690705 - Letter to Upendra written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1969

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

July 05, 1969

My Dear Upendra,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 1, 1969, and I have noted the contents carefully. I am glad to inform you that I will be arriving in San Francisco around the 25th or 26th of July, and I will see you there during the Rathayatra Festival. Regarding your questions, "Is Subhadra, Lord Krishna's Sister, the same Durga or Maya?", the answer is that originally Krishna's energy is one: that is spiritual energy. But according to different functions, the Maya is represented differently. In the material world the energy is called Bhadra, and in the spiritual world the same Maya is called Subhadra. The only distinction is su and without su. Su means auspicious. So in the spiritual world, the same Maya works auspiciously, and in the material world the same Maya works inauspiciously. This auspiciousness and inauspiciousness is our own choice. The same example that jail life is inauspicious, and free life is auspicious, but it depends on the choice whether we prefer free life or jail life. The energy of the government works in the same way both in the jail department and the freedom department. It is the choice of the person who is relatively concerned with either jail or freedom.

Regarding frozen vegetables, they are not bad, but if they are twice boiled, then they should not be used. I do not know exactly, but I do not think it is twice boiled. Anyway, if it is, it should not be used.

Now Tamala Krishna will be the supplying agent of devotees to many temples, because he is attracting many new devotees in the Los Angeles temple. So the program is after being trained up here, some of them may go either to open new branches or where they are required. But I wish that you should also attract new devotees from your quarters. Instead of importing devotees, it is better to attract devotees from your own area. And the basic principle for doing this is Sankirtana Party. I hope you have by now received one circular from Brahmananda in which it is stated that you are all requested to write articles of Krishna Consciousness as you have personally realized it, and also send as many pictures as possible of Sankirtana Movement for BTG along with short descriptions. Hope you are well.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami