680725 - Letter to Harivilasa written from Montreal

Letters by Date, 1968

A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI
Camp: ISKCON RADHA KRISHNA TEMPLE
3720 Park Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

July 25, 1968

My Dear Harivilas,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 8, 1968, and regarding your previous letter or any other letters, it is my habit to reply each and every letter. You have complained that in Canada your letters are missing. This is not a fact. Of course, since the last four days there is a postal strike, nation wide in Canada, and there may be some irregularities now. But I have received all your letters in the past regularly, and I replied them also, without delay. The letters are missing somewhere in your return address, because you are moving very swiftly, from one place to another. And I think if you want to do some real service to Krishna, and to the society, you should now fix up your mind to follow my instructions and do some tangible work. Unless you fix up your mind to serve your Spiritual Master, Who is direct representative of Krishna, it is not possible to approach Krishna. Krishna is approached through the transparent via media, of Spiritual Master. Anyway, the letter which you sent me 3 weeks prior was duly received by me and I have duly replied them point to point, and if you have not received that letter, I am enclosing a true copy of the reply which will clear all the points raised by you. Regarding the Murtis, the letter will explain.

In your letter under reply, I find that you are now anxious to return to the USA. I do not think that you will be more serviceable in the USA than in India; I think if you try to remain in India in fixed up mind, you can do greater service to Krishna. The first thing is that many of my disciples are always ready to go to India, but I do not encourage them to go there at the present moment because practically we have no organized branch there. Achyutananda has formally opened a branch in Delhi, c/o Radha Press, but I do not think it is acting very nicely. Because you are not combined. If you combine together there, following my instructions, you can develop a branch in India anywhere very nicely. How to do it, that I shall give you instructions. You have simply to carry out my instructions in that respect. But at the present moment you are not prepared to follow my instructions. You are simply visiting different places, for sight seeing recreation. This sort of service is not accepted by Krishna. You are thinking of coming back to USA because your sight seeing business is now finished. But now you should think what service you have rendered to Krishna by going to India. Sometimes back, when you were in Nabadwip, I asked you to send some mridangas, but you declined to execute the order. I asked you also to develop one ashram at Mayapur, that also you declined. Similarly, Achyutananda was bent on opening a center at Kanpur, and the result is that instead of opening a center, there, he has lost two typewriters, taken away by force by some rogue there.

So, so long whatever you have done, both you and Achyutananda, let us forget those things. Now if you decide to work rigidly on my instructions in India, then I can give you necessary instructions. Otherwise, you can do whatever you like.

Regarding your coming back, it is not very good that you are begging money from Indians to come back. I understand that you asked for help from Mr. Poddar, Rs. 5000 as loan for your coming back to the USA. Such kind of begging does not behove for the American students. It is against the reputation of American wealth, as well as our society. Even though you get some money by such begging, the government will not allow you to return to USA with Indian money. You have to take money from your country for coming back, or you have to take help from your ambassador in India for coming back. The Indian government cannot pay anything from the Indian exchange to outside countries. So do not try to make collection for coming back to the USA. For your coming back, either your family members or your government or somebody here must send you money or a ticket for coming back. Last time when I was coming back the same difficulty arose, and I had to pay my ticket fare as well as Kirtanananda's ticket fare, amounting to Rs. 11,000, from my book-fund, which I dispatched to USA. I dispatched 13,000 Rs. worth books from India, out of which I have paid that 11,000 Rs. So this is the exchange condition. I think therefore, that when you have gone to India, for the time being you should forget your mother country, USA. A Krishna Conscious person is supposed to be without any designation. So why should you think yourself as a citizen of USA? You should always think yourself as servant of Krishna. And as servants of Krishna, you combine together and develop a nicer International Society in India. There are so many works to be done there. The Radha Press was entrusted for printing of my books, and he was paid 2000 Rs. in advance for printing of the books, but they have informed Achyutananda that they are unable to print the books. Now neither they are returning the money, nor printing the books, and I do not know what is the meaning. Please try to settle up this matter. Ask Hitsharan Sharma to return back the money and deposit in my bank so that I can pay the money to some other press and begin the printing of books immediately. I am very sorry that he has neither printed my books nor is giving me the chance to get it printed in another press. So all of you 3 immediately settle up this thing and let me know the result. I have already written to Achyutananda about this 3 times, but no effect is there till now.

In the concluding part of your letter, you write to say, "All of the westerners here in Hrshikesh show keen interest in Krishna Consciousness and some even attended large Kirtan at Gita Bhawan with us." From this one line you should know and understand how much potency is there for preaching our philosophy of Krishna Consciousness to the western people. The western boys and girls, actually they are frustrated in their material opulence. They are searching after something spiritual. That is a fact. And you personally already know better than I can explain. So if you can consolidate all these western youngsters in search after some spiritual enlightenment, this will be a great service to your country, to your community, and to the world at large in the transcendental loving service of Krishna. Try to organize this movement in India. Attract the western youngsters to this Krishna Consciousness; have at least 3 centers, one in Hrshikesh, one in Vrindaban, one in Bombay. I am stressing on Bombay center for the fact that in Bombay, you will find a better atmosphere of English speaking people. In Bombay, 99% both men and women of all denominations, they speak English. So there you will have better chance for mixing with the Indian people. And in Hrshikesha, the westerners are attracted for finding out some recluse, for practicing so-called yoga. So if you can attract all the westerners in India in that way, it will be a great service, and I am repeatedly requesting you to take up this matter seriously and combine together.

Yes, we are planning to go to London as a Samkirtan party of 12 heads, by the month of September. And Mukunda in San Francisco and Hansadutta in New York, they are combinedly planning this scheme. But I think you have got better responsibility in India than to come here and join them. As they are doing the Samkirtan program here nicely, similarly, you can also combinedly do the same work in India to attract the westerners who go there for some spiritual enlightenment. I think you will understand me right and try to do your best to give a shape to this idea.

Thanking you once more, and hoping you are keeping in good health,

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Sriman Harivilas Brahmachary
c/o Radha Press
933/3 Main Road
Ghandi Nagar
Dehli-31, India

Enclosed - 1 [handwritten]