BBT Library Party

Expressions researched:
"library party"

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 1, 1975, Atlanta:

Tripurāri: So our men also are going out and preaching...

Prabhupāda: The overloaded.

Dhīra-kṛṣṇa: When we take your books on the library party to the professors at the universities... (fades out)

Room Conversation with Professor Olivier -- October 10, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: No, that letter is there?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: I don't know if I have the one from Oxford. This is from Harvard. We just received this telegram from Los Angeles, Prabhupāda. "Amazing success from your library party—one hundred and fifty-two standing orders sold in just seventeen days of September in New England. Thirteen standing orders at Harvard. These books are very much being appreciated in America."

Prof. Olivier: These are for the sets.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes, a standing order of books even which haven't been published yet. Prabhupāda is translating on his dictaphone each night, throughout the hours of the night. And now about fifty books so far, many more to come.

Prabhupāda: The total number of books will be about eighty. Out of that, we have published about fifty. So the balance they are giving standing order, "As soon as published, you give..."

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 13, 1976, Mayapur:

Madhudviṣa: (break) That's the library party.

Rādhāvallabha: In this place we're going to put a large board and put all your books on the board.

Rāmeśvara: (break) "...a standing order to begin with volume one of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, then please enter standing order to begin with volume one for Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam." This is their standing order, the order they send us in the mail.

Morning Walk -- May 12, 1976, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: So why did you take embryo from the child? You make embryo. You cannot make even an egg which can be..., give a chicken. So to waste time with these rascals is very difficult.

Devotee (1): Such programs are minimized in the temple. Should there be a college program in each temple? Or should everyone just work along with the BBT Library Party? Should there be a college program?

Prabhupāda: No, it is useless to talk with them. If you can peacefully sell some books, that's all. Don't enter into very long arguments, because they are all rascals. They cannot understand. Better peacefully, as far as possible, sell some books.

Morning Walk -- June 9, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: ...Bharati, with whom you had some talks, he does not speak anymore?

Hṛdayānanda: We have not heard anything.

Hari-śauri: He tries to cause a disturbance, though, whenever he can. I was told by one of the boys in the Library Party that he's prevented a lot of standing orders being taken by speaking with professors and condemning our movement.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Hari-śauri: He's still creating a disturbance.

Prabhupāda: Cancelling standing orders?

Hari-śauri: They've actually taken standing orders and then had them cancelled because of this man.

Morning Walk -- June 13, 1976, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: ...two vans.

Satsvarūpa: Besides this, well, we have so many more. Ghanaśyāma and the men in the library party, they have three vans, and then the men who finance their travels, they have two vans, so that's another five.

Prabhupāda: Along with this van, another van goes?

Satsvarūpa: Yes. And since we have this and the Deity worship, the collecting has increased and the book distribution, because now they're more regulated and it's not so difficult.

Morning Walk -- June 18, 1976, Toronto:

Jagadīśa: These professors sit around, discuss topics of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and drink wine.

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Satsvarūpa: And their discussion is very blasphemous. This Dr. Dimmock, he's made much investigation on the Six Gosvāmīs, and he's read all manuscripts, and he's always going to India and studying Rūpa Gosvāmī and Lord Caitanya, but everything is extremely blasphemous that he writes. So in both ways, in their habits and whatever they write. The Library Party men, they become friendly to these professors, but only to use them more or less, that they'll accept our books, despite themselves.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that we must do. (break) ...policy is when we go to a, what is called, a bad character, we don't go to associate with him, but to give him our association. Therefore we must be strong and very pure, so that your association, they will be benefited. For the preachers, īśvare tad-adhīneṣu bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu, the four behavior. Īśvara, tad-adhīneṣu, devotees, bāliśeṣu, innocent, and dviṣatsu, those who are envious. So a devotee, those who are preachers, they, prema, loving God, making friendship with devotee, and those who are innocent, to deliver. And those who are envious, reject.

Morning Walk -- July 11, 1976, New York:

Rāmeśvara: The Library Party said that everywhere they go in India, they find that you went there first with your first three volumes of Bhāgavatam. Especially in New Delhi, they said. There's one institute which had fifty sets of your original first canto, so now they ordered fifty complete sets to complete the books they had. They said that all the major colleges had your original Bhāgavatams in India, first edition. So then they could understand that you were distributing books yourself.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- July 14, 1976, New York:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, we have to do some positive, very subtle positive preaching. I suggested that—if you recall—I suggested that a cultural center should be opened there on the basis of showing dolls, showing movies, restaurant,

Prabhupāda: Books.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Books.

Prabhupāda: Literature.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But very vague.

Rāmeśvara: He's printing Japanese Gītā this year he says.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But very vague, not dressed as devotees, strictly cultural.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Cultural. They should... Deity worship one of the items. Otherwise it is called bhāgavata and pañcarātra.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I felt that it should be done in a very modern American style but very cultural with Vedic subject matter. Then gradually they would appreciate it. As well as the library party. If the library party, Satsvarūpa is thinking to go all over the world now, if they go to Japan they are expecting a good reception in Japan, that will be another advantage if your books are accepted by the professors there. I thought that a cultural presentation...

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: We have to somehow or another get the local people to join there.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well that's the way, see they're not going to join as Hare Kṛṣṇas because of the bad publicity. They're not going to join like that. You have to have a different method.

Conversation After Interview with Religious Editor, Associated Press -- July 16, 1976, New York:

Ātreya Ṛṣi: We discussed Jagadīśa Prabhu's request to primarily attend his engagement with Gurukula, and we also discussed Satsvarūpa Gosvāmī's desire to attend primarily Library Party.

Prabhupāda: It is good proposal.

Room Conversation -- August 4, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Hari-śauri: In Vṛndāvana you were just translating?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Hari-śauri: The library party said that everywhere in Delhi they went, they found that you had already placed your three volumes of Bhāgavatam.

Prabhupāda: Yes. In American also. The Congress Library purchased nineteen sets.

Hari-śauri: Which library?

Prabhupāda: Congress Library.

Hari-śauri: Oh, Congress. The one in Washington? The Library of Congress?

Prabhupāda: Or there is a branch in India.

Hari-śauri: That is where they have your original Back to Godhead.

Prabhupāda: Maybe.

Hari-śauri: The first copy, they have it in Washington there.

Prabhupāda: American government is good organizations.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

So you have been there?

Gargamuni: I didn't go. But our library party, on their way to south, they stopped there because they thought maybe they could sell a standing order.

Prabhupāda: So they did not.

Gargamuni: Well, they were quite shocked to find that the whole thing is a bluff. The propaganda about this Auroville just does not exist. They only have a few houses, and it's simply a few hippies who live there.

Hari-śauri: They make it out to be such a big project.

Gargamuni: They said our Māyāpura project is more advanced.

Room Conversation with Sannyasis -- January 22, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: So I am anxious to receive report from Satsvarūpa Mahārāja.

Satsvarūpa: The library party?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Satsvarūpa: He's bringing... I have a map of all that they've done very recently. Right now they're in Germany.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. We have received one telegram from where? Poland.

Devotee (1): Poland University.(?)

Satsvarūpa: Harikeśa Mahārāja has programs in all those countries: Poland, Hungary...

Prabhupāda: He is very enthusiastic. (laughs)

Satsvarūpa: Oh, yes.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore I asked him that "You go there." Rāmeśvara: Gargamuni Mahārāja has sold 550 standing orders in six months.

Gargamuni: Those are delivered. There's a hundred others that aren't.

Rāmeśvara: Pending. And he's got reviews coming in every day. He's already published a booklet just of reviews, which we want to reprint, both combined.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. You print. It is very helpful.

Evening Darsana -- February 26, 1977, Mayapura:

Cāru: Śrīla Prabhupāda? This gentleman has just also taken two standing orders individually, and the Indian library party has just returned with thirty-two standing orders from Rajastan and two standing orders from North Bengal University.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Thirty-two? Thirty-two more standing orders.

Prabhupāda: From where?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Rajastan.

Hṛdayānanda: And North Bengal University.

Cāru: Took two standing orders today.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This man took two himself, Mr. Vajpay.

Prabhupāda: He has...?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Taken two standing orders.

Hṛdayānanda: :For himself.

Cāru: For the university.

Prabhupāda: Sagara University. That is good.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Thirty-two

Prabhupāda: Scholars and universities... He's also big scholar, archaeologist, very big scholar.

Morning Conversation -- April 19, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Today I wanted to show Girirāja. There's a number of letters received where they make it very clear that they're not going to...

Prabhupāda: No, he may see or not see; we must be prepared. Then we understand that something is being done now. Simply high talks will not do. Now they are spending lakhs, but actually we are getting some money by devotees' livelihood.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You mean...

Prabhupāda: Gargamuni is working, library party. So at least fifty percent of the collection should be spent for this construction.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Gargamuni's library sales.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And any other party who are making book sale.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So what he does is he gets billed by Gopāla, and he pays his bill, Gargamuni.

Prabhupāda: So that means Gopāla will pay from the bill.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Fifty percent.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Letter from Yugoslavia--'Books!' -- June 30, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says the next country is Bulgaria. "So as to give the maximum number of people a chance to participate in Lord Caitanya's saṅkīrtana program, as we are so fallen and incompetent..."

Prabhupāda: The chanting, did they give?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: In Bulgaria?

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Not yet. No devotees have ever entered. "As we are so fallen and incompetent, we beg that you will keep guiding us and allowing us to continue to serve you. We remain always desperately begging for your mercy. Your selfish servant, Ghanaśyāma dāsa, BBT Library Party."

Room Conversation With Son (Vrindavan De) -- July 5, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Very positive. He says, "One additional note. Our Library Party in America recently attended the annual convention of the largest organization of libraries." That's called the American Library Association. It's made up of all of the libraries in the US, and it's the most prestigious library association. "At this convention, the booth of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust won the first prize..."

Prabhupāda: Just see. This is our triumph.

Room Conversation-Recent Mail -- July 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

So that's one letter. If you're feeling tired I can read more later on.

Prabhupāda: No, that's all right.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I haven't seen what this is yet. It's from Gargamuni Mahārāja. It's "To all India GBC and temple presidents: Dear Mahārājas and Prabhus, please accept my humble obeisances. Enclosed please find our newly established Encyclopedia of Vedic Knowledge program. This is the beginning of the major big book distribution program in India. Our library party has already received tremendous success in this program, and Śrīla Prabhupāda has greatly encouraged us to sell these all over India. The profit only amounts to Rs. 10 per book, but it will allow everyone to regularly read our books and refer to it as an authentic encyclopedia. Our aim is to replace this encyclopedia against all other encyclopedias, which are meant to take the people to the hellish planets. When our representatives come to your area, please be good enough to assist them in making possible that Śrīla Prabhupāda's books be distributed to leading educational, intellectual persons all over India." Here's what he's published, Śrīla Prabhupāda. It's called "The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Library Encyclopedia of Vedic Knowledge." I think I should read it to you, because it's got mostly words in it.

Prabhupāda: Read the covering.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's pretty much the whole thing.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Pamphlet.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, it's a pamphlet. Should I read it to you?

Room Conversation-Recent Mail -- July 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says, "We have a great debt to repay you and we are perplexed how to repay. At least Your Divine Grace may stay as long as we try to repay till the debt we owe to you. I think if we work hard and preach and the world recognizes this movement, then you may want to stay here longer."

Prabhupāda: Yes, that's a fact.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "I am constantly filling this into the minds of the members of the Library Party. We are now emphasizing your books as a library of Encyclopedia of Vedic Knowledge, and I am herewith enclosing reviews from the biggest Marathi, Gujarati, and Sindhi scholars."

Prabhupāda: Yes, it is very nice. He has done quite efficiently.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, there's another thing. This whole thing, these are new reviews I'm going to read to you.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "I also have other good news." He says, "The Andhra Pradesh government has sent a newsletter to all libraries in the state, requesting them to order our books, as they are approved by the state." Wow!

Prabhupāda: So you can do it from other provinces also.

Room Conversation -- October 21, 1977, Vrndavana:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: So we are going to start work on the godown in November.

Prabhupāda: That's nice.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, that's nice. Now, as soon as our six Gujarati books are ready, we are starting this mail order campaign even for Gujarati books and for Hindi books. Actually by this mail order technique we will sell more books than we sell on the streets or in colleges. Just in two months I sold more Gītās...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: How many?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Over a thousand ...than we did in two years of library party. And I'm expanding this to...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No. They sell more. They have more than that, standing orders.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: What I'm saying it's very good. A thousand Gītās in two months is very good. Now I'm expanding this to the Bhāgavatam.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Unless you have good godown, it will be stolen and sold in the market at cheap price.

