680814 - Letter to Upendra written from Montreal

Letters by Date, 1968

Letter to Upendra

Tridandi Goswami
AC Bhaktivedanta Swami
Acharya: International Society For Krishna Consciousness

CAMP: ISKCON RADHA KRISHNA TEMPLE
          3720 Park Avenue
          Montreal Quebec Canada

DATED .August..14,......................196..8


My Dear Upendra,

Please accept my blessings, and offer the same to Gargamuni. I am in just receipt of your letter dated August 12, 1968, and have noted the contents carefully. In the meantime, I also received a letter from Mr. Renovich, which I have also replied and as he is very much eager to receive me there, he writes to say that I can reside with him so long there is no place of our own. As such, I have replied his letter that I am prepared to start next week by the 21st of August 1968, so you can let me know by phone (our number of the temple is 849-4319) whether I shall start or whether you are going to arrange for the passage money. So everything should be informed immediately after consultation with Mr. Renovich, and then I shall prepare myself also to go to Vancouver. When I reach there, other things will be discussed and done it properly.

Kirtan means both lecturing and chanting with music. The chanting with music is specially attractive for the mass of people, but talking from philosophical point of view on Krishna Consciousness is also chanting. The whole Srimad Bhagavatam is full of philosophical discussions and we are prepared to present our Krishna Consciousness movement both ways, whichever is suitable in special circumstances. If Mr. Renovich is interested only in philosophical discussions, we are prepared for that. But at the same time we are concerned mostly with the mass of people, therefore Hare Krishna kirtan is our life and soul. So there is no problem if Mr. Renovich is especially interested in scholarly philosophical discussions.

As he has invited me to live with him, since immediately we have no apartment of our own, you must see personally whether my living with Mr. Renovich will be suitable. Because you know that wherever I live, I live separately and my cooking and everything is done by my devotees. And under the circumstances, if the apartment of Mr. Renovich is too crowded, for Goursundar and his wife and myself all,* still you will have to do everything for me. That is, I cannot eat with Mr. Renovich, my food must be prepared separately, etc. So whether such facilities are available at Mr. Renovich's apartment, you must see personally all these points, and then let me know, whether or not I shall start.

Hoping you are well.

Your ever well-wisher,

*If so desired Goursundar and his wife may wait till we have our own apartment and I can go alone for the time being. So let us know what to do. [handwritten]