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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1974 |
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28 December 2008 28 December, 1974 Bombay My dear Jagadisa Pandita, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated nil and have noted the contents. My opinion is that it is not necessary for us to utilize these different musical talents for spreading Krsna Consciousness. I would rather see people follow strictly the path of Lord Caitanya and His Sankirtana devotees. We are using mrdanga, karatala, that is enough. We are not musicians. We are Krsna bhaktas. Therefore we do not stress so much importance on these different musical talents. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is God Himself. Had He thought it would have been better to spread Krsna Consciousness by another way He would have done so. But no, simply with mrdanga and karatala, traveling and chanting Hare Krsna, asking everyone to chant Hare Krsna, preaching simply Srimad-Bhagavatam philosophy, this is the process. There is no need for us to try and add anything to this simple method. It will only be a distraction. Therefore I request you to follow the simple path of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and help me spread this wonderful mission all over the world. Keep yourself pure and fixed up in Krsna Consciousness by following the basic principles that I have given; chanting 16 rounds daily, following the four regulative principles, rising early, attending mangala arati and classes etc. This is of the utmost importance. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/ps Labels: music, San Francisco, sankirtan letters | 06:45 |16 December 2008 Monday, 16 December, 1974 Bombay My dear Bhakta Steve, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated Oct. 28, 1974 and have noted the contents. It is very nice that you have joined the Radha-Damodara travelling Sankirtana party and that you are engaged in spreading the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu along with Visnujana Swami and Tamala Krsna Goswami. I think it would be very nice if you would make nice silver jewellery for the Radha-Damodara Deities and in this way your talent will be used in the most perfect way. Please continue reading our books with great care, studying again and again and staunchly following all of our regulative principles and always stay in the association of devotees, chanting Hare Krishna. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/ps Labels: San Francisco letters | 02:15 |24 November 2008 24 November, 1974 Bombay My Dear Bhakta dasa: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated November 10, 1974 with enclosed photographs of the Hare Krishna Restaurant. It is very nice. I had been there to Stanford University. So you can get Mr. Malkani in New York to help you in the restaurant. He went there to start a restaurant, but now he is cooking in the New York temple, so you arrange for him to help you. Are books being sold also in the restaurant? Regarding the Ratha Yatra Festival, keep it always gorgeously alive, but do not change the principle. The principle should go on as usual. Yes, it is all right to make something in the park as you have suggested. Why you want to change the wheels? This is unnecessary. Don't do this. Keep the old system strong, and if necessary repair it. Don't change from this to that. That is your American disease. This is very serious that you always want to change everything. Spoked wheels will never be as strong and hard as the old way. Never do this. Neither there should be any separate float as you have suggested for me. Regarding having the crowds come forward to touch Lord Jagannatha's feet, that will also be impossible to manage. So for the time being this program may not be taken. Regarding the devotees you have recommended, I am pleased to accept them as my disciples and their names are as follows: Marilyn--Manini devi; Jamie--Janjapukandhi devi; Carol Hansen--Kelilalita devi; Carol Tungate--Kalpalatika devi; Huber--Hanumatpresaka dasa; Steve--Satkrta dasa; Lou--Lankesa das; Kirk--Kalanidhi dasa. Also I accept the following as twice born initiated brahmanas: Vatsala dasa; Sasikhala devi; and Vaisesikha dasa. The sanctified threads and the mantra sheets are enclosed. Hold a fire sacrifice, and the gayatri mantra should be heard through the right ear from my tape recording. I am glad to see that you are taking these initiations seriously. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: initiation, Rathayatra, San Francisco letters | 02:02 |16 July 2008 16 July, 1974 Dallas My Dear Siddha Svarupananada Maharaja: Please accept my blessings. I am here in Dallas, and after two days I am going to New Vrindaban, and then to London on my way to India. I will reach India by July 26th to arrange for our grand festival in Vrindaban. I cordially invite you to attend our opening ceremony in Vrindaban because all of our sannyasis will be present there. You also come there as a regular sannyasi and take part. That is my desire. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: invitation, San Francisco, Vrindavana letters | 05:59 |8 July 2008 Monday, 8 July, 1974 Los Angeles My dear Bhakta das, Please accept my blessings. I have gladly accepted for first initiation those devotees recommended by you and their spiritual names are as follows. Tom Guild--Tatvavit dasa Art Yri--Acyuta dasa Debbie Yarber--Dhanistha devi Leaf--Lila smaranam devi Bala--Bala dasa Now be sure these devotees know and vow to follow the four rules and that they are chanting at least 16 rounds daily. Initiation does not mean they have completed all spiritual perfection and now they can relax but it means now they have begun spiritual life. If they are true to their vows they will _ all perfection in this life and be eligible to go back to home back to Godhead. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS:sdg PS. I have also accepted Charles and Alice French for first initiation and Sriman Brikasanga das, Raksana das, Srimate Havirdani dasi and Kamatavi dasi for second initiation. Now go on following all the regulative principles and enthusiastically engage yourselves twenty-four hours in the service of Sri Sri Radha and KRSNA. Alice's spiritual name is Atma-maya dasi and Charlie's is Tapan Misra das. Labels: initiation, San Francisco letters | 05:38 |28 June 2008 Friday, 28 June, 1974 Melbourne My dear Bhakta das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of June 17, and have carefully read the contents. I am glad to hear you have been thinking of me and have arranged a nice house near the temple for my stay there. As you know, I will be arriving 6:30 P.M. from Chicago on United airlines on July the 6th. I am also looking forward to attending the grand festival of Lord Jagannatha. You have said rightly when you write that the devotees are working to please me by distributing my books. My mission on behalf of my guru maharaj and Lord Caitanya, to spread Krsna Consciousness would never have been so successful if it had not been taken up by enthusiastic boys and girls such as in San Francisco, especially through distribution of books. I can, however, only stay a few days in San Francisco after the Festival. I am due back in Vrindaban, India by about the 25th of July, and I wanted to visit Los Angeles as well as other cities in the U.S., so that does not leave me much time for staying in one place. My plan presently is to leave S.F. for L.A. on the 11th July. So any engagements you can make in S.F. before that time will be fine. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: itinerary, Rathayatra, San Francisco letters | 09:47 |9 June 2008 Sunday, 9 June, 1974 Paris My dear Krsna das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 30 from San Francisco. It is pleasing to me to here you are happily engaged in devotional service and living as an ideal grhastha. Please go on as you are doing: keep your business separate and wherever you remain keep your family in Krsna Consciousness always chanting Hare Krsna and observing the regulative principles. Cultivate your business for Krsna, remain happy in Krsna Consciousness and always serve Krsna. Your name is already Krsna das so your new boy may be given the name Krsna das-anudas, the servant of the servant of Krsna. This was the position desirable to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: business, San Francisco letters | 06:14 |4 June 2008 4 June, 1974 Geneva My dear Bhakta das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge your letter of May 21st and I have noted the contents. I am certainly making all plans to attend Rathayatra in San Francisco on July 7th and 8th. I will be going to Australia for their Rathayatra on June 29th and after that Jayatirtha is arranging my tickets for coming to U.S. I would like to attend the Rathayatra in Chicago on July 6th and, come to San Francisco on the evening of the sixth, so you may prepare to receive me then. Regarding your looking for a more suitable building and location for the San Francisco temple, one thing is be very careful you don't again buy a place in a bad neighborhood or neighborhood that is about to become bad. And although you are at the same time looking for a farm community land outside the city, you must keep a temple in the city of San Francisco also. So we can discuss things further when we meet. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: land, Rathayatra, San Francisco letters | 03:58 |11 April 2008 11 April, 1974 Bombay Dear Madhudvisa Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of March 31, from San Francisco and I have noted the contents. I do not think that you have failed in your work there, but by your going and preaching it appears the temple life has much improved. That you could not convince Bhutatma to stay as president is not your fault. Now you stay at New Jagannatha Puri, your first spiritual home until you are sure the new president, Bhakta dasa is fully understanding of how to conduct things. I know he has done nicely in San Diego. One thing is they should never consider leaving or selling that building, but they should stay there as Radha and Krishna are staying, and it is a nice temple as evidence by the fact that over 250 people attended the Sunday feast by your report. The description of the play, The Death of the Yadus, is all right. I have written you earlier that my plans are to travel to Paris by mid May and then spending 4 or 5 days in each place, I will visit Geneva, Rome, and three or four cities in Germany. Then I will be prepared to go to Australia for Rathayatra. So let me hear from you in this regard. I am glad you have cleared your visa matters and that you can return to your GBC zone of work. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: management, Rathayatra, San Francisco letters | 12:06 |6 April 2008 6 April, 1974 Bombay Dear Madhudvisa Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I am not exactly certain of your whereabouts now; I trust your arrangements for visa are going on and that you will soon be back in Australia. I am presently fixing a traveling schedule for visiting Paris, France in the second week of May. Then I will visit, Geneva, Rome, Stockholm, and three or four cities in Germany, each place for no more than four or five days. So since I will not have to return to India until August, after Europe I can go to Australia for your Rathayatra if you can purchase our tickets. You can reply to me here in Bombay until the second week of May, when we shall go to Paris. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg c.c. to ISKCON MELBOURNE Labels: Australia, Rathayatra, San Francisco letters | 21:04 | |
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