760526 - Letter to Giriraja written from Honolulu
Bombay
My dear Giriraja das,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 15, 1976, and I have noted the contents with care.
You can make inquiry as to why the amount received was Rs. 4/- less than the amount which we transferred (telegraphic transfer) from Melbourne. From my letter to you dated May 5, 1976, you will note that the Rs. 59,000/- which I borrowed from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust account is now all accounted for and with Yasodanandana Swami's payment it will be completed. Sri Brijratan Mohatta had promised that he would pay for the entire construction of the Bombay Gurukula, but you mentioned that he is only giving Rs. 10,000. Why only 10,000, Gurukula will require Rs. 10 lakhs?
Concerning the purchasing of other books for the Bombay library, I never gave a list of books to Saurabha for purchasing. Anyway, we may require but I never gave such a list to him.
The devotees must learn Hindi, as many as possible, and take citizenship. What about the Parliament? They were going to raise the question about our men coming to stay in India indefinitely, but I have heard nothing further in this connection.
I received the plan of my house in Mayapur from Bombay address. I do not approve of this plan just yet. I liked one plan which I saw in London. Where is that original plan? Then I can make comparison. There was supposed to be a lift from the ground floor to the first floor. Also, why the guest rooms are upstairs, above me. Guest rooms are alright, but they cannot be occupied while I am there. There is also the question of the kitchen. And moreover, if there is no sunshine it will not be very nice. Will sunshine be able to enter my room? . . (there are over-hanging verandas) . . and is there a place on the roof open to the sun for taking massage? In any case, I want to see the plans which I saw in London for comparison. Also, I do not want to go ahead with the construction of my house is Mayapur until I see the master plan of the Mayapur City. It may be that there in a more secluded, less congested, place to situate my house. Being so near the front gate, and the main road, it may get too noisy at times there. So, you can take up these matters with Saurabha, and have him send me the original plan which I saw in London. The site of the house can also be determined only after we have the master plan.
The facilities in Bombay appear to be very nice. I think it will be very peaceful up so high in the towers, and it may be a very good place for me to translate Srimad-Bhagavatam. Let us see.
Concerning Sri Ramakrishna Bajaj, I sent you one letter dated May 14, 1976, concerning their invitation to me to attend the Gita Pratisthan conference as one of the Co-ordinating committee.. Your letter to me was dated May 15, so you could not have received my letter when you wrote me. I will await a reply from Sri Bajaj before making any decision what we will do in this connection. If they do not honor our request as mentioned in the May 14, 1976 letter, than you will have to read some paper on my behalf which I would send you. However, I will make no decisions in this connection until I have received a reply from Sri Bajaj.
I hope that this meets you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
N.B. Please send me a statement account of Vrinda Book Co. with BBT up to date.
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