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Training of Bhutatma dasa (Letters, 1971 - 1974)

Expressions researched:
"Account" |"Activities" |"BBF" |"BBFD" |"BBT" |"BKF" |"BTG" |"Back to Godhead" |"Bhaktivedanta Book Trust" |"Bhutatma" |"Book Fund" |"Book Trust" |"Book Trust," |"Book" |"Books" |"Branch" |"Branches" |"Business" |"Center" |"Centers" |"Check" |"Checks" |"Consult" |"Consulting" |"Cooperate" |"Cooperated" |"Cooperation" |"Cooperatively" |"Dai Nippon" |"Debt" |"Debts" |"Deities" |"Deity" |"Deposit" |"Distribute" |"Distributed" |"Distributing" |"Distribution" |"Duty" |"Festival" |"Finances" |"Financial" |"Funds" |"GBC members" |"GBC" |"Governing Board Commission" |"Governing Board Commissioners" |"Governing Body Commission" |"Governing Body Commissioners" |"ISKCON" |"Initiate" |"Initiated" |"Initiates" |"Initiating" |"Initiation" |"Initiations" |"Iskcon" |"Kirtana" |"Language" |"Languages" |"Leader" |"Leaders" |"Leadership" |"Leading" |"Literature" |"Literatures" |"M-V trust" |"M-V" |"M.V trust" |"Macmillan" |"Magazine" |"Magazines" |"Manage" |"Managed" |"Management" |"Managers" |"Managing" |"Manuscript" |"Manuscripts" |"Mayapur-Vrndavana Trust" |"Mayapura-Vrndavana Trust" |"Meeting" |"Mission" |"Missionary" |"Money" |"Movement" |"Organize" |"Our society" |"Preach" |"Preacher" |"Preaching" |"Press" |"Print" |"Printing" |"Program" |"Programs" |"Publication" |"Publications" |"Publish" |"Publishing" |"Rathayatra" |"Report" |"Reports" |"Sankirtana" |"Temple" |"Temples" |"The society" |"Translate" |"Translated" |"Translating" |"Translation" |"Translations" |"Zonal" |"Zone" |"Zones"

Correspondence

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Bhutatma -- Delhi 5 December, 1971:

I beg to acknowledge your letter dated 11/17/71, and I have noted the contents with great pleasure. I have not heard your report from Fresno center for some time, so I am encouraged to see that everything is going nicely there under your supervision. Now upon the shoulders of you the leaders of this Movement falls the responsibility of practically saving this earth planet from the present dangerous position. So the work is in your hands. Let me be free now to translate books, that is my desire. You become very responsible and convinced of this our Krishna philosophy and if you maintain your purity then you will convince everyone else with this philosophy, that is our mission. Kindly assist me to please Lord Caitanya in this way, by spreading Krishna Consciousness or pure love of God, and know it for certain that by this work you shall very very soon go back to Home, back to Godhead.

I received one letter from a lady who lives in Fresno. She is a Catholic lady and she says that she attends our Fresno Temple sometimes. She has questions about her Catholic faith and our Krishna Consciousness, how they are related. I have replied her, but if she comes there, kindly give her all facility to understand. She is a nice lady. Her name is Miss Lucie Richter, 3320 E. Montecito, Fresno.

Enclosed please find three copies of Gayatri mantra and three sacred threads duly chanted on. Hold a fire yajna and give Gayatri mantra to Babusvar das, Gangarama das, and Bhagavat Acarya das. Karandhara has a tape of me reciting Gayatri mantra, so you can get this from him. One thing is that the tape should be heard through earphones into the right ear.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Bhutatma, Kesava -- Vrindaban 2 November, 1972:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 3, 1972, and enclosed please find the copy of letter to the new initiates. Their beads are sent under separate post. You may hold fire yagna and give gayatri mantra to Lokanatha, and Gostavihari. Teach them to count on the finger divisions, and play the tape of me reciting gayatri mantra into their right ear. The yagna should be held in the company of the devotees only. Hold the fire yagna for all five devotees.

Regarding our travelling parties, I have got some complaint from London and other places, so I have given Dhananjaya this policy, that from outside if any one party comes they must work under the direct supervision and instruction of the local management, not that they shall remain separate competitor, no. I want to sell as many books as possible, that is the main thing. By selling books, that is the best preaching work. But so there may not be any complaint, your travelling parties must cooperate with their local temple officers, and that means they shall operate wherever they are allocated, that they shall only sell books, no collecting without selling books, and that, above the wholesale price of the book, any profit there is must be given at least 50% to the local temple. Ultimately, it shall be up to the local temple president if the presence of your party is favorable or not, everything is considered, and if he agrees you may stay, otherwise if he judges it is unfavorable at the time, he may order you to go out. But just to avoid these things, better to arrange in advance with the GBC men concerned. Ours is a cooperative movement, with Krishna and the advancement of Krishna's movement at the centre, and we must continue to sell as many books as possible, but discuss everything amongst yourselves and do it nicely without irritating anyone, that is the art.

Hoping this meets you both in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

P.S. Just received your letter of 9/28 protesting the 50%, _____ the above. They must give 50% or get out!

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Bhutatma -- Bombay 5 January, 1973:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated December 18, 1972, forwarded to me here at Bombay. I am very happy to hear from you that everything is going nicely in the San Francisco temple. Upon your recommendation I am very glad to accept the six new students as my duly initiated disciples. Their letter is enclosed herewith. As for chanting on their beads, I have delegated Kirtanananda Swami to chant on the new devotees' beads on my behalf in your country. In Europe, Revatinandana Swami will chant on the new devotees' beads on my behalf. Because it is such long distance, therefore it is very expensive to send beads airmail from here, and there are so many instances of the beads being lost in that way. And I am getting now requests up to 20 or 30 each week, so it is practically becoming impossible for me to chant the beads when I am so far distant. Therefore the new devotees may send their beads to Kirtanananda in New Vrindaban, and he will chant the beads and send back to them. Is this all right?

Now hold the fire yajna and give also second initiation to Sarvadarsan, Yajnapati, and Hari Ballav. Enclosed please find three sacred threads, duly chanted by me, along with three copies of Gayatri mantra. Now hold the fire yajna for all nine devotees, and for the second initiates teach them how to chant on the finger divisions and play for them the tape of me reciting Gayatri mantra into their right ear.

Letter to Bhutatma -- Bhaktivedanta Manor 7 August, 1973:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter and enclosed photographs of the Ratha Yatra Festival. If we introduce this Festival in all big cities of the world along side with book distribution then in no time we will conquer the whole world. Yes! certainly I shall come to your festival next year, thank you.

By your recommendation I have chanted upon the enclosed sacred thread and agree to accept the devotee Jambavan Das Brahmacari for second initiation __ becomes twice born, or Brahmin. The qualifications of a Brahmana are listed in the 18th Chapter verse 42 of the Bhagavad-gita. "Peacefulness, self control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness—these are the qualities by which the Brahmanas work". So you should be very much careful to see that our devotees are following the regulative principles and standard practices such as attending morning Arati, classes, Sankirtana, and reading our books. We want to create some men who can give guidance to the human society, because at the present moment the society is without any intelligent head, namely Brahmins, therefore the whole world is confused for want of real guidance in the matter of ultimate goal of life. They have taken sense gratification as the ultimate goal and therefore everyone is frustrated, because the living entity has nothing to do with the temporary material senses. The senses will never be satisfied, Krishna must be satisfied and then the living entity as eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord is automatically satisfied. So the Brahmins are supposed to serve the whole society by distributing this important information. Please help me in this way and Krishna will bless you.

Letter to Bhutatma -- Los Angeles 15 December, 1973:

I am in receipt of your letter sated December 11, 1973. I hereby accept the following devotees for first and second initiation as recommended by you:

John - Vatsara dasa

Elena - Kalakantha dasi

Peter - Vatsala dasa

Deborah - Sasikala dasi

Paul - Vatsi das

Cheryl - Kandarpa-sundari dasi

Naomi - Kamalalita dasi

Enclosed find three sacred threads and three gayatri mantras for the second initiates. Hold a fire yajna, after which they may listen to the mantra once through the right ear from from the cassette tape I have have made.

You may send the beads of the first initiates to Kirtanananda Maharaj and send it to me in Los Angeles.

I hope this meets you well.

Your ever well wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS/Kda

ISKCON

San Francisco

Enclosures - 6

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Madhudvisa -- Bombay 11 April, 1974:

I do not think that you have failed in your work there, but by your going and preaching it appears the temple life has much improved. That you could not convince Bhutatma to stay as president is not your fault.

Page Title:Training of Bhutatma dasa (Letters, 1971 - 1974)
Compiler:Alakananda
Created:06 of Jun, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=6
No. of Quotes:6