Letter to Karandhara -- Bombay 18 March, 1971: "Bookkeeping is the MOST IMPORTANT item. As you are growing in stature, our accounting system should become very perfect. We have to publish now a short statement of accounts. As we increase our life membership number, we must submit our audited accounts and that will convince the public of our stability."
Letter to Giriraja -- London 12 August, 1971: "Tamala wants our accounts audited but I have asked for the trial balance and balance sheet, but Tamala is silent on this point. How things will be audited unless accounts are kept systematically according to the scientific accounting system? Scientific keeping of accounts is tested by the trial balance and balance sheet.
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I see, as Prabhupada said in the letter above that bookkeeping is the MOST IMPORTANT item, we may think that the bhajan should be secondary. Of course not.
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The bhajan is the principal. How can Vaisnavas do not consider bhajan the essential and the most important? But as I said before, while the devotees are not pure in their bhajan, emphasis should be given also in accounting as the most important thing in the administration.
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And if it were not so Srila Prabhupada would not give many instructions on the accounting topic.
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So, we will emphasize bhajan and accounting at the same time.
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"There are two things in accounting; one thing is I am receiving some amount, and the other thing is I am paying some amount. The paying or receiving will come under certain account. Whatever I receive is put under debtor column. Debtor means receiver, and the particular begins with the word "to". Whatever I am paying is entered into the creditor column. Creditor means payer. In this way, after the whole day's transactions, you make a total of the debtor column and creditor column, and if there is any balance, it is adjusted by the words "balance carried forward". This balance is entered in the creditor column. So we have to see that the amount in the debtor column and the amount in the creditor column is equal. This is called a correct account. Next day you begin with "To Balance B.F". That means whatever balance you had the day before you put in the debtor column with particulars To Balance B.F. Then begin your transactions as in the previous day. This is the system of keeping an account in general. For the time being, keep your account in that way, and later on, as you inquire, I will let you know more about how to keep books."
From the letter to Krsna dasa (Columbus, Ohio 8 May, 1969) -
Prabhupada is instructing his disciples who did not have a pure bhajana how to keep accounts.
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The difference is that when your bhajana is pure, you will make the accounting spontaneously. If the bhajana is not pure, you will make the accounting because the guru said. (Hayasirsa das)
It's like the deity worship, which Prabhupada also considered essential. In regulated stage the devotee receives all details of worship and worship according to these instructions. In spontaneous stage. worship because his bhajana is pure.
We receive many instructions about deity worship, accounting, etc, all this accompanied by the maha mantra.
