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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1974 |
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1 November 2008 1 November, 1974 Bombay Sri Purusottama Math Chatak Parvat, Puri My Dear Syamasundara das Prabhu: Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 10/10/74 and have noted the contents. Just now I have come to Bombay from our temple at Sri Dhama Mayapur. There is not negotiation going on that I may go to Bhubaneswar by the beginning of the month of December. At that time if you find it convenient you can come and see me. I will send you my address upon my arrival there. Regarding the magazine, if you become a subscriber, then I can get it for you. Free distribution of the Back to Godhead has stopped now because it it too expensive. The yearly subscription fee is Rs. 33/- only. I hope this meets you in good health. Faithfully yours, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: BTG, Gaudiya Matha letters | 03:26 |24 October 2008 Thursday, 24 October, 1974 Mayapur My Dear Srutadeva das: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your Sankirtana newsletters No. 23 & 24. These statistics are very nice. I like very much to receive the report of my book sales. I think it also gives encouragement to the devotees who distribute the books. Here at Mayapur my Guru Maharaj was printing one paper. It was selling for only a few paise. Sometimes whenever one brahmacari would go to Navadvipa and sell even a few copies, I would see my Guru Maharaj become very much pleased. Even if the brahmacari was not a very important member, my Guru Maharaj would become very, very pleased with him. He personally instructed me that books are more important than big temples. At Radha Kunda he told me that since constructing the big marble temple at Bhag Bazar, there have been so many difficulties. Our men are envious over who will live in which room. I think it would be better to take off all the marbles and sell them and print books. He told me this personally. So I am always emphasizing book distribution. It is the better kirtana. It is better than chanting. Of course chanting should not stop - but book distribution is the best kirtana. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: book distribution, Gaudiya Matha, Washington letters | 03:08 |15 October 2008 15 October, 1974 Mayapur My Dear Subaladas Swami: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated September 20, 1974 and I was very glad to read the contents. I thank you for following the order of your spiritual master. This is the motto of our spiritual life: yasya prasadad bhagavata prasadao. My other godbrothers they are concerned with litigations, politics, and diplomacy, so what is the pracara? As far as I am concerned I have the blessings of my guru maharaj. I do not need anything else. That is how I went to your country, just to try to carry out his order. By his blessings it has come out successful. So work diligently. It is a good place. Take more devotees from Australia, and organize it nicely. You have got a good field. You are an old, experienced worker, and I have full confidence in you. Krishna will bless you in this attempt. There I have seen the Indian people are very receptive. Next time I return to USA by that way this coming April I may go to Fiji, so please arrange. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: Fiji, Gaudiya Matha, preaching letters | 04:29 |7 July 2008 Sunday, 7 July, 1974 Los Angeles Navadvipa My Dear Revered Sridhara Maharaja: Kindly accept my humble dandabats at your lotus feet. I am very much thankful to you for your kind letter 17/6/74 and your kindly accepting my invitation during the opening ceremony of our Krishna Balarama temple in Vrindaban. Of course it is provisional if your health is in good order. I am so much thankful for your appreciating my preaching work in the Western countries. Fortunately these American boys and girls are so kind upon me that we are happily preaching this movement all over the world. This time my world touring covers many European cities like Rome, Geneva, Paris, Frankfurt. Then I went to Australia to Melbourne, then to Chicago via Fiji and Hawaii. From Chicago I came to San Francisco and at present I am staying at Los Angeles. From here I shall go to Dallas, Texas. From there I shall go to West Virginia to our center New Vrindaban. From there I shall go to London. In London our Ratha yatra festival has been held up, and I think behind this obstruction there is some communal feeling. The local religious sect is not always happy on account of our movement being so fast growing. Especially thousands of young boys and girls are interested in this Krishna consciousness movement. So I think there is some plot to check up this fast growing movement. We are trying our best to counteract this opposing element but everything will rest upon Krishna. Regarding your coming to Vrindaban during our festival, I may assure you that I shall arrange for your comfortable journey in the following way. One way is to come to the Dum Dum airport from Navadvipa by car, and then fly to Delhi, and then to Vrindaban by car, this will take a few hours only to reach Vrindaban. Another second alternative is to come to Howrah Station by rail, then take the Delhi Expression First Class, and come directly to Mathura, and from Mathura directly to Vrindaban. So as soon as you decide, everything will be arranged for your good self as well as one accompanying servant. If you so desire some of our god brothers whom you select may come with you, and you may let know there names, and I shall issue invitational cards to them. Regarding preaching tour, it has become a little difficult for me because I have got the same heart trouble as you have, and still I am moving just to encourage these young boys who are working on my behalf. You will be glad to know that our books are selling very nicely. Last year we sold about four million books, and this year within six months we have completed last years quota, and therefore we can reasonably expect to double the sale of last year. The only difficulty is that we are expanded worldwide organization, and it requires very acute management to keep up the status quo. So by Krishna's grace everything is going on nicely, and I am reaching India by the 26th of July. I am yours ever sincerely, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: Gaudiya Matha, itinerary, Srdhara