Since I have come to America in September 1965, I have traveled many parts of the country specially Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Butler, Slippery Rock, Monroe, Boston and now I am situated in New York the biggest city in the world. I have started a small Ashram at the above address and young American students are taking very great interest in the philosophy of Vaisnavism based on the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. My books are selling here and I have published many small books also since I have come here. My fortnightly magazine "Back to Godhead" is also being regularly published and my lectures and kirtana have been recorded in Phonograph. The important papers have given me publicity and things are growing nicely. I have established a Society here under the name and style INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS INC and the Trustees of this society are all American and my disciples. They are going purchasing house in New York and as soon as the house is purchased I shall establish in New York a Temple of SRI SRI RADHA KRISHNA for the first time. Sir Padampat Singhania of your city of Kanpur was ready to spend lakhs of rupees for this temple in New York but Govt. of India did not sanction exchange from India. So I am trying locally to start the temple and most probably I shall be successful to start one not only in New York but also one in California and the other in Montreal (Canada) in both cities there are my disciples who are already working there. I hope you will be pleased to learn about considerable success in my preaching activities.
Vaisnava philosophy (Letters)
Expressions researched:
"Vaisnava philosopher"
|"Vaisnava philosophers"
|"Vaisnava philosophic doctrine"
|"Vaisnava philosophy"
|"philosophy of Vaisnava"
|"philosophy of the Vaisnavas"
|"philosophy of vaisnavas"
|"philosophy of vaisnavism"
|"vaisnava philosophies"
Correspondence
1966 Correspondence
1967 Correspondence
Our Vaisnava philosophy instructs to become "Vidvati sannyasis", this means a man who knows things as they are, therefore a devotee who knows that everything belongs to Krishna and that He is the proprietor of all such a devotee is certainly a Vidvati Sannyasi. Our philosophy is that we should accept things as prasadam of Krishna and nothing for sense enjoyment. Anyone who accepts things for sense enjoyment even if he is externally a saffron dressed man is not a sannyasi.
1968 Correspondence
Your remark that we cannot make Krishna our order supplier is very appropriate. We should always try to supply everything to Krishna and we shall try to avoid any return by Krishna. That is Vaisnava philosophy. The Gopis and Radharani served Krishna without any expectation of material or spiritual profit. They never expected any return from Krishna and Krishna remained ever indebted to the Gopis. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu exalted the worship method of the Gopis, and Krishna when He tries to understand the heart of the Gopis, that is the transformation of Krishna into Lord Caitanya
Tattvam asi means you are that. You are that, means you are also Brahman. That means qualitatively you are one with the Supreme Absolute. The Mayavadi philosophers interpret this Tattvam asi that the living entity is the same Supreme Absolute Truth. They do not make any difference of quality and quantity, but Vaisnava philosophers are very accurate in their estimation of the Absolute Truth. Therefore, we interpret this Vedic verse as Tattvam asi means that the living entity is qualitatively one, as much as a particle of gold is also gold.
So far I am personally concerned, the United States Immigration Department has denied my application for permanent visa on some technical ground. In other words, just to avoid a Swami, because the government is disgusted with so-called Swamis who exploit the innocent public in your country. The difficulty is that the people in this country, they want to continue their practice of sense gratification, and at the same time they want to become transcendentally advanced. This is quite contradictory. One can advance in transcendental life by process of negativating the general practice of materialistic life. The exact adjustment is in Vaisnava philosophy, which is called Yukta Vairagya, means that we should simply accept the bare necessities of our material part of life, and try to save time for spiritual advancement. This should be the motto of New Vrindaban, if you at all develop it to the perfectional stage. And I am always at your service to help you by practical suggestion and assistance also.
Your question, "if in the Vaikunthas ecstatic love between Lord Narayana and His devotees and Lord Krishna Consciousness and His devotees on Krishna Loka is qualitatively the same, then what is the advantage of following the path of Krishna Consciousness, whose philosophy austerity is difficult to understand?" Krishna Consciousness philosophy includes the whole Vaisnava philosophy. When we speak Krishna, the very Word means, Rama, Nrsimha, Varaha, and all other similar expansions and incarnations. So Krishna Consciousness includes Vaikuntha consciousness, but Vaikuntha consciousness does not include Krishna Consciousness. Those who are strictly following the rules and regulations of Vaisnava activities, they are promoted to Vaikuntha lokas. But those who have developed a spontaneous love for Krishna, they are promoted to the Krishna Loka.
Regarding Gargamuni: All of a sudden I thought that he should go and take charge of his father's business. And as soon as I proposed, he phoned to his father and he also was very much anxious to receive. So this is also another chance for us, that we can show a model factory. Actually as you say, that we want to perfect everything with Krishna Consciousness. Our policy is that without Krishna, everything is zero. But zero by the side of Krishna, is 10, 100, and so on. So the whole Vaisnava philosophy is like that. The Ravana class of men, they want Sita without Rama, and therefore there is havoc. Ravana kidnapped Sita from the clutches of Ravana, and the result was that the whole nation, whole family, was vanquished. And Hanuman's policy was to bring back Sita and let her sit down by the side of Rama. So we do not neglect anything, because everything is manifestation of Krishna's energy. Krishna's energy means Sita, and Krishna is Rama. So all material energy that are working in the material world, can be engaged in the service of the Lord.
1969 Correspondence
Regarding your question about my Guru Maharaja, I never told anyone that He was one of the eight saktis. I do not know how you got this news. According to Vaisnava principles, nobody should think or imagine somebody as Krishna, Radharani, or Their associates. Everyone should aspire to follow the footprints of such associates. If somebody thinks that somebody is Radha or Krishna that is not sanctioned by the Vaisnava philosophy. So far as I know, my Guru Maharaja's position was one of the assistants of the manjaris. For the present, it is better not to discuss on these confidential things of a higher level, but you are always welcome to put your genuine questions for an answer. Otherwise, how will you know things as they are?
As much as possible you should try to introduce to the colleges our Bhagavad-gita. In every college there is a religion department, and most of them have interest in the Bhagavad-gita. So you can show to the chief man of this department that this is a real presentation of Vaisnava philosophy. I have received a statement from Dr. Haridasa Chaudhuri of the California Institute of Asian Studies that ours is the best presentation of the teachings of Lord Krishna to the Western public. So if they are actually serious to receive instructions from Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita, they absolutely must read this publication of Bhagavad-gita As It Is. If they want some nonsense upon the plea of reading Bhagavad-gita then there is nothing we can do to help them. Everyone is free to act according to his inclination.
Some time before in your letters you expressed a desire that we should jointly present Indian cultural ideas in this country. I think you will remember this proposal, and I replied that if we want to present the real Indian cultural traditions, then we must present the Vaisnava philosophy as it is. Poet Tagore became very popular in the western countries by presenting his Gita Anjali which is full of Vaisnava sentiments. We have immense literatures, especially in the Gaudiya Sampradaya of the Vaisnava sect which is enriched by the contribution of the Gosvamis. These should all be presented to the western world. Similarly, Vedanta commentary by the Vaisnava acaryas like Ramanuja, Madhva, Baladeva., Sridhara Swami, etc. can all be presented successfully. You are a learned philosopher, and your Cultural Integration Fellowship Institute advocates universal religion and cultural harmony. I think if you will turn your attention to the Vaisnava literature you will find all of these ideas in complete fulfillment.
Your invitation for me to go to San Francisco is very much welcome. You have been requesting me for practically one year to give some discourses on this Vaisnava philosophy in your institution, but for want of time I could not comply with your request. I will let you know immediately when I know I will be going next to San Francisco. Of course, now I am in Los Angeles, and I have no serious business at present. But your mid-term quarter is already occupied by Dr. Framroze A. Bode, the Zoroastrian High Priest from Bombay.
In the meantime, I wish that you may stock a few copies of our books in your bookstall and just have a test how the members of your institution will like this Vaisnava philosophy. Generally, people are not very much inclined to accept Vaisnava philosophy because for the common man it is not very easy to understand. In the Bhagavad-gita we find the statement that out of many thousands of people, one may be interested in the values of human life, and out of many persons who have understood the values of life, only one may be found who can understand Krishna. It is further stated that Krishna can be understood only through devotional mysticism. Bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah (BG 18.55). On hearing from you I will ask my San Francisco temple to deliver you some copies of Bhagavad-gita As It Is if you so desire.
Now our policy should be as follows: 1. the layout should be done by us, 2. there should be no advertisements, 3. under different headings we shall publish articles from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Brahma Samhita, Nectar of Devotion, Vedanta Philosophy, Upanisads, etc. as well as comic pictures when possible. Besides that, if some of our students write as they have assimilated the philosophy, that also should be welcome. You say that Rohini Kumar is an artist, so he can do comic work. There are other girls there such as Indira who can also do this. So we shall fill up the pages simply with Vedic ideas. Now the policy should be straight that this Back to Godhead is completely different from all other magazines. As there are different magazines for different subject matters, this magazine will be simply devoted for Vaisnava philosophy, or Krishna Consciousness movement. That should be our policy.
1970 Correspondence
You have written to say that French people are eager to understand Vaisnava philosophy, and the summary of Vaisnava philosophy is as follows:
God is a person like us, but He is all-powerful with all opulences in full. The living entities are His eternal servants. There are varieties of living entities that have inherited the opulences of God in different degrees. There are two kinds of nature, the spiritual nature and the material nature. The living entities belong to the spiritual nature and being part and parcel of God they have all the qualities of God in minute proportion.
There are innumerable living entities both in the spiritual world and in the material world. The spiritual world is far, far greater than the material world. As such, the number of living entities living in the spiritual world is many more times greater than the number of living entities living within the material world. The living entities, when they try to lord it over the God's property, forgetting their constitutional position to remain as eternal servant of God, they are given the material world to act according to their desires.
In such endless varieties of desires the living entities are seen in varieties of bodies beginning from Brahma, down to the most insignificant insect. In this way, when someone is fortunate, he, by the grace of Spiritual Master and Krsna, revives his Krsna Consciousness. And if he makes progress under the direction of the Spiritual Master, then he revives his original Krsna Consciousness in full and thus he regains his position in the eternal Kingdom of God.
So you know very well all these facts, and while preaching you have to explain all these things nicely. Then you become a good preacher. Now you try your best in this line of preaching work and be successful as you have taken birth as a human being. Our Vaisnava philosophy is in summary the Teachings of Lord Caitanya. You read them very carefully, word to word, and immediately begin translation into French language so they may be published in French BTG as well as in future they may be published in a book.
Regarding the Sanskrit class, I think it was only a plea, but he wanted to teach us something other philosophy. Our Temple is meant for our men, and we may have our own discussions amongst ourselves, no outsider needed. It is definitely concluded that we have not got to learn anything from any outsider beyond the jurisdiction of Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy. Our philosophy is established on sound ground of the conclusion arrived at by Vyasadeva down to Jiva Goswami, Visvanatha Cakravarti, Bhaktivinode Thakura, etc.
I am so glad to learn that you are interested in the matter of Vaisnava philosophy. Vaisnava philosophy is very simple: that God is great and everyone is His servant. Nobody can be equal to or greater than God. They are simultaneously one and different. In quality they are one, but in magnitude they are different. This is the whole philosophy of the four Vaisnava sampradayas.
As we are now preaching Vaisnava philosophy throughout the world as a whole, your valuable service is most welcome. Most probably I am going out of station by the 5th instant and shall come back by the 20th or by the end of this month. If you kindly see me by that time it shall be very much appreciated and we can talk about this cooperation in detail.
1971 Correspondence
I am very glad that you are challenging all of these so-called swamis and gurus. My Guru Maharaja appreciated devotees who boldly present our Vaisnava philosophy. We must take advantage of every opportunity to defeat these rascals and drive them away, so please continue this strong attitude.
1974 Correspondence
Regarding the art of management, constant changing is not good. Even if there is some fault in management it should be corrected, not changed. Besides that, Vaisnava philosophy is that everyone is addressed as prabhu, or master. Everyone should consider himself the servant of the other. That will make management very nice.
Last night we had some talks on your new attempt to elevate the girivanavasi people. It is very enlightening for anyone that you are trying to elevate the position of the people in the forest and in the hills. This sort of desire is certainly very much laudable, because in our Vaisnava philosophy it is said that a perfect Vaisnava is always very kind, and he is aggrieved by others miserable condition. para-duhkha-duhkhi krpam buddhih. Or, a Vaisnava is always unhappy by seeing others unhappiness, and he is the ocean of kindness.
The book compiled by your father V.R. Srisaila Chakravarti, namely "The Philosophy of Sri Ramanuja," given to me by you on 2/11/74 was very interesting to read. Of course we Gaudiya Vaisnava follow Srila Ramanuja's philosophy almost in the same manner. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gives the identification of jiva soul as the eternal servant of Krishna and is situated as marginal potency of the Lord based on the philosophy of acintya-bheda bheda-tattva. This is almost similar to Visistadvaita vada. Vaisnava philosophy is now being pushed on all over the world under the Hare Krishna movement, and we feel Sripada Ramanuja a great support for the Vaisnava philosophical understanding. It is like a combination of nyaya sruti and smrti prasthans. The Bhagavad-gita supports the Vedanta Sutra brahma-sutra-padais caiva/ hetumadbhir viniscitaih (BG 13.5).
1976 Correspondence
In the tentative course outlines some additions are as follows. In the philosophy section there should be a class dealing with all the Vaisnava philosophies (the four sampradayas). Music class can be based on the Sama Veda. In the Political Science class Maharaja Prthu's life may also be studied. There should also be a discussion with the GBC regarding what titles should be awarded to students who pass.
I am a little hopeful that if we preach in the communist countries, they will like it. According to our Vaisnava philosophy even a snake or lizard is in the house shall not go without eating, what to speak of other living entities. The communists have an idea for feeding human society, but our idea is expanding. We want to see even a snake not fasting.
| Page Title: | Vaisnava philosophy (Letters) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, MadhuGopaldas |
| Created: | 25 of Nov, 2008 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=24 |
| No. of Quotes: | 24 |