720409 - Letter to Bhakta dasa written from Sydney
Tridandi Goswami
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Date: April 9, 1972
Camp: ISKCON Sydney.
My dear Bhakta das,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated March 19, 1972, and I am very much pleased to note that you are making steady growth in all aspects of devotional service, especially in the department of selling so many books monthly. But always remember that we are selling books not for making business but for pleasing Krishna, and by preaching we should sell books, not by cheating. If this simple method is followed, there will be tremendous success in selling of our books, and the public will appreciate and take great benefit from our preaching and publications.
You say you have no Vaisnava calendar, but Shyamsundar tells me that he has sent our Vaisnava calendar up to end May to Karandhar some time ago, so I am wondering why he has not distributed that list to all the centers?
This process of surrendering 50% of all profits made by the temple has been adopted by you, and I think you are the pioneer in this giving up of 50% to my Book Fund, though I had recommended it should be our general policy to Karandhar some months back. Of course, I can only suggest, and wherever possible that can be applied, but I do not force anyone. After all, you are only working so hard to please Krishna only out of love for me, so there can be no question of force if love is there. We should not ever try to force anyone or reduce our Society to an impersonal business exchange, this will kill everything. Our only purpose in every endeavour is simply to make advancement in spiritual life or in pleasing Krishna.
I have consented to accept Susan Tumminia as my duly initiated disciple, especially as you have recommended her because she never talks nonsense. That silence, or only speaking of Krishna-related subjects, is first sign of the advanced devotee, because a man or woman may be wearing something so that we might think, Oh, he is like this or she is like that, but we cannot really understand what a person is until they speak something words, then we can understand, Oh, this is nonsense, or, here is a devotee. Her letter follows.
Hoping this will meet you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
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