680301 - Letter to Acyutananda written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1968

March I, 1968

A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI
Camp: I.S.K.C.O.N. Radha Krsna Temple
5364 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, Cal. 90019

My Dear Achyutananda,

Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter addressed to Mukunda and Guru das, in which you write to say that I may send you a telegram sanctioning your return. This means that you have become very much anxious to return back to USA, and I have become very much anxious to return back to USA, and I have also already sanctioned it, in reply to your last letter post-dated Feb. 21. The real thing is that you are feeling alone, and because you are so to say, child, you have become nervous. Otherwise for a preacher there is no difficulty anywhere, irrespective of climate and conditions. I came here in the month of December, and as my country is warmer to you, similarly your country is colder to me. I am also in diseased condition. When dI first came to your country I passed through practically all the seasons. I came here in 1965, Sept., and I remained in the Northern portion of your country, namely N.Y., Penn., and Mass., etc., continually from Sept. 1965 to Dec. 1966. And you know how much severe cold is N.Y.; I passed through snow on the N.Y. street, so certainly I wasn't very much in comfortable situation. Still I had the strength of mind, and I continued to stay. Similarly,[text missing] if you have strength of mind, you can stay always in India even in the most inconvenient condition. Another difficulty is that although you are four already in India, you cannot live together. Ramanuja left the camp as soon as I left you. You do not like Harivilasa. So you are living scattered. That is another difficulty. If you would have lived together with mutual cooperation, there would have been no trouble; but I think that is also not possible.

In my plain opinion, I think if you can all three at present moment, namely yourself, Harivilasa, and Rsikesa, live together, there will be no difficulty. You are going to Vrindaban, so formerly you told me that you selected a very nice house at Rs 50 per month, why not take that house and live together, all three, chant Hare Krsna, and try to remain in transcendental peace. In Vrindaban, the system is that during daytime one can live downstairs and with door closed, and electric fan running on. I was staying in Radha Damodara Temple in my room in the same way, by closing the door, making it complete dark and running on the fan. I was never in trouble. So if one is determined to stay, things could be adjusted to live together in Krsna Conscious cooperation.

I do not however, insist that you to stay, but if you like you can take that house at Rs 50 per month, and start an American House there immediately. Or as you have decided, you can come back to USA by end of March; I have no objection. But [text missing] before coming, you should keep my things properly in my room, and lock it properly, and bring the keys with you and deliver them to me when I shall be in N.Y. in the month of April. The cooking utensils, blankets, and the typewriter, my be kept very safely in the room. The typewriter may be kept in the metal box, and the blankets and wrappers may be hanged from the ceiling hanger. And the money which you've got, may be deposited in my account in the Punjab National Bank, account number 9913.

When you come back, you can please bring with you 2 lbs. of Triphala, and 2 lbs. of Badailaich.

I hope you are feeling better by this time.

Your ever well-wisher,
[unsigned]