720402 - Letter to Mandali Bhadra written from Sydney

Letters by Date, 1972

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
CENTER: 83 Hereford Street,
Glebe, Sydney, NSW,
Australia.

DATE ..............April..2,.........19.72.

My dear Mandali Badra,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated March 12, 1972, and I am very much pleased to hear that your German BTG distribution has gone up to 50,000 last issue, and I very much approve of your ideas for improving it more and more. In the editorial section which you plan to have for the beginning, the point should be stressing on the position of the living entities, as it is stated in Bhagavad Gita that a learned man observes everyone on the same level, that is, on spiritual understanding. So our Society's position of vision is from that platform. We want to see all living entities as parts and parcels of Krishna without giving any consideration to outer skin, and that is real education. So you can expound on this idea. The modern civilization is based on bodily designation--American, Indian, German--but our proposition is to become free from these artificial designations, and unless one becomes free from these artificial designations there can't be any God-consciousness, and without God-consciousness there is no possibility of any peace in the world.
It appears that in Germany we have got very good possibility, and I am glad to hear from Hansadutta that he has expanded more centers, and that all programmes are increasing. That is his success and your success. Actually, everyone in the world can accept this Movement very easily. My angle of vision is that throughout the whole world everyone is good and innocent, only they have been misled and corrupted by rascal leaders. If you can organize everything nicely, the Americans and Europeans of the future will come out very nice, that is my opinion. I have just seen one Sanskrit dictionary of Pradyumna's, and it is compiled by one Englishman, Williams, and he has taken so much trouble and he has made thorough study and it is very nice and scholarly book, so this dictionary is proof of the superior nature of this Indian Vedic culture. This great European scholar, he has not taken so much pains for Greek or Latin or any other old language, and because he has chosen Sanskrit language for his study, therefore it is the highest example of scholarship and knowledge.
So far your ideas that some of our students have not realised what they are writing, that they are merely repeating the philosophy mechanically, and that Rayarama is more appreciated by you, then you can do it, and give the example as he has done it. But the difference is, that in spite of his becoming a philosopher he could not assimilate and practice the philosophy, and he went away, so you may write like him, but please do not go away. I think others like Kirtanananda may be repeating, but they stay. But I am always wondering, why others do not write, so many big big preachers we have got, but none of them write, so if you can inspire them to write in more convincing way, that is great service, do it.
As I have told you before, you are the chief editor of German BTG, in charge of its writing, translating, subject matter, content, everything, so I have complete trust in you for this, now do it nicely. When you are finished with Bhagavad Gita, then we shall see what shall be the next book for translating. But I think the German people are very philosophically-minded, and they will appreciate the higher philosophy of TLC, or the science of NOD. This we can decide later, first finish the work at hand. Actually, these four books: Krishna, TLC, NOD, and Bhagavad Gita, if these four books are translated and distributed widely in German language, alone they are sufficient to give everyone the whole contents of Krishna Consciousness subject matter. So try for all of them, why just one or two.
Hoping this will meet you in good health and happy mood.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Mandali Badra
c/o ISKCON Hamburg
Germany.

ACBS/sda