Prabhupada Letters :: 1947-64
a.c. bhaktivedanta swami

24.11.09  

Prabhupada Letters :: 1947-64
contains 54 individual letter entries from 1947 - 1964.

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letters | 18:16 |

1947: October 21  

Calcutta

The Proprietor,
Aska Distillery,
Aska.

Dear Sir,

We have decided to open a branch manufactory of our above laboratory in a suitable locality of Berhampur. We are arranging to approach the local excise authorities to grant us permit for possessing and using rectified spirit for medicinal purposes. But before we do anything finally as would like to enquire from your good self whether it is possible to get sufficient quantity of rectified spirit from your distillery.

The bearer of this letter is a messenger on our behalf and we shall be thankful if you will kindly let us know the following points per bearer.

1. Whether rectified spirit is obtainable from you at the rate of 100 gallons per month.
2. Whether you distill rectified spirit throughout the whole year.
3. Your usual strength of rectified spirit.

Yours faithfully,
For Vimaltone Laboratories Ltd.
Abhay Charan De
Director in chief.

letters | 05:34 |

1947: July 13  

Cawnpore

Raja Mohendra Pratap
World Federation
Prem MohaVidyalaya
P.O. Brindaban.

Dear Raja Sahib,

In continuation of my last post card, I beg to inform you that I have finished the reading of your book Religion of Love. In my opinion the whole thesis is based on the philosophy of pantheism and the approach is made by the services of mankind. Religion of love is the true religious idea but if the approach is made through the service of mankind only, then the process is made imperfect, partial and unscientific.

As you say the waves of the creations are the different aspects, why a particular type of waves namely the mankind should be partially selected and offered services and why other types of waves such as the beasts or birds, the plants and the stone shall not be offered a similar type of services? In that case how can you say that the worship of a stone is sinful while a man who is more than a stone shall be considered as the object of love? These are some of the questions that arise out of a critical study of your book.

If you so desire I can enter into discussions about it and my opinion is that your approach is partial and unscientific. There is no hesitation to accept the principle of the Religion of Love because the Absolute Truth is, as we have known, Godhead Who is sat, cit and ananda. Without ananda there cannot be any love that is an accepted fact. Your delineation of society, friendship and love among the human beings is based on this ananda portion only but you have avoided the other portions of eternity and cognition of God the Whole Soul. Thus the approach is partial and unscientific.

The true religion of love is perfectly inculcated in the Bhagavad-gita. When we speak of love there must be the object of love and the lover too. Here in this world we find that the object of love and the lover both are the cheater and the cheated in their reciprocal dealings. That is our experience. But the ultimate end being one Whole Soul, the dual existence of the object of lover and the loved loses identity. In that case the eternity and cognizibility of the loved and lover vanish at once. In this way there arises many questions which may be put forward to you for further discussions to adjust your ideas of religion.

Besides you have not quoted any authority for all your statements. So it is more or less dogmatic. If different men put different dogmatic views about religion and its essentials who is to be accepted and who is not be? Therefore the approach shall be and must be authoritative, scientific and universal. Your delineations do not conform to all these necessary things. That is my main contention.

If you have time to discuss on it, I shall be glad to substantiate my contentions as far as possible. My basis of arguments will be Bhagavad-gita which is the most authoritative, scientific and universal. To summarise the conclusions of Bhagavad-gita it may be said that,

1) God is one and everything is in Him and He is in everything.

2) To render transcendental service unto God is to serve everything that be, just like to water the root of the tree is to water the different branches and numerous leaves of the tree or to supply food to the stomach is to vitalize all the senses and the sense organs of the body.

3) The parts are automatically served when the Whole is served but when the parts are served the whole may not be served or not served at all.

4) The parts and the Whole being eternally related, it is the eternal duty of the parts to render service unto the Whole.

5) A recipient of the services of the parts, God's sat-cit-ananda vigraha i.e. the all-attractive Cognizant and all-blissful Personality eternal. He can reveal Himself by His own potency without any help of the external potency called maya in order to be cognizable by the limited potency of the parts and as such He is not only the greatest of all but he is the smallest of all. That is His prerogative.

6) He is better realized when He by His causeless mercy agrees to descend in this mortal world but he He is never realised by the partial speculations of the empiric philosophers however systematic and long-termed it may be.

7) Sri Krishna is the Personality of Godhead and is the Summum Bonum Cause of all Causes proved by fact and figures in the statement of Bhagavad-gita, but He reserves the right of not being exposed to the sensual speculations of the empiric philosophers.

8) One should therefore surrender unto Him if one wants to know Him as He is and that is the real process to approach the Infinite by the infinitesimals.

9) Sri Krishna is easily available by the religion of love i.e. by love and service as conceived by the damsels of Vraja who had practically no education whatsoever and much less any claim for high class birth right.

10) The highest service that can be rendered to the mankind is, therefore, to preach the philosophy and religion of Bhagavad-gita for all the times, all the places and all the people.

I hope you may agree with me and thus make a combined effort in this direction for the benefit of the mankind.

Yours sincerely,
Abhay Charan De

letters | 05:25 |

16.11.09
1947: July 12  

Cawnpore

Mahatma Gandhijee
Bhangi Colony
New Delhi.

Dear Friend Mahatmajee,

Please accept my respectful Namaskar. I am your unknown friend but I had to write to you at times and again although you never cared to reply them. I sent you my papers "Back to Godhead" but your secretaries told me that you have very little time to read the letters and much less for reading the magazines. I asked for an interview with you but your busy secretaries never cared to reply this.

Anyway as I am your very old friend although unknown to you I am again writing to you in order to bring you to the rightful position deserved by you. As a sincere friend I must not deviate from my duty towards a friend like your good self.

I tell you as a sincere friend that you must immediately retire from active politics if you do not desire to die an inglorious death. You have 125 years to live as you have desired to live but you if you die an inglorious death it is no worth. The honour and prestige that you have obtained during the course of you present life time, were not possible to be obtained by any one else within the living memory. But you must know that all these honours and prestiges were false in as much as they were created by the Illusory Energy of Godhead called the maya.

By this falsity I do not mean to say that your so many friends were false to you nor you were false to them. By this falsity I mean illusion or in other words the false friendship and honours obtained thereby were but creation of maya and therefore they are always temporary or false as you may call it. But none of you neither your friends nor yourself knew this truth.

Now by the Grace of God that illusion is going to be cleared and thus your faithful friends like Acarya Kripalini and others are accusing you for your inability at the present moment to give them any practical programme of work as you happened to give them during your glorious days of non-co-operation movement. So you are also in a plight to find out a proper solution for the present political tangle created by your opponents.

You should therefore take a note of warning from your insignificant friend like me, that unless you retire timely from politics and engage yourself cent per cent in the preaching work of Bhagavad-gita, which is the real function of the Mahatmas, you shall have to meet with such inglorious deaths as Mussolini, Hitlers, Tojos, Churchills or Lloyd Georges met with.

You can very easily understand as to how some of your political enemies in the garb of friends (both Indian and English) have deliberately cheated you and have broken your heart by doing the same mischief for which you have struggled so hard for so many years. You wanted chiefly Hindu-Moslem unity in India and they have tactfully managed to undo your work, by creation of the Pakistan and India separately. You wanted freedom for India but they have given permanent dependence of India.

You wanted to do something for the upliftment of the position of the bhangis but they are still rotting as bhangis even though you are living in the bhangi colony. They are all therefore illusions and when these things will be presented to you as they are, you must consider them as God-sent. God has favored you by dissipating the illusion you were hovering in, and by the same illusion you were, nursing those ideas as Truth.

You must know that you are in the relative world which is called by the sages as Dvaita i.e. dual- and nothing is absolute here. Your Ahimsa is always followed by Himsa as the light is followed by darkness or the father is followed by the son. Nothing is absolute truth in this dual world. You did not know this neither you ever cared to know this from the right sources and therefore all your attempts to create unity were followed by disunity and Ahimsa. Ahimsa was followed by Himsa.

But it is better late than never. You must know now something about the Absolute Truth. The Truth with which you have been experimenting so long is relative. The relative truths are creations of the daivi maya qualified by the three modes of Nature. They are all insurmountable as is explained in the Bhagavad-gita (7.14). The Absolute Truth is the Absolute Godhead.

In the Katha Upanisad it is ordered that one must approach the bonafide Guru who is not only well versed in all the scriptures of the world but is also the realised soul in Brahman the Absolute--in order to learn the science of Absolute Truth. So also it is instructed in the Bhagavad-gita as follows:--

tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti tad jnanam
jnaninas tattvadarsinah
(4.34)

But I know that you never underwent such transcendental training except some severe penances which you invented for your purpose as you have invented so many things in the course of experimenting with the relative truths. You might have easily avoided them if you had approached the Guru as abovementioned. But your sincere efforts to attain some Godly qualities by austerities etc surely have raised you to some higher position which you can better utilize for the purpose of the Absolute Truth. If you, however, remain satisfied with such temporary position only and do not try to know the Absolute Truth, then surely you are to fall down from the artificially exalted position under the laws of Nature.

But if you really want to approach the Absolute Truth and want to do some real good to the people in general all over the world, which shall include your ideas of unity, peace and non-violence, then you must give up the rotten politics immediately and rise up for the preaching work of the philosophy and religion of "Bhagavad-gita" without offering unnecessary and dogmatic interpretations on them. I had occasionally discussed this subject in my paper "Back to Godhead" and a leaf from the same is enclosed herewith for your reference.

I would only request you to retire from politics at least for a month only and let us have discussion on the Bhagavad-gita. I am sure, thereby, that you shall get a new light from the result of such discussions not only for your benefit but for the benefit of the world at large--as I know that you are sincere, honest and moralist.

Awaiting your early reply with interest.

Yours sincerely,
Abhay Charan De.

Enclosure--one leaf from Back to Godhead

letters | 04:18 |

16.10.09
1949: September 1  

Calcutta

Secretary
Sri Gita Mandir Trust,
Gita Mandir Road,
Ahmedabad.

Dear Sir,

I am so much obliged to your kindly conveying the blessings of Reverend Swamiji 108 Sri Srimad Vidyanandji Maharaja.

I am very glad to learn that your program for preaching in the foreign countries, is still under consideration. I beg to submit herewith my missionary views in respect of preaching Bhagavad-gita and I shall be glad to know the reaction of your association in respect of my views:

I believe that practical solution of world unrest is lying in the transcendental message of Sri Krishna the Personality of Godhead as given by Him lately in the Bhagavad-gita.

In this sacred philosophical discourse the Supreme Godhead declares Himself as the begetting father, who impregnates the seeds of living entities in the womb of mother nature who in turn gives birth to all varieties of living entities or species. So the plain truth is that the Supreme Godhead the Father, the nature material is the mother and all living entities are so many children of almighty father Godhead, and the mother nature. The whole arrangement is just a family unit, and we should wonder as to why there is so much anomaly in this great universal family unit.

The answer for this is also given in the Bhagavad-gita. It is said that there are two classes of men in the creation. One class is called the devas (godly) and the other class is called the asura (demonic or godless). As sons of the almighty Father Supreme Godhead, all individual living individuals have their respective independence. One can utilize this god-gifted independence properly or improperly.

When a living entity improperly uses god-gifted independence and apply such independence for sense-gratification without fulfilling the will or the plan of Godhead, he at once develops the demonic qualities in contact with the illusory Energy of Godhead and becomes a full-fledged asura. But one who do not misuse the God gifted independence and does not engage himself in the act of sense-gratification but fulfills the plan of the Godhead, continues to be a deva or godly.

In this act of sense-gratification the asura children of Godhead forgets the plan of Godhead and therefore tries to exploit the state of Godhead for their own benefit which is sometime centralized but sometimes extended. The gods or the godly sons of Godhead do not act like this and they are therefore distinguished from the asuras.

The mother nature or, the material energy of Godhead is, as she should naturally be, the most faithful mistress of Godhead. She does not tolerate the exploitative motive of the asura children of Her and for this he has to assume the role of Daiva Maya and takes at once Her grim trident and inflicts the weapon in the very heart of the asura although the latter is her own son. The asura is thus subjected to three-fold miseries and this is done according to the plan of Godhead.

The mother nature, therefore chastises her disobedient sons in order to bring them to the right path of fulfilling the plan of Godhead. This process of chastisement is necessary for the benefit of both the asuras and the gods alike. Such process re-establishes the plan of Godhead. The asuras however when turned to act according to the plan of Godhead, at once become a God. When the asura becomes a God the angry mode of nature subsides

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letters | 03:13 |

12.10.09
1949: July 5  

Calcutta

The Secretary
The Board of Trustees
Mahatma Gandhi Memorial National Fund,
New Delhi.

Dear Sir,

With reference to the invitation issued by your Board, for suggestions for the administration of the Fund, I beg to inform that Gandhiji's memorial can fittingly be perpetuated by a continued effort to keep in motion his spiritual movements. I beg to suggest most humbly to your board that Gandhiji, minus his spiritual activities, is an ordinary politician. But actually he was a saint amongst the statesmen and his basic principle was to overhaul the very foundation of present civilization by the novel philosophy of satyagraha and nonviolence.

The Congress institution is already in the waning for neglecting Gandhiji's spiritual movement which was the main pillar of his universal popularity. By claiming the Indian state as secular we should not sacrifice Gandhiji's spiritual movement which is different from communal religiosity. This fact is corroborated by such personalities as Sri Aurovindo and Dr. Radhakrishnan. You may do everything for commemorating his memory living but if you do not accelerate his spiritual movement, his memory will be soon as dead as has been the lot of other politicians.

Mahatma Gandhi, although he was always busy with his political activities, never missed to attend to his daily prayer meetings in the evening. This rule he observed punctually even a few seconds before his assassination. To give a fitting memorial to Mahatma Gandhi we must follow and propagate this particular line of spiritual activities and must daily read a chapter from Bhagavad-gita in congregation. Bhagavad-gita is the world recognized philosophy of Indian culture and the favorite scripture of Mahatma Gandhi.

He was a great follower of this great philosophy like other great saints and he was therefore a great devotee of Rama and Krishna and for this only he was raised to such exalted position of a saint amongst the statesmen during his very life time. The Gandhi Memorial National Fund should be utilized for training up the people in general in this line of daily prayer in different places of Gandhi memorial buildings and other similar important places.

If systematic and principled direction is given to this daily prayer meetings following the footprints of Mahatmaji, then we can help all concerned in subduing their evil propensities which are the causes of disruption in the human society at large. When spiritual instincts, which are inherent qualities in every living being, are kindled by such daily prayer meetings, it is then only the people in general develop the qualities of the gods and the Trust Board of Mahatma Gandhi Fund should not miss this lesson of Mahatmaji's practical life. Such qualities being developed people in general will give up the habit of imitating others but they will live and act freely boldly and rightly like Mahatma Gandhi and that will bring real freedom of life individually or collectively.

Mahatmaji started another spiritual movement known as the temple entry movement and he wanted to give this facility to everyone irrespective caste distinction. The temple worship is another kind of spiritual cultural movement for the benefit of the ordinary class of people. He himself installed the deity of Sri Radha Krishna at Noakhali when he was there and that is also very significant. The theistic temples all over India are actually the different centres as are the churches and mosques all over the world.

These sacred centres were meant for diffusing spiritual education and by this process of spiritual culture the disturbed mind could be trained up in concentration for higher duties which every human being must do. By such education in practice can help man in realizing the existence of God without whose sanction, according to Mahatma Gandhi, "not a blade of grass moves."

A part of this movement is the harijana movement. The harijana means the God's man or the godly man as distinguished from the satanic devils. How a man of satanic principles can be turned in to a God's man is enunciated in the Bhagavad-gita. The way of karma-yoga i.e. doing everything for God's sake should be the principles of life.

The activities of the general public may not be stopped but may diverted in the manner stated in the Bhagavad-gita. By doing so any one in the world can be turned into a God's man. Thus the harijana movement started by Mahatma Gandhi should not be taken absolutely for the benefit of the bhangis and ___ so to say but it should be utilized for all who have the mentality of the bhangis etc.

By all the above process Mahatma Gandhi wanted to establish a greater human society. His idea of a casteless society could only be given a shape under the guidance of the principles of Bhagavad-gita. There are men of different mentalities according to quality and work. There are different modes of nature. These natural modes work everywhere in the world and different propensities develop by the psychological modes of nature.

The caste system is nothing but a classification of men according to such modes of nature. It is not therefore bound up within the walls of India but this is current all over the world may be under different names. This scientific and natural division of men should be accepted and people should be given chance to become harijana with equal facilities for all. The Bhagavad-gita gives a clear idea of doing this work and the Gandhi Memorial Fund should be utilized mainly for this purpose.

Myself with a batch of sincere workers are ready to take up this work, and I shall be glad to have your reaction to my above suggestions.

Yours sincerely,
Abhay Charan De

letters | 04:06 |

8.10.09
1949: May  

Calcutta

Dear Sir,

On the conclusion of the All Religious Conference held at Bombay very recently, I may submit that nothing practical has come out of it for uniting the different faiths of the world. The practical solution is lying in the transcendental message of Sri Krishna the Personality of Godhead as given by Him lately in the Bhagavad-gita.

In this sacred philosophical discourse the Supreme Godhead declares Himself as the begetting Father who impregnates the seeds of living entities in the womb of Mother Nature who in turn gives birth all varieties of living species. So the plain truth is that the Supreme Godhead is the Father, the Nature is the Supreme Mother and all living entities so many children of Almighty Father Godhead and the Mother Nature. The whole arrangement is therefore a family unit and one should wonder as to why there is so much anomaly in this universal family affair.

The answer for this is also given in the Bhagavad-gita. It is said that there are two classes of children in the creation of Godhead and nature. One class is called the daiva (godly) and the other class is called the asura (demonic or godless). As sons of the almighty Father Supreme Godhead, all the living entities have individual independence and when some of the children misuse the godgifted independence for their sense gratification and not to fulfill the plan of Godhead, they develop the demonic qualities and become asuras.

But those who do not misuse the the godgifted independence for sense gratification they continue to remain as the Daivas. For sense gratification the asura children of Godhead and Nature forgets the plan of Godhead and thus they begin to exploit and trouble the mother Nature and other obedient children of Nature, for their own benefit sometimes centralized and sometimes extended. Those children who do not do like this are gods themselves distinguished from the asuras.

The Mother Nature is, as She should naturally be, the most faithful mistress of Godhead and She becomes angry for the behavior of the Asura and thus assume the role of Daivamaya (generally known as the Mohakali, Durga, Bhadrakali etc.) and take at once Her grim trident and inflicts the weapon in the heart of the asura who is also Her son. The asura thus becomes subject to threefold miseries and this is done according to the plan of Godhead as the mother has to chastise the disobedient son in order to make him alright.

