690521 - Letter to Sivananda written from New Vrindaban, USA

Letters by Date, 1969

Tridandi Goswami

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
CENTER: New Vrindaban
RD 3 Moundsville, W.V. U.S.A. [handwritten]

DATE May 21, 1969

My Dear Sivananda,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 13 and noted the contents very carefully and your ideas are just in accordance with the idea of a preacher. Your proposition to establish a center and then hand it over to the people who come later on and then start another center is the desire of Lord Chaitanya. So kindly do this. You have now someway or other brought into some status the Hamburg center and as soon as it is going on nicely, you can start another center in any country of the Central Europe. As far as your decision to remain a brahmachary, it is very good, and if you follow the rules and regulations and chant regularly and pray to Lord Balarama and Chaitanya, surely He will give you the necessary strength. And if you can continue as brahmachary then to avoid so much botherations of worldly life. The great sage Narada is a brahmachary and with His Tamboura He is travelling all over the universes without any restriction and chanting Hare Krishna mantra and creating new devotees of the Lord. In the Bhagavad Gita it is said that one who does this service namely go on preaching the glories of the Lord and creating all devotees of the Lord that person is the most confidential and favorite of the Lord. I am so pleased to learn that Uttama is helping to bring in persons in our temple. Now Jaya Govinda is there and Mandali Bhadra and his wife are coming very soon in Germany and so you are already four and when Mandali Bhadra comes you become six. Why six? Seven. Because he has got a little boy. So your center Hamburg will very soon become as large a center as Los Angeles. So far incorporating our center is concerned, I think you should do it immediately. And if you want, you can take a copy of incorporation either from New York or from London and simply present a copy of our incorporation and get it registered. Police permission you must have because this outdoor Samkirtan is our life and soul and we are getting good response from other centers. And surely in your center also the same response will be available.

Regarding your question of Paramatma: you are fortunate enough for your sincere service, Krishna as Paramatma Who is sitting within your heart is now dictating. Krishna is so kind that He wants to help us as Spiritual Master in two ways. He helps us from within as Caitya Guru and He expands Himself externally as Siksha Guru (as instructor) and diksha Guru (initiator). So the principle is that whatever you are instructed by the Chaitya Guru internally may be confirmed by the instructor or initiator externally. Then your progress will be complete. Hope this will find you in good health. Thanking you once more.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami