot desiring to do this.I am happy to Jearn that you are paintinga portrait of my Guru Mahara j and thatit is coming along nicely. As our movementcontinues to spread around theworld we will be requiring so many ofsuch paintings so that so many devoteesand friends may engage their eyes in seeingKrishna and His devotees. So pleasetry to improve your artistic abilities as faras possible. I am sure that Jadurany willalways be a help to you in this matter.So far as offering to Krishna apple cider,this can be done only if it is preparedby devotees. These food manufacturers donot take proper precautions in cleanlinessnor do they have devotion to Krishna intheir labors so it is not very acceptable offering.If you can make this preparationyourself then it will be alright.So please continue to engage yourselfin Krishna's service very sincerely and Iam sure that Krishna will help you in allways to advance more and more . I am alwayspraying that Krishna will give youstrength to continue to go on nicely.Please convey my blessings to all of yourgood god-brothers and god-sisters in Boston.I hope that this letter finds you all invery good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-47 Los Angeles20th December, 1968My Dear Rupanuga,Please accepot my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of December 15, 1968and have noted the contents with muchsatisfaction and encouragement. This accreditedcourse which you have attained atthe University of Buffalo is a very nicebreak-through for Lord Chaitanya 'smovement in the West. Please do this verycarefully and seriously and I am sure thatLord Chaitanya will give you the intelligencefrom within to successfully executethis new, important project. I think thatunder your expert guidance many of thestudents in your class will eventually understandsomething of the great importanceof what you are teaching. ByKrishna's Grace perhaps the more intelligentwill also decide to join you and helpyou. I am handing over the course proposalwhich you have sent me to Hayagrivawho is here in Los Angeles with me.He is planning to attempt a similar coursein the University of Ohio. So if we canteach to the college students in this waysurely it will be a great boon to our society.You have laid ground work for thisproject and for this I give to you my heartythanks.Regarding your question of the planetarysystems, the planets are arranged ineach universe in layers like the petals of alotus. But in each layer there is mixed bothheavenly, hellish and middle planets. Onthe outside layer there are these threekinds of planets, on the middle layersthere are the three kinds of planets and onthe inner-most layer there are found thesethree kinds of planets. Above these layers,in the center, is the Brahmaloka whereLord Brahma, the creator is residing. Sothe earth planet and the moon planet areboth on the same layer but the earth ismiddle planet and the moon is heavenlyplanet.I have sent to Jagadisha his beads dulyinitiated upon by me and I hope that he hasreceived them by now. Please offer myblessings to Ernestine, Mr. Eric, Bhurijanaand all others who are helping you atyour center. I hope that you are all in verygood health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

DECEMBER, 1968 64768-1 2-48 Los Angeles21st December, 1968My Dear Mr. Ginsberg,Please accept my blessings. I wasmuch agrieved to hear the news of youraccident and I was very anxious to learnthat you are lying now in the hospital. Ihope that you are progressing nicely but inany condition I request that you continueto chant the Maha Mantra, Hare Krishna.Here is a chance for you to chant HareKrishna exclusively in the hospital bed.This world is full of dangers in everystep. Just like in the ocean there is dangerin every step but if we take shelter of boatwhich is known as the Lotus Feet of LordKrishna, then this great ocean of dangerbecomes as harmless as a small pit. Weshall be able to cross hundreds of such pitssimply by chanting the Holy Names of theLord, the Hare Krishna Mantra.I am forwarding this letter throughRupanuga and I shall be glad to hear aboutyour improved health from him. Prayingto Krishna for your early recovery. Do notbe worried. Krishna will save you from alldangers. Chant sincerely.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-49LondonLos Angeles21st December, 1968My Dear Shyamsundar,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your very encouragingletter of December 16, 1968 andI've noted the contents with great pleasureand hope.It is understood from your letter thatMr. George Harrison has a little sympathyfor our movement and if Krishna is actuallysatisfied on him surely he will beable to join with us in pushing on theSamkirtan Movement throughout theworld. Somehow or other the Beatles havebecome the cynosure of the neighboringEuropean countries and America also. Heis attracted by our Samkirtan Party and ifMr. George Harrison takes the leadingpart in organizing a huge Samkirtan Partyconsisting of the Beatles and our IskconBoys surely we shall change the face of theworld so much politically harrassed by themanuevers of the politicians. The peoplein general are in need of such movement.If Mr. George Harrison wants to benefithimself, his country and the people of theworld I think that he must join thisKrishna Consciousness movement withno hesitation. His proposal to offer us afive story building is very welcome. Actuallywe need such a nice building is verywelcome. Actually we need such a nicebuilding in London. People of the worldtake it very seriously. During the Britishperiod in India, anything which was trademarked,"made in London" was sold veryquickly, so try to make your London Yatraequally important so that when the youngboys and girls of England and Americacombine together in Samkirtan Party itwill be a great revolution in the world,even in Russia and China. I shall be gladto hear from you further on this matter.So far as our Hamburg center is concerned,the boy, Krishna Das is very sincereand intelligent boy. If you go for aweek or so late January or early Februaryit will be good suggestion. Regarding Hawaii,I was to go there immediately but theSamkirtan Party here led by TarnalKrishna has asked me to stay here at leastfor one month more. So I am immediatelynot going to Hawaii but I am always anxiousto go to the London Yatra. I am verymuch hopeful when you say in your closingline, "soon we will have a temple,soon we will have a temple, soon we will

648 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadahave a temple." Thank you very much.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. If you have serious engagement withMr. George Harrison then don't movefrom London until your business if finished.P. S. Have you any copies of BhagavadGita? If not then order from Brahmanandaand present one hard bound copy to Mr.George Harrison with my compliements.He will be pleased to read it.ACB68-1 2-50 Los Angeles21st December, 1968My Dear Harer Nama,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter dated December 10,1968 and have noted the contents carefully.I was very happy to read how you arekeeping nicely engaged in giving lecturesat schools and preparing for a puppetshow of Krishna Consciousness stories.This is very nice and if you continue to acceleratewith engagements such as thesethen I am sure that you will be very successfulin propagating this movement ofLord Chaitanya. When Krishna sees thatwe are trying very sincerely to preach Hismessage to others He becomes verypleased and showers all blessings uponthe devotee. So please continue to progressin this spirit and I am sure thatKrishna will arrange to see that your futurein Krishna Consciousness will bevery nice.Regarding your question aboutKrishna recommending the chanting ofHis Holy Names, probably you have notmarked it in your study of the BhagavadGita, but in chapter 9, verse 14, Krishnadescribes how His devotees are alwayschanting His Names. Lord Chaitanya , althoughHe is Krishna Himself, is evenmore merciful than Krishna in that He hasshown to the fallen living entities of thekali yuga how the chanting process canimmediately elevate one upto the spiritualatmosphere .Your second question about fallingdown from the brahmjyoti is answeredthat it is not that one must fall down, butthat they generally fall down. There is averse in Srimad Bhagwatam, 10th canto,2nd chapter, verse 26, which says: "MyDear Lotus Eyed Personality of Godhead,persons who are very proud of becomingone with the brahma effulgence andthereby consider that they have becomeliberated are factually in a contaminatedconsciousness on account of the absenceof devotional service unto You. Such personsmay rise to a high level of spiritualunderstanding as far as the impersonalbrahmajyoti but on account of the lack ofdevotional service unto You, they generallyfall down again into material contamination."The final question which was asked byTosan about the validity of the story of thesparrow and the ocean, you should knowthat everything that is found in these scripturesis factual . There is nothing allegory.But you must not depend upon your ownlimited experience. What happens in differentcorners of the Lord 's Creation noone can say. But we can hear from the authenticVedic sources such as the Puranas .This story of the sparrow is found in thePuranas.[PAGE MISSING]68- 12-5 1Los Angeles21st December. 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour letter of December 17, 1968and have carefully noted the contents .Regarding Rukmini, I think that if she

DECEMBER, 1968 649is desiring to marry Upendra then thatidea is very nice and approved by me. Ifshe will rather wait for awhile that is allright but in either case Upendra should beinformed of her plans. It is very good signthat Rukmini is willing to submit this decisioninto my hands, but I think that inthis country it is best if she can make herown choice of marriage plans. So whethermarrying now or in the future, she willhave my blessings.I hope that you are tending carefully toyour health. Please convey my blessingsto your good god-brothers and sisters inBoston temple. Hope you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-52 Los Angeles24th December, 1968My Dear Chidananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated Dec. 20,1968, and with great pleasure I have notedthe contents. Both you and Aniruddha aresincere devotees with good talents, soanything you do by combined consultationhas my 100% approval. The idea of distributionof Prasadam is long standing, and Isuggested this from the very beginning ofmy missionary activities, both in NewYork, and in San Francisco. But it hasnever come to any practical shape till now.Therefore, if you can actually start a Prasadamdistribution program, it will bevery very nice. But to start a separate restaurantfor this purpose does not appeal tome . If we have Prasad am distribution programit is to be done in the temple premises,not separately. Separate attempt willrequire separate energy diverted from thetemple management. Therefore if you doat all start Prasadam distribution, try to doit in the temple itself. In the temple also ifyou keep some Indian goods for sale, thatis also very nice. But don't attempt two ata time. First of all start the Prasadam distributionand make it successful, then tryto do business in Indian goods.Regarding chanting in the streetchased by the police is not good at all. Thebest thing is to invite people in our temple,and chant peacefully. If a person can sellfrom 7 to 12 magazines individually thereis no need of making a procession ofchanters and thereby disturbing the policeequilibrium. If you can sell Back To Godheadindividually as proposed by you, andsome copies of our books, like BhagavadGita As It Is, that will be a great success.And there is no need of leading a processionof chanters for this purpose. The ideasubmitted by you is very nice, and I havegiven my 100% approval and I have givenmy opinion as above mentioned. Now youcan do with intelligence dependending onthe supreme will of Krishna. I hope thiswill meet you in good health, and offer myblessings to all the devotees there.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-53LondonLos Angeles24th December, 1968My Dear Gurudas,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your recent letter(undated) along with copies of the syndicatecontact inviting for newspaper reproductionof the Royal Albert Hall chantingand they are all very encouraging.I am sure that Krishna is helping youall around for your honest and sincere endeavors.Just previous to your letter I receivedone very encouraging letter fromShyamsundar reporting of his meetingwith George Harrison who I understandhas promised to give us a 5-story buildingin one of the busiest garters of London.

650 Letters from Srfla PrabhupiidaYou have arranged for the convocation andI have seen the list of invitees. It is veryencouraging. Please conduct this convocationcarefully and try to recruit somesympathizers for our nice London center.I am dispatching one tape by separate registerair mail in which you'll find myspeech for this occasion. It begins with"Ladies and Gentlemen." I think thisspeech will be nice and it is recorded onspeed 3 3/4.Regarding your analogy of sowing KCseeds, I may inform you that there is aBengali proverb-Sa bure Meoya Phale.This means that fruits like chestnuts andpomegranates, or similar other valuablefruits and nuts take some time to be fructified.So any good thing comes in our possessionafter hard struggle and endeavor.So Krishna Consciousness is the greatestof all good fruits. We must therefore havenecessary endurance and enthusiasm toget the result. We shall never be disappointedwhen things are presented in reversedorder. Anyway, your honest laboris now coming to be fructified . Always dependupon Krishna and go on workingwith enthusiasm, patience and conviction.In the meantime, I have received oneletter from Sri C. Govind which is alsovery encouraging. I understand that SriGovind and Pandit Trika are now cooperatingwith you. Please keep them as goodfriends. Mr. Govind appears to be very intelligentman and he has grasped theSamkirtan movement is very suitable forthe younger generation in the Westernworld.Our policy of Krishna Consciousnessis very nice. We are offering people goodfamily life with faithful wives in KrishnaConsciousness. Similarly, able husbandsin Krishna Consciousness so that theyounger generation will be happy to havenice home, nice wife, nice food , nicedress, nice philosophy of life, nice cultureand ultimately, nice Krishna. So thismovement is the nicest of all other movements.Simply the ministers should beready, intelligent, honest, and sincere.Then surely the Krishna Consciousnessmovement will be accepted by all consideratemen and women. Thank you againfor your letter and I hope this finds you ingood health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Yamuna,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter of December 16, 1968and I have noted the contents carefully andwith pleasure. So far as the mistake on thecertificates, I think that only on the certificatesto be given to brahmacharinies is itnecessary to change the spelling, becauseon the brahmachary 's certificate this wordSrimate will be crossed out. So on the certificatesfor the brahmacharinies, you maycover the letter "e" with a white paint andinsert the correct letter "i", making theword read "Srimati". So do this nicelyand it will be all right. It is all right to readthe books you have mentioned, namelySwami Bon's Bhakti Ramsamrita Shinduand Chaitanya Charitamrita by NagendraKumar Ray, but you will be pleased toknow that we are now composing the Nectarof Devotion , which is a complete summaryof the Bhakti Rasamrita Shindu .Regarding the translation by Bon Maharaj, it is only one quarter of the completework and I do not know if the otherparts will come out very shortly.So far as having the RadhacKrishnamurtis carved for Rs 1000, it is too costly.Continue to negotiate with Jayagovinda onthis matter. Here in Los Angeles, one boy,Nara Narayan, is planning to attemptmurtis in bronze but I do not know that hewill be successful.

DECEMBER, 1968651So please convey my blessings to yourhusband, and I hope that you are bothwell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Malati,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou for your letter of December 17, 1968,I am always so glad .to be hearing fromyou . Your sincere attitudes expressed arevery nice and I thank you for them. I amvery pleased that you are serving yourhusband nicely and helping him so that hemay advance his Krishna Consciousness.When the husband advances, automaticallythe wife shares in his success sothere is all around benefit. So a good wifeis a great boon to her husband and to herchildren so please continue in this wayand I know that your life will be very successful.Kindly convy my blessings toShyamsundar and Saraswati Devi. I hopethat you are all well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiNB: So far as the new chant that you heardbeing sung at arti, there is no objection.ACB68-1 2-54Los Angeles25th December, 1968My Dear Jadurany,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter without any date.Purushottam says that this is a particularspecialty of your letters that you writewithout any date . I think that you areright, because you are eternal . There is nobeginning and no end and your enthusiasmis also eternal . You never get tired ofserving Krishna, so I hope you shall eternallybe engaged in serving Krishna, so Ihope you shall eternally be engaged inserving Krishna because there is no end ofsuch service.I am very glad that you are taking theresponsibility of doing pictures for"Krishna", and if Joy Fulcher has alreadygone there she may help you . Thepictures should be paintings and if youprefer, you can make larger paintings sothat when they will be printed they can bereduced to the size of the book, 8 112 x11 " . The tenth canto contains forty chaptersabout Krishna in Vrindaban, and 50chapters of Krishna in Dwarka. So ourbook will most likely have the firt volumeof the forty chapters of Krishna in Vrindaban,with one picture for each chapter. Iwill now submit my suggestions for thefirst five pictures.1. Pregnant Devaki is sitting in a palaceroom and some glaring effulgence iscoming out of her body. Almost near theceiling of the room, the demigods are surroundingher and praying for the Appearanceof Lord Krishna. Some of thedemigods are throwing flowers upon her.2. Devaki is sitting in a different palaceroom and Vishnu with His four hands(conch, club, wheel, lotus) in yellowdress appeared before her. In this scene,Devaki and Vyasadev are bowing down toLord Vishnu and praying.3. Krishna is laying happily on the lapof Devakijust like He is an ordinary child.4. Setting of the scene: Vyasadev sawthat all of the doors were opened and thatthe gate-keepers were asleep so he wentoutside of the house and came to the bankof the Ya muna. He sees that the river is inflatedwith rainy season water and hethinks, "How shall I cross?" Then he sawa jackel crossing the river and Vyasadevrealized that the river was shallow andonly up to his ankles. So Vyasadev, holdingLittle Krishna in his arms follows thejackal across the Yamuna River. So thisnight scene of walking across the river isthe fourth picture.

652 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupiida5. Across the Yamuna River, Vyasadevcame upon the house of Nanda Maharaj ,where Yasoda was lying asleep with herlittle girl baby. The fifth picture is whereVyasadev exchanges babies with thesleeping Yasoda.So please do these pictures very beautifully.I am enclosing a photograph of apainting which is in a very nice style thatyou should also paint your paintings.When you are almost finished with thesefive paintings then inform me so we mayassign you further.Please convey my blessings to theother devotees there in Boston. I hope thisfinds you looking very carefully to maintainingyour health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-55Los Angeles27th December, 1968My Dear Himavati,Please accept my blessings. I thankyou very much for your sending me thecap and dresses for Radha-Govinda,which are so nice and beautiful. When Iput on the hat sent by you on my head, everyonesays that it is brilliant, and becauseone has to dress according to the taste offriends this hat has become an importantfactor of my dressing. Thank you verymuch.The present dress of the deity is a littleshorter than usual . There is no need ofsending any measurements, neither thepresent dresses are rejectable, but in thefuture you can make the dresses one-halfinch longer than the present ones. Thesmall dresses you sent will give an opportunityto look upon the Lotus Feet of theLord and His Most Beautiful Consort,Srimati Radharani.I know you are always eager to help mein all respects, and what can I do for youexcept pray to Krishna that you becomemore and more advanced in Krishna Consciousnessalong with your very, verygood husband. Thanking you once more.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68- 1 2-56 Los Angeles27th December, 1968My Dear Satyabhama,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your very nice andencouraging letter dated December 20,1968, and I have noted the contents withgreat pleasure.There is a statement of Sri Naradaji,the exact sanskrit words are:"Satdharmasya ababadhaya yenamnirbndhini matihAchirat eva sarbarthah siddhati esamakhipasitan ."The purport is that anyone desiring toraise the people's standard of advancementin spiritual life, will have their nobledesire very soon successful by the Graceof the Lord. So I am very glad to see yourenthusiasm il). the matter of starting aKrishna Consciousness primary school inNew Vrindaban and it will be just befittingthat you become the head-mistress ofthe school. I have shown your letter toProf. Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva dasAdhikary)-he was just married the daybefore yesterday with Shama Dasi, a verynice girl like you . I am also enclosingHayagriva's letter to you along with this.Now you can do the needful and make arrangementsto start the school immediately.If you take charge of the children ofour devotees and give them nice educationstrictly on Krishna Consciousness princi-

DECEMBER, 1968 653pies, it will be a great help to thepreachers, just like our six students, husbandsand wives, who are preaching inLondon. One of them has got a child andas soon as she is at least two years old, shemay be sent under your care. New Vrindabanis just the suitable place for keepingcows and children. It will be an ideal residentialquarter, completely for spirituallife and I hope for the future theAmericans must evaluate this enterpriseas very very valuable.If you want to write books for children,story books about Krishna's Pastimes, Ishall give you nice hints and Hansaduttaand Himavati can help you with nice pictures.I shall give you some facts aboutLord Jaganath also. I am very glad tolearn the practical result of deity worshipin your behavior. I am so glad to learn thatyou are feeling development of a bit of affectionfor Jaganath by personal takingcare, and that is the way of increasing ourlove of Godhead. Deity worship is thepractical demonstration and hearing fromthe Spiritual Master is the nourishment ofthe idea. Krishna Consciousness is sonice that anyone who has a little taste of itmust feel a distinction between his pastand present life. It is not only the casewith you but it is the case for everyonewho has the fortunate opportunity forcoming into contact with Krishna.I thank you very much for your takingmy time in this way. May Krishna bepleased upon you; both you and your goodhusband will be more and more spirituallyhappy by your nice service attitude inKrishna Consciousness.Actually, I have no desire to start theschool in any city. City life, especially inthis age of kali yuga, is very much polluted.Poet Cowper stated that the city ismade by man and the village is made byGod . So in the village there is a naturaltendency for Krishna Consciousness, sowe want to develop such atmosphere inNew Vrindaban. Your cooperation in thismatter will very much encourage me .Thank you once more for your letter.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-57 Los Angeles28th December, 1968My Dear Goursundar,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedDecember 24, 1968 and I have noted thecontents with pleasure.I am so encouraged that your activities inHawaii are going nicely and I will be lookingforward to seeing you again when I amable to go there. You had been having problemswith Madhavi lata, and Krishna hassolved the problem because she is now in theHalawa Jail and preaching very nicely. I receivedone letter from her yesterday and shedescribes that some of her acquaintancesthere are already considering initiation, soKrishna has arranged to release you of anyburden you were feeling and also she is havingthe opportunity to do service.I have seen the Istogosti notes of yourmeetings which were sent by Lilavati, andyou are doing very nice in speaking on theprinciples of Krishna Consciousness. Sowith your speaking talents there is somuch valuable preaching work that youwill have opportunity to do to relieve theburden of the suffering humanity. So moreand more try to develop this skill, suchable speakers as yourself are a great boonto spreading this movement of Sri ChaitanyaMahaprabhu.Thanking you once more for your letter,I hope that you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Govinda Dasi is preparing herself forgoing _, to you at Hawaii.

654 Letters from Srfla Prabhuptida68-12-58Los Angeles,28th December, 196868-1 2-59Los Angeles29th December, 1968My Dear Madhavi Lata,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of December24, 1968 which was sent from theHalawa Jail. It is nice that you are doingpreaching work there, but you shouldknow that such practices like stealing areagainst the principles of Krishna Consciousness.I always want that my studentsshould be very ideal in character and notdiscredit our society. Actually, one who isin Krishna Consciousness automaticallydevelops all of the good qualities whichare possessed by the demigods. So weshould always try to develop in this way bybecoming fully surrendered to LordKrishna. For Krishna we can execute anyactivity, but this is not free license to actwhimsically. Arjuna was able to fight onthe Battlefield of Kurukshetra becausethis was Krishna's desire, not because itwas simply his whims. So please try to rememberthis and Krishna will help yousurely as you are sincere soul.I am pleased to know that even in suchcircumstances as the Halawa Jail you aretaking opportunity to remember Krishnaand to preach His Divine message to youracquaintances there. Already you havesparked some interest in some of thewomen there, and my request to theseladies is that they chant Hare Krishnaloudly or softly, as they are able, and ifthey like they may order our BhagavadGita As It Is which can be ordered fromhere in Los Angeles.Please keep me informed as to yoursituation with the jail. I hope you arewell.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated December25, 1968 and I have carefully noted thecontents. I am always encouraged to learnhow you are working hard and progressingmore and more in Krishna Consciousness.In distributing the "perfection inyoga" leaflet, when people come to yourtemple you may explain to them the principlesof yoga as they are described in theBhagavad Gita . Such instructions by youmay be preceeded and followed byKrishna kirtan. If they are interested, youmay show them how to sit, concentratingthe eyesight on the tip of the nose. Theconcentration should be on Lord Krishnaor Lord Vishnu, as is explained in BhagavadGita As It Is . So if they come toknow about hatha yoga you can show themin the authoritative scriptures how it cannotbe successfully practised in thispresent age of kali.Regarding Nectar of Devotion, youneedn't bother about it now. We havesolved the problem of what is to be done.Purushottam is now typing with the dictaphone,and he will then edit it and send toRayarama for a final copy. So far as thenew book, "Krishna ", I have already sentsuggestions to Jadurany, and as soon asthe pictures are drawn, I will send to youthe tapes. In this way the Krishna bookwill be completed.I think that because Jadurany is notquite healthy at the present there is noneed of overburdening with pregnancy. Inher weakness, the child will be a burdenfor you and her. Also a child born in weakhealth is always unhealthy. So it is betteryou wait until the situation improves.

DECEMBER, 196865 5Please convey my blessings to the othersat your temple. I hope that you are allwell.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-1 2-60Los Angeles29th December, 1968My Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedthe copy of the article printed in theUniversity District Herald, and I thankyou very much for your nice efforts inpublicizing your temple activities. Youwill be glad to know that just yesterday, inthe Los Angeles Times there was publicationof my opinion about the moon planetexcursion. Such work with the local newspapersas you are nicely doing is verygood. Try to agitate as far as possible ouractivities. Always be engaged so thatmaya will not disturb you. Chant HareKrishna as many times during the day asyou are able. Occupy your time in deityworship in full cooperation with Gajendradas and there will be no disturbance. Asmore articles are printed about your activitiesplease continue to send them, it isencouraging to see how you are workingnicely. I hope this finds you all in goodhealth.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-61 Los Angeles29th December, 1968My Dear Nandakishore,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of December19, 1968 and I have noted the contentscarefully.Regarding your thoughts of marriage,I think that for the present time you shouldke your ind way from such conceptions.Marriage IS not so important. Yourage is not so ripen that marriage is requir:Try to remain as brahmachary,that IS Important. There will be many g irlsavailable in the future, so there will be nodifficulty in finding a wife if you are desiringin this way. So try to remain a brahmacharyas far as possible. If you should stillbe very eager, then you may write toBrahmananda in New Yo rk because inJune there should be a few girls there whowill be finished with schooling and availablefor marriage.I am glad that you are working sincerelyfor spreading this Krishna Consciousnessmovement. Please continue inthis way and Krishna will surely help youto advance more and more and finally togo back to Home, back to Godhead. It isnice that you have written to this ReverendMalcolm Boyd, if you can somehow proveto him the importance of this movement ofKrishna Consciousness, it will be verynice.Please convey my blessings to the others.I hope that you are very well.Your ever well-wisher,68-1 2-62 Los Angeles29th December, 1968My Dear Dyal Nitai,Please accept my blessings. I bet to acknowledgereceipt of your letter dated December21, 1968 and I thank you verymuch for this. You are a very good workerI am fully aware, and I am always encouragedby your nice enthusiasm. You havewritten at length in apologizing for yourdifficulty in Eanglish language, but weare not concerned with language but withthe heart. But at the same time, our languagemust be elegant to deal with thepublic. Anyway, you are entrusted withthe French edition of Back to Godhead

656 Letters from Srila Prabhupadaand this is nothing to do with the Englishlanguage. Yo ur sincere devotional servicewill surely help you more and more in improvingyour fluency with English, youneed have no doubt about this. But even ifour language is broken we must speak ofKrishna Consciousness without caring forliterary or gramatical style. English is. aforeign language to me also, but I try tospeak it, not to be a big scholar, but to be aservant of Krishna. Sodo not be disturbedif you feel that your language ability is notyet very expert.I very much appreciate your proposalto bind the yearly editions of your magazinein a permanent book. This will bevery nice so that in the future these magazineswill be preserved for people to takeadvantage of the valuable articles.Regarding teaching other forms ofyoga in the yoga class, you may instructupon the 6th chapter of Bhagavad Gita .That will include the process of the Ptanajalisystem. Practically, any process besidessamkirtan will not be very effectivein this age of kali yuga, so as much as possibletry to have your students chantingHare Krishna and dancing in ecstasy. Thiswill be very successful for everyone.So far as doing outside printing workon your printing machine, if it is worthwhile in terms of finance, then you may dothis. Thanking you once more for yournice letter, I hope that you are very well.Your ever well-wisher,68-1 2-63 Los Angeles31st December, 1968My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toackowledge receipt of your letter of December27, 1968 and I have noted the contentscarefully.I have seen with very much pleasurethe floor plan to our new temple. Yo u havedone nicely in arranging the placement ofthe various items in the temple. Havingthe guests enter through the store area isall right and will be good advertisement.Regarding Nara Narayan, he is alreadypreparing to go there . He is very intelligentand I understand that he has very finecarpentry skills. Also, he has knowledgeabout casting deities, so after his businesswith the temple work is completed youcan try to encourage him to continue withhis casting work. He is coming from a respectablefarm family, but sometimes Iunderstand he becomes little eccen!ric, sokeep him carefully. He is a hard workerand a good boy, and a devotee also. So faras portioning off part of the kitchen forprasadam taking area, the idea is verynice. But as usual , no prasadam should betaken in the kitchen where cooking goeson.So far as your safe, I will send somepapers for safe-keeping later on. I havealso a safe deposit box in the bank here,and there is no charge for its use. I amwondering if there is any charge for thebox at the Trade Bank. You have writtenthat you have received the 2nd canto SrimadBhagawatam, and please keep itcarefully in my room for the present time.The new temple in Los Angeles is verynice and Samkirtan is going on there verynicely. I do not know how is your templethere, I have heard that it is very nice, but Ithink that the temple here is propablynicer. The rent is higher here though.Nara Narayan will give you details whenhe arrives. Enclosed is the duly signeddocuments fo r instating Rishi Kumar asthe new secretary. He is very good boy.Please convey my blessings to all of thenice devotees of the New York temple. Ihope this finds you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiNB: I have just received your letter of

DECEMBER, 1968 657December 28, 1968. As you have nicelysuggested, I am sending one copy of BhagavadGita As It Is to Srimati Morajie, butI do not think we require to send one to Dr.Radhakrishnan. In the future it is all rightif we open a letter of credit with theUnited Shipping Company. Regardingthis order sent on December 12, 1968,please send me a price breakdown of thevarious items so we may see how it totalsto $250. ACBP. S. I have not heard anything fromGargamuni since a long time neither anycheck __ . I am simply thinking of$7000.00 always as it is withdrawn frommy savings. It must be filled up as soon aspossible. ACB68-1 2-64 Los Angeles31st December, 1968My Dear Satsvarupa,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of December27, 1968 along with one verybeautiful picture by Jadurany. I am sopleased to see this wonderful portrait andplease convey my hearty thanks to Jaduranyfor her fine endeavors.Regarding the article suggested byRayarama, you are correct in your doubtsthat Radha-Krishna leela should not bediscussed in Back To Godhead. In the SrimadBhagawatam there are so manyphilosophical discussions and we shouldconcentrate on these philosophical aspects. Otherwise the less intelligent willsurely understand Radha-Krishna leela assimply nonsense boy and girl sex life.Hanuman Prasad Poddar and companyare all mundane types and they have noentrance into actual spiritual activities.Superficially they pose themselves asgreat devotees, but we can feel their pulse;ultimately they are impersonalists . Weshould not depend upon writings fromsuch unauthorized sources. Strictly weshould avoid publishing these confidentialtopics in Back To Godhead. This is dangerousfor the conditioned soul . Althoughsuch Krishna leela can do some good tothe mundane people in the long run, to understandthe philosophical aspects of BhagavadGita and Srimad Bhagawatam inthe beginning is essential and will makefor good stride in spiritual life. I do notknow why Rayarama has asked you tosend such article. It is not to my sanction.We shall be very careful about mundanesex life. That is the pivot center of conditionedlife. Yo u are intelligent enough andI hope that Krishna. will help you in thesematters.I hope that you are well.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-65 Los Angeles31st December, 1968My Dear Shivananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your very long letter datedDecember 23, 1968 which explains thewhole situation that you are undergoing.First of all, I must inform you that Vamandev'sadvice that first you should make amove and then consult your spiritual masteris most unauthorized. A discipleshould not do anything without askingfirst his Spiritual Master. It is said in SrimadBhagavatam that a brahmacharyshould beg and collect things and then deliverthem to his Spiritual Master, andwhen the Spiritual Master will ask him tocome and take prasadam he will do so. Ifone day the Spiritual Master forgets to calla brahmachary to participate in the lunch,he should rather fast that day than takefood out of his own accord. Of course I do

658 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidanot mean to impose upon you such strictures,but the purport is that a brahmacharyshould not do anything withoutbeing directed by the Spiritual Master. Iknow that you are sincere devotee and afaithful brahmachary, but still you shouldnot do anything without consenting me. IfVamandev gave such unauthorized counsel,he did not do right. Anyway, I havecarefully read the contents of your letterand I can understand your mental situation.Your scheme is all right, yourmother has some financial strength andyou want to be in her confidence to get themoney engaged in the Krishna ConsciousnessMovement. That's a good scheme,but unfortunately we do not get financialhelp by our schemes, but should alwaysdepend upon the Causeless Mercy of LordKrishna.Under the present circumstance youare the only elder member of the Hamburgcenter, and if you leave, even for thefulfillment of some ___ scheme, it willnot be nice. The New Vrindaban schemeis very nice, but even though you take itvery seriously, you cannot do anythingthere at the present winter season. In thewinter, the activities there are almost suspended.As such, I advise you to stay inHamburg at least for three months longer.In the meantime I am trying to Jayagovindato Germany, and when he goes itwill be all right for you to arrange for leavingfor New Vrindaban. Regarding thedraft situation, I can send to you a letterand certificate verifying that you are ourstudent. But anywhere you will be staying,you will be a student of the BhagavadGita , and as I have issued a certificate tosome students here, I will also issue onecertificate unto you . There will be notrouble. So __ is that for the time being,you sould not leave Hamburg leavingthe younger boys perplexed. Simply continueto lecture, chant Hare Krishna, readBhagavad Gita carefully. Perhaps youknow by now that our Bhagavad Gita As ItIs is already published and you can getcopies by writing to New Yo rk center. Sotry to stabilize the Hamburg center firstand then think of your New Vrindabanscheme which will be taken very seriouslyfor next spring or summer. Don't be disturbedin mind. Whatever irregularitiesyou have and with chanting your roundswith Gayatrai Mantra, that you ___ tonow and Krishna will forgive you . I ampraying to Krishna for steadiness of yourmind. I am very encouraged by your workin the Hamburg streets which you sent mea photograph of. This picture was reprintedhere and I have shown your exampleto many friends and temples here. I amsure that if you keep to that spirit you willbe a great preacher in the future .So far as your mother's money,Krishna will arrange to deliver it in duetime. But don't be deviated in any wayfrom your present chance for KrishnaConsciousness. I have received lettersfrom Uttama Sloka and Krishna das and Iwill reply to both very soon. I hope thisfinds you in very good health.Your ever well-wisher,68-1 2-66[TEXT MISSING]of December 24, along with your nice__ which I have read with pleasure. Ihave already explained in Shivananda 'sletter _. I will send you a letter and certificateto alleviate your draft difficulties,and I will do the same for you. So therewill be no need for you to plan to leave infew months. I have seen your poetry and itis very nice. Try to write more and to haveit published. If you like, I can send youmore topics to write poetries about and toversify into the German language. Try totranslate articles for a German edition ofBack To Godhead, which you can arrange

DECEMBER, 1968 659to be printed in Hamburg, as they areprinting a French edition from our Montrealcenter.Somehow or other you should dedicateyour life for developing your Hamburgcenter. If you still like, you can marry inthe future, but for the present continuewith brahmachary life so far as you can.This brahmachary life can be continuedonl)4 by deep absorption in Krishna Consciousness.Don't be disturbed in yourmind. I have sent a letter to Shivananda tostay there and conjointly work with youand Krishna das in progresing the successof the Hamburg center.I hope that this finds you in very goodhealth.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami68-12-67Madam Sumati Morarjee Baishaheba,Please accept my hearty greetings.Since a long time I did not hear from you ,and I hope everything is going well withyour health and business. Last year in JulyI went back to India and from Vrindaban,I wrote you a letter, asking your appointmentto see you, but I never received anyreply. Several times I reminded you, but Idid not receive any reply. Then again, accordingto your letter dated lith April ,1966, I contacted your Calcutta manager,Sri I.N. Wankawala, but he refused tocarry your order as per your letter dated11th April, 1966. He refused to carry mygoods, or carry my men, and I did not receiveany reply from you, so I was helpless,and came back to New Yo rk again.At present, I am in Canada. I hope you arereceiving my paper "Back To Godhead"regularly; by the Grace of Krishna, thepreaching work in this part of the worldabout Krishna Consciousness is improving.You will be glad to know that I havegot now 8 branches, in USA, and Canada.Next, I am going to Europe and shall openbranches in London, in Amsterdam, Munich,and Sweden, and that is my program.Some of my students have alreadygone with Kirtan party; and about my activities,you might have heard from differentpapers, especially in January 21,1968, there was a nice article in the "IllustratedWeekly of Bombay." I hope youhave seen it. Now my appeal to you that inyour letter dated lith April, 1966, youwrote as follows. The exact copy of theletter is given herewith; please read :FromSUMATI MORARJEEScindia HouseDougall Road, Ballard Estate,Bombay11th April, 1966Pujya Swamiji,I acknowledge receipt of your letterdated 18th March and am glad to noteabout your activities in New Yo rk particularlythe fact that you are arranging to constructa temple of Sri Radha Krishna inNew Yo rk.Regarding free passage to be providedto your men from India to New Yo rk onour ships, kindly note that these gentlemenwill have to obtain permission fromthe Reserve Bank of India and therefore Isuggest that you please request them tocomplete the P form formalities andthereafter please ask them to contact ShriI. N. Wankawala of our Calcutta officewhom I am advising suitably.As regards equipments for the templesuch as Mridangam for Samkirtan, also Iam advising Shri Wankawala to allowfreight-free shipment on our vessels. 'fuumay therefore advise those concerned tocontact him fo r this purpose. I may add

660 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidathat for shipment form Cochin also ShriWankawala of our Calcutta office shouldbe contacted and he will do the needful .I did receive your earlier two letters,but could not acknowledge the same sinceI was out of station in U.K. for ShippingConference Meetings and other work.I wish you success in your mission.With kind regards,Yours sincerely,(Sumati Morarjee)I could not understand why your manager,Mr. Wankawala, refused to carry outthe orders of your letter under reference.Anyway, my fe rvent request to you is thatyou continue to help me as per your aboveletter. It will be good to you and to yourbusiness. I am trying to open severalRadha Krishna Temples as I have alreadydone in several places, in USA andCanada, and next I am going to open inEurope also. So please ask your Calcuttamanager to carry my goods free of freightcharges as per your letter under reference,dated 1 Ith April, 1966.Some of my Indian friends are ready todonate Sri Sri Radha Krishna Vigraha fo rinstallation in the temples. Formerly,also, one Mr. Bhargava of Agra, he donatedone Pair of Radha Krishna Vigraha,with dress, and it was sent to Calcutta, andyour Calcutta office was kind enough tocarry it free of freight charges. Now theyhave denied. I have to import at least 20Pairs of such Vigraha, and if you at leastcarry the Vigrahas, freight charges free, itwill be a great help to my cause. Besidesthat, I am getting Mridangas, Khole,from Navadwip, Khartals. So there aremany paraphernalia I require for my temples.It is not meant for business; and I didnot know why Mr. Wankawala refused.There are some copies of books, SrimadBhagavatam, lying in your Bombayoffice, as it was delivered by Mr.Dharwarkar of the Universal Bookstore,Pipe Road , Sita-Sadan, Dadar, Bombay.Please arrange to send these books to NewYo rk. These books are lying there fornothing, and if they are sent to New Yo rk,I can get them sold.Regarding free passage to be providedto my men, as you have kindly agreed, inyour above letter; there will be no difficultyto get the Reserve Bank permission,because I shall arrange fo r sponsoringtheir expenses here in United States, andit is not possible to pay their fare . Theywanted to get some expert player of Mridangam,from India, so please cooperatewith me , and help my missionary activities.By practical experience, I am seeingthat by spreading Krishna Consciousnessmovement, the people here , especially theyounger generation, who were feelingfrustration, and confusion, are gettinggreat relief, and they are joining thismovement althoughthe restriction for becominginitiated in this line are strictly accordingto our Vaishnava rituals. Still theyare accepting; they do not take meat; theyhave given up drinking; and all kinds ofintoxicants, not even will they take tea andcigarette; they have no illicit sex life, exceptin marriage union, and they havegiven up gambling. So if you want to see,two of my students are there in India, andif you so desire, I can ask them to see you .They are presently in Vrindaban. And youwill be pleased to see how they havechanged from their old habits to Vaishnavainitiation. So I request you again that,kindly continue your cooperation as peryour letter dated 1 Ith April, 1966, andoblige.Thanking you in anticipation for anearly reply; and please send the books lyingwith you in your Bombay office. Hopethis will find you in good health,Yours very sincerely,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

1969

JANUARY69- 1-1HamburgLos AngelesI st January, 1969My Dear Krishna Das,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your tow letters December21 and December 23, 1968. I am veryglad to know of your sincere activities inKrishna Consciousness. Yo u are just achild and only by Krishna's Grace you'vetaken the courage to go to Germany toopen a center and work very hard . So I amrather envious of your advancement inKrishna Consciousness because when Iwas of your age I had no such energy, althoughmy father was always educatingme in Krishna Consciousness from thevery beginning. So I am sure that your effortswill be successful .Shivananda is also a very good soullike you and he is sure to help you . I havealready written one letter forbidding himto quit Hamburg for New Vrindaban becausethere is no work for him presently inNew Vrindaban due to the winter season.So surely he can work in Hamburg fo rthree months more, and I am glad that heis engaged in temple construction work .Let him do this without any interference.Yo u do not interfere in any of his work .Let him do what he likes and at his owndiscretion, and you simply respect him asyour older brother. I am sure that he willbe peaceful there shortly. It may be due toso much bodily trouble that he was becomingdistressed but this has subsidedand he will continue to work as usual .I am very pleased to know that the professorwho refused prasad on sectariangrounds was not further disturbed by you.This was very well planned. People in alower standard of spiritual understandingare generally sectarian, but unless theyare so where is our possibility of preachingKrishna Consciousness. Our policy isvery simple and plain. We invite people toparticipate in chanting, dancing and eatingprasadam. So far as your activitiestl)ere I am very much pleased tharthey aregoing up to this point and I am asking Jayagivinda to join you as soon as possible.You also try to correspond with him andsurely when he comes, you four boys willbe quite competent to secure seven localdevotees to legalize our society in Germany.I have read the translation of your Germanleaflet and it appears to be very nice.If there is any possibility of sales, getsome copies of Bhagavad Gita As It Isalso for selling in Germany. This KrishnaConscious literature is very nicely writtenand intelligent German people, if they canread , will derive much benefit from it.If Shyamsundar is unavailable to comeimmediately, dont be sorry because he isengaged in London in greater responsibility.They are going to hold an importantmeeting with important guests in January.I have sent them a tape of a speech, and allsix of our London students are very sincereworkers for Krishna Consciousness.As soon as Shyamsundar will find opportunity,he will come there. For the timebeing Shivananda can do some preliminarywork, and if in the meantime you receiveSrimurtis of Radha and Krishnathen you may prepare a throne, possiblywith silver plates. When you are ready to

664 Letters from Srrla Prabhupadado this I shall give hints on the subject.So thank you again for your letter andyou are doing nicely so keep up yourstrong endeavors. May Krishna bless you .The following is a quote from a letter ofJayagovinda dated Dec . 21, 1968:"I am going to write to Shivananda inGermany requesting them to pay my passage,and in exchange, I will bring themgoods as you have outlined, and perhapssome things to sell, and of course I amanxious to contribute to the progress oftheir center, and perhaps I will find betterluck with my visa affairs in Germanywhich are still troubling me here in India."I hope this finds you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1-2Los Angeles4th January, 1969My Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedyour nice gift of rose petal preservesand I thank you very much for this.Also, I have just yesterday received oneletter from a boy in Seattle named CharlesMcCollogh, and he has desired to comehere to Los Angeles and receive initiationfrom me. Please inform me of the situationwith this boy so I may reply to his letterthere after.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1-3Los Angeles6th January, 1969My Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated January 2,1969 and I have carefully noted the contents.You have expressed the desire to becomean Aryovedic physician but I do notthink that this proposal is very good. Thisscience is not so important to us now becausein your country there is ample facilityfor receiving medicines. Besidesmany of the herbs which are needed forAryovedic treatment would have to be senthere from India, and this is not very practical. This homeopathic medicine youhave mentioned is not genuine and thereforeis a bluff. So the first medicine whichyou should be concerned with is to chantHare Krishna and to become increasinglysteady in Krishna Consciousness. StudyBhagavad Gita As It Is and Srimad Bhagawatamand continue to help your godbrothersin developing Krishna Consciousness.So develop your preachingabilities in this way, and this will be themost successful and appreciated endeavor.Regarding the answers which you gaveto Bilas Vigrahadas, they were all correct.When you study very carefully all of theliterature which is available, especiallyBhagavad Gita As It Is , you will have inyour grasp answers to all questions thatmay be put to you. Please encourage theothers to read this Bhagavad Gita at leastone chapter every day.Please convey my blessings to the othersat your temple. I hope that this findsyou in good health.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1-4 Los Angeles9th January, 1969My Dear Paramananda,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of January 4,1969 along with your note for Purushottamwho is here now and will give you hisnote along with this letter. I understand

JAN UARY, 1969 665that you are anxious to go to New Vrindaban.I think that it is Krishna's will thatyou shall go there and try to develop thatnice land because there is so much potentialthere which can utilize your abilitiesin being developed. I hope that by nowyou have received a note from Hyagrivawho was staying with me for more than afo rtnight. He is now married with ShamaDasi and he has returned back to NewVrindaban . IfKirtanananda Maharaj welcomesyou during the winter months thereis no need of waiting for the springtime. Ihave no objections. The only question is ifthere is sufficient place to accomodateyou during the winter season. Also besure to consult with Hansadutta to be surethat there will not be too great inconveniencein your leaving to New Vrindaban.I thank you very much for your growingspirit of K. C. and I pray to Krishna foryour future progress in life. Please conveymy blessings to the other devotees there.ACB69- 1-5 Los Angeles9th January, 1969My Dear Brahmananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedJanuary 4, 1969, and I have carefullynoted the contents.One thing that I beg to bring to yournotice about the printing of my books. In1954, I left my home, and for 5 years Ilived as Vanaprasta here and there, andthen in 1959 I took sannyas. Of courseeven when I was a householder I was publishingBack To Godhead since 194 7. Butthen my Spiritual Master dictated that Ishould take to writing book which will bea permanent affair. So after my acceptanceof sannyas I began working on SrimadBhagawatam and when the firstcanto was finished, with great difficulty Ipublished the first volume in 1962, afterleaving my home and after taking sannyasand spending whatever cash money I hadwith me during the five years of my stayingalone. Practically in 1960 I was penniless.Therefore I had to quickly take topublication of the first volume and afterthis I got some money just enough to pullon. In this way I published the 2nd volumein 1963 and the 3rd volume in 1965. ThenI began to think of coming to your country,and somehow or other I was broughthere . Now since I have come I am unableto publish the 4th volume of Srimad Bhagawatam,but with your help and assistence,since 1965 this one book only hasbeen published, and 1 do not know whatthis Dai Nippon Company is doing.Anyway, I am very much anxious forgetting my books published, The manuscriptswhich I presently have may be convertedinto eight different books of thesame size which I generally publish, (400pages). But I do not know how I will getthem published. Last year when I was inIndia, I thought that Achyutananda wouldpublish them in India but this boy couldnot help me in the least, and the net resultis that I have lost my typewriter, and Rs2000 are now in the dark well of Hitsaran.Achyutananda was sent about Rs 1000plus he has collected a similar amountfrom the Dalmia Trust Fund. All of thishas been lost for nothing.Whatever is done is done. I am nowvery much serious about printing mybooks. There may be three sources fortheir printing. One source is that if theMacMillan Company is interested to publishmy books that will be a great relief. Ido not mind for the profit concerned. But Iwant to see them published. Anothersource is if MacMillan isn't interested, wecan get them printed from Dai Nippon,but the delaying procedure of this companyin Japan is not very encouraging.Therefore the next step would be to start

666 Letters from Srfla Prabhupadaour own press at New Vrindaban, becauseHayagriva is ready to start a press thereimmediately, taking responsibility for theinvestment. He has told me that he couldtake a loan from his friend, Dr. Henderson.In this connection of purchasing apress I sent a list to be filled by the pressmen of New York telling of the prices ofprinting machines but there is no response.So I ask you what to do in thisconnection. Ultimately, if nothing isdone, I shall be obliged to return to Indiafo r getting them published there.I hope that by now you have already depositedthe $1,300 in First National CityBank. So far as the profits from the store,you may do with them as you like. Thetemple needs maintenance and improvements,and also the book fund requiresmuch funds. I require to have eight bookspublished and on the price of $6,000which is charged by Dai Nippon, I will requireabout $50,000 immediately. Sellingor not selling, I want to see these bookspublished. That is my ambition.Regarding keeping my apartment, ifyou win the court case then keep thisapartment until April when I shall arrivein New Yo rk, and then we shall decidewhether or not to give it up.So far as placing the Radha-Krishnaand Lord Jaganath deities in special orderto one another, there is no set ruling. Simplymake the altar look very attractive. Asfor the address in India which I would likeone copy of Teachings of Lord Chaitanyato be sent, I shall send it after confirmationthat the books are completed.I hope that you are well .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. So far united shipping corporation isconcerned, please let me know if their previousaccounts are cleared off nicely. If theirdealings are alright you can order themregularly & may open letter of credit. ACB69- 1-6lOth January, 1969Dear Mrs. Levine,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your nice letter ofJanuary 5, 1969, along with your husband'snote. Please offer my thanks tohim.Regarding your initiation, I do notknow whether your husband is also willingto be initiated with you . This first initiationcan be performed by mailing yourbeads, but if conveniently you can cometo see me with your husband, that wouldbe very nice. I am so glad to know that youhave become so interested in KrishnaConsciousness, and it is pleasing to notethat you are hearing from Hansadutta andHimavati. They are an ideal pair amongstmy disciples. There are many pairs likethem and all of them, husbands and wivestogether, are engaged in the transcendentalservice of the Lord . Similarly, if l findyou and your husband engaged in that wayit will be a great pleasure for me. I havecome to your country for preaching thisKrishna Consciousness movement, andthe younger generation especially is nowcooperating with me. Similarly your cooperationwill be very welcome.Regarding the land available, this is avery good suggestion, and if it is engagedin Krishna's service that will be a greatopportunity for you. We believe that everyplot of land belongs to Krishna. Thesooner it is engaged in the service ofKrishna the better it is for the temporaryowner. We come to this material worldempty-handed and go away emptyhanded.The things which we possess duringour duration of life are first achievedand then let out along with all of our othertemporary possessions. Therefore thebest use of possessions during our lifetimeis to dedicte it to the service of the Lord.The success of human life is condedered

JAN UARY, 1969 667when one fully surrenders his life, hiswealth , his intelligence and his words forthe benefit of the Lord.Thank you once more for your letters.I hope that you and your husband are bothwell.Your ever well-wisher,69- 1-7Los AngeleslOth January, 1969My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I have receivedone letter from Mr. and Mrs.Levine who I suppose are living in thesame building where you are living. It isunderstood from their letters that they areeager to be initiated. If they are preparedto follow the rules and regulations I thinkthat they can be initiated by mail. So if yourecommend you can ask them to sendtheir beads and I shall initiate them.Your ever well-wisher,A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I have replied their letter69- 1-8Los Angeles11th January, 1969My Dear Gargamuni,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of January 1,1969 and it is very gratifying to know thatKrishna has again engaged you in yourown business. When you went to your fathersometimes I was thinking whether Ihave not spoiled the career of this boy, butstill I wanted to give your father a chanceso he would not think that two of his boysare lost in the Krishna Consciousnessmovement. So it was Krishna's dictationthat you went to your father for full cooperation,but he did not respond . Now youare free. I think that the talent which youhave got for doing business will help ourcause more than what you could havedone at the custody of your father.So I am very glad that now you have anice store in the new temple and thatthings are going on fittingly. I have got areport from Purushottam that his motherhas seen your store and has very much appreciatedit. Your presence was very badlyneeded at the temple to help your brotherbecause Purushottam is here with me, soalways do your best for the service of theLord and be happy.So far as your selling insence is concerned,you may be interested to knowthat I have got connection with one bigfirm in Bangalore . (The firm is SreeSaibaba Perfumery Works, No. 40, 1stCross, VI Main Road , Chamarajapet,BANGALORE- 18, INDIA.) I have askedthis party to send me samples and quotations,and we shall see whether they arefavorable to others.It is very encouraging to note that youare receiving nice appreciations for theBhagavad Gita As It Is , and I have seenthe two reviews which were sent byBrahmananda. They also appear to benice, although one is not very favorable.However, this unfavorable review alsoproclaims that our Bhagavad Gita is distinctfrom all others . This point we want toadvertize.Thank you very much for the sandalwoodand sweet pea oils that you have sentme . I was just thinking of these oils becausemy stock was just finished, andKrishna has sent it just in time throughyou . Please ask Brahmananda to send tome a list of the Goudiya Math bookswhich will be arriving in February, so Iwill then direct as to what shall be donewith these books so far as distribution.Also, please keep me posted as to theprogress with Dai Nippon.I am enclosing a typed copy of lecturewhich I recorded and which was played in

668Letters from Srila PrabhupadaLondon on January 4th during a very successfulmeeting they were holding therewith many important guests. Please handover this enclosed copy to Rayarama to beprinted in Back To Godhead. I am also enclosinga resolution announcing the passingaway of one of my god-brothers andwhich also should be printed in Back ToGodhead.Please convey my blessings to theother devotees. I hope that you are allwell.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiNB: Please convey my appreciation toPatit Uddharan for his nice letter of January1, 1969, and for his poem which hehas sent to me via Rayarama. I have verymuch appreciated his poetic skills whichhe has shown in writing this poem, andthus I have requested Rayarama to print itin Back To Godhead as soon as possible.Encourage Patit Uddharan to composemore of such poetries. He is a good boy,and I am pleased that he is doing so nicely.69- 1-9My Dear Shyamsundar,11th January, 1969Please accept my blessings . I am indue receipt of your letter of January 7,1969, and before this I had also receivedyour letter of January 2, 1969 , and havenoted the contents with great encouragement.Although nothing is settled as ofyet, I can understand that things are progressingwell and as you write in your letterunder reply, the meeting was verysuccessful, and we shall soon be able tohave a nice temple in London.Today I received letters from Guru dasand Mukunda, and it is understood thatMr. George Harrison is arranging fo r afirst class temple , better than the one to behad on Baker Street. In the meantime Ihave received a letter from Petamber Dindayalin Guyana, and he has invited me togo there . There is an invitation to go toHawaii also, but above all I am very muchanxious to see a London temple establishedfirst. So please let me know by returnmail if there is an immediate chanceof my going to London. Then I shall makemy program in that way. I do not mind anyclimatic condition there ; I am quite fit,and whenever required, I am prepared togo there . Yo u have mentioned a very encouraginginvitation that my visit therewill be the biggest event in London sincethe time of the Roman Invasion. Actuallythis will be so. This time there is no questionof invasion, but this time, if Englandis prepared, they will receive somethingsublime which they cannot produce intheir country, neither in Manchester,Glassgow, nor Edinburg. As I stated in mylast letter to you that London is still a leadingcity of the world, and if Mr. GeorgeHarrison cooperates with us, certainly weshall be able to deliver something sublimeto the world by joint endeavor.I am so glad that Mr. Harrison is composingsongs like "Lord which we so longignored". He is very thoughtful . Whenwe actually meet, I shall be able to givehim thoughts about separation fromKrishna, and they will be able to composevery attractive songs fo r public receptions.The public is in need of such songs,and if they are administered through niceagents like the Beatles, it will surely be agreat success. In your previous letter youadvised me that Mr. Harrison has desiredto have me live in the house which they arecounting to give us because he has manyquestions to ask me . I am very muchpleased to meet persons who put sincerequestions in the matter of Krishna Consciousness.So it will be a great event ifthe Beatles try to understand this scienceof Krishna Consciousness with intelligent

JAN UARY, 1969 669questions and try to understand it seriously.Anyway, I am expecting your nextletter wherein you will mention "at last,at last", as you had mentioned in your letterdated January 2, 1969.Please convey my hearty blessings tothe others there with you . I hope this findsyou all in very good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69-1-10Los Angeles12th January, 1969My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedJanuary 9, 1969. Krishna is pleased uponyou so that He is responding to your sincereservice. In the Bhagavad Gita theLord says that He responds proportionatelyalong with the degree of surrender toHim by the devotee. So the spiritual progressthat you are making now is duly beingresponded to by Krishna. Of course it isthe duty of the teacher to instruct his pupilrightly, but to pass the examination witha degree and merit depends upon thestudent himself. But the teacher is alwayshappy when he sees one of his studentshas surpassed the capacity of theteacher also. That is an occasion ofgreat jubilation. Please therefore prosecuteyour Hare Krishna vibrations alongwith your good wife, and certainlyKrishna will see that all of your attemptswill be successful .I am very glad to note when you writeto say that both you and Himavati missyour sleep and go to bed late . ByKrishna's grace, Himavati is not onlybeautiful externally, but she is beautifulwithin also. Otherwise how she can saythat you may have the license for sensegratification but what will you do with thislicense? A brahmachary is good for livinga life of celibacy, but a person who canlive a life of celibacy in the presence of abeautiful and obliging wife is more than abrahmachary. Of course anyone who isstuck up with only one wife is also calledbrahmachary. You will set a very good exampleif both of you agree not to havesense gratification anymore and still youremain as husband and wife together. Thisis possible, however, only if both of youare fixed up in Krishna Consciousness activities.I thank you very much for yoursincere endeavor to do this activity.Concerning the house, if it is possibleto rent it with an option to purchase thatwill be very nice. My Guru Maharaj instructedus, especially to me, that it is betterto remain in a rented house than topurchase our own place, but actually Hehad constructed many temples during Hislifetime. The idea is that if things can bedone without any extra endeavor, that isall right. If purchasing a house becomescause of our extra anxiety, we shouldavoid it. But if by the grace of Krishna itcan be easily done, there is no harm ofhaving our own house. Anyway, if thishouse is suitable for a temple and for prasaddistribution, we must have it at anycost. You may do as it is best by consultingKrishna.Regarding the examination, you are alreadya passed student so don't be afraidof it. When the examination will be held,you will find the questions so easy thatwithin a few minutes you shall be able toanswer them all. I wish to introduce thisexamination system so that in the futureour students may not remained unconcernedwith these books we are publishing.These books are not material knowledge.To a sincere student, all of thecontents of these books become revealedfrom within, even if he has not thoroughlystudied them all .Regarding your question, the deityshall be put to rest in time, and if people

670 Letters fro m Srrla Prabhupadaare still eating prasadam, the arti cannotbe performed. It is better if after offeringprasadam to the deity you perform arti,close the curtains and then distribute prasadamto the devotees. Please do not acceptfrom Gopal Krishna 6 inch murti. Hehas promised to donate one pair of 24 inchmurtis. Besides that, when you are engagedin the worshipment of the temple deities,you may not install separately deitiesat your home.Tears come down from the eyes of aperson who is already elevated in ecstaticlove of Krishna. So these are very goodsigns. I am explaining all of these mattersin my next book, Nectar of Devotion . Ipray to Krishna for your further and furtherprogress in this connection. I ampleased to note that you are now acceptingoutside engagements for kirtan activities.This is an important attempt. Please conveymy blessings to Kulashekar also. I amvery glad to note that he is back at the templeand painting nicely. I hope this findsyou in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I have duly replied separately Mrs &Mr Levine and hope they have receivedmy letter by this time. I have agreed to initiatethem & you can do the needful. ACB69-l-llLos Angeles12th January, 1969My Dear Kirtanananda,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedDecember 31, 1968, and I thank you foryour good wishes for the new year. Pleaseaccept the same from my side.So far as we are concerned, our newyear is every day because Krishna belongsto the nitya leela. Nitya leela means thatall of His Pastimes are going on in eitherof the so many universes. It is just like therising of the sun. In your country the sunis supposed to rise at 6:30 at the presentmoment, but at any time you can inquirein some part of the world and there it is thesame 6:30 and sunrise. While you are inthis meridian, in another country it maybe 6:30 AM, and the sun is rising.So you have now taken charge of thesunrise of New Vrindaban. Our programis there for constructing seven temples.One Rupanuga Vidyapitha-that is aschool for educating brahmins andvaishnavas. We have enough of technologicaland other types of educational institutions,but perhaps there is none whereactual brahmins and vaishnavas are produced.So we will have to establish aneducational institution for that purpose.A first examination will be held sometimesnext January on Bhagavad Gita AsIt Is , and those passing will have the degreeof Bhaktishastri. Next year we willhold an examination on Srimad Bhagawatam,and the person who passes will havethe title Bhaktibaibhava. And the nextyear we shall hold an examination onTeachings of Lord Chaitanya , Nectar ofDevotion and 11?danta Sutra , and thosewho will successfully pass will beawarded with the title of Bhaktivedanta.By 1975, all of those who have passed allof the above examinations will be specificallyempowered to initiate and increasethe number of the Krishna Consciousnesspopulation.Another important scheme is to start anice press next spring. So these duties arethere in New Vrindaban, and we shallhave to live there self independently, simplyby raising cows, grains, fruits, andflowers. I have already explained thesethings to Hayagriva, and he is now marriedand a responsible grihasta. You are ofcourse sannyas. Your duties will be moreto preach and supervise the activitiesthere. But do everything jointly. Manygrihastas and brahmacharies will join you

JANUARY, 1969 671for full cooperation. Some of them havealready prepared to go there immediately,and perhaps you have received some lettersabout this. So everything appearsvery bright in the future . We have to dealwith things very sagaciously and successwill surely be there . The immediate necessityis to construct some simple cottagesfo r living purposes, and theneverything will gradually come out, oneafter another. I hope that you are alreadyin touch with Hayagriva , and he must havespoken to you about these ideas.May Krishna bless you with long life inexecuting the idea of our New Vrindabanscheme. Thanking you once more .Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1-12 Los Angeles13th January, 1969My Dear Madhavi Lata ,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your recent letter (undated)and I have noted the contents.You have tried to explain the reasonsfo r your recent traveling excursions, butthere is no need to explain; the reason isthat you are restless. I wanted you to concentrateyour mind on painting and utilizingyour talents for Krishna's service, butyou do not hear me. Any place that youwant to live, that is all right, but why dontyou use your talents? That you cannot do,and it is your misfortune. Here are listedsome suggestions for you to begin makingbeautiful paintings with . If you can prosecuteall five of these suggestions withoutwasting your valuable time it will be verysatisfactory.I. Pregnant Devaki is sitting in a palaceroom and some glaring effulgence iscoming out of her body. Almost near theceiling of the room, the demigods are surroundingher and praying for the Appearanceof Lord Krishna.Some of thedemigods are throwing flowers upon her.2. Devaki is sitting in a diffe rent palaceroom and Vishnu, with His four hands(conch, club, wheel, lotus), in yellowdress appeared before here . In this scene,Devaki and Vyasadev are bowing down toLord Vishnu and praying.3. Krishna is laying happily on the lapof Devakijust like He is an ordinary child.4. Setting the scene: Vyasadev sawthat all of the doors were opened and thatthe gate-keepers were asleep, so he wentoutside of the house and came to the bankof the Ya muna. He saw that the river wasinflated with rainy season water and hethought, "How shall I cross?" Then hesaw ajackel crossing the river and Vyasadevrealized that the river was shallow andonly up to his ankles. So Vyasadev, holdingLittle Krishna in his arms, follows thejackel across the Yamuna River. Thisnight scene of walking across the river andtoll owing the jackel is the fourth picture .5. Across the Ya muna River, Vyasadevcame upon the house of Nanda Maharaj ,where Yasoda was lying asleep with herlittle girl baby. The fifth picture is ofVyasadev exchanging babies with thesleeping Ya soda.So when I return to New Yo rk, probablysometimes in April, I will be pleasedto see these pictures nicely painted . Whenyou have finished with this assignment,please inform me so that I may assign youfurther. Hope that this finds you in goodhealth.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1-13Los Angeles13th January, 1969Dear Mrs. Hochner,Please accept my New Year's greetings.I am so pleased to accept your token

672 Letters from Sri/a Prabhupadaof good will and the sounding Haribolwith needlework. This cloth is so nice thatI have hung it in my room in front of me sothat I can see Haribol and remember youalways.Your are very fortunate lady to havesuch nice daughters like Balai and Leelasuka.Balai is very happy with her husband,Advaita, and all of my students whoare married couples are doing very nicelyand living very happily. Six boys and girlswho were married under my superintendenceare now working in London, andthey are making very hopeful adventures .Here in Los Angeles also there is one marriedcouple, Dayananda and Nandarani,and they also are doing very nicely in improvingthe temple here. Your son-in-law,Advaita das, is being trained up to takecharge of our press. Your daughter is afirst class typist, so in this way all are fullycooperating with me, and I am happy inyour country.My endeavors might be sincere, butwithout their cooperation I could not haveexecuted my mission so quickly. I thankyou once more for your becoming themother of two devotee girls.Your ever well-wisher,69-1-14 15th January, 1969My Dear Dhindro and Vanalata Mullick,Please accept my blessings. I hope bythis time you have safely reached yourhome and everything is going well. Whenyou were here I requested you to connectwith me some of your tenants at NatoonBazar selling brass utensils. I want manypairs of Nabadwip-made kartals, soplease introduce to me some of your veryreliable tenants, and I shall send you themoney for purchase. The supplier shouldpack it nicely in a gunny bag. We have gotour own shipping agents : Msgrs UnitedShipping Corporation, 14/2 Old ChinaBazar Street, Room #18, Calcutta- I), andthey will take care of the shipping. I havealready shown you samples of kartalswhile you were sitting in my room, and Ihope you will help me in this connection.I do not know if you were able to visitour Hawaii, Honolulu temple. Perhapsyou were unable. Anyway, I shall be gladto hear from you about your pleasant journeyfrom Los Angeles to Calcutta by Japan.You will be pleased to know that inLondon, one rich English boy has agreedto donate a house which is worth Rs800,000 for our temple there. At present,our devotees there are in a rented house,but I think by the next month it will be possibleto sit in our own London temple. Inthis temple I wish to install Radha­Krishna murtis, and if you so desire, youcan donate a pair of murtis for installationin London temple. That will be very muchglorified for your great forefather, the lateRajairajendra Mullick. Very much appreciatedwould be a pair of murtis of the sizeand gesture as Sri Sri Radha-Govinda jewof late Kashinath Mullick's temple.Another request to you is that becauseyou have so kindly come to see me it is myduty to instruct you about your spiritualadvancement of life. Both of you are sofortunate to become the servitors of SriSri Jagannath Deva, installed by yourforefathers. The best thing will be to increaseyour affection for these JagannathDevas, and as such, you should not eatanything which is not offered to JagannathDeva . In other words, you should takeonly the prasadam of Jagannath Deva.This practice will so much help you inyour spiritual life. This facility you havegot in this life should not be missed. Thatis my request to both of you. I hope thiswill meet you in good health. I am awaitingyour early reply.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

JANUARY, 1969 67369-1-15My Dear Jadurany,Los Angeles15th January, 1969Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter datedJanuary 6, 1969, and I have noted withpleasure that you are almost done with thefirst five Krishna pictures which I havesuggested to you . I think that you may immediatelysend these pictures to me in LosAngeles. So far as photographing thesepictures for the book, I think that it is essentialthat these pictures be with brightattractive colors, so please do them in thisway.I am enclosing herewith the instructionsfor the next four paintings .1. Nanda Maharaj (an old man of notless than 50 years) is observing celebration.Many cowherd boys are coming withmilk and curd on a balancing stick on theirbacks (see enclosed picture). Nanda Maharaj, who is the chief amongst the cowherdsmen, is giving them presentationsof cloth, ornaments , fruits , etc., and thereis feasting going on. Some of them are enjoyingby throwing butter upon theirfriend's bodies .2. The demonic Putana Witch hascome to Ya soda looking just like a verynice young woman , and congratulatingYa soda for her beautiful Child. She said toYa soda "You have such nice Baby, kindlylet me hold Him." Ya soda was very simpleand allowed this, but when Krishnasucked the witch's breast the demonshowed her true gigantic form which wasactually miles long and she died. In thepicture, Krishna is playing on the breast ofthis gigantic dead demon.3. Krishna was lying underneath a cartwhich was actually a demon who hadtaken the shape of a cart so Krishna wouldnot suspect danger. Krishna was lying underneaththe cart, but then He kicked itwhile playing, and a great giant came outand died.4. One asura Trinavartll whilrwindtook Baby Krishna into the sky and wasfighting with Him. The idea was to takeKrishna into the sky and drop Him. Butonce in the sky, Krishna fought with thewhilrwind, and the demon fell down deadwhile Krishna was lying happily on theground . Ya soda was praying in thanks that"God has saved my Boy."Regarding your question about placingan effulgence around Krishna's head in allof these pictures, yes this should be done.I hope to be receiving the previous paintingsyou have done soon. Kindly convey yblessings to all others at Boston temple.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1-16 Los Angeles15th January, 1969My Dear Kanupriya das Brahmachary,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of January 9,1969, and I am pleased to send herewithyour beads duly chanted upon by me .Yo ur spiritual name is Kanupriya dasBrahmachary. Kanu means Krishna, andpriya means dear, so Kanupriya meansone who is very dear to Krishna.I am so pleased to learn that you havebeen already receiving some training upfrom Rupanuga and you are assisting thetemple activities along with the others . Itis very gratifying to know this, and pleasecontinue in this way. Also, you must becertain to chant 16 rounds per day uponyour beads .Regarding other yoga exercises, if youtake Krishna prasadam you shall keepyour body automatically fit for working,so there is no need of extra exerciseswhich are required by persons who mayeat more than what is required . So forprosecuting Krishna Consciousness one

674 Letters fro m Srfla Prabhupiidashould not eat more than what is needed .One should not endeavor beyond his capacity.One should not talk unnecessarily.One should not stick with some extra regulativeprinciples, nor should one assicatewith persons who are not in Krishna Consciousness.One should not be too muchgreedy. What one should do is chant theHoly Name of the Lord with faith, enthusiasm,and firm conviction on the statementof Lord Chaitanya that simply bychanting the Maha Mantra one can begradually elevated to the highest platformof spiritual perfection. Also what is importantis to follow the four regulativeprinciples of avoiding all illicit sexualconnections, meat-eating, intoxicationand gambling. I am sure that Rupanugawill ably guide you in these matters.Try to help in our Krishna Consciousnessactivities, and whenever you feel thenecessity of my help you are welcome toaddress me in letter. Read Bhagavad GitaAs It Is very carefully, and we are going tohold an examination next year in Januaryupon this book. I hope that you will beenough expert in this Krishna Consciousnessscience to pass the examination andbe awarded with the title of "Bhaktishastri",one who knows the principles of devotionalservice. So think over thesematters discussed herein very carefully,and Krishna will help you in all respects . Ihope this meets you in good health. Yourever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1-17 Los Angeles15th January, 1969My Dear Krishna Das,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter dated January8, 1969, and I have noted the contentscarefully.The statue which you have received isnot Vishnu Murti. Vishnu Murti is neverto be found in fighting spirit with anyone .When the Lord incarnates within this materialworld, He does not come in VishnuMurti . Lord Nrisingadeva althoughVishnu Himself, fighting with the demonHiranyakasipu, although He is Krishna,He is diffe rent from Vishnu Murti. So Ithink that the Murti which you have got isnot Vishnu Murti, but it appears to be aMurti of Lord Shiva. Anyway, this Murtiis not worshippable by us. In our templewe shall always worship Radha KrishnaMurti or Lord Jagannath. If possible, youcan sell this Murti to some antique storeand get some profit.Regarding the press, it is a very goodengagement provided you can work properlyon it. But if you purchase such pressand there is nobody to work it, it will liedown idle, and that is not good. So if youare serious about working on a press, I adviseyou to do it immediately. Otherwiseyou should not waste your time.Regarding Jayagovinda, settle up withhim by correspondence. I think that if yousend him passage money he will bring inexchange some goods from India. That isnot a bad proposal because an exchange isnot robbery.Regarding Shivananda, I am glad thathe is doing nicely and improving inhealth. I am sending him herewith onenote. I am glad that you have alreadyordered Bhagavad Gita copies fromBrahmananda. Please try to introduce ourbooks and literature as far as possible.Please write to me at least once in a weekto inform me about your activities. I hopeyou will keep in touch with the news fromLondon. They are very encouraging andhopeful .I hope this finds you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

JANUARY, 1969 67569-1-18Los Angeles15th January, 196969-1-1915th January, 1969My Dear Rupanuga,Please accept my blessings. I was verymuch anxious to receive your letter since Idid not hear from you for a long period.But I always know that you are doing yourduty nicely. Recently, Hayagriva camefrom Columbus, and he remained withme for more than a fortnight. He was assitingme in editing Sri mad Bhagawatam.Now he is married with Shama Dasi andhas returned to New Vrindaban with hismany responsibilities.I am glad to learn that you have beenhelping this boy, Kenneth, and he is noweager to be initiated . So, as recommendedby you, I have agreed to initiate him andcall him Kanupriya das Brahmachary.Please take care of him and give him impetusto rise more and more in KrishnaConsciousness.Regarding the draft problem, I am enclosinga certificate which I have issued tomany students, and I think that this will beeffective. Within a few days we will haveprepared official certificiates for both youand Kanupriya which will certify that youare duly initiated disciples of this KrishnaConsciousness movement.Please try to introduce the reading ofthe Bhagavad Gita As It Is in your universitywhere you shall be teaching. I understandthat some rubbish commentariesupon Bhagavad Gita are allowed to bestudied in every university, so if you canreplace our Bhagavad Gita As It Is it willbe a great advancement fo r our missionaryactivities, and people will thereby bebenefitted.Please convey my blessings to all othersin Buffalo temple. I hope this finds youin very good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiMy Dear Shyamsundar Prabhu ,Please accept my humble dandabats. Iunderstand from a letter of UpendraBrahmachary in Seattle that you have inquiredabout me from him after your returnfrom Vrindaban. I wlcome yoursuggestion to open a branch of our Iskconsociety in Bombay, and you want to helpme in this connection. There are two ofmy disciples in Vrindaban. I do not knowif you met them while you were there, andI am awaiting for their letters because oneof them was recently advised to go to ourGerman center in Hamburg. Please,therefore , let me know of your suggestionshow to open a branch of our Iskconsociety in Bombay. If it is possible to get aplace free of charge for holding kirtan anddiscussing on the Bhagavad Gita in somequarter where there are mostly Englishspeakingpeople, that will be very muchconvenient . So if you can find out somesuitable place for holding English classesalong with short kirtans please let meknow immediately. While expecting yourgood suggestions of what to do in this matterI am also thinking of it and will let youknow in my next letter.I understand that Sripad Prabhupadadas Brahmachary is in correspondencewith Upendra das Brahmachary in Seattle.May I know who is this brahmachary?If we open a branch in Bombay is he willingto join us there? But I am sure some ofthe brahmacharies from various centers inIndia will join us if we open a branch inBombay.Regarding the mridungas, certainlyyou have already given me some quotationsbut it is better to take fresh quotationsin your next letter. It is understoodthat your books are already receivedin New Yo rk , and Brahmananda dasBrahmachary is in charge. I shall advise

676 Letters from Srrla Prabhuptidahim to send you the money soon. Do youthink the money order should be sent toyour present address? Upon hearing fromyou I shall do the needful in this matter ofsending the money to you. I hope thisfinds you in good health.Yours affectionately,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1-20 Los Angeles15th January, 1969My Dear Sripad Sraman Maharaj ,Please accept my humble dandabats . Ithank you very much for your kind letterdated December 31, 1968, I am so muchgrieved to learn the news of our reveredgod-brother, Swami Bhakti SadhakNiskinchan Maharaj , and I am so glad tolearn that he passed away in full sensechanting "Krishna, Krishna". This is aglorious death . As it is said in the SrimadBhagawatam ; Ante Narayana Smritithisis the successful termination of ourmaterial existence. We do not know whatwill happen to us, but there is a Bengaliproverb that everything will be tested atthe time of death. So it is glorious forSwami Niskinchan Maharaj that he has sogloriously passed away.I see that Sripad Bon Maharaj waspresent at that time but I do not see anymention of Sripad Tirtha Maharaj 'sname. Anyway, we have already held acondolence meeting on this occasion inour Los Angeles temple in the presence ofabout l 00 devotees, and we passed a resolutionof our aggrievement which will beduly published in our next issue of BackTo Godhead. As desired by you yourname has been registerd on our mailinglist and Back To Godhead will be dulymailed to you . In our resolution we havementioned about Swami Niskinchan Maharaj's contribution both in English, Sanskrit,Hindi and Bengali, and everyonehas appreciated this.Yo u will be glad to know that our Londoncenter is working for the last 5months, and by the Grace of Srila Prabhupada,some English man there has agreedto donate a house for our temple therewhich is worth not less than Rs 800,000.The preaching work in other parts of ouractivities are going on, especially in LosAngeles, New Yo rk, Montreal, Boston,London and Hamburg. We have an invitationfrom Guyana, So. America, as wellas from Hawaii where we have already gotour own temple. Back To Godhead is beingpublished both in English and Frenchlanguage and very soon He will appear inthe German language. Our disciples inHamburg are proposing to purchase aprinting machine, and they have sent methe news for my approval . So by the Graceof Srila Prabhupad BhaktisiddhantaSaraswati Thakur, His mission in this partof the world is progressing slowly butsurely.Your previous letter was duly receivedby me and was replied to by me, and Ihope you have by this time received thesame. In both of your letters you havementioned about grand preparations beingmade for the celebration of Golden J u­bilee for Sri Chaitanya Math from 7February through 6 March. Prior to yourinformation, our god-brother, Y. lagannathanalso informed me about this impendingceremony but so far as Iconcerned, I have received no official informationfrom Sri pad Tirtha Maharaj . Ido not know why. If it is thought howeverthat my preaching work in this part of theworld is not connected with Sri ChaitanyaMath, I do not think this is correct becauseI was authorized to do this work bySrila Prabhupada. and I am trying to domy humble bit.[TEXT MISSING]

