690817 - Letter to Govinda dasi written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1969

Tridandi Goswami

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
CENTER: 1975 So. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, Cal. 90034

DATE.....August..17th,........1969

My Dear Govinda Dasi,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated August 9th, 1969. In the meantime I have sent one tape to Goursundar. Perhaps you might have received it, and if it is all right, then I can send you many other tapes, similarly stereoed. From the description of your letter I understand that Hawaii is good field for our preaching work. The hippies are actually immediate candidates for our Krishna Consciousness. We pray to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, "My dear Lord, Your Incarnation is to claim the most fallen souls." So in this age of Kali almost everyone is dangerously fallen, and the hippies appear to be still more greater fallen. Besides that, from their behavior it appears they like this movement. This is a very good sign. Your description of that Yogi Sai, that is also little hopeful. He is reading Bhagavad-gita and quoting some lines. So you are very intelligent; you can tackle these people very nicely, assisted by your good husband and the other boys and girls. You write that you have desire to avail of my association again, but why do you forget that you are always in association with me? When you are helping my missionary activities I am always thinking of you and you are always thinking of me. That is real association. Just like I always think of my Guru Maharaj every moment, although He is not physically present, and because I am trying to serve Him to my best capacity, I am sure He is helping me by His spiritual blessings. So there are two kinds of association: physical and preceptorial. Physical association is not so important as preceptorial association. So try to preach this Krishna Consciousness Movement amongst the hippies there, and simply induce them to chant Hare Krishna. If they kindly join in chanting Hare Krishna, that will make our movement successful. Then gradually make them more and more advanced by participating in Love Feasts and ceremonies, like Janmastami and Rathayatra. Then everything will go smoothly. The only thing wanted is that we should work very sincerely, with full faith in Krishna and the Spiritual Master. Then all help will come automatically.

Regarding mango recipe directions, it may be done as follows: first of all collect the juice, then boil it on fire until it is a thick pulp. And while boiling, add a little salt also. That will act as a preservative; but don't make it salty. Then spread the boiled pulp in thin layers on dishes or suitable pots and dry it in the sunshine. I think it will come out successful. Regarding Sadhana Ausadhalaya, you can write to him c/o Kaviraj Rajani Chandra Shastri, 227 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Calcutta-7. Let him know the symptoms of your ailment, and ask him to send some good medicines. But the difficulty will be for the vehicles. In the Ayurvedic medicine there are vehicles which are very difficult to obtain in this country. So you should advise them to send medicine and suitable vehicles which can't be obtained in this country. But if the medicine is only mixed with honey, as they usually do, then there is no difficulty. You can refer my name also to this physician. Then he will be more careful.

Regarding Holy Days, I am very glad that you performed Guru Purnima, and you offered puffed up cachores. You must have enjoyed Prasadam very nicely, but you forgot the statement bracketed on that list, 'special honoring of the Spiritual Master', and that you had to send some contribution to the book fund. Never mind, you can do it again on the 5th of September and rectify the mistake. I hope it will not be a very difficult job. Regarding celebrations of other holidays, they will be described as to how they should be celebrated in future memos to all of the temples. I think by now you must have received instructions how to celebrate Julunyatra festival. As you have suggested, I shall inform Tamal Krishna and Brahmananda that you are in need of some issues of BTG #22, containing the first part of Ishopanishad.

Please offer my blessings to Goursundar, Balabhadra, Turyadas, Jayasri, and the others. I hope this will meet you all in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

P.S. Are you getting some inquiries for the books after the review published?[handwritten]

P.S. If you take green bananas, peel them and put them out in the sun to dry for one, two, three days—till it is dry—then these may be sent to me, especially when I go to Europe. This is a very good tonic for liver, and I am now having these unripen bananas daily in Los Angeles.