Training of Gaura Govinda dasa (Letters, 1974 - 1977)

Correspondence

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Gaura Gopala -- Bombay 15 November, 1974:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated 6/11/74 and have noted the contents. My program in India is not yet fixed up. I may go out in December to Honolulu. Anyway Yasomatinandana dasa has written you to come, if he has written you to come, then you can come immediately with the Hindi typewriter.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Sri B. Kanungo -- Mayapur 26 March, 1975:

Please accept the blessings of Lord Caitanya. I thank you for your kind letter dated March 24th, 1975 and I have noted the contents carefully. I am sending my disciple Gaura Govinda dasa brahmacari as my representative. Please give him all facilities and help him to do as is necessary. He will in form you of any other details you may need to know.

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Vrndavana 21 September, 1975:

I am in due receipt of your long letter dated September 12, 1975 and your letter dated September 17th and have noted the contents. Regarding your returning to your own village, a sannyasa is not supposed to go back to his own village. If you are doing some substantial work, you should not agitate your mind for opening a center in Orissa. I talked here with Anandapanda and he said after October the season in Orissa is better. I have proposed to him also for arranging for us to go there and during that season we may go there in a party and preach there and if possible open a center.

I understand that you are doing well in Hyderabad so there is no necessity for immediate change. I am going now on tour of Africa and when I return I shall see you and we shall do the needful. I may go to Hyderabad when I return.

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Bombay 20 November, 1975:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated 15/11/75 and have noted the contents. So if you think your presence is required in Bhuvaneśvara, then you can go there for necessary action. I am going to Vrndavana, so you can come and meet me at Vrndavana and from there you can go to Bhuvaneśvara.

Letter to Mahamsa -- Vrindaban 9 December, 1975:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated December 5, 1975 and have noted the contents. So Gaura Govinda Maharaja has to go to Orissa to get that land in Bhunesvara, so I have given him the documents for necessary action. Unless he is absolutely required in Hyderabad he may go there with the other Orissa devotee. I have seen his Orissa literature about our movement and it appears to be very nice, any common man can understand it, and it is set up very nicely. He is very much hopeful to sell our books there amongst the higher class. I have already given him all instructions how to organize a center there. So I wish that he may go there and do his best to show his ability.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Mayapur 31 January, 1976:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 19th January, 1976 and I have noted the contents.

Regarding the mutation, I understand the Settlement officer has asked you to wait still another month. Also you have no men nor books. Neither you have any place to live. Therefore, the best thing is that you come immediately to Mayapur where I am staying until Gaura Purnima. You can do your translation work nicely here, and after the Gaura Purnima festival all the necessary arrangements for Orissa can be made.

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Mayapur 12 February, 1976:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 8 February 1976.

It is very good that you have completed one cottage. We are trying to send one man, but in the meantime just think that Krishna is with you and there is no need of disappointment.

Now that you have your cottage, you may remain there and Krishna will help you. You have my full blessings and you try your best and you will be successful. There is no need of coming to Mayapur now. If you can come for the festival, that will be nice, but it is not compulsory.

If you are not getting reply from Gopala Krishna then you may write direct to me. I am also writing Saurabha to send you a plan.

If you publish some book in Oriyan language, that book will give you good support. So now you have an opportunity, you are there and Krishna will help. Gradually we will help. Krishna is so kind, He is always ready to help. "dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te."

Letter to Saurabha -- Mayapur 12 February, 1976:

I am in receipt of one letter from Gaura Govinda Swami in Puri. In his letter he states that he is ready to submit plans to the municipal authorities. So I am herewith requesting you to send him a plan.

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Mayapur 28 February, 1976:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated the 20th February, 1976.

Gopala Krishna was just here to see me, so he has been made aware of Sri Jagadisa Prasad again. He is going to contact Mahamsa Swami and certainly if the man has paid the fee, he should get the benefits as much as the others are getting.

Letter to Gaura Gopala (Govinda?) -- Vrindaban 6 September, 1976:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated August 28, 1976 and have noted the contents with care. Preaching actually done alone, that is the experience we get from the previous acaryas. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was travelling alone and with great difficulty His associates induced Him to accept an assistant.

So far foreign devotees are concerned I can bring immediately 500 devotees from foreign countries but the government will not allow them to stay. If any devotee comes he has to go back again after three months or six months, at 10,000 Rs. expenditure. Still I am struggling and whenever it is possible I am bringing foreign devotees to preach in India and as you say the Indians are cheaters even though not all of them. The majority who come and join us, it has been experienced, they are not sincere. Under the circumstances what can be done, I do not know. Even experienced devotees—perhaps you know Anand Baba—he was asked also to go as there were so many complaints against him. But one hope is there that you are publishing in the Orissan language and it is being distributed and your writing is approved by me. So if you concentrate on these literature printing matters and try to distribute as far as possible that is our great success. You can construct immediately a nice temple there but you say there is no devotees so how temple management can be executed? This is the problem. So you are conversant in the local language. If you bring some sincere souls to join you by preaching then it will be successful. Just like in Europe and America I went singlehandedly and by preaching work the boys responded and therefore we can see some light of success. Unfortunately in India this spirit is lacking. In India generally the young men are after money and woman, this is natural. They have no sacrificing spirit. That is the difference. I hope this meets you in good health.

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

I am in due receipt of your letter dated September 11, 1976 and have noted the contents with care.

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.

In Calcutta the Chowringhee quarters were known as the English quarters and the neighborhood places were maintained very nicely. The Indian quarters were known as native quarters therefore even in our own city there was such a division as English quarters and native quarters. Anyway this policy became successful when our leaders took them as fact. Mahatma Gandhi wanted to refute this white prestigious position but he also failed because he did not understand spiritual culture or God consciousness. During the Moslem time, although sometimes fanatically, there were some cases of breaking the temple, but there was no such policy to kill the Indian culture. On account of this during the Moslem period even during the time of Aurangazeb there were Indian Princes and political leaders like Sivaji and Jaya Singh.

So it is a long process how Indians, especially educated Indians, have become victimized by the slowly deteriorating position of Indian culture, but there is no use tracing out the history but generally we have lost our own culture and our leaders are not very serious to revive our own culture to the point. But still the mass of people, not being very much advanced in education, stick to the Indian culture. For example, lakhs of people still visit Jagannatha Puri during the Rathayatra Festival, lakhs still visit the Kumbha mela, and lakhs still visit the holy places of India, but there is no encouragement by the leaders. It is only a continuation of the original culture.

So there is no hopelessness; if we revive Krishna consciousness in a systematic way, within a very short time we can revive our original Indian culture on the basis of the teachings of Lord Krishna and the Bhagavad-gita. So we have to work very hard for this purpose and if you follow the path of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, it will be very easily done.

Arrange for printing the books. We shall supply paper that we have now got from the government. But without the paper you can take estimates from the printers to find the cheapest. I hope this meets you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

n.b.—I have three questions: I may come there by the middle of October, what is the climate like? I have heard that there is a famous fountain there whose waters are very digestive for people who are sick and it is a good tonic, is this true, do you know of this? Did you register the lands, complete the forms?

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Vrindaban 7 October, 1976:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated 1st inst. and have noted the contents. Nityananda Kanungo, the father of Bijayananda, can give you information about that land. He is a very famous man, and he lives in Cuttack. Otherwise Bhavananda may be able to give some assistance.

You may send me copies of your new publications.

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Vrindaban 8 November, 1976:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated 3/11/76.

Try to get the certified copy. Otherwise, what can be done? Do not be discouraged. Go on serving sincerely. Your success is your sincere desire to serve Krsna.

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Vrindaban 11 November, 1976:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated 26/10/76.

I have already informed you that I received only one document, which I have received from Gargamuni Swami. I received no sale deed. You may take one certified copy and use that.

I cannot read the Oriyan books, but I thank you very much. Please go on increasing. You can ask for paper from Gopala Krsna. Ask him where he is printing, what his cost is, the size of the paper, etc.

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Vrindaban 17 November, 1976:

What is the climate like there in Bhuvaneśvara now? I want to come there. I want to begin work immediately on constructing a temple exactly like Jagannatha's temple in Puri. You can immediately begin to get estimates from contractors. It will be a very important temple.

Hoping this finds you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

N.B. What is the progress with the land registration?

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Hyderabad 11 December, 1976:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated 30/11/76.

Yes, as soon as we get electricity, the sooner it will be fit for my coming there. For my translation work I require electricity. I am going to Wardha on the 17th. Find out the travel arrangements from Wardha to Bhuvaneśvara. Whether there is a direct railway line? Or are there airplane flights from Nagpur to Bhuvaneśvara?

Hoping this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

N.B. I have just now received your letter dated 8/12/76. You may come to meet me in Hyderabad before the 17th or come to Bombay by the 22nd December 1976.

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Bombay 24 December, 1976:

I am prepared to come to Bhuvaneśvara immediately to begin construction on the following conditions. The growth of the temple should be based on book distribution. I am prepared to print books. You can then sell them and 50% of the collections must then be returned to the BBT to pay for the books. The balance can be used for construction. Whatever you can raise by this method, I am prepared to give an equal amount toward the construction. In other words, the amount required for construction will come 50% from your side and 50% from me. In the beginning I can advance something if necessary so that we may begin immediately. I will print books for you to distribute. You distribute, and whatever you collect, 50% must go to the BBT to pay for the books.* The balance may be used toward the construction. Whatever you can raise in this way for construction, I will give an equal amount. And, in the beginning I may give some advance. Is that clear? So, let me know whether you like this proposal. If you agree, I am prepared to come there immediately to begin work.

Hoping this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

*Some Oriya scholar may be engaged to translate our books under your check to expedite printing work.

1977 Correspondence

Letter to Gaura Govinda -- Bombay 6 January, 1977:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated 2/1/77 and have noted the contents carefully.

We shall arrange for one man to oversee the construction. That will be supplied. You have got all blessings of Krsna. You are so nice faithful servant of Krsna, surely you will be successful.

Come to the Kumbha Mela where I am going on the 11th instant and we shall talk in detail. Then with you I shall return to Bhuvaneśvara and start immediately the work. You can stay with us for four or five days at Kumbha Mela, then we shall go with you. Arrange for that. You can book one first class compartment for four of us from Allahabad to Bhuvaneśvara for the 17th or 18th.

Before coming to Allahabad you can go to see one professor. His name is Dr. Banshidhar Mohanty. He is in the department of Oriya at Utkal University in Bhuvaneśvara. He has got one manuscript of Srimad-Bhagavatam that he wants to show me. You can see him and see also this manuscript. You can inform him of my coming there and ask him to come to see me at that time. When you come to Allahabad you can inform me about the manuscript.

Page Title:	Training of Gaura Govinda dasa (Letters, 1974 - 1977)
Compiler:	MadhuGopaldas
Created:	08 of Jun, 2010
Totals by Section:	BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=18
No. of Quotes:	18