Please accept my blessings. I am in receipt of your note regarding United Shipping Corporation; so you can unload the books, 15 cases, paying $242.00 from my book fund, and after clearing the books, we shall see what is the cost of transporting. I see that United Shipping Corp. has explained in their letter, dated Feb. 22, a copy of which you have sent me, that they have not been able to pay the ocean fare for this consignment, and the money is with them, and they submit account for that. So, after clearing the books, we will see to the account. In the meantime, if possible you can see the American Export Isbrandtsen Lines, Inc., whose office is situated at 26 Broadway, New York, N.Y., 10004. I think you can see the manager of this carrying company and try to get some concessional rates for things we import from India. Here in San Francisco, there is one carrying company, American Mail Lines, and they have agreed to give us 10% concession on the freight. When I go to S.F., I shall see that they may grant some more concession. You have to convince the carrying company that our this world wide Krishna Consciousness movement, so everything required is for the help of this society. Government gives us all facility of exemptions from the tax, and as we have got to import so many articles from India, and maybe we may export also so many things from America to India for maintaining the status of the institution, they may give us some concessional rates. You may mention that Scindia Steam Navigation Co. of Bombay was giving us concession all free, but recently, might be due to their internal dissension, they have stopped this concession. So we can claim some concessional rate from everyone because our society is for public welfare activities. Hope you are well.
BBT and ISKCON (Letters)
Correspondence
1968 Correspondence
1969 Correspondence
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 6, 1969, and I thank you very much for your bank deposit receipt. Practically you are the only hope who is filling up the gap in my Book Fund deposit account. Recently I have issued one check for $4,000 from my Book Fund to the Iskcon Press account. Out of that, you have already fulfilled the amount of $2,500. So I thank you very much.
1970 Correspondence
Outside our Society, people are appreciating our movement gradually, and you will be pleased to know that they are also contributing for various activities of the Society. Perhaps you have heard the name of George Harrison, the celebrated musician of England. He has contributed nearly about two lakhs of rupees, the entire cost of publishing the first part of my book, KRSNA. Similarly, just the day before yesterday, one boy has contributed 15,000 rupees for my book fund. We have got in many places our own buildings, just like in Boston where we have got our own press, ISKCON Press, in Buffalo, in Detroit, and just yesterday, on the Advent Day of Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, we have completed the negotiation for purchasing a big church property worth 20 lakhs of rupees.
At the present moment, the Krsna books are coming from Japan and they should be taken care of immediately. The present procedure is that Sriman Karandhara das Adhikari is looking after the business and collecting the fund. The same procedure should be followed and whenever there is a collection, it should be deposited in my bank account entitled ISKCON, INC. - BHAKTIVEDANTA BOOK TRUST, number __ with the Security Pacific National Bank. And whenever there will be a new printing, on submission of the estimate I shall immediately advise the bank to remit as I am now doing. In the future, things will be done as it is necessary. All withdrawals are to signed by me exclusively.
How many life members have been made since my departure? How many you have made and how many Acyutananda Maharaja has made? Until the Society is registered, you should go on depositing the money in my book fund account with the Central Bank of India, Ballyganj Branch. My passbook is with Jayapataka. He was advised to send it to Bombay. Please let me now if he has done it, if not keep this passbook with my next letter.
Now that you are in London please try to eliminate this L4000 debt, the balance of which is unpaid Back to Godhead bills. The magazines and books are in great shortage of funds simply because the temples spend their income from literatures for temple maintenance and neglect the primary work of this Society, which is to print and distribute an increasing number of books. So please try to assist me in this way, by eliminating this debt. I have given you the hint that if you send me $10,000 you may keep the balance of profits from Krsna book to help pay this bill. Now this is my request, that you simply distribute these books immediately and deposit $10,000 in the Bhaktivedanta Book Fund Deposit with Dai Nippon in Japan. Why you have not sent report of Krsna Book sales? Why has no money been sent? This must be done weekly. I understand that Mukund will be assisting in distribution of Krsna Book and I think that he is very qualified to do this. In fact all of my disciples in London center are very intelligent and they should unite around this single task of selling Krsna Book widely throughout Britain and sending the money immediately to Japan.
1971 Correspondence
Please transfer from Central Bank of India, Gowalia Tank Branch Account of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Book Fund Account, (HSS Account #14538) the sum of Rs. 2756/76 to Central Bank of India, Head Office, in favor of International Society for Krishna Consciousness Building Fund (Current Account #9/381.)
I have advised to send you 50 sets of books immediately, so all the proceedings from their distribution should be divided 50% to the Building Fund Account and 50% to the Book Fund Account and the respective banks are as follows:
Central Bank of India, Head Office, Bombay
"International Society for Krishna Consciousness Building Fund," Current Account No. ?????.
