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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1974 |
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26 January 2008 Saturday, 26 January, 1974 Honolulu My Dear Brahmananda Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, dated 15/1/74. I have noted the contents carefully. I have received my copy of special BTG. It is very nicely done. I thank you very much. With great pleasure I note that although the Government of Kenya did not allow me to enter the state, my work was not hampered on account of my absence. In your last letter I was informed that Cyavana Swami has left your protection and gone to South America. I don't know why he has done so. As a sannyasi he is free to travel all over the world but when he was working under your supervision he should have taken your permission. This kind of independence is not very good. I'm quite confident of his sincerity, and I shall be glad to be further enlightened on this matter. Anyway, you have dedicated yourself to the service of the Lord, therefore you are always glorious. I'm very much indebted to you that you have gone so far away from your own comfortable country for the service of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and this service will be appreciated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Please go on preaching like that and you will be blessed. I think Krsna did not let me go in Africa because he wants to see you all work independently of me. I'm getting old and can not move, so if you all my students work 10 times more than me that will be great pleasure for me. The decision to train African people to be nice preachers is a nice idea. If you train the African to preach that will be a nice reply to the African Government for not letting me come there. So try your best and Krsna will give you the necessary intelligence, and send me occasional posts. That will give me satisfaction. I'm starting for India via Japan and Hong Kong next Monday. I'm glad to note your statement "Our position is not as precarious as it was before." If you sincerely preach everything will become smooth, and our preaching work will become smoother and smoother. One thing is very gratifying that you are doing the preaching work in Africa without any financial help from here. But in India the case is different. We have to send always financial help from America. I have collected and dispatched to India about 40 lacs of rupees. Even today I have dispatched to Gargamuni Swami $5,000, or about Rs 50,000 by telegram. Krsna is arranging everything. Let us work cooperatively nicely all over the world. It is a great task. Let us be cognizant of our responsibility. I hope this will find you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Africa, BTG, preaching, sannyasa letters | 12:19 |26 January, 1974 Honolulu Dear Bhakta das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated January 22, 1974. Your report is a very good one and very pleasing to me. Your combining enthusiastic programs of both sankirtana and temple worship in San Diego, should be followed by all our centers. As for first initiations, I have accepted the devotees whose names you have recommended to me, and their spiritual names are as follows: Jeannie Pennera--Kamatavi devi dasi Ray Flores--Rudravapu dasa Mark Weldman--Natanga dasa Daniel Koenig--Dhanadhyaksa dasa Regarding Second initiation, I have been asking the presidents to reconsider the devotees they want to put forward for brahmana before asking me to accept them. The criteria is that they must be initiated for one year, and during that time they have to be following the prescribed chanting of at least 16 rounds, and all the regulative principles. I am also asking that they write a statement before you in all seriousness stating that they have not broken any of the promises of the first initiation, and that they will go on steadfastly chanting the prescribed rounds. In this way I am hoping to stop whimsical recommendations for second initiation. So please follow this rule. You can ask me freely to make devotees initiated for first initiation provided they are enthusiastic and following the rules, but be very cautious before awarding second initiation, even though you have a need for brahmanas in the temple. Regarding Rathayatra, I think there is no need for you to have a separate festival since you are so near San Francisco. But you may hold other festivals in San Diego, as you describe in your letter. That will be very pleasing for everyone. I shall be glad to see you and the devotees from San Diego at our grand meeting in Mayapur for Lord Caitanya's Appearance Day. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: brahmana, festival, initiation, Sn Diego letters | 12:18 |26 January, 1974 Honolulu Dear Dhananjaya, Please accept my blessings. I'm so glad to receive your Special Delivery mail containing BTG. I am so glad to see you have given another step forward in our activity of pushing on the Krsna Consciousness movement. Rome is certainly a very important place in Europe. Big, big headquarters of the Christian world headed by the Pope. The people are naturally religiously inclined there, and I am sure if our movement is properly organized there, surely we shall get many devotees. Please try to remain there and go on propagating Krsna Consciousness as far as possible. My special thanks to you because you have immediately published the magazine. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami I hope you are going to Mayapur also. ACBS/sdg letters | 12:18 | 25 January 2008 Friday, 25 January, 1974 Honolulu Dear Bharadraja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 2 January 1974. Regarding a photographic exhibit in Mayapur. This is an important part of our Caitanya Festival in Mayapur. Bali Mardan is here and he has agreed that the photographers at ISKCON Press can blow up photographs of our propaganda work and men can take them who are going to Mayapur. As for mounting them, however, that you can do there, and arrange them into an exhibit. I have got good reports of your working on the dioramas. I will be pleased to see your work when I come to Mayapur. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: dioramas, festival, Mayapur letters | 12:17 |24 January 2008 24 January, 1974 Honolulu Dear Jagadisa, Please accept my blessings. Enclosed is a copy of a letter I have recently received from Bahudak, president of our Vancouver temple within your jurisdiction as GBC of Canada. Bahudak's description of his plans to move to a farm are not clear, nor have I received any letter from you in this regard, as he implies. What will be the program at this farm? How will people be attracted there? Who will work it? What about the present temple. He appears to plan to want to "close the door" to their present temple. So he has asked me for a decision, but until I know more clearly what is his plan, I cannot decide. This matter should be taken up by yourself, so please consult with him and give me a cool-headed appraisal of what Bahudak is thinking and what is the actual situation in Vancouver. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: farm, Toronto, Vancouver letters | 12:17 |23 January 2008 Wednesday, 23 January, 1974 Honolulu Dear Sahadeva, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated January 11, 1974. Regarding second initiations, I have become very concerned lately, that some of our older students who have been given the second initiation, have not been strictly following the rules and regulations. So from now on I want our presidents to be very sure about the devotees they are recommending to me for second initiation. I think sometimes in the past devotees have been recommended chiefly because some more helpers were required in maintaining the deity work. Of course, necessity is there. It is just like in government, the government has need for a number of men to fill important posts, but first the persons must be qualified before they can award the post. Even though there may be a pressing demand, first the man must be qualified. Our system is that after one year from the first initiation, if the devotee is strictly following our principles without deviation, and if he will sign a statement in seriousness, that he will not deviate from the chanting and regulative principles, then, on your mature consideration you can recommend him to me. It is not that we are stopping second initiation, but I want to be sure it does not become a farce and names be sent to me without proper qualification. We are criticizing the caste brahmanas for saying that the Americans and Europeans cannot be awarded brahmana initiation, because according to Vedic sastra, anyone who is properly trained up under a bona fide spiritual master, can become twice born. But if our brahmanas do not take their second initiation seriously, then we will be deserving of criticism. So on this basis, if your think the men you have recommended are still eligible, you can resubmit their names to me and I will accept them. You have also submitted two names for first initiation. With this first initiation, we can more readily give them a chance. Provided they are enthusiastic and you observe they are following the devotional practices then you can submit their names. I have accepted the names submitted by your and their names are as follows: Brent Chevaliar-- Clarice Sandoz-- You may hold a fire yajna for them and instruct them in avoiding the ten offenses to chanting Hare Krsna Mantra. So I am counting on your own example in these matters as the most effective method of instruction for all the devotees in you care in the Houston temple. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: brahmana, Houston, initiation letters | 12:16 |22 January 2008 Tuesday, 22 January, 1974 Honolulu Dear Aradhana, Please accept my blessings. I am in receipt of your letter dated January 13, 1974. I can understand that you are feeling disturbed because your wife has left you, and also that you are not living within the association of devotees at our Paris temple. My advice to you is that you associate always with Krsna through chanting the Holy Name. If you are always with Krsna there is no question of moroseness or anxiety. Further than this, Krsna will give you intelligence through sincere chanting, how to progress further in Krsna Consciousness. It is a fact, however, that to be happy and peaceful in spiritual life, the association of devotees is essential. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: association, distubance, France letters | 17:17 | |
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