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��:       Akincana Priyabandhu (das) (NE BBT) <Akincana.Priyabandhu@pamho.net>
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��������: 4 ������� 2010 �., 16:29:00
����:     Questions from Nrisimha Temple, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
�����:    <none>
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Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Although, as appears from Bharadvaja Prabhu's next letter, he understood
that he is not going to receive any grants from ISKCON/BBT for his project,
I finally decided to write something for everyone's information.

More than a year ago Bharadvaja Prabhu sent us part of his book in Russian,
asking whether we would like to publish it. Apart from the style of the
narration, the problems with it are that Bharadvaja himself is the central
figure and Srila Prabhupada is the only diksa-guru for the present and all
future generations. The latter (ritvik) concept is discussed in more detail
in the second part of his book which Bharadvaja didn't show us, but I know
it is there from Bharadvaja himself due to having a friendly relationship
and correspondence with him. This concept is found in the first part of the
book as well, but there it is not so obvious and can be quickly seen only by
those who know the author :).

BTW, although the Nrisimha Temple is an inspiring project, I am not at all
sure Bharadvaja and his followers are working under the GBC. I've heard he
has started giving ritvik initiations there. That he is saying only Srila
Prabhupada can give diksa, that Bala Keshava, myself and others know 100%.

As far as ISKCON's USSR history, BV Goswami has been trying to get it
written down for a long time, and in the last two years or so Krishnananda
Prabhu has collected a huge amount of information from various sources. Now
all or almost all of it is already in electronic form, and another scholarly
devotee (who is at the same time one of our translators), Vijitatma Prabhu,
began to put it in chronological order and write the official history of
ISKCON in USSR. There is a lot of material, but he said he would be able to
complete it this year. Whether it will be published by the BBT we yet have
to discuss with BV Goswami and with you.

We are not really interested in publishing books with memoirs of any
particular devotee; rather, whatever reliable information has been collected
from them (including Bharadvaja and many others) will be used in this one
book, "The KC Movement in the USSR." How to connect it with the writer who
wants to do an English book on the "Hare Krishnas in Russia", I don't know.
But if Kirtiraja Prabhu is ready to share the rich material he certainly
has, that is good news. Seems like Krishnananda Prabhu didn't get it from
him, although we both wrote to Kirtiraja Prabhu about this.

ys APBd

P.S. I have added Krishnananda Prabhu, perhaps he would like to comment.

>
>
> > Ahttp://www.hkussr.com
>
> Great site. The Moscow temple project would need an update.
>
>
>
> > 2. Once you promised to consider the edition of my book about
> > history of ISKCON in the USSR in English and Russian, the book is
> > ready in Russian.
>
> Approximately how many pages?
>
> Does Kirtiraja Prabhu know about this?
>
> I recently got a letter from a writer:
>
> > I would like to do a book on the "Hare Krishnas in Russia." I
> > spoke to Kirtiraja Prabhu about this a few years ago, and he
> > said he has a lot of material to share with me if I decide to
> > embark on that project. This is a story that needs to be told.
>
>
> Bharadvaj Prabhu, I wonder how much of ISKCON's USSR history you have
> managed to include in your writing.
>

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