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The karmīs are fond of the conception of "mine," the jñānīs are fond of the conception of "I," and both of them are unqualified to be free from the bondage of the illusory energy. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and, primarily, the Bhagavad-gītā are both meant for delivering a person from the misconception of "I" and "mine," and Śrīla Vyāsadeva transcribed them for the deliverance of the fallen souls.
Karandhara: Brahmaṇe darśayan rūpam. (devotees chant śloka with Śrīla Prabhupāda correcting)
Prabhupāda: You try to follow the transcription because you do not know devanāgarī alphabet. When there is chanting you follow the transcription.
So read every verse. Practice it. Give everyone.
You want money to increase your income to become happy. But if you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, automatically you'll be so happy that you'll neglect to collect money. That will automatically come. There is no need of separate endeavor. Happiness will come. Yaṁ labdhvā. Just like Dhruva, Dhruva Mahārāja. He was so lamenting. Those who are recording, I mean, transcribing my tapes, how he was lamenting, that "How foolish I was that I took to devotional service with a desire for some material profit." He was so much repentant. So that is, that is another profit of the devotee. For material profit, somebody goes to somebody, some boss, some rich man, some demigod, some powerful man. But a devotee does not go anywhere. He goes to Kṛṣṇa only. Even if he has got material desires. That is the advantage. This advantage: that if you go to Kṛṣṇa for some material advantage even, then day will come, you'll forget that material advantage.
Śyāmasundara: We're discussing this German philosopher, Fichte. Last... We had discussed the whole philosophy then we lost the last half of the tape so I'll just start where we left off. Just to review slightly...
Prabhupāda: Then why don't you, whatever you have got, you get it transcribed and send it to Hayagrīva Prabhu.
Śyāmasundara: Well, I'm pretty much going to have to edit this because...
Prabhupāda: Then we'll edit. All right.
Prabhupāda: Computer?
Pratyatoṣa: Yeah, they could be used in many, many ways in the Society. Like one... I think the most important use it could be put to is for helping in transcribing and editing and composing. A computer can do composing automatically.
Prabhupāda: Automatically?
Pratyatoṣa: Sure. It's all automatic, because it's actually just a mechanical process, just getting the lines to come out even at the end and everything.
Prabhupāda: You can learn that?
Devotee (4): I already know computer programming, Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Devotee (4): I learned it in high school, and I was working as a programmer.
Prabhupāda: Then why not take a computer?
Prabhupāda: So we have got very serious mission. Don't be fickle. When you have come and sacrificed your life for the mission, don't be fickle. Be very steady and capture Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet tightly. You'll never be attacked by māyā. Otherwise as soon as you give up Kṛṣṇa, māyā is ready. Just like side by side there is sun... shadow and light. If you push little from light then go to shadow. This is already side by side māyā and Kṛṣṇa. So as soon as you forget Kṛṣṇa-māyā. As soon as you give up māyā, then Kṛṣṇa. (pause) So Pradyumna is transcribing everyday?
Śyāmasundara: Yes. He doesn't work here. He works over at the library, British Museum.
Prabhupāda: Where is that?
Śyāmasundara: Just down the street.
Prabhupāda: He takes them.
Prabhupāda: Śyāmasundara is transcribing your talks with me in Māyāpur.
Bob Cohen: I received your very kind letter about a week ago.
Prabhupāda: Now, you are very intelligent boy. You can try to understand this philosophy. It is very important. And try to preach.
Prabhupāda: ...you should call learned. Arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matir vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ. You take it...
Nitāi: Yes.
Prabhupāda: ...this quotation from Padma Purāṇa, and distribute it by transcribing to all our devotees.
Nitāi: That's the verse that says that one is a resident of hell...
Prabhupāda: Yes. Nārakī.
Prabhupāda: They are these meat-eaters. They enjoyed. Now they are being killed by the mother. They do not know how nature is working. You must be killed. If you kill, you must be killed. That I've discussed in this now Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Where is Nitāi?
Bhagavān: They kill the cow, which is a mother, and then sometimes they get, when their mother kills them.
Prabhupāda: Yes. The mother becomes child and child becomes mother. That's all. Have you got transcription of the vyādha story?
Nitāi: The...?
Prabhupāda: Vyādha. The hunter, hunter story, recited by Caitanya Mahāprabhu?
Nitāi: Which...?
Prabhupāda: This twenty-fourth chapter, Madhya-līlā.
Nitāi: No, I don't think it's typed yet.
Reporter: Does it...? Is it more difficult to do this when you're traveling a lot?
Prabhupāda: No. I..., my work is going on. By traveling also, I carry this machine. Dicta..., dictaphone. I dictate, and then my assistants, they write, transcribe, and then it is..., it goes to the Press. In this way my work is....
Prabhupāda: Millions of years ago, what was the opinion, and that opinion is still there. Ācchā, take for Bhagavad-gītā. And that is.... Not a single Indian who does not accept Bhagavad-gītā as authority. This is besides the foreigners who also take interest so much in Bhagavad-gītā. So far Indians are concerned, even some of the Muhammadans, so apart from Muhammadans, those who are claiming as Hindu, they all accept the authority of Bhagavad-gītā. So this Bhagavad-gītā, they might have changed, but that is not acceptable.
Reporter: I think I covered most questions that I wanted to in the interview. Did you say that somebody would be transcribing?
Rāmeśvara: Yes, I'm going to arrange to have it transcribed.
Reporter: Because there are a lot of things that I couldn't catch, just because I'm not atuned to hearing you, so a lot of words I did not understand. But...
Rāmeśvara: I'll arrange for that.
Reporter: OK.
Rāmeśvara: You'll get it tomorrow.
Reporter: Oh, I enjoyed it very much. Thank you.
Prabhupāda: Thank you.
Prabhupāda: You are reading the transcription or original verse?
Hṛdayānanda: Transcription.
Prabhupāda: So this transcription is quite helpful in pronunciation, everything. Exact it is coming. The diacritic marks follow, you can pronounce exactly.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Second question, Śrīla Prabhupāda? Question two?
Prabhupāda: No, you have written all these things or not?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: It's being taped. I'll transcribe it later.
Prabhupāda: So what is that? Find out tatas canudinam.
Pradyumna: Tatas cānudinaṁ satyaḥ, dharmaḥ satyaṁ śaucaṁ kṣama daya.
Prabhupāda: Hm. Find that verse. You can quote that "This Kali-yuga it is waning; therefore they are becoming animals." Man without religion means animals. That's all. This is the definition.
Prabhupāda: That is explained. They do not know what is progress. The Vedic civilization is not interested in this so-called false progress. Just like from hut to skyscraper. They think this is progress. But the Vedic civilization thinks how much he is advanced in self-realization. Either he is in cottage or in skyscraper. But if he wastes his time to turn the huts into skyscrapers, then the whole life is finished. And next time he is going to be a dog. He does not know. That's all.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna: Śrīla Prabhupāda? They want to know how this can be counteracted, this idea?
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Don't get...
Hari-śauri: (whispering) this is going to be transcribed.
Prabhupāda: Make everything clear.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes, that is very clear. Would you like to hear the next question, Śrīla Prabhupāda?
Prabhupāda: No, it is clear or now?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes.
Prabhupāda: So long it is not clear, you can go on asking. One question after one question.
Interviewer: But you might want to come back to the U.S.?
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Why not.
Rāmeśvara: He might. But there are many projects in India now. That we can talk about.
Prabhupāda: Every year, almost six to seven months, I pass outside India.
Rāmeśvara: Wanda, do you have any more questions you'd like to ask?
Interviewer: I'm looking. (pause)
Rāmeśvara: We've taped the conversation, and we're going to transcribe it for you and send it to your office.
Interviewer: Oh, we would certainly appreciate it.
Interviewer: Working on the driver of the body. On the spirit, right?
Prabhupāda: Yes, on the spirit soul. And because they do not know what is the difference between the soul and the body, they cannot understand what is our contribution.
Interviewer: Because they do not understand the difference between the soul and the body, that's why they don't understand what you are contributing.
Prabhupāda: Contribution.
Bali-mardana: We're going to give you a transcript.
Interviewer: Do you think that...?
Prabhupāda: Now, just you try. We are trying to give enlightenment about the driver of the car. Because the driver of the car is always important, either on the car or without the car. And people in general they are giving importance to the car only. They have no knowledge of the driver. The car requires petrol and the driver requires nice food. So people in general, when they see that we are not giving petrol to the driver, they are surprised.
Prabhupāda: What about the reporters? They have published something?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Now it'll come.
Bali-mardana: The transcripts have been sent to them, so within the next week they should be coming.
Pradyumna: He talks... When he talks, he talks a little fast, when he reads the anuvada.
Prabhupāda: Who?
Pradyumna: Ah, Prema-yogi.
Prabhupāda: Ah, he is... But I am studying. He is translating nice. He is learned.
Hari-śauri: We wanted to ask you about... He was training up Prema-yogi to do the editing, but there's no one to do the transcribing. We'll have to send the tapes...
Prabhupāda: Transcribing? No, why?
Pradyumna: Why can't Pālikā do?
Hari-śauri: She can do it? I don't know.
Prabhupāda: Yes, she can do.
I have received the second transcribing set.
Also, if somebody is coming here in Montreal from New York, please send me the dictaphone transcribing set lying in my closet. I think there are two sets—one of them may be sent. Also, please send the Bhagavatam copy as I told you before.
I shall give you one engagement and if you secure one dictaphone then I shall send you regular tapes for transcribing it into English version, and you will make two copies. One copy shall be sent to me, another copy shall be sent to Hayagriva Brahmacari. As Govinda dasi and her husband, is trying to help me in compiling essays and texts of Caitanya Caritamrta, similarly, I shall give you a task for the Science of Devotion.
So far your desire, especially Anapurna's desire, to live wherever I go, I may inform you that I am a Sannyasi, and there is no fixity where I go. Under the circumstances, if you establish yourself in one place, and engross yourself in transcribing the tapes, so that a nice book will come out in due course of time, that will be a great service for the society, and to me also.
Now you are in good opportunity to do the transliteration work and in cooperation with your professors and Hayagriva, make the Srimad-Bhagavatam revised edition in such a nice way that it may be accepted in any scholarly society. In the last editions, because the transcription was not there, some of the universities in the western countries refused to stock them.
Regarding Vedanta Sutra tapes, please ask Hamsaduta to send me the copies of transcription so that I can make another tape. If I read the copy then it gives me impetus to write further.
I have read your transcriptions of the Krishna tapes, and you are doing it very nicely. I am very much pleased with your efforts.
You may inform Satsvarupa that I have sent the Krishna tape, #13, so he may transcribe it and send me a copy. I will be sending further tapes henceforward, because my Nectar of Devotion is now finished, and I shall concentrate on the Krishna tapes.
So far as painting is concerned, you can begin now. I have already advised you this in a note enclosed with Tape #14 of Krishna. So read the Krishna tape transcriptions and draw pictures as many as possible. Each picture should be very much attractive, colorful and nice so that people will appreciate these paintings also.
If you are planning to perform the marriage ceremony for Jagadisa and Laksmimoni, then you must know the prayers to be said. I think you have a copy of a tape recorded at our initiation ceremony in Buffalo, so the prayers are there. Purusottama tried to transcribe these prayers from a tape we have here, but it was not done at all. So if you are planning to perform this ceremony, then I shall send you further instructions along with a tape and written prayers, as you require.
I am so glad to learn that you have opened a separate savings account for your daily collections. I have received the transcription of tape #16. You are doing very nicely and improving your editorial capability. Krishna Consciousness is so nice, the more we execute it, the more we become advanced.
The Krsna paintings Jadurani is doing now may be very nicely done very colorfully, and kept in your custody. She may pick up the ideas for pictures from the transcriptions of the tapes. In this way, when the book and pictures are ready we shall arrange for publication.
Regarding Krishna, formerly you were sending me the transcribed copies as early as possible, and if you continue the same process, then I shall also send you the tapes consecutively. I think this book with pictures by Jadurani will come out a unique publication.
Yes, we want that businessmen, economists, religionists, students, etc. will all be carrying Bhagavatam and Gita. Yes, do every word of our books meticulously and perfectly accurately transcribed so the most erudite and deep thinking men of the world can enter into the intricacies of meaning in each verse. Your idea is nice. Please help all our literatures in that way and Krishna will bless you.
If by the Grace of Krishna it comes out successful, it will be a great achievement for your activities in Honolulu. When you get the church I must go there. Regarding the French girl, she is so kind to join with us. I have advised Janardana, who is here in London for a few days, to write you how this girl can help us. Janardana liked her translation and good spelling, so she will be very much useful for transcribing or typing our French literatures. I do not know whether she will be prepared to go to her own country and assist the other devotees in Paris. That would be a very nice proposal. I am very encouraged to hear about your nice engagements there.
In your previous letter, you proposed to get some tapes from me for transcription. It is a good proposal. In this connection I may inquire if you have got a nice dictaphone and if among yourselves you can edit nicely. So, on hearing from you on this point, I shall do the needful. Hope you are all doing well.
So, other news is very encouraging. So execute aratis regularly and properly. So far my book is concerned, special attention is required in the composing department, otherwise, the whole scheme will be disturbed. Regarding Krishna, please make the MS ready because if George Harrison pays for the printing in Japan, we shall have to send it immediately for the purpose. Regarding transcribing, I have written to Detroit if they can do it. In the meantime, I have engaged Devananda transcribing the tape and a primary editing also, and the copy can be sent to you for final editing and then printing. We have to do things now very dexterously, simply we have to see that in our book there is no spelling or grammatical mistake. We do not mind for any good style, our style is Hare Krishna, but, still, we should not present a shabby thing. Although Krishna literatures are so nice that, even if they are presented in broken and irregular ways, such literatures are welcomed, read and respected by bona fide devotees.
Regarding tape transcription: many devotees are ready to help in this matter. I want to send daily one tape, and to finish one tape transcription and editing it takes about one week. Under the circumstances, if there are four or five men transcribing, then at least four finished manuscripts come out per week. Many devotees are ready to transcribe; like in Detroit there is Bhagavan das; in Buffalo, Rupanuga; in Berkeley, Hamsaduta; as well as here, Devananda. But how to adjust things?
Do you think that their transcribing will help you, or do you want to transcribe yourself? I wish that all copies, before finally going to the press, must be thoroughly revised and edited so that there may not be any mistakes especially of spelling and grammar or of the Sanskrit names. So how to finish it, I do not know. So give me your directions about this immediately. Whether I shall send the tapes directly to you or to other centers who are ready to help?
I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 24 January, 1970 with enclosure of the edited copy of transcription from tape #6. Your editing is very good, I liked it very much. So shall I send you tapes or you may like to have copies transcribed first? Whatever is suitable for you I shall do, but today I am sending another tape herewith. The edited copies should be four, out of which one may be sent to Boston, one to me and two may be kept by you for future reference. The original transcription copy also may be sent to Satsvarupa. I am so glad that you are giving attention to selling our books, and you have got a good assistant also. You will be pleased to know that George Harrison has paid the entire expenditure ($19,000) for printing our Krishna picture book, and very soon I am going to send the MS to Japan. Our own press is now busy with other books.
I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 5 February, 1970, and as advised by you I am sending herewith the tape #14. Please transcribe it nicely, edit it, and send one copy to me and the others to Satsvarupa. The tapes after being transcribed must be sent to me directly otherwise I will be short of the stock of tapes.
I hope you have been receiving the transcriptions and edited versions of Krsna tapes which I have sent to Bhagavan das. I have not received any copies from him, still I have continued to send him tapes, and I have sent some to you also. I am now delivering some lectures every Sunday at the L.A. Temple and the series may be called "Sinful Activities and Their Resultant Reactions." They will be transcribed here weekly, and sent to you for editing.
Now what I want is that one tape in two days must be finished for being composed. This does not mean that one tape has to be finished so quickly, but the arrangement should be made in such a way that after some time the process will produce at least fifteen tapes completely in one month or 30 days. The process should be in the same way as I have suggested for painting of the pictures. The process is like this: Suppose on Monday you receive the tape number 17, let it be transcribed in two days by someone "A." Then in the next two days (days 3 and 4) someone "B" edits it. Then in the next two days (days 5 and 6) another "C" edits it for the second time. Then Mr. "D" gives it the diacritical marks, and then it is ready for composing. With diacritical marks, one copy should come to me for my record. The idea is that this #17 tape takes 7 days to the point of composition. In the meantime, tape #18 is coming into the process just in the same order. So I receive the final copy of tape #18 just 2 days after receiving tape #17 copy. If you follow this process, then ultimately we shall be finishing one tape in two days.
I thank you very much for sending me the transcribed copies of two tapes #17 and #18, and I see it is well done. Although there are some minor mistakes in spelling of the proper names, that is not a problem. In my next letter I will point them out and give the correct spelling.
I am in due receipt of your letter dated 26th March, 1970, along with transcription of tape #23.
Regarding your tape recorder which was lying with me, you will get it very soon back. It is now being carried by Citralekha, wife of Upendra, who is going to Australia via Hawaii, and she will deliver the machine to you. I am very glad you have repaired your dictaphone and you are anxious to work on it. For the time being I can send you tapes of my lectures which you can transcribe either directly or through the dictaphone, as it is convenient. Both yourself and Gaurasundara or any other educated boy or girl can edit the transcriptions for being printed. For the present I hope you will be glad to do this work because you are always anxious to see me speaking something. I am sending the tape by separate mail, so immediately begin work. If you find this work of transcribing from recorded tapes interesting, you will have ample opportunity to work on this. There are many tapes like this in New York, Boston, and maybe in other places also.
Regarding the preface to NOD, it will be about 10 to 12 pages double spaced typewriting. On Sunday I have dispatched one reel, tape #31 KRSNA, in which up to point 20 there is KRSNA matter and after that, I think up to point 35, there is the first portion of NOD preface. so you can get it immediately transcribed. The second part of the preface I am sending herewith already transcribed. So you join together these two portions and compose as Preface. You can leave one page for dedication. In my next mail I shall send the matter of dedication.
I am in due receipt of your letter dated 14th April, 1970, along with the transcription of tape #30 KRSNA. Thank you very much.
There is a gap of some transcriptions—tapes numbers 12 through 16, KRSNA, so please get them done. I shall be slow in making further tapes till I get them back. Please give this instruction to the editors.
I beg to acknowledge receipt of Krsna tape transcriptions #13, 32, and 33, and 34, along with your note from the art department.
Brahmananda took with him the tape recorder for you. I hope you have received it. Devananda several weeks ago sent you one tape for transcribing, so what happened to this proposal? You wanted some tapes for transcribing work, but I have not heard anything from you. Regarding my going to Hawaii, you are repeatedly requesting me, and formerly also I promised, but at the present moment I am terribly very busy. Brahmananda is in Japan for printing several books, therefore I am regularly making tapes for sending to Boston. Of course you can say that I can make the tapes from Hawaii, but there is difficulty that my whole library of reference books is here and it is not possible to carry them all. Therefore I have curtailed my moving. I shall go to the Rathayatra festival for one to two days only.
Our press owned and operated by the Society is housed in our Boston temple buildings. Presently we are printing books regularly and our monthly magazine BTG is being printed in English, French, German and Japanese editions with Spanish, Hindi, Bengali, Dutch and Danish forthcoming. The English edition is understocked at 125,000 copies per month and the other editions are printed at the rate of 10,000 per month. The public demand for our literatures is international and so much greatly increasing that although printing department (editing, transcribing, composing, layout, photography, printing and binding as well as sales) is full-time engaged and the press is kept running almost 24 hours daily we are unable to meet the demands for literatures and so we must also go to outside printers like Japan.
I fully approve of your idea to prepare every available manuscript up to the stage of printing, even if they remain in the layout stage for a while. I may tell you that I am not so much encouraged to work on translations unless I see that the literature is being printed or at least being prepared for printing. I have done some translating recently, but it is not yet decided whether to send you the tapes or to transcribe them here and send you a copy of the manuscript. Very soon you will know about this. I will be encouraged if you keep on with the work of readying my manuscripts and printing them.
Publishing Srimad-Bhagavatam chapter-wise is very nice and it should be continued and as soon as all the chapters of a canto are finished, we make it into a book, either in Japan or U.S.A. as is suitable. But my only request to you all is that the two tapes, regularly sent every day must be finished being transcribed, edited, composed, layed out and printed all in one week. In this way two tapes daily must be ready for printing. Then it will be nice. So far I am concerned, although I am getting old, I guarantee I shall give you two tapes daily provided you guarantee to finish printing two tapes daily. That will encourage me more and more.
I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 30th November, 1970. Please forgive this late reply but due to my travelling, much of my mail has been delayed. I have received the enclosed copies of BTG, numbers 36-38 and they are very nice. The layout made by you and the others are completely satisfactory. Thank you very much. I have again begun speaking on the tapes and very soon you will get transcribed copies of my dictaphoning for being edited and laid out for printing, chapter-wise, the fourth canto. Let the second and third cantos be finished quickly so that the fourth canto can be started. Henceforward I shall be supplying material for all cantos and you must do the rest; editing, layout, printing, etc.
Enclosed please find tape no. 3. Kindly acknowledge receipt, and date of receipt also. After finishing with these tapes, they should be sent directly to Pradyumna in N.Y. for sanskrit, along with a copy of the finished transcript. He can forward the tapes to me.
I beg to thank you very much for your letter dated 21st June, 1971 and have noted the contents. So far Moscow is concerned, there was only one substantial meeting, with one Professor Kotovsky and the tape of that conversation is being transcribed. Also I have written an introduction to the three lectures I had proposed to deliver in Moscow: 1) Vedic conception of Socialism and Communism, 2) Scientific values of a classless society; and 3) Knowledge by Authoritative Tradition. These are yet to be written. Photographs have been taken also. So I will collect all the material available and send it all to you in the very near future for publication in BTG.
I am in due receipt of your letter dated 7th July, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. I am glad to note that you have received tapes no. 2-4 and you are appreciating the narration of Dhruva Maharaja also. I have just received the transcription and laid-out pages for tapes no. 1 & 2. It has been done very nicely.
Thank you very much. If you remain sincere and enthusiastic for spreading Caitanya Mahaprabhu's message then surely He will give you all facility to do so, you can be sure. And Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that He will give you all intelligence in this connection. Everything will become revealed to you. Just like now we are commentating on the Western philosophers in the light of Krishna consciousness. I never studied different philosophy or science but Krishna has given me the intelligence how to defeat their nonsensical proposals. Soon these commentaries on the Western philosophies will be transcribed and published in a book entitled "Thus They Talked."
Yes, I have very much appreciated the new covers to Easy Journey and Topmost Yoga. As much as possible go on reprinting all the books and distributing them profusely. Your idea for issuing a series of Transcendental Teachings is good. We want to flood the market with Krishna consciousness publications. Here in Bombay I have resumed my translating of Bhagavatam. Every day I am translating and Syamasundara. is transcribing them from the dictaphone tapes. But the best place where I can do my translation work is in Los Angeles and New York. If in both places there is facility that as soon as I translate, the matter can be composed and if ISKCON PRESS can actually run efficiently so that they can print Bhagavatam chapter by chapter as it is composed, then this arrangement will be very favorable. Try and arrange for this. It will be a great credit to you if you can organize everything so nicely that my Bhagavatam can be published very regularly chapter by chapter.
Syamasundara. is taping all my lectures, but I think it will be too costly to send them by post. He will bring them to the U.S. when I return and then they can all be handed over to you for transcribing.
I am very glad you want to start your own press, but one thing is that you cannot close it once it is begun. When your own press is very sound and established beyond doubt, then you may call back Yogesvara. Your proposal for making records is very nice program. As for your essay on drugs and KC, do it. You may transcribe the Ajamila tapes and produce a very nice book. You may send the manuscript to Jayadvaita or Hayagriva for editing and printing with Dai Nippon. So far making tapes of Ajamila series, I have told Los Angeles tape-making operation that they should distribute to our devotees at cost price—to nondevotee that is another thing. We should not make exorbitant profit by exploiting each other in the matter of vital Krishna Consciousness paraphernalia such as books, tapes, etc. which are vital for our preaching work and for the devotees' personal advancement in Krishna Consciousness. But if you think it is a good idea to sell such tapes for profit I have no objection. Regarding salesmanship, it is a great art. It can be used for selling KC also. I am very much engladdened that you are so much enthusiastic, and you may know it that Krishna will help such enthusiastic devotees. May Krishna bless you all round.
I am especially pleased that you are compiling booklets for ISKCON Press. Yes, that is their best work: small booklets and pamphlets. Leave the big books to Dai Nippon. Meanwhile, Syamasundara. has collected many tapes of me lecturing in Africa and India, and he is sending them to Jaya Advaita for transcribing. He shall request Jayadvaita to make one copy of each for sending to you also, and also one copy for the Krishna Radio Show in Los Angeles.
I have duly received, signed, and returned the MacMillan Co. contract to Rupanuga. Has he got it? Also you were to send me a copy of the contract for distributing our other books by MacMillan Co. also. Now Pradyumna is with me, so he and Syamasundara. conjointly they will everyday prepare my night's translation work, one transcribing by typing, one with sanskrit corrections and synonyms, and they shall dispatch regularly to you.
I have also received your letter along with Bali Mardan's and I am very much glad that Pradyumna is now with me for teaching him correctly this sanskrit editing work. After he has become well-trained that will be a great relief to me and it will benefit everyone by increasing the flow of our books and literatures. I am very much pleased that Bali Mardan is doing something in ISKCON Press as manager, and that you all like Advaita and Uddhava are cooperating to print my books. One thing, I do not regularly receive copies of books and magazines which are new, so if you will kindly send me whenever they come out sample copies of all our literatures, I shall be very thankful. As I have informed, Pradyumna and Syamasundara. will be sending you regularly completed transcriptions of my translation work by post, that will avoid the high cost of sending tapes, which besides are very expensive and may be lost easily in mail, and because I am here if they have questions I can answer and make the final proofreading, and this will expedite everything. One thing, now you say the date for printing by MacMillan Co. is set for August 1st, but last time you said June 1st, so I am wondering how long this delaying business shall go on? Our Bhagavad-gita As It Is is so much important to the world for uplifting it from darkest condition of ignorance, but still we cannot give them it, that is our neglect. I shall appreciate if you can help to expedite the printing of BGAII as quickly as possible.
If your songbook is in English language then you may send it to New York immediately for publishing. You may send to me first and I shall read it and be very happy to write a short introductory note. One thing, if you can secure a nice Bengali typewriter for shipping to USA, there is some large amount of transcribing to be done from all of my tapes in Bengali language and there are persons in Los Angeles who will transcribe the tapes under my supervision and the manuscripts can be sent there to Calcutta for printing. If someone of our life members there in Calcutta might like to render this nice service to Lord Caitanya, he may donate us one Bengali typewriter for transcribing my tapes and making into books, and this will be a very nice service.
I am especially pleased that you have stayed some days and got the tapes of Lalita Prashad Thakura for posterity. If you send them to Syamasundara. immediately he has all facilities here to transcribe them, and get them printed immediately. As for the manuscripts, you can call Satchidananda from Vrndavana, he can write in Bengali very nicely and can type also with Bengali typewriter. Tell him to bring the Bengali typewriter with him and type everything on good paper. But best thing is, I have asked Yadubara to come there to Birnagar from Bombay for photographing all of the manuscripts in the possession of Lalita Prashad Thakura page by page very completely before it is too late. The pages are in very decrepit condition, so best thing is to request Lalita Prashad if we may take care of them by treating them against insects and storing them in a tight, dry storage place where they may be preserved for future generations of Vaisnavas to see the actual handwriting and words of such great saintly persons. Treat this matter very seriously and thoroughly, and take all precautions to protect this wonderful boon of literatures forever. Yadubara may photograph every page, never mind Bengali or English or any other language, and later we shall see where to send the copies to different places. You also write to Yadubara at Bombay in this connection and request him to join you in Birnagar immediately. I have also written him. These items are very, very priceless and are a great treasure house of Vaisnava lore, so be very careful in the matter and take all precautions to guard them.
Regarding your going to Vrindaban to assist Gurudasa, yes, if you like you can go. I have no objection. One thing is, I have got many tapes of my speaking in Bengali language, and if you and Satchidananda can co-operatively transcribe them for printing there? I do not want to send them to you unless I have got assurance from you that they will be done under your supervision. But if you are going to Vrindaban that will be a good opportunity to sit down and transcribe my Bengali tapes because there is Bengali typewriter in Vrindaban. You may also translate other things as you have mentioned, that is nice.
Regarding the lecture that I gave at the Rathayatra festival, I think if you contact our San Francisco temple, they might be able to provide you with a transcript. If you speak with the president there Bhakta dasa, he may be able to suggest ways that you can use your public relations in the service of Krishna. First of all you should get our books and read them, especially our Bhagavad gita as it is and Srimad-Bhagavatam. As you begin to understand the philosophy then you will be able to present our movement so that many people may become attracted to this authorized process for developing our dormant love of God.
Regarding Sankirtana and book distribution, book distribution is also chanting. Anyone who reads the books that is also chanting and hearing. Why distinguish between chanting and book distribution? These books I have recorded and chanted, and they are transcribed. It is spoken kirtanas. So book distribution is also chanting. These are not ordinary books. It is recorded chanting. Anyone who reads, he is hearing. Book distribution must not be neglected. If things deteriorate that is another thing, but it is not the fault of book distribution.
There have been two letters from GBC men to Srila Prabhupada regarding street chanting and book distribution, and there seems to be some discussion about the two. Srila Prabhupada has said that book distribution is more important that street chanting. Book distribution is brihat kirtana. It is literally kirtana in the sense that the books are spoken and therefore anyone who reads a book is hearing. Because his books are recorded and transcribed Srila Prabhupada calls his books spoken kirtanas, or recorded chanting. So book distribution is also kirtana and should not be considered less than kirtana.
| Page Title: | Transcribing |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Partha-sarathi |
| Created: | 17 of May, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=1, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=3, Con=14, Let=51 |
| No. of Quotes: | 69 |