710320 - Letter to Kirtanananda written from Bombay

Letters by Date, 1971

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

March 20, 1971

Sriman Kirtanananda Maharaja
New Vrndavana
RD 3, Moundsville, WV 26041, U.S.A.

89, Warden Road; Akash Ganga; Bombay-26, India

My Dear Kirtanananda Maharaja,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your two letters dated 17th February and 10th March, 1971, respectively and noted the contents with satisfaction. I have been traveling on our usual touring program of India and the mails have been piled up here in Bombay for some time. Now I am replying so many letters and some of them are a little late.

It is very good news from Hayagriva that the land which you mention as being across the ridge and on both sides of the road. I remember it well. Now our New Vrndavana Scheme will be furthered by Krsna's grace. I was very glad to learn that you have installed the new Jagannatha Murties in our Pittsburgh Temple and at the same time you have invited many guests for preaching and offering memberships. It appears that you have got a full program there and the people are appreciating your efforts to spread Krsna consciousness. That is a very good sign.

Certainly when I return from India it is my intention to visit New Vrndavana. I am very eager to see New Vrndavana developed more. So you construct the Temple there nicely and when I come there I shall install the big Deities, perhaps on the Janmastami Day. It seems that the prospects for New Vrndavana are expanding more and more. You can invite citizens from Pittsburgh to spend the weekend in New Vrndavana. In your country the gentlemen who live in the city like to go to the country, so why not to New Vrndavana? Now you can construct a very nice broad staircase descending from the road to the creek and rising again to the Western hill of Vrndavana. That will be very nice. Many people can come for the weekend and holidays and that will make improvement there. The fees from membership are divided 50% to my Book Fund and 50% to the Building Fund, so if this program is vigorously pushed, we get enough money for the New Vrndavana scheme. I want seven temples there. That scheme was submitted long ago. That will be beautiful and pleasing. Many people will go and it will become an important place for holiday excursion.

I am very happy to know that the Pittsburgh Temple is so large and beautifully decorated for Krsna. Your lectures at the universities are very important as well as your appearance on the radio and t.v.

Regarding the marriage of Halodhar and Joan, you may offer them my full blessings upon their Krsna conscious combination. So far initiations are concerned, there will be better opportunity when I return to states.

Now we are in final preparation for a very big program in Bombay. I shall be lecturing daily on the Srimad Bhagavatam and it is expected that the audience will be about 20,000. They tell me the program is the largest ever to be held in Bombay, so I am hopeful of good response.

Hope this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS:ds