Population (Letters)

Expressions researched:
"populace" |"populate" |"populated" |"populating" |"population" |"populations"

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Letter to R. Prakash -- Allahabad 22 June, 1951:

According to Vedic scriptures the present age is called Kali-yuga and almost all human beings are now degraded to the standard of the mode of ignorance and therefore the greater number of population are subjected to the pangs of the threefold miseries of material existence in the most horrible manner.

1967 Correspondence

Letter to Mukunda -- New York 5 May, 1967:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 1, 1967 and thank you very much. You will be pleased to know that yesterday at noon at the City College of New York I had a very successful meeting amongst the students. There were about 200 students present, and at the last kirtana they all danced and sung with me, and there were 20 minutes of answers and questions. This meeting was arranged by the Philosophy Dept. Chairman, so it was very nice and successful. Regarding your inquiry about the individual soul present, I think you will remember that I have several times explained that throughout the whole cosmic creation, not only in the cosmic creation, in the Spiritual World also, the individual is full everywhere, they are numberless. In the material world, the number of souls are very small. In the Spiritual World the number of individual souls are far far greater than what they are here. The conditioned souls are just like prisoners, as we have got less population in the prison house, similarly, in the material world the number of individual souls are very small. So you may understand from me that the individual souls are everywhere, means, anywhere you go within this material world there are individual living entities, in all planets in the outer space, in the water, on the land everywhere.

Letter to Subala -- San Francisco 16 December, 1967:

Please accept my blessings. On my arrival from India I am very much pleased to receive your letter of 12/13/67 and much encouraged to know that you have again found out a nice place in the city of Santa Fe to continue your transcendental activities. I think it was Krishna's desire that you should be induced to find out a better place in Santa Fe. My Guru Maharaja never liked to open a Branch preaching center in a place where there is less population. We are not meant for living peacefully in a secluded place. We are meant for recuiting Krishna's eternal servants and therefore a better populated place. Of course we don't neglect the villagement but our first preference is to the cities. Please therefore organize the place nicely. Both you and Srimati Krishna devi are sincere workers for Krishna Consciousness and as such Krishna will never put you in difficulty, rest assured. Don't be discouraged. Sit down tightly husband and wife. If nobody comes to hear, please chant and hear yourself. Success or failure does not matter. On the Absolute world there is no such relativities as a success and failure. The one thing in the Absolute world is to serve Krishna. Don't care for the result. Krishna must know that we are working very seriously and that is our success of life.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Dayananda, Nandarani -- Montreal 24 August, 1968:

Please accept my blessings. I received your letter dated July 18, after the mail strike as well as Nandarani's letter, along with it. And I thank you very much for them. Regarding immigration: I have already received immigration in Canada, so there is no difficulty for my going to USA, but still I am trying to get immigration of religious minister into the USA, and it is progressing well. I think there will be no difficulty in coming and going to USA, either from Canada or anywhere, so don't be worried about it. Krishna will help us. Now, regarding your question: "What is the difference between Jagannatha deities and Krishna Murti and why is the latter not fed and cared for as well as the former and why are Jagannathas more tolerant?" Krishna means Himself and all His expansions, different expansions. So sometimes, Krishna appears as Vasudeva, sometimes as Sankarsana, sometimes as Jagannatha, sometimes as Lord Caitanya, sometimes as Rama, so all such different incarnations includes the Name Krishna. So Jagannatha is another feature of Krishna, and He is especially favorable to the people who are not strictly advanced to the Brahminical culture of Vedic rituals. Lord Jagannatha is situated in India, at Puri; this place is one of the towns of Orissa province. And the people of Orissa and Bengal, they are sometimes fish-eaters, why sometimes—about 90% population they are fish-eaters. But Jagannatha Swami in Puri, He accepts service from these people although they are sometimes fish-eaters. So in the Kali yuga, the people are supposed to be not so clean, and therefore, service to Jagannatha Swami is preferred. So far service to Laksmi-Narayana, and Radha Krishna, it requires highly elevated position, transcendental to Brahmins. But still, either we serve Jagannatha or Radha Krishna, the effect is the same. But to facilitate the worship of the Lord in the Form of Jagannatha is more congenial than others. But when anything is offered to Jagannatha, it does not mean that it is not taken by Krishna. So in the temple, although we offer to Jagannatha, it is also accepted by Krishna. Be rest assured of this fact.

Letter to Kirtanananda -- Seattle 22 September, 1968:

This Seattle city is understood to be very big in area, and appears to be very peaceful also, because the population is less, and they are little responsive also. I think gradually this center will also grow very nicely.

Letter to Hamsaduta -- Los Angeles 12 December, 1968:

You have expressed some new ideas to improve BTG of the English Back To Godhead, but I think that there is no need to interrupt their way of thinking. Now you have a chance for your own edition so do it nicely and according to your own ideas. You are artist, so you have facilities to make a very nice edition to sell to the French public. Since in Montreal 75% of the populace are speaking French I think you have very good chance to popularize and improve this magazine.

Letter to Ananda -- Los Angeles 17 December, 1968:

I am glad that you have already started a center in small scale and please try to improve it as far as possible. There is no question of doing anything very hastily so please try to make steady, even if slow, progress. So far as the Indian population is concerned, I think that the Sikh are useless for our purpose. They do not understand our philosophy nor are they interested in spiritual advancement of life. We have no such discretion that we have to pick our members from a particular group of people. Everyone is Krishna's part and parcel and wherever we find it convenient we will pick up a person to be trained in Krishna Consciousness who is interested in going back to Home, back to Godhead.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Kirtanananda -- Los Angeles 12 January, 1969:

A first examination will be held sometimes next January on Bhagavad-gita As It Is, and those passing will have the degree of Bhakti-sastri. Next year we will hold an examination on Srimad-Bhagavatam, and the person who passes will have the title Bhakti-vaibhava. And the next year we shall hold an examination on Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Nectar of Devotion and Vedanta Sutra, and those who will successfully pass will be awarded with the title of Bhaktivedanta. By 1975, all of those who have passed all of the above examinations will be specifically empowered to initiate and increase the number of the Krishna Consciousness population.

Letter to Krsna dasa -- Los Angeles 13 February, 1969:

Regarding Jaya Govinda, the concessional rate of $200 suggested by you to Jaya Govinda is very nice. What is there if he comes from New Delhi to Moscow, it takes only 6 hours. So if he starts by plane some night, he can reach Moscow in the morning, and if he then leaves for Germany, by train he will arrive Hamburg the next morning. So to save $185 is a good proposal rather than to wait 3 months to send him the full amount. Instead of waiting 3 months, he can travel for three days, so there is no difficulty with this plan. Regarding the Raghu Pati Raghava song, we are not concerned with this song because it had a political motive; it is not pure devotional service. Gandhi was a great statesman in the garb of a saintly person, so that the Indian population would blindly follow him. But his motive was political and we are therefore not very interested with it. However, you can sing the first two lines, (Raghu Pati Raghava Raja Ram, Patita Pavana Sita Ram). I hope this will meet you in very good health.

Letter to Dayala Nitai -- Hawaii 23 March, 1969:

Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your very nice letter of March 19th, and I can understand how you are feeling. Yes, you must fix up in your mind to spread this message to the French population with our BTG and other books, that is my request. I thank you for sending me the second copy of BTG French edition. So now my only request to you, and especially both to you and Janardana, that you kindly regularly publish one issue every month of this French BTG. That will make you very much happy and will make me always very much happy. And Krishna will bestow all blessings to you in this endeavor. In this connection, if you think that by printing the yogi literature you will get some monetary help, then I give you permission that you can print it. But my standing request is this: Amongst yourselves there should not be any disagreement. Whatever you do, you do it by joint consultation. Because our center of activities is Krishna, for Krishna's sake we can sacrifice our life, wealth, words, intelligence, everything. Of course, as individuals, we have sometimes disagreements, but that should be adjusted keeping our central attention to Krishna. So what is done is done; hence forward, you do everything jointly and we shall put out at least one issue of BTG French edition every month—even it may consist of one printed page only, still it must be published once monthly. That is my desire. It is better undoubtedly to have a full magazine as our English edition BTG, but if you have no time, or you are doing this or that, then do not neglect it completely—it is better to publish and distribute a one page BTG issue than no issue at all each month. Now this work is specially entrusted to you and Janardana; so please execute it.

Letter to Mr. Kair -- Los Angeles 8 July, 1969:

Please accept my greetings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated June 18, 1969, forwarded to me here from San Francisco. I quite appreciate the difficult problems in India, and I quite agree with you cent per cent that India is now in a miserable condition by its poverty, and natural atrocities like floods, earthquakes, etc. Your suggestion that this can only be solved by Lord Krishna, the Omnipotent, is also right. Therefore, if you want to do something for India, the only remedial measure that you can take is to spread Krishna Consciousness amongst the peoples. Otherwise, the next step is surely communism as you have already suggested. You say that there is a communist menace, and materialism is trying to dominate, but at the same time, religious faith is also progressing. Two things cannot go on simultaneously. Actually, India is the country of religion. The present government policy to kill religious faith of the people is resulting in frustration of religious life because it is not organizedly taught. But by nature the people of India have a hankering for spiritual advancement, and therefore the present situation is a natural result of the clash between two opposite ideals. In this case also the best treatment is to give the people scientific religious ideas which are very clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gita. But unfortunately, unscrupulous and rascal so-called scholars, religionists and philosophers have misinterpreted the teachings of Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita, and they have misled the whole population. Bhagavad-gita is popular not only in India, but also all over the world. Unfortunately, the real idea has been distorted. We have therefore presented our Bhagavad-gita As It Is, and perhaps you know it; it is published by MacMillan. I have tried to explain in this book the real purpose of the Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita is the authorized book to teach people how to love Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is nothing else except devotional service to the Lord described there, but great politicians have misinterpreted the sunshine-like clear statements of Bhagavad-gita with a cloud of mental concoctions. So if you think seriously to improve the condition of India, you can begin even in a small-scale the propagation of Krishna Consciousness, and if you do it seriously and sincerely, surely you will be successful.

Letter to Giriraja -- Los Angeles 21 July, 1969:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 14, 1969, and I have noted the contents carefully. When Lord Caitanya was discussing with Ramananda Roy "who is the best educated man," the answer was that a person who is in Krishna Consciousness is the topmost educated man. Similarly, Prahlada Maharaja stated before his father that one who has taken to Krishna Consciousness, he is supposed to be the best educated man. In Srimad-Bhagavatam also it is said that unless a man is Krishna Conscious, his external advancement of knowledge has no value. On the other hand, any person who is on the platform of Krishna Consciousness is supposed to have acquired all the good qualities of the demigods. So your present engagement is very nice; neither I think that you can be better educated in the universities. Practically we find that in your country there are so many big universities, and the government arranges for educating the entire population, but still the hippies are coming out from the educational institutions. It is understood that in some of the big universities the entire student body has turned to be hippies. Of course the hippy philosophy is nice in the sense that they have been disgusted with the materialistic way of life. Therefore they want to renounce this stereotyped way of life. Unfortunately, they have no good leader, neither they have information that there is another beautiful life in Krishna Consciousness.

Letter to Syamasundara -- Los Angeles 31 July, 1969:

Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter dated July 25, 1969 and noted the contents with great encouragement, but at the same time I received one letter from Gurudasa which was not very encouraging. He told me about the difficulty that was had in performing the Rathayatra Festival, and I am enclosing a copy of the letter to you which I replied to Gurudasa. The purport of my letter is that there is no cause for any disappointment, and you can perform this ceremony on Janmastami Day if you are able. From the description of your letter it appears that the structure of the Ratha was too heavy for the wheels to carry the load. From Gurudasa' letter it was not clear to me if you at all held a ceremony on a smaller scale. But in any event, I think we may take it as Krishna's Grace that the difficulty took place at the very beginning of the procession and not later on when the Ratha was in a more populated area. So do not feel discouraged at all. By Krishna's Plan everything will come out for the best. We have only to work very sincerely, depending fully on the Mercy of the Lord, and in this consciousness we can make very quick advancement in Krishna Consciousness. If you think you will be able to perform the ceremony on Janmastami Day, then I shall give you further instructions on how this is to be done.

Letter to Robert Hendry -- Los Angeles 3 August, 1969:

Therefore, Krishna Consciousness is also a sort of fight; but not with rifles. Our weapon is karatalas. In this age there is no need of fighting with rifles because the population is so poor that they are already killed by so many disturbances. They are short lived, poor in knowledge, slack in advancement of spiritual life, unfortunate, and embarrassed by so many miserable conditions of life; like war, famine pestilence, poverty and so on. So to kill these persons by rifle is like bringing a cannon for killing a mosquito. So Lord Caitanya introduced this fighting principle of Sankirtana Movement to reclaim all the fallen souls, who consist of so-called philosophers, half-educated scientists, misguided educationists and a miscreant society. If you can consolidate a party of soldiers as described by you, chanting Hare Krishna Mantra and claiming everyone of them to Krishna Consciousness, that will be a glorious task, and you have all of my good wishes for you for this purpose.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Hamsaduta -- Los Angeles 23 January, 1970:

Germany (West) has a population of over 50 million, and that is not including East Germany. In England there are over 60 million, but the difference lies in the concentration. In England there are a few large cities (London, Birmingham, Liverpool, etc.) whereas in Germany the folk are spread in hundreds of towns all over Germany, and these towns are situated only short distances apart. Another hint of Germany's importance is that the German Mark (currency) is one of the stablest monetary systems in the whole world. As you have said many times previously, the Germans are a very intelligent people. Now the only problem is to reach the people in large numbers, and this will be through SKP and new temples. Especially in main cities (Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich, Stutgart, etc.) all of which have a population of half a million to a million (except Berlin which had three million), but they are centers of industry, trade, art, travel and all have Universities."

Letter to Krsna dasa -- Los Angeles 24 January, 1970:

When you presented your scheme for preaching work in the whole of Germany giving an estimate of population of important cities, it gave me so much pleasure. Just on receiving your letter I am already thinking of how to organize it, and have written letters to Hamsaduta and Uttama Sloka etc., but Upendra is destined to go to Australia. I am glad to learn that Trivikrama has joined you. So for the time being go on with your work as usual and consult with Tamala Krishna whom I am also writing in this connection. And try your best to spread the Sankirtana Movement through Germany.

