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If you relieve me of the burden of management, that will be a very great service to Krsna and the movement.

Harikesa Swami brought in a small stack of mail during the morning. With Prabhupada's appearance day coming up, most of the letters were offerings of dakshina and pledges of surrender and service. The package Rishabhadeva dasa had brought from Los Angeles contained more than just the Vyasa-puja book. The residents of New Dvaraka had combinedly sent dakshina of $2,340, some photos of Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakadisha, and a wonderful letter glorifying Prabhupada for preaching Krishna consciousness all over the world. 

It read, "Our eternal duty is to render loving service at your lotus feet. More than anything else, we beg to be engaged by you in preaching Krishna consciousness. ... even though we are so fallen, so full of ignorance and ugly desires, still we hope against hope that you will lead us to preach, teach us to deliver the whole world by drowning all conditioned souls in the nectar-flood of your transcendental books. Sometimes, on hands and knees, with tears in our eyes, we cry to Lord Caitanya to please give us the desire and strength to distribute your books for the rest of our life. Sometimes, we dare to think that we might even take another birth to continue selling your books in every town and village, until the entire world knows of this movement and Your Divine Grace. "On this holy occasion of your divine appearance day we humbly submit a small offering of guru daksine. We feel ashamed that we are so insignificant and can do nothing to serve you in any way. Yet, as we go on, struggling to obey your every instruction, we ask of Your Divine Grace one boon: please, please engage our bodies, minds, words everything we possess in preaching Krishna consciousness up to our last breath. Never let us deviate from this work of spreading Krishna consciousness and distributing millions and trillions of your books. "Your most unworthy servants, The residents of ISKCON New Dvaraka." 

Deeply gratified with the sentiments the letter expressed, Srila Prabhupada sent a lengthy response, echoing his words written to Catur Murti dasa five days ago: "My Dear Sons and Daughters, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated August 9, 1976 and the enclosed daksina and pictures of the murties in New Dvaraka which I am having framed and put on my wall here in Bombay. "If you feel at all indebted to me then you should preach vigorously like me. That is the proper way to repay me. Of course, no one can repay the debt to the spiritual master, but the spiritual master is very much pleased by such an attitude by the disciple. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said: vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana, Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. Our only business is to be fixed up in devotional service by pleasing the spiritual master. Those who are not fixed up they have various lines of action. (eka means one and bahu means many). "The real ocean of mercy is Krishna and it is the duty of the spiritual master to tell his disciple to come to the ocean and be happy. The spiritual master's duty is to lead the disciple to this ocean. I am trying my best and if you try to follow surely you will benefit. 

"Bhaktivinode Thakura has sung, 'Krishna sei tomara, Krishna dite para, tomara sakati ache. Ami ta'kangala, Krishna Krishna boli, dhai tava pache pache. 'Krishna is yours and you have the power to give Him to anyone you wish. I am poor and wretched and running behind you shouting Krishna, Krishna!' "Krishna is unlimited, no one can catch Him, but if someone follows the parampara, He agrees to be captured. Everyone is afraid of Krishna, but Krishna is afraid of Mother Yasoda. That is Krishna's special mercy. "I hope this meets all of you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami." 

Ramesvara Swami included his monthly BBT report which showed increasing sales of Prabhupada's books. A long list of English language reprints and new titles scheduled for printing over the next nine months ran into the millions. Extremely pleased, Prabhupada wrote to him and Radhaballabha, "The report of the book printing is both encouraging and surprising. Every time I see this I remember the words of my Guru Maharaj when he told me that wherever there was money it should be used to print books, not that we shall have big big temples and then fight in the court. He asked me to do this and I am trying my little bit, that's all. It is all by his blessings for without his blessings this wonderful thing would not have happened. He said personally to me, 'If I could sell this Gaudiya Matha building, that would have been better.' He predicted that there would be fire within these walls. So I took it, 'O, His Divine Grace wants some books.' So I accepted it, 'Yes, I shall do it.' It is all by his blessings. Mukham karoti vacalam pangam langhayate girim, by his mercy a dumb man can speak and a lame man can cross a mountain." Commenting on Ramesvara's report that Indrapramada dasa, one of the top BBT art designers, had returned after a period away from devotional service, Prabhupada replied, "Thank him for coming back. Krishna is so kind that anyone who does some service for Him, Krishna immediately captures him. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat, a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear. There are many instances. Tyaktva sva-dharman caranambujam harer bhajan na pakvo'tha patet tato yadi ... 'If someone gives up self-gratificatory pursuits and works in Krishna consciousness and then falls down on account of not completing his work, what loss is there on his part? And if one performs his material activities perfectly, what gain is there?' So let us try to render service to Krishna very sincerely. Even a drop will never go in vain, nitya. In this connection Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's prayer, ayi nanda tanuja kinkarama patitam mam ... is very instructive. Let us remain in that attitude and Krishna will give us protection." 

Radhe-syama dasa, a London-based lawyer working with Jayatirtha prabhu on the German court case, sent a package containing a variety of gifts and a letter expressing his surrender at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada wrote thanking him for the presents and told him, "This is the correct attitude for a disciple. The disciple should be prepared to offer everything he has including his body, mind, and words, in the service of the guru. Anyone who is sincerely serving to his greatest capacity becomes dear in the eyes of the Lord." 

Dhrishtaketu dasa, who works in the Bhaktivedanta Archives department in Los Angeles, sent a separate letter, with his personal offering of $1,000. Requesting Srila Prabhupada's blessing that he might continue to assist him in spreading Krishna consciousness, Dhrishtaketu said he may be getting more funds from his father's trust fund, and asked where he should send them. Prabhupada advised him to deposit any future money directly into the Mayapur-Vrindavana Trust Fund and then send him the deposit slip. 

Pushta Krishna Maharaja sent a one page report of the San Francisco Ratha-yatra and the temples in the north-west zone of America. He described a grand procession led by a marching band of twenty men in bright red uniforms playing the "Hare Krishna March" and "Bhaja Sri Krishna Caitanya" on trombones, trumpets and drums. Devotees from all over the West Coast attended, along with thousands of visitors. For weeks after, he said people were stopping him in the street glorifying the festival. He expressed his desire to help relieve Srila Prabhupada of the burden of management, and indeed, his zone seems to be thriving. Apart from the $2,300 worth of books that were sold at the festival, in Berkeley alone he said they are selling anywhere between 300-600 big books daily, along with thousands of magazines. "Your books will be the lasting credit to the human society," he wrote, "and I hope that we can assist you in fulfilling this desire of Your Divine Grace's. I pray to Sri Krishna that your health will always be satisfactory as you are the light in this dark world and we all need you very much. Please give me the strength to carry on. I pray for your Divine Grace." Prabhupada was happy to hear from him and encouraged him to continue preaching. "If you relieve me of the burden of management, that will be a very great service to Krishna and the movement. See that everything is going on nicely. With great endeavor we have made the framework, now we have to see that things are going on nicely. "Yes, this preaching work is our mission. It is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission, my Guru Maharaj's mission, and my mission. It is through the parampara. As I am trying to discharge my Guru Maharaj's mission, you also try and things will go on nicely." One thing Srila Prabhupada isn't so pleased with Pushta about is the delay in his completing the editing of the Bhavan's Journal questions and answers which he has been working on since late June. Prabhupada added a postscript to his letter requesting the article be sent immediately.


Reference: Transcendental Diary Volume 4 by Hari Sauri Dasa





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