Maharaja, Vrindavana letters | 04:56 |24 April 2008 24 April, 1974 Hyderabad Dear Gurudasa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated April 21, 1974, and I have examined the contents. Regarding you report on construction progress I am glad to hear the building is roofed, however what about the backside residential quarters? Please give me up to date information on all phases on the construction. As for the purchase of a car for Vrindaban, we shall first finish the construction and then we can think of the car. I have received a letter from Tejyas on the same day as yours. I am sending him the checks he has requested for construction, but he has requested one check for Lalita Prasad, for Rupee 3,000 which you say is a down payment for four sets of clothes for the deity. But we cannot pay for these dresses. It was already agreed that you and Yamuna would collect separately for the deities, not that it would come out of the construction fund, but now you and Tejyas are requesting it come out of construction. Besides that, why go to the tailor? Lalita Prasad charges extraordinarily. We don't want to go to them. Whatever our devotees can make, that is all right. Have you already contracted from them? This check cannot be issued neither is it our plan to pay from construction for the deities. Where is the money you collected for this purpose? When you next meet Dr. Kapoor offer him my respectful obeisances. I am sure Viswambar Goswami is educated, and advanced in judgement and I am pleased he is not disturbed. But Dr. Kapoor can expose Purusottam Goswami about his deal with the late Puri Goswami of the Gaudiya Math. If the mystery of his acquiring 50,000 rupees of books from Puri is exposed then his so called leadership will come to an end. He knows better than I and you can ask him about Purusottam Goswami's acquiring books from Puri - which is a mystery not yet disclosed, but every Gaudiya mission man knows the incident. Your idea to have Hari Goswami conduct a deity worship class starting July 1st is a good, welcome idea. One defect in Hari Goswami is that although he wants to cooperate he wants to keep himself a little aloof as a goswami. I wish that he should mix with us with open mind, without reservation. Sometimes he hesitates to accept prasadam from us and he likes to cook for himself. If he desires to cook that means he keeps aloof. If he kindly teaches our men how to cook and worship the deity and he also takes prasadam along with us it will be a great achievement. Of course it depends on his discretion, but if he keeps aloof from us that is not very much desirable. At least he should come forward on the sastric injunction, arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhir visnor va vaisnavanam. I do not think there is any difference in the method of deity worship he is teaching but you can also consult me. You ask me how to recruit strong devotees to come there. You have to prepare strong devotees, not import them. You yourself become strong devotees and teach others by your example. Importation is not a good plan; everyone should be strong by behavior and action. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: Gaudiya Matha, management, Vrindavana letters | 22:25 |8 April 2008 Monday, 8 April, 1974 Bombay Puri, India Dear Syamasundara Brahmacari, Please accept my greetings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 3/4/74. I have not visited Jagannatha Puri because my men are not allowed to see the deity. When you arrange that we can visit the temple with my disciples then I can come immediately. Now I am in India up until May 15 then I am going to Europe to visit in France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany etc., and then I will come back and remain until the end of August, and then go again to England, and the U.S. This is my program. I am still here until the 15th of May. I am going to Hyderabad on the 18th of April and then going to Tirupati. So from there I can go to Jagannatha Puri if arrangements can be made. It is very regrettable that these European and American boys who are purely Vaisnava and who follow all principles are not allowed by the rascals to enter the temple. As stated in the Padma Purana: arcye visnau siladhir gurusu naramatir Vaisnave jati buddhir. I do not know what makes the management take this attitude. If you can remove this restriction you will do a great service to the Gaudiya Vaisnava community. According to sastra anyone who wears tilaka and sikha and kunti over and above the Vaisnava dress or Vaisnava sannyasi must be accepted especially while chanting Hare Krishna mantra with bead bags. Kindly convince them and induce them to allow these Vaisnavas to enter Jagannatha Temple. One friend in Orissa has offered to give us land in Bhubaneswar and I have a desire to construct a big Jagannatha temple there for our men if we are not allowed to enter Jagannatha temple in Puri. In Jagannatha temple people come from all the Indian states. Now when Jagannatha has expanded His jurisdiction over the whole world why the so called servants of Jagannatha should not allow them to see the Lord of the Universe? I don't know their philosophy. We shall see that your copies of Back to Godhead are dispatched to you. In conclusion, I shall come to Jagannatha Puri as you have kindly insisted, but only when they allow entry to all my disciples. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: Gaudiya Matha, Jagannatha Puri, Vaisnava letters | 06:02 |17 January 2008 17 January, 1974 Honolulu Sripada Radhika Bhava c/o Imli Tala, Vrindaban With humble obeisances at the lotus feet of the devotee, Sripada Radhika Bhava, please accept my humble obeisances. At the moment I am in Hawaii Island. I am requesting you that after our Navadvipa parikrama about two hundred to three hundred European devotees will go to Vrndavana for parikrama. That's why Sriman Guru das is going to see you with this letter. Kindly introduce Guru das to the son of our panda (the guide for the pilgrim) whom you have recently given Rs. 100 on my behalf. If that panda goes with them and shows them Govardhana and other places then I will be very much grateful. Please accept my humble obeisances and convey my humble obeisances to Sripada Shar Maharaja. I will go to India soon. Yours, Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: Gaudiya Matha, Vrindavana letters | 17:14 | |
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