711222 - Letter to Jai Adwaita from Shyamasundara

December 22, 1971

Camp: ISKCON Bombay

From: Shyamasundara

My dear Jai Adwaita,

Please accept my humble obeisances. I have received your letter long back, and I sincerely apologize for the delay in answering. The frantic pace of His Divine Grace leaves me almost no room for answering my own mail, as all day it’s all I can do to keep up with His, plus the million and one other things to satisfy Him… Anyway, here’s a point where our three interests meet, namely, the enclosed few verses which I have hastily transcribed from current dictaphone work by Prabhupada in Bombay. He told me to type them daily like this and send to you, one copy to Pradyumna in London, one copy we keep filed here. Is this all right? I have several tapes of previous Bhagwat translation work on the big 5” reels (or is it 7”?), anyway, the Uher-size, but shortly after entering India of course the Uher blew up and cannot be fixed here. So for all translating and lecture, etc., recording I have switched to common cassette type. So in a few days I’ll be sending you registered to the hilt all the existing reel-type tapes we have of Prabhupada’s words (including Bhagwat translations) up to the break-down of Uher, plus I’ll send all cassette-type tapes as well. On the cassettes, as I never know until the moment Prabhupada opens His mouth if he’ll speak in English, Bengali, or Hindi, there are sometimes Hindi and English on the same tape. So kindly re-tape all the Hindi speeches, etc., onto one or two single tapes and re-ship to me for turning over to our Hindi BTG crew here in India. On each tape I’ll try to catalogue as much pertinent information as possible about individual speeches, etc. Because cassettes are scarce in India (and very costly, about $4 each), some lectures and so forth are sandwiched in and around other items, so I’ll leave it to you to sort out. But don’t worry, each will be labelled properly. As for the philosophy tapes, most of the good stuff was lost by Aravinda (a contributing cause, I would say, to his collapse from the job that I am now attempting to somehow carry-on), including Marx, Darwin, the biggies, and the rest I am slowly transcribing and editing here, each in the light of his predecessors and followers. This can only be done by me, really, as I am aiming for a certain presentation which has been the dominant force behind my guiding of each session. And the sessions are extraordinarily long – each more than 1 ½ hours so a lot has to be pared-down to get the essence, and that essence should be clear and non-repetitive for practical use as an all-attractive textbook for truth. For instance, Prabhupada may use the example of the finger serving the whole at least 20 times so far, and He will probably us it another 10 times more. So I have to weed out where it fits best as an example, and this will not be done properly if I simply send off the tapes as they are finished. Today we finished Wittgenstein. Soon we will be finished with all of them, then we must go back and re-do say 6 or 8 which were lost. Then I shall concentrate earnestly in finishing the editing work, and send you the results—or bring them when I return with His Divine Grace at first March, whichever is sooner.

So far the enclosed material, I shall send more at about 3-day intervals. Because He has at last got a dictaphone in Bombay (heretofore)we have relied on a cheap Jap transistor cassette-recorder), He is at last also beginning to translate. Most of what I’m sending you form Bhagwat was done in Africa. But the combination of a dictaphone and balmy, relaxed Bombay atmosphere, plus good prospects we’ll secure a first-class L.A.-type temple here in the next few days, have lifted Him into the translating mood, so I know you’ll be pleased.

Anything else, please let me know. I beg to remain,

Your servant at His Lotus Feet,

Shyamsundar Das

n.b. future installments will be double-spaced!

[on bottom of SP letter of same date to Giriraj]

p.s. Hari Bol! I have just received the address of a very important man from London named Robert Frazer, who is a big art director in England, a close friend of George’s & the other Beatles, who became famous a couple of years ago for giving up his famous gallery to seek spiritual life. He is also very rich & knows a lot of people, so please look him up at: 134, Kalakshetra Colony, off Elliots Beach Rd., Adyar, Madras 20. Jai!

Shyamsundardas