|
|
| Prabhupada Letters :: 1974 |
|
|
28 December 2008 28 December, 1974 Bombay My dear Kurusrestha, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated December 12, 1974 and have noted the contents carefully, along with the photographs and installation souvenir. I thank you very much for your kind donation of $100.00. Your report is very encouraging and I was very, very happy to see the wonderful photographs of your installation ceremony there. That installation was very, very auspicious. From the photographs it appeared so nice and Vedic. I was looking at those photographs again and again. Such a wonderful ceremony. So now you must see that the service to your Deities will go on very nicely. You should make it first class, just like in our Los Angeles and New Vrndavana centers. You have a very nice temple room there and now Radha and Krsna have come. So you must treat Them very nicely. Then many many devotees will be attracted by the bhakti. I am also glad to hear that in your temple no one misses mangala arati and that everyone is becoming steady and peaceful in their service. It sounds as if you are taking care of your men very nicely. This is first class management. Please continue in this kind of management. Regarding your farm, that will be very nice. But be sure to maintain your temple there in Denver. It is a very beautiful temple. Do not loose it. Also your idea of forming a trust between ISKCON and the leading men in the Indian community is approved by me. That is very nice. Let the Indians take part in our movement and help us to push on this mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In that trust you must be very careful to make sure that my name is registered there as the founder-acarya and that I am to be the ultimate authority. In other words, in any case of necessity of vetoing or canceling any decision made by the other trustees, I should be able to do like that. My decision should over-rule all the other trustees combined. I have accepted the following devotees for first initiation; Martin Babor--Madhvacarya dasa Bruce Roberts--Bahulavan dasa Jenny Roberts--Jalasayi devi dasi Steve Schecter--Siddhanta dasa Joe Asheraft-Jitadusana dasa Tove Olson--Trpti devi dasi Richard Santoro--Rangaji dasa Their beads can be chanted on by Kirtanananda Swami. I have accepted the following devotees for second initiation; Svavasa dasa Adhikari, Tadit devi dasi, Dhanvi das Brahmacari, Arthada dasa Brahmacari. Their threads and mantra sheets are enclosed herein. Make sure that they hear the gayatri mantra from the tape of myself. They should hear through the right ear. Your Deities names are Radha-Govinda. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/ps Labels: Deities, Denver, Indians, initiation letters | 06:46 |12 December 2008 12 December, 1974 Bombay My Dear Kurusrestha, Please accept my blessings. I am due receipt of your letter dated December 12, 1974 and have noted the contents carefully along with the photographs and installation souvenir. I thank you very much for your kind donation of $100.00. Your report is very encouraging and I was very, very happy to see the wonderful photographs of your installation ceremony there. That installation was very, very auspicious. From the photographs it appeared so nice and Vedic. I was looking at those photographs again and again. Such a wonderful ceremony. So now you must see that the service to your Deities will go on very nicely. You should make it first class, just like in our Los Angeles and New Vrndavana centers. You have a very nice temple room there and now Radha and Krsna have come. So you must treat Them very nicely. Then many many devotees will be attracted by the bhakti. I am also glad to hear that in your temple no one misses mangala arati and that everyone is becoming steady and peaceful in their service. It sounds as if you are taking care of your men very nicely. This is first class management. Please continue in this kind of management. Regarding your farm, that will be very nice. But be sure to maintain your temple there in Denver. It is a very beautiful temple. Do not loose it. Also your idea of forming a trust between ISKCON and the leading men in the Indian community is approved by me. That is very nice. Let the Indians take part in our movement and help us to push on this mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In that trust you must be very careful to make sure that my name is registered there as the founder-acarya and that I am to be the ultimate authority. In other words, in any case of necessity of vetoing or canceling any decision made by the other trustees, I should be able to do like that. My decision should overrule all the other trustees combined. I have accepted the following devotees for first initiation: Martin Babor-Madhvacarya dasa, Bruce Roberts-Bahulavan dasa, Jenny Roberts-Jalasayi devi dasi, Steve Schecter-Siddhanta dasa, Joe Ashcraft-Jitadusana dasa, Tove Olson-Trpti devi dasi, Richard Santoro-Rangaji dasa. Their beads can be chanted on by Kirtanananda Swami. I have accepted the following devotees for second initiation: Svavasa dasa Adhikari, Tadit devi dasi, Dhanvi das Brahmacari, Arthada dasa Brahmacari. Their threads and mantra sheets are enclosed herein. Make sure that they hear the gayatri mantra from the tape of myself. They should hear through the right ear. Your Deities names are Radha-Govinda. I hope this meets you in good health. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami P.T.O. Labels: Deities, Indians, initiation letters | 02:03 |24 October 2008 24 October, 1974 Mayapur My Dear Subaladas Swami: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated October 7, 1974 and have noted the contents. I am glad that you have arrived there on my order and have already begun the preaching. Krishna will supply everything to you, according to your capacity for preaching purely the message of Lord Caitanya. There I have found the Indians very cooperative for our movement, and you have had good experience in India preaching, so you are the right man to go there. You are sannyasi and the people will automatically respect you. So be ideal in behavior following strictly the rules and regulations. Now you are getting more men, so organize everything carefully, and inform me what is the progress. Brahmananda Swami says that because of his experience in Africa, you should be careful in registering the Society. Yes, it must be in the name of ISKCON, with my name as Founder-Acarya. Check to see that only Fiji citizens can register the Society there, and if necessary you can have others as the officers. I have already written you that I would like to come there when I return to USA in April, so please arrange for it. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: Fiji, Indians, register letters | 03:04 |6 August 2008 Tuesday, 6 August, 1974 Vrindaban My Dear Madhavananda Das: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated August 3, 1974 and also the juicer. Regarding the meeting you propose, you may arrange it, and I shall come. For Janmastami I am already engaged here, but your proposed meeting is very encouraging. So when you expect me, let me know, and I shall make my program. The Indians there have been cheated by so many rascal swamis who have come simply to collect money and then leave. So our work will be done locally. Regarding the plans for the temple, I have just now spoken with Saurabha and you shall be getting the plans very soon. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: Bhaktivedanta Manor, Indians letters | 04:00 |7 February 2008 7 February, 1974 Vrindaban My dear Caitya Guru, Please accept my blessings. I was very much shocked when I learned from Tamala Krsna Maharaja that you have left our company and were living outside. Anyway, I was always thinking of you and your letter of Jan. 26, 1974 gives me much relief. Why you should be sorry if someone says you are Indian, he is American, Indians are no good, Americans are good. Why be affected by bodily relationships? Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has advised us - and as an older, grownup student you should know it--that we have to become humbler than the blade of grass and more tolerant than the tree, and then we can execute our service and chant Hare Krsna. If Indians are bad then I am also bad, as I am an Indian. But they have accepted an Indian as their guru. So Indians are both bad and good according to the behavior. If they have accused you as bad because you are Indian, yet they have accepted a bad Indian as guru. Don't be afflicted by all these external features of our bodily relationships. Be steady in Krsna Consciousness and do your duty so you may be blessed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Krsna and make your life successful. I am going to Bombay on the 13rd instant - please come back and if you feel inconvenience, it doesn't matter whether from Indians or Americans, you can live with me because I am an Indian. I hope you will feel no difficulty. You must come back when I go to Bombay. We are neither Indian or American; our real identity is that we are all servants of Krsna. Always remember this philosophy and all these external affairs will not trouble you. Hope this finds you in good health, and more when we meet. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: Bombay, distubance, Indians letters | 17:07 |1 January 2008 1 January, 1974 Los Angeles My dear Mukunda, Please accept my blessings. I have received one letter from Madhavananda in which he mentions that the Deities at the Bhaktivedanta Manor are not protected. So you are the president of the Temple and therefore you are responsible for all areas. Who is in charge of the Deity room? It must be secured at night, every window and door must be locked and you must personally see to this. You have had sufficient experience at Bury Place that the Deity was attacked. You have already experienced that so you should not be negligent in this matter. Please see that adequate security is given to the Temple, especially to the Deities, so that They will not be exposed to any attack. I have answered Madhavananda on various points so you may see his letter. The main thing is that if the matter is to go ahead there must be a cooperative spirit between yourself, Madhavananda, Syamasundara and the others. I understand from Madhavananda's letter that there is great opportunity for spreading Krsna Consciousness among the Indians and expanding all our programs there in England so I shall be glad to hear from you on these matters how you are pushing forward to make our mission successful in England. I hope this finds you well. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami N.B. What happened to immigration matter? ACBS:sdg Labels: Deities, Indians, London letters | 17:42 | |
|
|
