Los Angeles
11 January, 1970
70-01-11
My Dear Kulasekhara,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated December 3, 1969, and I am pleased to learn that your wife, Visakha, has gone to London to learn more about Deity worship from Yamuna devi. And also I am pleased to know that you have taken charge of the Deities at present. This is very nice.
In our devotional service, there are nine different processes for executing devotional service, they are as follows: 1. Hearing, 2. Chanting, 3. Meditating, 4. Offering prayers, 5. Rendering service, 6. Making friendship, 7. Temple worship, 8. Serving the Lotus Feet, 9. Surrendering everything to the Lord. So, out of these nine, sravanam or hearing is very important. This hearing is important in ordinary life also. In the civil action of human society this hearing is a very important factor. Early in the morning, just rising from bed, they want to hear the newspaper, especially in the western countries. But the most unfortunate situation is that the karmis will agree to hear a bunch of newspaper which is ten times more in volume than Bhagavad-gita, but if they are requested to read Bhagavad-gita, they will not agree. So our propaganda is to transfer the taste of the general people from reading rubbish nonsense to reading of Bhagavad-gita, which solves the problems of life. As you are sincere devotee, you should always keep in mind these differences of hearing and try to understand how much important it is to hear about Krishna Consciousness. You are thinking that there are many problems in your life; I assure you that if you follow the regulative principles of chanting 16 rounds, observing strictly the prohibitive injunctions, keep association with pure devotees, plus taking care of the Deities in the Temple, surely all your problems will be solved without any difficulty. Please try it for at least one month and see the result.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
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