This process of chastisement is necessary for the benefit of both the asura and the daiva sons in order to stop disorder in the great plan of Godhead. As sons as the asura, however, surrenders unto Godhead as the obedient son and servitor of the plan of Godhead the asura is turned into a devata. The angry mode of Mother Nature at once subsides and she appears to such godly sons as the most affectionate Mother in the role of Yogamaya (commonly known as Laksmi, Sita and Radharani etc).

So according to Bhagavad-gita the whole trouble of the world is due to the increase in the number of the asura and decrease in the number of the daivas. Who is a daiva and who is a asura is clearly defined in the Bhagavad-gita. Thus the whole problem has to be solved according to expert advices and it is not possible to solve the world problem so easily as by holding occasional discussions by some who are already themselves under the influence of the asuric qualities. This should be done most scientifically which is above mistakes and illusion.

As stated above the asura, as soon as he surrenders to Godhead makes the whole problem solved. But unfortunately the ____ to the threefold miseries of mother Nature and thus befooled by his repeated foolish activities will not easily surrender unto Godhead due to his long forgetful relation with the almighty Father.

It is a hard job therefore to turn the asura to be a daiva but the process has been made easy by the Personality of Godhead Himself in the Bhagavad-gita. Mahatma Gandhijee took up this cause to begin with but he is gone without further progress in the matter. If we are intelligent enough we should again take up the matter more scientifically and do the job very nicely for the peace of the world.

I have, according to the instruction of my spiritual master, chalked out a programme of work according to Bhagavad-gita and I wish to discuss it personally with your good self to give the plan a practical shape.

Will it be convenient for you to see me for this purpose? I am prepared to go to you at my cost at wait upon you if so desired by you.

Awaiting your early reply and thanking you in anticipation.

Yours faithfully,
Abhay Charan De

letters | 04:58 |

6.10.09
1949: March 14  

Calcutta

Dear Juggannath Babu,

Please accept my respectful namaskara. The sacred meeting organized by you at your place yesterday will be remembered by me with great reverence and I must thank you from the very core of my heart for giving me a chance to serve the cause of the potency of the almighty God.

I think you have inherited some transcendental talents by the good deeds of your past life and as such you have taken your birth in the family of the srimatam as stated in the Bhagavad-gita. God willing you shall render tremendous transcendental service in the rest of your life and by doing so you shall not only glorify the family in which you have taken your birth but also the community and the country will be benefited.

Yesterday evening when we were talking at your veranda we had some talks over the advent day of Lord Caitanya which falls today the most auspicious Dol-yatra purnima day and as such I myself along with some members of my family today observing fast till the advent moment of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu just in the evening. Guru Maharaj Sastriji advised the members assembled yesterday to observe fast today and this is being done as a matter of course on the occasion of Gaura Jayanti day.

I was so glad to hear from you that you know Lord Caitanya as the incarnation of Godhead. Yes he is so and there are ample proofs of His being so in the different Sastras such as Mahabharata, Bhagavata, Upanisads and many other Puranas. So on the occasion of Lord Caitanya's 463rd advent ceremony, I am taking this opportunity to remember about him which will help my vrata observed to-day. I hope you will not mind for intruding upon your time with this statement.

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam when Karabhajana Muni was elucidating the different incarnations of Godhead in different yugas, he said that "In the Kali-yuga the intelligent persons will worship the incarnation of Sri Krishna, by the transcendental sankirtana method. This incarnation of Sri Krishna will be non-blackish in the color of His body but will constantly chant the name of Krishna along with His many disciples who will act as the soldiers for the deliverance of the fallen souls of the Kali-yuga."

Sri Krishna Caitanya preached as one of the Vaisnava acaryas like Ramanujacarya and others and His mission was to establish the same theory of deliverance as was propounded by Sri Krishna Himself in the Bhagavad-gita. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord personally described as to the method of approaching Him, His real features, His different Potencies known as the mahamaya and the yogamaya, His virat appearance His method of creation maintenance and destruction of the material world, information of the transcendental world which does not annihilate even after the annihilation of the material world.

The living entities souls, the process of migration of the souls the description of the mahatmas, their duties and lastly the duty of everybody after elaborate elucidation of the three modes of nature, satya raja tama and the different human races, work, knowledge, devotion, worship activities under the influence of such modes of nature. In the Bhagavad-gita a clear distinction has been made between the asura prakrti and daiva prakrti and He has vehemently deprecated the demonic or asuric prakrti and eulogized the daiva prakrti.

The Mahamaya who is known as Durga, Kali, Candi, Bhadrakali, Mohalaksmi, etc is the embodiment of His external potency as described in the Candi and it is the thankless task of the Mahamaya to punish the asuras with Her all powerful weapons in the ten direction of the material world. She does not only create and maintain this material world but also she annihilates it according to the direction of the almighty God.

In the Bhagavad-gita this Mahamaya has also been described as Daivi Maya and She is so powerful that the asuras cannot by-pass Her at any rate. The asura can get remission from the stroke of the trisula of Mohamaya when he the asura, surrenders surrenders himself to Sri Krishna the Personality of Godhead. As Superintendent of the material world the Mohamaya has been described Durga as the protectress of the great durga or fortress of the grand universes.

She gives all the necessities for our existence but as soon as we become an asura like the Mohisasuras, Ravanas, Hiranyakasipus, and in later ages like the Mussolinis and such others for the exploitation of the material energy, the Durga Devi at once appears Herself with Her dreadful trident and begins to devastate the whole existence by such tribulations as war, famine, pestilence, or sometimes annihilation of a total existence.

The methods of annihilation as are invented by the human brain such as the atomic bombs etc are also Her creations but the deluded asuras, who are caused to act by the modes of prakrti the material nature, do think themselves as the originator or inventor of such weapons. In that way a constant struggle is going on between the asuras and the prakrti and the asuras are thus being punished in different ways which the asuras cannot overcome by any method except by full surrender unto the almighty God.

In the Bhagavad-gita the last instruction is to surrender fully unto Him the author of the Bhagavad-gita but unfortunate men of demonic mentality misunderstood the teachings of Bhagavad-gita as a method of sophistry and therefore the same Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna in the garb of a transcendental devotee preach the same techniques of Bhagavad-gita i.e. full surrender unto the almighty God or His different potencies in a demonstrative way.

The method of His demonstration was also very suitable. He inaugurated the sankirtana movement accompanied with melodious song which method has been found practically very effective amongst the masses. It is not possible for the masses to study the Vedanta or to undergo the difficult mystic processes especially in the Kali-yuga when the general people is indolent, unfortunate, shortlived and always disturbed by physical and mental tribulations. So they the general mass of people are fallen in the estimation of the great saints and as such for them Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the only hope for deliverance.

When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited Varanasi He was invited to a philosophical discourse by the Prakashananda Sarasvati a great giant scholar and sannyasi of the Mayavadi or Sankara sampradaya and discussion was made on the Vedanta philosophy. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was victorious in that discussion and converted the great sannyasi with his 60,000 followers to His cult of devotion and established His easy method of sankirtana movement the most suitable method for the deliverance of the people in general.

So on the occasion of the Lord's 463rd advent day, I beg to suggest that in the guru-mandala some such preaching method as was adopted by Lord Caitanya, may also be adopted for the benefit of the general people. The upasana of yoga system as recommended by Sastriji may not be suitable for the people in general because hardly they will be able to adhere to the principles of yoga and it may be as suggested by the Rajguru Sastriji that in the default of such yogic method the performer may fall ill and thus become doomed for his life.

You have encouraged your mill employees by establishing a recreation club and the amiable feelings of your employees with the benevolent proprietors as has been exhibited in yesterdays function, may be supplemented by infusing them with spiritual inspiration by the simple method as done by Lord Caitanya. In the last portion of His transcendental pastimes, Lord Caitanya lived in Puri-dhama and worshiped the Lord Jagannatha.

By Some way or other your mill area has been named as the Jagannatha Puri and I suggest that an actual temple of Sri Jagannathaji may be erected by the guru-mandala for the benefit of these mill workers. If they simply make melodious kirtana of Rama or Krishna or both combined and they are offered the prasadam of Sri Jagannatha surely they shall imbibe the spiritual tendency inherent in every human

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letters | 05:48 |

3.10.09
1949: February 28  

Calcutta

Hon. Sardar Dr. Vallavbhaiji Patel
Deputy Prime Minister,
Government of India,
New Delhi.

Revered Sir,

May your honour accept my humble namaskara. Your honour is well known as the iron man of India but I know that you the most practical man who can take things as they are. With this idea in view I venture to approach your honour for submitting the following few lines for your consideration and necessary action.

Funds are being collected to commemorate Mahatma Gandhiji in a fitting manner and I beg to suggest that the same may be done in the Gandhian way and not otherwise. Gandhiji's whole life was dedicated to the service of humanity at large with special interest for raising the moral standard. His later activities showed that he was equal to every one and all the people of the world knew him more as the spiritual leader than a mere politician.

Devotion to Godhead was his ultimate aim and when I say that his sacred memory should be perpetuated not in the ordinary way but in the Gandhian way, I mean that fitting respect to his memory will be done in the following manner.

1. In the midst of his multifarious duties, Gandhiji never missed to attend to his randhun kirtana meeting. This is one of the soundest method for the culture of devotion to God. In the opinion of Srimad-Bhagavatam, one who is imbibed with the devotion of Godhead is also endowed with all the good qualities of the gods.

But one who is not a devotee of Godhead, has not any value for his good qualities because he utilizes his so called good qualities for ulterior purposes. As such the easy way to raise the moral standard of people in general, is to make this sankirtana movement more popular all over the world by philosophical discourses based on reasoning and moral and ethical codes.

The Vaisnava acaryas especially Lord Caitanya and his six Gosvami disciples give us ample opportunity and scope for this work. Lord Caitanya first inaugurated the sankirtana or randhun movement and the later Gosvamis supported it by scholarly philosophical synthesis. The six sandarbhas by Srila Jiva Goswami are marvelous in this respect.

2. The second item is to take up the temple entry or temple worship movement. This is, in the real sense, a theistic cultural movement and the facility or opportunity shall be open to every one whatsoever he may be. All the past acaryas accepted everyone who desires to offer his respect to God inspired by transcendental love and devotion. We can support this movement of Gandhiji on the authority of sastras.

There are thousands and lakhs of temples all over India but they are not always properly managed. Some of them have become the positive dens for undesirable activities and most of the owners or trustees of such temples do not know how to utilize these sacred buildings. Neither modernized gentlemen have any interest for these neglected theistic institutions.

Originally the aim of these temples was to diffuse spiritual culture in every quarter. These temples or theistic institutions should therefore be reorganized as the centre of spiritual culture according to authentic principles as laid down in the scriptures like Bhagavad-gita.

3. The third item is to take up the harijana movement. This movement is, in the real sense, a spiritual initiation movement and this should be organized in such a manner that people all over the world may take interest in it. The harijana is a word which shall not be used neglectfully as it is done now but attempt should be made to make everybody a harijana.

Harijana means the recognized man of Hari the Personality of Godhead and thus he (the harijana) is as important a man as the knight of the king. So harijana movement should be strengthened more scientifically to turn every person who is now mayajana into a harijana. The mayajana is a word which is applicable to a person who is ordinarily engaged in the service of materialistic pursuits.

The harijana is the person whose main business is to attain perfection of human life, as Mahatma Gandhi did, by spiritualistic realization. This movement should therefore be conducted under strict disciplinary methods as prescribed by the mahajana or the harijana of accredited merit. In such a movement we shall have full co-operation of the sadhu community in India.

4. The fourth item is to organize the much discussed caste system as a solution of natural division of the human beings all over the world. Nationalistic division of human races is artificial but scientific division of the caste system as envisaged in the Bhagavad-gita is natural. We shall have to pick up brahmanas and others not only from the Indian people but from the peoples of all over the world.

The vitiated caste system of present India is never sanctioned by the scriptures. But the caste system is made by God according to quality and work of the subject and it was never designed for the benefit of accidental birth right. Thus whatever is made by God cannot be destroyed by man. Destruction of the caste system as contemplated by some exponents, is therefore out of question.

By the modes of nature different persons are imbued with different qualities and the scientific way of division of human society, from the qualitative aspect, by the caste system is quite natural. But the basic principle of such caste system is to serve the plan of Godhead and by doing so the four orders of caste system make a headway by the co-operative method. When such spiritual progress is definitely made, the materialistic progress is automatically effected as a matter of course. That makes a real classless society.

The above four-fold Gandhi movements, if done in an organized, scientific way supported by all the authentic scriptures of all religiosities, will bring in that tranquillity of peace respite of all harshness and bitterness of the present world, which we have longed for till now.

I wish to organize a spiritual society for the above movements and therefore I seek your active help and support for this. The immediate need is to start an organization centre in a suitable place preferably in New Delhi under your direct supervision and to train up a batch of young men for this transcendental service. If possible to conduct a monthly magazine in this respect for propaganda work.

If your honor will allow me an interview, I shall be very glad to explain the whole idea personally and let you know how the scheme can be given a practical shape for subsiding the general unrest all over the world. Such an organized movement shall be the panacea of all social maladies.

The State is giving help for so many man-made purposes and I pray that a sum of Rs 2000.- per month may be allowed for starting these Gandhian movements in organized form and that on authentic basis I think if your honour as a renowned practical man accepts my humble suggestion, it may be by the will of God, that the whole atmosphere of the present world calamities may be mitigated altogether.

My humble self had the privilege of taking this training under the lotus feet of my spiritual master and I am confident to organize this work in a scientific way if I am helped by the state.

Hoping to be excused for intruding upon your valuable time and awaiting your early reply with deep interest.

With my best regards, I beg to remain,

Yours faithfully,
Abhay Charan De

letters | 04:03 |

16.9.09
1950: December 12  

Calcutta

Sriman Ram Krishna Dey
c.o Day Bannernut Co.
Waterloo St.-Cal.

My dear Father Ramakrishna,

My departure for Allahabad was postponed due to the failure of my proposed tenants' payment of Rs 500.-. The man promised to pay me yesterday but he said his cheque was dishonored. Today he has again promised to pay at 12 noon but I do not now count upon him. So either he pays or not pays, I must proceed to Allahabad tonight positively otherwise the whole thing will be spoiled.

Now as a helpless child looks upon his father, so I look upon you in the absence of my real father. Please therefore come in the evening, or tomorrow morning, enquire __ if I have had the balance money (Rs 500.-) before going to Allahabad and if you learn that the tenant is not __ with money, please try to send me further Rs 500.- to my Allahabad address by T.M.O. or letter T.T. and write me the news.

As the son cannot repay the father, so I cannot repay the obligation I owe to you, but my sincere blessings are always upon you because you have tried to help me in a very critical time.

My life was miserable due to my family affairs and you have come to rescue me from the plight. May God help you in all respects.

With my blessings, I beg to remain

Yours affectionately,
Abhay Charan De.

letters | 03:52 |

8.9.09
1951: October 2  

Allahabad

Mr. Daniel Bailey
Information Officer American Reporter
54, Queen's Road, New Delhi.

Dear Mr. Bailey,

I am in due receipt of your letter No.AR-2732 of the 26th ultimo, and I am very glad to note your frankness to admit that you cannot go so far at present to disseminate the basic principles of Indian philosophies.

Indian philosophies mean generally the Sada Darsana or the six different schools of philosophers namely, 1. the Mimamsa, 2. Sankhya, 3. Nyaya, 4. Mayavada, 5. Patanjal and 6. the Vedanta.

The last named Vedanta Darsana was compiled by Sri Vyasa after a thorough refutation of all other five Darsanas and therefore Vedanta is accepted by all Indian scholars and no body is recognized as bonafide who has no interpretation of this Vedanta Darsana.

The Western philosophers mostly of the Sankhya school have less aquaintance with the Vedanta Darsana and philosophers like Kant, Mill, Aristotle or Schopenhauer etc all belong to either of the above five Darsanas except Vedanta because limited human thinking power cannot go beyond that stage. But Vedanta Darsana is far beyond the limited mental speculation of the human brain conditioned by material nature. Unfortunately Sankara who belonged to the Mayavada school made a misinterpretation of the Vedanta for his own purpose to convert the Buddhists in India.

The Ramakrishna mission although it does not come out of the above six schools of philosophers--generally they prefer to call themselves as Sankarites or belonging to the Mayavada school. Interpretations of Vedanta made by them are neither Mayavada nor Sattattva. They have their own interpretation different from the Vyasa school of philosophers.

Other Acaryas such as Ramanuja, Madhva etc and lately Sri Caitanya--all belong to the original Vedantist school by direct disciplic succession.

According to these Acaryas Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam are, in their original stand, the real commentaries of the Vedanta Sutras. The Mayavadins who do not actually belong to the Vedanta school have overcast a cloud unnecessarily over the Bhagavad-gita and therefore common people are misled by them. In other words they have no entrance in the Vedanta Darsana so to say.

It is not at all necessary that an ailing person shall oblige all classes of physicians for the sake of their being medical practitioners only. The patient must be treated by such physician only who is able to cure him.

Philosophical ways are practical and it is no use simply by indulging in speculation without any practical result just like to keep a cow without any milk. We must always seek a practical value from philosophy for the benefit of all. The mission with which you have started your service inspired me to help you as far as possible and I thought it fit to inform you that your mission can be well guided by the practical philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita.

If you do not wish to have it that is a different question. If you put up a programme acceptable to one and all there is no necessity of patronising a particular ism. A common formula can be of practical use both for India or others. As such you can have practical solutions of all problems such as social, religious, cultural, political, economic as well as agricultural and industrial--from the Bhagavad-gita. It is possible only simply by assimilating it by direct perception.

It is meant for all living being. Indirect perception will mislead far away from the truth and I am afraid many such indirect misinterpretations in a speculative mood by various commentators, have done more harm than good to the humanity in general.

In all humility I beg to differ with you that all men should be free to make their choices and interpretations in all things. Less intelligent men are always guided by those who are superior in knowledge in all spheres of life. This principle is applicable everywhere but the guidance must be right and bonafide. But it depends always on the sweet will of the guided to accept this principle or reject it.

I am glad that you have a copy of Gita with you. Apart from the Swamijee's learned interpretations--you can see for yourself what is written in the 18th Chapter 67th sloka. Empiric philosophers may call it a sophistry but is a fact substantiated after all human reasoning offered by Arjuna. It is clearly said here that one should follow Sri Krishna alone. If any body makes his choice not to follow him surely he will have relative result.

Bhagavad-gita is mostly read by almost all classes of people of the world but unfortunately they are accepted in an independent choice of indirect interpretation. That is a deviation and for that reason only they cannot derive the direct benefit.

My sincere thanks are due to you for the last portion of your letter under reply.

Yours sincerely,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta

All Glory to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

letters | 03:46 |

3.9.09
1951: September 14  

Allahabad

Mr. Daniel Bailey
Information officer
American Reporter,
54, Queensway, New Delhi.

Dear Mr. Bailey,

I am in due receipt of your kind letter No. AR2295 of the 7th instant and I thank you very much for the same.

