a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1967 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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28 Feb 2004 Tuesday, February 28, 1967 San Francisco, Calif. My Dear Rayarama, Please accept my blessings and offer the same to all your Godbrothers for your doing the respective duties nicely. I am in due receipt of the copy of Back to Godhead dated 15th February 1967 and I am glad that it is nicely done. The only defect is that picture which is wrongly put there without asking me. There was no need of interpretations and why you have interpreted the picture as one has to be naked before the Lord to become perfect(?). We have no interpretation in any one of the verses in the Gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. They were not fictitious and therefore there is no need of interpretation. Krishna actually took away the dresses of the Gopis and actually He saw the girls naked. There is no interpretation there. The girls of Vrindaban of the same age like Krishna wanted Krishna as their husband. In India the girls are married earlier by ten years at least and thus the girls who were of the same age were married although they wished Krishna as their husband. Krishna fulfilled their wishes by this pastime. Nobody can ask any woman or girl to become naked except the husband. That is the moral etiquette of Vedic culture. Krishna is actually husband of every woman. There was no necessity of formal marriage. But still Krishna played like husband by asking them to become naked. In the spiritual world there is no cohabitation; simply by such emotion in transcendental ecstasy the desire is fulfilled. These pictures of Krishna and the Gopis are not understandable by a layman who has no idea of Krishna. Therefore, this picture was wrongly put without asking me. Please, therefore, consult me before putting any such picture or interpretations. One must understand first Krishna from the Bhagavatam by reading the first nine chapters. Otherwise Krishna would be taken as ordinary man and His pastimes will be wrongly understood. Besides that a Brahmacari should not see any kind of naked picture. That is violation of Brahmacari law. I am asking you therefore not to put the picture in the issue of Back to Godhead. I have asked here not to put this picture and so also I am asking you. I think all the pictures are not yet stapled and therefore it must not be put in there. Last night we had very nice function at Stanford University. More than three hundred students gathered and all of them sang and danced with our Kirtana for full one hour. There was lecture for 15 to 20 minutes questions and answers about 25 minutes and the balance for Kirtana. So altogether there was two hours program and it was very successful. On Sunday afternoon there was Kirtana in the Golden Gate Park and there was about 3 to 4 hundred audience and most of them danced in ecstasy. It reminded me of our activities in the Tompkins Park. I have asked them to arrange for loud speakers and microphones so that next week we may have greater audience to join us. It appears to me that people of this country will accept this movement nicely if we do it in accordance with prescribed directions. When we receive the Mrdangas we shall have better chance to perform the Kirtana more nicely. Please try to send the Mrdanga and cymbals as early as possible as I have already instructed. Hope you are all well, Yours ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 28.2.04 | 25 Feb 2004 Saturday, February 25, 1967 San Francisco, Calif. My Dear Brahmananda, I have sent you three four letter consecutively but I have received no reply. Please reply those letter as well as let me know if my presence is required in N.Y. on account C. B.S. show. Also let me know whether you have received the consignment from India. Besides the above please immediately on receipt of this letter dispatch per Air Mail special delivery the following literatures: all sorts of press cuttings 5 copies each (New York Times, East Village Voice with my pictures), my picture with Photo of Prime Minister Shastri, Bhagavatam colored Radhakrishna Pictures. The letter of appreciation by the Mayor (which Garga Muni used for the Cart license) or any other things that are used for our propaganda. I require this immediately for presenting to the Naturalization and Immigration office here where I have to be present on the 2nd March 1967. After this I shall be free for three weeks and if required I can have a trip for New York which I have already informed you in my letter of yesterday. I hope you will receive this letter on Monday next and if you post the above articles immediately by air mail special delivery, I must get them latest the 1st of March and for which I shall thank you very much. Hope you are all well and with my blessings Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 25.2.04 | 24 Feb 2004 Friday, February 24, 1967 San Francisco, Calif. My Dear Rayarama, I am in due receipt of your letter. According to our agreement Mr. Ypslantin cannot ask any more. It was understood that further money will be required when the bill is actually in the congress session for consideration. We have already paid him three hundred dollars which was full for dealings in the preliminary stage. Any way I have a call from Naturalization office to see them on 2nd March. And I shall let you know what is to be done thereafter. Or in the meantime if I return to N.Y. I shall let you know what is to be done. Have you taken delivery of the 1st chapter Bhagavad-gita from the publisher with whom you left it for examination? You have not informed me about this. Please take care of this. Here everything is going well. We have got some engagements up to Tuesday next week. Kirtanananda is trying to start a third center of the Society at Montreal. It is all Krishna's Grace. I have received the copy of Back to Godhead. Your well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 24.2.04 | Friday, February 24, 1967 San Francisco, Calif. My Dear Brahmananda, Please accept blessings. Hope you are all doing well. I have not as yet received from you the reply of my letter in which I suggested to negotiate with Mr. Taylor on hire-purchase-scheme which is equally good for Mr. Taylor as well as ourselves. In the meantime I have received one letter from Kirtanananda asking for $200.00 for Montreal and has also suggested as follows: "Secondly I recommend that you return to N.Y. for the showing of the C. B.S. program. I recall Mr. Gerard stressing on me the importance of your presence in N.Y. for the two or three weeks following the program. "This is because so many people will be visiting the temple and wishing to see you. Even if you should desire to return to S.F. after two or three weeks, the $300.00 involved in flying is nothing compared to the millions in publicity value we are getting on the TV. I know N.Y. would be more willing to spend the money if need be." So if you think that my presence will be necessary as suggested by Kirtanananda then immediately book my seat in the air line when you want me to go there. I shall then cancel all programs here for three weeks. If need be you can talk with me on the phone. Kirtanananda has also highly recommended your combined management at N.Y. He writes in this connection as follows: "I know you will be pleased to know that the N.Y. center is really doing well; in fact, I believe they are really stronger Now than ever before." I am very glad to learn this and I am very much encouraged to know it. It is all Krishna's mercy. I have decided to contribute to the Montreal center $100.00 from each center namely New York and San Francisco. ACB letters | 24.2.04 | February 24, 1967 San Francisco, Calif. My Dear Gargamuni, I hope you have duly received my former letter. I have asked the Bank to forward $100.00 to Montreal from my account knowing that you may not have sufficient money in the society's account. Have you transferred the amount to my account. I am very much anxious to know if the goods from India Mrdanga etc have been already received by you. Please let me know as soon as you receive them. Hope you are all well. With my blessings, ACB letters | 24.2.04 | February 24, 1967 San Francisco, Calif My Dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings. To day I have sent you the first installment of "Narada Bhakti Sutras". Please let me know how do you like it or if there is any difficulty to understand it. On hearing from you I shall take up the next installment. Here there is no typewriter nor any typist. Neal has not come here. I do not know where he is. Therefore you have to type the tapes there is no other alternative. Howard does not wish to work on the tapes. Today I have got a letter from him (Neal) from somewhere in California but there is no address. ACB letters | 24.2.04 | 23 Feb 2004 Thursday, February 23, 1967 San Francisco, Calif. My Dear Brahmananda, Please accept my blessings. I hope this time you have received the goods from India Jaladuta in good condition. Out of the goods, you keep one Mrdanga and six pairs of cymbals there at New York and all the balance goods including all the papers or letters therein may be sent here at once. They are arranging kirtana programme at different places and I think the Mrdanga and cymbals will increase the dignity of kirtana. For the Mrdangas, I personally paid to India. So later as we shall see what is the actual expenditure. Ranchor has given a packing instruction. Please see that the packing is nicely done as instructed and as illustration is given there. Hope you are all well and with my blessings for all! Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami N.B. Yesterday I have sent 3 tapes. Ask Satsvarupa to do the needful. letters | 23.2.04 | |
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