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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1974 |
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16 December 2008 16 December, 1974 Bombay My dear Bhakta Lance, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter date Nov. 1, 1974 and have noted the contents with care. My simple request is that you remain in association of devotees and continue to chant your 16 rounds daily and follow strictly the four regulative principles and read our books daily with great care. In this way your Krsna Conscious advancement will be assured success and at the end of this life you will go back to Godhead, back to home, and live with Krsna eternally. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/ps Labels: Coconut Grove, regulative principles letters | 02:14 |22 November 2008 22 November, 1974 Bombay Long Beach, CA My Dear Bahurupa Das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due reciept of your letter dated September 24th, 1974. I am pleased to hear that you are chanting 16 rounds daily and reading my books regularly and following the four rules. In my books the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness is explained fully so if there is anything which you do not understand, then you simply have to read again and again. By reading daily the knowledge will be revealed to you and by this process your spiritual life will develop. Krishna Consciousness is not a hackneyed thing but it is something which is our natural and original consciousness. Presently our consciousness is clouded just like a mirror becomes covered with dust So the cleansing process is this chanting and hearing and doing some service and trying to please the Spiritual Master. By this process our consciousness becomes clear and we are able to understand everything. So far Gayatri Mantra is concerned, of course it it not such an important thing. The main thing is to chant Hare Krishna but you can consult with the GBC. Jayatirtha and get his recommendation. The Hare Krishna mantra is sufficient for becoming Krishna Conscious. You may please me the most by reading my books and following the instructions therein and by becoming fully Krishna Conscious in this life time. I hope this meets you in good health, Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/BS/vdd Labels: regulative principles letters | 06:23 |24 October 2008 24 October, 1974 Mayapur Lisbon, Portugal My Dear Frederico: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated October 3, 1974 and have noted the contents. I am very glad to learn that you are translating the Bhagavad-gita As It Is into Portuguese. Be careful not to change anything but present it exactly as it is. This is how we receive Bhagavad-gita through the disciplic succession as stated in the Fourth Chapter. By this translating work you will learn our philosophy very nicely. It is very important to broadcast Krishna consciousness all over the world. This is the great need of modern civilization. If you are going to France why not visit our Paris center. There you should get chanting (japa) beads, and begin chanting Hare Krishna mantra on the beads. They will show you how to do it. This is most important for advancing in spiritual life. Yes, as you have understood, prasadam is offered only from the category of fruits, vegetables, grains, milk products, and sugar. This is according to the Bhagavad-gita wherein Krishna states what He accepts. We have four rules that all my students follow. They do not take any meat, fish, or eggs; no gambling, no intoxicants, including coffee, tea, or cigarettes; and no illicit sex life. Try to follow these four rules, and Krishna will bless you with quick advancement in spiritual life. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: disciplic succession, Portugal, regulative principles, translation letters | 03:05 |18 September 2008 Wednesday, 18 September, 1974 Vrindaban Mr. S.N. Sharma Mahila Ashram Bilwara, Rajasthan Dear Sir: Please accept my best wishes. I am in due receipt of your letter in Hindi and have noted the contents. To join our mission first of all you have to become a pure Vaisnava. For this purpose you have to remain with us and live the techniques in your life. Then you can be trained up as a preacher. We do not allow anyone become a preacher unless he is strictly following the Vaisnava principles of no eating meat, fish, or eggs; no sex outside of marriage; no gambling; and no taking any kind of intoxication whatsoever. You must also chant 16 rounds Hare Krishna on the japa beads. So if you are interested, you can practice these things within our association for some time. Then we shall consider you for preaching work. I hope this meets you well. Faithfully yours, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: preaching, regulative principles letters | 01:07 |5 September 2008 6 September, 1974 Vrindaban My Dear Nari devi dasi: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter and have noted the contents. The problems you write of indicate that your spiritual foundation is very weak. To make advancement in Krsna consciousness one must decide whether he is going to be serious or not. If one is actually serious, then by chanting Hare Krsna 16 rounds daily, following the four regulative principles, and reading my books, certainly you will make advancement, and these such problems will fall to the side. I therefore request you because you are an initiated devotee to take up Krsna consciousness seriously as you promise at the time of your initiation, and be happy in Krsna consciousness. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: Buffalo, regulative principles, serious letters | 02:04 |19 August 2008 19 August, 1974 Vrindaban My Dear Hiranyagarbha das, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 26th 1974 and have noted the contents. Jagadisa prabhu has informed me that he has already gone over the points with you at New Vrndavana recently. In teaching the children, you should refer very carefully to my books. The qualities of a brahman as mentioned in BG chapter 18: sama dama tapasocam. You must teach these qualities. These qualities will naturally come out, if you just give the process purely. The information is there in my books so if you strictly adhere to them then your program of teaching will be successful. First of all you must teach by your personal example. This is the principle of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu (apani acari bhakti pracaram). So you yourself must chant 16 rounds and follow the regulative principles and automatically they will do as you are doing. Then they will become strong Vaisnavas. Regarding the initiation of Jon Walsh, please let me know if he was initiated there in New Vrndavana. If not then I will initiate him. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs/ps Labels: gurukula, New Vrindavan, regulative principles letters | 20:55 |23 April 2008 23 April, 1974 Hyderabad Dear Niranjana, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 9th April from Scotland. You are asking what should your preaching work be now that you are attending the university. So the first preaching work is that yourself should become an ideal devotee. Lord Caitanya said that one should first make himself perfect and then attempt to instruct others. There is no point in telling another man to stop smoking if you yourself are smoking cigarettes. Even though you are mixing with all kinds of the student class at the university, you must strictly refrain from the four prohibitive sinful activities, and as an initiated student you must not let a day pass when you do not chant at least 16 rounds of Hare Krsna Mantra. If you can follow just these things nicely that in itself will be strong preaching by behavior. You should also always wear Kunti beads around the neck and wear the marking of tilak. People will inquire from you and you can tell them about Krsna Consciousness and sell them books also. You should also try to associate with the devotees in England and Scotland. If possible, visit the temple on Sundays and whenever you can, and always read my books. I will be coming to London in the first week of Maya and if you can come and see me at Bhaktivedanta Manor that will be very nice. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: Glasgow, regulative principles letters | 22:23 |23 March 2008 23 March, 1974 Bombay Dear Govinda das, Please accept my blessings. I have accepted the devotees recommended by you for first initiation, and their spiritual names are as follows. Miriam--Mekhala devi dasi Linda--Lalana devi dasi Ron--Ranganatha dasa Ruth--Ruci devi dasi Have their beads chanted on by Jagadisa Prabhu. Our whole Krsna Consciousness rests on following the regulative principles, chanting 16 rounds at least, daily and without fail, and avoiding the four sinful activities. Without following the regulative principles, so called devotional service is simply a disturbance. So be sure to always take care of the devotees in your charge in this respect. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: Chicago, initiation, regulative principles letters | 11:29 |1 January 2008 1 January, 1974 Los Angeles My dear Sudama Maharaja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 26, 1973. I am much encouraged by your description of your enthusiastic programs there. Others have spoken big words and yet deviated from our basic regulative principles and caused so much havoc. You have now gone there to institute the right thing. I am very much disturbed on hearing so many reports of things going against our principles there in Hawaii but now you have given me the transcendental bliss by your reports of devotees joyfully engaged in Sankirtana and prasadam distribution and reading our books regularly. Continue the routine work and encourage the others. You follow as you are doing and as you have begun things there so others will join you. Those who are not following the regulative principles may say and act whatever crazy thing they may do but we must not compromise with our principles. Those who are actually sincere about spiritual life will gradually see the purity of our movement as you are conducting it and they will become attracted to the real thing. Those who want to be cheated do not take the solution even when it is at hand but prefer to be cheated. This new service is a great new chance for you in Krsna Consciousness. You are my dear and beloved son and because you are carrying out my instructions there exactly as I have taught you and all my disciples, Krsna will be very pleased with you and all the devotees who are there. It is very good news that there are now 28 devotees and I am sure more will join you in the future. Yes, I am certainly coming to visit you in Hawaii. I plan to be there by the 14th or 15th of January. Bali Mardan has fixed up arrangements for my staying at a hotel for 4 days. If suitable, I can extend my stay there or make other arrangements once I am there. Always be assured that you are being protected by Krsna and that if you simply carry out my instructions against all odds you will certainly come out successful in the end. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Technorati Profile Labels: deviation, Hawaii, itinerary, regulative principles letters | 17:42 | |
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