721118 - Letter to Jagadisa written from Hyderabad

Letters by Date, 1972

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Date: November 18, 1972
Camp: c/o Moti Bhawan,
Somajigoda 5/A.
Hyderabad-34, A.F., India.

My Dear Jagadisha,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter from Vancouver dated November 2, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. Your question about travelling SKP parties in other zones I have answered several times before, so you may see the letters to Dhananjaya in London and others. The thing is, our main business is to distribute books, either here or there it doesn't matter. So if there is transcendental competition for increasing sale of books, that is good. If he buys one book his life may be turned, that is best preaching work. But everything must be done in the spirit of cooperation, without any irritation. If one party wants to travel into another zone, that's all right, but there must be prior agreement between the GBC men and mutual consent. If by going there the book sales will be increased, what is the harm? But supposing if there is any harm, that is to be judged by the local president, and if he has good reason to think that another party will be unfavourable to his temple's operations, then he may order them to leave, that's all. So local temple officers should be the final judge to allow or disallow anyone from outside to sell books there. And if some outside party comes, they must sell books only, no collecting without selling books. They must live in the local temple and not separately, and they must follow faithfully the instructions and directions of the local president. They can purchase books from the temple at regular wholesale price and sell, and whatever profit there is above wholesale price they must give at least 50% to the local temple out of good will. That will be nice. So we shall not think that this is my zone, that is his zone, just like the Indian and Pakistan nation are thinking, and then there is war, no. Lord Chaitanya has given us the task to spread His message all over the world, and any process which may be useful for facilitating this business, that we shall gladly adopt, never mind his zone or my zone, that is material designation. But we shall always do everything in cooperative spirit and avoid any fighting amongst us, that is Vaisnava attitude because Lord Chaitanya has advised us to always offer all respects to others, especially to the devotees of the Lord.
You may name your child Jugala Priti dasi, I have no objection.
Hoping this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami