701219 - Letter to Advaita written from Surat

Letters by Date, 1970

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

CAMP: c/o Kailash Seksaria; 74 Marine Drive; Bombay-20, India
December 19th, 1970

My Dear Advaita,
Please accept my blessings and offer the same to your good wife, Balai Dasi, and your daughter, Nandinidevi. I am in due receipt of your letter dated December 4th, 1970, although I did not receive any letter from you addressed to Calcutta. I am travelling extensively now throughout the country of India, so sometimes my mail does not reach me promptly or there is some chance of its being missed.
Anyway, I am so much relieved to hear from you, and I was sure that you could not actually be entrapped by Maya. I have always been confident of your steadiness in Krsna Consciousness because of your great determination in serving the mission of the Lord in such great measure these last few years by your working long hours and more with our ISKCON Press. So I think that the recent disturbances are easily to be set aright and you should go on again fully engaged in our printing work there. We have got a great lot of work to do and you should immediately pick up the press work again so that time may not be wasted with the press idle.
I know that Satsvarupa has got too much other engagement to be able to devote the requisite time for managing the press department. I had never considered either closing down our ISKCON Press or removing your responsibility for managing the press affairs. You may immediately resume your former activities and work the press according to your best ability because I am very eager to see our own press printing the majority of our publications. The first thing now should be the printing of the new, enlarged edition of Bhagavad Gita As It Is. That will be a great boon to our Movement. I have already decided that the necessary funds for printing the book should come from the England sales of our KRSNA book. London has got $20,000 worth of KRSNA Books so they should sell them and send immediately $17,000 to ISKCON Press for printing according to your estimate. The plan to print 10,000 copies, 5,000 for India and 5,000 for U.S.A., etc. is approved by me. Please do it. I have been very much encouraged and pleased to receive the two latest chapters of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Second Canto. So this printing must go on. ISKCON Press remains our big mridanga and the backbone of our Movement.
So far your need for constant engagement in press work is concerned, I do not see that there should be any difficulty if you attend the classes daily when our literatures are read and discussed. It is alright if you do not attend the Aratrika, but you must remain fixed up by attending the classes. Two hours daily in the classes will not be too much time away from press work. I give you my permission to work in this way. Now adjust things as you find it convenient and please begin work again immediately. I know that you are in need of constantly working the press and the press is constantly in need of being worked. If you are individually the manager of ISKCON Press, I have no objection, but you must work nicely and the GBC will be satisfied.
Please thank Balai for her nice note to me. She is a very good and faithful devotee wife. You are both most fortunate couple in Krsna's service. So please remain all together with your family in Krsna consciousness and be happy. I am writing to Satsvarupa to help you as I have suggested. Hope this will meet you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS:ds