700516 - Letter to Gurudasa written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1970

ISKCON
International Society for Krishna Consciousness Inc.
Acharya-His Divine Grace 108 Sri Srimad A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad
3764 WATSEKA AVENUE - LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA 90034
Telephone:213-836-0966
213-836-9286

16th May, 1970

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My Dear Gurudas,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated May 8th and 14th, 1970, respectively. Previous to this I received one letter from Yamuna dated 8th May, 1970.
Regarding the letter dated 8th May, you write therein "the enclosed are humble offerings from all of your disciples here," but I have not received any enclosures.
I am very glad that Trivikram is helping you there, and he may stay as long as he likes. Rather I would like him to stay there to assist you. So regarding my books, you may keep them packed, and when he comes back he can bring them, or if I require them urgently I will write you, for the present there is no haste.
It is very good news that you have now received permission for the Rathayatra festival and Murari and Shyamasundar are constructing the Ratha. But I do not know if you are preparing three Rathas. In San Francisco they are preparing three Rathas this year.
If Mr. Dindayal is impressed, and he wants to start a nice Temple of Radha-Krsna in the British Guinea, certainly we will be very much pleased, but the Temple should be on the principle of our London Temple which is not for any particular sect of persons but for all human beings. Anyone who takes to Krsna Consciousness is welcome--that is our mission.
Regarding the proposed trip to Kenya, the next step I have already advised to Tamal in this connection. I understand he is coming to London very soon, and you can discuss with him. But one thing is that Mr. Parikh was talking of this Samkirtan Party to Africa since a very long time. There is no direct correspondence with us. It is difficult to say how it will be a fact in future.
Regarding requirements and recommendations in the Vedic system of selecting partners for marriage, there is a Vedic system, but that cannot be done here. It should be made under the guidance of the guardians and the selection should be made on the basis of astrological equilibrium. So it is not possible to introduce such system in the present age. The only selection is that both the boy and the girl should be Krsna conscious, and the boy may be older than the girl at least by 2 to 5 years.
Your first question about the jiva's form with particular reference to Bhagavad Gita 8/18 purport "during the nighttime they have no form." "During the nightime they have no form" means there is no material form. The simple understanding is as we are transmigrating from one material form to another, so actually in this material world we have no fixed form. Similarly when we are spiritually perfect we develop the spiritual form to live eternally in the spiritual world. In the spiritual world there are exactly the same things as we see here; namely the land, water, trees, birds, beasts, human beings, etc., and all of them are spiritual as all the varieties here are material.
So these things can be understood when one is advanced in self-realization. The real form of the living entity is eternal servant of Krsna. Now this spiritual form is developed when he enters into the spiritual world.
Regarding your second question, "Where in our scriptures is there mention of Lord Jesus Christ as recognized and what is the purport?"—We do not find in the scriptures Lord Jesus Christ's name. There is mention of Lord Buddha's name which is described in our Srimad Bhagavatam. So far we are concerned, we have all our obeisances for Lord Jesus Christ because His whole life was devoted to the service of the Lord.
With reference to your letter dated 14th May, I am surprised how you allowed Mr. Parikh to sit on the Vyasasana. You know that Vyasasana is meant for the representative of Vyasadeva, the Spiritual Master, but Mr. Parikh does not come in the Parampara to become the representative of Vyas, neither he has any sound knowledge of Vaisnava principles. I understand from your letter that sometimes discussions on Aurobindo philosophy are done by Mr. Parikh from the Vyasasana, so I am a little surprised how did you allow like this. I think you should rectify immediately all these mistakes as stated by you in the last two lines of your letter, "I think the best thing to do is stop his class. Nonsense ought not to be tolerated."
Hope this will meet you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

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