Letter to Jayapataka - So. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles, Cal. 90034 February 13, 1970:

I am glad to learn that Toronto center has got such good prospect for success. If we are simply a little sincere in the matter of spreading this movement, Lord Krishna has already guaranteed our success. It is good that there is a large population of young people in Toronto as it is the younger generation which is most appreciative of our Krsna Consciousness movement. So do your best to preach our philosophy to them that they can be inclined to join with us in spreading Lord Chaitanya's Samkirtan.

Letter to Rudra -- Los Angeles 9 March, 1970:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 27 February, 1970, and have noted the contents carefully. I am very glad to learn that you are finding the atmosphere congenial in the new Toronto center. I think your valuable services will be put to good account there in the matter of pushing our Sankirtana movement. I have heard that there is very good potential for spreading Krishna Consciousness movement in Toronto especially among the large younger population. So I think this will be a good field for you to work enthusiastically in cooperation with other good devotees like Jayapataka, Raktaka, and Jagadisa.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Los Angeles 28 April, 1970:

Yes, publish the Bengali poem which I am sending herewith. Get it transliterated by Pradyumna. The meaning is as follows:

My Dear Lord Krsna, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me. 1

But I can guess that You have got some business here, otherwise why should You call me here which is demoniac. 2

Most of the population here is covered by ignorance and passion modes of nature, and I do not know how they will be able to understand the transcendental message of Vasudeva. 3

But I know Your causeless mercy can make everything possible because You are the most expert mystic. 4

Therefore, I am simply praying for Your mercy so that I can be able to convince them about Your message. 5

All living entities have become under control of the illusory energy by Your will, and therefore, if You like, by Your will they can also be released from the clutches of illusion. 6

If You so desire, I wish that You may deliver them, and only by Your such desire all of them will be able to understand Your message. 7

The words of Srimad-Bhagavatam are Your incarnation, and if they receive it in submissive aural reception, repeatedly, then they will be able to understand your message. 8

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, First Canto, Second Chapter, verses 17 through 21, it is said

Anyone who gives aural reception to the transcendental message about You, which are always auspicious, by hearing and chanting, for him You become special well-wisher, and thus remaining within his heart You clear up all inauspicious understanding. When such inauspicious understandings are almost clear, at that time one realizes the importance of devotional service. In that stage of understanding, the influence of the modes of ignorance and passion becomes almost nil, and the resultant action of passion and ignorance cannot anymore attack the heart, and thus he becomes joyful being situated on the platform of goodness. When he thus becomes jubilant on account of awakening the modes of goodness by dint of devotional service, at that time he becomes liberated from material contamination and is able to understand the science of God. In this stage of liberation all misgivings in the heart, or bondage of material network, becomes cut into pieces, and he is elevated from all sorts of doubts in the science of God. At this stage the result of past activities becomes vanquished because of his realization of the Supreme Lord. 9-13

This is the process of becoming liberated from the influence of the modes of ignorance and passion, and thus they can become freed from all inauspicious things accumulated in the heart. 14

But because I am very unfortunate, unqualified, and the most fallen, therefore I am seeking Your benediction so that I may be able to convince them about this (Krsna Consciousness). 15

Somehow or other, You have brought me here to speak about You. Now it is up to You to make me a success or failure as You like. 16

You are the Lord of the whole creation, so if You like You can make my power of speaking as suitable as they can understand. 17

By Your causeless mercy only my words may become transcendentally pure, and I am sure when such transcendental message is penetrated in their hearts certainly they will feel engladdened, and thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life. 18

I am just like a puppet in Your hands, and You have brought me here, now You can make me dance as You like. 19

I have no devotion, nor I have any knowledge, but still I have been designated as Bhaktivedanta, now if You like You can just fulfill the real purport of Bhaktivedanta. 20

The most unfortunate, insignificant beggar, Bhaktivedanta Swami, on board the ship "Jaladuta," Commonwealth Pier, Boston, Massachusetts (U.S.A.), dated 18th September, 1965.

Letter to Ekayani -- Los Angeles 3 May, 1970:

Your question why Lord Siva was ordered to appear as Sankaracarya and teach the Mayavada philosophy to turn the people to atheism and thus increase the population, that nobody can understand. If Krsna desired Lord Siva to do like that, so he had some plan which we need not understand. He is the Supreme Lord, and He is maintaining the huge universal affairs, so how does He do things and for what purpose He does them, it is very difficult to understand. Just like He planned the battle of Kuruksetra and He induced His friend, a great devotee, Arjuna, to kill. So why does He plan to make others atheist, it is known to him.

Letter to Yamunacarya -- Los Angeles 17 June, 1970:

You write to say how you were saved from a commitment of suicide. So you have seen the mantra in Isopanisad:

ye ke catma-hano janah

So not only you, but almost all the conditioned souls within this material world, practically 99% of the whole population is committing suicide. As it is natural for a gentleman to try to stop a person committing suicide when it so happens just in one's presence, similarly when we see that so many men and women are simply committing suicide as described in the Isopanisad ye ke catma-hano janah, let us try to save them through this Krsna Consciousness Movement.

Letter to Tulsidas -- Tokyo 28 August, 1970:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated August 18th, 1970, and I am so glad to learn that your center's activities are having their transcendental effect on the local population. It is sure and certain that if you all continue to follow the rigid schedule of chanting sixteen rounds daily with vow, going on Sankirtana and studying our literatures will increase your spiritual power to attract more sincere persons to Krsna Consciousness. So please see that all the devotees in your center are performing their regular duties in Krsna Consciousness and everything will be all right by Krsna's Grace.

Letter to Damodara -- Bombay, India 12 November, 1970:

Please continue to try and convince the world leaders who are in Washington D.C. about our Krishna Consciousness program. Why don't you approach the Congressmen and Representatives and inform them of the work that our men are doing within their states and cities. If they are favorably impressed with our work, they may be able to give us government land and property and so many other facilities which we can utilize to aid all of the population. I think so many men will be glad to receive our books, so please utilize this opportunity. Simply it requires determination and imagination. Maybe you can get the Indian Ambassador and his wife to hold a meeting at which many important men can be invited. If he and his wife are favorably impressed, certainly they can hold a nice meeting one evening. At that meeting you can speak and explain what our movement is and show slides and movies. Make a book table and display all of our books. Never mind if they also like to read from Ramakrishna. If you give them our KRSNA book to read, very soon all other tastes will go away.

Letter to Acyutananda -- Bombay 14 November, 1970:

Regarding the validity of the brahminical status as we accept it, because in the present age there is no observance of the Garbhadhana ceremony, even a person born in brahmana family is not considered a brahmana, he is called dvijabandhu or unqualified son of a brahmana. Under the circumstances, the conclusion is that the whole population is now sudra, as it is stated kalau sudra sambhava. So for sudras there is no initiation according to the Vedic system, but according to the Pancaratrika system initiation is offered to a person who is inclined to take Krsna consciousness.

During my Guru Maharaja's time, even a person was coming from a brahmana family, he was initiated according to the pancaratrika system taking him to be a sudra. So the birthright brahmanism is not applicable at the present moment. The sacred thread inaugurated by my Guru Maharaja according to pancaratrika system and Hari-bhakti-vilasa by Srila Sanatana Goswami must continue. It does not matter whether the priestly class accepts it or not. When my Guru Maharaja Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Prabhupada introduced this system, it was protested even by His inner circle of Godbrothers or friends. Of course He had actually no Godbrothers, but there were many disciples of Bhaktivinode Thakura who were considered as Godbrothers who protested against this action of my Guru Maharaja, but He didn't care for it.

Actually one who takes to chanting Hare Krsna Mantra offenselessly immediately becomes situated transcendentally and therefore he has no need of being initiated with sacred thread, but Guru Maharaja introduced this sacred thread because a Vaisnava was being mistaken as belonging to the material caste. To accept a Vaisnava in material caste system is hellish consideration (naraki buddhi). Therefore, to save the general populace from being offender to a Vaisnava, He persistently introduced this sacred thread ceremony and we must follow His footsteps.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- London 20 August, 1971:

Delhi is the most important city in India because the capital is established there. Mostly the population is educated. Many foreigners are there also and embassies of different countries. So from the cultural point of view Delhi is the most important city. Many cultural centers are there also, many libraries, many schools, colleges, varieties of merchantile offices and different presses. So if you can influence them it will be a great propoganda center. I think in Delhi also you should hold one festival pandal meeting like in Calcutta and Bombay. There is a big ground open near Connaught place.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- London 25 August, 1971:

The criss-cross pattern is simply decoration. After mopping the floor nicely, this kind of painting with colored rice powder is still prevailing in Hindu families of S. India. It is called alipna, or in other words after cleansing the rooms and floors such kind of auspicious paintings are done every morning or in every ceremony. In Bhagavad-gita is is said that they are part and parcel of religious life. In most cases these engagements are meant for the women. Women must be engaged otherwise they will be inclined to think of sex only. They are called kamini. Unless there is sufficient engagement their only thoughts will be concentrated on sex. As men are engaged in devotional service, similarly women are engaged in ritualistic engagements so that household life becomes very auspicious. These things are at the present moment impossible to perform regularly. Lord Caitanya therefore recommended Harer nama iva kevalam. Practically also we see our students being engaged in chanting Hare Krishna Mantra keeping free of all contamination. The vedic system takes especially care of women from illicit sex life. Illicit sex life is so dangerous that it produces unwanted children who create hellish life as described in Bhagavad-gita. In this age, all over the world, the sex indulgence is being unrestricted and religious principles are not being followed. The population is increasing with unwanted children like hippies.

Letter to Mohanananda -- Delhi 6 December, 1971:

To answer your other question, after Brahma was born He created some sons to increase the population. They were all created by Brahma and distributed. Prajapata means generator, Sambhu is Siva, Durga is the material energy. Just like in the Krishna Consciousness Movement, the boys are my sons and the girls are my daughters, and I say to them, take this boy, take this girl. So Brahma arranges like that.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Niranjana -- Bombay 5 January, 1972:

Please accept my blessings. I thank you for your letter dated 1st January, 1972 and am glad that you have received my letter. The four sinful activities which one must avoid if there is to be any hope for spiritual advancement are the eating of meat, fish and eggs, the use of intoxicants, illicit connection with women, and gambling. So these are the first four sins which I ask all of my students to strictly avoid committing. Practically the entire population of the world is entrapped by these four sinful activities. In our Krishna Consciousness Society we are training our students up to the standard of brahminical culture. So the great respect we are getting here in India and throughout the rest of the world is due to these restrictions. Actually our students have surpassed the category of brahmana because they are Vaisnavas which means they are transcendental to any material position, and brahmana is a material order of life, part of the Varna Ashrama system. Many times I have been told by other so-called holy men that I should not expect that foreigners will be able to avoid these sinful activities. But I have never compromised in any way and as a result of our sticking strictly to our principles our position is unique.

Letter to Balavanta -- Calcutta 18 February, 1972:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 25, 1972, and I have no objection if the date for celebration of Lord Caitanya's Appearance Day be moved up to April 15. The program sounds very transcendentally satisfactory, and if I am in USA by that time I shall certainly come to see it. I am very pleased that you are running for Mayor of such important city as Atlanta. Now you present to the populace the perfect example of Krishna Conscious person, and always be very clean and neat. You may present the simple program to the citizens for becoming purified and regaining their lost happiness by meeting together frequently to chant Hare Krishna, that's all. We have no complicated political platform. Politicians today are simply pick-pockets, tricking the voters to pick their pockets. They make promises to gratify the public's senses, but then they only gratify their own senses and the public throws them out, repeatedly. So we can promise perfect peace and happiness, and we can fulfill our promise very easily. You and the other devotees are the practical demonstration, and whenever you speak in public they may be also present and hold kirtana and give speeches also. Actually, this world is like a hospital. We are all like sons of rich men running mad in the streets. Our Father, Krishna or God, is the wealthiest father, and we are all His sons gone mad. Someone is thinking, Oh, give him food, that will help, or give him house, or clothes, this or that—but the madness is still there.* So this kind of bodily welfare work will not help. The world is supposed to be a place for curing men of their varieties of diseases of madness and sending them back home, like a hospital. But men have now got the mistaken idea to make a permanent settlement in this madhouse! Just like the hog is eating stool and he is thinking, Oh, I am enjoying like anything, and when I am finished, then sex with any she-hog—wife, daughter, sister, it doesn't matter—and for so many children I shall have to have big house, and on and on like this, all because of his madness that he thinks "I am enjoying." So preach like this, and I think many people will appreciate our philosophy and gain respect for this Krishna Consciousness movement. Do everything very cleanly and nicely.

Letter to Giriraja -- Bombay 23 March, 1972:

Now Brahmananda is in charge here, and there is a huge land and we are occupying it in tents and small cottages like Mayapur cottage and the work is immense. So Gargamuni is collecting also not less than two Life Members daily, but his collection goes toward our Vrindaban construction work. So now things are not going very nicely in Nairobi because Brahmananda has left, so I shall have to send him back there tomorrow, therefore I wanted that you should come here to assist Madhudvisa and __ by collecting profusely, and I think there will be no difficulty here because there is such rich population. Madhavananda can go from Mayapur to Calcutta to help Bhavananda collect there, and you shall come here at the soonest.*

Hoping this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

*latest by the 27th March 1972

Letter to Giriraja -- Honolulu 15 May, 1972:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 5, 1972, and I was anxiously awaiting for this. So actually we have taken a very responsible task on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the present moment, to speak the truth, the whole population of the world are demons and animals. It may be a very strong aspersion on the people of the world, but this is the fact. But still, because they are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, so originally they were pure and therefore it is the mission of Krishna to get back His parts and parcels to home, exactly like a father likes to get back his son at home because this son had gone out of home for false happiness. But the people are so mad, they are talking so many nonsense things—nonsense philosophy, nonsense science—and our task is to meet all of them and at the same time pacify them in their lunatic condition. So I am sure you are a very good soul to act on behalf of Krishna, and do it nicely. Krishna will give you the proper intelligence. He is sitting in your heart. Simply he wants to see us working sincerely.

