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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1974 |
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12 December 2008 12 December, 1974 Bombay My Dear Saurabha das: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated December 1, 1974 and have noted the contents. Thank you for supplying the account for the money which has been sent to you. I am encouraged that you expect to have the everything completed on time. This I want. I am glad to note that you have two more contractors, not to be dependent upon one is better. It is also good that local men like Visvambar are taking part. I am starting for Hawaii on Saturday next and shall return to India at end of next February or early March. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: construction, Vrindavana letters | 02:02 |12 December, 1974 Bombay My Dear Satadhanya das: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated December 6, 1974 and have noted the contents. I am simply surprised how many people visited the temple on Ras Purnima and that so many Gitar Gans were distributed. I do not think so many people visited the other maths there in Mayapur. Regarding the construction you have not mentioned anything about the gate. I want that the gate should be there. The gate should be constructed before the wall is constructed. It is very nice that the work is progressing by having a hired man instead of a contractor. This is proper method for us. Gargamuni Swami has telegrammed that work on the kitchen has stopped and that money from Jayatirtha has not come. But Jayatirtha has told Brahmananda Swami that it was already sent. So what can I do? Anyway the work should not be stopped. This is not good. I am starting for Hawaii on this Saturday next and will return to India in late February or early March, 1975. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: book distribution, construction, Mayapur letters | 01:59 |23 November 2008 23 November, 1974 Bombay My Dear Saurabha das: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 15/11/74 and the account. I had wanted an account of the last Rs. 5,10,000/- that was sent to you. Please give me that account, how it was spent for the construction. Now we have sent you Rs. 1,25,000/- and I am sending another Rs. 1,75,000/-. Now Bhugarbha reports that you say the asrama will not be completed for the opening festival. The program was already postponed because the asrama was not finished. Therefore everything must be cent per cent completed by the end of March. Is the contractor cheating? That means it will never be finished. Simply we have to put money. From the photos I have seen, there is not very much progress. What to do? I want no explanations. I want to see everything finished. If there is still doubt, please tell me frankly. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: construction, Krishna Balarama, Vrindavana letters | 02:04 |15 November 2008 15 November, 1974 Bombay My Dear Dhananjaya dasa: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated November 9, 1974 and have noted the contents. Regarding the land purchase, these soil tests are unnecessary. All the land in that area needs fertilizers, that we know. Anyway, you can give up this. If there is doubt, then there is no need for purchasing this land. I am glad to note that the Home Minister is looking into the visa problem for our men. The idea is that we are spending so much for constructing these projects but no local Indians are coming forward to join us. So who will manage these projects? We require the foreigners to manage. In Vrindaban we will keep at least 50 foreigners. It is very good that the Governor Mr. Reddy has visited our temple. He should be invited for being the Chief Guest and Inaugurator of the new temple. I am writing to him in this regard separately. Krishna has sent both these Governors. Regarding your inquiry about your position, that is a bona fide position to remain a servant of the servant of Krishna. So for the time being you can help Tejiyas in Delhi collecting and preaching. In the meantime please go and see the Manager of Punjab National Bank, Vrindaban with the enclosed two letters and take replies. I also want to know how many Fixed Deposit Receipts are in their custody. Give me all the numbers and amounts. They should keep the certificates but you should mail me the particulars. It is good that your wife is there. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: construction, land, Vrindavana letters | 11:40 |24 October 2008 24 October, 1974 Mayapur My Dear Uttama Sloka das: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated September 27, 1974 with enclosed plans for the new temple and it is all very nice. You are taking on a big responsibility, and I am very pleased. Toronto I think is a very important city in Canada, and it is fitting that you are contemplating to make a first class temple there. Do everything very carefully, in consultation with Jagadisa Prabhu, and do not spend anything unnecessarily. Whatever money we are getting it is from Krishna, so nothing should be misspent. You can make the interior of the temple in the same design as the Chicago temple with a balcony and the same type of Deity room. I liked the Chicago temple very much when I was there, so make it like that. We are making our temples very nice and gorgeous so that people will come and take Krishna consciousness. Just like here at Mayapur, because we have this very nice house, people are coming to visit and stay. They attend the aratis and listen to my lectures, and take prasadam. If we did not have this house, then they would not come. So this is the meaning of a temple. There must always be activity. Not that we have a nice house for comfortable living. We simply want to bring people back home, Back to Godhead. That is the purpose of our temples, of our books, and our festivals, and preachings. I will like to come and visit your temple the next time I return to USA. I think I can come to Toronto directly from London. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: construction, Toronto letters | 03:02 |22 October 2008 Tuesday, 22 October, 1974 Mayapur My Dear Giriraja das: Please accept my blessings. Gargamuni Swami has returned with copies of letters from the BMC architect, the Bandra Asst. Engineer, and the letter regarding the land acquisition. Regarding the property evaluation, I have already written you how we have paid Rs. 200/- per sq. yard. From the developed portion we are receiving income per annum of Rs. 18,000/- including the tax deductions. The current rate of interest for an investment is 10%, so the value for this portion is Rs. 1,80,000/-. For the entire land we have paid Rs. 14,50,00/-; so the value for the undeveloped portion is Rs. 12,70,000/- (for 6,000 sq. yards) or Rs. 200/- per sq. yard. If they are calculating the value at Rs. 130/- per sq. yard, then we have paid more than the market value, not less. Regarding the road, you must immediately install at the front of the road a permanent iron gate, like the one on the opposite property, with one dharwan or guard. This is very important and must be done immediately. No tenant will be allowed for any reason to park his car on any part of the road. You can make one parking place for their cars on the portion of land opposite the well next to the block where my old flat was where the during the pandal there was the kitchen. But, not trees should be torn down. The tenants can pay something for the parking facilities. You should also make a formal request for increasing the rent of all tenants for the cost of the internal road, otherwise where will the cost of the road come from? I think we can enhance the rent for road improvement. If necessary, you can engage one lawyer for doing all these things, if Mr. Asanani is not helping. Regarding the construction, you should immediately begin work on all four of the remaining flats. The work must begin whether you have got sufficient cement or bricks. If you have to lay only one brick, then do that. I may be coming there next week, so you can prepare for that. Regarding distributing the books to all centers, they must pay for whatever they order, even if they order less. If they do not pay cash, then do not fill the order. Regarding their old debts, let them pay whatever they can. But, for what they order, they must pay for. You can ship them whatever way, transporter or whatnot, but it must be COD. I understand that Manasvi has returned, but he should not be given any responsibility, nothing. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: Bombay, book distribution, construction letters | 02:58 |20 August 2008 Tuesday, 20 August, 1974 Vrindaban Dear Mr. Rameshchandra Lalidji: Please accept my blessings. I have received a report of the progress of Hyderabad. I am pleased to note that the construction has already started and the columns have come up to beam level. I appreciate very much your interest in propagating the teaching of the Bhagavad-gita, and it is because of the assistance of men like you that we are constructing a temple in Hyderabad. I am pleased that the work is proceeding now at good speed and request that you assist in completing the temple by next Janmastami, and I will come to inaugurate the opening ceremony. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: construction, Hyderabad letters | 21:17 |20 August, 1974 Vrindaban My Dear Sri Badruka: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated August 7, 1974 and have noted the contents. I am very pleased to hear about the progress of Hyderabad centre preaching and construction. With your active interest I am very confident that everything is going on very smoothly. I have sent to Mahamsa Swami Rs. 60,000/- so that the immediate construction may not be hampered. In the meantime please see that the life members there start collecting. If the temple is completed by next Janmastami, I will be pleased to come to inaugurate the opening. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: construction, Hyderabad letters | 21:06 |19 August 2008 19 August, 1974 Vrindaban My dear Sri Ganatra, Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for greeting telegram from Bombay dated Aug 12th on the occasion of Vyasa Puja. You may know that we have had to postpone the opening of the temples due to the temple and asrama not being completed. This is due to difficulty in getting cement. They are expecting to complete the temple for the opening ceremony by three months time. Then we can have our opening ceremony. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs/ps Labels: Bombay, construction letters | 20:53 |20 July 2008 20 July, 1974 New Vrindaban My Dear Madhavananda das: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter hand delivered by Brahmananda Swami. I have written to Saurabha Prabhu to send you the same pattern plans for your temple construction. You should build in the same pattern, not different. More when we meet soon. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: Bhaktivedanta Manor, construction letters | 09:37 |14 July 2008 14 July, 1974 Los Angeles My Dear Saurabha dasa: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 25/6/74 redirected from Australia. In the meantime I have received one letter from Karandhara Prabhu, so I am replying two letters conjointly. I also request you to draw an exact similar plan like that of our Vrindaban temple and send it to Trinidad at the following address: ISKCON, 21 C Penbroke St., Port Of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies. The idea is that we have got a land there, one half acre, and we want to construct a similar temple like Vrindaban there. So I hope at your earliest convenience you will send the site plan at least to Trinidad as soon as possible. We have a proposed temple in Bhaktivedanta Manor, Letchmore Heath, London, and I hope in the meantime you might have received the same request from Madhavananda Prabhu. I am a little agitated in mind because Karandhara's letter says that there may be some work to be done even during the time of our festival. So far prasada distribution, it must be very gorgeously done for seven days. There is no scarcity of money. I shall supply. Simply you have to manage things. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: construction, Trinidad letters | 10:45 |30 April 2008 30 April, 1974 Bombay My dear Saurabha, Please accept my blessings. I am very much anxious to know how far the residential quarter is constructed. Our deadline of completing the whole temple and residential building is the end of July. Whether it is possible? I want to know it definitely, before I go to Europe. You kindly send me immediately a detailed report. Otherwise, I will have to go there immediately and see how things can be completed by the deadline date. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg copy to Tejyas in Delhi for immediate report also Labels: construction, Vrindavana letters | 22:33 |25 April 2008 Thursday, 25 April, 1974 Tirupati Dear Tejyas, Please accept my blessings. Just as I was leaving for Tirupati from Hyderabad I received your telegram reading as follows: "Require checks Rupees Twenty-one thousand seven hundred in favor Punjab National Bank for Steel and rupees Fifteen thousand to PNB Delhi for transfer to Vrindaban." This kind of requesting for checks by telegram without proper explanation is whimsical. Especially to ask for a check to PNB Delhi to transfer to Vrindaban. The construction fund should only be used for construction items like cement and iron and the party's name should be mentioned. Because you may need these checks urgently I am sending them enclosed here, but please send a letter giving a proper account. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: construction, New Delhi, Vrindavana letters | 22:28 |24 April 2008 24 April, 1974 Hyderabad Dear Tejyas, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters of April 11th, and April 22, 1974 and I have examined the contents. I am enclosing the list of checks requested by you by Registered post except I am not sending one check for Rs 3,000 for deity clothes to be paid to the tailor Lalita Prasad of Vrindaban. Deity paraphernalia is supposed to be collected separately by Gurudasa and Yamuna, not come out of the construction fund as you have requested. Besides, I have advised Gurudasa not to pay any tailor but to make clothes by our own devotees for the deities. According to my check book, after writing the last check no. 365504 for Rs 17,600.00 there is a balance of only Rs 18,745.81. But you are indicating a balance of Rs 100,313.64. Where is the difference? Send me a complete statement of account. You must have received a further Rs 50,000.00 by now from Bombay. Anyway, send me a statement of account so I can tally with my check book. Somehow I find a balance of only Rs 18,745.81. As for the needs for construction over the next three months, one lac has been transferred to Delhi to the Vrindaban Temple Construction Fund and one lac is deposited in the Trust Fund; that makes two lacs. Plus, Birla will contribute Rs 50,000 per month. I am advising the Vrindaban Punjab National Bank to transfer to Delhi Vrindaban Temple Construction Fund a total of three lacs, see the enclosed letter to the bank. So I think this will solve your immediate construction needs for some time. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Enclosures: 7 checks & 2 = 9 requisition slip (Enclosures handwritten) Labels: construction, New Delhi, Vrindavana letters | 22:24 |24 April, 1974 Hyderabad Manager Punjab National Bank Vrindaban, Dist. Mathura, U.P. Attention: Mr. N. Gupta Dear Sir; With further reference to my letter dated April 8th, and your reply of April 15, I beg to request you to transfer 3 lacs (Rs 300,000.00) to your Punjab National Bank, Moti Bagh, New Delhi account Iskcon Vrindaban Temple Construction Fund account number 3867 in place of the one lac (Rs 100,000.00) previously said. Therefore the fixed deposit amount will be 3 lacs (Rs 300,000.00) instead of five lacs (500,000.00). Thanking you for your reliable service. Yours sincerely, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg c.c. Tejyas das Adhikari, New Delhi Labels: bank, construction, Vrindavana letters | 22:22 |13 April 2008 13 April, 1974 Bombay Dear Gargamuni Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of April 4, 1974, and I have noted the contents. I am glad to hear that the Calcutta temple is progressing