700419 - Letter to Robert and Karen written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1970

3764 Watseka Avenue
Los Angeles, Cal. 90034

19th April 70

My Dear Robert and Karen,
Please accept my blessings. I am very glad that you have come to our New Vrindaban retreat and try to remain there for some days. Attend our classes and routine work, and I am sure you will find the place very nice.
The truth within this material world is relative. The Absolute Truth is outside the relative world. Just like when a child is born, he is relative--he is born by his father. Then you go on researching and you will find that his father is also born of his father and so on. In this way if we go on searching out the Absolute Truth, you will find Him, the Supreme Person, not imperson. Just like the child is a person, therefore the agent or the truth which begot the child is taken without any hesitation as a person. Therefore the Absolute Truth cannot be imperson--that is a fact.
Impersonalism is only a solace for the frustrated. When we are frustrated by the relative personalism of this material world, we try to find out, in material way, the opposite number. Just like a patient who is suffering in diseased condition tries to find out something opposite number. So this is a long course explanation, but actually impersonalism cannot give us the answer to our eternal search after peace. So far we are convinced from the Vedic literatures, God is a Person exactly like you are a person, I am a person, but His personality is very great, full with six opulences, and none of the living entities beginning from the highest like Lord Brahma down to the ant, nobody can be on the equal level with God. These things are all explained in our books, and I would request you to read these books especially the recently published Isopanisad.
There are many impersonalists within our experience who renounced this world to merge into the impersonal existence, but being baffled there they come down again to the material world to find out engagement as altruist, philanthropist, communist, etc.. So there is no stand on impersonalism, but there is steady stand in Bhakti cult because in this cult God is there, the devotee is there and the devotional service activities are there, and when they are joined together that makes us able to stand on the Absolute platform.
The physical activities in Vrindaban are not material activities. Just like Arjuna, in the beginning he declined to fight, and Krishna apparently induced him to fight. But does it mean that Arjuna after understanding Bhagavad Gita became a violent fighter? If that is the result of understanding Bhagavad Gita, then no gentleman would read it ever. Therefore the real thing is that in Bhakti cult the activities appear to be like those of the Karmis, but actually they are all devotional service. In New Vrindaban everyone is engaged in Krishna's service, they have no interest in material activities, but they are always ready to act anything for Krishna's sake.
Your ever well-wisher,

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS:db

Robert and Karen Rhall
New Vrindaban
RD 3
Moundsville, W A
26041