Room Conversation -- November 3, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You got one letter, Śrīla Prabhupāda, from the BBT Library Party in America. I won't read it all, but just to sum it up... That Readings in Vedic Literature by Satsvarūpa Mahārāja, that book, remember, that I read some parts of to you? Readings in Vedic Literature Satsvarūpa wrote? It's a short book? That book is becoming very much accepted in university courses. Many, many classes are using it as a textbook, which means that automatically thirty to fifty copies are purchased at a time. And all over the country now, as the Library Party travels, at each college one or two courses use this book now each semester. It's a regular textbook now. Now that they've introduced the study guide to the Bhagavad-gītā, they expect the Bhagavad-gītā will also become a regular textbook more and more. Actually this is a... The Library Party reports that this is a great future for these books, is that gradually all of these books will be accepted as textbooks, and they will be made mandatory reading in college courses, which means there will be huge sales year after year. Another thing which they're beginning to sell very widely, Śrīla Prabhupāda... See, first the Library Party went to every university in America over the last four years and sold standing orders of the Bhāgavatam and Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Now they're going back this year and starting to sell textbooks, text orders. They've done standing orders, now they're going to the same colleges and they're approaching the professors and saying, "Here's a book for your class as a textbook," which means that the teacher orders thirty copies at a time. So they're beginning to do this now. And they're also beginning to sell the movies. Yadubara's movies are being taken. In each school one or two people are renting these films or purchasing these films as well as slide shows. This is called audio-visual media. The Library Party is starting to sell a lot of the movies and the slide shows as well as tape cassettes. Music courses, for example, want to order tape cassettes of Your Divine Grace singing bhajanas and playing the harmonium as part of a course in Indian music, for example.

Room Conversation -- November 3, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Another thing that's beginning to happen is that the professors, after getting your standing orders and after teaching with your books in their courses, they are starting to become very friendly to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For example here is one example cited. He says, it says here, that "Daśaratha Prabhu went straight to the chairman of philosophy who happens to teach in that field, and that chairman also bought a copy of Monograph 2..." which is Svarūpa Dāmodara's science books; these are also becoming important, "...and promised to review it. During this time, Śeṣa was meeting with Fritz Blackwell, an Asian language specialist who has used Kṛṣṇa book in his course as a textbook and has known devotees for four years. Fritz's exchanges with Śeṣa were so intriguing that we shall simply list them one by one. The two passed in the hallway, not knowing each other, but later, when they met, Mr. Blackwell said, 'Oh, I knew you must have been with ISKCON. No one else would be so nicely dressed.' Śeṣa had corresponded with Mr. Blackwell previously and sent him copies of 'The Hare Kṛṣṇa People' and 'Spiritual Frontier' movies to review for a special national survey of audio-visual materials on new spiritual movements. Fritz related that ISKCON's response was the quickest among his many suppliers for the project, and when he told his wife the Hare Kṛṣṇas were the first to send their films, she simply replied, 'They would be.' Śeṣa acquired advance copies of Mr. Blackwell's reviews on the two films, which we'll enclose with this report if possible. Introducing Mr. Blackwell to the Readings in Vedic Literature prompted him to say, 'I will definitely use this in my course next year.' He also agreed to send a review by December. Fritz told Śeṣa, 'It's amazing that you've come today. We're just going to start our study of Kṛṣṇa tomorrow. Can you come and speak in my class?' Śeṣa immediately complied. Fritz introduced him as an authority and personal colleague, so the students listened attentively and took notes. Śeṣa used slides to supplement his academic glorification of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Interested, the students asked many questions such as 'Why is Kṛṣṇa blue? What is prasādam?' Fritz was very pleased with the whole thing and gladly helped Śeṣa make arrangements to get another Caitanya-caritāmṛta standing order in the library." They already had one order, and they got another order. "On the same campus, Śeṣa sold a preview order..." Anyway, then they sold some more books. That's just an example of the way professors are beginning to be more and more helpful, and they're actually becoming devoted to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They've been very much impressed with the Library Party. The Library Party devotees come in suits with ties. They look very proper. They're scholarly. The books are the most prestigious, scholarly presentations of the philosophy available. And these people, they first ordered the standing order. Now they're ordering course textbooks. And now they're starting to teach your books in the courses, Śrīla Prabhupāda. They're preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness right in the classrooms. So automatically, when the see the devotees, they are very much attracted and friendly with our devotees. They want to take prasādam. So the scholars, who are the most intellectual community in America, are becoming devoted now to Your Divine Grace and this movement.

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Ramesvara -- Bombay 9 May, 1974:

The report of the BBT traveling library party is something new for us and this is also only the beginning. Please give my heartful thanks to the boys, Sriman Maha Buddhi dasa Brahmacari and Sriman Ghanasyama dasa Brahmacari. These books are specifically meant for the intellectual class of people in your country and I have great hope in the results of this preaching at the Universities.