# Letters — 1949

### Letter to Gandhi Memorial Fund

**Date:** July 5th 1949 — **Location:** Calcutta

> The Secretary
> The Board of Trustees of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial National Fund,
> New Delhi

Dear Sir,

With reference to the invitation issued by your Board, for suggestions for the administration of the Fund, I beg to inform that Gandhiji's memorial can fittingly be perpetuated by a continued effort to keep in motion his spiritual movements. I beg to suggest most humbly to your board that Gandhiji, minus his spiritual activities, is an ordinary politician. But actually he was a saint amongst the statesmen and his basic principle was to overhaul the very foundation of present civilization by the novel philosophy of
satyagraha
and nonviolence. The Congress institution is already in the waning for neglecting Gandhiji's spiritual movement which was the main pillar of his universal popularity. By claiming the Indian state as secular we should not sacrifice Gandhiji's spiritual movement which is different from communal religiosity. This fact is corroborated by such personalities as Sri Aurobindo and Dr. Radhakrishnan. You may do everything for commemorating his memory living but if you do not accelerate his spiritual movement, his memory will be soon as dead as has been the lot of other politicians.
Mahatma Gandhi, although he was always busy with his political activities, never missed to attend to his daily prayer meetings in the evening. This rule he observed punctually even a few seconds before his assassination. To give a fitting memorial to Mahatma Gandhi we must follow and propagate this particular line of spiritual activities and must daily read a chapter from
Bhagavad-gita
in congregation.
Bhagavad-gita
is the world recognized philosophy of Indian culture and the favorite scripture of Mahatma Gandhi. He was a great follower of this great philosophy like other great saints and he was therefore a great devotee of Rama and Krishna and for this only he was raised to such exalted position of a saint amongst the statesmen during his very life time. The Gandhi Memorial National Fund should be utilized for training up the people in general in this line of daily prayer in different places of Gandhi memorial buildings and other similar important places.
If systematic and principled direction is given to this daily prayer meetings following the footprints of Mahatmaji, then we can help all concerned in subduing their evil propensities which are the causes of disruption in the human society at large. When spiritual instincts, which are inherent qualities in every living being, are kindled by such daily prayer meetings, it is then only the people in general develop the qualities of the gods and the Trust Board of Mahatma Gandhi Fund should not miss this lesson of Mahatmaji's practical life. Such qualities being developed people in general will give up the habit of imitating others but they will live and act freely boldly and rightly like Mahatma Gandhi and that will bring real freedom of life individually or collectively.
Mahatmaji started another spiritual movement known as the temple entry movement and he wanted to give this facility to everyone irrespective caste distinction. The temple worship is another kind of spiritual cultural movement for the benefit of the ordinary class of people. He himself installed the deity of Sri Radha Krishna at Noakhali when he was there and that is also very significant. The theistic temples all over India are actually the different centres as are the churches and mosques all over the world. These sacred centres were meant for diffusing spiritual education and by this process of spiritual culture the disturbed mind could be trained up in concentration for higher duties which every human being must do. By such education in practice can help man in realizing the existence of God without whose sanction, according to Mahatma Gandhi, "not a blade of grass moves."
A part of this movement is the
harijana
movement. The
harijana
means the God's man or the godly man as distinguished from the satanic devils. How a man of satanic principles can be turned in to a God's man is enunciated in the
Bhagavad-gita.
The way of
karma-yoga
i.e. doing everything for God's sake should be the principles of life. The activities of the general public may not be stopped but may diverted in the manner stated in the
Bhagavad-gita.
By doing so any one in the world can be turned into a God's man. Thus the
harijana
movement started by Mahatma Gandhi should not be taken absolutely for the benefit of the
bhangis
and ___ so to say but it should be utilized for all who have the mentality of the
bhangis
etc.
By all the above process Mahatma Gandhi wanted to establish a greater human society. His idea of a casteless society could only be given a shape under the guidance of the principles of
Bhagavad-gita.
There are men of different mentalities according to quality and work. There are different modes of nature. These natural modes work everywhere in the world and different propensities develop by the psychological modes of nature. The caste system is nothing but a classification of men according to such modes of nature. It is not therefore bound up within the walls of India but this is current all over the world may be under different names. This scientific and natural division of men should be accepted and people should be given chance to become
harijana
with equal facilities for all. The
Bhagavad-gita
gives a clear idea of doing this work and the Gandhi Memorial Fund should be utilized mainly for this purpose.
Myself with a batch of sincere workers are ready to take up this work, and I shall be glad to have your reaction to my above suggestions.

### Letter to Gita Mandir Trust

**Date:** September 1st 1949 — **Location:** Calcutta

> Secretary
> Sri Gita Mandir Trust,
> Gita Mandir Road,
> Ahmedabad

Dear Sir,

I am so much obliged to your kindly conveying the blessings of Reverend Swamiji 108 Sri Srimad Vidyanandji Maharaja.
I am very glad to learn that your program for preaching in the foreign countries, is still under consideration. I beg to submit herewith my missionary views in respect of preaching
Bhagavad-gita
and I shall be glad to know the reaction of your association in respect of my views:
I believe that practical solution of world unrest is lying in the transcendental message of Sri Krishna the Personality of Godhead as given by Him lately in the
Bhagavad-gita.
In this sacred philosophical discourse the Supreme Godhead declares Himself as the begetting father, who impregnates the seeds of living entities in the womb of mother nature who in turn gives birth to all varieties of living entities or species. So the plain truth is that the Supreme Godhead the Father, the nature material is the mother and all living entities are so many children of almighty father Godhead, and the mother nature. The whole arrangement is just a family unit, and we should wonder as to why there is so much anomaly in this great universal family unit.
The answer for this is also given in the
Bhagavad-gita.
It is said that there are two classes of men in the creation. One class is called the
devas
(godly) and the other class is called the
asura
(demonic or godless). As sons of the almighty Father Supreme Godhead, all individual living individuals have their respective independence. One can utilize this god-gifted independence properly or improperly.
When a living entity improperly uses god-gifted independence and apply such independence for sense-gratification without fulfilling the will or the plan of Godhead, he at once develops the demonic qualities in contact with the illusory Energy of Godhead and becomes a full-fledged
asura.
But one who do not misuse the God gifted independence and does not engage himself in the act of sense-gratification but fulfills the plan of the Godhead, continues to be a
deva
or godly. In this act of sense-gratification the
asura
children of Godhead forgets the plan of Godhead and therefore tries to exploit the state of Godhead for their own benefit which is sometime centralized but sometimes extended. The gods or the godly sons of Godhead do not act like this and they are therefore distinguished from the
asuras.
The mother nature or, the material energy of Godhead is, as she should naturally be, the most faithful mistress of Godhead. She does not tolerate the exploitative motive of the
asura
children of Her and for this he has to assume the role of Daiva Maya and takes at once Her grim trident and inflicts the weapon in the very heart of the
asura
although the latter is her own son. The
asura
is thus subjected to three-fold miseries and this is done according to the plan of Godhead. The mother nature, therefore chastises her disobedient sons in order to bring them to the right path of fulfilling the plan of Godhead. This process of chastisement is necessary for the benefit of both the
asuras
and the gods alike. Such process re-establishes the plan of Godhead. The
asuras
however when turned to act according to the plan of Godhead, at once become a God. When the
asura
becomes a God the angry mode of nature subsides
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### Letter to Juggannath Babu

**Date:** March 14th 1949 — **Location:** Calcutta

Dear Juggannath Babu,

Please accept my respectful
namaskara.
The sacred meeting organized by you at your place yesterday will be remembered by me with great reverence and I must thank you from the very core of my heart for giving me a chance to serve the cause of the potency of the almighty God. I think you have inherited some transcendental talents by the good deeds of your past life and as such you have taken your birth in the family of the
srimatam
as stated in the
Bhagavad-gita.
God willing you shall render tremendous transcendental service in the rest of your life and by doing so you shall not only glorify the family in which you have taken your birth but also the community and the country will be benefited.
Yesterday evening when we were talking at your veranda we had some talks over the advent day of Lord Caitanya which falls today the most auspicious
Dol-yatra purnima
day and as such I myself along with some members of my family today observing fast till the advent moment of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu just in the evening. Guru Maharaj Sastriji advised the members assembled yesterday to observe fast today and this is being done as a matter of course on the occasion of
Gaura Jayanti
day. I was so glad to hear from you that you know Lord Caitanya as the incarnation of Godhead. Yes he is so and there are ample proofs of His being so in the different
Sastras
such as
Mahabharata,
Bhagavata,
Upanisads
and many other
Puranas.
So on the occasion of Lord Caitanya's 463rd advent ceremony, I am taking this opportunity to remember about him which will help my
vrata
observed to-day. I hope you will not mind for intruding upon your time with this statement.
In the
Srimad-Bhagavatam
when Karabhajana Muni was elucidating the different incarnations of Godhead in different
yugas,
he said that "In the Kali-yuga the intelligent persons will worship the incarnation of Sri Krishna, by the transcendental
sankirtana
method. This incarnation of Sri Krishna will be non-blackish in the color of His body but will constantly chant the name of Krishna along with His many disciples who will act as the soldiers for the deliverance of the fallen souls of the Kali-yuga."
Sri Krishna Caitanya preached as one of the Vaisnava
acaryas
like Ramanujacarya and others and His mission was to establish the same theory of deliverance as was propounded by Sri Krishna Himself in the
Bhagavad-gita.
In the
Bhagavad-gita
the Lord personally described as to the method of approaching Him, His real features, His different Potencies known as the
mahamaya
and the
yogamaya,
His
virat
appearance His method of creation maintenance and destruction of the material world, information of the transcendental world which does not annihilate even after the annihilation of the material world. The living entities souls, the process of migration of the souls the description of the
mahatmas,
their duties and lastly the duty of everybody after elaborate elucidation of the three modes of nature,
satya raja tama
and the different human races, work, knowledge, devotion, worship activities under the influence of such modes of
nature.
In the
Bhagavad-gita
a clear distinction has been made between the
asura prakrti
and
daiva prakrti
and He has vehemently deprecated the demonic or
asuric prakrti
and eulogized the
daiva prakrti.
The Mahamaya who is known as Durga, Kali, Candi, Bhadrakali, Mohalaksmi, etc is the embodiment of His external potency as described in the Candi and it is the thankless task of the Mahamaya to punish the
asuras
with Her all powerful weapons in the ten direction of the material world. She does not only create and maintain this material world but also she annihilates it according to the direction of the almighty God. In the
Bhagavad-gita
this Mahamaya has also been described as Daivi Maya and She is so powerful that the
asuras
cannot by-pass Her at any rate. The
asura
can get remission from the stroke of the
trisula
of Mohamaya when he the
asura,
surrenders surrenders himself to Sri Krishna the Personality of Godhead. As Superintendent of the material world the Mohamaya has been described Durga as the protectress of the great
durga
or fortress of the grand universes. She gives all the necessities for our existence but as soon as we become an
asura
like the Mohisasuras, Ravanas, Hiranyakasipus, and in later ages like the Mussolinis and such others for the exploitation of the material energy, the Durga Devi at once appears Herself with Her dreadful trident and begins to devastate the whole existence by such tribulations as war, famine, pestilence, or sometimes annihilation of a total existence. The methods of annihilation as are invented by the human brain such as the atomic bombs etc are also Her creations but the deluded
asuras,
who are caused to act by the modes of
prakrti
the material nature, do think themselves as the originator or inventor of such weapons. In that way a constant struggle is going on between the
asuras
and the
prakrti
and the
asuras
are thus being punished in different ways which the
asuras
cannot overcome by any method except by full surrender unto the almighty God.
In the
Bhagavad-gita
the last instruction is to surrender fully unto Him the author of the
Bhagavad-gita
but unfortunate men of demonic mentality misunderstood the teachings of
Bhagavad-gita
as a method of sophistry and therefore the same Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna in the garb of a transcendental devotee preach the same techniques of
Bhagavad-gita
i.e. full surrender unto the almighty God or His different potencies in a demonstrative way.
The method of His demonstration was also very suitable. He inaugurated the
sankirtana
movement accompanied with melodious song which method has been found practically very effective amongst the masses. It is not possible for the masses to study the Vedanta or to undergo the difficult mystic processes especially in the Kali-yuga when the general people is indolent, unfortunate, shortlived and always disturbed by physical and mental tribulations. So they the general mass of people are fallen in the estimation of the great saints and as such for them Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the only hope for deliverance. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited Varanasi He was invited to a philosophical discourse by the Prakashananda Sarasvati a great giant scholar and
sannyasi
of the Mayavadi or Sankara
sampradaya
and discussion was made on the Vedanta philosophy. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was victorious in that discussion and converted the great
sannyasi
with his 60,000 followers to His cult of devotion and established His easy method of
sankirtana
movement the most suitable method for the deliverance of the people in general.
So on the occasion of the Lord's 463rd advent day, I beg to suggest that in the
guru-mandala
some such preaching method as was adopted by Lord Caitanya, may also be adopted for the benefit of the general people. The
upasana
of yoga system as recommended by Sastriji may not be suitable for the people in general because hardly they will be able to adhere to the principles of yoga and it may be as suggested by the Rajguru Sastriji that in the default of such yogic method the performer may fall ill and thus become doomed for his life.
You have encouraged your mill employees by establishing a recreation club and the amiable feelings of your employees with the benevolent proprietors as has been exhibited in yesterdays function, may be supplemented by infusing them with spiritual inspiration by the simple method as done by Lord Caitanya. In the last portion of His transcendental pastimes, Lord Caitanya lived in Puri-dhama and worshiped the Lord Jagannatha. By Some way or other your mill area has been named as the Jagannatha Puri and I suggest that an actual temple of Sri Jagannathaji may be erected by the
guru-mandala
for the benefit of these mill workers. If they simply make melodious
kirtana
of Rama or Krishna or both combined and they are offered the
prasadam
of Sri Jagannatha surely they shall imbibe the spiritual tendency inherent in every human
[PAGE MISSING]

### Letter to Pujyapada Kesava Maharaja

**Date:** March 27th 1949

[It is an extract from a 1949 letter of Srila Prabhupada. The original letter was in Bengali, and was reprinted, along with this translation, in the summer 2001 edition of Rays of the Harmonist, a magazine published by followers of HH Narayana Maharaja. —Bhakti Vikās Swami]
Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā
By the revered Śrīyuta Abhaya Caraṇa De
Editor of
Back to Godhead
magazine
Pūjyapāda Keśava Mahārāja,
Please accept my
daṇḍavat praṇāma.
Yesterday I became extremely pleased to receive
Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā,
which you sent me. Although the
Patrikā
is of medium size, its presentation is very beautiful and its paper and printing is also good. Very few printing mistakes are seen, and can be considered negligible or almost nil. By this it seems that the supervision of the magazine is very well done. Your comprehensive and extensive preaching efforts always attract my heart.
That you always remember me indicates the greatness of character for which you were celebrated even in your previous
āśrama
before joining the
maṭha.
But I am so unfortunate that I am unable to render any service to you. Therefore, please forgive my offences and discrepancies out of your magnanimous nature. You amply encouraged me at the time of the first printing of my
Back to Godhead
magazine. Though engaged in so many activities, you blessed my poor home by placing your foot dust in it.
You inspired us to remember Śrīpāda Narahari Dā* in the very first article of your
Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā.
We became grateful to you for this in every respect. The affectionate and sweet behavior of Śripāda Narahari Dā will remain illuminated in my heart forever. The pangs of separation from him are in no way less than the pangs of separation from Śrīla Prabhupāda.
The articles in
Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā
are placed in proper order. You have done excellent work by starting with an article on Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa. Publishing life-sketches of our previous
ācāyas,
one by one, in the
Patrikā
will be extremely beneficial for our
sampradāya.
I saw a proposal that your
Patrikā
will also present articles in other languages besides Bengali. By the order of Śrīla Prabhupāda, I started
Back to Godhead
magazine to put forward discussions in the English language.
When you will print articles in your
Patrikā
in English, please bless me by accepting a little service from me. I have written many articles and essays in English, and I can send them at your convenience.
Śrī Abhaya Caraṇa De
6 No. Sītā Kānta Banerjee Lane
P.O. Hāṭakhola
Calcutta
27th March 1949
(Translated from
Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā
1.2)
*Narahari Dā is the affectionate address for Śrīla Narahari Sevāvigraha Prabhu. In Bengali,
Dā
means “elder brother.”
Edited from the translation reprinted in the summer 2001 edition of Rays of the Harmonist, a magazine published by followers of HH Narayana Maharaja

### Letter to Sardar Patel

**Date:** February 28th 1949 — **Location:** Calcutta

Hon. Sardar Dr. Vallavbhaiji Patel
Deputy Prime Minister,
Government of India,
New Delhi.
Revered Sir,
May your honour accept my humble
namaskara.
Your honour is well known as the iron man of India but I know that you the most practical man who can take things as they are. With this idea in view I venture to approach your honour for submitting the following few lines for your consideration and necessary action.
Funds are being collected to commemorate Mahatma Gandhiji in a fitting manner and I beg to suggest that the same may be done in the Gandhian way and not otherwise. Gandhiji's whole life was dedicated to the service of humanity at large with special interest for raising the moral standard. His later activities showed that he was equal to every one and all the people of the world knew him more as the spiritual leader than a mere politician. Devotion to Godhead was his ultimate aim and when I say that his sacred memory should be perpetuated not in the ordinary way but in the Gandhian way, I mean that fitting respect to his memory will be done in the following manner.
1. In the midst of his multifarious duties, Gandhiji never missed to attend to his
ramdhun kirtana
meeting. This is one of the soundest method for the culture of devotion to God. In the opinion of
Srimad-Bhagavatam,
one who is imbibed with the devotion of Godhead is also endowed with all the good qualities of the gods. But one who is not a devotee of Godhead, has not any value for his good qualities because he utilizes his so called good qualities for ulterior purposes. As such the easy way to raise the moral standard of people in general, is to make this
sankirtana
movement more popular all over the world by philosophical discourses based on reasoning and moral and ethical codes. The Vaisnava
acaryas
especially Lord Caitanya and his six Gosvami disciples give us ample opportunity and scope for this work. Lord Caitanya first inaugurated the
sankirtana
or
randhun
movement and the later Gosvamis supported it by scholarly philosophical synthesis. The six
sandarbhas
by Srila Jiva Goswami are marvelous in this respect.
2. The second item is to take up the temple entry or temple worship movement. This is, in the real sense, a theistic cultural movement and the facility or opportunity shall be open to every one whatsoever he may be. All the past
acaryas
accepted everyone who desires to offer his respect to God inspired by transcendental love and devotion. We can support this movement of Gandhiji on the authority of
sastras.
There are thousands and
lakhs
of temples all over India but they are not always properly managed. Some of them have become the positive dens for undesirable activities and most of the owners or trustees of such temples do not know how to utilize these sacred buildings. Neither modernized gentlemen have any interest for these neglected theistic institutions. Originally the aim of these temples was to diffuse spiritual culture in every quarter. These temples or theistic institutions should therefore be reorganized as the centre of spiritual culture according to authentic principles as laid down in the scriptures like
Bhagavad-gita.
3. The third item is to take up the
harijana
movement. This movement is, in the real sense, a spiritual initiation movement and this should be organized in such a manner that people all over the world may take interest in it. The
harijana
is a word which shall not be used neglectfully as it is done now but attempt should be made to make everybody a
harijana.
Harijana
means the recognized man of Hari the Personality of Godhead and thus he (the
harijana
) is as important a man as the knight of the king. So
harijana
movement should be strengthened more scientifically to turn every person who is now
mayajana
into a
harijana.
The
mayajana
is a word which is applicable to a person who is ordinarily engaged in the service of materialistic pursuits, whereas the
harijana
is the person whose main business is to attain perfection of human life, as Mahatma Gandhi did, by spiritualistic realization. This movement should therefore be conducted under strict disciplinary methods as prescribed by the
mahajana
or the
harijana
of accredited merit. In such a movement we shall have full co-operation of the
sadhu
community in India.
4. The fourth item is to organize the much discussed caste system as a solution of natural division of the human beings all over the world. Nationalistic division of human races is artificial but scientific division of the caste system as envisaged in the
Bhagavad-gita
is natural. We shall have to pick up
brahmanas
and others not only from the Indian people but from the peoples of all over the world. The vitiated caste system of present India is never sanctioned by the scriptures. But the caste system is made by God according to quality and work of the subject and it was never designed for the benefit of accidental birth right. Thus whatever is made by God cannot be destroyed by man. Destruction of the caste system as contemplated by some exponents, is therefore out of question. By the modes of nature different persons are imbued with different qualities and the scientific way of division of human society, from the qualitative aspect, by the caste system is quite natural. But the basic principle of such caste system is to serve the plan of Godhead and by doing so the four orders of caste system make a headway by the co-operative method. When such spiritual progress is definitely made, the materialistic progress is automatically effected as a matter of course. That makes a real classless society.
The above four-fold Gandhi movements, if done in an organized, scientific way supported by all the authentic scriptures of all religiosities, will bring in that tranquillity of peace respite of all harshness and bitterness of the present world, which we have longed for till now.
I wish to organize a spiritual society for the above movements and therefore I seek your active help and support for this. The immediate need is to start an organization centre in a suitable place preferably in New Delhi under your direct supervision and to train up a batch of young men for this transcendental service. If possible to conduct a monthly magazine in this respect for propaganda work.
If your honor will allow me an interview, I shall be very glad to explain the whole idea personally and let you know how the scheme can be given a practical shape for subsiding the general unrest all over the world. Such an organized movement shall be the panacea of all social maladies.
The State is giving help for so many man-made purposes and I pray that a sum of Rs 2000/- per month may be allowed for starting these Gandhian movements in organized form and that on authentic basis I think if your honour as a renowned practical man accepts my humble suggestion, it may be by the will of God, that the whole atmosphere of the present world calamities may be mitigated altogether. My humble self had the privilege of taking this training under the lotus feet of my spiritual master and I am confident to organize this work in a scientific way if I am helped by the state.
Hoping to be excused for intruding upon your valuable time and awaiting your early reply with deep interest. With my best regards, I beg to remain,
Yours faithfully,
Abhay Charan De