720212 - Letter to Govinda dasi written from Madras

Letters by Date, 1972

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Date: February 12, 1972
CAMP: c/o R. Balu, 2 Kuppusawmy Street, T. Nagar, Madras-7.
(after 16th: ISKCON Calcutta)

My dear Govinda dasi,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated January 16 and January 23, 1972, and it is with great pleasure that I remember you and your good husband by reading them and seeing the nice work you are doing in the "New Nabadwip News" and other pamphlets. I am very sorry to hear about your demoniac neighbor cutting down many tulsi plants, but do not worry, he shall get his due punishment in time, rest assured. Simply go on in the normal way, and gradually his threat will disappear. Such men should be taken and beaten very hard with shoes--but it will not be very much to our credit if we are accused of fighting in this way. But if that man is caught trespassing on our property, then he may be severely punished by us. You can put up barbed-wire fence around the tulsi plants if that will help, or somehow or other protect them from further danger. Our experience has been that if we ignore them such demoniac class of men, they will go away.
When I shall come there you can make extensive preparations for my speaking, etc., by advertising and propaganda, even more than this Chinmayananda Swami. My work is to preach, so you can prepare many very nice speaking engagements, especially to the intelligent class of men and the hippies. I am especially appreciating the writings of Siddhiswarup in the "New Nabadwip News" and "Open Letter" pamphlets, like "Die Hippy, Die!" and these articles should be published in our "Back to Godhead" magazine and distributed very widely.
Regarding the Pancha Tattwa deities, the pictures you have sent are very nice. Because they live in Bengal, dhoti, shirt and chawda are the standard dress, and if they are dressed in this style with different colours, that is nice. They should normally always be dressed in dhoti, but if occasionally you dress them in skirt-dress outfit, that can be also. They may all five wear jewellery, why not?
Doctors give medicine and they speak surety, but there is no surety, and when there is no surety why should we break our four basic principles? I don't think there is guarantee of surety by taking this medicine with animal product. But if there is surety, you can take. But it is very doubtful. When I shall come there I shall see what is wrong.
Regarding that man Chinmayananda, he's a sinful man, I know him, at least sinful according to our four principles. He has been lecturing for 20 years, still his ashram stands vacant. Unless one's life is made up, what this lecturing will do?
So far your other letter, devotion does not depend on the body, and in spite of all difficulties we can chant, so long we have got the tongue--and even we have got no tongue we can chant in our mind. So where is the question of not serving with devotion? On the contrary, I consider that you and your good husband, Goursundar, are two of my topmost disciples and the work you are doing greatly encourages and pleases me, therefore do not think that because you are sometimes sick or weak that you are not making any advancement and that you are disappointing me, no. I am always thinking upon you both, that Krishna will give you His all blessings. Simply if you are able always to chant Hare Krishna, that is the same as following all other regulative principles.
I shall be very glad to see you both again, but my programme shall be delayed for about one month as I have just purchased for a very good price one large 20,000 sq. yard plot in Juhu, the wealthiest and most beautiful section of Bombay, very much like your Hawaii, and in the month of March I shall be lecturing there on the site in our pandal, in order to supervise the construction of our first "Hare Krishna City." I shall inform you more when we next meet.
Hope this will meet you both in good health and cheerful mood,
Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Govinda dasi
2016 McKinley Street,
Honolulu, Hawaii,
U.S.A. 96822

ACBS/sda