720914 - Letter to Hansadutta written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1972

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Camp: Los Angeles ISKCON
Date: September 14, 1972

My dear Hansadutta,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letters dated August 11 and [handwritten] Sept. 2, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. I am very glad to hear that you have conducted one nice parade and festival through the city streets of Hamburg. Yes the German people, they like to hear philosophy, so if you can arrange some philosophers' meeting we can come.

I have read your account of the incidents of fighting with the hoodlums with great concern. After all, this world is full of darkness and controlled by the demons, so difficulties are there certainly. But if we stick to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, these difficulties will be over, just like a child jumps over the pit caused by the hoof of a calf. Kṛṣṇa fought with so many demons so fighting is not prohibited if it is for the good cause. But one thing is, these are young boys, so actually if you approach them humbly and you yourself go to their leaders and speak to them nicely about Kṛṣṇa Consciousness they will agree to leave us alone, that I think. But if you make big armed confrontation and show of strength there will be continuous fighting more and more. Better to resolve the whole situation by approaching their leaders at once and reconciling everything with them by bringing them prasadam and other nice gifts and giving them our philosophy, and if they are willing to hear it, also teach them how to chant Hare Krsna mantra. These are innocent young boys, they are simply misled, so you go to them and give them the right information and then you will have nothing more to fear from them. But if you think buying a shotgun is necessary, that is all right, we have to defend Kṛṣṇa's temple if it comes to it.

I understand that you are having one book festival in Frankfurt this month, and I think Karandhar is coming there to assist you, so try to make our display and exhibition very prominent, and if they will allow us to have kirtana or distribute prasadam, we may also do that. That is a very important occasion so try to make the best utility of it and make our books very widely distributed all over Europe and other places.

Hoping this meets you in good health,

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Hansadutta das Adhikari
ISKCON Hamburg
ACBS/sda

N.B. What news of Mandali Bhadra? [handwritten]