Central Bank of India, Gowalia Tank Road Branch, Bombay
"A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Book Fund"
"International Society for Krishna Consciousness Book Fund" H.S.S. Account No. ??????
I am advising the bank to change the name of my Book Fund from "A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Book Fund" to "International Society for Krishna Consciousness Book Fund". Kindly, therefore, regularly transfer by mail all collection of membership fees 50% to the Building Fund and 50% to the Book Fund. Similarly advise Gorakhpur also to do the same.
Regarding payments of Book Fund monies to ISKCON Press, that is alright. Either the books are printed in Japan or ISKCON Press, it does not matter as long as they are printed. However, you can regularly inform me, say at the end of each month, how much you have paid from the Book Fund for printing with ISKCON Press. You have not mentioned for what books this money was allocated to them. That should also be informed.
I have already sent Central Bank a letter to change my book fund to "ISKCON Book Fund" but they have not replied, so you can send the money to the original book fund account, no. 14538; Central Bank of India, Gowalia Tank Road Branch; Warden Court, 79-81; Gowalia Tank Road; Bombay-26. So far as the Gorakhpur situation, I am writing to Durdaivanasana (D.L. Chopra) about this.
I think you have deposited the $5000 installment to my account as was previously informed. If so, please let me know. I shall issue a check to Advaita Prabhu, Iskcon Press. He wants $19,000 for printing Bhagavad-gita As It Is in large edition. So if you have not as yet deposited the money in the bank, then directly give it to Iskcon Press and instead of sending money to Dai Nippon, Bhaktivedanta Book Fund, for the time being go on sending all money to Iskcon Press for printing Bhagavad gita As It Is. When it is printed, say about 2000 copies should be sent to India and the balance should be distributed by you to USA and Europe. Henceforward the books and magazines should be distributed properly and money collected and spent for again reprinting the books. If Iskcon Press can print our books nicely, we have no business with going to Dai Nippon. I think because they have moved to a better place, the press work will go on nicely.
No, maintenance expenditures cannot come from the book fund. I do not understand why the press has moved and a new location fixed up, all for the cost of $10,000. What is the benefit of it? The Bhagavad-gita As It Is, is being attempted to be printed in ISKCON Press, but it is taking time—years. Does it mean in this way that the book fund will have to pay $1,500 per month and await printing? ISKCON Press is simply meant for printing our books and there must be sufficient work for printing; otherwise what is the use for maintenance? First of all it was suggested that the printing place would be situated in our N.Y. building. Now it has gone to another building. So I shall require the GBC members to inform me what is the actual benefit by such removal and keeping the press in a different building. The policy of maintaining a white elephant is not good.
It appears that Dai Nippon quoted for Bhagavad-gita $23,000. and ISKCON Press quoted $20,000. So $3000 difference. But if the book fund has to maintain the press expenditure by $1,500 per month and the printing takes two years, then what becomes the total cost of Bhagavad-gita As It Is?
You can tell Tamala that in Bombay, the book fund deposit is in the name of International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The account no. is 14876, in Gowalia Tank branch of Central Bank of India. So you can directly transfer book fund money to Bombay by mail transfer.
Please accept my blessings. Enclosed please find a copy of a letter sent to the Manager, Central Bank of India, Camac Street Branch. Henceforward, you can send all book fund a/c collections to Bombay for credit in International Society for Krishna Consciousness Book Fund Account no. 14876, Gowalia Tank Branch, Bombay-26.
In Calcutta there is no International Society Book fund a/c. So all book fund money may be directly transferred by mail to Gowalia Tank Road Branch of Central Bank of India to account number 14876. Central Bank will dispatch free of charges. Gowalia Branch has already issued a letter in this connection that all mail transfer will be free of charges.
So far the Book Fund in the name of ISKCON, I changed it in Bombay before leaving India and I have advised the Calcutta bank to transfer all balance to the Bombay account. So there is no anxiety about taxation as you are so much afraid
Regarding money matters I am very glad to know that you are not using book funds and building funds any more. It is very encouraging. The bumblebee project is very nice and I am so engladdened to note your encouraging writing "I will take responsibility to make sure this centre, Mayapur Project and all of ISKCON as a whole becomes purified, and it is my wish that you are relieved of any management burdens."
So far printing Hindi BTG, why the check should be issued in the name of ISKCON; why not directly to the press name? My checks for the book fund account are lying in Bombay. So you can let me know in Bombay the exact amount, or the press bill, and the name of the press so that the check may be issued directly to their name.
