760526 - Letter to Ramesvara written from Honolulu

Letters by Date, 1976

51 Coelho Way, Honolulu, Hawaii

U.S.A. 96817

May 26, 1976

His Holiness Ramesvara Swami,
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust,
3764 Watseka Avenue
Los Angeles, California,
U.S.A, 90034

My dear Ramesvara Maharaj,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your BBT Trustee's Report dated May 22, 1976, and I have noted the contents with care.

You have mentioned this Kingsport Press which is now printing our books in America. Where is this located? I am interested to know the details of several expenditures. Firstly, it appears from your report that the BBT is paying for 50% of the Diorama project. Why the BBT should spend money for the Diorama project? Secondly, I want to know how it requires $50,000 per month to maintain ISKCON Press as you have mentioned this on page 2 of the report under "Budget Projections." Concerning the need for a new larger warehouse for stocking and disbursing our books, why not use one entire floor of the new New York building. That will be very nice. There would be a warehouse on the West coast, and one on the East coast as well. The management should not be difficult as Tamala Krsna Goswami is going to make his office in New York and he will have a staff to assist him. Then we could avoid having to locate a new place in Los Angeles for the time being.

I noticed that there is outstanding loan debts of almost $1 million, and also that there is similarly nearly $1 million outstanding owed for books by the temples. What is being done to collect these funds?

Now concerning the London loan, I know that Madhavananda who is presently in Detroit, and Hamsaduta Maharaja both were collecting funds to construct a temple at the Bhaktivedanta Manor. What was done with these funds? And what is done with the money collected from Book sales in Germany and France?

Bhagavan das owes money on a loan which he got for purchasing the Chateau. He can return that money for being used to loan to London to purchase their new temple. Then you will not have to lay out that money from Los Angeles as you mentioned that funds are low this time. Between French and German book sales, it may be possible to loan this money to London. I am sending a copy of this letter to Jayatirtha and Bhagavan to discuss this matter. Since you are all BBT Trustees, you can discuss and come up with some idea how this can be done.

I hope that this meets you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS/pks

cc: Bhagavan, Jayatirtha