770425 - Letter to Akshoyananda from Tamal Krsna

25th April, 1977

From: Tamal Krishna

My dear Akshoyananda Maharaj,

Please accept my humble obeisances at your feet. As you may recall one Mr. Dwivedi who visited you in Vrndavana, was proposing to gain the help of our society in the matter of his land and buildings belonging to the Adarsh Seva Sangha. Now Mr. Dwivedi has seen Srila Prabhupada a number of times and His Divine Grace has decided to personally go to Pohri District, Shivpur, Madhya Pradesh. Mr. Dwivedi has proposed that the various rural programs going on there need the help and direction of Srila Prabhupada. There are many nice buildings and the land is also said to be very good, so it looks as if it could be an ideal opportunity for establishing our full village program. Therefore Srila Prabhupada is enthusiastic for going there. At the same time because His Divine Grace’s health has not been good, Srila Prabhupada is thinking that a change will improve his health.

The program which we have fixed up with Mr. Dwivedi is for Srila Prabhupada to leave Bombay via the Punjab Mail departing on the 6th of May and arriving in Gwalior on the 7th of May. Mr. Dwivedi has a house in Gwalior: Gopal Madhan, Hospital Road, Gwalior (Lashkar), telephone number 21609.Srila Prabhupada after reaching Gwalior, will spend the night there either at the home of Mr. Dwivedi or at the Birla guest house if it is available. Then the next morning, the 8th of May, the party will travel to Pohri which is supposed to take about three hours by car. The same evening a Pandal program will begin and will last for a total of four consecutive days. If we see that the program is being widely attended by the many villagers in the area, then naturally the program will be extended and Srila Prabhupada will also extend his visit there. Mr. Dwivedi has telephoned to the President of India, Mr. Jatti, who has expressed his agreement to attend the program, and Mr. Dwivedi is traveling to Delhi on the 29th of April to confirm the President’s coming. Mr. Dwivedi has taken the necessary photographs and other information for advertising the pandal as well as printing handbills, etc. Our hope is that the program will attract many villagers and that they can be induced to actually participate in the regular program of Krsna conscious life on this land utilizing these buildings, etc. Srila Prabhupada will require his car to be brought to Gwalior to meet His Divine Grace at the train station. It is understood that you have purchased another new car and Srila Prabhupada says that may also be brought. In fact His Divine Grace wishes for the party from Vrndavana to reach two days in advance of his coming, in order to see that all preparations are in order. I think this would be a nice opportunity for your good self to come and do some preaching. In any case Srila Prabhupada wants Bishvambharaji to be one of the three devotees who come, and if you can also come, that will be very nice. We are trying to arrange for all eight persons in our party to arrive on the 7th, but due to difficulty in reservation, it may only be possible for Prabhupada’s party of four to reach on the 7th, the other four reaching on the 5th.You should arrive by the 5th giving two days for looking to all arrangements. We have just got tickets for all 8 on the 6th May. Mr. Dwivedi will be at Gwalior until the 5th if you want to contact him & when you go, go to his Gwalior house.

The arrangements should be the following. First you should look to a proper reception at the Gwalior train station. Next you should see to the proper facilities for Prabhupada’s stay in Gwalior that evening and overnight. Next there should be sufficient vehicles arranged for the other members of Prabhupada’s party to go to Pohri. Only five persons including His Divine Grace will be able to travel in Srila Prabhupada’s car, so others must be accommodated in other vehicles. At Pohri Mr. Dwivedi has arranged for His Divine Grace and party to stay at the rooms which he normally occupies. I have included a sketch of these rooms with this letter and you may study it. Please see that the rooms are clean and that each one has a fan as Mr. Dwivedi promised he would arrange for. The back room marked “to be completed” is supposed to be finished being built by the time Srila Prabhupada arrives. Please see if this is possible. There should also be proper cooking equipment ready for Prabhupada’s cook to utilize. Also there should be good lighting and electrical outlets in every room for running the machines. In the toilet adjoining Prabhupada’s bedroom, please see that they have fixed up a western style commode, which Mr. Dwivedi said he would arrange for. (It is not possible for Srila Prabhupada to use the Indian style commode.) Please also see that the necessary foodstuffs are available for Srila Prabhupada’s cook to use on the day we arrive there. Regarding the pandal, there should be a strong large stage with a nice Vyasasana arrangement. There should be good lighting, and especially a good loudspeaker system. All of these things Mr. Dwivedi said he would arrange for. They should also send a loud-speaker announcer on a rickshaw to the local villages to advertise the event, thus ensuring a good crowd on the opening day.

There are some very important items which you must bring with you from Vrndavana. These include the following: The largest set of Gaura-Nitai and set of Radha-Krsna Deities available along with a full set of clothing for each should be brought so that we may install these at Pohri. Also an arotik set. These should be the biggest size that you have on hand. You should also bring karatals and mrdangas for the pandal kirtan. Also you should bring quantities of Hindi books and magazines for sale at the program. You know best how many of these to bring, and I would further advise that the third member of your party be a good book distributor. These Hindi books are very important. Furthermore you should bring a full set of Srila Prabhupada’s books for display purposes. Also bring a sixteen-millimeter projector, screen, and films which we will show at the pandal. If you only have eight-millimeter, then bring it, but somehow make arrangements for the projector, screen and films to be showing at the pandal. I think you must have these at Krsna-Balaram Temple. I hope everything is clear? Please confirm by telegram that you have received this letter and that you are preparing to go to Gwalior as per the above plan. Looking forward to your very good association, I beg to remain

Your servant,

Tamal Krsna Gosvami

Secretary to Srila Prabhupada

/tkg

His Holiness Akshoyananda Maharaja

c/o Krsna-Balaram Mandir

Ramana-reti, Vrndavana

Original Hand Delivered by Prabha Vishnu Das

c.c. Bishambhar Dayal