720412 - Letter to Niranjana written from Sydney

[All Handwritten] Date: APRIL 12, 1972
CAMP: ISKCON Tokyo,

My Dear Niranjan,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated March 18, 1972 and I have noted the contents. I am glad to hear that you reached your destination safely and are determinedly chanting Hare Krishna without any fail. If one simply follows the four regulative principles and regularly chants Hare Krishna, there will be no question of falling down from devotional service.
So far my chastising you at Mayapur for your questions it is simply out of love that I chastise any of my students. It is a father's duty to raise his son to be a strong, useful citizen, and sometimes he must reprimand him for some mistake in order to teach him. But this harshness is only for his son's benefit. Similarly, you are all my spiritual children, and my only concern is to see that you all become strong in your devotion to Lord Krishna, so sometimes scolding may be there, but you should always remember that it is done with love and it is only for your benefit. You are an intelligent boy, and I want to train you very nicely so that you will be able to preach this great Krishna Conscious philosophy with conviction, and help to deliver all the spiritually-starving souls in this age. Therefore, you should take this chastisement as an opportunity to advance in Krishna Consciousness and not in any other way.
I will be in Japan up to the 5th of May, then to Hawaii for two weeks, then on to Los Angeles where I will remain for two weeks, then on to Los Angeles where I will remain for some time to do translation work. You may feel free to correspond with me at any time and I will be glad to help you with any questions that you might have.
Please also offer my greetings to your father. Hoping this will meet you in good health and happy mood.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Sriman Niranjan das Brahmachary
4 Morvi Hostel, B.H.U.
Varanasi-5, U.P., India