Another point is that I have advised Nairobi center and so we have already registered the society in the companies act and we have got a post box number also, as given above and we have our bank account also. We are getting membership fees very encouragingly. If they work hard then at least they can get one member daily, and besides that they are collecting nicely on the street Sankirtana. So I have proposed that 50% of the membership fee may be sent directly to Dai Nippon and 75% of the direct sales collection may also be directly sent, and that they get the books on consignment, or without paying on delivery. The idea is that 50% of the membership collection as it is already settled up should go to the book fund, so they will directly remit, whereas direct sales of books, 75% to the book fund and 25% they keep for expenditure. So how do you like this idea?
1972 Correspondence
The program for publishing as you have outlined is very nice with a few corrections. We do not need to publish in English either BTG or books, since these we will import from either Dai Nippon or ISKCON Press. But if you can arrange for Hindi and Bengali BTG and Hindi books as you suggest, that will be excellent. The idea is that by the profit out of BTG and Book Sales if you can maintain the establishment and meet the expenses, then I have no objection. From Book sales at least 50% of the face value of the book has to go to the book fund. And from the sales of the BTG at least one rupee per magazine should be paid to the book fund. So whatever remains after this can be utilized by you to do the publishing. But I cannot pay you Rs. 1000/- per month from here, that is not possible. So somehow arrange for the publishing of all our literatures.
Regarding distribution of magazines, you write each center and ask them how many copies they want. All collections from books and magazine sales should be sent to the Bombay Book Fund Account No. ISKCON Book Fund,* and if temples can pay for magazines in advance that is better, but they may also pay after receiving the magazines, within 30 days. All necessary expenditures will be paid by check from the Book Fund.
Now, so far the BTG and Book Funds are concerned, these matters shall be managed separately from the GBC by a body known as The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. The Book Trust shall be comprised of Srila Prabhupada, Karandhara dasa, and Bali Mardan dasa. They shall combinedly collect the sales proceeds from each Center and utilize all funds for the printing of Srila Prabhupada's books and the construction of ISKCON Centers all over the world. Not a farthing is to be spent for any other purpose.
The Book Trust shall see to the printing and distribution to Centers of books and magazines and it will be the serious responsibility of each Temple President to see that the billed amounts for these are paid to the BTG and Book Funds regularly. The billings and collections shall come from and to Los Angeles where Karandhara dasa will collect and keep accounts. We request that everyone will take these formulas to heart and execute them very conscientiously. In this way we shall certainly be successful in pushing on this movement.
All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga
APPROVED: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Founder-Acarya of ISKCON
Your lowly servant at Prabhupada's lotus feet,
Karandhara dasa Adhikari
c.c. To all ISKCON Temple Presidents
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated April 19, 1972, along with the French and German BTG's and other literature. They are very nice. I am very much encouraged by the increase in literature publication by ISKCON Press and also by the distribution by New York Temple. But they do not pay their bills, Karandhara is here and he has told me. Why is that, they do not pay their bills for literatures to my Book Fund? You can ask Rupanuga to report to me if this is true and give me accounting, and you also explain.
You have done something since becoming manager of ISKCON Press, that is your credit. But one thing, you say that portions of Bhagavatam are missing. Pradyumna Prabhu says that he has sent the synonyms for chapters 15-33 in Canto 3 from Australia some time ago, but that the situation for receiving mail there in New York temple is not very good and that often letters are neglected or lost. Why these things are going on? I have appointed this GBC to maintain the standards. I don't do these things. I am always careful about the mail and the money. This is very serious business, if we go to so much effort to make these books available to the human society, and then no one takes care and portions are lost, and no money is paid by the temples to Book Fund, then what is the use?
There seem to be vast discrepancies between your figures and those of Karandhara. For instance, he reports that since first of January, 1972, New York has remitted only $1243 to BTG Fund and $1538.20 to Book Fund, leaving balances due to BTG and Book Funds of $4571.05 and $5235.90 respectively. But you say your BTG debt is only $1,620 and BKF debt is only $3,897. If you are selling daily average of 2,000 literatures, why so little money is being paid by you on these debts? 60,000 pieces of literature per month means you should send the entire amount collected until this debt is completely eliminated. It is not good if such big temples who are setting the example for the whole Society do not pay their bills. This is most irregular. I am trying to retire from the administrative affairs, but if the presidents and GBC men make such disturbances then how I can be peaceful? Things should be maintained automatically, then it will be peaceful for me.
One thing, it is not good if we engage any professional translators, our own men must do the work. As soon as you receive payment for BTG's you may deposit immediately in the book fund account in Bombay and acknowledge to me. ISKCON Book Fund a/c is in Central Bank Gowalia Tank Branch, Bombay.
