Bombay

31 December, 1975

My Dear Madhudvisa Maharaja,

Please accept my blessings. Thank you for your nice invitation card. Thousands of Caitanya Mahaprabhu temples may be established all over Australia so that I may receive one invitation card at least every month. Physical health does not allow me to move very much, but my mind is absorbed in thinking of you with blessings of Krishna.

I hope this letter finds you well.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

__________________________________________________________________________

Dear Maharajas, Prabhus and Mothers,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to our greatest Srila Prabhupada!

The Australian Society for Krishna Culture is endeavoring to acquire an Ashram strategically located in Far North Queensland (FNQ), one of the best and most scenic places in Australia, especially in wintertime. 

The Australian Society for Krishna Culture (Auskculture) is based strictly on Prabhupada-Vani and is a bona fide and authorized preaching institution because Srila Prabhupada writes in Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.13.34. P. “A sannyasi (read “preacher”) should have an institution meant to preach Krsna consciousness; he need not accumulate money for himself. We recommend that as soon as money accumulates in our Krsna consciousness movement, fifty percent of it should be invested in printing books, and fifty percent for expenditures, especially in establishing centers all over the world.” 

The Australian Society for Krishna Culture is a fully integrated part and parcel of Srila Prabhupada’s “Krishna consciousness movement,” in the broader sense of the expression. Srila Prabhupada’s expression “Krishna consciousness movement” need not exclusively designate His International Society for Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON. We suggest that it includes all organizations strictly based on Prabhupada-Vani, including those who do not officially depend on ISKCON’s GBC. Prabhupada-Vani stands above everyone, including ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission. In an even broader sense, since the advent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu 500 years ago, the Krishna conciousness movement has got hundreds of branches as explained in the Caitanya Caritamrta, Adi-lila, chapter 10. We are concerned with the A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada branch, which also happens to be the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya.

So what is the meaning of all this? The meaning is that Srila Prabhupada is such a powerful yogi, Acarya, and Brahmin that all His words come true under different circumstances and in due course of time. Auskculture will fit positively into His criticism of the ISKCON managers of the seventies when an attempt toward centralization and consequently extra bureaucracy was attempted. Auskculture sets an example and fits very snuggly into Srila Prabhupada’s wishes that:”. Krishna Consciousness Movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all types of departments of knowledge and action,……..)

And this would also have to be one of the main reasons why Sri Krishna did not allow the merger between Auskculture and ISKCON Australia to take place when such a confidential attempt was made in the second part of the last year 2021.

Here is an extract of the letter 72.12.22let.Karandhara

______________________________________

Bombay

22 December, 1972

72-12-22

Los Angeles

My dear Karandhara,

…………………………

Regarding your points about taxation, corporate status, etc., I have heard from Jayatirtha you want to make big plan for centralization of management, taxes, monies, corporate status, bookkeeping, credit, like that. I do not at all approve of such plan. Do not centralize anything. Each temple must remain independent and self-sufficient. That was my plan from the very beginning, why you are thinking otherwise? Once before you wanted to do something centralizing with your GBC meeting, and if I did not interfere the whole thing would have been killed. Do not think in this way of big corporation, big credits, centralization—these are all nonsense proposals. Only thing I wanted was that books printing and distribution should be centralized, therefore I appointed you and Bali Mardan to do it. Otherwise, management, everything, should be done locally by local men. Accounts must be kept, things must be in order and lawfully done, but that should be each temple’s concern, not yours. Krishna Consciousness Movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all types of departments of knowledge and action, not for making bureaucracy. Once there is bureaucracy the whole thing will be spoiled. There must be always individual striving and work and responsibility, competitive spirit, not that one shall dominate and distribute benefits to the others and they do nothing but beg from you and you provide. No. Never mind there may be botheration to register each centre, take tax certificate each, become separate corporations in each state. That will train men how to do these things, and they shall develop reliability and responsibility, that is the point. I am little observing now, especially in your country, that our men are losing their enthusiasm for spreading on our programmes of Krishna Consciousness movement. Otherwise, why so many letters of problems are coming, dissatisfied? That is not a very good sign. The whole problem is they are not following the regulative principles, that I can detect. Without this, enthusiasm will be lacking. Even mechanically following, and if he gets gradually understanding from the class, he will come to the point of spontaneous enthusiasm. This spontaneous loving devotional service is not so easy matter, but if one simply sticks strictly to the rules and regulations, like rising early, chanting 16 rounds, chanting gayatri, keeping always clean—then his enthusiasm will grow more and more, and if there is also patience and determination, one day he will come to the platform of spontaneous devotion, then his life will be perfect. All of this I have told you in Nectar of Devotion. So I do not think the leaders are themselves following, nor they are seeing the others are following strictly. That must be rectified at once. Each centre remain independent, that’s all right, but the president and other officers must themselves follow and see the others are following the regulative principles carefully, and giving them good instruction so they may understand nicely why this tapasya is necessary. And GBC and Sannyasis will travel and see the officers are doing this, and if they observe anything lowering of the standard, they must reform and advise, or if there is some discrepancy I shall remove it. Of course, if new men are coming, they may not be expected immediately to take to our regulative principles cent per cent. Therefore we should not be so anxious to induce them to live in the temple. Anyone who lives in the temple must agree to follow the rules and regulations without fail. So if some new man moves in with us he may become discouraged if he is forced in this way. Therefore let them live outside and become gradually convinced in the class why they should accept some austerity, then they will live with us out of their own accord and follow nicely everything. It is very difficult to give up very quickly so many bad habits as you have got in your country, so educate them gradually, first with chanting, and do not be so much anxious to count up so many numbers of new devotees, if such devotees go away later being too early forced. I want to see a few sincere devotees, not many false devotees or pretenders.

So my point is that the regulative principles must be followed by everyone. Otherwise their enthusiasm dwindles and they again think of sex and become restless, and so many problems are there. There is some symptom of missing the point. The point is to be engaged in doing something for Krishna, never mind what is that job, but being so engaged in doing something very much satisfying to the devotee that he remains always enthusiastic. He will automatically follow the regulative principles because they are part of his occupational duty—by applying them practically as his occupational duty, he realizes the happy result of regulative principles. So the future of this Krishna Consciousness movement is very bright, so long the managers remain vigilant that 16 rounds are being chanted by everyone without fail, that they are all rising before four morning, attending mangal arati—our leaders shall be careful not to kill the spirit of enthusiastic service, which is individual and spontaneous and voluntary. They should try always to generate some atmosphere of fresh challenge to the devotees, so that they will agree enthusiastically to rise and meet it. That is the art of management: to draw out spontaneous loving spirit of sacrificing some energy for Krishna. But where are so many expert managers? All of us should become expert managers and preachers. We should not be very much after comforts and become complacent or self-contented. There must be always some tapasya, strictly observing the regulative principles—Krishna Consciousness movement must be always a challenge, a great achievement to be gained by voluntary desire to do it, and that will keep it healthy. So you big managers now try to train up more and more some competent preachers and managers like yourselves. Forget this centralizing and bureaucracy.

Hoping this meets you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS:sda____________________________________________-

We are currently looking at a wonderful 350-acre property with unlimited potential and provided our application for finance is approved, we remain separated from the seller by a mere AU$ 25 000. At this stage of negotiation, the seller will accept a firm AU$ 565 000 or US $ 420 000.  

Do you feel like contributing to this milestone in the development of Krishna consciousness in Australia? Whatever the final FNQ location may be, which Krishna will ultimately determine, every AU $100 donated entitles you to an “overnight” on the premises. All donors above AU$ 99.00 will get a free blue and gold (Lord Caitanya’s color!) “Hare Krishna” baseball cap as well, a smartly designed one size fits all cap.

The account details are:

ANZ Bank  

Account name in short: AUSKCULTURE

BSB: 016498

A/C # 325674118

SWIFT / BIC Code: ANZ BAU 3 M, current in April 2022 and required for international payments only.

At this time the fundraising thermometer stands at AU$ 701.00

And our next step will be DARWIN in the Northern Territory. Darwin is the most tropical city in Australia and is 2850 km away by road and 1680 km away by air from Cairns.

Thank you very much for considering the matter thoughtfully and thank you for your Krishna-generosity!

Param Vijayate Sri Krishna Caitanya Sankirtanam!

In service to Srila Prabhupada,

Yadavendra Das (ACBSPgen.1) 

Member of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)

Founder and Director of 

The Australian Society for Krishna Culture (AUSKCULTURE), 

virtually

The International Society for Krishna Culture. (ISKCULTURE) 

Brisbane, Australia

https://krishnaculture.org

Please always do chant and never stop chanting: 

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare 

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