720304 - Letter to Amarendra written from Calcutta

Letters by Date, 1972

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Date: March 4, 1972
Camp: ISKCON Bombay

My dear Amarendra,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated January 22, 1972, and have noted the contents carefully. I am very much pleased that you are expanding our position at Gainesville temple, especially I am glad that you are entering politics to try for city commissioner position. This will be good opportunity to preach widely and sell our literatures, so take advantage. But one thing, our platform must be very simple, that there is no other sacrifices necessary for the well-being of the citizens save and except this Sankirtan yagna. Regularly the town citizens can everyone congregate and chant Hare Krishna and hold festivals of celebration continually, with widespread distribution of tasty foodstuffs--who will not be attracted by such programme? This is our simple method, nothing else. Any other political programmes proposed by politicians will simply spoil everything. Actual government means to give the citizens the highest welfare, that is, spiritual fulfillment and access they should provide to obtain without any difficulty the perfection of this human form of life. Otherwise, government means democracy, so now instead of one king who could rule piously, there are thousands of kings, each one interested in taking only some taxes for his spending, not for welfare. Nowadays, politician means pick-pocket, fooling the people who are innocent into voting them and then picking their pockets, because in two or four years they know they may be replaced by some other king so they take as much as they can. The people are innocent, we have seen this everywhere, even in Russia, it is only these rascal leaders who have spoiled everything by fooling the people for their personal advantage. So I am very much serious that you all boys and girls should expose these Nixons and remove them, there is ample scope for protest in this Sankirtan Movement, and you yourselves be president, that is my hope for saving the misled mankind from total chaos.
Popularize this movement in the world, but better to avoid talk of slaughterhouses, illicit sex, etc., and give the public instead the positive approach to life of Krishna Consciousness.
Kindly keep me informed how your election comes out or any publicity you will get in the newspapers. Hoping this will meet you in good health and happy mood.
Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

n.b. Upon your recommendation I have accepted the three boys as my duly initiated disciples, and I have replied them on back.