nicely under your direction, that devotees are going out daily distributing books and collecting. As far as my meeting with the indutrialist G.D. Kothari and others to discuss building a Calcutta temple, my present schedule is that I am remaining in India until May 15, and then going to Pairs, France. On April 18 I am going to Hyderabad for a week and from there spend a week in South India traveling. So after that, if such a meeting can be arranged before I leave? Otherwise, when I return to India at the end of July I can meet. Regarding your complaint that Jayapataka Swami does not give you account of the money you send there, please try to rectify this amongst yourselves. I have sent Brahmananda Swami your elder brother, to Mayapur just to help organize their management. Now among yourselves you are all senior members, rectify this rift between Calcutta and Mayapur. Your idea to send Mayapur Rs 6,800.00 monthly for construction costs only, and let them make up that same amount monthly which is their maintenance money, is a good plan. I have heard there is good chance for life membership in Nadia area, and Panca Dravida Maharaja can train up others how to do it. You all must push on cooperatively and spare me from too much management intervention; that will be your success. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg P.S. I want to organize a women kirtana party singing the Gita Gan. Can you help me? Labels: Calcutta, construction, cooperation letters | 12:10 |6 April 2008 Saturday, 6 April, 1974 Bombay Dear Saurabha, Please accept my blessings. I have seen the letter of 4/4/74 you have written to Tamala Krsna Goswami. I am very very happy to learn the by Krsna's and Baladeva's mercy a sweet water well has been found about ten feet away from the front part of the land, on our side. This is Krsna's mercy on us. Now build a big well there. Make an idara, make the well 100 feet deep and big and fix a pump so that you can always take water from. This news about the well has pleased me very much. Also, because the tamal tree is blooming so nicely you may let it stand; do not cut it down, but let it grow. As for the shortage of coolies, our men can do this job. Any man can work as a cooly, so our men should join. We shall also send men from here and elsewhere so you may have 10 or 20 men. Cooly means non expert, and so many of our men are non expert so they may join and work as coolies. If you are collecting money from Mr. Bajoria or any life members take it and send it to the construction fund at New Delhi, in the Punjab National Bank. As far as Mr. Somani, let him come here and I will be very glad to receive him. If he can supply us paper we can start a Back to Godhead magazine in Hindi and Gujarati. Regarding your report on the marble, let us apply the best one, as indicated by you, even if it costs Rs 8 per square foot including labor. So make contract, take delivery of the stone and engage this man who is the same one doing the Birla Mandir. I have sent a check for Rs 23,000 to Tejyas in Delhi so there is no scarcity of money. This temple must be finished by the deadline. Work very swiftly keeping in view everything expertly and solidly. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: construction, Krsna's mercy, Vrindavana letters | 21:05 |5 April 2008 5 April, 1974 Bombay My Dear Tejyas, Please accept my blessings. With reference to your telephonic conversation with Bhagavata das, enclosed please find one check for Rs 23,000.00 (Rupees twenty three thousand only) in favor of the Punjab National Bank. I think you require this check for purchasing iron. But you have not mentioned for what purpose. Please acknowledge receipt and let me know for what purpose it has been used. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: bank, construction letters | 21:01 |1 April 2008 1 April, 1974 Bombay RESOLUTION At the meeting of the members of the Bureau of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, held at the Hare Krishna Land, Gandhi Gram Road, Juhu, Bombay 400 054, on First April, 1974, the following was resolved: 1. That the Society will construct one additional floor on each of the six existing buildings on the Hare Krishna Land, (purchased in October, 1973.) 2. That the President, Secretary, and Treasurer are hereby authorized to appoint any architect, labor contractor, other contractors, engineers, to purchase, etc. for the purpose of construction. 3. That the construction may begin immediately upon approval given by the Bombay Municipal Corporation. Signed for INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS: A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurudasa Adhikari Dated this First Day of April, 1974 -/bs Labels: Bombay, construction letters | 20:57 |22 March 2008 22 March, 1974 Bombay My dear Jayapataka Bhavananda, and Brahmananda Maharajas, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your express letter which arrived in Vrindaban March 19th, and I have noted the contents. Of course I do not know what is the actual expenditure, but I request you to finish the business as far as possible and the money will be supplied. But this time when I go I want to see that everything under construction is completed. Brahmananda Swami has already gone there to help you in this connection so kindly do the needful. Combine together and get the things completely done. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: construction, Mayapur letters | 11:26 | |
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