Letter to Tulsi Das

From: Tamal Krishna - SL_771031_A1

Cato Ridge, South Africa

My dear Tulsi Das Prabhu,

Please accept my obeisances. I have been instructed by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada to thank you for your letter dated 11th October, 1977.

Your letter was a great inspiration to His Divine Grace, as your previous letter of a few months ago was. Although Srila Prabhupada has not been hearing hardly any of the mail, He sat up in bed to hear the report which you sent. His Divine Grace is very much enthused by the preaching in South Africa and considers it very important work that you are doing. He was so much interested that He even put on His glasses and looked carefully at the photographs and news clippings which you sent. Here are some of the remarks which Srila Prabhupada made personally while hearing you letter:

“It is very good news. Now increase the preaching more and more. This material world may remain or not remain, we do not mind. We have got our preaching to do. Where is such things throughout the whole world. Now the people there are getting new life.”

When Srila Prabhupada heard that all the other bogi-yogi groups such as Rama Krishna and Sivananda Ashram are being swept into obscurity He laughed for a long time very heartily: “That is my triumph. Bogus! All along I have said bogus. That is my triumph. You show them: Your society has become bogus! Vivekananda made so much propaganda. Who cares for him? And here our leader (Srila Prabhupada was referring to Himself) is lying on deathbed and things are going on. He is physically gone but things He has introduced will go on.”

“Take it very seriously because in South Africa there was no such thing before. They say for the last 30 years they never experienced such a movement. My Guru Maharaja used to say, for so long this Rama Krishna Mission and Gandhi movement remain, India will remain condemned. Gandhi suffered 20 years in Durban. He was a barrister in India and nobody cared for him. He got a case in South Africa and took the opportunity. Nobody cared for him there either. He wanted to be popular but the general masses never cared. Then when Indian National Movement began he took opportunity of becoming the leader. Here also he struggled for 30 years. But it is Subhash Bhosh’s IMA which achieved Indian independence. His movement divided India and Pakistan. He wanted Hindu-Muslim unity, but it was divided. And this Krishna consciousness movement will go on. This is the genuine thing. Param vijayate sri krsna sankirtanam. Take it very seriously, and not as a trifle. You are all young men. You will live. Take it seriously. You American boys, you have got intelligence, you have got resources, you have taken it up. I was thinking that if my body finished, everything would be finished. But now I am hopeful. It will not be finished. Who cares for Gandhi’s non-violence and Vivekananda’s hospitals?”

“Yes it is all Krishna’s mercy. (At this point I said to Srila Prabhupada that it was all His mercy) I have tried. What mercy I have got? Poor Indian starting without any substantial support–Rs.40, loitering in the street on 5th Avenue. After my lunch I used to go on 5th Avenue to see the Christian festivals. But now you are all helping. You go on helping. And this movement will go on increasing.”

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more such enlivening news to Srila Prabhupada. When a devotee takes up a service and it becomes successful, it is to be understood that Caitanya Mahaprabhu has empowered that devotee and is living within his service. So from the success of your activities we can understand that it is actually the desire of Caitanya Mahaprabhu that you are fulfilling. Go on increasing Krishna consciousness all over South Africa. You are very much in Srila Prabhupada’s thoughts.

Hoping this meets you in the best of health and Krishna consciousness.

Your servant,
Tamal Krishna Gosvami
Secretary to Srila Prabhupada

His Grace Tulsi Das Ahikari
c/o ISKCON Cato Ridge farm

Srila Prabhupada’s health is still very poor but He is going to Mayapur in two day’s time to be under the treatment of an especially good Kaviraj. Please pray to Krishna for His recovery.

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Letter to: TO ALL ISKCON CENTERS
–
URGENT ! URGENT !
PLEASE READ AT ONCE !

From: Ramesvara dasa Swami-SL_771000_A

Dear Prabhus,

Please accept my most humble obeisances in the dust of your feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada ! It is my unhappy duty to notify you of a most disturbing situation that has developed regarding Srila Prabhupada’s condition. Below are excerpts from the diary of Srila Prabhupada’s personal secretary as read to me by phone by Hari Sauri Prabhu. They refer to conversations in Vrindavana on October 25, 1977.

Scene: Prabhupada’s room. His Divine Grace is resting, Baradraj and Hansadutta Swami are sitting silently in the room, Prabhupada, awakens.

Prabhupada: (To Upendra) “So everyone has left?”

Upendra: Yes

Prabhupada: I feel very unhappy when no one is here. They are avoiding me. They do not want to come.

Upendra: Baradraj and Hansadutta Swami are here. Do you want kirtan?

Prabhupada: At least japa while I sleep. When I look around I see the room is empty and I fell very unhappy. When I see no one around me then I feel lonely.

Baradraj: We’ll get some others and Hansadutta Swami and I will do kirtan.

Prabhupada: Why not all of you. You cannot all do kirtan ? Why not others ?

Scene: Prabhupada’s room. Some time later. Prabhupada has stopped eating all solid foods and is not even taking medicines. It is evident that His Divine Grace is discouraged. Atreya Rsi arrives from Tehran.

Prabhupada: Please don’t leave me here. Keep me surrounded. That will encourage me. You keep me surrounded and chant Hare Krsna. There is very little hope for my life. Chant Hare Krsna softly, all together. Do not leave. Now I have become poisonous. Everyone is avoiding me. Things are deteriorating. What is to be done. What is the use. Everything is frustrated.

Scene: Prabhupada’s room. His Divine Grace was planning to go to Mayapur but the trip is cancelled because His Divine Grace feels it would be too risky and he doesn’t have sufficient strength. Instead he decides to be taken out to see the Deities of Krsna-Balaram.

Prabhupada: I want to go on parikrama. By parikrama, even if I die, that is good luck. Arrange like that, with kirtan, I may die or live, it doesn’t matter. Better than dying by jerking of an airplane.

Hari Sauri: For us it matters.

Prabhupada: What can be done ?

From the above excerpts we can all appreciate the situation in Vrndavana very clearly. The only medicine Prabhupada is taking is kirtana and being surrounded by his loving disciples. There is no other way to encourage Prabhupada to stay in this world and continue leading us personally.

After discussions with most of the GBC representatives in America, South America and Europe, I would like to urge all temples to act immediately as follows:

From every corner of the world, temples should send for men (at least one or two men) immediately to Vrindavan for the month of November. In December send replacements if the first men cannot stay longer than one month. These men will have the unique privilege of being with Prabhupada six to eight hours daily, chanting, massaging, hearing His Divine Grace translate, carrying His Divine Grace on parikrama, etc. They will have the great responsibility of encouraging Srila Prabhupada by serving him personally in this way with devotion and love.

Every temple should increase their kirtan program to 24-hour kirtan if possible. Prabhupada is personally present in each temple and can receive the encouragement and love of His disciples who surround his vyasasana in the temples around the world to petition the Lord for his health to be returned. Special sankirtana marathons should be planned and all devotees should participate for petitioning the Lord to please cure His pure devotee (remember: sankirtana is the best process for petitioning the Lord in this age).

Immediately after the Christmas distribution the devotees who were scheduled to go to India for pilgrimage this year can be sent in shifts (January-April) so that there is a continuous flood of loving devotees surrounding Prabhupada and chanting for him. This year’s pilgrimage should be centered around His Divine Grace.

Finally, I would humbly remind all temples that there shouldn’t be one moment’s hesitation or delay in sending men immediately for November and December. How can we forget that all the money in ISKCON is Srila Prabhupada’s money and all the time is meant for serving him, that he is in need of personal service right at his bedside and we must hasten to his call! If each center sends only one or two men for November and December, which are the critical months, there will be dozens of senior devotees attending to His Divine Grace. There is no question of not doing this for Srila Prabhupada. Please, act at once!

Jai, Prabhus. I hope this finds you well and immediately making arrangements to send me to Vrndavana for this urgent service. Haribol !

Your unworthy servant,
Ramesvara dasa Swami
GBC representative.

P.S.: One senior GBC man commented that if we don’t send senior men to be with Prabhupada at this time, it is practically demoniac.

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