Kenya

Expressions researched:
"Kenya" |"Kenyan"

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Two Buddhist Monks -- July 12, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Oh. What is this, "K.C.C. Ghee"?

Guest (1): Ghee.

Śrutakīrti: Ghee. I don't know where it's from.

Prabhupāda: K.C.C?

Śrutakīrti: Nairobi, Kenya. It was made and packed by...

Haṁsadūta: Brahmānanda.

Prabhupāda: That ghee, Nairobi, is very nice ghee.

Śrutakīrti: Yes, very good.

Prabhupāda: Australia also.

Śrutakīrti: New Zealand.

Prabhupāda: This ghee-producing animal, and they're killing. Just see how much injustice. They have no sense even. I exact from you all the resources, and then I kill you. What is this?

Buddhist Monk (1): For no other reason but for greed again.

Morning Walk -- December 21, 1973, Los Angeles:

Guest (1): Candrakant. You were taking their house?

Girirāja: Yes. Near Mahatma Gandhi Road.

Guest (1): Yes, that is Candrakant. In Calcutta, no?

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) Yes, there is also my student. (break) Now the government is so irresponsible. Just like in Nairobi, I was refused permission. You see. We spent so much money, and they did not inform before. And when I was on the airport... That also, no written order. They said, "From higher authorities it is the order that you cannot enter." Just see. Kenya. So at the present moment we have got many enemies of this movement. (Hindi) "You are converting these European and American into brāhmaṇa. How they can become brāhmaṇa without taking birth as brāhmaṇa?"

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Dr. Chaudhuri -- Los Angeles 6 February, 1969:

For the last five months, our kirtana movement is going on in London. Our office is situated there at 22 Betterton Street, WC 2 London, England. The people are appreciating our movement very much there. You will be surprised to know that I have sent there for preaching work 6 boys and girls, married couples, and they are neither elderly nor very much conversant with Vedic philosophy. But still, by their character, behavior, and devotion, they are attracting many people in London, including the High Commissioner of India and others. One gentleman, Mr. Parikh, is a Doctor in Education and was formerly the principal of a college in Kenya. He is actively working with our students there, and very soon they should have a Radha-Krishna temple there in gorgeous style.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Balmukundji -- Los Angeles 17 April, 1970:

I am very glad that the Kenya Indian friends are sympathetic with our Krishna Consciousness movement, so in future we may be able to take up the charge of the African Temples provided the Hindus or Indians fully cooperate with us. Actually this Krishna Consciousness movement, as you know it very well, is not specifically for any sect. Krishna is not for the Hindus only, He is for everyone, even for the animals.

Letter to Balmukundji -- Los Angeles 17 April, 1970:

Your good self are an influential gentleman both in London and Kenya, similarly Sriman Becharbhai G. Patel, and Birlaji etc. are willing to contribute substantially, so why not join together in this Krishna Consciousness movement and construct an unique and imposing KRSNA temple in London, the most important city of the world. If you agree to this proposal, then I am prepared to work personally along with you for this temple construction work.

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Los Angeles 15 May, 1970:

When you go to London making plans for World Sankirtana, you may take into consideration of the proposal made by Mr. Parikh. He said that from Kenya there is invitation for our group to perform Kirtana there. So if we go, a group of at least 25 heads, they have already agreed to pay for return journey and accommodation there. So on your way to India you can perform Kirtana in some important cities of Europe, and then go to Africa, Kenya.

From Kenya you may go to South Africa. In this way you collect funds there from Indians and proceed to Bombay. In Bombay some of my friends will receive you very nicely, and from Bombay you gradually travel all over through other provinces namely Gujarat, Rajasthan, Central India, Northern India, then Behar, and then reach to Bengal. In Bengal we then start our own Temple at Mayapur, and some of the devotees may live there in batches. Some batches go, some batches come.

Letter to Gurudasa -- Los Angeles 16 May, 1970:

Regarding the proposed trip to Kenya, the next step I have already advised to Tamala in this connection. I understand he is coming to London very soon, and you can discuss with him. But one thing is that Mr. Parikh was talking of this Sankirtana Party to Africa since a very long time. There is no direct correspondence with us. It is difficult to say how it will be a fact in future.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Hamsaduta -- London 7 August, 1971:

The Kabul proposal sounds very nice and hippies are already there. If you begin your movement with hippies, then gradually the local inhabitants will take interest. Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted that in every town and village this cult would be spread and the hippies are already spread all over the world and they are our best customer. These hippies are simply frustrated and want something sublime. So we are delivering this sublime movement all over the world and if we do it cautiously and carefully surely we will be successful.

Brahmananda has already gone to Kenya and the response has been very favorable. I hope he will do something tangible there.

Letter to Gargamuni -- London 24 August, 1971:

I hope this instruction will be useful for your purposes and don't be very much agitated. Krishna will help you. After all they are all human beings and as foretold by Lord Caitanya the Hare Krishna Mantra will be vibrated in every corner. So try to introduce it in this country where things are not very favorable. As we got several letters from Nepal in favor of our movement, certainly there are men there who will like this movement. Gradually you will find them out. So don't be impatient. Go on chanting Hare Krishna mantra peacefully.

Brahmananda is doing very nicely there in Kenya. There is good field for preaching work there.

Letter to Dr. Bali -- Kenya 9 September, 1971:

One S. Indian gentleman, Mr. Cheety, came to see my in L.A. when I was there and he has invited me to go to his place. I had promised him that I am going there during my Madras tour in October. Formerly also when I talked with Vaijyantimala, she also said that October would be first class climate for going there. But now the program is changed, so I have no idea about the programs in India.

There are several programs in Calcutta, Mayapur, Delhi and Bombay also in December so far I know. I am going to East Africa, Kenya, on Friday evening, 10th instant. My address there is given above.

Letter to Madhudvisa -- Mombassa, Kenya 9 September, 1971:

Tomorrow evening I am going to Kenya, the address is given above. After Mombassa you will be glad to know that I shall be returning to Bombay, which should be by the end of September.

Letter to Madhudvisa -- Mombassa, Kenya 10 September, 1971:

You will be interested to know that this evening I will be going to Kenya, East Africa. The Mombassa address is given above. Some program has been fixed up there, and I have consented to go there for some time.

By now I had expected some letter from you. I am anxious to know how things are going on there. So please let me know at the above-given address. Any letters you have already sent to London address will be forwarded there directly.

Letter to Jayapataka -- Mombassa, Kenya 10 September, 1971:

You will be interested to know that this evening I will be going to Kenya, East Africa. The Mombassa address is given above. Some program has been fixed up there and I have consented to go there for some time.

By now I had expected some letter from you. I am anxious to know how things are going on there. So please let me know at the above-given address. Any letters you have already sent to London address will be forwarded there directly.

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Mombassa, Kenya 10 September, 1971:

You will be interested to know that this evening I will be going to Kenya, East Africa. The Mombassa address is given above. Some program has been fixed up there and I have consented to go there for some time.

By now I had expected some letter from you. I am anxious to know how things are going on there. So please let me know at the above-given address. Any letters you have already sent to London address will be forwarded there directly.

Letter to Makhanlal, Tilaka -- Nairobi 24 September, 1971:

Brahmananda Swami has written Mr. Dhawan asking for six round-trip tickets from Kenya for going there to establish a center.

Letter to Sudama -- Nairobi 3 October, 1971:

What happened to your wife and to Bhanu? So far registration is concerned, we have got our society registered in Kenya in three days. The procedure followed was: If you want to base the registration on the London constitution, you should write to London to get an original certified copy of the articles of association and articles of memorandum. You can write Dayananda in this regards. The thing is that the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was registered under the companies act with limited liability. The above mentioned articles of association and memorandum were presented here and were immediately accepted and the certificate of registration was given.

Letter to Jayapataka -- Nairobi 5 October, 1971:

I am glad to learn that the jute crop is saved and I do not know why there was damage on the roof of the cottage. Also formerly I was informed that the Calcutta function would take place on the 21st October but now I learned from your letter that it will take place on the 28th instant. So I am making my program of returning to India on the understanding that Calcutta program begins on the 28th. From here of course I will go to Bombay as soon as our business here is settled up. Here in Nairobi our program is going on very nicely. There are TV engagements and a very large meeting is scheduled at the University of Nairobi for tomorrow. Many respectful Hindus are inviting us and I am staying in everyone's house for four to five days. Most probably our center here in Nairobi will be a strong one, as strong as any of our other centers. Two black devotees have come here today from N.Y. and Dinanatha should come here from there as soon as possible. The Africans locally are becoming very much interested and there is great field here in Africa for spreading Lord Caitanya's movement. Also the life membership program is going on very happily. Already we have collected more than 30,000 Kenya shillings.

Letter to Cyavana -- Bombay 26 December, 1971:

Brahmananda has telephoned that he has got the American Ambassador and the Indian High Commissioner to come to our festival in Nairobi. That is very nice proposal. Now, if you can convince the President of Kenya, Mr. Jomo Kenyatta, to come also, then I shall also consent to come for a few days to meet him. I think if I meet with him that will be very nice. So if you can arrange in that way, and if you send me two tickets round-trip from Bombay, then I shall come when you call.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Karandhara -- Nairobi 25 January, 1972:

I am answering your letter from an air ship going to Nairobi, Kenya. Where I will speak from Jan. 26 - Jan 30 to the Africans and Asians alike.

I do not know how and why these transparencies were sent to India but Tamala Krishna Das has received your cable and is doing the needful.

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Los Angeles 5 December, 1973:

Regarding the refusal of my entrance into Nairobi, no reason has yet been disclosed for the denial. I have written one letter, a copy of which is enclosed herewith, but there has been no reply. You may get the letter published in India. After proceeding to London I heard from Brahmananda Maharaja that on account of the denial of entry a commotion was caused amongst the people so the President of Kenya verbally said he was issuing a letter with permission for myself to enter. I waited in London but it did not come so I proceeded on to Los Angeles. The idea is to curtail the Indian influence in Kenya, either political or religious. That I can understand. Brahmananda Maharaja was allowed but not myself or my secretary. It was a great trouble for me. From Bombay to Nairobi took nine hours, then six hours waiting in the airport and then 9 hours to London. It was a great strain. I rested for three days in London.

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Brahmananda -- Honolulu 26 January, 1974:

I have received my copy of special BTG. It is very nicely done. I thank you very much. With great pleasure I note that although the Government of Kenya did not allow me to enter the state, my work was not hampered on account of my absence. In your last letter I was informed that Cyavana Swami has left your protection and gone to South America. I don't know why he has done so. As a sannyasi he is free to travel all over the world but when he was working under your supervision he should have taken your permission. This kind of independence is not very good. I'm quite confident of his sincerity, and I shall be glad to be further enlightened on this matter.

Letter to Brahmananda -- New Delhi 14 February, 1974:

I appreciate your spirit in wanting to retaliate against the Kenya government for their not allowing me to enter the country on Krsna's mission. I think, however, that the proposal of international demonstrations at the embassies of the Kenya government would be a waste of time. If it could not be done from there why waste our time in such demonstrations.

Letter to Bhima, Krsna dasa, Sanat Kumara, Nityananda, Samba, Joseph -- Bombay 16 May, 1974:

You are fulfilling my great hope. Because you are native Africans, you are the best ones to convince other Africans to become Krishna Conscious. Unless they become Krishna Conscious they can never end their suffering. We can not expect every single African to take to it. But if only a small population can take it seriously it can do real good. Therefore you are the real leaders of the Kenya nation. Please take seriously what you have learned and help spread this happy life to everyone you meet in Africa.

Letter to Brahmananda -- Frankfurt 17 June, 1974:

I am glad to read that you are eager to join me as my permanent secretary and that your major concern is to help provide me with "a conducive environment to translate" my books. That is my desire also. On the other hand, I can understand the programs are developing in Kenya and therefore you want a strong replacement before you leave Africa. I think Gargamuni Maharaja can do it nicely. I have written him a letter inviting him to go to Africa and also Karandhara has gone to Calcutta to talk with him directly about this. So we shall see whether he is willing.

It is very good news that there are persons there who want to cooperate to help us start a Varnasrama College Project and that they may supply us land for living as an ideal community producing our own food from the land. So this should be followed up carefully.

I was glad to receive you second letter and the letter from the Ministry of Home affairs stating that they have no objection to my coming to Kenya. Yes, I would like to go there after the Vrindaban ceremonies. Hopefully you will have joined me by then and we can go together to Kenya and from there to South Africa where Pusta Krsna Maharaja is trying to arrange a program for our coming.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Mr. Punja -- Bombay 2 January, 1975:

I am writing this letter to inform you that I am now sending Bhagavata dasa brahmacari there to Fiji to be co-manager with your good self. This man is very experienced in the Gujarati communities. He has preached in Africa to the Gujaratis there in Kenya, Tansania, Zambia, etc. for over 3 years, as well as London and Gujarat. He is I think capable of working with you very nicely there. If you would be so kind as to send him a ticket from Bombay to Fiji, he can leave Bombay immediately upon arrival of the ticket. He is very eager to make Fiji an established Krishna Conscious center and to work with you co-operatively. Please send the ticket to his Christian name, Joseph M. Selvester, passport number Z1964356. He is waiting here in Bombay at our Hare Krishna Land. I think you can send the ticket by wire through one of the airlines there that has their branch office in Bombay.

Letter to All ISKCON Temple Presidents -- Nairobi 29 October, 1975:

This is to introduce to you Mr. Harjibhai M. Patel of Diamond Press Ltd., P.O. Box 40030, Nairobi, Kenya. He and his wife are going on world wide tour in April, 1975. Kindly receive Mr. Patel and offer him best accommodation, prasadam, and whatever assistance he might require. He is a pure vegetarian. He is my friend here in Nairobi, and he has kindly hosted me at his home on two occasions before we had our own temple here. He is also one of the important members in helping to assist our mission, especially through his press. So I want that he should have a favorable impression of our movement all over the world. So please do the needful.

Letter to Mr. A. D. Nyamiaka -- Bombay 10 November, 1975:

We want very much to spread this highest welfare activity there amongst the Kenyan people and we are very thankful for your cooperation. Please try to give us more and more facility. We want the people to live simply but to think highly. We want to make projects whereby the people produce their own food, food for themselves and also for the animals. In this way they can produce their own necessities and not live on any artificial standard. My disciple Jnana das Adhikari is there for this purpose of establishing our program. The main thing is to chant Hare Krsna and take the remnants of foodstuffs that have been offered to the Lord. This is our main program and please encourage him for this program within the village people. Everyone will like to sing and dance and to eat nice foodstuffs. This is our simple process for God realization. I hope this meets you in good health.

Letter to Miss P. Boodhena -- Bombay 23 November, 1975:

I am very glad to see that you are taking keen interest in this sublime movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for benedicting the entire world with the holy name, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. It is very good that you are taking serious interest in reading our books. This is very important. I think it will be easier for you to get our Srimad-Bhagavatam from our devotees who are there in Mauritius. If they cannot supply, you can write to our Nairobi temple at P.O. Box 28946, Nairobi, Kenya.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Brahmananda -- Honolulu 18 May, 1976:

I am writing a letter to Caitya Guru das to issue one letter of explanation and apology to Mr. Amarshi B. Shretta, P.O. Box 53, Kisumu, Kenya, explaining what the reason was for not bringing his car at the time appointed. Also, please find enclosed one letter from Sarva Vit das Brahmacari in the Mombassa Temple. Please advise him in this matter as you best can judge the situation being there.

Letter to Caitya-guru -- Honolulu 19 May, 1976:

I have received on report from Brahmananda Swami in Nairobi about an incident that took place that took place when you were there. One Mr. Amarshi B. Shretta, P.O. Box 53, Kisumu, Kenya, had lent his automobile to you that you might use it for me when I came to Kenya. However, it was reported that you disappeared with the car overnight. Mr. Shretta is very much upset at this and he demands an explanation and an apology. There have been many complaints at the mismanagement in the past and now Brahmananda Swami has worked very hard to regain the respect and support of the Indian community in Kenya. Needless to say they are supporting our movement in Kenya and we must be straightforward in our dealings with them. I want you to write a letter of explanation and apology to Mr. Shretta and also you can send one copy of your letter to Brahmananda Swami at the Nairobi Temple address, P.O. Box 28946, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa. Kindly do this immediately.

1977 Correspondence

Letter to Parvati -- Bombay 5 January, 1977:

As far as your own position is concerned, that can be definitely decided during the Mayapur festival. In the meantime you can remain in Kenya.

Letter to Brahmananda -- Bombay 29 April, 1977:

The letter which you have sent from the student, Charles, is wonderful. I have asked that it be published in our English Back To Godhead as well as in all of the Indian language Back to Godheads here in India. Charles' letter shows that he is very intelligent and has begun to understand our philosophy. It is very encouraging. Take care of all of these good souls that Krsna is sending you. By your own exemplary behavior, train them all as ideal Vaisnavas. This will greatly please me, and if it is possible for me to come to Kenya, I shall be very glad to meet all of them. The photographs which you have sent are also very good and we are going to display them here for all visitors to see. The program which you are now conducting should be expanded more and more. By prasadam distribution and kirtana everyone will become attracted to Krsna consciousness. I am also enclosing a letter to Jayanta which I hope will encourage him.