You have written to say that "The United States and the American Reporter are keenly interested in bringing together the East and the West closer on a philosophical and religious basis as well as economical and political." Certainly this attempt is not only a laudable thing but also a stepping stone towards the ultimate self realisation.

When we speak of Philosophy it is something higher than the attempt of combining the East and the West. The whole cosmic situation is a complete unit and unless and attempt genuine is made for harmonizing the whole disturbed system and partial attempt on our part however large in magnitude will fail to approach the ultimate goal.

Sages of India realised this by a perfect deductive process which descends on human consciousness by the transcendental unbroken chain of disciplic succession--that material civilization is a gigantic temporary demonstration of a rabid process of sense-gratification. In that mode of civilization the sense organs are give unrestricted liberty to gratify ever-increasing desires and the whole show of cultural advancement in science, art, education, trade, industry economics and politics is only varied activities of the sense organs.

While I appreciate contribution by Swami Nikhilananda of Ramakrishna Mission in New York towards "India American relation--A way to world peace." It will not be out place to mention that comparative study & Philosophical ideas expressed by different religious heads will not only bring large contributions to the said _ _ but will also give the public at large a conviction of the Bhagavad-gita.

Smoke emanates from the fire under certain condition but it is a disturbing condition of the fire. We need the fire and not the smoke.

The present smoky materialistic or sensuous civilization has to be kindled into the fire of reality or Spiritualism. It is neither difficult nor impossible and is much more simpler than any other method. It is just a simple process of fanning the fire in order to get rid of the disturbing smoke. Such fanning process is eternally the same and the one and the empiric speculators have nothing to invent now in it.

The great Philosophy of Bhagavad-gita is the authoritative book to guide us in this respect. We have nothing to drag init by forcing empiric interpretations. Let it be understood as it is because it is just like the Sun. The Sun does not require to be helped by other light. So there is no need of interpreting Bhagavad-gita by any indirect meaning.

Let us understand that Kuruksetra is Kuruksetra and it is still a sacred place of Hindu pilgrimage. The Pandavas are the sons of Pandu as it is stated in the history of Mahabharata. The Pandavas and the Kurus met at the battlefield of Kuruksetra and the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita was told by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna.

I wish that the American people may try to understand Bhagavad-gita in terms of its direct meaning. Let it not be unnecessarily misunderstood by the empiric speculative method for making a show of the vanity of so called learning without any living experience. Such academic erudition has nothing to do with living reality.

I wish to present an analytical study of Bhagavad-gita as it is. If your people can grasp the direct meaning of Bhagavad-gita it will be possible for us all to understand the basic principle of cosmic harmony.

When that is done we shall know then that all adjustment of our existence is not only peaceful but an eternal bliss distinguished from the ephemeral sensual satisfaction. We shall then only know that here is world where there is no struggle for existence and every living entity, never mind what it is, is fit to exist.

Thanking you in anticipation,

Yours truly,
Abhay Caranaravinda Bhaktivedanta

letters | 03:31 |

8.8.09
1952: September 26  

Allahabad

My Dear Ramakrishna,

In reply to Srimati Suluxmona's letter, I am sending herewith one letter for her which may be delivered to her.

I came here to improve my lot but I see that my bad luck is impossible to be improved. For the last two years approximately I have met expenses from this business to the extent of Rs 600.- month. Calcutta, Allahabad, Ranchi High Court & Ry Journey altogether five different items of expenses have been so far met. But all of a sudden my sister opponent firms have designed to remove me from this place.

By their trick the Drug Controller has suspended my business for the last one and a half month with the result that about Rs 1000.- has been locked up & sealed and I have been put to shame by my servants. I require immediately Rs 300.- to meet the establishment charges without which I am much humiliated.

I am trying my level best to reopen the business but still it will take minimum one week to come to the normal condition. I am awfully stranded and put to much shame. Will you kindly help me as you have done so many times? As a son has no shame to ask his father, so I feel no shame for it because there is no other help at the present moment.

If you can, please do send me T.M.O. for Rs 300.- & save my prestige & honour. I expect to return you this sum after a fort night. As soon as my business is opened I shall at once get back Rs 1000.-.

May God bless you.

Yours affectionately
Father-in-law.

N.B. I shall expect your T.M.O. by Monday next or latest Tuesday next.
ACD

letters | 03:26 |

1.8.09
1953: July 7  

Allahabad

[True copy of the letter published in the A.B. Patrika on 7.7.53 at Allahabad under the heading "Hindu Missionaries"]

Sir--With reference to the letter of Sri Satish Asthana published in your columns of the 2nd instant, I have the honour to inform all concerned through your esteemed paper, that an association for missionary activities under the name and style "The League of Devotees" has already been established recently with the same aims and objects as suggested by Sri Asthana and Sri Sitaram.

The registered office of the above League is situated at the big spacious building "Bharati Bhawan" at Sipri Road, Jhansi. Gentlemen interested in such cultural activities may ask from the Founder Secretary, the prospectus of the mission (in Hindi or in English) with details of the institution.

The matter is so important that it cannot be (now) set aside to be managed by the Sadhus and Sannyasins only but it must be taken care of by all responsible men.

The word "Hindu" is somewhat foreign according to India's spiritual or cultural conception. The exact word used for this purpose is "Sanatanam" or the eternal. Sri "Bhagavad-gita" gives us the message that "Sanatana" religion is meant not only for the "Hindus," the Indians or all the humanity at large but also for all living beings on earth.

It is wrong to interpret that Vedic religion (commonly known as "Hinduism") is not proselytistic. The proselytising method of "Bhagavad-gita" is to turn the face of all mundaners towards the transcendental service of the Absolute Personality of Godhead "Sri Krishna" which process can only save them (the mundaners) from all calamities past present and future.

The present Godless civilization has to be remoulded into Godly one and for this purpose all missionaries (Hindu or non-Hindu) who have regard for scientific proselytising method may join this "League of Devotees"

[PAGE MISSING]

letters | 03:16 |

30.7.09
1955: December 25  

Delhi

Names of the Executive members of the Delhi section of the League of Devotees.
(1) Rai Bahadur Pandit Narain Das, 21 Pusha Road, N. Delhi
(2) Rai Sahale Seth Girdharilal, Bag Diwar, Delhi
(3) Seth Baseswar Natha, 9 Barkhnkakau Road, N. Delhi
(4) Sat Narayana Gurvala, Malibara, Delhi
(5) Rai Sahale Ram Saran Das, 11 Ramanagar, N. Delhi
(6) Sri Makhanlal Gupta, ___, Delhi
(7) Sri Bipin Candra Misra
(8) Lala Maha Sankara, Ramanagar.
(9) Pandit A. C. Bhaktivedanta
(10) Lala Mohanlal Advocate. c.o Girohilal
(11) Sri Ram Prakash, ___, Chawn Bazar
(12) Sri Direndra Kumar, Siddhomal & Sons, Chawn Bazar

Dear Sirs,

With reference to the inaugural meeting of the Delhi section of the League on 22.12.55 the gentlemen named above have been selected to be the executive members. The immediate programe of work is to find out some suitable place for the central office as also to provide the place of residence for the workers.

When I was at Jhansi, I was provided with a big palatial building to live in associated with 40 workers who are being trained up for intinerary preaching work. The expenses were about Rs 1000.- per month. I approached the Govt for help but even after one year no definite decision could be arrived at by the Govt and the matter is still pending. Jhansi was a poor place & I shifted to Delhi.

My associates were therefore disbursed & I came to Delhi to give it a new life. Delhi is the only centre where from this cultural movement could immediately be given effect because it is the centre of international political, social educational & cultural movements. What I want to do immediately are as follows:--

(1) To hold consecutive meetings at different Mohallus & houses of Delhi for impressing the ideas of the mission.
(2) To give training to at least 7 to 10 educated young men in the "parampara lessons of Bhagavad-gita" and then to "Brahma Sutra," Bhagavata & Caitanya Caritamrta
(3) To publish an English monthly paper to sell specially to the English knowing heads of the society and to get printed some relative literatures __.

A meeting of the executives has to be called for discussing the above subjects but before doing so I wish that you all gentlemen may kindly fill up the typed membership forms enclosed herewith--so that following your foot prints other members of the public may __ members of this institution in large numbers.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Yours faithfully,
For the League of Devotees (Reg. J.S.)
A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Founder Secretary

To __ of the following immediately
(1) Letter Heading (English)
(2) Visiting Cards (English)
(3) Japa Appeal (English & Hindi)
(4) Membership forms (English & Hindi)
(5) Rubber Stamps

letters | 02:03 |

28.7.09
1955: October 5  

New Delhi

My Dear Sripada Gosvami Maharaja,

Kindly accept my humble and respectful dandabats. I am in due receipt of your letter of the __ __ while you're staying at Howrah Gaudiya Math. I hope by the time this letter reaches your hand you might have come back to calcutta.

I was anxiously awaiting your articles for October. Today is the 5th and I thought that by the 15th of this month the paper might be be out. So please send the articles per return of post and oblige. I have noted your instruction for reviewing Netaidas Brahmacari's book. The other book is not available from Sri Kesavanadaji.

I am glad that you have purchased one model No 16 Remington Typewriter and I think you have done right in doing so. To conduct the Sajjan Tosani Patrika it is absolutely necessary. This typewriter is to be returned today because the period of one month expires today and as you are bringing very soon the purchased one, I shall return it today with out further rental expenses.

I wish to see this paper just to the standard of "Illustrated Weekly" with numerous pictures in order to make it a very popular literature and for this I wish to move myself to secure subscribers as well as advertisers. I wish to visit good businessmen, insurance companies and Govt. officers in this connection. But I have no proper dress at all. I want two set of good dresses in order to take up this reponsibility and I shall be glad to have you decision on this matter. It is my heart's desire that this paper is improved to the highest elevation.

I am glad that Sripada Sridhara Maharaja has advised you to purchase a land at Mayapur. Yes we we must have a temple at Mayapur. If every one of us possess a temple there, the importance of Sridhama Mayapur will automatically increase and we must have this ideal in view always. I am also glad to learn that you are securing some good land on long lease from the Port commissioners for our Howrah Math. Howrah is a good place for preaching our cult and it behoves that we have a decent Math there.

Akincana Maharaja has received your cheque for Rs400.- and he is preparing to start for Jaipur as early as possible.

Awaiting your early reply.

Yours affectionately,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta

N.B. Some non-Bengali gentlemen are demanding my Hindi edition of Caitanya Caritamrta. They are prepared to pay any price for this (Rs 32. or Rs 25.- ) your Holiness has already seen the manuscript. I wish to get it out part by part. The first part will cost near about Rs 600.-. If this part is sold out, The other parts will automatically come out. I would request you to invest this initial Rs 600.- for this purpose under any arrangement you like. I shall be glad to receive your reply on this point. I hope you will give this starting & oblige. ACB.

letters | 03:25 |

24.7.09
1955: September 19  

New Delhi

My dear Sripada Gosvami Maharaja,

Please accept my respectful obeisances. I hope in the meantime you have received my last letter.

This day I had been to the office of the Director of Postal Service along with our friend Sri Horendra Natha Shome and Sripada Akincana Maharaja. Some of the would be customers whose addresses were given for registration denied to be our paid subscribers and this was against the registration certificate. We had some talks with the Asst. Director who was a perfect gentleman. Heron Babu being one of them he told that he is also a customer.

When he wrote in black and white his version the Director agreed to register it and I am glad to inform you this day our "Sri Sajjanatoshani Patrik" is registered in the postal department as a monthly newspaper under registration No.D797. Just on the way I dropped in at the Kapoor Art Press and I gave him the No. for printing on the cover.

Our posting date has been fixed up on the 26th and 27th inst. I do not know if the press will be able to finish the job by that date. I have already given him the pressure and I shall see that it is duly published by the above date and posted. If not then we will have to make another application for changing the date of posting.

I understand that you have written to Sripada Akincana Maharaja to print the paper 500 only for September. In this connection I asked the press if they will reduce the charges for this less number of printing. He said that the charges will be same. I think that we should print it as usual i.e. 1000. Akincana Maharaja has secured contribution of three reams of paper (24lbs) and the postal charges will be only 1.4th of the last month.

So why for the matter of saving some papers we shall not print the full number. In my opinion we should print more than 1000 copies every month and distribute them in large scale. I think you will reconsider the matter and let me know your further opinion. The printing will begin from day after tomorrow and you will kindly reply this just on receipt of it.

I hope by the time this letter reaches you you have had returned from Navadvipa.

Hope you are well.

Yours affectionately,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta

letters | 04:18 |

16.7.09
1955: September 16  

New Delhi

His Holiness Sripada Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaja
Sri Caitanya Saraswat Math
Kolergunj
P.O. Navadvipa,
Dist. Nadia (W.Beng.)

My dear Sripada Govinda Maharaja,

This morning I received two copies of your "Gaudiya Darshan" and I was very glad to see its appearance. When I was at Mathura I heard from Spd. Kesava Maharaja and so also I heard it from Spd Goswami Maharaja that His Holiness Sripada Sridhara Maharaja is going to publish "Gaudiya Darshan" and today I find it actually in hand.

I cannot but offer my congratulations to your holiness. Because I know if anything has been done it is due to your energy. I can understand now why Sripada Sridhara Maharaja bestowed all his mercy upon you. He rightly found in you some dormant energy for future action and we can see that it is now fructifying duly.

I have read with great interest your article especially the one which is named as "CHALAR PATHE." It is not only very amusing but also instructive. Simple dry philosophical arguments will not be appealing now a days to people in general. They will like to read such articles as written by you with greater relish. In this article I can find out that you have really some parts and in time you can become a great transcendental humorist in the art of journalism. You have complete mercy of your Divine master and you can depend on his blessings for your future improvement.

I sincerely wish you all success--Undoubtedly you are now in the highest order of Varnasrama Dharma but we cannot forget that you belong to the category of our affectionate sons. We cannot forget all such filial love for you and when we see that you are improving in all respects it gladdens our heart. I have just written a letter to Sripada Gosvami Maharaja and in that letter the following statements have been carried to him him.

The wordings are as follows: "This day we have received two copies of Gaudiya Darsana from Sripada Sridhara Maharaja's Math at Navadvipa. The starting is very good and I have quite appreciated the endeavour of Sripada Maharaja although very late. It is better late than never. He has a very good assistant in the person of young Govinda Maharaja and I think it is a good attempt."

Your poem on Vasita is also good. All these show that you have good tact and may God help you more and more. Sripada Sridhara Maharaja's article on Gaudiya Darsana is philosophical and if he so desires I can get it translated into English by myself and get it published in the Sri Sajjanatoshani Patrika. I understand that Sripada is now out on pilgrimage and you can let me know his opinion when he comes back or earlier according to your convenience.

Hope you are well. Brindaban wanted to live with me and so he has come here from Calcutta just a few days before. Where is Madhusudana Maharaja? Please convey my dandabats to all the Vaisnavas.

With my regards for you all.

Yours affectionately,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta

letters | 03:12 |

12.7.09
1955: September 16  

New Delhi

My dear Sripada Gosvami Maharaja,

Please accept my respectful obeisances. I am in due receipt of your kind letter dated the 14th instant and I have noted the contents very carefully. I am glad that you have come back to Calcutta from the inundated area of Orissa and am more glad to learn that your holiness is trying to return to Delhi for creating a peaceful atmosphere here.

You will be glad to learn that day before yesterday morning at about 9 O'clock Sri N. C. Chatterji the big advocate and President of the Hindu Mahasabha came to our Sangha with his secretary unexpectedly. It happened that about a fortnight past we had a Path Kirtana function at his residence at 7-B, Pusa Road and in that evening we had some talk about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He appeared to be well versed with the matter of Sri Caitanya Caritamrta.

I therefore invited him to come to our Sangha and he replied that he would try. After a week I reminded him again by letter and in response to my letter he came here all of sudden. Practically all the members were out at that time and myself along with two other Brahmacari and Brindaban received him. He was acquainted with our activities and was offered Prasadam which he accepted and took it with him. I have asked him to come again when your holiness come back.

Regarding your instruction for Spd Akincana Maharaja, I have intimated him about it and it is learnt that he has asked Sripada Bonbehariji to bring along with him the old receipts when he is coming to Delhi.
Your note for Sriman Kesavanandaji has also also been noted by him.

All the press matters for September issue have been duly handed over to the Kapoor Art Press but till now we have not got any proof from them. I sent for it this morning and they have promised to deliver it from tomorrow. It is learnt from Kesavanandaji that they have promised to finish the task by the 25th of this month.

I have noted your remark about the cover of the monthly and I have already suggested so many things to Sripada Ramananda Prabhu for apprisal. Sripada Ramananda Prabhu and many others along with me want to see the paper just fit for the foreign countries. In that case we must get it printed on nice paper in a very good up-to-date Press.

It all depends on the expenditure that we are able to meet but the ideal must be for its many sided desirable improvements. When you come back we shall see to it because in your absence it is not also possible to change the press. When we cannot change the press immediately it is useless to change the paper or the cover.

The suggestion made by some friend that the paper may be printed from Calcutta is alright. But my suggestion is that either in Calcutta or in Delhi we must have our own press with good equipments so that we may be able to broadcast the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in all the important languages specially in Hindi and in English. Hindi is meant for all India propaganda while English is meant for world wide propaganda.

This day we have received two copies of "Gaudiya Darshan" from Sripada Sridhara Maharaja's Math at Navadvipa. The starting is very good and I have quite appreciated the endeavour of Sridhara Maharaja even though very late. It is better late than never. He has a very good assistant in the person of young Govinda Maharaja and I think it is a good attempt.

Regarding Typewriter machine I understand that Sripada Ramananda Prabhu is unwilling to part with it. Of course in his head office of the institution he requires one for so many correspondences but here also in the office of Sri Sajjanatoshani Patrika which purely in English one machine is absolutely needed. Here all the presses do want type written copies so that the matter may be promptly executed.

Some of the presses are ready to finish the whole printing work within 4 or 5 days if the whole matter is given in distinct type written papers. This machine was hired and I have already informed you about it. We have in the meantime type written three copies of all the addresses so that for three months we can simply paste the addresses on the covering wrapper without taking any trouble of clerical job.

Any way we shall see to it when you come back if possible with the machine.

Yours affectionately,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta

letters | 04:07 |

8.7.09
1955: September  

India

Dear Brother,

I am in due receipt of your kind enquiry and I am glad that you wish to become a member of the League of Devotees for learning the science & techniques of Theism or spiritualism of the highest standard. The Prospectus is enclosed herewith please find & decide for yourself for becoming a permanent member of this noble institution.

The membership fees are mentioned below which is the extract from the Leagues registered rules & regulations.

Rule 1. "The general body of the League will consist of members of the four orders of life namely (a) Brahmacaris (b) Grhasthas (c) Vanaprasthas (d) Sannyasis or Tyagis".

