690615 - Letter to Krishna Devi 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, West Virginia

DATE: June 15, 1969

My Dear Krishna Devi,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated Ekadasi, June 19, 1969, and I have noted the contents with pleasure. I am so pleased to note that you are chanting nicely and that Krishna is encouraging you in so many ways. This is the actual position that if we are sincerely chanting our rounds, following the prescribed regulative principles, and avoiding the ten offenses, then very quickly Krishna sees our efforts and He gives all encouragement to such sincere soul. Then with this taste of Krishna Consciousness, we become more and more attracted, so more and more Krishna gives encouragement, and then more and more we increase in our desire to serve Krishna in pure Krishna Consciousness. So in this way there is an unlimited ocean of nectar of devotional service which eternally increases on and on. When we begin this sublime chanting process, or even if we simply hear the sound Hare Krishna, then we have begun our journey back to the Spiritual Kingdom, back to Godhead. So please continue to be serious in your chanting, and then surely Krishna will save you and all the other sincere souls who are so fortunate to have taken to this movement.

I am pleased to learn that you are thinking of putting together a cookbook of our Krishna prasadam recipes. I understand that in London, Yamuna Dasi has already done some work on this same project, so you may correspond with her in this connection. I know that at our feasts especially many persons become interested in preparing foodstuffs in this way, so this cookbook is a nice thing to instruct such persons in preparing and offering nice prasadam for the Lord. So when there is some tangible book ready for publication, please inform me, and we shall try to arrange for its publication. I am pleased to note your description of the increasing interest in vegetarian diet in this country. Actually, the practice of meat-eating is very detrimental to spiritual life, because in spiritual life the goal is to become free from all sinful reactions, and meat-eating means simply to force oneself to suffer the sinful reactions of killing our fellow living entities. So as many people will be taking to practicing spiritual life through the influence of our Sankirtan Movement, such cookbook will be very important, and you should work for this as you are able. Please convey my blessings to your husband, Dinesh, and to your child, Vishnu Arati. I hope this will find you all well.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami