The more the books are distributed, the more the ignorance will be smashed.
The world is feeling the weight of this Hare Krishna Movement, especially in your country.
We have to increase this book distribution work more and more to firmly establish this Movement, which is the only hope for the suffering living entities.
Vrindaban 23 November, 1976
Atlanta
My dear Balavanta,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letters dated November 5 and 9.
I am very glad to hear how the book distribution is increasing more and more. This is our greatest weapon. The more the books are distributed, the more the ignorance of the Age of Kali will be smashed.
The world is feeling the weight of this Hare Krishna Movement, especially in your country. We have to increase this book distribution work more and more to firmly establish this Movement, which is the only hope for the suffering living entities.
The plans for the new temple in Mississippi are very nice.
Upon your recommendation I am pleased to accept the following devotees for initiation. Now hold a fire sacrifice. The first initiates must promise to follow the four regulative principles and chant a minimum of 16 rounds daily, avoiding the ten offenses. You may chant on their beads. The second initiates should hear the tape of me chanting Gayatri mantra in their right ears. Teach them how to count on their finger divisions.
1st: B. Warren Oeshawn–Dvaraka dasa; Bhakta Bill Chilack–Vrndavana dasa.
2nd: Munjakesa dasa; Madanamohini dasi; Vedaguhya dasa; Hamsagati dasa; Kokila dasa; Svaha dasi; Bhusaya dasa; Brahmanya dasa.
Hoping this will meet you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
ACBS.jda
About the Author
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founded the Hare Krishna Movement in 1966 in New York. In only 11 years he spread the movement all over the world. He wrote more than 80 books including Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Sri Isopanisad. Prabhupada's books constitute a complete library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture.
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Hare Krishna prabhu
Why did prabhupada told to hear his Gayatri manta chanting in right ears? Is there a special significance??
We should follow the instructions of the bona fide spiritual master, not question them.
Prabhu,
I totally agree with this!!!!
I did not ask as an objection
I just wanted to know!
Hare Krishna!
Dear Madhudvisa dasa,
Thank you much for your elaborate reply. I fairly get the fact that This whole universe is defintely beyond the grasp of any being on earth. Like you rightly said, how can anyone, with imperfect senses and ever changing surrounding say anything that could be termed as a fact. But, Humbly, i would ask you, would you agree that Sun is closer to us than Moon, and the Moon of which we make calculation, and gravity estimations, cannot be studied because it is the farthest? I have taken pride in the fact that the vedas are scientific, and their teachings can be tested in this very physical world. My faith had grown day by day by the fact, that Vedas teachings are not blind beleif, but are scientific, and thus krsna Consciousness is scientific.
I agree about the imperfect senses, and how we hardly know an ounce of what universe is. But Just cannot come around the Fact that Sun is closer to us than Moon, we can never reach moon, never have, the moon of which we calculate the phases is something else. Moon is the farthest planet from earth. How do you reconcile this when you see it every night almost, have seen the Images of its surface, and seen its craters through a telescope? My eyes are imperfect and sense defective, but to such an extent that the thing in front of me doesn’t exist at all seems blind faith and getting into a tunnel
Most Humbly and thank you,
Kelly
Dear
I have been reading the wonderous articles here , on life, its mission, and its ultimate goal.I am eagerly seeking more literature on the Vaishnava philosphy, and as i get them mostly from this site, i often come here. But Srila Prabhupad discourse on Moon being the farthest from earth, and Sun being the closest, has unsettled me. Also the claims, that one cannot reach moon, and never did. I myself have enquired upon it, and seen the staellite images of the lunar surface. I myself have been categorised as a mild ‘conspiracy theorist’ to suggest what Srila prabhupad’s purport in Srimad Bhagavatam says.
Distributing Vaishnava Book is a spiritual activity as it brings us close to the spirtuality, and makes us ask real Questions. But Saying that Moon, is the farthest, and Sun the closest, one cannot reach moon, never will, and that we reached some other planet than Moon itself; when proof otherwise already exists borders blind faith, than Science as Krsna cosnciousness is supposed to be.
This is quite unsettling and demands blind belief. which i am not able to conjure. Mind is a trickster, and it wonders what else being propogated and preached in krsna consiousness, is as outlandish as the moon theory.
Please Forgive, i mean no offense. Would really like to know your views Kindy enlighten me
Most Humbly,
Kelly.
Hare Krishna Kelly
We need to question the “reality” of the so-called “facts” that are presented to us in the material world.
Things are not necessarily as we have been taught them. We do not have a very good understanding of the universe around us. Srila Prabhuapda often gives the example of the frog in the well. He has only ever seen what he can see through the hole in the top of his well. And he has come up with so many theories about the universe and how everything works. But actually he can have no idea. He has seen so little.
All he sees is the hole at the top of his well. Sometimes it is black, sometimes he sees the blue sky, sometimes, very rarely, he sees the sun, in the night he may have very rarely seen the moon. During the cultivating season he hears the rumble of the farmers tractor as he cultivates the fields above his well. But how can he understand what is going on in the universe. How can he even understand what is that rumble he hears every year as the farmer ploughs the fields? He has no idea at all actually. But he thinks he is a great scientist. He has worked everything out. He is very proud of his understanding of the universe…
Our scientists are just like that. They have seen so little. The know so little. Just like the frog in the well. But they are so proud and present it to us as if they understand everything. But they are wrong on so many points.
So we should not blindly accept the things they so-called science presents to us as being facts. They have no idea.
But the Vedic knowldedge is perfect. It is given by personalities who are far beyond this earthly planet and who have a far greater view of the universe and a complete understanding as to how things are working. When we try to understand these things they make no sense to us. Because we have no framework within which to understand them.
There is a nice example of this with our frog in the well. One day another frog, who had traveled quite extensively, hopped into his well. And this traveling frog had seen the Atlantic Ocean. And he was trying to explain to his friend, the frog who had spent his whole life in the well, the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. But our frog friend had only ever experienced the water in his well. That was his universe. So he was asking, “is is twice as big as my well, ten times as big…” Like this. He could only think in terms of the size of his well. So he could not conceive of the Atlantic Ocean actually.
So when we here small snippets of information from the Vedas like this about the structure of the universe we can not comprehend how it could be true. Like our friend the frog in the well can not comprehend the Atlantic Ocean. But these things are true. However for us to actually understand them that will require some realization.
So do not worry so much about these things. The main point to understand is that the universe is not very well understood by our modern scientists and this is due to the fact that they are studying it with their material senses which are defective, they all have a tendency to cheat, we all make mistakes, and we are all illusioned, it means we accept many things to be facts which are actually not facts at all. So all the conclusions of science are flawed by these four defects that all conditioned souls have.
The only way we can get perfect knowledge is to hear it from a perfect person. That is the key point to understand here. The power of the disciplic succession. If we want real knowldege we have to hear it from someone who actually knows. Not someone who has speculated based on the knowledge gathered through his imperfect senses.
Hope this helps.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa