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108 centers during my lifetime - that is my special request

Correspondence

1967 Correspondence

Now Kirtanananda Swami is going very soon to the U.S.A., and I expect that all of you will combine together to open at least 108 centers before I leave this world.
Letter to Brahmananda -- Vrindaban 27 August, 1967:

Please accept my blessings. Your nice letter of 8/18 in hand; your nice philosophy that Krishna takes and Krishna gives, is very nice. This means Krishna is not impersonal. He is the Supreme Person and fully reciprocates. The impersonalist cannot reciprocate. Krishna does not take anything from them, neither does He give them anything. The Impersonal, therefore, simply enjoys the troubles of speculation. I have received news from Sante Fe that they have opened a nice branch there in an old castle, and it is very much pleasing to me. Now Kirtanananda Swami is going very soon to the U.S.A., and I expect that all of you will combine together to open at least 108 centers before I leave this world. I hope by this time you have seen Mr. Nehru; I am anxiously awaiting your report. I am also glad to learn that MacMillan is going to publish our books, and are including Gita and Bhagavatam on their spring lists. So I shall not bother to arrange for printing in India. Please confirm this.

Swami Kirtanananda has said we must avoid appearing to be Orientalists if we are to have 108 centers in the US.
Letter to Brahmananda -- Calcutta 14 October, 1967:

Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for sending me 2 copies of BTG stationery & envelopes. I have received a letter from Damodara (dated Oct. 9) in which he writes to say:

"Swami Kirtanananda has returned to the United States and is causing quite a stir among the devotees. Following his suggestions, we have stopped wearing robes and have cut off our flags. He said these appurtenances are too strange-looking to outsiders and only make it more difficult for them to consider chanting Hare Krishna. Swami Kirtanananda has said we must avoid appearing to be Orientalists if we are to have 108 centers in the US.

This is very much disturbing to me & has caused me much pain. Please therefore stop Kirtanananda from making his mental concoctions. Do not be misled by him. I have never advised him to act like that.

1969 Correspondence

I thank you very much for your good wishes for our opening 108 centers. Krishna will bless you and please try to help me.
Letter to Janaki -- Los Angeles 28 February, 1969:

I thank you very much for your good wishes for our opening 108 centers. Krishna will bless you and please try to help me. In England we will have to start at least 10 centers, and I understand from the activities of Mr. Parikh that it will not be a very difficult task.

Gargamuni has arrived here safely yesterday, and already he and Tamala Krishna are making plans to open 108 centers within a three year period. So I very much appreciate how my disciples are taking this movement to their heart of hearts, and are working very sincerely to propagate it.
Letter to Brahmananda -- Los Angeles 16 July, 1969:

Regarding land in India, I am corresponding with Acyutananda in this connection, and let us see how things develop. There is no need of you corresponding with him directly in this connection. Gargamuni has arrived here safely yesterday, and already he and Tamala Krishna are making plans to open 108 centers within a three year period. So I very much appreciate how my disciples are taking this movement to their heart of hearts, and are working very sincerely to propagate it. Another thing is, you may negotiate with the First National City Bank where I have got my account as to how we may start an account in their Calcutta Branch in the name of our International Society for Krishna Consciousness. We are doing so much business with India now, so if we can manage payment in American dollars, it will prevent all difficulties with the Reserve Bank. So please do this and inform me of your activities in this connection.

Here Tamala Krishna and Gargamuni have promised me to start a center every quarterly, and it is my ambition that I want to establish at least 108 centers; beginning from Hamburg, crossing over the Atlantic to your country, USA, then the Pacific, covering Hawaii and reaching to Tokyo, Japan. It is about 13,000 miles long, and do you think that 108 centers within 13,000 miles is a very difficult proposition? I don't think so.
Letter to Mukunda -- Los Angeles 28 July, 1969:

I understand from a letter from Gurudasa that you have elections for officers for your temple, and the men filling the posts are all very well suited for their position. Now all of you please make quickly the march towards the goal of Krishna Consciousness Movement being very successful. Here Tamala Krishna and Gargamuni have promised me to start a center every quarterly, and it is my ambition that I want to establish at least 108 centers; beginning from Hamburg, crossing over the Atlantic to your country, USA, then the Pacific, covering Hawaii and reaching to Tokyo, Japan. It is about 13,000 miles long, and do you think that 108 centers within 13,000 miles is a very difficult proposition? I don't think so. So you also try to to establish at least one dozen centers in England. Krishna das, combined with Mandali Bhadra, Jaya Govinda and Sivananda are already alert to establish some more branches in Europe. Sivananda is contemplating to open a branch in Copenhagen, and Krishna das is trying for another in Munich. So this news is very encouraging to me. I shall request you that your next attempt shall be to establish a center in Oxford, where I have heard you have successfully performed kirtana so the students postponed their attendance in economic class and wanted to enjoy the transcendental vibrations. So I shall request you again to establish another branch in Oxford as soon as possible.

