701117 - Letter to Jagadisa written from Bombay

Letters by Date, 1970

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

c/o Ramsharanam; 18th Road; Chembur, Bombay-71; INDIA
November 17th, 1970

My Dear Jagadisha,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter dated October 25th, 1970, and noted the contents.
Yes, you are right to say that self-realization is a serious work. The devotees know this and there one of their qualities is that they are grave and not inclined to frivolity. A Krsna Conscious person is only interested in serving the Lord faithfully and he has got no other extraneous thought. His intelligence is always engaged in finding out the best way to execute loving transcendental service to Krsna and therefore he has no time for idleness. An idle mind is the devil's workshop--is a true remark. We should always remember that Maya and Krsna are side by side, just like light and darkness stand side by side. If one is not in the sunshine or light, then he is ipso facto in darkness. Therefore we must not be careless, but we should push on with great seriousness and sincerity, then we shall be certain of achieving the desired result.
I am always glad to learn that our Samkirtan is going on so much joyfully now in our every branch. We shall not misrepresent ourselves by making simply a show of devotional service and simply fill our bellies. It is our only intention to spread this sublime philosophy to all the persons of the world for the complete welfare benefit, both spiritual and material of everyone of them. The new program of preaching on Samkirtan using one basic verse from the Bhagavad Gita As It Is is an excellent idea. We should always be eager to find out such nice ways to spread this Movement. This will automatically bring joy to the devotees as well as to the non-devotees.
Please see that the highest standards are maintained in all the Temples in your jurisdiction as well as your own. We are now attracting the attention of the public in general and very influential persons as well. So our program if it is kept pure according to my many instructions, will give you the deserved reputation of being the topmost members of the society. That is very much wanted so that we may hope to change the society as a whole.
Keep the Montreal and Vancouver Centers carefully in cooperation and in general see that things are going well with the help of your Godbrothers and other Governing Body Commissioners.
Hope this will meet you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS:ds