700708 - Letter to Sridama written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1970

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
CENTER: 3764 Watseka Avenue
Los Angeles, Cal. 90034

DATE ......8th.July.....................19.70

My Dear Sri Dama,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 10th June, 1970, and have noted the contents with great interest.
I am so happy to learn that you have been so well received in Provincetown by the young boys and girls. It is a fact that the hippies are our best clients. I had very good response in San Francisco during Ratha Yatra festival. I saw that they were taking up the chanting of Hare Krsna mahamantra very feelingly even without the presence of any devotee to lead them. They appreciated my lecture and I appreciated their attitude. They joined in Ratha Yatra very enthusiastically. So try your best to convince them by very nice preaching and in particular very nice Samkirtan party and distribution of our literatures.
It is very good news also that you have received permission in Providence for chanting and distributing literature and incense as well as collecting. Now you should concentrate to develop your spiritual power to attract the fallen souls to Krsna consciousness. The daily regulative duties must be performed by everyone very strictly, the beads chanted sixteen rounds, and our literatures read and discussed. In this way everything should be done very nicely. Samkirtan should be done by you in the streets and at gatherings and in this manner display what is this Krsna consciousness movement and how it is for everyone's eternal welfare and happiness.
So you do all these with great enthusiasm and very carefully. Our all activities must be open so that no one may criticize our mission, so all dealing must be to the standard of Vaisnavism. We cannot mis-represent ourselves for the purpose of taking monies from the public, but as everything is undertaken forthrightly in Krsna consciousness way, then Lord Krsna will be pleased to provide all facilities for aiding our such sincere service.
Regarding your closing the temple in Providence during the very cold winter months and going to Florida at that time, yes, you may do it, but in that case you may not install any Deities in the temple. Worship of Deities means special care must be there for regular uninterrupted service and the Deities cannot be moved from place to place. So you must have picture of Panca Tattva for worshiping and making offerings. This picture along with Acarya pictures may be carried from one place to another. Lord Caitanya is very kind and He accepts the simplest worship or simply sincere chanting of the Holy Names of Krsna.
Please offer my blessings to your good wife and to Sriman Nanda Kisore and his wife. Hope this will meet all of you in good health.
I am very glad to know that you are selling our Bhagavad Gita AS IT IS; so keep the accounts for book and BTG sales daily, and issue a check for payment weekly according to the amount of literatures sold.
Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS:db

Sriman Sri Dama Das Adhikary
ISKCON Temple
104 Bradford Street
Provincetown, 1 A