My aim is that I want to start at least 108 centers during my lifetime. So there are about 23 centers already existing, and your list completes another 16. That is very encouraging.
Letter to Hayagriva, Vamanadeva, Pradyumna -- Tittenhurst 2 November, 1969:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 28, 1969. I have received also a spearate letter from Vamanadeva who is going to open a center in St. Louis. The list of proposed centers in different places is very encouraging to me. My aim is that I want to start at least 108 centers during my lifetime. So there are about 23 centers already existing, and your list completes another 16. That is very encouraging, and if factually it is done under a suitable scheme by your mutual cooperation, I have all approval for this, and you can do the needful.

1970 Correspondence

For the present, I have a plan for opening 108 centers all over America, Europe, Canada, Japan, and Australia. I have got at present 26 centers.
Letter to Sumati Morarjee -- Los Angeles 4 March, 1970:

For the present, I have a plan for opening 108 centers all over America, Europe, Canada, Japan, and Australia. I have got at present 26 centers. I have sent some of my devotees in Germany where people are more interested in this Hare Krsna movement. You will be pleased to know that simply in Germany alone our "Hare Krishna Mantra record has been sold to the extent of 57,000 copies.

For the present, I have got ambition to start at least 108 centers. My disciples are already scattered from Hamburg to Tokyo, and from Tokyo to Sydney. And more youngsters are joining us daily in this movement.
Letter to Hanuman Prasad Poddar -- Los Angeles 4 March, 1970:

For the present, I have got ambition to start at least 108 centers. My disciples are already scattered from Hamburg to Tokyo, and from Tokyo to Sydney. And more youngsters are joining us daily in this movement. By the grace of Krsna this Society is purchasing a very big church estate on the Venice Boulevard, one of the important highways of Los Angeles, and we shall remove there next April. When we go there, we shall be able to invite many important men of the city and try to convince them about our high philosophy. The atheist class of men foolishly inquire "Where is God? And we present them Krsna—here is God, and if you have got sense and intelligence just try to understand Krsna, whether He is not God.

Each pair should take care of a center; and if you love me at all, then all of you try your best to open at least 108 centers during my lifetime—that is my special request. At the same time, we must be very careful to see that every center is going properly.
Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Los Angeles 27 May, 1970:

So it is very encouraging that London Temple is being managed by one pair of husband and wife very nicely. Similarly each pair should take care of a center; and if you love me at all, then all of you try your best to open at least 108 centers during my lifetime—that is my special request. At the same time, we must be very careful to see that every center is going properly. Our possessing own building is not so important as it is important to see that everything is going on nicely in order.

So kindly you all together help me in these missionary activities and open at least 108 centers—that will satisfy me—and complete the publication of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Letter to Brahmananda -- Los Angeles 2 June, 1970:

So far possibility of opening centers, it is now definitely ascertained that there will be no difficulty to maintain a center anywhere on the basis of present procedure. The only thing required is that we have to create some nice devotees and expand opening of centers. Gargamuni is very much enthusiastic on this point, and he has recently opened another center in San Diego. Rupanuga also informs that there is possibility of opening many other centers. He was recommending Chicago as a very nice place for opening our center. So kindly you all together help me in these missionary activities and open at least 108 centers—that will satisfy me—and complete the publication of Srimad-Bhagavatam.

1975 Correspondence

Now I want that there should be established 108 temples before my death, so you think how to do it. Make some program, train up devotees.
Letter to Madhudvisa -- Bombay 10 November, 1975:

As a child when I was going to the neighboring Mallik temple, I was thinking then when will I have such a nice Deity to worship and now Krsna is so kind that I am establishing so many nice temples all over the world. Now I want that there should be established 108 temples before my death, so you think how to do it. Make some program, train up devotees. All temples in Melbourne, London, Paris, Bombay, all are very nice. Everything is very bright and brilliant. The Deity is proof of the sincere service. It is the duty of the GBC now to maintain this. Their duty is how to enthuse them and maintain.

Page Title:108 centers during my lifetime - that is my special request
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:06 of Dec, 2009
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=11
No. of Quotes:11