770228 - Letter to Caru written from Mayapur

Letters by Date, 1977

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

February 28, 1977

Berkeley

Dear Caru,

Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter of January 24, and examined the contents.

Regarding your standing in the book distribution as number three in the world, I am very pleased that you have worked so hard to help me in carrying out the order of my Guru Maharaja. Be convinced that you are doing the highest service for your fellow countrymen by distributing books of Krsna Consciousness. Actually in the west there is now no culture, and no brain even for what is the purpose of life. American civilization is finished, except that it can be saved if it takes to Krsna Consciousness. Try to become more convinced of this necessity for Krsna Consciousness and that will enable you to preach even stronger and distribute more books.

I have heard that you are still not allowed to live in the Berkeley temple. You must fight this and continue the case until we win it. I have read your program for the grand opening of the temple, but I think it will be wiser to make our worship private. Declare that the building is our residence, and that wherever we live we worship the Deity. It is our private residential worship, it is not a temple. Argue like that. As for hiring the bhajan group Bharati Mandal, they are not as good as our bhajans. They eat anything and everything but no bhakti.

I have accepted Mother Debbie for first initiation and her spiritual name is Divyadrsti dasi.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

March