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Honolulu 16 May, 1972:

I have read the letter from Turya ___, so he is anxious to get our papers, so arrange to send him our English and Bengali literature and advise he should regularly get all our papers. When you go there, on cooperation with him you can establish a center in Bangladesh by mutual arrangement, and that will be very suitable for your preaching. If the Americans can take up this movement seriously, why not the Bangladesh people? Try to meet with this educated public, and if you can convince them, it will be a great service. We are trying to unify the whole population of this globe by this cultural movement. There are blessings of Lord Caitanya in this connection, and if we try sincerely it will be successful.

Letter to Acyutananda -- Los Angeles 8 June, 1972:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated June 1, 1972, and I have noted the contents with great pleasure. I am very glad to hear that you are going to take Indian citizenship and passport. Now you be in charge of our Mayapur Center. Practically speaking you were my first disciple, and I think it is Bhaktivinode's desire that my first disciple shall go to Bengal and revive Krishna Consciousness there. So I have heard also from Tamala Krishna that he is going with his party to Bangladesh for preaching among the largely Mohammedan population. So your photos amongst the Mohammedan people of Nadia will also help you as propaganda items.* I am also glad to hear that you are attending all of the meetings of the big Sannyasis and Saintly persons from Navadvipa area and that you are one of the important members of the committee for protesting against violation of our Vaisnava principles.

Letter to Rupanuga -- Los Angeles 1 July, 1970:

Therefore, I am especially appealing to the GBC men to take this mission of Krishna Consciousness movement very, very soberly and without any inebrieties for advancing the knowledge of how to inject Krishna Consciousness into the dead body of material nature. And I am especially convinced that your government of your country must come forward to assist us. We may approach our government leaders with our simple formula and show to them by the practical result that we are accomplishing the reform work that they are trying to do by spending millions of dollars but not very successfully. We, on the other hand, are rescuing the most fallen members of society among the young people and giving them new life of spiritual or highly desirable qualities, such as honesty, cleanliness, truthfulness, morality, like that. Now you approach the government leaders and convince them in this way, and that will be the greatest achievement. They have got so much money for spending for human welfare activities, and practically we are demonstrating that they have given us foodstuffs in India and we are distributing them daily to not less than 500 men, and if they would give us more we could also increase more and more. Your government has got inclination to assist the unfortunate people of the world, and that is very nice idea, now they should understand also that we are very much anxious and capable to assist them in their great and noble endeavor by rendering our services amongst the unfortunate citizens. If they give us financial help in this matter of human welfare activities, we are prepared to save or rescue their entire population from the clutches of ruin and degradation of all sorts. As I think you have tried once before and you have met some important political leaders in your Washington, D.C., so I am requesting you especially should take up this task very seriously of convincing your nation's leaders to give us all cooperation, and we shall in turn volunteer our all services to help them. By our mutual combination I am certain that we can improve the entire humanity to the point of spiritual understanding and thus automatically eliminate the basis for wars, poverty, disease, inequality, insufficient supplies of foodstuffs, and so many other problems that plague our so-called civilized societies. Another thing is, wherever I shall be from now on I want the Bhagavata Seminar to go on. In San Diego, I spoke at one such seminar on "Hinduism" which attracted many scholarly persons from all over the United States. So I am thinking that if we arrange similar seminar programs in the future, wherever I am speaking at the time, that will be a great success. So I am coming to New Vrindaban for the Janmastami celebration by end of August from Europe, so if you can arrange and advertise widely for such Bhagavata Dharma seminar or festival, I shall speak for minimum 7 days on the subject matter of Bhagavata Dharma. You may invite all the intelligent class of men, like students, professors, philosophers, scientists, educationists, like that, and they can pay some fee and we shall give them all facilities for living, and they shall attend our classes daily for some set period and take away immense benefit. I am enclosing the copy of one sample advertisement for the seminar in San Diego. Similarly, we can arrange such seminar at New Vrindaban. What do you think?

Letter to Kirtanananda -- San Francisco 7 October, 1972:

Actually there is no problem, even in the material condition of life. Krsna has provided everything sufficiently and there is no question of scarcity or poverty. Only the demons and blind leaders are misguiding the whole population in the name of politicians, leaders, swamis, yogis, philanthropists, and making the whole world entangled more and more in problems. Our proposition is preaching the gospel of Krsna and request everyone to accept the truth that Krsna is the Supreme Master and everyone should surrender unto Him. Then there is no problem.

Letter to Revatinandana -- Ahmedabad 10 December, 1972:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 3, 1972, from Edinburgh, and I am so much pleased that you are doing the real work of a sannyasi, travelling, preaching and training the devotees to preach. I am too much proud of you on account of seeing the newspaper items. Yes, if there is good response for purchasing our books and asking intelligent questions, that is the test of your preaching capacity. I can well remember that Woodstock Hall or Woodside Hall in Glasgow, so I can very well appreciate how nice these Scottish people listen to our discourse. Now develop this field very carefully, it is one of the best places in the world for our preaching work to take hold and convince the population gradually.

Letter to Yasodanandana, Gurukrpa -- Bombay 21 December, 1972:

My Guru Maharaja was also inclined toward his bolder preachers. Therefore I am requesting that both of you, with your party, join me very soon at the Hare Krishna Festival in Bombay Cross Maidan, at least you should come by January 1st. This is our big opportunity to emphasize our preaching strength to the big men of India and population in general. There is arrangement of "Questions and Answers" tents for the general public, just by the main street of the city, wherein we shall conduct throughout day and night preacing by my disciples by answering any and all questions put forward by the public. I think that you will enjoy preaching in that way, and I want to place my best preachers there for that purpose of defeating all challengers. Kindly oblige and do the needful.

Letter to Cyavana -- Bombay 29 December, 1972:

Yes, that is correct proposal, you must have a program for getting income which will not depend upon anyone outside of our camp. Of course ultimately we must depend only on Krsna. If He gives us something we shall accept and offer it in His service, if we have nothing, what is the harm, we shall sit under a tree and chant Hare Krsna. But in any case, I do not want you to leave that temple and move to a smaller place. We must keep at least one nice temple of large size in that part of Africa. If we reduce in that way, that will not be good. Rather increase in all ways, that is our program. The moving and preaching work will be your most important business in Africa. There is not much population and the distances are great, so there is, no doubt, great need for several traveling parties to be working simultaneously. But if you keep that place in Nairobi as your base, sending all of the new recruits as you are able to convert them back to the Nairobi temple for getting themselves trained up, what is wrong with that? I think we need at least one big place for training up the new devotees just to the proper highest standard, just as we are doing in Los Angeles, New York, London, and other places. So also in Africa you require one such model center. If you remain only traveling parties, that will be nice for distributing many many books, and for having the sankirtana, but for new devotees that will be too much rigorous and they will not be able to adjust to the constant moving and changing about. That will spoil their chance for developing in their Krsna consciousness from neophyte stage. So keep the Nairobi center always very active, nicely decorated, worship the deities just to the highest standard, making sure that all of the students are rising to attend the mangala aratrika, chanting regularly sixteen rounds, reading books—in this way utilize what Krsna has given us there and develop it for the headquarters building for Africa.