You should inform Ksirodakasayi what you have already paid into the BTG Book fund account. Did Ksirodakasayi send any bill? According to that bill you must pay, then the account will be nice. But if he has not sent you a bill, and you have paid the rest into the book fund, you haven't got to pay him. But in future he should always send bill and you should settle up with him accordingly. Now Gurudasa has gotten the import license, so whatever books are sent from here, the whole amount should be spent for building. Books sent from here should be considered as a contribution to the building work in India. Now we are printing many small, attractive booklets at ISKCON Press and I think they will sell like anything in India also. So in the future we shall see about getting these small books printed in Japan and send them in profuse quantities to India.
Prabhupada just spoke with me regarding the distribution of foreign (other than English) language literature. His direction is that 10% of the gross income on the sales of all of our literatures, books, and magazines, should be sent to The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. The BBT is financing many world-wide projects for the society, and therefore all income from literature distribution should contribute and support it. Please therefore make the necessary arrangements. A simple way to accomplish this would be to figure at the end of each month what your gross (total; before subtracting production costs and overhead) income from the sale of literature was for that month, calculate 10% of this figure , and send this to BBT in care of myself in Los Angeles. I know that you will understand that this subsidy will greatly facilitate the growth of Society-wide programs and everyone will benefit. From your local view it may appear to be an imposition, but I assure you that overall it is in the interest of Lord Caitanya's Movement.
...
Your Servant,
Karandhara das Adhikari
Approved
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
I am in due receipt of your express delivery letter, and I am glad that you have chosen the right course of action to sue Nair and finish the business once and for all. We are prepared to take back the money and cancel the whole thing. Why doesn't he return? Now stick to the principles of the original agreement to file suit. Don't change your decision. It appears that from the building fund Rs. 29,000/- was transferred to International Society general account, it is not yet returned, neither the Rs. 70,000/-. Anyway, the cheques given to you must be torn-up immediately. A letter should be issued to the bank to stop payment for cheques #CHT/A-T 492833 from Building Fund and #GT/HS 306873 from Book Fund, both in favor of Ambhubhai and Diwanji, Solicitors, Bombay, but I shall do it. We shall make no compromise with Nair unless we come to the court.
With reference to the above Account in the name of the International Society for Krishna consciousness Book Fund, said Account shall be closed and terminated, after first transferring (1) the sum of Rs. 10,000/= (Rupees Ten thousand Only) to our Account No., Central Bank of India, Head Branch, Flora Fountain, Bombay-l, (ISKCON Building Fund Account), and (2) the sum of Rs. 19,000/= (Rupees Nineteen Thousand Only) to my personal Account No. 14876 with your Bank CBI, Gwalior Tank Branch.
The remaining Balance of the ISKCON Book Fund, deducting the sums of Rs. 10,000/=, Re, 19,000/=, Rs. 1,00,000/= and Rs. 1,00,000/=, or total of Re. 2,29,000/0# as indicated above, shall be entered into a Fixed Term Deposit, being divided into Two sums, one of Rs. 50,000/= (Rupees Fifty Thousand Only) and one of the remaining portion, each sum for the period of One Year Only (1 Year); furthermore, monthly interest on these Amounts shall be transferred monthly into the Recurring Interest Account mentioned in the above (2); furthermore, the said Fixed Term Deposit Account shall be in the name of "Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Fund," as per above (2), I, the undersigned, being the sole operator.
Now my plan for books in India is this: We shall pay MacMillan for 20,000 copies of Bhagavad-Gita at $1.25 each. Price may be settled as it is required, but not more than $30,000. I shall pay for 5,000 copies from my bonds, you pay for the balance 15,000 copies from Book Fund there. 5,000 Gitas may be sent immediately to India, the balance you distribute other places. In India we want to order a variety of books. So you may immediately order from Dai Nippon 5,000 copies each of KRSNA (Vol. II) (Hard-bound), TLC (soft-bound), NOD (soft-bound), KRSNA TRILOGY (soft-bound), Srimad-Bhagavatam (5,000 of each volume), plus you may send to India 10,000 each of each of the small books, like Easy Journey, Topmost Yoga, Beyond Birth and Death, Isopanisad, like that. So these books should be given at cost-price only, not wholesale price, and you may cash some of my bonds to pay the total cost-price of the above books to Dai Nippon and ISKCON Press. They shall pay me back here into one M-V Trust Fund Account at the rate of ten rupees per dollar, plus they shall give me some profit. So you may inform me what is the cost per book for each of the above, and the total cost you are having to deduct from my bonds. All books should be sent to India as quickly as possible.
| Page Title: | BBT and ISKCON (Letters) |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika |
| Created: | 19 of May, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=50 |
| No. of Quotes: | 50 |