740625 - Letter to Yadunandana written from Melbourne

Letters by Date, 1974

Letter to Jadunandan

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness

DATE
June 25, 1974
CENTER             14 Burnett St.
                         St. Kilda, Victoria
                         Melbourne, Australia

My dear Jadunandan,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of May 26th and have noted the contents.
Yes there are example of Krsna Conscious persons whose worship was solitary life, and the greatest example is Haridas Thakur. Haridas Thakur used to live only in a cave sometimes and would spend his whole time chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra. Similarly Gour Keshore das Babaji the spiritual master of my guru maharaj would chant alone in a solitary place so as not to be bothered by anyone in his meditation on Krsna. But these great personalities are not to be imitated. If we artificially imitate, out of some negative feeling or out of desire for adoration as a saintly person, it will not be very beneficial. On the authority of Lord Caitanya and my spiritual master, I am requesting my disciples to always stay in the association of devotees and to propagate the sankirtan movement all over the world, so that others may get a chance also to become liberated from the material condition. Prahlad Maharaj prayed I am not satisfied to go back to the kingdom of God alone, but I must bring back with me all these poor fools who have no alternative ultimately than to surrender to You. This form of worship called gostananandi is more superior than the gostananandi or the holy man who lives alone in meditation of the Lord within the heart. This is the estimation of the scripture.
It is very encouraging that you are feeling convinced of the genuineness of the Hare Krsna movement and the disciples as at New Vrindaban. Although you feel you must leave their company sometimes you should pray to Krsna to give you the intelligence to seek out the association of genuine Vaisnavas more and more. That will insure your own genuineness, if you always engage in chanting Hare Krishna, avoid the four sinful prohibitions, then it does not matter where you are, you can attain to perfect love of Krsna.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS/sdg
John Tekiner
1155 Marine St.
no. 312
Boulder, Colorado