a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1975 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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7 August 2008 Thursday, 7 August, 1975 Toronto Dr. Y. G. Naik, M.Sc., Ph.D. Retired Principal, Gujarat College, 66 Hemdeep, Sharda Society Ahmedabad, 7 INDIA Dear Dr. Naik: Please accept my greetings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 11, 1975. After long years it is pleasing and surprising to receive an affectionate letter from you. I think I met you sometimes in the year 1958. Since then in 1965 I came to America and started this missionary activity from New York in 1966. Now the Society has got about 100 branches all over the world. And, everywhere we have got Deity worship; Guru Gauranga, Radha Krishna, and Jagadisa. Prasadam in this country means a full meal. From the very beginning even when I was alone, I was cooking myself for at least one dozen men, and I distributed full meals. According to Caitanya Mahaprabhu philosophy, prasadam should be taken up to the neck, akantha. In Jagannatha Puri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's only occupation was holding Sankirtana at least four hours every day and distributing prasadam to the devotees. It is stated in the Caitanya Caritamrta that the Lord was so liberal that He would give to every man prasadam quite sufficient for being eaten by two or three men. So we are trying to follow by distributing prasadam very liberally, and we invite everyone without any discrimination. Everywhere we have got temples we distribute prasadam especially to the poorer men. I am enclosing one issue of our Back to Godhead magazine which contains photos of our prasadam distribution starting on page 12. This prasadam distribution is going on all over the world. Regarding the free distribution of books, there is no need in this country. They have sufficient money and sometimes they pay more than the price. Here in this country if literature is given free of charge, they throw it away. In most cases we offer our books and ask for a contribution. And, sometimes they pay three rimes or four times the requested price. So about money matters they are very liberal. Krishna has given them money, and they spend it very liberally. You will be interested to know we are collecting about $250,000 per month. This means about Rs. 20 lakhs per month from book sales. I have written about 50 big books of 400 pages each and about a dozen small books, and all of them are being sold in the above mentioned figures. We spend also very liberally, and whatever we collect we spend it also. The first book was started with your foreword, Easy Journey to Other Planets. Now they are selling revised editions and perhaps it is the best selling item. Since I have come to this country, I might have sold this Easy Journey about one half million copies. My Krishna books are selling more than that. So by Krishna's grace our books are being appreciated by universities, libraries, and respectable professors, and some are being used as textbooks in the universities. I am enclosing herewith a copy of our book catalog which contains some of the comments of the professors. I hope you will enjoy it. Also I am enclosing a copy of one book, Scientific Basis of Krishna Consciousness, written by one of my Ph.D. students. You are also a scientist, and I hope you will enjoy it. In India we have got a program of membership and patronship costing Rs. 1,111/- and 2,222/- respectively, and all of our members and patrons are receiving all of the books free of charges. So any member can come to our temples and live as long as he likes and take free prasadam. So if any Indians students come here as our member, we shall welcome him and give him a place as well as prasadam free of charge. We have already organized the Ratha Yatra ceremony, and we hold a great Love Feast festival every Sunday in everyone of our branches. Now I advised to organize more festivals during Janmastami, Lord Ramacandra's Appearance Day, and Gaura Purnima, the Appearance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I am addressing this letter to your Indian address because I could not properly reply your letter earlier because your letter has been redirected to me from the many places I have been on tour. I am also sending a copy of this letter to your address in USA in care of your son. I am very anxious to meet you again. I am returning to India by October, and I am inviting you to come to our Vrindaban temple and live there for some time. I have got a very nice Guest House there, and I would suggest humbly that since you are already retired from service and your sons are well situated, that you may retire from your family life and live in Vrindaban in the vanaprastha order. Our Vrindaban temple is appreciated as the best in this quarter. The Governor of Uttar Pradesh stayed with me for two days recently, so at least for a few days you may come there and live with me. Learned scholars like you are now needed to represent the cause of Krishna consciousness because without this consciousness the human society is doomed. So I require the help of respectable, learned scholars like you for spreading this movement more and more. According to the Vedic system this body is perishable and the ultimate form of this body is to become ash, stool, or earth. Therefore it is advised by the great pandita Canakya that the body should be sacrificed for a better cause. That is the idea inherent everywhere, especially in India. Everyone is advised to achieve the result of pious activities by engaging this body for such purposes. That is the greatest gain. According to the Vedic varna asrama it is compulsory that one retire from his family life and engage this body for Krishna's service at the end of his life. As it is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: tat sadhu manye 'suravarya dehinam sada samudvigna dhiyam asad grahat hitvartma patam grham andha-kupam vannad gato yad harim asrayet [SB 7.5.5] I hope you will try to understand my point of view and join this movement to make it more appreciable by the people in general all over the world. Thanking you once more for your letter, and more when we meet. I hope this finds you in good health. Sincerely yours, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/bs Labels: scholar, vanaprastha, Vrindavan letters | 03:50 |26 July 2008 26 July, 1975 Laguna Beach Sriman D.N. Mishra 179, Balarama Dey Street Calcutta My Dear Dinanatha: Please accept my greetings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated June 27, 1975 and have noted the contents. Regarding seeing your book on Lord Ramacandra partly translated into English, I am very much eager to see it. I am returning to India by the month of October, therefore there is no hurry. When I return I shall be glad to see your book either in Bombay, Vrindaban, or Calcutta. I have to