a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1970 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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Nov 18, 2006 Wednesday, 18 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Yamuna devi, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your nice letter of report from Delhi dated November, 1970, and have noted the contents. I have already written to Gurudasa to try for one very nice Temple in Vrndavana which is in good repair. If we can establish one center there it will be very, very nice. Our foreign devotees must have one very nice place in Vrndavana where they may stay while visiting there and I think this palace of the Maharaja of Bharatapur is just right for us. So you both together work very strenuously in Delhi for making Life Members. That will provide the means for establishing our branches. Regarding Mr. Gupta, he is an old friend of mine. But I think if you can get him to become our Life Member, you should not expect more than that. That much will be satisfactory. Regarding the Gaudiya Math, our position has nothing to do with them. They cannot do anything and if somebody does something, they will be envious. That is the nature of third class men. My Guru Maharaja once told this story; one friend informed another that one man has become the High Court Judge. "Oh no," he replied, "No. That cannot be right." "Yes, he is now a Judge," said the first friend. ``I have seen him sitting on the bench.'' The second man replied, ``Maybe. But I don't think he is getting any salary." Such envious men will find out some fault anywhere. There is no fault, actually, but they will manufacture some fault. That is their business. So many persons were envious of my Guru Maharaja, but He was preaching and did not care for them. Please offer my blessings to all the other devotees with you in Delhi. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 13:06 | 18 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Gurudasa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated from Vrndavana as well as two previous letters dated November 10th, 1970 and two letters carried here by Mr. H. S. Gupta. I have met Mr. Gupta last evening and his idea was to advertise so that people may know that if they go travelling in foreign countries they may stay in Temples there. But we cannot advertise like that. When someone becomes a life member, we can inform him that he may stay at our foreign Temples as privilege of a life member, but we are not inviting anyone and everyone to stay as if we are in the hotel business. I am glad that you are enthusiastic about prospects in Delhi, and if you like to work there, do it. We have initiated a system for making life members, that daily three members must be made in Bombay, daily two in Calcutta, and daily one in Delhi. In this way of six Life members daily, we shall very quickly expand our Society in India. This Life Membership is the support of our Movement here, so you must stress this program especially. That will be our success. Your report from Vrndavana is good. I think you should negotiate for the first palace near Kesighat, called Laksmikunj, from the Maharaja of Bharatapur. That place is just suitable for us. It should be easier to come to terms for this place also because it is vacant. If you can establish one nice palatial Temple for our Society in Vrndavana, that will be a great credit for you. I am awaiting your telegram or telephone call in this connection. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. Regarding Atma Ram and Sons, you can inform them that we are expecting our shipment to arrive soon. In the meantime, the old dust jackets may be distributed for our advertising purposes to Calcutta, Delhi and Bombay. At least half the quantity should be sent immediately to me here in Bombay. ACBS:ds letters | 13:05 | Nov 17, 2006 Tuesday, 17 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Bhaktajan, Please accept my blessings. I am so glad to hear from you after a very long time. It is my pleasure that you have come to stay with us in our New York Temple. I do not think you are any more able to leave Krsna because He does not let anyone go away who has once come forward in this service. Regarding the ointment which you are finding so useful, the formula is as follows: Hard Paraffin (candle wax) 1/2 ounce Soft Paraffin (Vaseline) 3 ounces Resin (or rosin) 1 ounce Oil of Eucalyptus 1/2 ounce Chlorophyll Melt the two paraffins and the crushed resin in a small pot, stir constantly. Then all melted and mixed up, add the oil of eucalyptus and stir it in. Let the mixture cool somewhat, but keep stirring or the resin will separate and harden on the bottom. Just before the mixture begins to solidify, add enough dry chlorophyll to make the ointment slightly dark green--not very much required. Stir the mixture thoroughly until it is completely cooled into an ointment--this keeps the ingredients together properly--the mixture should not be reheated after adding the chlorophyll. Regarding the internal sulphur preparation, I do not think that is necessary for you. It is very difficult to prepare and if made incorrectly can become harmful rather than beneficial. I hope you are chanting your rounds regularly and always engaging in devotional service in our regular Temple program. Please ready all our literatures very carefully and chant Hare Krsna always and be happy. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 13:05 | 17 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Sriman Kenneth, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter Dated 23rd August, 1970, expressing your humble realizations concerning Krsna Consciousness process. Yes, it is the only way that one can approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to Lord Krsna's instructions to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita, this science is passed down perfectly only via the bona fide line of disciplic succession. So one has got to find out some representative of the Lord who is in the bona fide disciplic succession and then follow the Lord's instructions that after finding out such a Spiritual Master one should try to learn the truth from him by inquiring submissively and rendering service unto him. This method of approaching Krsna must be accepted because it is offered by the Lord Himself. So the first step is that one should consider carefully whether here is a bona fide Spiritual Master to whom I can surrender myself without any hesitation. I am very glad that you have decided to rejoin our spiritual community of Krsna Consciousness at New Vrndavana. We have established New Vrndavana to be developed as a model of Krsna Consciousness or pure, unadulterated spiritual community practical for all persons. Actually the atmosphere there is very transcendental and I am very pleased that you have got the good sense to take advantage of this shelter from the distress and frustration of the material world. Please try your best to learn our Krsna philosophy very nicely, when you have some difficult point you can ask advice from Sriman Hayagriva or your elder Godbrothers. Chant Hare Krsna always, do your regular tasks in Krsna Consciousness, cooperate with the other devotees, follow strictly the four regulative principles and be happy in the service of the Lord. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 13:04 | 17 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Sriman Stan, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your nice letter. I am very pleased that you are in New Vrndavana for some time now and you are feeling the benefits of the transcendental atmosphere there. Actually it is my dream to have such a perfect community established fully in Krsna Consciousness so that the people of your country may have a right example what is the natural way of life or pure spiritual living. Your attitude of determination to progress in your transcendental knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna and perfect your devotional service to Him, is very praiseworthy. Ramananda Roy has explained that there is nothing so glorious or worth of fame in this world for a person who knows the true value of life other than to be famed as a devotee of Krsna. We are all originally situated on the platform of Krsna consciousness in our eternal personal relationship of love of Krsna. But due to forgetfulness we become familiar with the material world or Maya. As soon as one chants the Hare Krsna Mantra with sincerity and without offense (you know there are ten kinds of offenses to the Holy Name which we are to avoid very, very carefully) his original Krsna consciousness is immediately revived. Krsna consciousness means to be always remembering Krsna in some way or other, just like we are immediately thinking of Krsna when we chant His Name, Krsna, and we are always thinking how we can do something nice to please Krsna with some service or other, or we are reading literature about Krsna or speaking about Krsna. In this way we are always remembering Krsna and that is our natural conscious state. So naturally everything about Krsna is originally known to us all and as soon as we begin to associate with the devotees of the Lord and chant His Holy Name, this memory gradually becomes stronger as we remember our constitutional position of always serving Krsna in different ways. The first step, so you have noted is that the dirty things which are clouding our spiritual senses must be cleansed by the Sankirtana process. So Krsna Consciousness is a purifying process. If you follow the regulations of our Society very strictly you will quickly become completely purified and thus achieve the highest perfection of life, Krsna consciousness or Love of God. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 13:04 | 17 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Jagadisa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter dated October 25th, 1970, and noted the contents. Yes, you are right to say that self-realization is a serious work. The devotees know this and there one of their qualities is that they are grave and not inclined to frivolity. A Krsna Conscious person is only interested in serving the Lord faithfully and he has got no other extraneous thought. His intelligence is always engaged in finding out the best way to execute loving transcendental service to Krsna and therefore he has no time for idleness. An idle mind is the devil's workshop--is a true remark. We should always remember that Maya and Krsna are side by side, just like light and darkness stand side by side. If one is not in the sunshine or light, then he is ipso facto in darkness. Therefore we must not be careless, but we should push on with great seriousness and sincerity, then we shall be certain of achieving the desired result. I am always glad to learn that our Sankirtana is going on so much joyfully now in our every branch. We shall not misrepresent ourselves by making simply a show of devotional service and simply fill our bellies. It is our only intention to spread this sublime philosophy to all the persons of the world for the complete welfare benefit, both spiritual and material of everyone of them. The new program of preaching on Sankirtana using one basic verse from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is is an excellent idea. We should always be eager to find out such nice ways to spread this Movement. This will automatically bring joy to the devotees as well as to the nondevotees. Please see that the highest standards are maintained in all the Temples in your jurisdiction as well as your own. We are now attracting the attention of the public in general and very influential persons as well. So our program if it is kept pure according to my many instructions, will give you the deserved reputation of being the topmost members of the society. That is very much wanted so that we may hope to change the society as a whole. Keep the Montreal and Vancouver Centers carefully in cooperation and in general see that things are going well with the help of your Godbrothers and other Governing Body Commissioners. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 13:03 | Nov 16, 2006 Monday, 16 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Rsabhadeva, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your encouraging letter dated October 1st, 1970, and your appreciations of devotional service in Krsna Consciousness are very nice. Now you are placed in a responsible post, so I may request you to very carefully execute the regular program as you have learned it in Los Angeles. If the regulative principles are strictly followed there is no chance of maya's dangerous influence to come in and cause some havoc. Maya is always peeping, ready to take advantage of our any lapse from devotional standard, so everyone should be continuously engaged in either chanting, studying or working and preaching. This full schedule will save you from engagement elsewhere. Maya and Krsna are always side by side. Either one is serving Krsna or he is serving Maya. Please manage the affairs of your temple in close cooperation with Karandhara and your Godbrothers and Krsna will give you the good intelligence to progress nicely. You have remarked how the students on campus receive our devotees and Krsna philosophy so well. It is a fact that they are eagerly looking for some real meaning in life and that reality is Krsna. So you must carry on work on the campuses very diligently and try to impress them with the importance of Krsna Consciousness. I am very pleased to know that Sriman Singh is helping by speaking to campus authorities and students Krsna consciously at UCI. That is a very large University and many highly intelligent boys, girls and faculty can be approached there fore joining our program. I am especially happy when you write how each devotee is executing his particular task with enthusiasm and they are chanting at least the required sixteen rounds daily. Everyone should think that he has been assigned this particular task to do by Krsna and he should be satisfied with that and do his best to accomplish the work as nicely as possible for the pleasure of Krsna only. By this cultivation of service attitude one swiftly advances in devotional service. Please offer my blessings to all the devotees there. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 13:02 | 16 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Madhukantha, Please accept my blessings. I am very much thankful to you for your kindly report from San Jose far away from me now. I am always anxious to know about the activities of my Temples so far established. I always pray to Krsna that you, all my students, may go ahead in this Krsna Consciousness Movement. The routine work, as it is going on in your center, appears to be very satisfactory. Please keep this standard continually and Krsna will give you all facilities. I am very glad to learn that the different libraries are accepting our books and surely they will find them absolutely beneficial. This line of thought, namely Krsna Consciousness or God-consciousness, is completely new in the Western world or throughout the whole world. People in general have got somewhat a vague idea of God consciousness. When I first went to your country in New York, I found everyone imbibed with the idea that God is dead. Now gradually people are understanding that God is not only not dead, but He is factually present with us at every moment. If we have the necessary qualification, to see God eye-to-eye is quite possible. So it is a nice Movement. We have now sufficient literatures. Now go on preaching this cult for the complete welfare activities in the human societies. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 13:02 | 16 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Bansidhari, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your nice report from Santa Barbara dated October 22nd, 1970. I am always so glad to know that you are keeping to the standard practices as I have instructed you to do and all the devotees are feeling the sublime result of their work in Krsna's loving service. Your program for extending Sankirtana Party activities to the nearby towns and cities and universities is very welcome. I have received similar good report of such extended Sankirtana Party tours or trips from many other centers in Europe as well as America. Lord Caitanya's desire was that this chanting of the Holy Names be spread to every town and village on the face of the globe, and now His desire is being fulfilled. That is to your credit as sincere servants of the Lord. It is always the difficulty with the karmis that they "have no time'" for attending spiritual functions or gatherings. Sukadeva Goswami analyzes the situation for the karmis in the narration of Bhagavatam as sleeping and indulging in sex-life in the night and in the daytime working hard "Where is money? Where is money?'" and when they have got money, how to accumulate household paraphernalia, etc. Anyway, by the mercy of Lord Caitanya even such materially absorbed persons can be extricated from their entanglement in the maya by contact with offenseless chanting of the Lord's Holy Names Hare Krsna Mantra. If you vibrate these transcendental sounds everywhere continually, it will pierce their ears and enter their hearts, and then their natural attraction for Krsna will be revived. So do not care for the temporary excuses of the unwilling and unfortunate persons, you simply carry our program forward distributing Sankirtana, Prasadam and literatures and the effect will take place. I am very glad that your distribution to the libraries is well received. Please get our books at least one full set in every city and college library in you neighboring areas. And if you read these literatures carefully you will realize the topmost science of Krsna Consciousness and be more inspired to spread the same to all persons as their real welfare benefit. Please keep me informed about your activities. Hope you are well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 13:00 | 16 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Kulasekhara, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated from Amsterdam on October 26th, 1970. I am very glad that you have found travelling with Subala Swami inspiration to your Krsna Consciousness. That is very nice appreciation. It is also good news that you have found the improved atmosphere in our Temples after visiting and things are going on nicely everywhere. That is wanted. I am requesting you to go to Boston, U.S.A., to work on our ISKCON Press because I know you are an experienced and expert press operator. Your services for carrying on the program of our ISKCON Press smoothly are very necessary. So you should plan for going there as soon as possible. Regarding the recent upheavals in our Society, that business is finished, now we must all concentrate very carefully on the simple execution of our duty following the principles of regulation very strictly in our daily life. If you remain pure by following the instructions of your Spiritual Master there is no chance for maya to enter into the program. So I do not think you will find any more these politics at our Boston center or elsewhere. So please go there and help print our Society's literature, this is a great opportunity for rendering service to Krsna and the humanity at large. You have asked what is a brahmacari's work? A brahmacari's work is brahme carati or remaining always Krsna Conscious. You have mentioned singing and dancing, nothing else. Does it mean he will not eat? No. Please keep me informed of your movements. Hope this will meet you in good health. If there are no other qualified brahmacaris to assist Subala Maharaja, then he must create some qualified men. That is the business of a Sannyasi. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 13:00 | 16 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Daughter Jadurani, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your two letters dated October 31st and November 11th, 1970. I am very glad that you and all the others are finding that your Krishna Consciousness is increased by following our new schedule of regular activities in the Temple. I am getting such happy reports from all our centers and actually that is the way of advancing in spiritual life. Without being jolly, one cannot make any tangible progress in Krsna Consciousness. And without strictly following the regulative principles and chanting the prescribed number of rounds on the beads, nobody can become free from the unhappiness of this material world. So it is imperative that all our students be exemplary in their execution of devotional service and naturally Krsna will bless you all more and more. I was thinking that the paintings should be produced at the rate of one per day. That was my thought. But if it is not practical, there is no cause for lamenting. Simply go on with your painting as far as possible. Please do not neglect to engage yourself in the prescribed duties for maintaining your spiritual strength. Without keeping spiritual strength there is no question of any accomplishment like painting or anything else. So Krsna Consciousness is first in all circumstances. Everything should be regulated in devotional service. Just like eating. Eating is necessary to remain fit, but too much eating means disease and too little eating means starving. One must adjust things properly, that is the program of Krsna Consciousness. I think that is you feel too much inconvenience just now by remaining in Boston with Satsvarupa, then you may go to some other center for some time with the art department and carry on your work there. Sometimes such separation for a time is beneficial for husband and wife both, but there is never any question of divorce. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 12:59 | Nov 15, 2006 Sunday, 15 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Krsna das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter dated October 27th, 1970, and noted the contents with interest. I am very glad that by Krsna's grace you have secured a very nice place in Berlin for our Temple there and with Sivananda in charge I am sure things will go on well there. I am so glad to hear that in Hamburg your program is going on smoothly. Always work cooperatively, in Krsna Consciousness, without any self-motivation, and your progress towards the perfectional stage of Krsna Conscious life is ascertained. I have already sent one Gayatri Tape to London and it is being kept safely there along with a full set of instructions for performing the ceremony. The mantra is to be heard only by the new initiate (through earphones) and once only. So if you find Natabara, Yogesvara, Indrani and Haripriya properly qualified you may perform the ceremony duly. So far Mandali Bhadra's marriage with Srimati Haripriya, I think it is alright, so they may be married with my full blessings upon them in their work together in Krsna's service. Regarding Russia, I am very anxious to establish a center there in Moscow and if I am invited, I can go there. In the meantime, I think you should be the only one to hold correspondence with the Indology Professors, no one else. This correspondence should be conducted very cautiously with Russia. You can ask them some questions, like: What is the ultimate goal of life? What is your ideal ultimate goal of life? What is the difference between animal and human life? Why is religion accepted by all kinds of civilized societies? What is your conception of the original creation? In this way questions may be put to find out what is their standing. We do not grudge an atheist provided he has got some philosophical standing. In this way try to elicit some answers from the Professors. If you can finally establish one Moscow center, it will be a great credit to you. So far studying Russian language, it is not necessary, but if you do so it is alright. I want very much a center in Russia, so for the time being I shall desire that Moscow Center. Please offer my blessings to your good wife and all the other devotees there. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 12:58 | 15 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Jayapataka Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 29, 1970, and have noted the contents carefully. I beg to thank you for your complete report of the situation in Calcutta and I am replying the points one by one. Here in Bombay we are getting good response to our membership program and I am sure in Calcutta you can also get good response. Now the holiday is done, so you can begin work on this immediately. This membership program cannot be neglected. Do not rely on anyone else for such matters, but go out and do your own work. I can judge from your letter that Mr. Jaju is not very much interested and the others have brought in many different points of contention, so stop all controversial points. Try first of all for the Hamilton house. Jhajharia is going to help in this connection. Hamilton house can be transacted with the help of Jhajharia and when there is solid proposal, we shall immediately finish the transaction. Regarding Jhajharia, whenever he talks such nonsense as you have noted, don't accept it. When he speaks such foolish words, just ask him to refer to Prabhupada and you set it aside. Work cooperatively with him on transacting the Hamilton house, that's all. Regarding Dhandharia's fear of his or someone else's incurring great expense from the devotees stay at their place, because he is afraid there is no question of joining his Sankirtana Party because they are unable to maintain our men. So in this connection of our large expense, I have asked them to live independently without depending on any -rias. So far the place in Mathura is concerned, yes, without its being permanent we are not going to accept. I am very much obliged to your feeling as my humble servant and that will help your advancement in Krsna Consciousness. If Dhandharia is speaking as you describe, better to be silent and stop these dealings rather than create some further enmity. I have already applied to the Magh mela Committee. and have received a letter of acceptance from them and have written to Dr. N. R. Sen Gupta to help us. Dhandharia has invited you to Gorakhpur and I have already asked you to go to Gorakhpur because we want to organize a center there. If you go with Dhandharia and he meets the expense, that is nice, and meet Kirtanananda Maharaja and Ramananda there and then I shall also go there. Regarding your collecting is concerned, persons who donate should not receive membership for such donation, membership is different. Fifty per cent should go each to the Temple Fund and to my Book Fund. For the 50% put into my Book Fund, yes, they may receive credit for our book program; why not? So far typist is concerned, he is a family man, he should not be asked to relinquish family life immediately. Let him come and go and learn our philosophy. I have already replied the matter of brahmanical initiation thoroughly to Acyutananda Maharaja, so you may refer to his letter on the subject. I have sent that letter to him at the Vraja Dulal Street address, so I do not know if it has reached him. Anyway, I am enclosing a duplicate copy herewith, which please give to Acyutananda Maharaja. About the matter of being accepted into the Vaikunthanatha Temple or other Temples, if you follow the restrictive regulations and always remain neat and clean, very soon everything obscure will become clear. It is no use to learn Hindi or other languages, just try to learn to speak our Krsna Consciousness language very nicely. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 12:57 | Nov 14, 2006 Saturday, 14 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Acyutananda Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 29th, 1970, and noted the contents. Regarding taking introduction from some persons to their friends for making life members, don't depend on others' introduction--do your own work. Regarding your feeling of disruption to your preaching program since others have come in, when I was in Los Angeles you repeatedly asked me to send at least ten men. Now the men have come and you say something else--you want to have kirtana alone. So which point shall I accept? Regarding the validity of the brahminical status as we accept it, because in the present age there is no observance of the Garbhadhana ceremony, even a person born in brahmana family is not considered a brahmana, he is called dvijabandhu or unqualified son of a brahmana. Under the circumstances, the conclusion is that the whole population is now sudra, as it is stated kalau sudra sambhava. So for sudras there is no initiation according to the Vedic system, but according to the Pancaratrika system initiation is offered to a person who is inclined to take Krsna consciousness. During my Guru Maharaja's time, even a person was coming from a brahmana family, he was initiated according to the pancaratrika system taking him to be a sudra. So the birthright brahmanism is not applicable at the present moment. The sacred thread inaugurated by my Guru Maharaja according to pancaratrika system and Hari-bhakti-vilasa by Srila Sanatana Goswami must continue. It does not matter whether the priestly class accepts it or not. When my Guru Maharaja Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Prabhupada introduced this system, it was protested even by His inner circle of Godbrothers or friends. Of course He had actually no Godbrothers, but there were many disciples of Bhaktivinode Thakura who were considered as Godbrothers who protested against this action of my Guru Maharaja, but He didn't care for it. Actually one who takes to chanting Hare Krsna Mantra offenselessly immediately becomes situated transcendentally and therefore he has no need of being initiated with sacred thread, but Guru Maharaja introduced this sacred thread because a Vaisnava was being mistaken as belonging to the material caste. To accept a Vaisnava in material caste system is hellish consideration (naraki buddhi). Therefore, to save the general populace from being offender to a Vaisnava, He persistently introduced this sacred thread ceremony and we must follow His footsteps. Regarding Dr. Sen's grandson's theory of species, if they are species--the species horse is a kind of species; it draws a cart. The ass is another kind of species; he carries load. So ass is never engaged for drawing a cart. If brahmanas are a species and vaisya and sudra are other species, why do we see that sometimes a brahmana does a sudra's work? We have got many negro disciples and they are worshipping the Deity; so why they should not worship the Deity? Krsna says He accepts the service even from the papayoni, those who have taken impious births. Actually Krsna does not say that caste is determined according to species, but according to the quality of work the divisions of society are made. Narada says one must be judged according to his qualification, even if he is in a different class or species, still he should be accepted according to the qualities which he exhibits i.e., brahmana, etc. Sridhara Swami says birth is not so much important as quality. (You have very wrongly remembered something about Sridhara Swami's view.) In Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said that if one is Vaisnava, immediately he becomes qualified for executing Vedic rites. About this verse, Srila Jiva Goswami remarks that the brahmana awaits the sacred thread ceremony, but a Vaisnava is qualified to execute the Vedic rites without waiting for the sacred ceremony. The real fact is that because of non-observance of the Garbhadhana samskara in this age, there are no real brahmanas by birth at all and even they cannot be called as dvijabandhus properly because there has been no such observance for long time. Kalau sudra sambhava. The claim of brahmanism by birthright is a false display of material situation only. It is our duty therefore to train all kinds of men up to the standard of qualified brahmanas, initiating them as such by qualification in accordance with the above authorities, so that they may go on progressively unhindered in their march back to home, back to Godhead. This system introduced by my Guru Maharaja is a chance for all the members of the society, scientifically based and applied, apart from the exploitative sentiment of birthright caste system, to become actually situated on the transcendental platform. The literal meaning of the term brahmana is one who is "brahmabhuta" or on the theoretical stage of brahmajnana. Since it is that one progresses from the stage of brahmajnana to the stage of knowledge of Paramatma and then to knowledge of Bhagavan, one who has come to the first stage, brahmajnana, is automatically a brahmana fully qualified as such. So for a Vaisnava, who has come to the highest stage of knowing Bhagavan, naturally he has already established his qualification as a brahmana. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 12:57 | Nov 13, 2006 Friday, 13 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Rupanuga, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter dated October 27th, 1970, addressed to Calcutta and now redirected to me here in Bombay. We are just now receiving great publicity and it is reported that Bombay has now got its atmosphere filled with Krsna Consciousness. It is a fact, and the important members of the Bombay community are appreciating our Movement. I am very glad to receive all the enclosures and see that you are forging ahead nicely for spreading Krsna Consciousness on a scale from family to the greater society. For the present I am more prominent than all swamis. People are appreciating--What are these swamis? They cannot go outside. There is a Bengali saying that a jackal is king in a small forest. The story is that a jackal became king in the forest by fooling the other animals for some time, but he remained always a jackal and his ruse was at last exposed. I am very glad that you are receiving good promise of help from Mr. Gajjar. Please give him all encouragement in Krsna Consciousness. Regarding Bali Mardan, he has not resigned and until he or some other member does so there shall not be any change in the members of the GBC. If there is such resignation the candidates will be Gaurasundara, Mukunda and Gurudasa for replacement by vote of the remaining members of the GBC. But why have you taken information on this important matter from Gurudasa? You should not "understand'' from Gurudasa; you should understand from me. Regarding the Sannyasis, they should be independent. Why they should take help from you? They are strong men, so they should manage on their own strength. That is the test of their effective preaching work. I am very glad to learn that the program for distributing our books in the libraries and classrooms is having such outstanding success. I have already assured this and I have personally placed my books formerly in the library of Bombay which they were very glad to accept. So press this matter until every library and school has fully stocked our literatures and that will be a very real success. You have made it a proposal and plan that each center shall contribute $20 monthly for the improvement of our New Vrndavana Community Project. I have no objection to this, but it has been already the program that every center shall send me maintenance funds of $15 per month and since leaving Japan I have hardly received any. I do not know if they have sent or not sent, but I have not received. So if they cannot even send my maintenance charges, you cannot depend on their sending monthly $20 for the maintenance of New Vrndavana. I have read over the GBC Memo and you make the following adjustment regarding membership charges. The comparison of India to that of U.S.A. is not the exchange value of rupees and dollars in the bank, but is according to purchasing power or manifest value, so practically one rupee is equal to one dollar by this calculation. Therefore, simply change the sign from Rs. to $$ and set the figure for Life Membership at $1,111, Donor Membership at $555. and Subscriber membership at $222. An Ordinary Member should pay only $5.00, which covers a one year susbscription to our magazine. Another thing is that we welcome life members to participate fully in our Temple programs anywhere they may travel and they may stay in the Temple where they are visiting. Your plan of the Buffalo Temple is very nice. Please develop it more and more for serving the Lord. It is a very good house. The picture in which your wife and child are engaged in preaching work--it is simply wonderful. You are ideal householder and you are teaching the world who to live with wife and children as a householder. My Guru Maharaja generally used to make a Sannyasi from Householder, but I have created householders for preaching work and your example is proving my attempt successful. Hope this will meet you all in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 12:57 | 13 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Tirthapada, Please accept my blessings and offer the same to all the devotees of our Sydney Temple. I am so glad to receive your letter dated 14th October and have noted the contents. The test of preaching ability is whether one is making some disciples or not. So it appears that your preaching is going on nicely. The standard of purity which I have introduced in the Krsna Consciousness movement will give you the real spiritual strength needed to preach. If you will simply stick to your principles, you will gain the respect of the whole world and our preaching work will be successful. Please maintain the program of Temple worship, distribution of Prasadam, Sankirtana Party, distribution