August 18, 1971
San Diego
My Dear Bhakta Das,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 9th August, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. I am so glad to hear that Krishna has provided you with a new temple very suitable for our purposes. So why not purchase immediately? If Karandhara is satisfied, then we can lend you part of the money for down payment and you can return it later on. So make arrangements in that way.
Yes, if there are enough qualified devotees on hand to care for Lord Jagannatha, then certainly He should come there. So make nice arrangements for Him. If your facilities are as nice as those in L.A. then you can ask Babhrubahan to make big Jagannatha Deities like those in the L.A. temple. He carves very nicely and his wife Vikramini paints Them nicely also. When I was in L.A. last time, they carved one small set for me and the set is there in my room. If someone needs to receive Gayatri mantra, which is necessary for caring for Lord Jagannatha, then at your recommendation they can be initiated by mail. I will send you one tape made by me of Gayatri mantra. They should simply listen one at a time, privately, through the right ear and at the same time repeat each mantra, while reading it from one paper. You can also explain beforehand how to count on the fingers. Then, if the devotee is male, give the sacred thread. Then hold a fire yajna as you have seen done before. Send the thread here to me before the ceremony is to be held and I will chant Gayatri mantra on the thread(s) personally.
So, if you can make your temple as nice as L.A. then certainly when I go to L.A. next time I will visit San Diego. It is only a 20 minute plane ride to San Diego from L.A. but it takes 200 minutes to get to the airport and back. Just see the conveniences of technological advancement.
Please offer my blessings to the others there. Hoping this will meet you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
P.S. So far your getting married is concerned, it is better if you can remain brahmacari.
ACBS/adb