Srila Prabhupada on New Vrindaban: 7 Temples, Starting a Trust Fund & Earning Income from the Land
Srila Prabhupada reading outside the original New Vrindaban farmhouse, Spring 1969.
A Letter From Srila Prabhupada About New Vrindaban: 7 Temples, Starting a Trust Fund & Earning Income from the Land.
October 27, 1972
My dear Kirtanananda,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 19, 1972, and I have noted the contents with care.
Now we are in Radha-Damodara Temple staying, and the programme of speaking morning and evening in the courtyard is going on very nicely. It is the same peaceful atmosphere as your New Vrindaban, and just as in New Vrindaban everyone present is devotee. Actually, everywhere wherever Krishna is being glorified, that is Vrindaban.
Regarding your questions, try to finish the temples in New Vrindaban as quickly as possible using whatever materials you have. Later on they can be improved more and more and eventually they will be the first-class opulent temples in the world.
So far starting a trust fund, yes, that is very good idea, so that the deities may never be neglected. The thing is, there must be continuous income, so if there is income from land that is all right. In Los Angeles we are getting income from rents from two apartment houses because there is always certain income.
As for bathing the deities in milk from time to time, that is not required. The smarta or caste brahmanas, they think if someone inattentively touches deity it becomes impure, so they bathe. But that is not needed by us, only when they are installed.
Regarding the cook-book, that is a nice proposal to divide into two parts. There is no harm if devotees have invented recipes, so long they are strictly vegetarian, no garlic, no onions, like that.
Upon your recommendation I am happy to accept Sudhakari dasi for second initiation. Now you hold a fire yagna, give her copy of gayatri mantra and teach her to count on the finger divisions. You may play the tape of me reciting gayatri mantra into her right ear. The ceremony should be held in the company of devotees only.
Hoping this will meet you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
ACBS/sda
Srila Prabhupada himself started, and kept, several trust funds.
The one that is most well-known in probably the Mayapur-Vrindavan Trust, also known as the ‘MVT’. He established that trust so the deities in those 2 temples ‘would never go without’.
I know in Mayapur the Deities have many ‘certificates of deposit’ where from They earn interest monies periodically.
Srila Prabhupada was a very practical person,and he was very, very concerned that once installed, Radha Krsna deities would always be properly worshiped as he taught us.