of literatures, study and Krsna work all in order and make everything as nice as possible. The school college and university students are very receptive to this Movement, so we must present them with an excellent example. They are very intelligent and bad experience has taught them to be cautious, so if you keep all your programs to the standard as I have already instructed in so many ways, then they will easily become satisfied that this is the real way of life for any intelligent person--Krsna Consciousness. I have heard from Upendra and he seems enthusiastic about opening the Fiji center. Our Krsna Consciousness Movement is flourishing all over the world by the grace of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and I am receiving favorable reports and full invitations from all over the world for our Movement. Now it is up to you to keep on working vigorously in the service of the Lord and because He is seated within your heart, He will reveal from within all necessary intelligence for you to further extend your loving devotional service to Him. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.S. I have seen the news-cutting and I am very glad that Upananda and Anne are now married happily in Krsna Consciousness Please offer them my full blessings to work together in mutual cooperation for advancing Krsna consciousness. However, in future, if you kindly take sanction for such marriages beforehand, that will be in proper way. ACBS:ds letters | 12:56 | 13 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Karandhara, Please accept my blessings. I have received today your letter dated October 25th, 1970, and in the meantime I have just replied your two previous letters from September so I hope you have also received that letter. I have seen the article from Salt Lake City and also one letter has come from Mohanananda in Dallas. So things are very favorable in both these places, just you see that they go on very nicely to our set standard. I am glad that you are taking your duties of overseeing the centers in your jurisdiction very seriously, that is very much needed. Regarding Seattle center, I know that Krsnakanti is a very nice devotee and highly intelligent and enthusiastic, so he is certainly a good man for the presidency there. I am so pleased that Srimati Jambavati devi is caring for the Deities there so well. When the Deities will be radiant, it means that the service is going on nicely. So regarding the Los Angeles Deity worship, you were carrying it out very well in my presence, so you continue in that way. Two baths daily for Their Lordships is not required, but twice dressing is nice. Your program for training everyone in the proper form of Deity worship and other temple activities is very, very good. We want that all our men shall be able to do everything in Krsna Consciousness--a devotee is expert in all things. Please continue to send all available funds to the Bhaktivedanta Book Fund Deposit as you are doing. Why have the centers not sent my maintenance checks regularly as before? So far the distribution of funds, temple management, etc. which you have mentioned, if one is sincere, the dictation how to do it rightly will come from within. It is stated that those who are engaged in the service of the Lord in pure love and devotion, to them dictation is given from within their hearts. But still you should check with me. If one is very cautious, then Krsna will give him protection. One should not become callous; he should be cautious. Regarding initiation as mentioned in your letter addressed to Devananda Maharaja, we shall be very careful now in the selection of candidates for initiation and everything must be followed by them very strictly as we have instructed, then we shall see about initiation. Regarding affairs of Temple management, financial distribution, etc., it is not necessary that you keep me informed of all the details. Regarding marriages, the correct way is that you should first get the marriage sanctioned by me and then perform the ceremony with my blessings. I shall be expecting the posters and pictures soon; they will be very useful to our propaganda work. How is it that you owe $20,000 to Dai Nippon? Are the Temples remitting the $0.15 cost per copy of BTG to ISKCON Press for each copy they receive? Please keep me regularly informed. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:ds letters | 12:55 | 13 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Karandhara, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your two letters dated 20th ansd 29th September, 1970. I have also just received the three sets of color photos of our L.A. Temple and they are very beautiful. Thank you very much for them. The Deity worship should be done just in the way it was carried out in my presence. You should see that such a high standard is maintained and that there are no irregularities. Irregularity means breaking the schedule. As you have mentioned those thrones that are coming, I was just thinking of them. When they are fixed up, please send me photos of them. Please continue to send as much as possible to my bookfund deposit. I have received a copy of the monthly payments from the temple sent by you, but as of yet I have not received a copy showing payment for the months of Sept. and Oct. Please send me such a copy each month. The new procedures you are instituting on Sankirtana Party are very encouraging to me. The opportunities for expanding the Sankirtana Movement are unlimited. We should tax our brains as to what is the best way to present Krishna Consciousness to particular people at a particular time and place. I have always thought that in L.A. there should be at least ten Sankirtana Parties going out simultaneously and as you have indicated, such places as Long Beach and other areas can each have their own Krishna Consciousness center. I am so much grateful to you for being such a strong soldier in pushing on this movement. Please continue in this way and give example to your Godbrothers and sisters. Please offer my blessings to all the L.A. Prabhus. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/adb letters | 12:53 | Nov 12, 2006 Thursday, 12 November, 1970 Bombay, India My Dear Damodara, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 4th October, 1970 and I've noted the contents with much pleasure. I am glad to see that you are working in the universities. They are a good field for spreading our Krishna Consciousness activities. Try and get all our books accepted in the college libraries and classroom courses. That will be our real success. Dr. Cenkner is correct in saying that Sankaracarya's belief is personal. Actually he is a covered personalist. He became impersonalist just to drive away Buddhism. All of India was Buddhist voidism. So, although a personalist, he had to keep pace with voidism by expounding impersonalism. There is very little difference between impersonalism and voidism, but because he had to bring Buddhists back to the Vedic cultural form, he adopted impersonalism. From the Padma Puräëa, it is learned that Sankaracarya is Lord Siva, and who can be a greater devotee than Lord Siva? Lord Siva is considered to be the foremost Vaisnava. Please continue to try and convince the world leaders who are in Washington D.C. about our Krishna Consciousness program. Why don't you approach the Congressmen and Representatives and inform them of the work that our men are doing within their states and cities. If they are favorably impressed with our work, they may be able to give us government land and property and so many other facilities which we can utilize to aid all of the population. I think so many men will be glad to receive our books, so please utilize this opportunity. Simply it requires determination and imagination. Maybe you can get the Indian Ambassador and his wife to hold a meeting at which many important men can be invited. If he and his wife are favorably impressed, certainly they can hold a nice meeting one evening. At that meeting you can speak and explain what our movement is and show slides and movies. Make a book table and display all of our books. Never mind if they also like to read from Ramakrishna. If you give them our KRSNA book to read, very soon all other tastes will go away. Please offer my blessings to all the other Prabhus in Washington. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 12:52 | 12 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Sivananda, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 13rd Sept. and letter dated Oct. 18. Due to travelling and so much work, I was not able to answer you sooner. I'm very happy to hear that you are once again in Berlin. When you first went to Germany by yourself, I was praying that Krishna would help you in every way to establish a center there in Berlin. Now you have done it by the grace of Krishna. Berlin is one of the most important cities in Europe and is one of the gateways to the communist world, and since your temple has a central location with good room space, everything is set for our preaching program. It is a good sign that the Berlin people are receiving our Sankirtana so well that with only one other devotee you have distributed 100 magazines in an afternoon. Yes, on Sankirtana we want everyone we meet to go away with a magazine and having heard and chanted Hare Krishna Mantra. That will be the sign of success. Please have Mandali Bhadra's mother help you in every way possible. I think she is well acquainted with Berlin and she can render good service. So give a start to our Krishna Consciousness Movement there and that will be your success. Now you have a nice German devotee wife, and together you should give all the people of Germany the example of how husband and wife can be engaged for the service of Krishna, not in the service of their senses. The two of you, along with Sucandra and Gunai, should lead a nice regulated daily schedule of chanting 16 rounds, reading all our books, going on Sankirtana Party, and taking nice Prasadam. Then this will keep you pure and potent in your preaching work. I have received your Vyasa Puja offering and it is very nice. Please offer my blessings to the others. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 12:51 | 12 November, 1970 Bombay My Dear Vamanadeva, Please accept my blessings and offer the same to your excellent wife Srimati Indira Dasi. I am so glad to hear from you after some time. I have been recently travelling all over the land of India and just recently I have come back to Bombay where I have received your letter redirected from Calcutta. I am so much pleased that you are carrying on our Krsna Consciousness program with such nice enthusiasm and devotion in St. Louis. I think St. Louis is an important city in your country, so you must do the large work of making the whole place Krsna conscious. Similarly we are trying in India to establish some centers and the response of the people here has been very favorable towards our movement which they have found to be a great stimulus to the revival of Krsna consciousness which they have been forsaking for the imitation of your Western material prosperity. You all my students must simply maintain your standard of pure conduct in Pure Krsna Consciousness and everyone will be satisfied that this is the best way to bring in the needed peace and prosperity to the world. I am very pleased to learn that you have several new devotees with you and the Temple has been completely renovated. It is a very nice house, so simply make it a palace for Lord Krsna and Srimati Radharani and that will be the perfection of its utilization and you will become perfect and happy by this work. Please continue your work in the Bhakti-Yoga Society at the University, the students cannot be over-estimated as our best prospects. The new growth of Tulasi is testimony to your sincere devotion because she will only grow and flourish in an atmosphere of Krsna Consciousness. Please see that the regular rules and practices are strictly followed by all the inmates and keep improving the quality of your Deity worship--this will keep you firmly fixed in the Absolute Truth. Always try to increase the distribution of literatures and more sincere persons will be attracted by this. Please work in coordination with Sriman Bhagavan das and the other GBC members and make progress in your center. I beg to thank you for your kind invitation and certainly I shall be very happy to stay for a while in St. Louis when returning to the U.S. conveniently. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 12:51 | |
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