a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1970 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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Jun 3, 2006 Wednesday, June 3, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Makhanlal, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 21st May, 1970, and noted the contents. Regarding your special worshipment of Lord Nityananda: Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura has sung, Gauranga balite habe . . . etc. "when that time will come when torrents of tears shall pour from my eyes simply by uttering the Name of Gauranga." It is not that one should worship one and neglect the others. So the symptoms of Lord Nityananda's mercy are exhibited according to the description of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura by the detachment from material sense enjoyment, because without being freed from the attachment for material sense enjoyment, nobody can enter into the transcendental pastime of Radha and Krsna. Radha and Krsna lila or pastime is perfectly understood by following the instructions of the six Goswamis. So all these favors and mercy of the Acaryas and Incarnations go together. It is not that if I receive favor of one section I shall be reluctant to receive favor of other sections. It is very good symptom to have received Lord Nityananda's favor, but if we are actually favored by Lord Nityananda our business will be to please Lord Caitanya. And if Lord Caitanya is pleased, then we easily understand the truth of Radha Krsna through the mercy of the Goswamis. So the above verse means that as soon as one will chant the name of Lord Caitanya he will feel a transcendental ecstasy. All of us should wait for this stage of life. The transcendental ecstatic symptoms certainly become manifested in a devotee's body, but they should not be exhibited amongst common men. When Lord Caitanya met Ramananda Roy, both of them felt this ecstasy by embracing one another. But as soon as Lord Caitanya saw that Ramananda Roy was in the company of some outsider brahmanas, He checked Himself. This is already described in our Teachings of Lord Caitanya. The transcendental symptoms of ecstasy certainly are auspicious, but they are not for advertising to others. One should not advertise directly or indirectly that one is feeling like this. They should be checked. Otherwise one will gradually become sahajiya or one who takes spiritual advancement as something materially manifest. Actual spiritual advancement means detachment for everything material. So our activities are nothing material. Detachment from material activities, means attachment for spiritual activities, devotional service. After all, our energy has to be utilized, so when it is materially detached it means with greater enthusiasm our spiritual activities increase. So Lord Caitanya is combined form of Radha Krsna. If Caitanya is pleased, Radha and Krsna automatically become pleased. Now our mission, Krsna consciousness mission, is to execute the will of Lord Caitanya. In this old age whatever I am trying to do it is just to give a little service according to my capacity to Lord Caitanya's mission. I have not come here for some personal credit in this old age. I have also come here under the order of my Spiritual Master who is non-different from Lord Nityananda. You are all helping me in the execution of my mission so please do not try to do anything beyond the jurisdiction of my instructions. My will I have already disclosed to you all that each and every one of you should chant the Mahamantra regularly in sixteen rounds, follow the four regulative principles, chant Hare Krsna mantra on the streets, try to distribute our books and literature, and specifically in San Francisco you should observe the annual Ratha Yatra festival very gorgeously. I can assure you that if you follow my instruction as above mentioned there is no doubt about it that through me my spiritual Master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura will be pleased, and through His mercy Lord Nityananda will be pleased. In this way Lord Caitanya and ultimately Radha Krsna will be pleased, and thus your life will be successful. You are all intelligent boys. Please try to understand me and do the needful. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:db letters | 14:39 | June 3, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Srimati Connie, Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your nice letter. Your observation of the karmis is very accurate. The karmis are stated in the Bhagavad-gita as mudha or fools. They are always full of anxieties on account of accepting temporary things which are not auspicious for their advancement. These karmis can smile very nicely when they take to Krsna consciousness--so our mission is to see everyone bright-faced. Lord Caitanya wanted to distribute this Holy Name in every city and town of the world; and in pursuance of His lotus feet we are trying to advance this Krsna consciousness chanting movement. Try to help us by your life, money, words, and intelligence. These four things are possessed by everyone, the degrees may be various, but Krsna is not concerned with the degrees, He wants to see the quality. If you love Krsna and offer something in devotion, never mind it is a little water, a small fruit, a small flower, Krsna accepts that. If anything is accepted by Krsna that goes to our credit making our path of liberation open. So please try to help our movement to your best capacity, and it will be very good for you and the persons who hear you. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:db letters | 14:38 | June 3, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Madhavananda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your nice and encouraging letter dated 18th May, along with your gift a check for $150 in appreciation for your initiation, and thank you you so very much for this. I am very glad to learn that things are going on very well in Boston. Boston is one of our major centers for the large missionary work of Krsna consciousness movement, so there is always an abundance of Krsna conscious activities going on. It is very good that you are finding this atmosphere of avid service to the Lord to be so congenial. It is the sign of advancement in Krsna consciousness that the devotee does not care for any nice varieties of material engagements based on sense gratification but he finds increasing pleasure in those places where the service of the Lord is being carried out with enthusiasm. So you take the good opportunity to study well our literatures and how to apply the philosophy of Krsna consciousness practically in daily working and help us to spread this transcendental message to all the people of the world. That is our desire. So your humble and sincere effort is needed to be applied for executing this program to the best of your capacity. My Guru Maharaja used to say that everything is already supplied by Krsna; all the ingredients of different varieties already are there; there is no lack of anything in this world. The only thing that is lacking is Krsna consciousness. So Krsna is supplying us with all facilities, so there is no question of scarcity of anything. Simply we must become Krsna conscious and conscientiously apply our energy to utilizing all facilities in the matter of pleasing Krsna or devotional service. We should always be very careful to avoid utilizing any of the facilities available for our own sense gratification, but we should use everything for the satisfaction of Krsna only. Thanking you once again. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:db letters | 14:30 | Jun 2, 2006 Tuesday, June 2, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Sudama, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 29th May, 1970, and I am very glad to know that your preaching work is going on nicely. Please take advantage of the stall at the San Francisco Pavilion, and try to distribute the Peace Formula literature which you have sent to me as well as the card which you have also sent to me. Your plan to distribute French, German and English editions of BTG from the pavilions of those countries is very good idea. Brahmananda is there so jointly make some solid plan. I understand that in Japan there is good possibility of spreading our movement, and the Japanese boys are chanting Hare Krsna Mantra very nicely. I think for the Japanese to pronounce Sanskrit language is easier than to pronounce English language; but this mantra is universal, anywhere you go everyone will be able to chant this mantra. I am so engladdened to learn that arrangements are being made to print Japanese BTG immediately. Please do it as soon as possible. Amogha Das Brahmacari and Satyavrata Das Brahmacari have already started this morning. So already you are three there, and Brahmananda and these two Brahmacaris--now you are strong six, and by preaching you will gather another six times six Japanese people and preach Krsna consciousness in as many cities of Japan as possible and distribute literature. The small books also can be translated into Japanese. I have seen the footnote in the Japanese paper you have sent, and it is very nice. If possible you can import from India kholes, mrdanga, and karatalas. We have already ordered through Messrs. Dwarkin and Son superior quality kholes and pakhwaz, so when we receive them if they are satisfactory, then I will place order for your center. The more you progress in preaching work, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu will give you more facilities in this connection. By His grace you have got determination and you have got a nice wife and nice assistants--please do the work enthusiastically. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 14:37 | June 2, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Brahmananda, Please accept my blessings. I was so much anxious to hear from you in letter. Sometimes when there are many letters I think how I shall reply, but if I do not get letters from you I become still more discomfortable. So you please send me a letter at least once in a week, that will give me a great pleasure. Naturally I am anxious to know how different centers are working, and when I get good reports from them it gives me great solace. I thank you very much that the work with Dai Nippon is going nicely. Gargamuni said that they want to increase price for printing the pictures one side. There is no need of such arrangements, there is no harm to do it as you have got it in TLC. I have received the blueprint from Uddhava and I have already corrected 180 pages and sent it to Boston, and the balance will be sent tomorrow. So there is no anxiety for this. Here presidents from other centers, like Hayagriva, Rupanuga, and Kirtanananda Maharaja, etc. are staying in this Temple. Kirtanananda Maharaja yesterday played the church organ very nicely. We are going to have another meeting this evening with organ playing. So everything is going nice in this center, and perhaps you remember the park which they have constructed, it is very, very nice. So you have gone to Japan, make perfect arrangement for our printing work--BTG, Srimad-Bhagavatam, etc., and let me peacefully write books. I wanted the help of an editor. In the present Krsna book everything is done nice, but there are many mistakes, but on the whole the work is nice. So if our books are regularly printed and the magazines are regularly distributed, and occasionally you visit the centers, that will be very nice program. So far possibility of opening centers, it is now definitely ascertained that there will be no difficulty to maintain a center anywhere on the basis of present procedure. The only thing required is that we have to create some nice devotees and expand opening of centers. Gargamuni is very much enthusiastic on this point, and he has recently opened another center in San Diego. Rupanuga also informs that there is possibility of opening many other centers. He was recommending Chicago as a very nice place for opening our center. So kindly you all together help me in these missionary activities and open at least 108 centers--that will satisfy me--and complete the publication of Srimad-Bhagavatam. May Krsna bless you for long life, and engage yourself in this Krsna Consciousness movement. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:db letters | 14:36 | May 31, 2006 May 31, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Madhudvisa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated nil and noted the contents. Jariwala's letter is not very encouraging. He is prepared to some silver Murtis; Murtis we have already got. Therefore we should not take him for the present very seriously. Later on we shall thank over the matter. I am very glad to know that work has begun on construction of the Rathas, so see that it is done all very gorgeously. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 08:59 | May 28, 2006 Thursday, May 28, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings and offer the same to Srimati Jadurani and others. I am so pleased to learn that you are satisfied to see the Los Angeles Temple situation. Actually it is very, very nice to our purpose, and if we can maintain the standard of the Temple atmosphere certainly anyone who will come here will be influenced by the spiritual effect. As I have already said many times that we have to maintain two lines parallel; namely the path of Srimad-Bhagavatam and the path of Pancaratriki. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the path for Paramahamsas, ansd Pancaratra path is for the neophytes. So the Temple worship is necessary for the beginners so that by following the regulative principles such devotees become more and more purified and thus gradually come on the platform to understand Srimad-Bhagavatam. So we shall always keep these principles in view and maintain our centers on this standard. Recently I have received one Kalyana magazine in which our activities in the Western world have been very much appreciated. Especially they have appreciated my strong injunctions on the point of following the four prohibitive regulations. So after describing our activities, the editor has remarked in one place that things are going certainly very nicely at present, but it is God only Who knows how it will continue in the future. This means that the Indians, or the rigid followers of Vedic principles, are doubtful about my American and European students about their sticking to all these principles. So it is a God sent warning for us so that we may not deviate from the above mentioned two lines of action and thus become subject to criticism by the opposing elements. In India there is already a party who are prepared to criticize my activities in the matter of offering sacred thread to the so-called mlecchas according to their calculation. But actually whatever I am doing here, of course giving consideration to the local situation, all of them are strictly in the line of our predecessors and direction of Sanatana Goswami. Therefore my request is that all of you be determined to maintain this standard which is not very difficult to follow that I have introduced. I am so glad to learn that you are trying to compose at least 800 pages per month. That will enliven me very much to write more and more books for you. I have received some photographs of London Sankirtana on the Advent Day of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, so publish them in BTG. The copies of the police commissioner's letter are very much encouraging, so this will be documentary evidence for executing our missionary activities. If you quote the actual wordings of the specific laws mentioned in the letter, then it will be helpful to other centers also. Actually we do not want to disturb the law and order of the state, that is not our business, but the Vedic principle to receive contribution from the devotees has to be allowed. Properly speaking, we preachers are not supposed to work, therefore we have got the right to take contribution for executing our activities. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:db P.S. Has Dinesh taken delivery of the song tape recorder? letters | 12:48 | May 28, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Advaita, Please accept my blessings. Regarding the printing of the Nectar of Devotion, when Brahmananda was here, he informed me that the printing and bookbinding, everything, would be finished within two weeks, but in the meantime I received one paper bill through Gargamuni for $2,042.40 and another bill for $423.32. Formerly you submitted the statement for 20,000 copies of Topmost Yoga, and again you decided to print another 10,000 copies for which another bill was submitted; so the total amount, $2465.72, has just now been telegraphically transferred to your ISKCON Press account No. 516-5642, in the First National Bank of Boston, so you can do the needful. For future guidance you will please submit your quotation statement as you have done for the first 20,000 copies of Topmost Yoga, and that will be nice. You submit your statement including all expenditure. There is no need of sending me the parties' bills. I will transfer the money to ISKCON Press account immediately. That will be easier for me. When you send so many bills, it puzzles my brain. Please send the statements of NOD and the second printing of 10,000 copies of KC:TY. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:db letters | 00:49 | May 28, 1970 Los Angeles Manager Security Pacific Bank Culver City Branch No. 94 Los Angeles, California Dear Sir: Re: My account No. 836-237 with you Please transfer $2465.72 (Two thousand, four hundred, and sixty-five dollars, and seventy-two cents) to the First National Bank of Boston, Brighton Avenue Branch, in favor of account No. 516-5642, ISKCON Press, and charge the same to my account as above mentioned. Yours sincerely, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:db letters | 00:48 | |
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