JANUARY, 1969 67769- 1-21 Los Angeles15th January, 1969Madam Sumati Morarjee Baisaheba,Please accept my greetings. I hope everythingis going well with you . Yo u willbe pleased to know that this year two ofmy books have been publ ished . They areas follows(I) The Bhagavad Gita As It Is Publishedby MacMillan Company of NewYo rk and London(2) Teachings of Lord Chaitanya Publishedby International Society forKrishna ConsciousnessThe first book is already received instock, and the second is expected nextmonth .I have the greatest pleasure to presentto you the first one sending by separateairl mail, and I shall be glad to hear fromyou how you like it.Yours in the service of the Lord,A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1-22Los Angeles16th January, 1969My Dear Rayarama,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of January 10,1969, and I have noted the contents withcare . I am so glad to hear that you wereenjoying your visit in Los Angeles lastweek, and you should know that I wassimilarly very glad to have you here withme. As you are sick with the flu now, Ithink it best that you do not exert yourselfby working too much strenuously butrather you rest as much as possible untilyou are feeling better.I have noted with pleasure thatJayagovinda* has sent you a nice GoverdhanHill article fo r printing in Back ToGodhead. I have already instructed Jayagovindato arrange fo r going to Hamburgand let us see what will happen with thisboy. I have been requested by Janardan inMontreal temple to immediately send himthe original manuscript of Bhagavad GitaAs It Is , and I think that you are keepingthis manuscript in New York so kindlysend it to Montreal as soon as possible.Janardan will require this manuscript totranslate into the French language forpublication, so it is important business,and please do the needful in this connection.Thanking you once more for your letter.I hope this finds you improving inyour health.A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami* I have received one letter from Jayagovindawhich suggests that he andAchyutananda are being poisoned likeHrishikesh. Will you send me the last letterof Jayagovinda which you have said isnot very good. Will you send it to me?ACB69- 1-23Los Angeles16th January, 1969My Dear Upendra,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of January6, 1969 and your letters of JanuarylOth and II th , 1969. From your recentletters I can understand that you are keepingyourself busily engaged and are improvingnicely. This is our process, thatyou do not let even one minute go by withoutdoing some sort of service fo rKrishna. Because as soon as there is a littlegap of Krishna Consciousness, immediatelymaya makes an attack to grab usagain. So keep up with your kirtans andoutside engagements and always think ofKrishna so that maya will not have a second's opportunity to try to conquer you .And Krishna gives all assurance that thesincere devotee will never know defeat, so

678 Letters from Srfla Prabhupiidaif you simply try to propagate our movementin the Seattle area, you will be successful, rest assured.Regarding this boy, Charles McCollough,if he is able, I think he may come tosee me at Los Angeles so I may discussswith him initiation. So you may informhim in this way.So far as your question about evolution,you should know that the aspects ofthis theory which are actually correct offer no contradiction to the Vedic version.This whole topic has been very nicely explainedin an article in Back To Godhead,"Evolution, the God That's Failing". So Irefer you to this article which was in a fewissues back. This should clear up yourquestions.Please offer my blessings to all othersthere. I hope this finds all of you in goodhealth.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1-24 Los Angeles16th January, 1969My Dear Govinda Dasi,Please accept my blessings. I hope thatby now you have received the reply to yourletter which you mailed just after your arrivalin Hawaii.I am very glad to learn that you havenow become a very good housewife withyour very good husband. It is learned alsothat you are cooking very nice foodstuffsfo r him. This is very good. Your husbandis very busy now, otherwise I would haveasked him to continue the work on ChaitanyaCharitamrita . Now I shall be glad toknow what you are doing. Do you proposeto manufacture Kartamashi from there?But whatever you do, do it in a program. Ihope this will find you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. Have you received any news fromJaygovinda. His latest letter received yesterdayis very disappointing. He has notmentioned about the murtis. Please remindhim again. He appears to be on thepath of Maya. ACB69- 1-25 Los Angeles16th January, 1969My Dear Mahapurusha,Please accept my blessings. I was veryglad to receive your letter of January II,1969.I have received good report that youare selling Back To Godhead very nicely,and similarly you should try to sell ourBhagavad Gita As It Is and always requestpeople to chant Hare Krishna. This willincrease your advancement in KrishnaConsciousness. So I am very muchpleased with your activities there . Everyoneof you should always be engaged inyour respective duties depending uponKrishna, and things will come automaticallyvery nice. Thanking you again foryour encouraging Jetter.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1 -26Los Angeles16th January, 1969My Dear Goursundar,Please accept my blessings. Thank youvery much fo r your letter of January 10,1969. In the meantime I have sent one letterto Govinda Dasi, and perhaps you haveread it . I am glad that there was a nicenewspaper reporter, and he is favorableyconvinced so do your propaganda work asfar as possible combined together.It is very nice that Govinda Dasi is

JANUARY, 1969 679cooking for you and following my instructions.The husband's duty is to give thewife all protection, even from the materialmaya, and the wife's duty is to see to thepersonal comforts of the husband. In thisway the husband and wife in cooperativespirit should execute Krishna Consciousness.That is my mission. In your country,practically everyone has no home life. Sothis Krishna Consciousness movement isgiving them home life and the chance tolive peacefully with wife and family.Regarding my going to Hawaii, it is notthe question that I will have to take withme my present secretary and attendant. Ican go alone as you are so anxious to seeme, but the most important thing is if mypresence there will improve the situationof our movement and temple very nicely.In this case, I am prepared to go alone; itdoesn't matter. But if you think there is nosuch urgency, I can wait until the rainyseason is over. So in any case, do not thinkthat I am delaying to go to Hawaii becauseyou cannot pay for my other assistants. Icame to your country alone, and if necessary,I can go to Hawaii alone still providingthere is urgency.Please continue to keep me informedof your activities and continue to spreadkirtan as far as possible. Hope you arewell.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami69- 1-27Los Angeles16th January, 1969My Dear Hansadutta,Please accept my blessings. I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of January12, 1969, and I have carefully notedthe contents.I have gone through the description ofthe various rooms of the house but youhave not mentioned if there is suitablespace for a temple also. Our present templein Montreal has very nice space so ourfirst consideration is how to make the templeroom nice. So I do not know how thishouse shall be suitable for all of our purposes.It may be very suitable for residenceand prasadam distribution, butunless there is nice arrangement for a temple,how will it be possible to rent it? Sounless I understand how you intend to arrangefor a nice temple like the one youhave presently, a little diffe rence doesn'tmatter, I do not know how you can acceptsuch house. I shall be glad to hear furtherfrom you about this.Regarding your questions, the incidenceof Sanatan Goswami and Rupa Goswamishould be taken as follows; RupaGoswami treated Sanatan Goswami as hisSpiritual Master, so therefore to pray toKrishna for serving Krishna or the SpiritualMaster is very good. Similarly, if thehouse is very good for serving Krishna itis very good. But if our purpose is for ourpersonal convenience, for that pourposewe shall not pray. But for the convenienceof Krishna and the Spiritual Master weshould always pray.The absence of the idea of God is notvery important, but the sense of lovingGod is the most important. The cowherdboys and all of the residents of Vrindabanwere so much absorbed in love forKrishna that naturally there was absenceof the idea of God . Yasoda was so muchabsorbed in love of Krishna that she didnot care to know that He is God. Ourwhole philosophy is to increase our lovefor Krishna. Love with awe and venerationand love that is spontaneous is different,but still one has to learn about thegreatness of Krishna. To come to the stageof spontaneous love for Krishna is a veryhigh stage, and it is not to be imitated . Inour conditioned state of life, we shouldworship Krishna as God with respect and

680 Letters fro m Sri/a Prabhuptidaveneration. That is the system. The relationshipof the Spiritual Master and thedisciple is not the same as the relationshipwith Krishna in Vrindaban. The relationshipwith the Spiritual Master must alwaysbe continued with the greatestrespect and veneration, without forgettingHis exalted position; like father and son.Regarding your question about myGuru Maharaj , I never told anyone thatHe was one of the eight shaktis. I do notknow how you got this news. According toVa ishnava principles, nobody shouldthink or imagine somebody as Krishna,Radharani, or Their associates. Everyoneshould aspire to follow the footprints ofsuch associates. If somebody thinks thatsomebody is Radha or Krishna that is notsanctioned by the Vaishnava philosophy.So far as I know, mu Guru Maharaj 's positionwas one of the assistants of the manjaris.For the present, it is better not todiscuss on these confidential things of ahigher level, but you are always welcometo put your genuine questions for an answer.Otherwise, how will you knowthings as they are?The photographs you sent me appearvery nice, but the house photograph iscovered with snow. I have seen this housefrom the outside, and sometimes I wasthinking that this is a nice house for a temple.So I shall be glad to hear from youhow and when you are going situate a templein this house. That is the most essentialpoint. Hope this finds you in goodhealth.Yo ur ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiNB: Enclosed is a speech which was deliveredby me by means of tape recorder ina meeting held in London center withmany important guests. Please hand itover to Janardan for translation intoFrench and printing in the French editionof Back To Godhead.69- 1-28Los Angeles18th January, 1969My Dear Shama Dasi ,Please accept my blessings . I beg toacknowledge receipt of your letter of January14, 1969, and I was very glad to hearfrom you .You have asked me some questionsabout the functions of sex life in KrishnaConsciousness, and the basic principle isthat it should be avoided as far as possible.However, if it is unavoidable, then itshould be utilized only for begettingKrishna Conscious children. In that case,the husband and wife should chant at leastfifty rounds before going to sex. The recommendedperiod is six days after themenstruation period.I am glad to hear that you are helpingout in tending the Deities. This is veryspiritually beneficial engagement and,along with chanting the required numberof rounds of Hare Krishna, Krishna issure to give you all facilities to perfectyour life in full Krishna Consciousness.In this connection, the recipe for thecharinamrita is enclosed here by Kartikeya.Please continue to inform me of yourprogress in remaining at New Vrindaban .I hope this finds you in good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiP. S. I have not heard anything from Hayagrivasince he has left. I am anxious toknow how far the revision is advanced inthe I st Canto of Sri mad Bhagawatam .69- 1-29Los Angeles18th January, 1969My Dear Bhurijana,Please accept my blessings. I am indue receipt of your letter of January 13,1969 along with the kirtan tapes and

JAN UARY, 1969 681pictures of Buffalo temple. I cannot tellyou how very much I enjoyed listening tothis wonderful tape recording. All of thesuper-excellent qualities of kirtan werepresent on this tape and it was thus a greatjoy to hear it. On this tape Rupanuga hasset an example for all house holders becausethere was singing on this of HareKrishna by all of his family members. Itwas all sounding very nicely, and I am goingto show this tape to the SamkirtanParty which is here in Los Angeles so theymay take example from such nice kirtan.I am very pleased that you are graduatingfrom college in a few days and are anxiousto engage your labors in spreadingthis Krishna Consciousness movement.Also I request you to study carefully theBhagavad Gita As It Is because there is somuch important service that an intelligentboy such as yourself can do in preachingwork and spreading our movementaround the world. You have very good examplefrom your god-brother, Rupanuga,and so continue to help him as you are doing,and it shall be very successful foryou .So thank you again for your nice letteralong with the tape. I hope this meets youin very good health.Your ever well-wisher,A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami(Continued in Volume II)