Submitted by Shrutadev Das
Bombay
18 December, 1974
Brooklyn
My dear Rupanuga,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your two letters dated Dec. 4, 1974 and Dec. 16, 1974 and I have noted the contents very carefully…
Our farm projects are an extremely important part of our movement. We must become self-sufficient by growing our own grains and producing our own milk, then there will be no question of poverty. So develop these farm communities as far as possible. They should be developed as an ideal society depending on natural products not industry. Industry has simply created godlessness, because they think they can manufacture everything that they need. Our Bhagavad-gita philosophy explains that men and animals must have food in order to maintain their bodies. And the production of food is dependent on the rain and the rain of course is dependent on chanting Hare Krsna. Therefore let everyone chant Hare Krsna, eat nicely and keep their bodies fit and healthy. This is ideal life style. We do not condemn modern civilization but we don’t like to get it at the cost of God Consciousness, that is suicide. Your farm in Pennsylvania sounds very nice.
Please continue as GBC there in New York and make sure that everything is going on in a fully Krsna Conscious manner. Everyone should be engaged and everyone should be staunchly following all of our principles. We must pray to Krsna to save us from the attack of so many bad elements.
I hope this meets you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Bombay
21 January, 1975
My Dear Madhudvisa,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated Jan. 4th, 1975 and have noted the contents… Try to get some nice farm. That will be very good. If we can produce milk products and grains, there will be grand success…
You are so humble and so sincere, this is a sign of your success. May Krishna bless you more and more. Krishna has placed you in that position. Now, you should always be fully conscious of your great responsibility.
I hope this meets you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Bhaktivedanta Manor
23 July, 1973
Denver
Dear Kurusrestha,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 12, and I have carefully considered the contents. Regarding book distribution, everyone, including book distributers, must follow the standard regulations. Book distribution is preaching, it should not be thought of as done for money. It is executed as a preaching purpose. With these guidelines in mind, try to distribute as many books as possible.
I can understand your concern about the deterioration of the civilization. Yes, the city will be more dangerous place as Kali-yuga advances. It will be very deteriorating. The modern civilization is so corrupt and as sinful activities are more and more the people will be forced to face more troubles, by nature’s order. Our business, however, is simply to take shelter of the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra and pray to the Holy Name to give us protection. We shall be unaffected by all that will happen. Krsna will provide us with working facilities. Be assured of this, that the devotees will be protected by the Holy Name. Others will have to suffer in the days that are coming.
Your ever well-wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Los Angeles
7 January, 1974
Bhaktivedanta Manor
Dear Malati,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated December 22, 1973. You write that things are in a crises in England, with oil shortage and IRA bombing. Therefore, we have to take shelter of Krsna. If Krsna wants to kill us that is not wrong, if it is His desire. Our business should just to be to follow the regulative schedule, deity worship, distributing prasadam, chanting, book distribution and never mind the material danger. Krsna Consciousness means to be on the platform of deathlessness. Every sloka in Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam is informing us of this. If you read these books carefully you will understand this platform of deathlessness as opposed to the material condition in which no one wants to die but no one can check death. When I was there I saw the Deity was nicely dressed. So continue all your programs at Bhaktivedanta Manor and Krsna will save you.
Madhavananda and Kausalya are an able couple. I have already written to Madhavananda and Mukunda about their difference of opinion. We have so much work to do, we cannot lose our solidarity. Do not cause a crack there with any fighting spirit or competition. Whenever I hear complaints or disturbances in our centers my mind becomes too much disturbed and I cannot properly translate my books. So please spare me from such disturbance by cooperating all together Godbrothers and Godsisters.
Your ever well-wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
ACBS/sdg
Morning Walk Conversation (World War III)
April 4, 1975, Mäyäpur
Haà sadüta: So Prabhupäda, is there something we should do to prepare ourselves for this disaster?
Prabhupäda: What?
HaĂ sadĂĽta: This coming war.
Prabhupäda: You should simply prepare for chanting Hare Kåñëa.
Haà sadüta: That’s all?
Prabhupäda: That’s all.
Tamäla Kåñëa: Actually, if there was a war, a large-scale war, I think that our farming projects…
Prabhupäda: Hm?
Tamäla Kåñëa: I think that the various farm projects that we have would be very good because, as you said, the cities would be bombed, but the farms would not be disturbed.
