660427 - Letter to Sumati Morarjee written from New York

Letters by Date, 1966

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
c/o Mr. Paul Murray
94, Bowery, New York N.Y.
April 27th 1966

Madam Sumati Morarji Baisaheba,
Kindly accept my greetings and blessings of Lord Balakrishna. I am in due receipt of your letter of the 11th instant and have noted the contents with thanks.

The Project for constructing a temple of Sri Sri Radha Krishna is complete because Sir Padampat Singhania is ready to spend any amount of money for a nice architectural workmanship of Indian origin but our secular Government has officially denied the exchange. So I am trying to get the Exchange otherwise namely through the Salvation Army as also through the influence of a friend in India who can convince the Finance Minister or the President in this important task. As such my Godbrother who is entrusted with this work has asked me to return to India for some days to expedite the work. I am trying to avoid the journey to India and again to come back specially for the reason that I am holding at the above address classes thrice in a week and training some American Youth in the matter of samkirtan and devotional service of the Lord (Bhakti) some of them are taking the lessons very sincerely and in future they may be very good Vaisnavas according to rigid rituals. One of the youths Mr. Paul Murray is even ready to go with me to India to learn the cult more specifically and I wish to take him with me when I go to India. Please therefore write to your Agent here to allow this more serious boy to come with me in India and see things directly how temple worship is done in the Vishnu Temples. I shall keep him for some days in Vrindaban and he may be given lessons for future preaching in the western countries.

I shall try my best to get the sanction for the temple Exchange and if I am unable then I shall open the Radha Krishna worship and Samkirtan in the rented house as I am now doing. The present flat is about 100' X 25' and there is ample place even to have a room for the deities of Radha and Krishna. When returning from India I shall bring with me the deities either from Jaipur or from Vrindaban along with other things required and I shall start the temple in rented building

Kindly therefore send your permission for taking this boy with me as above mentioned. He has his pass port and some couple of hundreds to spend in India. When we come to India you will be pleased to see the boy (American). He is coming of a good family and a sincere soul to this line of culture. There are others also in the class I am holding here but I wish to take with me only one of them.

I am very sorry to inform you that in the last month there was a theft case in my room. My typewriter and tape recorder and some books have been stolen worth more than Rs 1000/- goods and therefore I am changing the place to the above address. This present typewriter has been given by a devotee and thus there is no difficulty and another friend has also supplied a tape recorder. It is understood that such crime as it has been committed in my room is very common in New York. That is the way of material nature. The American people have every thing in ample and the worker gets about Rs 100/- as daily wages and still there are thieves for want of character. The lower class men daily workers are cent percent drunkards. Their social condition is not very __ [text missing]

Hope everything is well with you by the Grace of the Lord and awaiting your early reply with thanks.

Yours in the service of
The Lord,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.