700219 - Letter to Sucandra written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1970

FEB 19 1970

My Dear Suchandra,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 8 February, 1970, and I am glad to learn that you are trying to make your service more perfect, that is most encouraging to me.
It is most important that our activities be regular or, in other words, on a schedule. Everyone should chant his beads sixteen rounds daily without fail and follow the regulative principles strictly. These basic Krsna Conscious duties are essential to be performed regularly, and they will give you the necessary strength of spirit to keep always fixed up in devotional service. As soon as a devotee is regularly engaged in this way, always engaged in Krsna Consciousness, Krsna will reveal the whole spiritual science from within the heart of such sincere devotee.
This program of chanting and following the rules and regulations will give you spiritual intelligence for understanding the Bhagavad gita and our other scriptures also. In this connection, I think that since you have some difficulty in reading our English edition of Bhagavad Gita As It Is, you can study more easily from the copies of Mandali Bhadra's German translations of the same. Perhaps you can assist him in some respect also by proofreading his work. So you may inquire from him in this way.
It is said in the Srimad Bhagavatam that this devotional service is so powerful that even if a devotee occasionally falls down from the standard there is no loss for him. If he is sincere, he will automatically rectify his error and Lord Krsna immediately purifies him from within. This is stated in the Bhagavad Gita also, that for the devotee Krsna gives all protection, and there is never any loss for him. But if one is not engaged in Krsna Consciousness, there is no gain for him in any position of material life.
So we must stick firmly to the chanting of the Holy Name and following the rules. This will keep us from being tricked by Maya. But there is no question of disappointment for some temporary bewilderment. We are all new and weak in this Krsna Consciousness. Just as everyone in the hospital is diseased, and although they are trying to become well there is a chance that anyone of them may relapse, but that does not mean that the hospital should be closed. It is now our business to struggle with Maya, and when we win out by Krsna's grace that is to regain our natural healthy life of Krsna Consciousness. So there is no case of disappointment.
I am very happy to know that so many young boys and girls are now becoming attracted to the Hamburg Temple. I can understand that there is great interest in Germany for Krsna Consciousness. So continue to push our Samkirtan movement more vigorously so that the people may become more and more attracted by this transcendental sound--Hare Krsna--and that will be the greatest service to bring them the true welfare and happiness of life.
Hope this will meet you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami