Training of Sridhara dasa (Letters, 1971 - 1977)

Expressions researched:
"Account" |"Activities" |"BBF" |"BBFD" |"BBT" |"BKF" |"BTG" |"Back to Godhead" |"Bhaktivedanta Book Trust" |"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" |"Sridhara" |"Temple" |"Temples" |"The society" |"Translate" |"Translated" |"Translating" |"Translation" |"Translations" |"Zonal" |"Zone" |"Zones"

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Karandhara and others -- Delhi, India 3 December, 1971:

I am in due receipt of your kind letter on November 12, 1971, and I have appreciated the contents with great pleasure. Radha and Krishna have been so much merciful upon me to have given me so many nice spiritual sons and daughters as yourselves. I can see by the photos of your Los Angeles Temple that you are all very good servants of Radha and Krishna, and that They are very much pleased by your service. Thank you very much for assisting me in this way.

Now my one request to you all is that you become fully happy by conducting your lives in Krishna Consciousness, and you can know it for sure that in this way you will come with me back to Home, back to Godhead.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Gadi (Joseph Magyar), Bhudara (Marc Malcomb), Sridhara (Richard Whitenhurst) -- Calcutta 4 March, 1972:

Upon the recommendation of Amarendra I have gladly accepted all of you as my duly initiated disciples. Your beads have been duly chanted by me and they are sent under separate post. I have given you the spiritual names as follows:

Joseph Magyar/ Gadi das

Marc Malcomb/ Bhudara das

Richard Whitenhurst/ Sridhara das.

I am so glad to learn that all of you have been such a great help to Amarendra there in our Gainesville center. I can understand that all of you are very sincere boys and are very eligible candidates for going back to Home, Back to Godhead. And the process is simple. Follow the regulative principles, chant at least 16 rounds of beads daily, read our literatures, go for street Sankirtana, etc. In this way keep yourselves engaged in Krishna's business 24 hours and you will be really happy in this life and in the end reach the Supreme.

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Los Angeles 31 December, 1973:

I have recently received one letter from Sridhara das Brahmacari who has left Bombay and gone to Vrindaban. He reports he is disappointed having been removed from his job of managing construction in Bombay. Sridhara is a very good boy and a hard worker. While I was there it was fixed up that he should take the responsibility for construction work. Why was he removed? Now Yasomatinandana is coming to join you and he is a qualified engineer. Between he and Sridhara they can, I think, manage construction affairs without your having to put a karmi professional in charge.

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Los Angeles 31 December, 1973:

I have directed Sridhara to return to Bombay and work with Giriraja. Please give him some facility so he may work happily.

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Sridhara -- Vrindaban 19 August, 1974:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated Aug. 14th, 1974 and have noted the contents. Yes you are correct that even though you do not consciously try to create misunderstanding still it seems to always come to you. Samsara davanalalidha loka tranaya karuna gana ganatvam praptasya kalyana gunarnavasyam vande guroh sri caranaravindam. This is the nature of the material world.

I am glad to hear that now in Bombay finally you have good facilities for eating and sleeping, other-wise how will you live? It is also good that Mr. Candrai has donated a water filter.

Regarding your question about eternal spiritual and temporary spiritual, the temporary spiritual is the impersonal brahmajyoti. The impersonalists by severe austerities and penances arise to the Brahman effulgence. But it is only temporary. Eternally we cannot remain aloof. As living entities, we want pleasure in association; therefore we see in the material world where for sense gratification the karmis take so much responsibility. First of all they accept one wife. The more he enjoys the wife, the more he becomes implicated. So, this means that we must have pleasure even at the risk of gross implication. Therefore our Krishna Consciousness movement is that we want pleasure but without any implication. This is happening actually. All of our Krishna Consciousness students they are enjoying life without any implication.

The impersonalist who prefers to merge with the Brahman effulgence has no shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna. Therefore such impersonalist even though raised to the Brahman platform come down again to the material world for pleasure's sake. In India you will find many sannyasis who merge into the Brahma effulgence, but without any pleasure there, they come down to the platform of material activities of opening schools and hospitals—Daridra Narayana, etc. Such men with poor fund of knowledge do not know that in the material world however you try to arrange things very right, it will always fail. But in the spiritual world the spiritual varieties displayed by Krishna along with his associates gives eternal pleasure. That is wanted. The Brahma effulgence, there the pleasure is temporary

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Giriraja -- Honolulu 4 February, 1975:

Regarding the bus, now I am serious to purchase one bus at least and I have secured money. So, arrange for this immediately with the help of Sridhara.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Sridhara -- Mayapur 19 February, 1976:

Herewith Vrindaban is going to you. Please hand over the key as I instructed you and take the letters signed by him. Make three (3) copies in the letter heading of Vrinda Book Co. Keep two (2) copies with you and one (1) copy give to Vrindaban. I hope you have already furnished the room, if not do it quickly because they will enter the house tomorrow in the morning.

Letter to Sridhara -- Los Angeles 4 June, 1976:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 25, 1976, and I have noted the contents carefully.

I was very pleased to note that you are willing to go to China as we have just printed a Chinese Bhagavad-gita. I am most eager to see this distributed throughout Southeast Asia to as many Chinese speaking people as possible. For this reason I am sending Trivikrama Maharaja to Hong Kong immediately, and he will be followed by two of the big book distributers on the Radha-Damodara TSKP, being sent by Tamala Krsna Goswami. I wish that you will meet Trivikrama Swami in Hong Kong and combinedly organize distribution of the Chinese Gita profusely. It will be a great triumph. After all, one third of the world is Chinese speaking, and they are also human, they have a very old culture, so why shouldn't they be benefited by Lord Caitanya's movement.

You can go dressed as gentleman because it will be easier to travel in this part of the world. I have given full instructions to Trivikrama Maharaja and the both of you can cooperate in this very important mission.

Letter to Gopala Krsna -- New York 11 July, 1976:

Sridhara Maharaja, if he is in Hong Kong, there is great need of introducing our Chinese literature. Chinese people are interested in India, and Vedic literatures.

Letter to Gopala Krsna -- New York 11 July, 1976:

In case Sridhara Maharaja cannot stay long in China, that will have to be discussed with Trivikrama Maharaja. But the Chinese Distribution is required.

Letter to Sridhara , Trivikrama -- Paris 30 July, 1976:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated 7 July 1976 and have noted the contents with care.

Yes, I immediately accept for initiation Naisen Wang. Her name shall be Nitya lila dasi and I have personally chanted on her beads which are enclosed. She is a very good devotee and she must immediately be initiated. This girl should be trained up and educated to speak in Chinese and recruit Chinese boys and girls. Just try to create a Chinese group of devotees from Taiwan then all other things are done automatically. We require immediately a Chinese group of devotees. Tamala Krsna Goswami is arranging for the money, you can communicate with him. He has also just sent two men there to assist you.

Letter to Sridhara -- Vrindaban 28 November, 1976:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated 16/11/76.

I am very satisfied by the report of your activities. I fully approve your plan to come to India for Kumba Mela and to work mainly in India after that, visiting America every six months to see that everything is going on properly with the life membership program.