Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 29, 1969. I have already sent your beads duly chanted upon, and I hope you will be happy in Krishna Consciousness always. As you are a very nice, good soul, Krishna will certainly bless you with all benedictions. It doesn't matter whether or not you remain in this part of the world or in India. Wherever you remain you chant Hare Krishna regularly, and your example may be followed by others. The world needs this benefit, and when you return to India there are so many ways you can convince your parents that to take to Krishna Consciousness does not mean one has to give up his worldly affairs. I know in India there are many foolish persons who think that by reading Bhagavad Gita one is apt to renounce this world. This is completely foolishness. Arjuna was a family man, a soldier, and he was directly taught the principles of Bhagavad Gita, but he never renounced the world nor the battlefield. I do not know why there are certain crazy men who think like that, that if a man becomes devotee, he will have no more interest in worldly affairs. We are not Mayavadi; we do not state that the world is false. We say that if Krishna is truth, the world is also truth because the world is a manifestation of Krishna's energy. So if Krishna is true, how His energy can be false? The Mayavadis preach so-called monism, but they always distinguish brahma and maya. They say brahma is true, maya is false. We say maya is true, and because it is Krishna's energy, she must be employed in Krishna's service. That is our philosophy.
So far your parents are concerned, I have received another letter from a friend of your parents whose name is Bhartendu Vimal. I am enclosing this letter for you to read. Your father has induced him to ask me not to initiate you. This gentleman came to see me in San Francisco. He might be some congressman, and at the expense of the government he was making some so-called cultural tour. The government is interested to send anyone for dancing or recitation of poetry, but when the government is requested for giving some facilities for preaching Krishna consciousness, they will not encourage. On the other hand they encourage publications in which Krishna is depicted as black and low-born. This is the position of our government.