720120 - Letter to Sri Govinda written from Jaipur

Letters by Date, 1972

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Date: January 20, 1972
Camp: ISKCON Bombay

My dear Sri Govinda das,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 31, 1971, and with pleasure I have noted that you are rivalling the West Coast centers in the matter of selling books. But I do not think that anyone can do better than they are doing. But you may try very hard, and if you are sincere enough then you may be the biggest distributor of my books and then I shall surely come there to your Cleveland center to live there in that new house. When Krishna sees that His devotee is sincere, there is nothing He cannot do to help that sincere devotee to advance towards Him. So I am engladdened to understand from your words that you are serving Krishna very sincerely, and you may know it for certain that in this way you shall very soon go back to Home, back to Godhead.
So far the meaning of gayatri mantra, you may refer to Pradyumna and he will help you. Generally, best times for saying gayatri mantra are when the sun rises and sets, and when it is noon.
There is no need by any of my disciples to read any books besides my books--in fact, such reading may be detrimental to their advancement in Krishna Consciousness. All reading of outside books, except in certain authorized cases such as for example to read some philosopher like Plato to make an essay comparing his philosophy with Krishna's philosophy--but otherwise all such outside reading should be stopped immediately. It is simply another botheration. If my students cannot even read my own books thoroughly, why they should read others? I have given you TLC, what need is there to read Chaitanya Charitamrita translated by someone else [handwritten]. You are right to stop such reading.
If you and your wife want to have children for raising them in Krishna Consciousness, and if you are prepared to take the full responsibility for delivering them from the clutches of birth and death, then I have no objection. I have allowed my disciples to marry as a concession for having household [handwritten] life, because you American boys and girls are accustomed to mix freely with one another, so what can I do? But brahmachary life or celibacy is better, because if the semina is saved it fertilizes the brain for sharpening the memory, and if there is good memory, our Krishna Consciousness becomes perfect: hearing, chanting, remembering--that is the process.

Hoping this will meet you in good health and happy mood.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Sri Govinda das Adhikary
15720 Euclid, Avenue
East Cleveland, Ohio
USA 44112

ACBS/sda