710805 - Letter to Karandhara written from London

Letters by Date, 1971

Letter to Karandhar

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
CENTER:     7, Bury Place
                  London, W.C. 1
                  England

DATE ........5th..August,...1971.19.....

My Dear Karandhar,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 2nd August, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. I am so glad to hear that you have brought the big Deities from San Francisco. You can install the Deities according to the ceremonial functions you have already seen in Boston. Do it nicely with cleanliness, love and affection. That is required. I don't think I shall be able to return to L.A. by Janmastami day so I am authorizing you to do the function.
Regarding your changing position with Bhavananda, I don't think L.A. can be managed at the present time without your presence. The original proposal was that if the presidents required the change then they could switch centers, but changing of your place will not be very favorable. So stay there and develop things nicely. I am so pleased to learn that you are opening a new branch in Fresno, California and are soon to open one in Long Beach also. So your presence is required there in the West. Your overseeing is most important position. What I am doing but overseeing. So continue there in L.A.
In my opinion, Bhavananda is as much required in N.Y. as you are required in L.A., but he is wanting some change. So I think he can go to Mayapur to manage the building construction. Then Rupanuga can take over management of N.Y. center. Yesterday I talked with the high commissioner from India for the United Kingdom. So now we shall get missionary visas from here very easily. So either they can get missionary visas from there in U.S. or if there is difficulty then you can send me the names of the devotees who are going there and I will submit their names from here and then they can come to London to pick up their visas on the way to India. So this information should be passed on to all our centers.
Forget taking sanyas order for the time being. Unless your child is born, there is no question of taking sanyas. We shall consider the matter further when your child is born. So now you should take care of your wife. The woman should be cared for, especially during pregnancy. At the time of the marriage ceremony there is a promise that the husband will care for the wife throughout her life and the woman will serve the husband throughout his life. When the child is grown up then the husband can take sanyas. Of course Lord Chaitanya took sannyas at 24 years, but that is a special case. I think that now you are doing more than sanyas.
Hoping this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
cc: Bhavananda[handwritten]
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