translate all the Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and many other theistic literatures left by the Gaudiya Vaisnavas headed by the six Goswamis like Rupa, Sanatana, Jiva, etc. I have already translated about 50 big books of 400 pages each, and my books are selling all over the world in universities, libraries, learned professors, and the public also is receiving my books with great respect. Of course they are not my books, since I have simply translated; but my purports for each and every verse from the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam do very much appeal to the people in general as well as learned circles. They are very much appreciating and we are selling to the extent of 30-40 hundred thousands of Rupees per month. Out of this we spend 50% for the maintenance of our different temples all over the world and 50% we spend for reprinting my books. I do not take any royalty or any profit out of it. Similarly if you agree not to take any profit or royalty then our Bhaktivedanta Book Trust will publish your book on Lord Ramacandra. I have a great desire to translate the Valmiki Ramayana because that is authorized. Tulsi das' Charit manas is already translated into English by some clergyman, but I do not exactly know his name. Therefore I wish to translate Valmiki Ramayana exactly in the way I have done Srimad-Bhagavatam. I am sending herewith a copy of our monthly paper, Back to Godhead, in which you will find the mode of translating of Srimad-Bhagavatam. It begins after page 14. It will give you an idea in which way we want to translate. Or you are welcome to come to our temple along with your son at 3, Albert Road, Calcutta. There you can see in my books the mode of translation by giving the purport of the verse in English. I therefore suggested in my last letter that now you are in ripe old age, so you can accept vanaprastha life which is your duty as you are born in a brahmana family. According to our Vedic principle a brahmana is supposed to accept the four asramas, namely brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha, and sannyasa. Others are not do not accept sannyasa, but a person who is a brahmana must accept sannyasa at the end of his life. So I would suggest that you now retire from family life and accept at least vanaprastha order of life keeping your wife with you as assistant and fully engaged in translating the Vedic literature as far as possible. It appears that in the Western countries there is a great demand for real knowledge of Vedic literature. So you are a learned scholar both in English and Hindi, and you can do this completely devoted to the service of Lord Ramacandra. I have opened many temples all over the world, numbering 100. Enclosed herewith are some of the photos of some of the Deities in some of the temples. Very recently we have established our temple in Vrindaban at a cost of 50 lakhs of Rupees or more. The Governor of U.P., Dr. Channa Reddy was present for two days for the opening ceremony. All the goswamis and sannyasis like Akhananda Swami all attended the ceremony. We have got a guest house there containing about 80 rooms, and the recent report is that not less than 500 men are coming daily to visit the temple. Prasad is being distributed to the poor, and others are purchasing prasada (pakki) to the extent of Rs. 100/- per day. We are selling our books also. Now I wish to establish some temple of Ramacandra, Sita Ram. Of course it depends on the mercy of Lord Ramacandra. Therefore I am still requesting you to join our movement completely retired from family life and engage yourself in translation work for the rest of your life. More when we meet. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami N.B. What is the criminal charge against a public man who decorates himself as D. Lit., D.D. etc? ACBS/bs Labels: Ramacandra, Ramayan, vanaprastha letters | 09:49 |14 June 2008 Saturday, 14 June, 1975 Honolulu My dear Dinanatha, Please accept my greetings. I thank you very much for your letter dated 30-5-75. I am very sorry to say that I did not receive your letter addressed to me at Mayapur. I am still in Hawaii and I shall leave this place by the 20th of June for Los Angeles. Our temple there is situated at the following address: 3764 Watseka Ave., Los Angeles, California, USA 90034. I am not returning to India by Rathayatra festival because there are programs here in America and Europe - Rathayatra festival in five different places like, London, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and Melbourne. So, I am introducing this Rathayatra festival in the Western countries and the idea is received everywhere very very enthusiastically. I am enclosing herewith one Back to Godhead magazine specifically dedicated to describing the Rathayatra activities. After leaving India, I went to Australia and there we have constructed a very nice temple of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Radha-Krishna, and Lord Jagannatha at Melbourne. This movement is being highly appreciated by the higher educated circle. One professor in Berkeley, California University has written one big book in favor of this movement - Hare Krishna and the Counterculture. I am glad that you are now writing books about Lord Ramacandra. It is a very good idea. I think you are a devotee of Lord Ramacandra, and because you are my very old and dear friend, I will suggest now in your old age (when your sons are grown-up and well-situated), why not join this movement and retire from family life? According to our Vedic principle, a person, especially a Brahmana, should leave home after the 50th year and accept the order of Vanaprastha. Then after a few years of Vanaprastha, one should accept the Sannyasa order for the rest of his life and devote himself fully in the service of the Lord. There is a great need of the Krishna Consciousness movement all over the world. If educated persons like you take active interest in this movement, and preach the cult for the benefit of the mass of people, that is the success of life. You will find on the 2nd page of the enclosed magazine, a list of our important centers all over the world. In big cities like London, Chicago, New York, Paris, Rome, Geneva, Tokyo, Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and in India, Vrndavana, Navadvipa, Bombay, Calcutta, Hyderabad, etc. I wish that you may retire from family life and live in one of our so many centers wherever you like, and preach the cult of Krishna Consciousness. That will make your life successful. Because you are my very intimate friend, from college life, I take this opportunity to give you a suggestion, and I shall be glad to hear from you. I hope this meets you in good health. Yours very sincerely, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ASCBS/ps Labels: Calcutta, sannyasa, vanaprastha letters | 16:55 | |
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