Rule 4. "The members will be of three classes defined as class A, B and C in accordance with the membership fees paid. (a) Those who will contribute Rs 500.- and above per month will belong to the "A" class. (b) Those who will contribute Rs 50.- and above per month will belong to the "B" class. (c) Those who will contribute Rs 10.- and above per month will belong to the "C" class."

Rule 16. "Every member is entitled to one vote either in person or by proxy at a general meeting held for its elections of the members of the Executive Committee. or for any other purposes."

If you think yourself unable to pay either of the above mentioned membership fees per month, then you can apply for free membership or for a lesser value of monthly subscription for consideration of the Executive Committee., who will decide on the subject.

But if you become preacher member, in that case you will have to pay once Rs 10.- only for the degree of "Bhakti-sastri" which will be awarded to you by registered certificate of degree for your becoming preaching member of the League and doing the necessary preaching work on behalf of the League.

The preaching work is conducted as follows:

(1) As soon as you get the certificate of degree of "Bhakti-sastri" at once you become a bona fide preacher of this institution and for this you will have to read "Bhagavad-gita" regularly.

(2) As you go on reading "Bhagavad-gita" question will arise in your mind for so many teachings in that Book & you are at liberty to ask us for answers of those questions which will be replied to you very clearly for your understanding.

(3) Some of the general questions are already answered in different pamphlets & one of them is sent herewith for example and your understanding.

(4) These questions & answers you will have to preach to others, so that both yourself & your audience will be benefited by that process.

(5) If you cannot go to others outside your hearth & home, you can do the preaching work amongst your family members only and in this meeting your other friends, neighbors & relatives also can join.

(6) Hold this meeting regularly for one hour in your home or any other suitable place near about your home, and chant the hymns or slokas of "Bhagavad-gita" with reverence & devotion. If possible the reading of Bhagavad-gita may be preceded & followed by a congregation chanting of the holy name of God as mentioned below--Hare Krishna . . . Hare Hare.

(7) Now relevant questions that may be arising out in the meeting may either be answered relevantly & just according to the authority of "Bhagavad-gita". But if it is found difficult the question may at once be referred to us and it will be very nicely & clearly answered by us for clear understanding of all concerned.

(8) Some of the audience also may be interested in becoming a preaching worker of this League & we shall be glad to substain him in the same way as we shall be dealing with you. We are interested more in preaching members than in the sleeping members.

The motto of preaching shall always be aimed at the ultimate goal of life. The ultimate goal of life is to re-establish our lost relation with Godhead who is the Absolute Whole, and we all living entities are His parts & parcels.

We have forgotten our relation with Godhead from time immemorial by somehow or other & due to our forgetfulness of the relation, we are roaming life after life in different species of bodies which are 84 lacs in number. This process of transmigration from one body to another after death is a __ of disease of the living entity & the chance of curing the disease is possible very effectively in this human form of life.

The value of this human form of life is therefore immense and a moment lost of this life means a loss of immense value. Do not therefore neglect the time that you have been allotted by the laws of Nature and utilize it fully--not in the matter of animal life but in human life.

Eating, sleeping, fearing & sense gratifying process are meant for the animal portion of our life, but as human being we have got the special prerogative for searching out the cause of our threefold miseries & to rectify it in this very life without any further loss of time.

The League of Devotees stand to serve the humanity in this spirit & the preaching member's cooperation in this noble act of human behavior will reciprocally benefit both the League and its preaching members.

The highest benefit that is possible to do to the humanity is this act of preaching for receiving the Divine Consciousness of the living being. By doing so, we do not only send a living entity back to home & back to Godhead but at the same time we ourselves also go back to home back to Godhead.

Rise up to the occasion of this preaching work & be a real benefactor to the people in general & your family members in particular.

[PAGE MISSING]

letters | 04:01 |

3.7.09
1955: February 4  

Allahabad

The Registrar of Joint Stock Companies
Uttar Pradesh--Lucknow.

All Glory to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Dear Sir,

With reference to my interview with your honour on the 3rd instant, regarding registration of the Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations of the League of Devotees (alias Sarbabhouma Bhagavata Samaj), I beg to inform you that I have deposited the fee RS 50.- (Rupees Fifty only) in the Imperial Bank of India Ltd, Lucknow and beg to hand you the following as advised by you.

(1) The Memorandum of Association clearly signed by the present members of the League of Devotees.
(2) The Rules and Regulations duly signed by the present members of the League of Devotees.
(3) Deposit Challan No 81D.4 3.3 for Rs 50.-

Kindly acknowledge receipt of the above and do the needful at your earliest convenience.

All correspondence in this regard may be addressed to the undersigned in his present address as above mentioned.

Thanking you in anticipation,

Yours faithfully--
A. C. Bhaktivedanta

Enclosures--3.

letters | 04:56 |

1.7.09
1955: January 1  

Allahabad

1st form No-1.
The circular letter addressing as "Dear Brother"
to be sent along with the Prospectus by book Post
2nd letter on receipt of the reply of the 1st circular letter.
(For inner members who are willing to live with us for spiritual upliftment)

Dear Brothers,

I am very much glad that you are willing to live with us. As already informed we have no restriction for admitting inner members, so far nationality, caste and creed are concerned. But the inner members will have to abide by the following rules, which are necessary as basic principles for spiritual upliftment. The inner members will not have:

(1) illegitimate connection with women.

(2) He shall not be addicted to intoxicating habit. No member shall be allowed to smoke, chewing betel, drink tea etc. inside the house.

(3) He must be satisfied with "Prasadam" which will be served to him & must be strictly vegetarian. No inner member shall be allowed to eat fish, meat, eggs, onions, etc.

(4) the inner member shall not indulge in unnecessary indoor or outdoor games, sporting or gambling habit. The nominal boarding charges is Rs 25.-. No charges for lodging.

(5) the inner member must enroll himself as regular member in the A. B. or C. Category. Members with voting power will have to pay the scheduled monthly subscriptions The lowest rate of subscription is Rs 10.- per month. Any one unable to pay the membership fee may apply for free membership or lesser subscription for consideration of the Board of Executive members. The executive committee. can decide on it.

(6) The inner member is requested to rise early in the morning before sun-rise and finish his morning duties for inner & make cleanliness. And after finishing such duties, he will have attend to "Mangalaratric" service to be held in the temple of "Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu & Radha Govinda".

(7) The inner members will be served with Prasadam after "Mangalaratric" (mostly some milk-preparation)

(8) After partaking the "Mangalaratrik" Prasadam, he shall attend the morning class of "Path Kirtana" in which chanting of the holy name of God along with musical instruments, will be sung before and after reading of "Srimad Bhagavad-gita" "Bhagavatam" etc. This function will continue from 6 to 8 in the morning.

(9) After this a cup of milk along with other foodstuff will be served to the inner members as break fast.

(10) After breakfast the member can devote himself, for studying book in this connection which will be supplied to him by the League.

(11) At eleven noon, the "Bhogarati" service will be done in the temple and the members will be requested to attend this ceremony after bath, __.

(12) Just after "Bhogarati" function, the members will be served with "Prasadam" which shall consist of the following items: (1) Rice, (2) Dal, (3) Capatis with ghee (4) 2 curry (5) Bhija (6) Khicheries (7) ___ (8) Sauces (9) Pampar (10) miscellaneous.

(13) After taking "Prasadam" in the noon the member may take rest from one to three in the after noon.

(14) At three in the after noon there will again "Baikali" ceremony in the temple which the members will be requested to attend. And again at the end of the "Baikali" ceremony at about 4, the members shall be served with Prasadam consisting of a cup of milk & some fruits.

(15) the member shall then attend the Path Kirtana class from 5 to 7 in the evening as is done in the morning.

(16) from 7 to 8 pm there will be "Sandhyaratrik" ceremony in the temple & the members will be requested to attend to this.

(17) At nine in the night, there will be again Bhogarati ceremony which members will be requested to attend. After this "Prasadam" will be served consisting of capatis or rice with dal, currys & some milk preparation at the end.

(18) From 10 to 4 at night the members shall take rest for the night,

(19) After six months of living or earlier as the case may be the members will be expected to be initiated in the devotional service of Theism or Vaisnavism.

(20 For such initiation the member will have to accept "diksa" according to the rules of the Gosvamis & just become a qualified "Brahmin."

(21) Initiated members shall observe the "Ekadasi Brata" twice in a month and on that day he will be allowed to take only fruits & none of the cereals.

(22) Initiated members shall adhere his body with the marks of Vaisnavism;

(23) He shall chant the holy name of God systematically & regularly according to the rules of the Goswamis.

(24) He shall try to worship in the temple after learning the art from another co-worker. The initiated member is converted & accepted as bonafide Brahmin & thus he can enter the temple.

(25) He may enhance his spiritual education taking lessons from Geeta, Bhagavata, Science of Devotion, Lord Caitanya etc. and prepare for the examination of Bhakti-Sastra, Bhaktisiddhanta, Bhaktivedanta etc.

(26) If he desires to be a preacher, he will be trained up in that way & will be given the titles of ___ ___ ______ according to preaching capacity.

[PAGE MISSING]

letters | 03:51 |

18.6.09
1956: November 21  

Delhi

Letter to the President
His Excellency Dr. Rajendra Prasad
President Indian Union,
Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi
(Through His Private Secretary Sri Visvanatha Varma)

May it please your most exalted Honor,

Kindly accept my humble obeisances. It is the custom of India from a time immemorial that a citizen of the state would approach the king, to express his grievances for redemption and the king would very kindly consider his case as duty bound and give him necessary relief by the royal judgement:

At the present moment, your excellency is seated in the position of the king by the will and Grace of the Lord and as a true Vaisnava I must accept your excellency as the representative of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, as He has expressed Himself in the pages of Bhagavad-gita. As such I beg to lay before your most exalted honour, the following few lines for favorable consideration and do the needful in pure consciousness.

Your Excellency is the Representative of Sri Krishna by authority and I hope Sri Krishna will direct you from within in the matter of my transcendental service to Him.

I beg to submit herewith that by the Grace of Sri Krishna through His mercy personified--my spiritual master, I have realised it most thoroughly that going "Back to Godhead" is the highest privilege of mankind and that is the supreme perfection of human life.

Unfortunately, the present day human civilization is very much attracted with the beauty of Apara Prakrti the illusory material Nature and as such they are overpowered by a demoniac form of propensity in the atheistic set up of civilization manifested in the matter of sense gratification. This tendency is dangerously harmful to the real progress of life.

The aim of life should be to make a sincere effort to go "Back to Godhead" but contrary to this, the tendency is to go back to hell or in the cycle of evolutionary animal life as it is described in the 16th chapter of Bhagavad-gita.

Please therefore save them from the great falldown. Believe me or not, I have got the clue of going "Back to Godhead" just after leaving my present material body and in order to take along with me all my contemporary men and women of the world, I have started my paper "Back to Godhead" as one of the means to the way.

Please do not think of me as an wonderful or a mad man when I say that I shall go "Back to Godhead" after leaving my present material body! It is quite possible for everyone and all of us.

In the Bhagavad-gita it is said very clearly that whosoever may adopt the specific principle of accepting Sri Krishna the Personality of Godhead, he will be able to achieve the highest transcendental goal of life,--never mind what he is either a born untouchable, a fallen woman, a laborer or a man dealing in rupees annas pies. His being so, what is there difficulty for a pious "Brahmin" and devoted king for going "Back to Godhead"? Everyone should therefore adopt this principle of going "Back to Godhead" in order to get released from the world of miseries, with temporary existence.

This fact is corroborated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as the practical demonstrator of Bhagavad-gita and as the most magnanimous incarnation of Sri Krishna--the Personality of Sri Krishna Caitanya has made the path of going "Back to Godhead" so easy for every one that even a boy of the world can swim across the ocean of religiosity, although it is injected with so many dangerous animals ready to devour up a fallen person in that great massive water.

I have simply adopted the easy method of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu just suitable to the modern people in general. As such I am feeling as sure of going "Back to Godhead" as I feel without any doubt after taking my dinner that I have eaten to my satisfaction. This feeling is a necessary concomitant factor of the great science of devotional service in the approved line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

I am therefore very eager to broadcast the secret of my success to all men and women of the world as a natural consequence and I am seeking your excellency's help and co-operation in this great attempt of transcendental service.

I am enclosing herewith 12 (twelve) copies of "Back to Godhead" (I to XII) for your excellency's reference. If possible kindly go through them all and I am sure that your honour will understand me right about my assertion. If it is not so possible, your excellency can kindly give a glance over the head lines only, and I am sure that will also give your excellency an idea of my definite assertion.

To make a world wide propaganda for this most essential service to humanity, it is necessary that your excellency will stretch the helping hand necessary in this matter, as your exalted honour is personally fit also to do this job. Although the method is very simple for universal adoption, it is not possible for me to express in this letter all the words that I wish to tell your honour. As such, I am seeking an interview with your honour herewith.

When your excellency will see personally the papers and programme of work about my bonafides, I am sure your excellency will be interested in co-operating with me. There is immense work to be done so far India's spiritual asset is concerned and I think the Govt. may take up the matter scientifically for the good of all men. India's specific culture demands that there should be a ministry of spiritual affairs to save the great culture of "Bharatavarsa".

I am crying alone in the wilderness at the present moment. So please help me in this noble cause and oblige.

Thanking you in anticipation for an early reply, I am,

Yours in the service of the Lord,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta

letters | 03:45 |

8.6.09
1957: May 7  

Kanpur

Sri Padampat Singhania,
Kamla Tower,
Kanpur

My dear Sri Padampat Ji,

In continuation of my yesterday's letter, which I hope you have duly received by this time, and with reference to your request of submitting the way of powerful Mantra for broadcasting all over the world, I beg to inform you further that in every Mantra the prefix of Namah is generally added.

Just for example you said the other day Namah Sivaya. Now this Mantra is practically indicating the holy name of Lord Siva. Na means negation and Ma means false ego or Ahamkara. Therefore Namah means surrendering to the name Siva. In other words to accept the supremacy of Lord Siva means Namah Sivaya.

Therefore the conclusion is that in Mantra the name of the deity is unavoidably amalgamated. And in the Mantra the spiritual power, by the Rsis like Narada etc. is surcharged like the copper is electrified by magnetic force. The etymological alphabets are so surcharged with spiritual potency and as such all Mantra indicating the transcendental holy name of God or Godhead is to be understood in that way.

When we chant the Mantra as were presented by the authorities--the process helps communication with the personality of Godhead by the sound waves as we have now experienced in the material world of physical waves vibrations. The powerful Mantras have such potency if they are sounded in the right direction. And by chanting the Mantras only one can spiritualise the whole existence as heat can expand on the spherical objects.

Mantra Siddhi means complete liberation. Therefore, there is no difference between the holy name and Mantra. Man means mind and tra deliverance. That which delivers one from mental speculation is called "Mantra". "Mantra Siddhi" is to transcend the gross and subtle mental plane. The same meaning is for ___

In this age all the Mantras that can help us reaching perfection up to the plane of Godhead--has been still more concentrated into the Harinama. We find therefore in the Brhannaradiya Puranam (38.126) a particular stress on Harinama which is stated as follows:

harinama harinama harinama eva kevalam
kalau nastyeva nastyeva nastyeva gatir anyatha

The above statement is very important in the following manner. There are two different processes for acquiring knowledge. The one is Deductive Process and the other is Inductive Process. In the Deductive Process we deduce the conclusion from the statement of higher authorities whereas by the Inductive Process we make a research in the truth by our own imperfect knowledge and induce a conclusion.

Say for example if we want to know how man is mortal then we have to make a research in statistics of daily death occurrences. Rama dies, Syama dies, father dies, mother dies, he dies, she dies, etc. all these experiences may help us in the conclusion that after all man dies and therefore the conclusion man is mortal made. But the defect of this process of knowledge is that it may be that we have not seen a person who is still living even after some thousands of years.

As soon as we get this information the whole conclusion that a man is mortal--is at once changed and we have to say that some men are mortal. In this way the research work of scientific thought are constantly changing because the very research work is done by person who is himself a condition by the four principles of mistake, illusion, cheating and imperfection.

Therefore, the Deductive Process is more effective. Man is mortal we have heard it from very authoritative sources like the Vedas and we have accepted it. The Vedas say that stool is impure but the stool of the cow is pure. The Vedas say that bone is untouchable but the conchshell which is also a bone is perfectly pure.

For the common man the statements of the Vedas appear to be contradictory. But in spite of such contradiction, because we Hindus accept the Vedas as authority we accept cow dung as pure and allow it to be used even in the kitchen. So also we accept the conchshell. The conchshell is after all a bone of an animal but because it is accepted by the Vedas we allow conchshell to be used in the sanctified room of our family deity. If we examine in the physical laboratory or analyse it by chemical test we won't find any difference between the stool of a man and that of a cow or the bone of an ox and that of a conch.

And yet the whole Hindu Muslim conflict, the whole struggle of Gandhi and Jinnah and the whole question of Kashmir problem in the UNSCO have arisen from this petty difference of bones only. In the Hindu temple the bone conchshell is already there but as soon as a Muhammadan throws a piece of bone of the ox in the temple--the whole trouble began, resulting in the partition of India and Pakistan.

So an impartial mundane student who will enter into the research work of such bone affairs in the annals of Indian History--surely he will come to the conclusion of unrestricted obedience to the words of the Vedas or that of the Koran or that of the Bible that lead to all sorts of Jehad and crusade. As a matter of fact the so called intelligent persons of the modern age have taken the shelter of secularism on the strength of past unfortunate religious feuds. This is another type of nonsense.

Therefore in the present age respect for Deductive Process is dwindling whereas respect for Inductive Process is increasing although we know so far the Inductive research is concerned the process has not been successful. The conclusion is that we have lost our faith in the traditional Vedic knowledge handed down from the Guru to Chela or from the father to the son, although such system of Deductive Knowledge from the authority is the most perfect form of knowledge.

The ultimate truth which is far beyond the reach of our imperfect senses can never be known by such inductive research work. The imperfect senses could not even measure the distance of the physical product The Sun or the Innumerable stars in front of us--and what such imperfect senses can make a research in the Mantras which are purely spiritual affairs.

We have to accept the Mantra and its potency from the Vedic source and follow the practice and principles only to arrive at reality of truth. Research work by imperfect senses is practically a revolt against the established truth. Let us therefore accept the Vedic injunction of Brihannaradiya Puranam

I have already mentioned about this Mantra in my previous letter and I beg to confirm it further that the Name "Krishna" even up to the foreign words like God and Allah, if they at all aim at the Supreme Personality--then the Name is as much holy and potential as perfect is the Supreme Lord--because in the Absolute Realm or Spritual Nature everything is identical with everything as all of them are qualitatively spiritual and therefore pure, eternal, liberated and perfect.

For all practical purposes if we systematically preach to chant the holy name of Godhead, I think no body even the religious fanatic will take objection to it. Every human being has a conception of the supreme truth. That conception is presented in some concrete shape. If therefore the Mussulman or the Christian denies to chant the name of Rama or Krishna we may ask him to chant the name of Allah or God respectively and I think therefore there will be no objection even by the Buddhists if we simply ask them to chant the name of Lord of Buddha in the systematic way.

The systematic way means to avoid the ten different offences in the process of chanting, which are all philosophical truths.

If by such propaganda of chanting the holy name, the filthy atmosphere of jealousy, bickerings, selfishness, falsehood and so many other affairs of the modern age--can be avoided, and if by such chanting the complete process of self-realisation can be achieved--is it not our duty to do this service by combined force.

In this age of quarrel and fight everything has to be done by combined force to achieve ready success. As the topmost person of a group of large scale industries, your good personality knows better than me how combined forces and diverse energies make the particular industry a successful establishment.

In the same way we have to combine the different forces of Sociology in men, money, intelligence and field work to make the spiritual movement a grand success. If we do not do that we shall be failing in our duty to serve the complete whole.

No partial service or temporary benefit can lead us to perfection. The world is mad after such temporary benefit and partial service and it is our duty to change the face altogether by an authorized spiritual movement.

The other day I was very glad to hear your ideas about it and in our next meeting I wish to say some thing about it as I have realised.

Hope you are well.

With my regards.

Yours sincerely,
Goswami Abhay Charan Bhaktivedanta
Editor--"BACK TO GODHEAD."

letters | 04:34 |

3.6.09
1957: February 20  

Bombay

The Hon'ble Mr. Chief-Justice Sri M.C. Chagla
Chief Justice House,
Harkisan Road,
Bombay-6.

My Lord,

I beg to inform your Lordship that on the 16th instant I was present in the meeting of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in which your Lordship spoke something at length on the matter of equal distribution of wealth as the ultimate solution of economic problem. The subject matter dealt with in the meeting was "What is the matter with the world?", and you all respectable gentlemen tried to solve it in different angles of vision. Sri Munshiji tried very faintly to solve it by going back to Godhead and I do not know whether your Lordship agrees with him.

I may introduce hereby my humble self as the editor of a fortnightly Theistic periodical and copies of the same are sent to your Lordship for your kind perusal. I came to Bombay from Vrndavana to see Sri Munshi on the same mission of going back to Godhead, because without this there is no solution of any problem, the world is now facing.

The Bhagavad-gita is the standard book in this matter. Sri Munshi is trying to utilize this philosophy for the good of the people in general. He is spending establishment charges to the extent of Rs.40,000.- per month for the last twenty years--but actually no tangible benefit is derived out of it up till now. I saw Sri Munshi with a view to cooperate with him for implementing the transcendental ideas of the Bhagavad-gita. But I did not receive any encouragement from him so far. I am, therefore, seeking an interview with your Lordship to discuss for a few minutes about this standard idea of solving the problems.

In the Bhagavad-gita the solution of the problems are given in the following words,

Bhoktaram yajna tapasam
Sarva loka maheshvaram
Suhrdam sarva bhutanam
Jnatva mam santim rcchati
(Bg. 5.29)

Yat karosi yat asnasi
Yaj juhosi dadasi yat
Yat tapasyasi kaunteya
Tat kurusva mad arpanam
(Bg. 9.27)

Equal distribution of wealth or knowledge, beauty, fame, energy and non-attachment etc., all these are perfectly done by the above arrangement. The matter is more explicitly understood by the example of our own bodily structure. The whole body is constituted of the senses and organs. All the senses and organs are equally supplied with energy when the stomach is fully fed up. Stomach is the central figure for distributing equal energy to the respective parts of the body as much as watering the root of the tree is the source of supplying energy to all the branches and leaves of the tree.

The human society is now running on in an illusory way, forgetting its eternal relation with the Central Cause. They will have to be reinstated in that original position in terms of the above slokas of the Bhagavad-gita. Without this no solution is possible. There are practical ways and means to do this job in accordance with the present time, situation and objective.

I have a programme for this job by the order of my spiritual master and I have come to Bombay to enlist some sympathisers with my object. Will your Lordship be kind enough to hear me for a few minutes and oblige?

Yours obediently,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta

letters | 03:29 |

1.6.09
1957: February 18  

Bombay

Sri K.M. Munshi
President of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay
Governor's Camp,
Lucknow-U.P.

Dear Sri Munshiji,

Please accept my greetings. I am thankful to you for your granting me an interview and accepting a few copies of my paper "Back to Godhead" which you have promised to go through at your leisure hours. And on reading the paper, I hope, you may be able to make an estimate of my mission in the matter of the Bhagavad-gita.

I heard it through reliable sources that you are a great admirer of the Bhagavad-gita and your Vidyalaya has a special department for preaching its philosophy. I came to Bombay from Vrndavana to co-operate with you, because there is no difference between the missions of both yourself and myself.

I also attended your meeting of the 16th instant on the subject of "What is the matter with the world?" I was very glad to know your opinion about it and so far I remember that you concluded to go back to Godhead which only can save the world from a disaster of civilization.

Actually that is the position. Men have forgotten their eternal relation with Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Some of them are so foolish as to think that everyone of them are so many Sri Krishnas or Gods although we know that God is one, one without a second. But there is no doubt in the fact that the man, nay every living entity, is a part and parcel of the Supreme God in quality; and therefore qualitatively there is no difference between living being and God. But so far quantity of energy and potencies are concerned, there is a great ocean of difference between living being and God.

Therefore, the right philosophy is that God is simultaneously one and different from the living being. Those, who therefore consider God and living beings are identical in every respect, are polluted in thought. This pollution of thought of the empiric and atheistic philosophers now prevailing practically all over the world, has caused a tremendous deterioration of human civilization as to become agnostics in dealings. Symptoms of this agnostic trend of human civilization is described in the 16th chapter of the Bhagavad-gita and I need not describe it before you.

Therefore the preaching of the Bhagavad-gita must be in the line of its parampara system as it is described in the 4th chapter of the book. If it is not done so, then such preaching of the Bhagavad-gita, even if it is done by the erudite scholars, will be a sheer waste of time, energy and money.

I wish, therefore, that you may co-operate with me in giving the idea an effective shape.

In this connection, I would like to draw your attention particularly to my papers (issue No.XI) "An essential service" and (Issue No. X "Sri Krishna the Supreme Vedantist". In this connection, I have already made an association registered, of which a short description is given on the 4th page of the issue No. X which, I hope, you will kindly note.

Some friend asked me to join your institution for preaching the cult of Bhagavad-gita; but if you find it difficult to accept my service, then I shall go on organizing my society separately. And if you advise me to do so separately, then I would request you to become a formal member of the League personally.

I hope you will not take my offering in an inferior complex but accept it in a spirit of love for the Bhagavad-gita. Om Tat Sat.

As I have been engaged in speaking of the Bhagavad-gita in your "Bhavan" for a few days, you may kindly send me the reply to the address given on the top of the first page. Om Tat Sat.

I am,

Yours sincerely,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta

letters | 03:05 |

30.5.09
1958: November  

Jhansi

My dear Brother,

Please excuse me if I have offended you by calling you my dear Brother. Actually you are my dear brother and when you know me you shall be pleased that I have called you as such.

You are my brother in relation to our common and Eternal Father the Almighty Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna the revealing Author of the great book of Philosophy "Bhagavad-gita." And from this book of transcendental knowledge, I have known that you and all other living entities, in whatever form they may be, are all my brothers.

But I know some other less intelligent brothers, who are now in the animal kingdom, will not be able to recognize me even if I address them as my dear brothers, for the reason of their being grossly enwrapped in material consciousness. But as you are a human being and as you have developed the consciousness of a human being, I have ventured to approach you and address you directly "My dear brother." Please therefore do not mistake my endeavor.

You may be, although I do not believe it, one of those other brothers who do not believe in the existence of any Person like Godhead our eternal Father. But if you so believe, I shall tell you that you are mistaken. Your conviction as such is due to your either being misled by another waylaid brother or due to your failure to make communion with our Eternal Father. You are not therefore in the right consciousness if you do not believe in Him.

I am prepared to convince you in every respect that there is our Eternal Father and He wants you and all of us to go back to our permanent home. If you argue that there is no such Father God at all, then I am still more prepared to argue with you in all seriousness. In that case you may kindly let me know your definite view points relevantly so that I may try to reply these points one by one.

And should you desire to argue with me, then my only request to you will be that for all such arguments we must be always very sincere and serious. Once we are convinced in that way, we must be prepared to act accordingly.

You may also argue that if there is any God at all, let Him be peacefully at His pleasure at any place He likes and we have no business with Him whatsoever. In that case I shall again say that you have every business with Him by re-establishing your forgotten eternal relation with Him.

Suppose you are a rich man's son and you have left your home, forgetting your father's property, home and happiness. And if some body gives you information about your paternal property of immense value which you can inherit by your birthright claim, will you neglect that friend? I am sure you will not. I am able to give you such important information.

I can challenge you that you are not happy in the present set up of your affairs. You may have in your possession your so called accumulated material wealth, health or happiness but still you are always feeling some insufficiency and frustration and thus you are not happy as you ought to have been. If you do not feel like this, then you must be either an abnormal man or a liberated saint or in gross ignorance of lower consciousness. Should you feel yourself abnormally happy, I shall ask you the following plain questions.

They are as follows:
1) Do you like to die?
2) Do you like to take your birth again?
3) Do you like to be an old man?
4) Do you like to be a diseased man?

I am sure you shall reply to all these questions by saying the only word "No." If you think yourself happy then have you solved all the above problems in any way? Have your vast resources of material knowledge helped you in solving these seemingly common but very big problems? Do you think that you shall ever be able to solve the above problems at any length of time? If you say so, I shall again call you in abnormal condition.

So do not become a madman in false conviction. Do not remain in ignorance for your problems. Be just like a fully developed conscious man and acknowledge that you have never been happy in the true sense of the term neither your ideal of happiness has ever been fulfilled.

The way in which you are seeking to be happy or trying to make others happy in your manufactured ideology--is called "Maya" or illusion. By such illusory way of making yourself and others happy, you have simply been credited with creation of much disturbances and entanglement for all concerned. That is the record of history of the material world. Empire may come and empire may go, the problems of life remains the same. Please therefore be cool headed and patiently ask within yourself if you are really happy.

The happiness which you are hankering after is possible to be attained as soon as you learn to introspect yourself within yourself. You are yourself your friend and you are yourself your enemy. You can raise yourself by your self effort and you can down yourself by the same effort. It is simply to know the direction and the way. In the right direction you can make yourself happy in the right way. Please therefore contact us and we shall help you to raise youself to your normal happiness. It is no dream neither any bluff.

You shall know yourself how far you have made progress in that path and our duty will be to help you only. Thinking that you shall be a prospective member of our League of Devotees, I am sending you herewith a copy of the Prospectus and I wish most sincerely that you should become an active member of this great institution.

Pay or pay not you can become a member without obligation and the League welcomes you always accepting you as the Divine child.

Yours Sincerely,
For the League of Devotees,
Abhay Charanarvinda Bhaktivedanta
Secretary.

letters | 04:49 |

24.5.09
1958: August 26  

Bombay

Sri Jugalkishore Birla,
Birla House,
Albukark Road,
New Delhi.

Dear Sir,

Please accept my respectful greetings. I beg to inform you that it is a matter of great satisfaction for us especially and for all generally that your honour is very sincerely anxious to preach the universal truth of Bhagavad-gita all over the world.

We know it also that you have spent much of you valuable energies for this purpose but so far it has not been to your satisfaction.

The purpose of the Bhagavad-gita can be preached only when it is taken up by real devotees of Krishna the Personality of Godhead.

One of the real devotees of Krishna was Arjuna during the appearance of Lord Krishna and as such the parampara of the Bhagavad-gita, which was broken prior to the occurrence of the battle of Kuruksetra, was reestablished at the battlefield and Arjuna was authorized to understand the purpose of the Bhagavad-gita. We should not miss this important point if we are serious about preaching the gospel of the transcendental literature.

As such it is understood in the beginning that one who does not follow the foot prints of Arjuna, cannot enter into the mystery of the Bhagavad-gita and therefore nobody can preach the gospel of Geeta without knowing its mystery.

There are thousands and one scholars in India and abroad but very few of them have followed the foot prints of Arjuna except the Vaisnava Acaryas such Sri Ramanuja, Sri Madhya, Lord Caitanya, Sridhara Swami, Madhusudana Sarasvati, Vishvanatha Cakravarti, Baladeva Vidyabhusana, etc. and many others who have followed the bonafide Acaryas.

The League of Devotees, is registered to train preachers and missionary workers for preaching the pure cult of the Bhagavad-gita not only in India but also throughout the whole world--exactly on the line of the bonafide Acaryas as it is recommended in the very Bhagavad-gita. And that is the right way to successful preaching of this Universal Truth for the benefit of all without any distinction of caste creed color or nationality.

Every one is open to approach the Personality of Godhead Krishna not only from the species of the human kind but also from the species of life other than the human kind. This is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gita. So far the system of Varnasrama is concerned it is no one's monopoly business and any qualified man can be classed in the Varna and Ashram as it is described in the Bhagavad-gita.

The cult of Hinduism or the system of Varnasrama are not being utilized in the spirit of the Bhagavad-gita and as such the abovementioned cult is waning day by day. We should take serious note of this kind of deterioration of the Arya Hindu Dharma and shall request you to come forward to help this institution determined to preach the pure cult of the Bhagavad-gita. You should not allow anymore the gross misuse of the cult of Sanatana Dharma at the risk of world peace and prosperity but come forward forward to co-operate with us in this noble mission and help us with all your strength.

I hope you will not misunderstand the position of the Acarya who is so important a figure in the matter of learning the transcendental science. The Acarya is the direct representative of the Personality of Godhead. And no body can claim to become a bonafide Acarya if he has not strictly followed the footprints of the previous Acaryas authorized in the matter. The whole thing has been disturbed in the set of Sanatana Dharma only by violating this principle of following the Acarya.

So far the Bhagavad-gita is concerned every one, let him be a very great scholar in the mundane sense, must be in confirmed position along with the mode of understanding of Sri Arjuna. That is the crucial point of testing an Acarya false or real Sri Arjuna is the first man to understand Geeta and the mode of his understanding is clearly defined in the Bhagavad-gita. So there is no difficulty in testing an Acarya whether he is false or bonafide.

Our determination is to preach the Bhagavad-gita strictly on that parampara system as it is recommended in the Bhagavad-gita.

In the last portion of the Bhagavad-gita the necessary qualification of understanding the Bhagavad-gita is clearly stated.

According to this formula of qualification one who does not accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead--is unable to understand the Bhagavad-gita.

Such devotees of Krishna are actually Mahatma. Such Mahatmas are very rare. They are seen always engaged in the transcendental service of the Lord especially in the preaching work of the Lord's glories in His different energies namely the material as well as the spiritual which are described in the Bhagavad-gita as the Para and the Apara Prakrtis.

These Mahatmas are always anxious to preach the universal message of peace mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita and it does not matter in whatsoever Ashram he belongs to. Arjuna was a householder Ksatriya and was fighting for the interest of the Lord and as such he was the first Acarya in the parampara line.

Arta, Artharthi, Jnani and Jijnasu are the beginners in the line of understanding the Geeta. The Mahatmas are above all these four classes of men and they are the post graduate men in the line. We know also the Ashuras who are divided into four classes namely the Duskrtinas, the Mudhas, the Naradhamas and the Foolish scholars. In order to preach the Bhagavad-gita we have to create the Mahatmas and not the Foolish Scholars who have unauthorizedly taken up the Bhagavad-gita without following the parampara line. That is an important point.

Please therefore join this League of Devotees and try to preach the Bhagavad-gita through the bonafide Mahatmas. Any one who follows strictly the footprints of Sri Arjuna is certainly a Mahatma. It does not mean that a red-dressed man is a Mahatma and a noble householder like your good self is otherwise. We can find out Mahatmas like Arjuna in the householder life also and in this age of Kali we should find out More Mahatmas in the householders life than in the other camp.

We are struggling very hard to give the mission a practical shape for want of money. It has not yet come to the point save and except publication of two papers only one in Hindi and the other in English. And if your good self joins, many other richmen of the world will certainly join.

The minimum expenditure is estimated to be Rs.3000.- a month to begin with. Three hundred members of this noble mission can at once raise this sum for training the preachers and other necessary expenditure.

Please therefore come forward and become the headman of this League. See that the money is properly being utilized and see the result also side by side. I am sure you will be encouraged to take interest in this missionary work more and more by the practical result of the work.

Awaiting your early reply and thanking you in anticipation.

For the League of Devotees,
Yours faithfully,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Founder Secretary.

letters | 04:44 |

20.5.09
1958: August 14  

Bombay

Padmabhushan Knight Commander,
Darshanacharya Dr. B.L. Atreya M.A. D.Litt etc.
Atrey Nivas, P.O. Hindu University,
Varanashi-5.

Dear Sir,

As you are a visiting professor to foreign countries on religious and philosophical mission, I am in need of your help for advancing the cause of my missionary activities. The programme in nutshell is enclosed herewith in an appeal form which please read and oblige. And on receipt of your reply to this letter, I shall send you my publications both in Hindi and English.

The whole idea is to preach the cult of Lord Caitanya who desired to bestow upon every living being the highest benefit by transcendental love of Godhead which alone can bring in peace in the world.

They are now very busy to bring in peace in the world and are continuously holding expensive conferences, meetings, summit talks etc. to make an effective peace movement but because such attempts are being made without any relation of God, they are all manifold creations of the External Potency of the Absolute Truth.

As an experienced philosopher this fact is not hidden before you. According to Lord Caitanya every Indian is competent to do good to the rest of the world provided such Indian has fulfilled the mission of life which is to revive the dormant divine consciousness in every living being.

The process recommended by the Lord is very simple and plain. It is just to create a favorable condition for hearing only the message of Krishna (Bhagavad-gita) or the messages about Krishna (The spiritual Bhagavatam) or both combined in the message of Sri Caitanya Caritamrta.

The hearing tendency is made easy and still more favorable by songs and music of spiritual value to be equally shared by all classes of men namely the highest educated and the lowest illiterate,. The movement is sublime and easy at the some time.

The League of Devotees is registered to make this movement in an organized way and I wish to enquire if any co-operation and help can be expected from your honour.

Awaiting your early reply and thanking you in anticipation.

Yours faithfully,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 03:39 |

18.5.09
1958: August 14  

Bombay

Sri Anand Prakash,
c.o Rai Sahib Madho Ram & Sons,
Nai Sarak,
Delhi.

Dear Sir,

As you are a gentleman in public welfare activities, I am in need of your help for advancing the cause of my missionary activities. The programme in nutshell is enclosed herewith in an appeal form which please read and oblige. And on receipt of your reply to this letter, I shall send you my publications both in Hindi and English.

The whole idea is to preach the cult of Lord Caitanya who desired to bestow upon every living being the highest benefit by transcendental love of Godhead, which alone can bring in peace in the world.

As an experienced philosopher gentleman of practicality this facet is not hidden before you. According to Lord Caitanya every Indian is competent to do good to the rest of the world. Provided such Indian has fulfilled the mission of life. And the mission of life is to revive the dormant divine consciousness in every living being.

The process recommended by the Lord is very simple and plain. It is just to create a favorable condition for hearing only the message of Krishna (The Bhagavad-gita) or the messages about Krishna (The Srimad-Bhagavatam) or both and I have therefore come to you for getting your co-operation. I hope you will not deny the co-operation.

The thing is that the living being is the part and parcel of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna and some way or other he (the living being) has come in contact with the material energy with an enjoying spirit to lord it over the material nature which spirit is a perverted reflection of the Absolute Enjoyer the Lord. In other words the living being due to his desire of becoming an imitation Lord of the material nature, he is suffering the effects of material energy in the shape of threefold miseries as a matter of police action of the strong material nature.

The foolish living being is trying to overcome the stringent laws of Nature by different plans which are being frustrated __ regular way. The last snare of Maya or the material __ is an offering of opportunity to become one with __ Absolute thereby misleading him (the __ perpetually to pull on the material bondage under different categories of life. He can only be saved from this turmoil by reviving his consciousness of surrender unto the Lord which only saves him from all effects of sin. That is the last instructions of the Bhagavad-gita.

Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who is Krishna Himself in the Form of a devotee preached the cult of the Bhagavad-gita for all practical purposes and benefit of the humanity at large. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that a person who takes the responsibility of preaching the Bhakti cult by all means is the most most favorite person of the lord. This mission has to be taken up in the modern light of understanding and for this purpose I have registered __ association of the name as above mentioned.

I wish that a personality like you may accept the head man ship of this institution and conduct the missionary work in a suitable manner befitting the time circumstances of the modern civilization. The old way of leaving the matter to the irresponsible class of men will not help the preaching work of this important mission.

Responsible gentlemen who are managing all other affairs, must also take up the responsibility of this branch of activity and then it will successful. The present world situation is too much entangled. It is the duty of all sane men to loosen the tightened condition by the simple method of Bhagavad-gita and the result is sure to be successful.

I hope you will take the matter very seriously and do some practical service for the satisfaction of the Lord.

Yours faithfully,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 04:49 |

16.5.09
1958: August 5  

Bombay

Per. Registered Post with A.D.
Sri Ratanshi Morarji Khatau,
Organizer of Bhagavata week
(22-7-58 to 28-7-58)
at (Vedanta Satsang Mandal)
55, New Marine Lines,
Bombay -1.

Dear Sir,

I beg to inform you that I am in recept of your invitation letter in the matter of observing Bhagavata week through the secretary of Bombay spiritual centre. As I know what sort of Bhagavata week can be observed by the Mayavadins for misleading the innocent public and therefore I not only restrained myself from attending the function but also I advised many others not to attend for the very reason that the recitation of holy Bhagavata is being performed by men who have no access in this great scripture in which only the liberated persons, who are freed from all pretentious religiosities, can take part.

The Mayavadins specially have no right to discuss Srimad-Bhagavatam Puranam for the only reason that they are aspiring after liberation (Moksa Vanohha). And Sripada Sankaracarya because He was the incarnation of Sankara, very carefully avoided to make any commentation on the holy Bhagavatam. Sripada Sankaracarya preached His Mayavada philosophy for bewidering the atheist class of men in order to confound them to become more and more atheist and thus suffer perpetually within the threefold miserable conditions of the material nature.

But because He was great devotee at heart He dared not to commit sacrilege by unauthorized commentation on the Bhagavatam for He knew it well that a person who aspires after Mukti or merge one's identity in the impersonal feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is debarred from the benefit of Srimad-Bhagavatam.

If you read Srimad-Bhagavatam from the beginning (which is absolutely necessary for a serious student) you will find what is spoken there in the 2nd sloka of the 1st chapter of the 1st Canto. It is clearly stated there that mundane religiosities, economic development, sense gratification and ultimately a frustrated man's desire to merge in the impersonal feature of Godhead and all similar other things are completely thrown away from the transcendental literature of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Sripada Sridhara Swami the most authorized commentator on the Bhagavatam has said that by the prefix of "PRA" in the sloka the desire of liberation (Moksa Vanohha) is also stopped herewith.

A person who is not a pure Vaisnava cannot understand Srimad-Bhagavatam. A mayavadi may pretend to become a so-called Vaisnava but because he cherishes at heart to merge into the Supreme, he is unable to develop the devotional cult which is a necessary qualification for understanding Srimad-Bhagavatam. And to qualify the Mayavadis and other common men who indulge in the mental speculative transactions, Srimad-Bhagavatam gives them instructions from the 1st to the 9th canto about the transcendental nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Unfortunately the cheap and unscrupulous professional readers of the Bhagavata or the Mayavadi misleaders in the garb of a renouncer indulge in the highest topic of Srimad-Bhagavatam described in the Rasa Panca Adhya. A person who is compact in mundane thought of material enjoyment will certainly be indulging in playing with poison if anyone, devoid of transcendental realisation playfully deals with the transcendental pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna.

Some friends who attended your Bhagavata week have told me how the pastimes of Lord Krishna was being wrongly interpreted in your organization on the pretext of saving Krishna from being an immoral personality. To save these foolish audiences in future Maharaja Pariksit had already asked Sripada Sukadeva Goswami to clear the Rasaleela activities of Lord Sri Krishna. The transcendental nature of Rasa Lila does not require to be apologised by any Mayavadi or mundane moralist.

The Lila is what it is. Srila Vyasadeva never desired that in future the real purpose of the Rasa Lila had to be explained by some mundane scholar with poor fund of knowledge. It does not require to be changed a bit but the only thing required in this connection is to qualify oneself in the matter of undergoing a strict spiritual training to realise the same transcendentally from the right sources.

In order to keep the Rasalila activities of the Lord intact Srila Sukadeva Goswami has already explained the matter in the Bhagavata 10th canto chapter 33 and slokas 29 to 39. I shall request you to go through them with special reference to the slokas Nos. 30,34 and 39. In the sloka No.30 it is forbidden that a mundane person should not indulge in hearing Rasalila or one should not hear Rasalila from a mundane person.

In your organization both the audience and the lecturer are mundane persons and their indulgence in the matter of Rasalila out of sheer foolishness will result in imitating Rudra who swallowed up an ocean of poison. There is nothing immorality in the transcendental activities of the lord neither it requires to be defended by any immoral man because simply by remembering the holy name of Krishna or by serving His lotus feet one can at once become a liberated person. (Bhag. 10.33.34)

Besides that the result of reading or hearing the Rasalila in the devotional mood is stated (Bhag. 30.33.39) to become culminated in complete disappearance of the devotee's lust disease in the heart. Persons who are not pure devotees and must have therefore an impure heart full with dirty things of mundane affairs will not only try to defend Rasalila by interpretations or decry the dealings but also shall be ruined as by drinking poison a man goes to hell.

I shall request you therefore not to mislead the people in general under the garb of religiosity and indulge in the transcendental pastimes of the Lord known by the name Rasa Panca Adhya. This society stands to rectify all these anomalies in the name of religion and I shall ask your good sense to join hands with us to stop all these nonsense. India's culture of spiritual value has an unique position and it has to be learnt by the human society in right earnest from the right sources.

As an Indian and a man of good sense with practical business-brain you should not at least indulge in such organization under the influence of unauthorized person. Instead of indulging in the organization of such unauthorized persons you may kindly learn the science from the authority and make your life enlightened and attain success of the boon of human form of life.

The League of Devotees is an organized effort to render this service to the human society without any pretentious conventions. We are publishing one paper of the name Back to Godhead to educate people in the right direction and I am sending herewith one pamphlet in which the opinions of several respectable gentlemen are inserted as to how they are being appreciated.

It is our duty to defend the cause of "Bhagavata" either by request or by legal action according to necessity and I hope you will understand us in our most responsible task.

Awaiting your early reply and thanking you in anticipation,

Yours faithfully,
A. C. B.

Enclosure-1.

letters | 03:05 |

15.5.09
1958: August 4  

Bombay

Pandit Sri Jawaharlal Nehru,
Prime Minister of India,
New Delhi-2

My dear Pandit Ji,

Please accept my respectful Namaskar. I beg to inform you that your speech on 2.8.58 at the Gurukul University Haridwar, has given me some inspiration to inform you something about Indian culture. The basic principle of Indian culture is spiritualism which defies the external attraction of phenomenal materialism.

You are thinking of adjusting western ways of material adjustment with Indian culture of spiritualism and I beg to give you herewith the clue that materialism conducted with an aim of reaching spiritual perfection, is the right adjustment of human activity.

If the aim of spiritual realisation is missed, the whole plan of materialism is sure to be frustrated and that is the law of Nature. The law of nature is so made by a superior authority and no body can surpass the intricacies of material nature simply by partial adjustment of material science.

The history of the West beginning from the time of the Greeks and the Romans down to the modern age of atomic war--is a continuous chain of sense gratificatory materialism and the result is that the westerners were never in peace within the memory of 3000 years of historical records. Neither it will be possible for them at any time in future to live in peace till the message of spiritualism just suitable to the present age does not reach their heart.

Therefore India may not waste her time in imitating the western way of life. You have admitted it that the position of India's culture is of very high order. But at the same time you want to bring in material prosperity of India by scientific advancement of knowledge.

And what is that scientific Knowledge? Spiritualism is also advanced scientific knowledge. Material advancement of scientific knowledge cannot give even the desired material prosperity to the people in general without spiritual help. Swaraj of Mahatma Gandhi was adjusted in spiritualism more than materialism.

Do you think that horseless carriage or telephonic or radio communication or any other such ephemeral facilities of life, can bring in material prosperity? No it cannot. Material prosperity means that the people must have sufficient to eat or to maintain the body and soul together in sound health for further development in spiritual consciousness which is conspicuous by its absence in the sense gratificatory life of the animal.

Do you think that your different plans have brought in that standard of material prosperity or that modern western civilization can bring in that ideal prosperity? Even they are given all the facilities of material need yet the unrest will continue to go on till there is spiritual satisfaction of life. That is the secret of peace.

Both the Americans and the Russians are better materially advanced and although they have different political philosophy of life till they are not materially happy and peaceful because both of them are unconciously hankering after spiritual realisation as the child cries for the mother without expression by language.

You can help the people of the world for satisfying their spiritual hankering as the true Indian messenger of peace. The world has recognized your sincere effort for endeavouring peace in the world and this is the suitable time to help your friends and at the same time glorify the standard of Indian spiritual advancement of knowledge for world peace. Please take up the matter in cool brain.

Poverty means poverty of knowledge. Prime minister Canakya Pandit used to live in a thatched house or cottage but he was the dictator of India in the days of Emperor Candra Gupta. Mahatma Gandhi your political Guru voluntarily accepted the ways of the so called poor Indians and still he was the dictator of India's destiny.

But was he actually poverty sticken on account of his plain living with the primitive charkha? He was always proud of his spiritual knowledge. Therefore it is the spiritual knowledge which makes a man really rich and not the radio set or the motor car.

Please therefore try to understand this position of Indian culture and try to give it to the western brothers in the prescribed standard method of the liberated persons and that will be an exchange of Indian culture with western material advancement and necessarily bring in a happy life in the peaceful world.

Here is a programme of spiritual movement (an appeal enclosed herewith). I am struggling alone very hard to give it an effective shape without any help from persons like you. You can help the movement a lot without the least difficulty or disturbances.

My humble advice to you, as I am your old friend from Allahabad, is that you should now take leave from yoru present responsibility of Prime ministership and as you are a popular gentleman of the world you can just engage the rest of your most valuable life in this organized spiritual movement to achieve the aim of your life which is yet to be known by the __ the world.

By pushing on this authorized spiritual movement you can make a real adjustment of the western material science combined with Indian way of spiritual realisation. Please therefore think over this proposal very seriously and let me know your reaction upon it and oblige.

If you can spare a little time, I am sure to convince you about its importance more quickly. Thanking you in anticipation and awaiting your early reply.

Yours sincerely,
A. C. B.

Private letter per registered post
Enclosure:-1.

letters | 04:06 |

12.5.09
1958: August 2  

Bombay

My dear Harbanslal Ji,

I am very glad to learn that you have now gone to foreign countries for tour on business as well as cultural mission and I hope that you are enjoying there both your good health as well as the trouting experience.

We had a German friend Indian domiciled for the last 20 years who is a great scholar in several languages. He used to say that in Germany specially, wherever an Indian goes specially the student, the Germans receive him well in the proportion of his Indian cultural knowledge. Scholars and thinkers in Europe specially in Germany and Russia know it well that for learning about cultural knowledge, no body can surpass the Indians who have a background of centuries engaged in spiritual investigation.

According to Indian way of thought, every one is advised to do good to others namely not only to the human society but also to living beings other than human being. The Indians are not cow worshippers as others wrongly interpret it, but the Indians are gratitudeful to the species of cow for supplying milk to the human babies and the sentiment is so fine that simply for supplying milk the cow is accepted as one of the seven mothers. That is called Indian cultural mission.

We should learn to look upon every living being as our own brother and treat him in that love. Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy began from this philosophy of universal brotherhood which is not restricted to the human kind but to all the species of life. That is the sign of real intelligence. In the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that a learned man looks upon a well educated Brahmin who is well behaved by education and so also upon a candala who is accustomed to eat the dogs.

And what is the purport of this equal vision? The purport is that we should look upon every one as the spark of the Supreme Brahman and we should not look upon the outer dress which every one has to give up one birth after another. I hope you will preach this Indian way of thinking every where in the foreign countries wherever you will have the opportunity. I think that people need this Indian message in this hour of necessity when the atomic bomb is hovering over the head of the human society.

You know that I am attached with one cultural mission of the name of the League of Devotees as well as Indian cultural Congress which is trying to broad caste this message of Paropakara. The standard of Paropakara should be such as will be useful both in the current life as well as life after death. Every sane man thinks of Paropakara in that way. Temporary sense gratification is not real Paropakara.

Please therefore begin these Paropakara activities in the foreign countries as you have gone there. I think your going there is another __ preaching the Indian culture as above mentioned. I shall be glad to be in touch with you by correspondence so that I may be giving you my humble suggestion for this service.

By the by by I may inform you that, as you know I am passing my days in Bombay in great inconvenience for want of a suitable residential place. I may remind you in this connection that your goodness promised me some place in your flats as soon as one of them is vacant. I understand that some are going to be vacated soon and I shall request you to help me by giving me a flat and thus mitigate my difficulties. A flat with minimal

[PAGE MISSING]

letters | 04:19 |

10.5.09
1958: July 28  

Bombay

My dear Sri Ved Prakash Ji,

With reference to my interview with you yesterday, I beg to inform you that the cause of our difference of opinion is based on the fact that you have got you own opinion in the matter of preaching our spiritual culture in the foreign countries but so far I am concerned I am conducted by the order of a superior authority and liberated person. My spiritual master Om Visnupada Sri Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja wanted it and I am just trying to serve Him without any personal whim.

If you would have co-operated with me you could do so for the satisfaction of spiritual master as abovementioned and that was a chance to serve a real representative of the Lord. I was glad to hear your regard for the world preachers like Christ etc and I can see in you a desire for real service to the suffering men.

Here is a chance for you and if you like you can utilize this opportunity for your as well as many other's benefit. It is not imagination nor self compliance but it is fact. I found you a good soul and therefore I did propose it to you but if you refuse co-operation then what I can do. Even Sri Krishna cannot compel one for co-operation because every living being is given full chance of utilizing independent views. The human form of life although temporary it has a great value for utilizing for the service of the Supreme.

The Supreme is everything but everything is not the Supreme. The stomach can digest foodstuff for all the sense organs but all the parts of the body is not the stomach. This philosophy of acintya bhedabheda tattva was preached by Lord Caitanya for world welare. It is our duty to help its practical preaching by all efforts. Nobody is competent to interpret on the Sastras by one's whim. It is science it has to be learnt from the proper sources.

Sri Krishna is not a man in flesh and blood and His Lila was not meant for interpretation by any mundane scholar. There is way to learn it and unless we have it our energy will be spoiled only by attending any layman's hypocrisy. I had a mind to say you something about it but you have denied my co-operation and I have nothing to say about it.

I hope you will think over this in your leisure hours and oblige.

Thanks.

Yours faithfully,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 05:06 |

8.5.09
1958: July 28  

Bombay

Dear Mr. Banerjee,

Please accept my Namaskara. As advised by you the other day I went to see Mr. Mangumal at Kalvadevi but he did not entertain the idea of missionary work. I talked with him and found him perfect gentleman but he has spiritual realisation of the lowest rank.

According to Bhagavata a person who is attracted by the Arcana Marga without any knowledge of the science of Vaisnavism is called the Kanistha adhikari Vaisnava. He has of course honoured me with Rs.11.- and a glass of milk for which I have thanked him very much but mission is not fulfilled.

I beg to inform you that one gentleman has allowed me to sit down in his office for propaganda work in Bombay city and I am seeking your help in this matter. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's message of universal love and fellow feeling requires to be preached in an organized manner and we Bengalis the countrymen of Lord Caitanya have a responsibility for this transcendental task.

Some years ago Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja my spiritual master attempted to preach this message throughout the world but unfortunately after His departure the movement was not carried by the entrusted successors. I am feeling for it and I have come to Bombay for organizing this movement.

Respectable gentlemen specially the Bengali community may come forward first so that others will automatically follow the suit. The modern set of human civilization is an anachronism and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's message only can adjust the things all over the world. It is not blind conviction but actually this a fact which can be judged if people will make an analysis of the mercy bestowed by Lord Caitanya.

The whole world is looking for it and it will be a credit for the Indians generally and he Bengalis specially if they can give the message to the suffering humanity in the right direction as chalked out by the authorized Acaryas.

I wish to talk with you in detail and shall be glad to know if you can spare some convenient time for this. Also I shall be more glad to speak on the teachings of Lord Caitanya amongst your selected friends if such a meeting is organized at your or any other suitable place.

Thanking you in anticipation and awaiting your reply.

Yours sincerely,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 05:00 |

3.5.09
1958: July 24  

Bombay

Seth Mangumal Amarsingh
345, Kalvadevi Road, 4th Floor,
Bombay.

Dear Sir,

I beg to inform you that Sri Sanjib Banerji manager of the United Bank of India, has advised me to see you between 1 to 2 p.m. and he has told me that he had telephonic conversation with you about me.

I have come from Vrindaban on a missionary purpose and the necessary papers in this connection are enclosed herewith. Please find. Sri Banerji has spoken very high about your good-self that you are highly interested in the matter of propagating the cult of devotion and the message of Vrindaban.

