a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1970 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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Aug 5, 2006 Wednesday, 5 August, 1970 Los Angeles The MacMillan Company New York Gentlemen: Regarding my book, THE BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS, I have written you on the 18th July, 1970, regarding whether Macmillan wants to publish an expanded version of the GITA. However, I have not yet received any reply. I should very much appreciate knowing what your intentions are regarding this matter. If MacMillan does not desire to publish this expanded version, then I will have it published elsewhere immediately. I hope to hear from you at the earliest date possible. Yours sincerely, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:tkd letters | 15:39 | 5 August, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Subhadra dasi, Please accept my blessings. Thank you very much for your nice letter dated July 22, 1970 Thursday night. I did not reply right away because I am getting ready to to lead a Sankirtana Party to chant Hare Krsna in Japan and then to India, where Lord Sri Krsna had all His Pastimes with the cowherd boys and girls. Yes, you are certainly right when you say Radharani cooks prasadam for Lord Krsna. Whenever He returns in the evening from herding cows with His cowherd boy friends, Radharani has a nice preparation waiting for Lord Krsna. You have also mentioned about Krsna playing on His flute. In the Nectar of Devotion, it is said that Lord Krsna attracts living entities from all over the universes by simply playing on His flute. Now please listen faithfully to your mother and father and they will teach you all about Lord Krsna. It is said that everyone has a mother and father but only a few are fortunate enough to have a Spiritual Master. So you are doubly fortunate, you have a Spiritual Master and also you have a nice Krsna consciousness father and mother, simply live by their example. I am hoping this reply finds you in happy mood, and I remain Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACB:rda letters | 15:38 | Aug 4, 2006 4 August, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Upendra, Please accept my blessings. Thank you for your letter dated July 30, 1970. I am glad to hear that our Sydney Temple is going nicely. Regarding your questions, the sannyasis are now devoted fully to travelling and preaching work, management is left to the local Temple Presidents and the members of the Governing Body Commission. As we make advancement, offenses should be gradually diminished; advanced devotees, in fact all devotees should study how to do this very carefully in the Nectar of Devotion. We can understand the Absolute Truth by hearing, that is how we can become perfect. Simply by hearing and chanting the Glories of the Supreme Lord from the Srimad-Bhagavatam one can become perfect, this example is shown by Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit. The Gayatri is chanted morning, afternoon, and evening. The pujari chants Gayatri at each offering. Regarding the Sayyothana ceremony. In that part of the year it is very hot so they pour water mixed with milk over the Deities. Lord Jesus Christ is a saktyavesa Avatara, an empowered living entity or jiva. In order to attain such a position one must be pure, so in this sense Lord Jesus Christ was a pure devotee. Of course, humanitarianism is not a sign of the pure devotee, but unless he did like that no one would hear him. So Lord Jesus Christ was acting a part suitable for the particular circumstances. It is a nice story about the police sergeant bowing down following the example of the devotees. That tendency is there in everyone eternally, simply they must be exposed to our Sankirtana Movement. It does not matter what we are, Grhasthas or Sannyasis, the point is to be paramahamsa, completely surrendered to Lord Sri Krsna. Some of Lord Caitanya's followers were Sannyasis but not all of them. Thank you once again and please convey my blessings to all the Prabhus there. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACB:rda letters | 15:37 | Aug 2, 2006 2 August, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Acyutananda and Jayapataka, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your telegram reading as follows: "Krishnas provided six months free house nine rooms occupy August fourth." I hope by the time this letter reaches you, you might have already occupied the house, so reply me this letter to London address 7 Bury Place, London, W.C.1. I am going there for a month to rest completely. So on receipt of your further reply that you have occupied the place I shall send you at least 10 brahmacaris immediately as you desired formerly. I have not heard, however, from you anything about the Mayapur land--this is also essential. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 15:36 | Aug 1, 2006 1 August, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Dinesh, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 27th July, 1970, and noted the contents. Yes, I have received the Tandberg Speakers and they are very nice sounding. We are playing the tapes which I have recorded on this machine in stereo and they are very nice. Nowadays, I am not making tapes because of a little blood-pressure trouble. As soon as I am a little peaceful I shall make tapes and send to you as desired by you. The prospect of your opening a new branch is very good. If you can, do it. This opening of centers is required. However, Krsna Consciousness does not depend on the place, on the contrary, it depends on the person who is free from duality. So why another part of the world for opening a new branch. There are many places in this country where it is important to have our branches. I am very glad to note your eagerness for expanding your service. This attitude is very nice and it is required of the devotee at every stage. So do it very enthusiastically with great faith and patience strictly following the regulative principles. Your good wife and yourself should set the example as model Krsna consciousness householders by your careful observance of all our Krsna conscious principles and thus make your lives successful. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 15:35 | Saturday, 1 August, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Nayana Bhirama, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 30th July, 1970, and noted the contents. I have duly initiated the new student Elaine Marberger and her spiritual name is Daivisakti devi Dasi. I have sent her beads back by separate air post and her letter is enclosed herewith. I beg to thank you also for the check of $50 contribution to my book fund, it is very welcome. Regarding your proposed marriage with Srimati Daivisakti, she appears to be a very nice intelligent devotee, so if she is agreeable to your proposal I have all blessings for your marriage. Now please work combinedly in Krsna's service with your new wife when you are married and make your lives perfect in Krsna consciousness. That is my desire. You should be very careful to always set the highest example of householder life in Krsna consciousness and that will automatically benefit all persons with whom you come in contact. So you live and work together in Krsna consciousness and be happy chanting Hare Krsna mantra. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 15:35 | 1 August, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Krsnakanti, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 26th July, 1970, and was very glad to note the contents. I beg also to thank you for the check which you enclosed for $100 to my book fund and I receive it very gladly as we have expended recently so much for printing our literatures and we have many more manuscripts ready for publication. I am so happy to learn that both yourself and Sriman Gajendra are now married to two of my beloved daughters. I am proposing that our Temples now be managed by the householder couples so this is very nice for you now. Please take this opportunity offered you all by Krsna very seriously and do not misuse your life for sense gratification. You are a very intelligent boy I know and a very sincere devotee of Lord Krsna. Now you have got a good wife who is also intelligent girl and devotee, so live peacefully working together for pushing on this Krsna consciousness movement for the ultimate benefit of all concerned. So you both husband and wife please take my blessings and blessings of Lord Krsna and be happy in Krsna's transcendental loving service. Please offer my blessings to Gajendra and his good wife, Herapancami. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 15:34 | Jul 31, 2006 Friday, 31 July, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Vasudeva, Please accept my blessings. I have not heard from you since a long time. I hope everything is going well with you in Krsna consciousness. I know that you have been practicing your painting in a regular schedule and you are very much enthusiastic to be engaged in this. You are not only advanced student in painting, but also in Krsna consciousness, so always pray to Krsna how you shall draw the painting and I think it will come out nice. My another request to you is that because I am going to the Eastern hemisphere countries I wish to establish as many branches as possible on that side. As you know me very well, I shall require many pictures of Pancatattva, either Sankirtana or Five standing together, also the pictures of Acaryas. Wherever a Sankirtana Temple will be established, I shall require at least three pictures, namely your Spiritual Master, my Spiritual Master and Pancatattva as they are being worshipped in the first apartment of the Temple here in L.A. I shall have some color pictures of this first apartment of the L.A. Temple sent to you for reference. These pictures may be painted on a canvas with oil painting and when it is dried up they may be rolled all together and dispatched by Post Air Mail. The framework may be done locally. Paraffin paper may be placed between the paintings so they will not stick. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 18:41 | 31 July, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Brahmananda Maharaja and Gargamuni Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your two nice letters along with xerox copy of press meeting. Satsvarupa has sent me the original signed copy and I have replied him separately. In order to set example to my other Sannyasi students I am personally going to Japan with a party of three other Sannyasi students. Although it is beyond my physical condition, still I am going out so that you may learn the responsibility of Sannyasa. Yesterday Karandhara presented me a check signed by you for $4,000 in my favor, but I have countersigned in favor of ISKCON L.A. as they have already purchased our worldwide tickets. I am starting next week sometimes. I have asked Tamala to come here and Hayagriva to come here. Rupanuga, Bhagavan das and Kirtanananda Maharaja are already here, so I am fervently appealing to you all not to create fracture in the solid body of the Society. Please work conjointly, without any personal ambition. That will help the cause. It is the injunction of the Vedas that the Spiritual Master should not be treated as ordinary man even if sometimes the Spiritual Master behaves like ordinary man. It is the duty of the disciple to accept Him as Superhuman Man. In the beginning of your letter your comparison of the soldier and commander is very appropriate. We are on the battlefield of Kuruksetra--one side Maya, the other side Krsna. So the regulative principles of a battlefield, namely to abide by the order of the commander, must be followed. Otherwise it is impossible to direct the fighting capacity of the soldiers and thus defeat the opposing elements. Kindly therefore take courage. You are capable in so many ways. Let things be rightly done so that our mission may be correctly pushed forward to come out victorious. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 18:40 | 31 July, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 27th July, 1970 regarding the manuscript. I understand that all the pictures of KRSNA, Vol. II, are not prepared, so I shall request you to complete these pictures as soon as possible. There is no hurry because now I am going with a small Sankirtana Party to the Eastern countries. I wish to remain in Japan at least for two months. Therefore if you send me the complete manuscript and pictures, then I can personally get the book, Second Volume, printed in my presence. I have duly received the press meeting report of July 25th, signed by you, Uddhava, Advaita, Brahmananda Swami, and Gargamuni Swami. It has given me much pleasure, so I shall be more pleased when they are done according to the writings. Regarding Bhagavad-gita, enlarged edition, the picture approved by me to Jadurani is all right. I am glad to learn that it is being serialized. Regarding Srimad-Bhagavatam, First Canto, I am glad that manuscript is also being composed. Srimad-Bhagavatam, Second Canto, improper title pages being rectified is good news. Please keep me informed about the progress of those manuscripts. Our life is very short. The Krsna consciousness movement is not meant for fulfilling one's personal ambition, but it is a serious movement for the whole world. I am therefore going to the Eastern hemisphere, beginning from Japan. We are going four in a party and all of us are Sannyasis. In this old age I am going with this party just to set an example to my disciples who have taken recently the Sannyas order. I think Brahmananda Swami, Gargamuni Swami, Visnujana Swami, Kirtanananda Swami and Subala Swami, all of them, two in a party assisted by other Brahmacaris should form separate Sankirtana Parties and travel all over Europe, America and Canada. Now we want very many Swamis to take up this job. The Grhasthas are to take care of the Temples as well as the general management. I have already formed the Governing Body Commission and your good name is also in the Board. There is no time for creating a crack in our solid formation of Krsna Consciousness Society. Take it now with great responsibility and everyone of you may serve jointly for Krsna's satisfaction. That is my request to you all. I think you may reply this letter to me care of ISKCON, Tokyo, Japan. Whatever mistakes that have been done in the past may be rectified. That is my request. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 18:38 | Jul 30, 2006 Thursday, 30 July, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Himavati, Please accept my blessings. I have not heard from you recently how you are and I have been anxious to know that you are recovering well from your car accident injury. I beg to acknowledge receipt of a package yesterday which contained one set of Deity clothes. I have immediately got them on my Deities and They are wearing them and looking so beautiful. You have made the colors and clothes so nicely. I am very much pleased. You are lying for some time in the hospital bed and still you are not wasting a moment of your time. This attitude is very good. This is Krsna Consciousness - not to waste even a single moment without serving the Lord in some way or other. So you have made these very, very nice dresses for Krsna and Radharani although you are so much inconvenienced by your injury. I am very, very glad that you have got this feeling to not waste even a single moment in the service of the body and mind but to utilize very carefully every moment of life in the loving service of the Lord. I beg to thank you once more for the beautiful clothes for Radha Krishna. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 18:38 | 30 July, 1970 Los Angeles My Dear Sudama, Please accept my blessings. I beg to inform you that I am leaving Los Angeles on the 7th July. I am taking three Sannyasis on world tour. We shall reach to Hawaii first and I shall let you know then definitely what our plans are for coming to Tokyo so you will know when to expect our arrival. I hope everything is going on well with you. Your reports from Japan are very encouraging, so I am looking forward to seeing you there. Please offer my blessings to all Prabhus there. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:dm P.S. If you have already arranged for my apartment then you can send me telegram immediately & I shall cancel Hawaii program. ACB letters | 18:36 | |
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