710628 - Letter to Acyutananda written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1971

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
CENTER: ISKCON London
7, Bury Place
London, WC 1

DATE ........28th..June,..1971....19.....

My Dear Achyutananda Maharaj,

Please accept my blessings. I am very much anxious to know of the progress of work at Mayapur. Before my leaving Calcutta it was estimated that Rs 5000/- would be required for fencing the whole ground with iron stand and barb wiring. I left this money with Tamal Krishna for doing this work immediately, but from his latest letter I understand it has not been done and the estimate has increased to Rs 14,000. I do not know who submitted the former estimate. Anyway don't spend so much money for fencing. Better to have bamboo fencing and hedge plants and during the rainy season they will grow sufficiently all around. Better in this connection to take advise from Sarkar or from the persons who sold us the land. I am very anxious to know of reports from Mayapur and if every week you will send me elaborate reports, I will be very much appreciative.
From Calcutta I went to Bombay and then to Moscow. We stayed there for five days. There are many younger Muscovites who are very much anxious to join our movement. Unfortunately the government is so strict that it is difficult to take their cooperation for starting a center there. Every thing is strictly under government control. Still we are trying to open a center with the help of local men. The city is very big and there are many nice buildings, roads, etc., but life is not very happy. One cannot live according to his own choice. Fruits and vegetables are very scantily supplied, but milk, butter and yogurt are amply available. From Moscow I went to Paris. Paris is a very nice city, better than London. All historical buildings are here and they are very gorgeous and panoramic. So we have got a very nice center there. The address is as follows: 26 Rue Etienne d'Orves; Fontenay aux Roses; Paris 92. I stayed only one day on my way to L.A. but still they arranged some nice meetings and a press conference and the people are favorably impressed. They admitted in different papers that our movement is genuine, along with other information.
From Paris I went directly to L.A., about 6000 miles at one stretch and I was on the plane for 12 hours, thereby getting a one day concession. From L.A. I went to San Francisco yesterday and the Rathayatra festival was very very gorgeously performed. There were three Rathas consecutively and Lord Jagannath's Rath was bigger than the other two. People received us so nicely and one mayor was the chief guest in the meeting in which more than 10,000 people assembled and the mayor spoke very highly of our movement. She is very much impressed with the basic principle of our Back to Godhead movement. In this way we are getting support gradually in the U.S.A. Maybe our movement will be supported in the future in the United Nations. So we Krishna Consciousness people have accepted a very important and responsible task in the whole world, therefore our principle work also must be very responsible.
Yesterday evening there was a meeting of all the different presidents of all the different temples and I have impressed them with this fact and they are doing so nicely and sincerely. So you have got a very responsible task in Mayapur also - to develop that temple. So send me weekly reports and may Krishna bless you more and more.
Hoping this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS/adb

His Holiness Achyutananda Swami
c/o ISKCON Mayapur
P.O. Sridham Mayapur
Dist: Nadia
W.Bengal