The present Vrindaban city is the excavation of the six Gosvamis headed by Srila Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis who were deputed by Lord Caitanya to re-establish the Bhakti cult and inexecution of the order of Lord Caitanya the six Gosvamis lived there made a vast research in the Sastras and left behind them a vast literatures of pure Bhakti cult to be broadcast all over the world by later Acaryas.

As such my Spiritual Master Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Goswami Maharaja made a great effort to execute the order of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and we were fortunate enough to meet Him for service. Apart from his various uncommon activities in the line, He was kind enough to order me to propage the same cult in English language to preach the cult in the foreign countries and in obedience to His order I am trying to do my bit. What I have done so far will be spoken by the enclosed papers.

But I am practically struggling very hard for this job without any tangible success till Sri Sanjib Banerji has told me that you are the right person to co-operate with me in this noble task for propagating the Bhakti cult and combined in the message of Sri Caitanya Caritamrta.

The hearing tendency is made easy and still more favorable by songs and music of spiritual value to be equally shared by all classes of men namely the highest educated and the lowest illiterate. The movement is sublime and easy at the same time.

The League of Devotees is registered to make this movement in an organized way and I wish to enquire if any co-operation and help can be expected from your honour.

Awaiting an early reply and thanking you in anticipation.

Yours faithfully,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 03:53 |

2.5.09
1958: July 7  

Bombay

My dear Sri Ved Prakash,

I am in due receipt of your letter No VP 1159.58 D.2.7.58 with thanks and have noted the contents carefully.

I quite appreciate your feelings for the people of India. But when we speak of humanity it does not necessarily mean Indian only neither it may be restricted within the human society even. "Paropakara" or humanity is meant for all the 84 lacs varieties of living beings. Lord Caitanya said "Praminam Upakaraya" i.e. to say for the benefit of all living being concerned.

Then there is the question of opportunity also. While rendering first aid service in the battlefield the Red cross men although equally disposed to all the wounded soldiers--they give first preference to the hopeful ones. The hopeless ones are sometimes neglected. This is a crude example only.

In India, even after the attainment of Swaraj, the mentality is predominent by "Made in London" ideas. It is a long story. But in nutshell the Leaders of India in the name of secular Government they have engaged themselves in everything foreign. They have carefully set aside the treasure house of India's spiritual asset and they are imitating the westernised material way of life constantly engaged in the acts of error of judgement, misgivings, imperfectness and duplicity.

India's vedic knowledge is above all the conditional defects mentioned above but we Indians at the present moment have neglected such wonderful vedic knowledge. It is due to its improper handling now. The whole vedic literatures namely Vedas and Upanisads are summarized in the Vedanta Sutra which includes the purport of the six Indian philosophical thesises of Kanda, Gautama, Kapila, Patanjali, Astavedya and Vedic Rsis.

This Vedanta Sutra was compiled by Srila Vyasadeva and by the advice of His Spiritual master Srila Narada--Vyasadeva wrote a commentation of the Vedanta Sutra by compiling Srimad-Bhagavatam. So Srimad-Bhagavatam is the last gift of Srila Vyasadeva to represent an authorized commentation of the Vedanta Sutra and Lord Caitanya's mission is to preach this cult in every corner of the world in order to make the people really happy. This Vedanta Sutra is now mishandled in India by unauthorized persons of different camps and as such the people are being misguided.

Newly sprung up national enthusiasm of the Indian leaders, Industrialists and plan makers, has no time neither desire to understand the message of Vedanta Sutra or even the Bhagavad-gita. You cannot do acts of humanity without proper guidance. The Vedanta Sutra is the proper guidance because the sastra "Athata Bramajijnasa" is the beginning of an inquiry in the essence of our different engagements.

So my idea of preaching in the foreign countries means that they are rather fed up with material advancement of knowledge. They are seeking the message guidance of the Vedanta Sutra or for the matter of the Bhagavad-gita in an authorized way.

And I am sure that India will again go back to the Vedantic life when the principle is accepted by the Europeans, Americans etc because the Indian people are now in the habit of begging, after neglecting their own property.

That was my view point. But all the same we must take only the opportunity of service without any limitation of time and space. More when we meet.

Hope, now you may have returned from Calcutta.

Yours etc.

letters | 04:51 |

15.4.09  



Thank you for your support.


- Vicaru das

letters | 18:39 |

4.4.09
1960: September 18  

Delhi

[From the Visitors' Book]
SRI SRI RADHA KRISHNA TEMPLE
2430 Chipi Wada Kalan

I am pleased to write herein that I have come to Delhi from my H.Q. 1.859 Kesi Ghat, Vrindaban (U.P.) purely on spiritual mission to propagate the cult of devotional service of the Lord. And I am more pleased to mention herewith that Sriman Sri Krishna Sharma, Haribhaktan das, has provided me with a suitable room for my literary activities.

I am publishing an English fortnightly magazine of the name "Back-To-Godhead" from this place and the Nawal Prem Shabha of which Sri Krishnaji is the Hony Secretary is arranging for my daily lectures on Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Late Pandit Jyoti Prasad Sharma father of Sri Krishnaji was also known to me and during his life lime whenever I used to come to Delhi, Late Pandit Jyoti Prasadji would provide me with residential place. His good son is also following the foot prints of his noble father and as secretary of the Nawal Prem Sabha, he is doing good service in propagating Rama Nama all over the city.

In my opinion temples are centres for educating the public in spiritual values and I have a mission to organize all temples for that spiritual education. Temples are not meant for ordinary householders engaged simply in the matters of animal propensities. Those who are actually engaged in the service of the Lord Deity, the predominator of the temple; can only be allowed to remain in the temple, otherwise not.

Anyway so far I have been well treated both by Sri Krishnaji the Secretary and Sri Prabhatilal along with his son Sitaram--care taker of the temple.

I wish all improvement of this spiritual establishment and I have full cooperation with the authorities concerned for this purpose.

At last I must thank Sriman Hari Bhaktanudas Sri Krishnaji Sharma for his kindly providing me with a place for conducting my activities in the service of the Lord and without his help in this way it would have been an impossible task for me to start the paper Back-to-Godhead.

I am waiting for the inauguration of the Bhagavata class proposed to be held in the temple daily.

I am in the service of the Lord
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Editor, Author, & Preacher in Transcendental Science

letters | 05:46 |

2.4.09
1960: March 28  

Delhi

Dr. Y.G. Naik M.Sc., Ph.D.,
Principal Gujarat College,
Dean, Faculty of Science,
Gujarat University Ahmedabad

Dear Dr. Naik,

Your letter dated 20 March 1960 redirected from my Hd Qrs. (Vrindaban) is duly in hand and I am very much encouraged to go through the contents which are full of valuable informations. The subject matter discussed in my article under reference is authorized as far as it refers to the conclusion of Geeta.

I may also inform you that my concept of anti-matter is exactly what you call it anti-material. Technically it may be that I could not express the exact word used by the physicist but I have tried to explain the word anti-matter in the light and sense of what you say as anti-material which is spirit. But spirit is not apara as you have pointed out.

In the Bhagavad-gita The Supreme Truth or the Absolute Personality of Godhead is the transcendental purusha and the two energies namely para and apara are emanations from Him. The Apara or the Inferior material energy may consist of many other elements like matter, anti-matter, proton, electron, neutron etc. in terms of physical science but according to the authority of the Bhagavad-gita--all of them are produced of the inferior energy called by the name Apara Prakrti.

The Apara Prakrti consists of gross and subtle matters like mind, ego and intelligence. Spirit is transcendental to all these. The spiritual energy para Prakrti is simultaneously one and different from the spirit whole. Qualitatively they are one but quantitatively they are different. The Brahman Ray is the effulgence of the Supreme Person.

You have defined impersonal Brahman as the Divine Energy. I fully agree with you in pursuanee of its description in the Brahman Samhita, I am going to publish in the next issue an article of the name "Variety of Planetary System" in which there is reference from the Brahma Samhita.

According to the Bhagavata Puranam the Supreme Truth is realised in three stages namely the Impersonal Brahman or the Nirakara Absolute. The Paramatma or the localized aspect of Brahman. The neutron part of the atom may be taken as the representation of Paramatma who enters into the atom also. It is described in the Brahma-samhita.

But ultimately the Supreme Divine Being is realised as the Supreme Person all attractive (Krishna) with full and inconceivable potencies of opulence, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. The six potencies are fully exhibited by Sri Rama and Sri Krishna when He descends before the human being. Only a section of the human being who are unalloyed devotees could recognize Him on the authority of revealed scriptures but others are bewildered under the influence of material energy.

The Absolute Truth is therefore the Absolute Person without an equal or high competitor Personality. Impersonal Brahman Rays are the rays of His body transcendental as much as the sun rays are emanations from the sun planet.

According to the Visnu Puranam the material energy is called Avidya or nescience which is exhibited in the fruitive activities of sense enjoyment. But the living being belongs to the group of anti-material energy or spiritual energy while he has the tendency of being illusioned and trapped by the material energy for sense enjoyment.

In this sense the living being is the positive energy whereas the matter is the negative energy. The matter does not develop without being in contact with the superior spiritual or anti-material energy which is directly part and parcel of the spirit Whole.

Any way the subject matter of this spiritual energy exhibited by the living being is undoubtedly very complicated thing for an ordinary man. The ordinary man is therefore astounded in the subject. Sometimes he partially understands it through the imperfect senses and sometimes he fails to know it altogether.

The best thing is therefore to hear the grave subject matter from the highest authority Sri Krishna or His devotee representative coming down in the chain of disciplic succession. Bhagavad-gita is the essence of all the Upanisads and Vedanta.

I am glad to note that you have got the highest estimation for Gita. I am just trying to present the conclusion of Gita to the world as it is and without any imperfect compromise with speculative interpretations. We have to learn the lessons of Gita from the authorized disciplic succession as it is advised there in the book (4th Ch.). Unfortunately every one not in that line tries to explain Gita in his own way and this process is misguided the people. We have to counteract this disruptive tendency and put them at right.

I shall be very glad if you join my mission (The League of Devotees) and on receipt of your favorable reply I shall send you the prospectus. An erudite scholar like you should join and help in this noble attempt. Your appreciation of India's cultural heritage is very much enlivening for me.

Let us jointly distribute this great cultural heritage to the world at large in an organized manner and through the recommended process of Divine Love propagated by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Please try to help me as far as possible. Awaiting your reply with interest.

Hope you are well.

Yours sincerely,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 04:40 |

16.3.09
1961: November 5  

Delhi

Sri Pramatha Natha Roy
140.A Raja Dinusta Street
Calcutta-4.

Handed over the manuscript of Shi Caitanya Mahaprabhu for printing in a three forms book on the occasion of Sri Srimat Sakhi Charan Das Babaji Maharaja's first disappearance ceremony.

If not printed the same is to be sent back to Delhi per registered post.
If printed he will send me at least 100 copies for distribution here.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 04:35 |

12.3.09
1961: April 20  

Delhi

Dear Mr. Nakano,

In continuation of my Reg letter of the 18th instant I beg to inform you that on 20.4.61 I have received the reply from the government which reads as follows.

I have therefore sent you today the following cable which I beg to confirm herewith.

As you have developed a deep love for me, I dare to ask you to send me financial help to take me to Japan. I think you can immediately instruct your Embassy in Delhi to do the needful and dispatch me to Japan on your behalf. I am feeling too much to meet you and the Congress so that we can build up a solid institute for spiritual cultivation.

I shall await your instruction by cable to fix up my programs.

letters | 04:31 |

9.3.09
1961: April 18  

Delhi

Dear Mr. Nakano,

I am in due receipt of your letter of the 9th instant and I am grateful to you for all that you have said for me. I am a humble creature and I am just trying to do my bit in this connection because I was so ordered by my Spiritual Master Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja.

As desired by you I have, immediately on receipt of your letter, sent two letters by air mail to the two respective Mayors of your country. The copy of the letter is also enclosed herewith as you desired me to do.

While I am feeling too much ecstasy for the reception arrangement you are doing for me, I beg to inform you that my passage expenses which is near about Rs 3500.- not yet settled.

I submitted one application to the Govt. of India for help and the copy of my application is also sent herewith. I also wrote a private letter to Dr.S. Radhakrishnan in this connection and the reply which I have received is also enclosed herewith.

All these are not very encouraging for me. I therefore saw the Vice President to day personally but he says the same thing as he has written in his letter. Although the matter is not yet hopeless altogether I am disturbed in my mind thinking what shall I do in case the Govt. denies to help.

I am therefore seeking your good advice in this connection. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan said to me that you had also invited him to attend your congress and he opines that the passage expenses might have been paid by you.

The hope and expectation of the Congress is undoubtedly very great and I wish that I may fully utilize this opportunity for general welfare of the entire human society. I have fully explained my views authoritatively in my statements already sent to you for publication and the gist idea is expressed in the letter of the Mayors the copy of which is also enclosed.

As a Sannyasi I have no personal purse for expenditure. Under the circumstances if the Government denies to help for the passage then I will have to ask for the same from you otherwise my going to the congress will end in dream only. I have very little faith in the dealings of the politicians and specially of the Indian politicians.

From the conversation of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan it appeared to me that the Govt. does not approve of such congress as are organized by private persons and as such they do not participate in such congress. I shall wait for their final decision for one week more when the matter will be clear, yes or no.

You have requested to send you my photograph and personal history and thank you for this. I am sending herewith some cuttings of photograph (Present) which appeared in the press. If these are not suitable for your purpose, then you can get a fresh bromo-copy from the original negative which also is being sent herewith.

Regarding my personal history I beg to state it shortly as follows: I was born 1st September 1896 in Calcutta as the third son of my father Late Gaura Mohon Dev and mother late Rajani Devi in the family of one of very respectable Gold merchant aristocracy of Calcutta. I was educated in the Scottish Churches College (B.A. 1920) and Netaji Subhas Candra was my college mate.

I left education influenced by Mahatma Gandhi in 1921 and joined for some time in the national liberation and other social service movements. I was secretary of the Social Union movement of which Late Mr. J. Choudhury Bar-at-law was the president. In this movement there was a great stir for intercaste marriage in favor of Patel's (Vithalbhai) bill. I was married during my student life in 1918 with Radharani Devi and she is in Calcutta with her sons and daughters five children and a few grand children also.

After my education I was appointed (1921) as the Asst. Manager of Dr. Bose's Laboratory Ltd of Calcutta and then engaged myself in my personal business in the chemical line. I was a research student in chemical and medicinal composition and for the first time in India, I introduced Gadine preparation in the medical profession.

I met my spiritual master Late Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami in 1922 and he desired me to preach in the foreign countries the spiritual movement started by Lord Caitanya for enlightenment of all materialistic men all over the world. He gradually turned my mind from matter to spirit and I was accepted as his disciple in 1933 after full association of ten years.

He left this world in 1936 and insisted to explain the mission in English. I started my paper Back to Godhead in 1944 and left home for good entirely to execute the order of my spiritual master in 1954. Since then my H.Q. is at Vrindaban and devote in literary work.

[PAGE MISSING]

letters | 04:24 |

6.3.09
1961: April 15  

Delhi

Dear Sir,

I beg to inform you that I have very kindly been invited by the noble Japanese organizers of the International Congress for Cultivating Human Spirit, to be held in your different important cities. I am an Indian Vaisnava Sannyasi dedicated to the cause of spiritual upliftment of the human society. I have therefore taken up the cause of the ensuing congress in your country and wish to meet you conveniently when I am in Japan.

Present advancement of material civilization, in the opinion of the Indian sages, is going in the wrong way because it has neglected the spiritual side of human constitution. All living beings are spiritual sparks covered by material encagement. In his pure spiritual form a living being eternal, cognizant and blissful, but being covered by matter he is suffering threefold miseries of material existence.

The human form of life is the highest developed stage in the evolutionary process and thus a civilization based on spiritual culture is the right type of human civilization.

The human being must know what he is, where from he has come what is the position after death; why we are suffering threefold miseries of life; what is the ultimate goal of life; what is this cosmic universe; what is matter and what is spirit; which of them is superior etc. There are so many things to be learnt by the human being.

Unfortunately, the present human society by the advancement of scientific knowledge, has manufactured lethal weapons to kill and destroy. They have no discovery for living and building peaceful and progressive life. The world has no information for the great problems life.

I am very glad that some of your noble countrymen have taken notice of this defective civilization and have very timely invited this important congress with a future idea of forming an international body like the United Nations Organization not for conflict but for HARMONY.

I am very glad to know this and I am anxious to meet you and render my full cooperation in this great, important and noble endeavour for welfare of the entire human society. I hope this noble movement will unite the communists and the capitalists alike for the common goal of life which still remained veiled for want sufficient intelligent class of men.

I wish, therefore, that in this congress a combination of the most intelligent personalities of all nations shall unite together and teach the prople in general, ignorant in spiritual knowledge, that:
(1) Human life is based on spiritual ground
(2) Spirit is separate superior element than matter and
(3) by spiritual culture of life only the human society can be brought into perfection.

This perfection of life will help also in building up the next progressive life after death. The human society is meant for liberal cooperation for this movement of all round perfection of the human society without any bar for class or nation or dogmatic faith. Spiritual culture is not dogmatic faith but it is based on philosophy, reason and culture. This can be introduced very easily through convenient methods of music, dance and refreshment which are acceptable by all grades of human being in all parts of the world.

It requires only to be organized by combined effort of the intelligent class of men of all nations. I have tried to explain the human cultural synopsis in fifty pictographical explanation and I wish that these pictographical explanations may widely be distributed. The sponsors of the Congress have taken charge of this and I hope they will do the needful.

Without spiritual culture a human society is another polished edition of the animals. There is no value of education in the animal society as the trained up loon in a circus is never to be trusted. The lion is not trusted because it cannot assimilate spiritual knowledge. But a man is able to take up this knowledge and his formation of the brain is meant for it. It is nothing extraordinary for him because he is prepared for this culture and is awaiting proper administration only.

The ways and means were envisaged by the liberated souls and especially by the sages of India and I proud to feel that Lord Buddha happened to be an Indian and we worship Him as incarnation of Godhead. His holy name is mentioned in the Vedic literature like Bhagavata. We can take help from the Bhagavata the cream and ripen fruit of the Vedic literature and stop at once the quarrel and turmoil of the present world.

I hope that your honour along with other thoughtful men of your great country will give full attention to this movement and I am always with you for rendering my humble service for this cause.

I hope this will meet you alright and more when we meet.

Yours in the service of the Lord.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

N.B. A similar letter by air is also sent to:
Mr. Teruta Kunito
Mayor of Takamatsu City
Takamatsu City, Shikoku Island, Japan

letters | 04:19 |

5.3.09
1961: April 1  

Delhi

Mr. Toshihiro Nakano
Secretary General
International Foundation for Cultural Harmony.
P.O. BOX No. 43, Numazi City
Japan

Dear Mr. Toshihiro Nakano,

I beg to inform you that while I was on tour a letter from you was received in the office and it was sent to me on my tour. Unfortunately the same is missing and I shall be obliged if you please send me a copy of the same by return post.

The subject matter of your letter under reference was, however, noted and as such I have dispatched to your address one copy of EASY JOURNEY TO OTHER PLANETS and the pictographical explanation of spiritual culture 21 typed pages per separate air mail book-post (Regd). Kindly acknowledge receipt and oblige. I have sent you about 20 pictographical illustrative ideas and explanations.

There are more 30 also but considering that you may feel difficulty to get all these 50 pictures printed and published within such short time, I have sent you only 20 pictographical ideas. But if you think that I can send you the remaining 30 pictographical explanations also, you may let me know at once and I shall do the needful.

For the present I have come to Delhi from Vrindaban and am staying at the above camp address. You can therefore address for the time being at my abovementioned camp address.

My small booklet Easy Journey to Other Planets is a novel step towards the path of cultivating Human spirit. The Russian scientists are trying to reach other planets by sputniks but such attempt is more or less utopian. There are innumerable planets, within the visible sky and each of them have different climatic conditions. Human being of this planet can hardly adjust with the climatic conditions of other planets even if he is able to reach there by the sputniks.

The easy method is suggested in my book which is called Bhakti-yoga easy to be performed by any layman in any part of the world. By such practice of Bhakti-yoga one can reach even the spiritual sky which is far far away from this material sky. But the propagation of Human Spiritual Culture, your institution the International Foundation for Cultural Harmony, can teach all the people of the world about the easy method of Bhakti-yoga which can carry the practitioner to any other planets even up to the spiritual sky.

They are all results of cultivating Human Spirit. And if you take up the matter seriously, I can help you also very seriously in cooperation with all important gentlemen who will arrive at Japan from every corner of the world. Please therefore think of a programme for execution by your good Foundation.

My advance copy of speech, which I have already sent you, together with the pictographical explanation, may be formed into one book and the pictures may be drawn in colorful expressive tone by your good Japanese artist. Japan is famous for artistic work and India is famous for spiritual culture. We should now combine together for uplifting the unhappy human being from the muddy things of gross materialism.

The Book may be published under the auspices of your good foundation and if you like it we can publish many other books for cultivating Human spirit.
When I go to Japan I shall carry with me some important mss of my works and if possible we shall get them published for every one's benefit.

After the session of your organized session of the Congress I wish to make an extensive tour in Japan, China and U.S.A. for preaching the Cult of Human Spirit and I shall be glad if you consider this proposal with due importance.

All great sages of the world like Lord Krishna, Lord Buddha, Lord Christ, Hazrat Mohammed, Acarya Sankara, Acarya Ramanuja, Lord Caitanya, all lived for enlightening men on this culture of Human spirit. And men like us should follow their footprints for all round welfare of the human society. Your Foundation has rightly taken up the cause in due time and I have my full cooperation with you.

Hope you are well.

Thanking you in anticipation for an early reply.

Yours sincerely,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 04:13 |

3.3.09
1961: March 31  

Delhi

Deputy Manager,
The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd.
Scindia House, Dougall Road
ballard estate, Bombay-1.

Dear Sir,

Kindly refer to your letter No. OPD.FREE.369 dated 30.12.58 and I beg to inform you that you agreed to give me 50% concession from India to U.S.A. and I had to postpone my journey for not being able to pay you even 50% charges. I am a Sannyasi and my expenses for propagting the transcendental message is borne by the philanthrophist every where.

Recently I have been invited by the Japanese friends to attend an international Congress for Cultivating Human spirit and the copy of the invitation certificate will speak for itself.

I shall therefore request you to give me full concession for going and coming back from Japan. India has to teach the world for cultivating human spirit and we are meant for this purpose. Please therefore cooperate with us broadcasting the message of cultivating human spirit and increase India's original culture of spiritual value for which counties outside India are always eager to have it.

An early reply to my above camp address will enable me to arrange for my journey to Japan.

Thanking you in anticipation,

Yours faithfully,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami


True Copy. Certificate.
From the International Foundation for Cultural Harmony.
PO Box No.43, Numazi City, Japan.

To Whom it may concern.

This is to certify that Sri A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami 1.859, Kesi Ghat P.O. Vrindaban (Mathura) U.P. India, is a bonafide visitor to the "CONGRESS FOR CULTIVATING HUMAN SPIRIT" will be held under the auspices of the International Foundation for Cultural Harmony from the 10th May through the 24th May this year 1961 at the important places in Japan.

It is understood that lodging and boarding arrangements during the period will made and payed by us.
It would be a great favor if necessary passport and a visa to visit Japan are passed to him to make his arrival in Japan before the 10th May 1961.

sd.-Toshihiro Nakano
General Secretary
International Foundation for Cultural Harmony

N.B. Japan is far nearer than U.S.A. and therefore your sacrifice for travel to Japan even in full concession will be not more than 50% concession to U.S.A. I hope therefore you will agree to this international cultural harmony and let me know your affirmation per return of post.

Thanking you once more.

Yours etc.

letters | 04:57 |

2.3.09
1961: March 31  

Delhi

My dear Brijratanji,

Kindly accept my greetings. I hope you are quite well in all respects by the Grace of the Lord.

I beg to inform you that an international congress for cultivating Human Spirit is going to be held in Japan in the month of May 1961 and you will be glad to know that the Japanese organizers have invited me to attend the congress. They have already taken from me in advance the copy of my views on Human Culture and their second letter confirms it that they are very much anxious to receive me there. From the copy of the enclosed certificate, you will find it that they have arranged for my boarding and lodging during the days of my stay there.

Now I request you to arrange for my passage to Japan and oblige. Last you were ready to bear my passage expenses from India to South America. And as I could not get the No objection certificate I had to postpone the journey. This time there is no such question and the passage expenses to Japan are far less than South America.

Kindly therefore do the needful immediately and give me a chance to speak to the enlightened people of the world the message of Human Culture from the Vedic literatures. I am sure such views will change the angle of vision of the world activities.

Awaiting your early reply to the above camp Address and thanking you in anticipation.

Yours sincerely,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

True Copy. Certificate.
From the International Foundation for Cultural Harmony.
PO Box No.43, Numazi City, Japan.

To Whom it may concern.

This is to certify that Sri A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami 1.859, Kesi Ghat P.O. Vrindaban (Mathura) U.P. India, is a bonafide visitor to the "CONGRESS FOR CULTIVATING HUMAN SPIRIT" will be held under the auspices of the International Foundation for Cultural Harmony from the 10th May through the 24th May this year 1961 at the important places in Japan.

It is understood that lodging and boarding arrangements during the period will made and payed by us.
It would be a great favor if necessary passport and a visa to visit Japan are passed to him to make his arrival in Japan before the 10th May 1961.

sd.-Toshihiro Nakano
General Secretary
International Foundation for Cultural Harmony
Copy forwarded to
Sri Brijratan S. Mohatta
Peoples Building
Sir P. Mehta Road
Fort Bombay-1.

N.B. If you want take my assistance in any matter to be executed at Japan, I shall consider it my duty to do without any obligation on your part,

Yours etc.

letters | 03:20 |

1.3.09
1961: March 29  

Delhi

My dear Doctor Radhakrishnan,

I beg to acknowledge receipt with thanks your letter of the 24th instant and have noted the contents. I have come back from Cuttack on the 26th night.

You know that I am a Sannyasi without any relation with Bank neither I am attached with financing institution. But the Japanese organizers have liked my literatures and they want me to be present there.

The Congress which is going to be held at Japan is on the matter of How One Should Cultivate Human Spirit. While the Indian leaders are giving more importance on the material construction of the human body, enlightened people of other countries are thinking of the Human Spirit. People of other countries who have already tested the bitterness of materialism, are now seeking something else other than matter.

The sages of India in the bygone ages cultivated on the Human Spirit in an elaborate way. Sripada Sankaracarya, Ramanujacarya, Madhva and later on Sri Caitanya dealt on the subject most scientifically for the welfare of all men in the world. I think therefore that the Indian Government should send there all the representatives of the abovementioned Acaryas to deliver the message of Atma or the Human Spirit.

A Godless civilization cannot bring about peace and prosperity and when they are anxious about it we must administer the required medicine.

I am therefore very much anxious to attend the Congress although I have no means to go there. They are also very much anxious to get me there and if I say that I cannot attend the congress for want of means then I think it will be an insult to my country.

Formerly the Zamindars and Princes would provide for such endeavours. But they are now finished. Under the circumstances it is the duty of the Government to arrange for our travel in such noble mission.

I wish therefore that you can specially recommend my case to Minister Humayun Kabir to arrange for it.

If it is impossible altogether, then personally you can send me there without any difficulty. They have already agreed to pay for my boarding and lodging for the days I shall remain there. I may also inform you that the Secretary of the INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR CULTURAL HARMONY has already agreed to publish some of my literatures.

If you will kindly somehow or other dispatch me there, then it will be a chance for my mission.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Yours sincerely,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 04:48 |

3.2.09
1962: June 1  

Vrindaban

Dear Sri Puri,

Yesterday evening I have come to Vrindaban for a flying visit and shall return to Delhi on Monday 4.6.62 to attend the Jayal meeting on Tuesday 5.6.62 morning. I am glad to see that my Thursday lectures have brought some changes in the mind of the young offenders. If the lectures are continued I am sure to turn these offenders into saintly characters.

The means which I have adopted is spiritual and it works quickly than any material means. If you give me chance to speak to all the members of the Jayal, it is quite possible for me to turn them into ideal characters.

In my next lecture on Tuesday the 5.6.62 morning, I would request you also to be present and see it personally how the transcendental medicine is acting upon them. I am just trying to make spiritual method as much practical as any other material cures with greater and persisting effect.

[PAGE MISSING]

letters | 04:45 |

1.2.09
1963: July 9  

Vrindaban

His Excellency
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan,
President of India
Rastrapati Bhawan
New Delhi.

Respected Dr. Radhakrishnan,

Please accept my greetings. It is understood that you have come back from your American & European Tour on the mission of philosophy and religion.

At present I am at Vrindaban. Last time (Feb. 9th 1963) when I met your Excellency to present my Srimad-Bhagavatam, you promised to read it to see what is there in it.

As Srimad-Bhagavatam is combination of philosophy and religion it is a great need of the day. It is a fact that at the present moment only philosophy and religion can bring about a __ of humanity. I think you must have ___ the required ideal.

The Governor Of U.P., the Congress President others all have sent their valued comments on the book. I am also expecting your opinion on the publication. This will help me very much.
Hope you are well and thanking you in anticipation.

Yours sincerely
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

___ to the Governor of U.P. writes as follows:

With reference to your letter dated March 18 __ I am desired to say that the Governor has __ with interest your book SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM _ _ under separate cover and found it instructive and scholarly. His comments on the book are enclosed.

Yours faithfully
sd. G.B. Parit etc

letters | 04:42 |

7.1.09
1964: June  

India

My dear Shastryji,

I thank you for your granting me an interview yesterday morning but I was not successful in my mission because your dealing with me yesterday was more official than hearty. You asked me to send you my Srimad-Bhagavatam Part II with a note. This is not only expensive for me but also troublesome for me.

Any way as you wanted me to send you a note. I am abiding by your order but I am doubtful whether you will have any time to go through my notes. The first thing is that here is the copy of your letter which you sent me on ______ after receipt of the 1st part.

[TEXT MISSING]

I beg to enquire if you had some time to go through the 1st part. If you have not gone through it there is no use for the 2nd part.

The whole thing is to be completed in sixty parts of 400 pages. It is a mighty project and I am doing it alone. Here with please find one picture & literature for the publication.

If you would have gone through the 1st part you would have actually felt how much important work I have undertaken not only for the benefit of India but also for all the world.

If you actually want good government not only for India but also for all the world over, you must promote the sales of this publication either or you may purchase some thousands of copies of this publication of concessional rate & distribute both the same to all leading & thinking men of the world.

Srimad-Bhagavatam is a ___ literature and it is specially needed at this hour of human disparity all over the world.

So far I remember, you referred about the Education Ministry. But I may inform you that the Education Ministry has already approved of this publication and Special Sanskrit officer is purchasing 50 copies per volume.

You can however order your other ministry to purchase 50 copies of each volume and distribute them as they like.

The American Embassy is also purchasing 18 copies of each volume.

You have desired that this important publication may be introduced in the ___ of all government unification. And if you do help me in this discretion, then I can peacefully finish up the job.

I think the Government would have given me all encouragement for attempting such important work but I have not been so engaged till now. It is better late than never and I wish that in your Government I may not be neglected.

letters | 04:36 |

5.1.09
1964: May 23  

Vrindaban

My dear Mathura Prasad ji,

I beg to thank you for your kind cooperation in the matter of Bhagavatam Mission. I shall try to see the Hathras gentleman of whom you have given me the name and the address. Kindly send me some more addresses of gentlemen so that I shall send them the books and other necessary papers to convince them about the importance of the work I have undertaken.

After seeing the Hathras gentleman I shall go Delhi and from there I shall send you some sets books and other literatures to you per Railway parcel and then I shall again go to Agra from Delhi to secure some members of the League of Devotees which is a registered society possessing certificate of exemption of income tax to receive donations.

Sethji, you are not an ordinary businessman. You are sufficiently educated and have rightly taken to business. By the Grace of Lord Sri Krishna you one of the very important business magnet and I may inform you on the authority of great Acaryas and books of knowledge that it is our duty to make the best use of our money so long it is with us.

By the law of nature nothing in the material world is permanent including our material body and therefore the great politician Pandit Canakya who was once the Honorary Prime Minister of India, advised it that the nature of everything material being destructible the best use of a bad bargain is to utilize the temporary possessions for the cause of the Permanent.

At the present moment the people are more concerned with the temporary things namely the gross body and the subtle mind without any practical touch with the permanent soul and His Lord. The result is that we have produced a godless civilization and the whole world unhappy for this conception of civilization.

Srimad-Bhagavatam gives us practical solution for all the problems political social ideological philosophical cultural and transcendental knowledge for all human being. Srimad-Bhagavatam is meant for all human beings and it is the duty of the Hindus specially the Vaisnavas to disseminate the great knowledge throughout the whole world.

With this purpose in view I have taken up the mighty project and I wish that you gentlemen cooperate with me fully. The cooperation is possible to be made either by life, wealth, intelligence or words. Every one has got some of the above assets of the above four principles if not at least one of them must we have and we can engage them in the service of the Lord.

Srimad-Bhagavatam gives all informations to attain the highest perfection of life both during the continuation of the present life as well as in the life after death.

I shall request you with all humility to cooperate with this mission and thus be benefited yourself. It is not the least exaggeration but actual fact and to become a member for this mission will to your own interest. And help others also who may be known to you.

I am requesting you to give me at least ten members from Agra as you have already given one yesterday and I am thanking you once more.

Kindly address all correspondence to my Box No. 1846 to ensure safe delivery. G.P.O. Post Box No.1846, Delhi-6.

Awaiting your early reply,

Yours sincerely,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 03:32 |

4.1.09
1964: May  

India

FOREIGN FORWARDING LETTERS.

Dear Sir,

With due respect I beg to request you to look into the papers despatched to your address under separate Book Post.

In that book post you will find one copy of my theistic fortnightly paper BACK TO GODHEAD broadcasting exclusively everything about the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These topics about Godhead are delineated in a manner for understanding of any common man and it is high time that people of the world should now know about the Supreme Truth when they have had tried enough and failed in the matter of establishing peace in the world by so much attempt.

The fact is that we all living energies in different species of life are all individual parts and parcels of the Supreme Energetic person as the son is the part and parcel of the father. The whole creation including all material or spiritual planes and planets are different parts and parcels of One Unit only but there are immense diversities in unity for variegatedness is the necessary paraphernalia of eternal pleasure which we are all seeking in the wrong way without the right information to have it.

BACK TO GODHEAD can direct the right way of such happiness even in the material field by the simple adjustment of re-establishing our lost relation with Godhead. We wish that people may kindly read this paper for some time with due attention and critical gravity. We are always prepared to answer any relevant question in this regard from any quarter who may be seeking after the Absolute Truth.

Although the messages contained in the pages of BACK TO GODHEAD are all gifts of the ancient sages of India who actually realised the Absolute Truth, yet at the present moment the so called leaders of India are too much enamoured by the western way of material advancement of knowledge. They are completely neglecting the treasure house of knowledge left by the sages.

You, gentlemen, of the Western Countries have seen much about material science and yet peace is not within your control. In most cases you may be feeling the want of peace although you have enough in the matter. This basic defect of materialism remains undetected by the misleaders of India and therefore they are not serious about going BACK TO GODHEAD the ultimate aim of life's journey.

I am therefore seeking your help in broadcasting this message of spiritual value through your good institution.

I shall request you to go through the literatures sent to you per separate book post and let me know your reaction upon it.

I am seeking your help for getting some addresses of the thoughtful men of your country who are leading the public opinion and to whom I may be able to send this important paper for consideration.

Thanking you in anticipation and awaiting your early reply.

Yours faithfully,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta

letters | 03:28 |

3.1.09
1964: April 12  

Delhi

Sri Mangalanand Goutam
Jama Musjid Dispensary
Delhi-6

My dear Goutamji,

The other day when you came to me with your wife, you said that the order book & receipt book would be returned by you. But since then you have not seen me.

Kindly return back the order book & the receipt book for bearer & oblige.

Yours sincerely,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 03:24 |

2.1.09
1964: March, 13  

Delhi

AN APPEAL TO THE VAISNAVA SECT AND SPECIALLY TO THE VALLABHA SAMPRADAYA OF BOMBAY AND GUJARAT.

INSERT SANSKRIT HERE

SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM is very dear to all Vaisnavites and especially to the Vallabha and the Gaudiya Vaisnavas. The glories of Vrindaban and Mathura are magnified by these two Sampradayas and the undersigned as an humble servant of all Vaisnavas, has tried his best to render it into elaborate English version for its publicity all over the world.

The first and second volumes of the publication are already out and there are still 58 fifty eight parts to be published to finish this mighty project.

I am therefore appealing to the Vallabha Vaisnavites specifically to help me in this mighty project. I am a Sannyasi and as duty bound I have attempted this heavy task for benefit of all human beings and I am seeking your valued cooperation.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Enclosure :-One review by the Adyar Library Bulletin

letters | 03:21 |

1.1.09
1964: February 29  

Delhi

Sri Mangala Nand Goutam
Editor Rastrapati
Jama Masjid Dispensary
Delhi-6

Please receive the following books on sales and return basis in terms of you letter of date.

Please also receive the order book also herewith.

5 copies of SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM Vol. 1 sales price Rs. 16.-
(Returnable if not sold within one week)
1 copy Order book No.23 to 10C.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

letters | 03:12 |
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