Letter to Revatinandana -- Bombay 31 December, 1972:

Please accept my blessings. Your letter dated December 25, 1972, is in hand and I so much appreciate your nice report about the affairs as you see them in England and Scotland. Yes, I have seen myself that you are perfectly well qualified to defeat all challengers so far our philosophy goes. You are good kirtana man, you can sing and play mrdanga like anything, you are also good cook, you are expert philosopher and preacher, you are in the renounced order of life, having given up all thoughts of wife, family and home, you are determined to assist me by training up so many younger devotees in Krsna consciousness, you have got good ideas how to push on our movement also—in so many ways you are among the best qualified and most appreciated of my disciples. Because you are so much qualified and advanced in Krsna consciousness, therefore Krsna is giving you great strength and pleasure is being derived by you from your working in this way. By this traveling and preaching in the schools, colleges, youth clubs, like that, selling books, this program is very very much appreciated by me, and I think that you are accomplishing more good preaching result than anyone. Yes, let the good men go with you to preach all over England, and the less advanced devotees may stay at the London temple and become trained up to the point of becoming experts and then they also may go out for preaching in traveling party. And I think if you continue as you are doing in this traveling and preaching program in British Isles that very soon the entire population of that place will become our good devotees of Krsna. I am very much pleased upon you for your working and helping me in this way. It is the highest achievement of this human form of activity.

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Damodara -- Bombay, India 9 January, 1973:

I am especially encouraged by your increasing the distribution of books. That is our primary business, to sell these transcendental literatures profusely all over the world. And your methods which you have introduced for distributing the books are very much liked by me and approved fully. Whatever we have to do to induce people to take a book, that is nice. We shall judge the thing by its result, not by its means. But at the same time, we must avoid irritating anyone or disappointing anyone later by cheating them or telling big lies which become detected. Your program for approaching their businessmen in their offices is especially liked by me. Now tax your brain to create programs for engaging the wider and wider classes of population in Krsna Consciousness.

Letter to Cyavana -- Bombay 9 January, 1973:

N.B. Your letter dated January 4, 1973, is just now received by me. Yes, we shall be happy to come that side while leaving India sometimes I think in April, and when we come there we shall install the Deities, after consulting with Brahmananda whether you will be able to maintain them properly. You may request Brahmananda to send me his opinion in the matter also. But I think we can install if you both agree. So I am sending Rsi Kumar, Yasodanandana Swami and Gurukrpa Swami from Bombay to Nairobi very soon, they shall reach there by ship, and they will remain with you for the month of February to help you prepare everything and enhance the preaching work amongst the Africans population. By March they may be freed for going to South Africa to arrange things there for my coming there also, after I leave Nairobi. You all big leaders make these arrangements however you think best, by your mutual consultation. But one thing is, you should send the three plane fare-tickets from India, I think we shall be at Delhi at that time, to Nairobi, and then from Nairobi to Johannesburg and other places, for three men including myself. Rsi Kumar has told me they would pay for some portion of the tickets in South Africa. Hoping this meets you in good health.

Letter to Karandhara -- Bombay 9 January, 1973:

Please accept my blessings. Your letter dated December 28, 1972, is in hand and I have noted the contents carefully. According to our Vedic process, polygamy is allowed. For example, Krsna married 16,000 wives, Arjuna married 3 or 4 wives, Krsna's father Vasudeva, married 16 or 18 wives, like that. So according to the Vedic system polygamy is not prohibited. But it is not a farce also. Every wife must be provided for sufficiently. Krsna married 16,000 wives, but each wife was provided a palace and He was personally present at each palace. It does not meant to marry many wives and maintain none of them. If anyone is able to keep more than one wife and give them all comforts of life, there is no objection for having more than one wife. But if he creates trouble by marrying, he should not marry even one wife, this is my judgment. Now you can do the needful, taking into consideration the circumstances of the laws of your country, the customs of your people, the reputation of our society, the example which will be set for future devotees to follow, like that. For karmis, the Vedic system of marriage was given by Krsna so they may come gradually to the point of becoming devotees. But for devotees, it is advised to minimize sex life to the point of nil. So if that cannot be done, then there is regulation of sex life by marriage. Actually the system of polygamy is natural because the human entity is meant for transcending the animal forms of life and going back to home, back to Godhead. Therefore there should remain a class of men who do not marry in the society. But that will create an unfavorable situation of excessive population of unmarried women. Therefore it is advised that all women get themselves married, and if there is any man who is better able to maintain wife and family, he is advised to marry as many women as he can maintain and thereby free other men in the society to remain brahmacari. So I can understand that many men of our society have got themselves married only for some disastrous result. That means that not all of our men are meant for married life, but because there are so many women we may not leave them unprotected without husband, that will also not serve us well. Therefore it will be the best idea if those who are well-qualified as husbands to keep more than one wife very much satisfied in every respect, if such men can marry more than once. That will free the others to remain brahmacari. But you must consider very carefully the possibility of becoming scandalized in the public for breaking their laws in this way. And in future also the devotees who are neophyte may not understand our policy in this connection, and we gradually could wind up attracting only a class of men who are very eager for unlimited sex life only. These things must be avoided at all cost.

Letter to Ho Hon Pei -- Los Angeles 10 May, 1973:

If just .01% of the world's population becomes Krsna Conscious, the whole situation on the earth will change. Just see what has happened. I started alone in 1966 and in just seven years now we are three thousand, and it is growing more and more.

Letter to Yasomatinandan -- Herts, England July 20, 1973:

The thing is Brahmananda Maharaj is having difficulty translating literature into the Gujarat language in Nairobi. There is a large Gujarati population there and he has had some of our literature translated by a non-devotee translator. You know well the havoc which can result if a nondevotee tries to give his interpretation of Krsna. Although Krsna understanding is very easy for those who are simple and submissive devotees, for the duratma, Krsna is very difficult. So if at all possible we want all our foreign language books to be translated by devotees. I think you are already working on Gujarati translations of our works, so please immediately correspond with Brahmananda Maharaj at our Nairobi center and offer your services as translator. Take this as a great responsibility and it will please me very much. I will be glad to hear your progress in this important matter.

Letter to Karandhara -- Bhaktivedanta Manor 27 July, 1973:

Vedic knowledge is definite. Take for example Padma Purāṇa, there it is said there are 8,400,000 species of life: two million trees, one million insects, four hundred thousand humans. Nowhere do we find about so and so many, but exactly the number is given. Or we see the description of Kali yuga, and we are experiencing it. "People of this age will keep big bundles of hair and thus think themselves very beautiful." So this is going on. "For want of bathing the population of this age will appear like Pisacas"—hippies. Everything is given in Vedas exactly. Why should we go to such men for knowledge? They pose themselves as big leaders, philosophers. But we have to accept our leader according to the standard symptoms—or qualifications. The standard text book for civilized administration is Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. A leader must be peaceful, self-controlled austere, pure, tolerant, honest, wise learned and religious. Not like your President Nixon—a rogue and thief—such men cannot do any good to society, only those who are trained up in the Ultimate Goal of human life, they can lead—because human life is meant for going back to Godhead. Therefore our society is serving the whole world by supplying the missing part for perfect advancement of human civilization, we are supplying the head. Although all parts, such as legs are necessary, the whole thing is useful only when there is a head. So, everything is already there but it is now mixed up, we want to bring the whole world in to order by giving the right directions to all classes of men. Right direction means, to deliver the instructions of Krishna, and because Krishna is perfect, if you present this knowledge anywhere it will automatically defeat all the existing concocted hodge-podge ideas congesting the feeble brains of so-called scientist, philosophers or anyone.

Letter to Spiritual Sons and Daughters -- Bhaktivedanta Manor 27 July, 1973:

Human life begins when there is systematic education in the science of God consciousness. Just some days ago I was discussing with Professor Alister Hardy—Head of Religious Experimental research unit Oxford, it was his opinion that the problems of human life are over-population, environmental pollution etc.. But from Bhagavad-gita we understand that God is the father of all living beings, so the father must be competent to provide for all the children, and in the case of the Supreme Father this is actually so—we get it from Vedic Literature "nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13)—Amongst all the Eternals there is one chief Eternal Being and he is engaged in supplying and fulfilling the desires of all the others." Therefore our conclusion was that the real problem is not over-population or pollution, malnutrition etc., but the actual problem is Godlessness. So you are all intelligent boys and girls—therefore my request to you is that you study this science of Krishna Consciousness and solve all the problems of the world by systematic propaganda as far as you are able to do it.

Letter to Sir Alistair Hardy -- Bhaktivedanta Manor 28 July, 1973:

The only problem that we face is that we are neglecting to understand the supreme powerful. The subsidiary problems as you Have stated, just like over population have been created by man. If we accept that the ultimate truth is the powerful, then the powerful can maintain any number of population, otherwise there is no meaning to Powerful if he is subjected to any limitation. The supreme powerful is unlimitedly powerful, and practically we can see that the problem of overpopulation amongst the animals is not extant. Just like the elephants, they are not thinking where to get food. Or just like the cats and dogs and hogs, they are producing at a time half a dozen Children or more, so incomparison to them man is producing one child, or two children. Formerly man used to have hundreds of sons, at the present moment a man has got two three at most ten sons. So where is the question of over population? We understand from the history of Mahabharata that Dhrtarastra had one hundred sons, but there are many other examples also. Maharaja Rsabha dev had one hundred sons, so they were big prominent men in the history the names of the most prominent men are mentioned. It is therefore safe to conclude that if the King can produce one hundred sons the subjects also can produce one hundred sons, if not all of then at least some of them. So at that time there was no question of overpopulation, we do not find it in the history of Mahabharata.

Actually it is not a question of over population but of equal distribution of food. Just like America, they are producing enough food, and there is potency of producing more. But the Government prohibits the farmer to produce more. It is not a problem that the population has increase, but the distribution is mismanaged. Or by industrialization we have reduced the energy for producing food in favor of producing thing other than food. So on the whole it is not a question of overpopulation but of equal distribution of food, or producing food. For want of God consciousness this mistake is there.

Letter to Sir Alistair Hardy -- Bhaktivedanta Manor 28 July, 1973:

Similarly the problem of malnutrition, it comes to the same proposition. Because nature is taking revenge on the demonic population malnutrition is also one of the branches of such revenge.

Pollution of environment is a problem which people in a America are viewing with great concern. This problem is also due to Godlessness. People instead of producing food they are producing in huge quantities some artificial necessities of life, for which so much industry is working at top speed. Industrialization means to bring the people more and more away from God consciousness. The laborer, the worker in the factory, all of them are sudras, and the capitalist of the industry they are vaisyas, so the whole population is now composed of vaisyas and Sudras, which means the quality of passion and ignorance is now prominent. A passionate person or ignorant person cannot understand the Powerful, only those who are in Goodness or mixed Goodness and passion they can understand the powerful. so there is a necessity of changing the ignorant persons into persons with real knowledge. Therefore these people should be turned to become God conscious, that is our programme. Anyone from any group, either sudra, vaisya, or any group lower than the sudra, we are taking them and making them intelligent and giving them a chance to understand the supreme power.

So all around the real problem is to understand the supreme power and all other problems are subsidiary. There is no question of over population of people become God conscious. The all powerful can supply any amount of necessities of the people, and they can eat very nicely and so there is no question of mal nutrition. For want of knowledge of the supreme powerful all these problems have come into being.

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Syamasundara -- Bombay 1 April, 1974:

Our men in the U.S.A. are already taking part in politics for the time being superficially we have registered our political party under the name, "In God We Trust" party. Similarly we can work in England and if the leading personalities cooperate we can have the whole Parliament as Krsna conscious men including her majesty the Queen. My next program is to reinstate the Vedic divisions in society as recommended in the Bhagavad-gita:

catur varnyam maya srstam/ guna karma vibhagasah

tasya kartaram api mam/ viddhy akartaram avyayam

(BG 4.13)

Without this division there cannot be any systematic peaceful running of human activities. There must be a very intelligent class to guide the whole population with brahminical qualifications. There must be a class of people to give protection to the people at the time of danger and ordinarily to maintain peace and order, the ksatriyas. There must be a section to produce food and grains sumptuously for feeding both animals and humans without discrimination. Especially cows must be protected by this class. The meat eater class may not be encouraged but if they are stubbornly attached they can eat hogs and dogs or goats or lambs under certain conditions only, but not by maintaining slaughterhouses. Then human society will be very peaceful and everyone engaged in employment without producing any idle brains which only are devils workshops. If England and America as well as France and Germany can understand this philosophy there will be great theistic revolution which will counteract the atheistic philosophy of Marxism. The present communistic philosophy must be countered by revival of the principles of catur varnyam.

Letter to Bhima, Krsna dasa, Sanat Kumara, Nityananda, Samba, Joseph -- Bombay 16 May, 1974:

You are fulfilling my great hope. Because you are native Africans, you are the best ones to convince other Africans to become Krishna Conscious. Unless they become Krishna Conscious they can never end their suffering. We can not expect every single African to take to it. But if only a small population can take it seriously it can do real good. Therefore you are the real leaders of the Kenya nation. Please take seriously what you have learned and help spread this happy life to everyone you meet in Africa.

Letter to Hamsaduta -- Vrindaban 7 September, 1974:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated August 10, 1974 forwarded from Bombay. The photo you have sent is a nice picture. I am getting it framed. So in Germany when I was there I was very, very hopeful. There is good scope for preaching Krsna consciousness there. The people there are very intelligent. They are prepared to accept the real truth. Germany was always famous for its intelligent population. You are also appropriately fit to push on this cult in Germany. It will be a great success. Get the German people to take this movement seriously. Utilize the money you are collecting there for printing more and more books in German language, and profusely distribute our books in German language. I am very pleased that you are printing in German the books you have mentioned.

Letter to Rupanuga -- Bombay 18 December, 1974:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your two letters dated Dec. 4, 1974 and Dec. 16, 1974 and I have noted the contents very carefully. I was very much relieved to hear all of the good reports coming from you about New York and I thank you very much for seeing that everything is going on nicely there. As you mention in your letter that the United States is probably the most fertile preaching ground in the world and that the East coast is the best out of that, therefore our New York city temple is an extremely important center and the standard of purity in Krsna Consciousness must be maintained there by all means. If somehow or other we can convince the majority of the United States population to take to Krsna Consciousness then the whole world will become Krsna Conscious. This is a fact. The United States is the leader of all other nations. You simply educate the people in this Krsna Conscious philosophy and then there will be no difficulty in capturing the government. In your country there is very good system of democracy. As we have seen just recently the people, as the common people have so much power, that they were able to get down this Nixon, who is obviously a rascal. So if we can simply convince a good majority of persons then they will automatically want a Krsna Conscious leader. And if there are Krsna Conscious leaders in the government then they will act as Krsna's representative and will be able to save the world from the disastrous condition of life. At the present moment there is nothing but great calamity but by injecting Krsna Consciousness into the masses we can change this situation greatly. Because New York is such an important center we must have a very good building. Therefore I want that you somehow or other get this New York Theological Seminary building at once. From the photographs it appears very big and capable of satisfying all our needs. And according to your letter it is an excellent location. And we can arrange for the money. So there is no difficulty. Try to get it as soon as possible. This will be very pleasing to me.

Letter to Vipini -- Bombay 19 December, 1974:

I have received your check for $200.00 and appreciate it very much. As far as your engagement is concerned I think it is most appropriate for you to consult with the GBC men. But one thing that everyone should understand is that I am not so interested in selling incense as I am in selling books. Distribution of my books is the most important thing. These other things such as selling incense, records etc., are not so much important as this. If Spiritual Sky is a separate concern then what is the need of our own men who are capable preachers to be engaged in that way. I want that my books be distributed in huge quantities, and thus we will be able to thoroughly convince the majority of the population especially there in America. But finances are also needed. Therefore for further direction you please contact the GBC men and they will give you consultation. The more one preaches the more he becomes expert and the more he is able to convince others.

Letter to Ramesvara -- Bombay 21 December, 1974:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your telegram dated Dec. 17, 1974 reading as follows; "Great success, book sales for weekend of Dec. 13 thru 15. Tripurari BBT Party 1346 big books, L.A. 1002 big books, N.Y. over 950 big books, Atlanta Airport over 650 big books, in one day. Distribution definitely doubling in USA, Hare Krsna, Ramesvara" This kind of wonderful news is very pleasing to my heart and I thank you all again and again. I think this is the first time in history that ever before so many religious books have sold so popularly. Four thousand books in one day is a very unique figure. Keep distributing as many as possible in huge quantities. This is my pleasure. We must make a large propoganda program for Krsna Consciousness by distributing these books everywhere, all over the world. Just like the communists they are very expert in distributing their literature, their propoganda. At the present moment they are distributing their literature here in India in nine different languages and it is quite effective. Therefore we must print hundreds and thousands of books and distribute them at the same speed and thus we will have a great effect on the mass population of Europe and America. If we can get the masses in the Western countries like Europe and America to become Krsna Conscious, then all the rest of the world will follow. That is a fact. So please, I beg you, continue distributing my books in this way and Krsna will pour His blessings upon you all. Please keep me informed from time to time of the book sales statistics.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Svarupa Damodara -- Los Angeles 23 June, 1975:

Those who are not sober cannot understand how the spirit soul is changing from one body to another. Krsna therefore says that this change of body can be appreciated only by the dhiras. dhiras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). While those who are not dhiras cannot understand how the soul is changing from one body to another. There are two kind of men, dhira and adhira. The modern education is producing only the adhira class who are neither sober or educated. Therefore the majority of the population cannot understand how the soul is transmigrating from one body to another. They are only interested in wine and woman under the impression of the bodily concept of life. Therefore out of so many scientists in this country only you and the few others are understanding the importance of this subject matter. manusyanam sahasresu (BG 7.3). So please work very hard, following our rules and regulations and you will always remain in the fire of Krsna consciousness.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Vrindaban 18 September, 1976:

In answer to your question as to why the Indian population is so slack in spiritual life: during the British rule there was a secret policy by the British to cut down the Vedic civilization in India. There was a confidential policy by the British government to kill India's original culture and everything Indian was condemned. From the very beginning they took this position. In our childhood and boyhood we had to read some book by a Mr. Ghose called, "England's Work in India". The purport was that we are uncivilized and the British had come to make us civilized. Later on the policy became successful because in our childhood days any anglicised gentleman was considered to be advanced in civilization.

1977 Correspondence

Letter to VARIOUS -- Unknown Place Unknown Date:

Letter no. 30. To Bhurijana dasa.

Now you have left the Hong Kong temple and no one is remaining there. Of course, it may be, as you say, strictly a city for doing business and no one is interested in Krsna Consciousness seriously. But still it is one of the most important cities of the world, so do not neglect it completely, that will be discredit. I have very, very much appreciated the Chinese BTG, that is a great victory for us. So far I know, no one else Indian spiritual movement has produced such literature in Chinese language. That is a big credit for you. And you have mixed with the Chinese people and they have purchased, there is good response, so why we are leaving that place? Your plan is to go there from time to time to collect money from the Hindus for spreading Krsna Consciousness in other places in Far East, that is nice. But if there is good opportunity to preach amongst the Chinese population, why not try for it? It will not accomplish much to go to them from time to time and preach something and then go away, no. Rather here must be place for them to come and see how this Krsna Consciousness way of life is practically applied, such as deity worship, cooking, rising early, cleansing, study, like that. Otherwise they are reserved people, they will not be easily convinced, and only if there is place where they may attend for many years even will they gradually accept. So I think there should be center there at Hong Kong, and emphasis should be to preach and sell books to the Chinese persons. Just like we have done it in Nairobi, Africa. There are also many Indians living at that place, and they are also wealthy businessmen, and the African black people are poor, neglected, not very much educated. So at the beginning Brahmananda was mixing only with those Indians, and they were giving profusely money, and there were so many plans for temple and deities. In this way he was neglecting to do the real work which was preaching to the black Africans. No one Hindu who is rich and living in foreign place is very much interested to become devotee, it is show only, sentiment or custom. So I wanted that he should preach to the Africans and convert them to become devotees, that should be his real business, nevermind wasting time with so many nonsense Indians. And as soon as he did as I instructed, immediately he has got some black devotees, and he has removed himself from the entanglement of the Hindus, and he is making good progress spreading Krsna Consciousness amongst the native citizens. And there black devotees are making advancement and they are also going out to preach themselves to other places in Africa. So that should be the program in Hong Kong. I read(?) to the Chinese residents, do not bother with the Hindu businessmen except to collect for the preaching work. Actually, the Indians will be glad to donate if they see you are converting Chinese to their religion. They will provide immense funds for this purpose, because they have got interest for improving Indian and Chinese relations for their business. So preach widely and enthusiasically to Chinese population, especially to the young people, and they may not respond quickly, but they are very sober-minded, when they decide to join us that will be fixed decision. So in this way go on and make some Chinese devotees, then they will manage things and spread further to other places in China. After all, a large portion of the earth's population is Chinese origin, so why should we neglect them? If you can turn only one or two men to be devotees, they can do the rest themselves. There is one boy here in India, I think he is going to Malaysia very soon, Lalita Krsna, and he is Chinese boy. Why not invite him there to help you open nice center in the Chinese neighborhood so the preaching will go on? Otherwise you yourself consulting Madhudvisa Swami, try to make some solution to the problem. If we cannot persuade at least one local man to come forward, then we have missed the point. But if you try for that, praying to Krsna for helping you remain strong, He does not like to see His devotees upset or frustrated, so if you are determined and sincere Krsna will do everything, you needn't worry for anything. At least one will come out to take up Krsna's mission, that is sure.