690220 - Letter to Rayarama written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1969

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

February 20, 1969

My Dear Rayarama,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated February 16, 1969. The letterhead is very impressive with the picture of Lord Caitanya dancing, and just below His Lotus Feet is the word, Back To Godhead. According to Narottama das Thakura, one has to worship the Lotus Feet of Nityananda, and by His Grace one is able to worship Lord Caitanya Who transfers us back to Godhead. So the picture and the arrangement is very nice. The most concerning part of your letter is about your health. You write to say that by 3 o'clock in the evening you get a slight fever, and your head begins to ache, and you feel tired and wish to take rest. This is not a very good sign. The immediate program is that you will have to be relieved from these symptoms. So the first thing is that you should take complete rest. So far as New York is concerned, I don't think different engagement there will allow you to take rest. I would have advised you to go to New Vrindaban immediately but it is cold there like in New York. Under the circumstances, if you like to come here and take rest you are welcome. But wherever you like you may take rest and not be strained at all. That is my opinion, and I shall be glad to know what you are going to do in this connection.

Regarding your fraternal quarrel, these departmental management sometimes creates such trouble. When I was in New York in the beginning of our activities there was no departmental management. The account was very clearly kept by Gargamuni, corroborated by regular vouchers. That is the true system of keeping accounts. Now whatever is done is done. I am glad to know that Subala is making good show of business and responsibility, and he is supposed to keep quite accurate accounts of bookkeeping. So you can advise him to follow the system of vouchers. That is the perfect system of account.

Regarding printing 20,000 copies of Back To Godhead, I have appealed to 4 centers, namely New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London to contribute $750 monthly. I have got confirmation from Los Angeles, so I shall be glad to hear from New York also whether this center is going to hand over to me $750 per month. I have no objection if this $750 is collected in the way of advertisements from New York, but charges will be increased because we are going to print 20,000 copies henceforward. So we shall charge $100 per page and we shall not accept any advertisements from the hippies. So who is going to pay me this $750? If I get $750 from the 4 centers, then I shall take charge of distribution; because Brahmananda has already taken responsibility for distributing the books. I simply want this contribution continually at least for 6 months against delivery of 5,000 copies of Back To Godhead. If I am able to print 20,000 copies continually for 6 months, perhaps I will no longer require the contribution from the different centers. Therefore, please ask Subala or any one else in New York center who is going to collect this $750 and pay me.

So far as your fraternal quarrel is concerned, I may recite in this connection one story: An old father required massaging so all the children wanted to serve the father. The father divided the right and left portion of his body to be served by the children. Later along with the service, there was some quarrel between the children, and they were competing by hitting the parts of the father which was assigned to the opposing party. So the father said that you are hitting my different parts due to your opposition to one another, but I am therefore dying. Similarly, either this department or that department, if you quarrel amongst yourselves it will be detrimental to my missionary ambition. Please therefore stop this unnecessary strain. If there is any misunderstanding, it will be solved when I am present there in April. In the meantime, please live peacefully, and things may go on as it is going on.

My letterhead is already sent back to you. I hope that by now you have sent to Janardana the Bhagavad-gita manuscript. At last I may inform you that if you are thinking of transferring your department to San Francisco, I have no objection, but before you do so please come here to Los Angeles first. Then you may either remain here or proceed to New Vrindaban, San Francisco, Seattle, or Sante Fe as you think is best for you to take rest there. Also, regarding another editor to work as co-editor, I wish to invite Hayagriva to again become joint editor.

I shall be glad to hear from you at your earliest convenience on the above matters.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami