Ookala, Hawaii
My Dear Govinda devi dasi:
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter undated and have noted the contents carefully. I do not know why you have parted from the Deities. Who has told you to do this? If you are at all interested, you can return. Your service was there. Why did you leave, and now you are whimsically asking for service. You never asked me before leaving. How can I guide you? If you act whimsically, nobody can make you happy.
In Honolulu tulsi is drying, and you have left this service. You introduced tulsi, and they are drying for want of water. Gaurasundara said to live alone, but our policy is to live with devotees. Immediately return and live with devotees and take care of the Deities and tulsi. That is our main business. My Guru Maharaja condemned living alone in a lonely place. He wrote as follows:
dusta mana, tumi kisera Vaisnava
- pratisthara tare, nirjanera ghare,
- tavra hari-nama kevala kaitava
"O rascal mind, what kind of Vaisnava are you. In a lonely place your chanting of Hare Krishna is simply cheating"
And, Narottama Das Thakura says:
- tandera carana sevi bhakta-sane vasa
- janame janame haya, ei abhilasa
"To serve the feet of the acaryas in association of the devotees is my desire birth after birth."
Why I have opened this Society. I was living with four children, and now I have 4,000. There is no good in living alone.
I hope this meets you in better health.
Your ever well wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
ACBS/bs