Prabhupäda: Yes. The farm project… Even some hundreds of years, it was so nice. Even there was war, they would not attack the farmers. Rather, they would ask, “Where the other party has gone?” So they will say: “Oh, we have seen some soldiers going this way.” That’s all. They were not affected. That was the principle. Farmers were not attacked, just like at the present moment, the law is the civilians are not attacked. The military target is attacked. That is the law. But they do all nonsense. Even at the present moment civilians are not attacked. Just like Kurukñetra Battle. It was taken far away from the civilian inhabitation.
Rüpänuga: Our farms are very nice because economically when everything is in chaos, we can still provide food for our men.
Prabhupäda: Yes.
Rüpänuga: And milk and butter.
Païcadraviòa: Milk and butter.
Santoña: In America, prabhu. (break)
Rämeñvara: …that if there is a war between Russia and America, there would be a nuclear war and they would pollute the whole atmosphere with radioactive particles which would kill everyone.
Prabhupäda: It is already polluted.
Rämeñvara: They say that this radioactive fall-out…
Prabhupäda: The whole material world is polluted. Who will live here? A little, say, twenty years before, dying. After all, you have to die, twenty years after or twenty years before. So it is already polluted. That is humbugism. They will die at the end, but still they are trying to live. (kértana in background growing progressively louder as Prabhupäda approaches temple)
Tamäla Kåñëa: Like they’re creating their own…
Prabhupäda: This is the difference between man of knowledge and without knowledge. A man of knowledge will think, “After all, I have to die. So what is the difficulty, dying a few days more or before?” That is knowledge. And those who are not in knowledge, they are afraid of death. Best business is before the death comes let us finish our Kåñëa consciousness perfectly. That is wanted. Death will come. You cannot avoid it.
Rämeñvara: They say that this radioactive fallout will pollute the air so that no crops can be grown.
Prabhupäda: That’s all right. You shall die without food. Be(cause) after all, the death. In Bengal, it is called: more bhera ghalne (?): “The most misfortunate thing is death.” That will come. Therefore the best intelligence is how to avoid death.
Rüpänuga: Become immortal.
Prabhupäda: Yes. That is real intelligence, not to be bothered by these trifle temporary things that “I am dying twenty years before. If the situation was better, I would have lived more twenty years.” What is this mentality?
Devotee: Back to Godhead.
Ajäta-çatru: Yes, we can go back to Godhead. (Prabhupäda enters temple)
Caracas
February 1975
When a devotee asked if industry and technology could be used in Kåñëa consciousness, Prabhupäda said yes, it could continue, but practically it had no real use. He gave the example that a man could sit on the ground just as easily as he could sit on a bench. But to make the bench so much time had to be spent manufacturing. “If the telephone and telegraph and television are used in propagating Kåñëa consciousness,” Prabhupäda said, “then it is all right. But they are not doing that. We are utilizing the modern press facilities for printing Vedic scriptures, but they are are utilizing the press for sex literature, birds’ philosophy.”
One devotee said that the world was beset with so many problems like overpopulation and food shortage, and he asked for the Kåñëa conscious solution to these problems. “Produce food , said Prabhupäda. “But you are producing bolts and nuts. So try to eat them. You are producing motor tires and bolts, so eat them.” When Hådayänanda Mahäräja translated this phrase, the Caracas devotees laughed heartily. To them it seemed especially appropriate, since they knew Caracas as a town polluted by the automobile industry. “The energy is spoiled,” Prabhupäda said. “Everyone is engaged in manufacturing motor parts.”
The devotees on the walk were particularly concerned with world problems, and they asked Prabhupäda how a Kåñëa conscious devotee approached the problem of food shortage.
Hådayänanda Mahäräja suggested, “Prabhupäda, the food relief program you started in India could also be used in other countries where there are economic problems.”
Prabhupäda: “Why not? But prasädam, not ordinary food. From all our centers you can distribute food, prasädam, because that prasädam means they will gradually become Kåñëa conscious. Otherwise, if you give them ordinary food, they will get strength and they will increase their sex desire, that’s all.”
Someone asked what would happen to the geographic features of the earth as the Age of Kali advanced and also what would be the effect of taking oil and gold from the earth.
Prabhupäda: “I think I have explained this. You have got a short duration of life, say fifty or sixty years, so instead of contemplating what will happen to this world, you chant Hare Kåñëa and go back to home, back to Godhead. Don’t consider what will happen to this world. The nature will take care of it. You don’t puzzle your brain with these thoughts. Use whatever time you have got in your possession, and go back to home, back to Godhead. You cannot check it. So the best thing is to mold your life and go back to home, back to Godhead. Fly in your own machine, instead of thinking what will happen. It will happen, because the people will go on with their rascal civilization, and the natural consequences will be there. Better you take advantage of whatever time you have got and become fully Kåñëa conscious and go back to home.”