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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1974 |
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25 December 2008 25 December, 1974 Bombay My dear Malati, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 21, Dec. 74 and have noted the contents carefully. I want you to stay there in London. This is my order. Hamsaduta cannot make you leave. If necessary you can show him this letter. To prove that your Guru Maharaja wants you to stay there and execute your devotional service in London. Concerning that remark by Himavati about your being guilty because you are the wife of Syamasundara. who has done horrible things, therefore you must suffer, that is not a fact. Your husband has done nothing horrible. Maybe he has made mistake but he has not done anything horrible. I have asked Brahmananda Swami to go to London as soon as possible from Hawaii and investigate the situation there. I am very concerned about this problem and I hope Brahmananda Swami will be able to clear things up there. When he comes you can inform him of what has happened there. If your husband, Syamasundara is not even keeping correspondence with you how can we know what is his position. Please try to advise him to return the money he owes as soon as possible. Chant 16 rounds, follow all of our regulative principles then everything will be alright in a very short time. I am hoping he will do like this. So you please continue your devotional service, cooking etc, and you can also keep giving Bhagavatam class if you like. Women in our movement can also preach very nicely. Actually male and female bodies, these are just outward designations. Lord Caitanya said that whether one is brahmana or whatever he may be if he knows the science of Krsna then he is to be accepted as guru. So one who gives class, he must read and study regularly and study the purport and realize it. Don't add anything or concoct anything, then he can preach very nicely. The qualification for leading class is how much one understands about Krsna and surrendering to the process. Not whether one is male or female. Of course women, generally speaking are less intelligent, better she has heard nicely then she will speak nicely. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/ps letters | 04:32 | 6 December 2008 Friday, 6 December, 1974 Bombay My Dear Dennis: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated November 22, 1974 and have noted the contents. So regarding the situation that if you leave your wife and your son, she will be broken hearted, therefore I asked you to stay. It is better for you to remain with your wife and son and chant Hare Krishna as much as possible, and Krishna will personally give you direction. It may be that Krishna will make your wife agreeable to your line of action. And if your wife agrees, and your son he is already doing, that will make your life very happy in Krishna consciousness. The best policy is to chant Hare Krishna all together husband, wife, and son at least a half hour daily. If your wife joins with you in chanting, then the whole problem will be solved. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs letters | 09:36 | 24 November 2008 24 November, 1974 Bombay My Dear Sukadeva das: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter undated and have noted the contents. I am glad to learn that you are having nice college programs. Regarding there going to be depression and atomic war, who said that? This is all false propaganda. I never said this. Regarding free will and pre-destination, yes, materially everything is decided. Spiritually you can make advancement despite all material destiny. Materially you cannot change things as they are but spiritually it is possible. No, devotees are not allowed more than one wife. Devotees should have no wife if possible, but those who cannot maintain celibacy, they can marry one wife. At the present moment people are so unfortunate they cannot maintain even one wife. First of all at the present moment they are not married and remain mostly unmarried. So for such persons even one wife is a great burden. Under the circumstances how one can think of more than one wife? Regarding your fifth question, that I shall think over. Regarding the sannyasi, therefore I have stopped sannyasa. No Vaisnava says that he is advanced. Please send me the name of the sannyasi, and I shall do the needful. Regarding the cooking, a non-brahmana may assist but he cannot cook. I Hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: marriage, sannyasa, Seattle, wife letters | 02:06 |12 November 2008 Tuesday, 12 November, 1974 Bombay My Dear Pradyumna dasa: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter undated. I think you should stay. Your presence is required. If you are leaving because of your wife, then your wife must agree to pay for your return fare. If she agrees, then you can go. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs cc: Delhi ISKCON letters | 03:04 | 6 November 2008 6 November, 1974 Bombay My Dear Gandharva dasa: Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated September 19, 1974 and have noted the contents. So you have done you duty at the last moments of your wife's life so that she could hear them chanting. As to where she has gone, that depends on what she was thinking of at the time of her passing away. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita: anta-kale ca mam eva smaran muktva kalevaram yah prayati sa mad bhavam yati nasty atra samsayah [Bg. 8.5] "And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt." To remember Krishna requires practice, and this is most easily done by chanting Hare Krishna mantra. I have told Nitai to spread the ashes here in the sea. The maha mantra is the only mantra that need be chanted. Do not neglect this. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs letters | 00:07 | 8 September 2008 Sunday, 8 September, 1974 Vrindaban My dear Vibhavati devi; Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated August 29th, 1974 and have noted the contents. So whether you are alone or with your husband you must continue to follow the regulative principles. Why there should be any misunderstanding between a Krishna conscious husband and wife. This is not good. Anyway wherever you get place, you should go and always remember Krishna and never forget Him for a moment. I hope this meets you well. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs/hdb Labels: Canada, husband, misunderstanding, wife letters | 02:20 |30 August 2008 Saturday, 31 August, 1974 Vrindaban My dear Citsukhananda das; Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated August 19, 1974, with enclosed clippings and a copy of the Hare Krishna News. Your work there is very much pleasing to me. Take good attention to the negroes and they will come out good devotees. How many copies have you printed of your local newspaper? I think that everyone will be interested in it. Regarding life membership, Brahmananda Swami can instruct you. You say that the money can be sent out; there are no objections from the government to do this? Please give the details how you can send the money here. One thing, is the Society registered there? So I am glad to learn that you are with your wife and doing very nicely. Combine together and do everything well together. Raise your children in Krishna consciousness and be an ideal household couple. Your wife is a good devotee, that I know. But one thing, do not pick up any childish quarrels together, live peacefully and go on with your Krishna conscious business. You deserve all good encouragement for the work you are doing there. Regarding the plans for the temple, you should send to Saurabha a site plan for the area of the plot and then he can send you the plans. If possible also send photos of the plot. Be sure and mention what is the exact area of the plot and he can make the plans accordingly. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs/hdb Labels: marriage, Trinidad, wife letters | 06:51 |9 June 2008 9 June, 1974 Paris My dear Muralidhara, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of May 16, received only now in Paris. Regarding your questions for painting: The enclosed sketch of Lord Visnu visiting the sacrificial arena of Maharaja Prthu is all right as it is, the architecture is nice. Visnu should rest His left hand on Garuda's shoulder. But in the picture of the four kumaras visiting Prthu Maharaja, why are the Kumaras seen as if coming through the ceiling from above? I think it would be better if they were coming inside through the doorway. I am sorry to hear of your wife's poor health. You have tried so many treatments, pills and better climates and visits to doctors, but there is no improvement. I think you can admit her to the hospital on a longer term basis for recooping her health. You should not expect to have children until she is in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: art, health, New York, wife letters | 06:08 |8 June 2008 8 June, 1974 Paris Warrenton, Virginia My dear Rupanuga, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of June 3, 1974 and I have carefully examined the contents. Yes, I could observe that your mind was disturbed on account of meeting your wife privately. There is no need of hide and seek. Better live as husband and wife as householders and in great enthusiasm execute the Krishna Consciousness movement. There are many GBC who are grhastha. You can remain for management of the temples and also work in the schools and colleges for introducing our books in the libraries. The recent reports of this work have been very favorable. Take up this line more seriously helped by your good wife and that will be nice. I have stopped the political movement because it will not help us. It is a very filthy atmosphere. Better you do not indulge in those things with expenditure of money and spiritual energy. So you should not consider taking sannyasa again, but in your country it is not a great thing. Although officially it is a falldown from sannyasa, in your country no one understands sannyasa. The more important principle is that we should purify our thoughts and engage them in Krsna's service. Please try to understand this important principle: being disgusted with their nasty thoughts people sometimes attempt to become thoughtless, but this is never possible. We should encourage everyone to not become thoughtless but to purify their thinking by always thinking of Krsna in the recommended ways. So I request you to go back preaching vigorously along with your wife who is also a good preacher. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: fall down, political sankirtan, sannyasa, wife letters | 03:03 |26 May 2008 26 May, 1974 Rome My dear Mahesvari, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 11. I am very sorry that your husband Mahatma das has taken my letter to him in the wrong way and has told you to get married to another man although you are only 20 years old and have a 7 month old son. This is a most irresponsible and nonsensical proposal on his part. I never wrote or intended that he should leave you. He can stay out and distribute books on sankirtana, but for that he can remain grhastha, nor does it means he perpetually remains on sankirtana party forgetting his responsibilities. You write that you badly need your husbands instruction and security, therefore, this is natural, so he may go on sankirtana but he must also spend time with you as you require, not in the mood of sense gratification but for cooperation in Krsna Consciousness. So you may take this letter to the president of the temple and he must do the needful so that Mahatma das does not set an irresponsible example. For your own part, do not be bewildered. Go on chanting Hare Krsna and simply trust in Krsna as the dearmost friend. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg Labels: irresponsible, Sn Diego, wife letters | 04:35 |6 March 2008 6 March, 1974 Mayapur Dear Brian Fleming, Please accept my blessings. I have received you letter from Glasgow, Scotland. You write that you are becoming very involved in Krsna Consciousness but your wife is not very interested and you want to know from me whether you should leave her. It is not necessary to leave your wife. The important thing is that you yourself become Krsna Consciousness, she cannot check you one way or another, but you must yourself surrender to Krsna and be engaged in devotional service. We do not say that one has to leave home. Either you leave home or remain there, and whether or not she becomes Krsna Conciousness, you go on with your progressive interest and participation in this great movement. By and by if you are strong in your determination, she may also follow you. If you have further questions you may write me or consult with the devotees in the temple. Actually I have already answered all questions in my books such as Bhagavad-gita, so kindly read them and chant Hare Krishna Mantra. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sdg letters | 12:30 | |
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