Srila Prabhupada Letters on
Organizational Structure of ISKCON in India
To His Holiness Sri Jayapataka Swami
72-06-16
Mayapur
My Dear Jayapataka,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge your letter dated May 29, 1972, from Mayapur and I have noted the contents. You have described the building progress there, but if you can send me photo then I can understand the situation as it is.
I have appointed Giriraja to be the GBC zonal secretary for India zone, and I am sure that he meets your requirements of being equipoised and considerate of all the needs of all the branches under his control or jurisdiction. Simply all you leaders there in India must cooperate with him nicely and give him confidence and advice how to manage the things in the best manner. So I suggest you address your ideas for managing to Giriraja and cooperatively make arrangements. Bombay should be the headquarters for India. You send all money there and when you require you take and they sould keep all accounts nicely. Whatever you need, they will supply.
Karandhara has sent telegram informing that upon receipt of your jointly signed requisition order, after you have received from Mr. Jayan as per our former transaction, then we shall issue a letter of transfer for the ten Krsna Books as per your requisition order. But do not send the requisition before he has given you the money, first take the money there. If Tamala Krsna is not there he sould be informed. Among you three, including yourself, Tamala Krsna, Bhavananda, two of three must sign. It is better if all three sign.
If Tamala Krsna can do some tangible work in Bangledesh it will be advertised all over India and we shall be respected by all classes of men. So it is a crucial point in our progress, so make this Bangledesh program very nicely. My godbrother in Jessore will help him in every respect. His address is known to him.
Hoping this meets you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
ACBS:sda
n.b. Composed matter of Gitar Gan should be sent to me as early as possible.
ACBS
To His Holinesss Sri Giriraja Swami
Los Angeles
24 May, 1972
72-05-24
Bombay
My dear Giriraja,
Please accept my blessings. I have received your letter dated May 9, 1972 and I have noted the contents carefully. Actually it is the duty of the spiritual master to find fault with his students so that they may make progress, not that he should always be praising them. So if you find some criticism, kindly accept it in that spirit. I am only interested in that you along with all my other students should become Krishna Conscious.
Now we shall only want good devotees to live with us on that land. Not that we shall form a cooperative housing society and whoever pays us money, we shall accept them to live with us. If they live with us and do not follow our principles we can not take them to court. So we must be very careful from the beginning to select only qualified devotees of Krishna or Vaisnava families to live with us, just like Indira devi and her family. So you may create the building society but there should be an explicit understanding that only those who agree to follow the rules and regulations will be allowed to live with us. So begin collecting in this way from devotee families in Bombay, and when I shall come there in Autumn we shall see how the things are going.
I am glad to see that all of the other programs are going on nicely, especially that the deities are being cared for again properly. Now you give our ladies full facilities and help them by giving them money and other things wherever required by them so that our deity program will not be lacking. I am especially also engladdened by your report of book distribution there in Bombay. You can distribute our men there to other centers--to Gurudasa and Bhavananda--if they shall require our help. Yes, we can become self-supporting in this way by distributing our books in Bombay and in India in general. I shall be interested to hear the result of your experiment whether to lower the prices on books.
So far the temples in India are concerned, the independent and self supporting method does not apply in India. In India Bombay is the headquarters and all other centers shall send their funds for centralizing in Bombay. In return you shall supply everyone with enough books and you shall pay construction bills as required by them. I had asked you in one letter previous if you are interested in accepting the GBC post for India and central Asia. I have not yet heard from you in this connection but I shall be glad to hear your opinion.
Yes, that is good proposal about Hindi translating. Ksirodakasayi has written to me that he is unable to translate, layout and compose everything himself there in Vrindaban. So if he is able somehow or other to get the things translated there in Vrindaban let him send the matter to you in Bombay for composing and layout. In addition there is one man and his wife here in Los Angeles who will be also translating in Hindi language under my direction. They will also send their manuscripts to you for composing and laying out, or if it is better we may do the composing and layout in Los Angeles. Kindly consult with Ksirodakasayi in this regard.
Hoping this meets you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
P.S. Please send Rs. 1000.00 one thousand only to Puri Maharaja at Rajamundry as advised to Mahamsa. ACBS
ACB/sda
Conversation with Garga Muni
Gargamuni: Also another investigation, we’re always asked, “Where is your headquarters?”
Jayapatäkä: And then “Our headquarters is in India.”
Gargamuni: It must be always stated, “Our headquarters are India.” If we say “foreign,” that means we are controlled by foreign. We must publish everywhere that our head...
Prabhupäda: No, we have mentioned headquarters Bombay?
Jayapatäkä: We just said offices.
Prabhupäda: Yes.
Jayapatäkä: They think that Los Angeles is our headquarters.
Prabhupäda: That is for America.
Gargamuni: We explain like that.
Prabhupäda: But real headquarter here.
Gargamuni: I think if one letter is given that “We are purely Indian, that I am äcärya and they are simply helping me, they are not...”
Prabhupäda: Yes, that is the fact.
Jayapatäkä: Actual facts is... That would help, if such a letter was given. Then on the basis of that, we cal also go and preach or talk, or we can show that to the local people that “this is...” Because they keep thinking that we are coming on our own. Because you are outside traveling, they see us only, and they think we are independent.
Prabhupäda: No, in every letter heading there is my name, “Äcärya, Founder-äcärya.”