The Supreme Welfare Work
Śrīla Prabhupāda exchanges letters with the Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Relief Fund Committee of Hyderabad, India: “... if you want to perform relief work simply by collecting funds, I think that will not be successful. You have to please the supreme authority, and that is the way to success. For example, due to the performance of saṅkīrtana [congregational chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa] here, the rain has begun to fall after a drought of two years. . . .”
Revered Swamiji,
The residents of the twin cities are happy to have this opportunity to meet you and your esteemed followers. You may be aware that due to inadequate rainfall during the last two years and its complete failure this year, more than half of our state [Andhra Pradesh, a state in southern India] is in the grip of a serious drought. With a view to supplement governmental efforts to combat this evil, a Central Voluntary Organization of citizens drawn from various walks of life has been set up. The members of this organization surveyed the areas affected by drought. The situation is pathetic. There are villages where drinking water is not available for miles. Due to scarcity of fodder, the cattle owners are parting with their cattle for a nominal price. Many of the stray cattle are dying away due to unavailability of fodder and water. The food problem is also very serious. Due to high prices of food grains on the open market, purchase of grains at market prices is beyond the reach of poor villagers, with the result that at least five to six million people are hardly having one meal a day. There are many who are on the verge of starvation. The entire situation is most pathetic and heartrending.
We therefore appeal to your revered self to consider how your Society could best come to the rescue of these millions of souls who are in unimaginable distress. The Committee would like to suggest that members of your Society appeal to the  bhaktas  [devotees] attending your discourses to contribute their mite to the Andhra Pradesh Relief Fund.
The Committee is prepared to send some of its representatives along
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