Danavir — December 12, 1971

My dear Danavir, 

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of December 2, 1971, and I have noted the contents with great pleasure. I am very glad that you will holding the 1st Annual Abhisheka Yatra Parade and Festival in Portland city. Also I am pleased to learn that Mukunda is helping you. He is one of my first disciples, along with his wife Janaki, and I am very fond of them both. They are both very intelligent and educated, but Mukunda is little mild, so he could not control his wife and there was some difficulty. But Janaki* will listen to me. Whatever I say, she will do. Now I am very glad to hear that they are working nicely to help you there, that is very encouraging. Why Mukunda does not write? 

I am also glad to hear that Visnujana will lead kirtana. Why he also does not write? I have heard there is some plan to go to South America but I have not got any letter from Visnujana what is the plan. Also it is nice that you are infiltrating into the schools and colleges. These are the best customers for our philosophy. Give them nice philosophy, let them challenge us with any mundane philosophy and we shall very scholarly defeat them. The difference is that we have got absolute authority from the Source of Knowledge, Krishna, while your western mundane philosophers are simply speculating on the mental platform, which is always changing. Therefore, a philosopher is not a philosopher unless he refutes his predecessor and produces something new. This kind of knowledge is useless. Actually, no one has got any philosophy nowadays, everyone is acting according to his own whims. Therefore there is no security, no peace, everything is unpredictable and dangerous. Therefore all the young boys and girls in your country—and all over the world—are fed up with this lack of philosophy and they have taken to the philosophy of hopelessness: Everything is empty, therefore let me enjoy, it doesn’t matter. But this philosophy is also useless. Because if you want to enjoy and I also want to enjoy, there will be clash, fighting. And we have seen in Moscow that Marx and Lenin philosophy is no better. God is dead, the State is God: this philosophy has killed the spirit, and the Russian people are very morose and unhappy. They want to join us, that is a fact. So now you defeat all sorts of philosophies, become very convinced yourself and learn our Krishna philosophy perfectly. In this way, any sane man will listen to you and become convinced. Our philosophy is practical. Actually, philosophy means practical application—if it is mere theory then it has no value. But our Krishna philosophy is working now in modern society to solve all kinds of problems, all over the world, never mind white man, black man, Christian or Hindu, Russian or American. Everyone is feeling the nice result of our philosophy. And it has worked in the same way for the last 5,000 years at least, taking historical calculation. So which philosophy is better, 50- or 100-year old Darwin philosophy, or eternal Krishna philosophy? Just try to understand. Approach Krishna way of life from every angle—it is perfect. So try to impress this intelligent class of men, give them nice debate, answer all questions nicely, distribute profuse prasadam, chant and dance nicely, and invite them to join us to get the perfection of their education, the Supreme knowledge. 

Do not be too much pushy with Mrs. Dossa. She is an elderly lady, and she will resent too much forceful approach. Keep in touch with her regularly, and be very sincere to help and be kind in every way, but if you are overly insistent she will go away. Deal with her very tactfully, and she will come to you. Mukunda may help you with Mrs. Dossa. 

I hope this meets you in good health, 

Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami 

*She is my naughty daughter but I like her in all circumstances.
ACBS/sda 

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