720523 - Letter to Friends written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1972

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
CENTER: Los Angeles ISKCON

DATE ..............May..23..........19.72

My Dear Friends,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 9, 1972 and I have noted the contents. Actually outside of our bona-fide Krishna Consciousness centers, there is no possibility of finding out what Krishna does or does not want. We say "We feel that Krishna wills this for us." But I feel Krishna does not. So whose feelings will be all right? You say that you are following the regulative principles, so if you are following the regulative principles, why you will not co-operate? If by following the regulative principles you do not become devotees, and you can not appreciate other devotees, then what is the use of these regulative principles? If you are actually chanting regularly 16 rounds, holding sankirtan daily, reading our books as much as possible, like that, then I think you will feel that such program of living separately, away from our Krishna consciousness program is a great mistake.

So my only request is that you immediately return either to the Cleveland temple or to some other temple. You may correspond with BhagaWan das at the Detroit center, 8311 E. Jefferson St., Detroit 48214, in this connection. He is the GBC zonal secretary for that zone of the mid-west, so you may address your questions and inquiries to him. I am very much encouraged that you are all chanting Hare Krishna and trying to become Krishna Conscious. But I do not advise that you approach the matter of perfecting your life in this independent way. Unless there is connection with a bonafide spiritual master, coming in the line of disciplic succession, there is no possibility of making progress in spiritual life. So I have established ISKCON centers for the purpose of catching up the Lotus Feet of Krishna by intimate connection with the spiritual master. These are my authorized centers for that purpose. You say that whatever I instruct you you will carry out, so again my instruction is that you abandon this independent scheme and join your good god-brothers and sisters at some one of our ISKCON centers.

Hoping this meets you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami